The night before the second Asia Cup encounter between India and Pakistan, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi visited the national team’s practice. And the scene was one to behold.
The moment he stepped in, it was clear that he was a show-stopper in the literal sense. The practice stopped and each one started trying to please the interior affairs minister. The end result was Pakistan took a pasting and India was all over them. While no Pakistan player will want to speak out, the truth is Naqvi is a distraction. He wants the limelight and the optics. He wants the glory and the glamour, but when his team is in crisis, he isn’t anywhere to be seen.
The same happened in Colombo. He was at the Pakistan team hotel the night before the match and the moment he arrived, he became the cynosure. Everyone was standing in attention and journalists were making a beeline to meet him. Till this point it was fine. Thereafter, a meeting was called, where Naqvi was standing at the top of the podium and players were literally walking up to him and paying their respects. This at 10 pm the night before a pressure match!
While Mike Hesson (Pakistan coach) had no option but to defend the PCB chief in the press conference, the truth is he had no business to disturb the players’ equilibrium the night before a huge match. While no one can say if Pakistan could have been any better, the truth also is Naqvi needs to realise that in cricket at least he can’t wear his interior affairs minister’s hat all the time.
The final bit is the worst. Naqvi, Pakistani journalists confirm to me, left at the fall of the sixth wicket during the second half of the match. In fact, one of them writes this, “Roast him. He left at the fall of the 6th wicket”. While none of them can speak in public, the truth is Naqvi is fast losing ground.
If he wants the glory, he needs to have the courage to stand up for the players when the going isn’t good and take the bullet for them. In all fairness, India is a better team. Nine out of 10 times India will win against Pakistan. Having said that, Pakistan will still make the Super 8 stage and Naqvi ought to have stayed on and backed his boys. To leave them midway and walk away will only further add to the pressure on his team.
In sum, Pakistan cricket is like a gas chamber at the moment. No one has the courage to speak out and the unrest is becoming more and more palpable. Naqvi can claim all the limelight he wants but his presence hasn’t really helped Pakistan cricket.
Since he took over, the result is 6-0 in favour of India, and it is not just in the men’s game. The U-19 match was the same and the women aren’t any better. In every way, Pakistan’s cricket is struggling and Mr. Naqvi should step down from his heavy horse and smell the coffee. In this state, if Pakistan does make the final against India (unlikely though), we could well be in for another one-sided contest.
Follow Revsportz for latest sports news