These days Pakistan’s cricket is passing through hard times. And the most appalling thing is that the new cricket generation lacks in the talent which could give the country hope of rejuvenation. We don’t find such cricketers who could emulate the likes of Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf. We don’t even see boys with skills enough to replace the current heroes like Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan who have passed their prime. Their retirement could put the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in real trouble. Particularly after their exit, the country will definitely face problems in Test cricket which demands mental toughness. It would not be wrong to say that the sound legacy of the refined Test cricketers in Pakistan would end with the retirement of Younis and Misbah.
Younis is the highest Test run-getter in Pakistan while Misbah, although a late starter, left his imprints in Test cricket in a short time and has to his credit the world’s fastest test hundred.
Pakistan also do not have any genuine fast bowler with a decent pace. Although Pakistan have regained the services of highly talented left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir after five years, the rest of the pace bowling brigade lacks the sting which is needed to get the world’s best batsmen.
Same is the case with spin department. Although, leggie Yasir Shah, a late comer, has established himself as a good Test bowler, he has been seen struggling in limited overs cricket.
The obvious reason for the downfall is the lack of a solid domestic structure. Each year the PCB makes some alterations in its first-class cricket format. Last season the number of teams was reduced to 16 from 26. But such measures will not work unless other areas of the domestic cricket are reformed.
The nature of the pitches normally prepared for our first-class season is the real reason why we are unable to produce good batsmen and quality bowlers. Pitches are either purely bowling or batting friendly. The tracks should help both batsmen and bowlers so that there is a healthy competition between bat and ball during the four-day encounters of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
Most of the pitches in Pakistan don’t demand top-level techniques from our batsmen who are exposed when they have to bat on a pitch having bounce and seam.
Such is the nature of our pitches that an international cricketer does not take any pain to regain his form while playing at the domestic level after being dropped from the national team.
If scoring runs or taking wickets at domestic level is the criteria for making a place in the national team then there should be standard domestic cricket to test the temperament of the players before they could go into the national squad.
If there is no one in Pakistan who knows enough about preparing the required pitches then the PCB should hire the services of any top level foreign curator. The pitches at club level are also not good enough to produce good batsmen.
The drought of international cricket in Pakistan has worsened this matter. When the PCB was going to hold a Pentangular One-day Cup in early 2015 at National Stadium Karachi to pick national team for the World Cup, the then PCB Director Domestics Intikhab Alam told media before the launch of the event that lively tracks had been prepared keeping in view the conditions in Australia and New Zealand. But no such thing was seen in reality which shows how seriously the PCB handles things.
Umpiring is another vital area which needs proper attention. Pakistan’s domestic cricket has been marred by poor umpiring for many years. Those should be provided with the opportunity to officiate in major domestic events who are not only capable enough but also have strong moral character, the key characteristic for an umpire.
It is pathetic that some of our umpires accept offers from the teams’ officials in domestic tournaments for return of favours. One of my sources told me recently that he gave a few thousand rupees to an umpire during the Patron’s Trophy last season and he gave a few decisions in favour of his team. It is an obnoxious practice and the PCB should stop it.
Most recently, Younis Khan quit his Khyber Pakhtunkhwa team during the Pakistan Cup at Faisalabad following a row with the umpires. Although Younis’ decision to leave his team in the middle of the event was not good, his criticism of the standard of umpiring was never a bad step as everybody had seen on the television screen how many poor decisions were given by umpires during that tournament which was a sort of trials for picking players for national teams for the tour of England this summer.
In order to improve the standard of umpiring, the PCB will have to follow merit besides enhancing incentives for the umpires and providing them with security so that no influential player could pressurise them at any stage.
To get positives from the domestic cricket, the PCB can also hire the services of a few top-level foreign umpires for officiating Pakistan’s domestic cricket matches in the next season. It will be a costly exercise but can turn out to be pretty productive for the country’s cricket.
Equipment is another area which needs proper attention. Very few players use high quality imported bats and gear which creates hurdles in the way of establishing oneself as a proper batsman. The government should reduce the import duty on bats and kits so that a normal club cricketer can make use of quality equipment, necessary for playing standard cricket.
In order to produce top level cricketers, the PCB will have to inject money into the domestic cricket, particularly the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Grade-I which is the sole event for testing the temperament of the top level players of the country and preparing them for future national duty.
The PCB launched the professional Pakistan Super League (PSL) recently in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) but it is T20 cricket and is not the solution to all the problems of Pakistan cricket.
The role of National Cricket Academy (NCA) is also important. We see that the academy is not playing its due role. There are several top players in the domestic circuit who score runs and take wickets but have problems in their techniques and bowling actions which create hurdles for them when they are exposed to international cricket. The NCA coaching staff can be properly utilised for improving the skills of these youngsters so that they canbuild their careers properly.
The PCB caught several bowlers, mostly off-spinners, for their illegal bowling actions and brought them to the NCA some time back. However, after working on them for a few days, they were released. It is the responsibility of the PCB to explain how many of them are able to bowl now in domestic cricket with their remodeled actions.
The PCB should take the services of a foreign expert for a few years as the home-grown experts have failed to reform the system. To produce a strong generation of cricketers the PCB should also focus on school and college cricket. It’s high time that the PCB improves the basic structure as a flawed system will only produce mediocre cricketers.
The author can be reached at: 73.alamgmail.com