Daily Times

The twenty-fifth anniversary of our 1992 World Cup victory has come and gone but to tell you the truth it remains as fresh in our minds like it happened yesterday. To be honest, we had a slow start to the tournament, primarily because we were simply unable to build that perfect combination which could challenge our rivals. We were desperate to come up with the right combination so we tried different openers and experimented with players but nothing was working. I feel that it was only after that very close game against South Africa which we unfortunately lost due to rain that we started to feel that we had something going our way. The subsequent games all went our way with Ramiz Raja making a good comeback against New Zealand as an opener and we got the feeling that our situation was improving. The whole aspect of our roles and batting order was taking shape and the confidence was returning. In fact, the victory in the final group game against New Zealand was the point at which we felt that we were on our way to the finals. But I have to admit that there was a lot of negativity around us and the criticism against us was coming through from all sides but we were determined to move on ahead towards our ultimate goal. We were focused towards winning this tournament and that is what propelled us forward. We put all such negative thoughts aside and the determination to win paved the way for our victory in the final.

The debt of gratitude for Imran Khan and Javed Miandad: It’s said that a captain’s role is crucial in guiding any team and in that regard, what Imran did for the team in that World Cup victory is a prime example of this. He kept egging us on through tough times in that tournament. He insisted that we should not lose hope and gave us confidence and supported even those players who were struggling to perform. The result of that attitude from the captain was that when the crunch time came, all of the players he had backed delivered for him and Pakistan without fail. Whilst Imran’s role in gelling the team into this fine unit was brilliant, one cannot overlook what Javed Miandad did for the team as well. He carried the batting during some very tough situations and held the innings together whilst helping others around him to bat well. He was a great influence on the team and definitely one of the main architects of our victories.

Too much made of Imran’s victory speech: In times of such high emotions where we all felt overwhelmed by the occasion, it is perfectly understandable that Imran or anyone else for that matter would not have come prepared with a speech. No one in that frame of mind would be able to plan what he would say after winning such a great victory. Imran’s focus was on establishing a hospital to treat cancer in Pakistan and he probably forgot to thank everyone in that moment. To be honest, none of us really thought about this as we were delirious after the win and frankly no one was in any shape to put serious thought at that point in time. However, since then, Imran has more than compensated for that minor lapse where he at numerous times has appreciated and thanked his team for working together to achieve the goal of becoming World Champions in 1992.

Ignoring Imran from PCB’s video tribute for the 1992 World Cup: One can only describe not including Imran’s message for the commemorative video by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as a crude example of petty politics. We all know about the political affiliations of the top brass of the country’s cricket administrators so this wasn’t that big a surprise. What they have demonstrated is their narrow-mindedness and nothing more. But they have to realize that nothing they can do can take away the honour from Imran or Miandad. We were all part of that team that won the trophy. They need to understand that history cannot be changed and it is the PCB that will come out of this looking shallow in their outlook from this episode.

PCB’s inept handling of the spot-fixing saga: The whole spot-fixing saga has left the nation cold, especially as we thought we had gone past this stage after the events of 2010. What is most annoying the way it is now being handled. We have been told by the PCB they have incontrovertible evidence against the accused players. So, if the evidence is so solid then what is the need for this tribunal circus? Why not punish the guilty players based upon this proof and if they don’t agree, they can appeal against it in whichever forum they like. Simply issue players with show cause notices about these allegations and then give them time to explain or take whatever the punishment is prescribed in such cases. The tribunal is just a poor and confusing way to deal with this. There seems to be no coherent policy to deal with this situation. And the manner in which past cases have been dealt with, it put the PCB on a slippery slope.