Dear Sir

I know this is not the best of times to write a letter to you but the state of Pakistan cricket has compelled me to contact you since you seem to be the only sane person with power in the Pakistan Cricket Board.

You have been a diplomat most of your life and have served the country with distinction; I believe the time is right to take steps to clean the cricket team of players who play with the country rather than for it.

When the Pakistan cricket team was selected for the World Cup, many players who deserved to be on the list were not on it -- Fawad Alam, Imran Khan, Zulfiqar Babar, Anwar Ali, to name a few.

The Chief Selector Moin Khan was asked about their exclusion and he came up with the most clichéd lines, "this is the best talent we have" and by the end of two matches, we now know that most of the players selected don’t merit a place in the squad.

Don’t you think that Fawad deserves a place in the side instead of Younis Khan who has disappointed nearly everyone with his inept batting in one dayers, including his biggest supporter, me!

Don’t you think that three left-arm pacers were always going to be an issue and Imran Khan’s inclusion might have helped as he performed well against Australia and New Zealand.

Zulfiqar Babar should have been treated as Saeed Ajmal’s successor because of his experience but our selectors dumped him as they had faith in Haris Sohail’s abilities.

And lastly, all the teams have all-rounders who can bat, bowl and field while our all-rounder Anwar Ali is watching the matches from his home in Karachi for reasons unknown.

Enough to grill Mr Moin Khan I think, right Mr Chairman? After all, he was also found in a Casino one day before the match; when he shouldn’t have been in Australia in the first place!

As for the players he selected, a bunch of school kids would be better behaved than these national cricketers. They fight with the head coach for tough training; fielding coach for doing his job (and if reports are to be believed, make fun of his name), and as per former cricketers, disturb Sarfraz Ahmed’s confidence by using mind games and we all know who would benefit from that. Their fielding reminds me of those backbenchers in classroom who deliberately fail a test just to show the teacher that they don’t want to do well despite having the potential to do well. They shouldn’t be handled like national heroes because they aren’t that anymore; ask any fan in the street and he will not have anything good to say about them. They are bullying the sport; bully them if you want to get them to perform. Otherwise, there are many waiting in Pakistan to take over.

The head coach Waqar Younis is also not fulfilling his potential; his former colleague Aaqib Javed is doing a better job for the United Arab Emirates, while his predecessor Dav Whatmore has turned things around for Zimbabwe. That means that the problem was not with the coaches but with the players.

Did you know that Sean Williams credited his coach for his match-winning innings against the UAE; imagine self-proclaimed legendary batsman Umar Akmal listening to advice by a coach -- any coach!

Pakistan cricket team has now become a joke worldwide -- the Indians make TV commercials on our performance; social media is full of people who come up with new ideas whenever the team fails to live up to its potential and even the strongest supporters have stopped cheering for Team Pakistan because ours is the only team that loses a match disgracefully.

The Afghan team gave tough time to Sri Lanka; the UAE played well against Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe seemed a different team against South Africa; Pakistan were the same old Pakistan against India and the West Indies.

Didn’t the captain know that Umar Akmal will drop catches behind the stumps? That Yasir Shah will go for runs against India and will be useful against the West Indies? Nasir Jamshed will fail as an opener because he is out-of-form? Wahab Riaz will go for runs because that’s what he has been doing for the last four years? That Pakistan chasing a target against any team is like giving a car to a seven-year-old to drive?

If I, a layman, knew these things, what was the army of thinkers doing in Australia?

Ever since the loss in the final of the 1999 World Cup, Pakistan has failed to do well in World Cups. In 2003 and 2007, they were knocked out in the first round and both skippers -- Waqar Younis and Inzamam ul Haq -- bade farewell to the game after that.

Had it not been for the heroics of skipper Shahid Afridi, Pakistan might not have made it to the semi-final in 2011 where the players made sure that ‘dropped catches lose matches’.

No action has ever been taken against the players who have played below their potential but I think this is the right time. Even if they win against the UAE, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Ireland, the losses against India and West Indies have dented their credibility.

The way Shahid Afridi put down catches in the match against the West Indies proved that he is past his prime; there is no need to carry on with him till the World T20 next year and waste the careers of young cricketers who can do better. Selfie-king Ahmed Shahzad needs to play in exhibition matches where young boys and girls should come and watch him be ‘Virat Kohli’.

Nasir Jamshed should either get fit for international cricket or go back to wilderness because one look at him reminds you of a young Intikhab Alam who ruined Pakistan cricket by being the most coward captain ever.

Right now, Mohammad Hafeez must be the happiest person in the world because he was sent back from Australia for no fault of his own and by the time the team returns, he will be fit and raring to take over from Misbah-ul-Haq as one day skipper.

Lastly sir, I know you are a busy man but tell me one thing. Was Pakistan cricket team the only team staying in a haunted hotel in New Zealand? No it wasn’t so why was it that only Haris Sohail saw a ghost? The inept team management must be taken to the cleaners when they return because the World Cup has so far been a joyride with all the ingredients of a comedy show for Pakistan. From where I am standing, it is all about to turn into a horror show if the right steps aren’t taken.

Thanking You

Yours Sincerely