Want to relax? Try bowling!

LONDON: When West Indies toyed with Pakistan’s batting on their way to an emphatic World Cup triumph in Nottingham last week, there was this talk that all was not well in the Pakistan camp.

Both fans and critics ripped the team apart and even questioned whether things were fine in the Pakistani dressing room. There were even rumours that skipper Sarfraz Ahmed didn’t have the support of some of his key players.

Things changed a couple of days later as Pakistan bounced back from the humiliation of their defeat in the World Cup opener to stun hosts England, also one of the title favourites.

Such was the impact of that surprising 14-run victory that Pakistan were seen as favourites in their next World Cup game – against Sri Lanka in Bristol. When the game was washed out on Friday, the result was seen as a big loss for the Pakistanis, who had to contend with one point from the abandoned match.

With extremely contrasting performance in their first two games, Pakistan have cemented their reputation as World Cup’s most mercurial team.

So do the players care about that reputation?

“Well, I don’t think that they give any serious thoughts about it,” a team official told ‘The News’. “I mean a lot is written in the press and much more is said on TV and social media but the players remain focused on the one task which is to give their best in the World Cup,” he added.

According to players and team officials, reports that there might be some kind of disharmony in the team are completely baseless.

“It happens each time we lose a match so it happened when we lost against West Indies. But it’s all wrong. The players are all gelled and there is great team spirit,” said an official.

So how has the team management promoted this spirit?

“The atmosphere is as relaxed as it can be,” said an official. “There is pressure of the World Cup but it’s part of the game. The team management tries to find ways and means to keep the boys relaxed,” he added.

One such way was a planned fun outing in Bristol earlier this week, when the entire team headed to a recreation centre to try their skills at bowling.

“Each and every player of the team tried their hand at the bowling alley. Some of them were good especially the young Mohammad Hasnain, who was the shining star that day,” said the official.