Pakistan cricket fans express their disappointment during the game against West Indies at Trent Bridge. (Reuters)Pakistan fans are clinging onto a silver lining after Sarfaraz Ahmed’s team was thrashed by West Indies in their World Cup opener. Most of them have gone nostalgic, recalling sepia-toned memories of the team’s glorious run in 1992, which began with Imran Khan’s side losing by 10 wickets to the West Indies.
But former pacer Aaqib Javed is quick to burst the bubble and isn’t too hopeful about a 1992-like comeback. He has good reason to believe so.
Javed was one of Imran Khan’s trusted lieutenants in the Pakistan World Cup-winning side that came back from the brink 27 years ago.
Desmond Haynes had survived a dropped catch on his way to a 93 not out in Pakistan’s first game of the 1992 edition. It was such a dolly that the great West Indies opener had broken into a smile. West Indies chased downa target of 221 without losing a wicket! Pakistan had also folded for 74 against England in that tournament before rain saved them the blushes.
Pakistan’s total against the Windies on Friday — 105 all out — was their second-lowest in the World Cup. It was their 11th loss on the spin as well. Their last win in an One-day International came in January. Little wonder then that Javed all but ruled out a comparison with the Class of ‘92.
“Imran Khan, a born leader, captaining the side makes a difference. And that was Imran’s team. Almost every player – Wasim Akram, Mushtaq Ahmed, I, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis (he missed the ’92 World Cup) – was handpicked and nurtured by him. Sarfaraz is captaining a side which is not his own team. Sarfaraz doesn’t have the Imran’s aura. He doesn’t have the performance either to demand his own team. “We used to fight for Imran because he backed us to the hilt. These guys are playing for their own spots. Nobody seems to be willing to sacrifice. If Sarfaraz asks a bowler to bowl cross-seam for example, he might laugh in his face and say, ‘Have you ever backed me? When did you back me?’” the former Pakistan fast bowler told The Sunday Express.
Pakistan batting yesterday was softened up by Oshane Thomas’s pace, who took four wickets. The batters struggled to cope with the short ball. According to Javed, Pakistan picked the wrong team. “See, I would like to think that Pakistan had a bad day. Pakistan and West Indies are the only two teams capable of such batting implosion. (At the same time) I was shocked that Asif Ali was left out. Nor did they pick Shoaib Malik. Haris Sohail played from nowhere.
“Mind you, the 1992 team had Wasim Akram. I complemented him. Bowlers don’t complement each other in this team. Mohammad Amir no longer remains a 150kph bowler. He got three wickets alright, but he didn’t bowl wicket-taking deliveries.”
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“Aapse toh kaptani bhi nahin ho rahi hain, aur run toh aap kar nahin rahe hain. Aap teen haftoh ke liye khudko drop kar dijiye (you can’t do captaincy and you are not scoring runs as well. So drop yourself for three weeks).”
It was around midnight UAE time and in the crammed media room at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, there had been a feeling of seething resentment among the Pakistani cricket hacks. Pakistan had fallen to Bangladesh and were knocked out of the 2018 Asia Cup. Sarfaraz had to take the brunt.
The Pakistan skipper smiled at the suggestion of dropping himself ‘for three weeks’. “It’s not my job to decide who plays and who doesn’t. It is the job of the selection committee to decide whom to play and whom to drop,” he had said.
During an interview with this paper in February, PCB chairman Ehsan Mani had made it clear that Sarfaraz would be the Pakistan captain for the World Cup.His poor captaincy was a reason why Pakistan had failed to reach the Asia Cup final. And as an acrimonious press conference wore on, it felt like Sarfaraz had been edging closer to the captaincy trapdoor.
But the 32-year-old ‘keeper-batsman survived. Winning the Champions Trophy a year previously worked to his advantage. Also, Pakistan didn’t have a better alternative. The country’s cricket setup decided against turning back the clock and handing over the reins to Mohammad Hafeez or Shoaib Malik.
Sarfaraz’s job appeared to be yet again on the line after the stump mic picked his alleged racist remark to South Africa’s Andile Phehlukwayo earlier this year. He was handed a four-game ban but as the Pakistan skipper apologised, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) stood by him. During an interview with this paper in February, PCB chairman Ehsan Mani had made it clear that Sarfaraz would be the Pakistan captain for the World Cup.
“Look, he immediately apologised. There was no need to have a word with him about the incident. Because, what he said in Urdu was quite innocent. Actually what he was saying to the player was that ‘your mother has been praying special prayers for you’. He just used the word, ‘black’, which was totally unacceptable. And he understood that, when it was explained to him. And he apologised straightaway. The PCB apologised straightaway. Everyone accepted our apology on the South African side,” Mani had said.
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Grooming a captain is not part of the Pakistan cricket culture or for that matter of the sub-continent. Sarfaraz is an exception. Right from the U-19 level, he has been groomed for the top job. Three years ago, when he took charge of the senior team, he needed a performance to prove his mettle. The 2017 Champions Trophy triumph saw his stocks rise sharply. He was given the charge in all three formats.
Things, though, started to go downhill after that. With runs drying up, Sarfaraz found himself under even more pressure. Over the past two seasons since June 19, 2017 till the World Cup, Sarfaraz has scored 484 runs at 30.25 in 31 ODIs. Pakistan have won just 14 of those 31 matches. And according to Mudassar Nazar, the former Pakistan opener and coach, Sarfaraz must bat up the order and lead from the front at the World Cup.
“Look, Sarfaraz is a positive man. He gets on with the job. He tries to get the best out of his team. But I think he should promote himself in the batting order. He should lead from the front and take the bull by the horns. He should go and perform, and score runs in critical situations and win games for Pakistan. He plays spin well; all the more reason why he should bat up the order,” Nazar said, speaking to this paper.
“I would like to go back to the 2015 World Cup in Australia, because I was there as the UAE coach. I saw the drama – that Waqar Younis (then Pakistan coach) had been pilloried for not sending Sarfaraz up the order. Waqar eventually was sacked. But ever since Sarfaraz has become the captain he is pushing himself down at No. 8,” Javed quipped.
A lot will depend on this World Cup. If Sarfaraz can lead his team to the crowning glory, he would be hailed as a Pakistan legend. An early exit, on the other hand, could have a serious negative impact on his career. “It’s very crucial for Sarfaraz. Not in the captaincy issue only… I think the captaincy issue comes because he hasn’t been getting runs consistently. He could help himself by batting up the order. One of the reasons why he is not getting big scores is because he bats way down the order,” Nazar observed.
Another ex-Pakistan opener, Shoaib Mohammad, feels that Sarfaraz is always under pressure because the team hardly plays as a unit, relying on individual brilliance instead. “Of course, they have lost quite a few games and also, Sarfaraz is always up and about wanting to do something extra. Once the whole team gets together as a combined unit, then only the pressure fades away. But that hardly happens with the Pakistan team as you all know. It’s mostly not a combined effort, but a single or individual act, which takes the game away from the other teams,” Mohammad told this paper, advising the current Pakistan captain to approach this World Cup as an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the legends.
“He is a street-smart cricketer who has got a team of reasonably good players. They need some good days (during the World Cup) and some professionalism.”
Pakistan fielding, though, makes the former opener despondent.
Pakistan are notoriously slow starters who shift gear at the business end. The 1992 fightback wasn’t a case in isolation. Two years ago, Sarfaraz and company had been flayed after India had rolled them over in their Champions Trophy opener. Pakistan ended up winning the title defeating India in the final. “You cannot just ride the luck all the time. They have to perform. Simple as that,” Nazar concluded.
