It wasn’t a usual sort of series to say the least. After all, cricketers aren’t usually seen citing jet lag as a reason for losing a game, as was the case with the West Indies, who played three back-to-back games in Karachi this week.
The fact that the three games have been some of the best cricket Pakistan has played in T20s, scoring their two largest totals and winning by their biggest margin (145) seems to have been swept under the rug. So does the recent news that Babar Azam is now the top ranked T20 batsman, Shadab Khan the number 2 bowler and the Pakistan team solidly at number one is.
Another factor of discomfort for the Windies was that while all of a team’s top tier players not being available for a particular game is not unknown territory, it is usually because of injury, not because some players refuse to visit for security concerns.
Then again, nothing is very usual about Pakistan cricket, and the country’s peculiar situation of hosting cricket at home made it even more visible. So while the West Indies Captain Jason Mohammad categorically snubbed the jet-lag related spiels by members of his playing eleven, the PCB does have to admit that it was not as comfortable a situation as it could have been for the West Indies.
Normally, when a team lands in a country for an away series, they’re given a couple of days to shake off any tiredness. The masseurs would be given a chance to work their magic before the visiting team heads off to the nets to get a feel of the local pitches. That should then, on principle, be followed by a couple of tour games to get them into the necessary competitive zeal.
The home team has a great advantage after all, and much is normally done to to acclimatise visiting teams for a competitive set of games.
The problem that the Pakistan Cricket Board faces, having already hosted six international stature games in the first three months of the year, is a categorical lack of time. The original plan for the West Indies series involved a one day break for the Windies and then three back to back games, a plan which was scrapped to accommodate for the Sindh government’s desire to celebrate the Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto as usual.
Even if that were not the case, back to back games were never going to foster an environment where the Windies would be able to be at their very best, especially with a team not at full strength.
Of course the only way a full fledge visit of any team could be accomodated is by practically shutting down the entire City for the duration of their stay. But with public opinion already fuming over traffic messes and security checks that come with these series, carrying out a long series in Pakistan seems a dream far away.
While the model followed in the World XI series in Lahore was probably a better one than what was seen in Karachi, with days between matches as well as some time for the players to rest after arrival, one thing that cricket fans must realise is that Pakistan is not yet ready to host a longer span of cricket.
While the PCB does seem to recognise it, to maintain the integrity of the games taking place in Pakistan, they must make a conscious effort to promote quality over quantity so that other teams are compelled to start visiting Pakistan once again, even if for fewer games.
