Daily Times

Cricket fever is at full pitch in Pakistan. All Pakistani cricket fans are desperately waiting for green shirts to enthrall them with their sensational performances in the short form of the game under the stewardship of T20 maestro, Boom Boom Afridi. The whole euphoria revolves around the match between arch rivals Pakistan and India on March 19, in the mega event, with Pakistani fans’ lot basking in the dream that Pakistan will this time go against the grain as far as its past record of taking on India is concerned, in which case the latter has always outdone Pakistan on major occasions.

“Whether Afridi will stand up to people’s expectations?” This is the question that has been nagging every fan’s mind, particularly keeping in view Pakistan’s reeling performance in the recently held Asia Cup. Though there are many factors that, as a fan, might veer you towards looking at Pakistan’s prospect with half glass empty approach, in other words, pessimism, and might leave you, as an exhausted fan, praying for the green shirts to perform well, but here are some factors for all those, who have given up on Pakistan’s team, to not completely give up the ghost at beginning, and wait for the magical spell of the green shirts.

The first and the foremost factor, which always fills me with hope, is that Pakistan are the most unpredictable team in the world. They always play opposite to expectations of cricket pundits and fans. I, personally, have observed when the team used to have best squad at times and everybody, without an iota of hesitation, would bet for Pakistan’s win. On the other hand, there were points in time when the team were not in good form, and everybody, except pity, could not extend anything to the team and would not expect anything outstanding from them but, they have always turned the tables on big fish in the world of cricket.

The above mentioned claim can be substantiated by having once-over of how Pakistan entered in to the 1992 fray. Pakistan, literally, was a minnow then, and nobody, with a sound mind, could expect that the underdog could beat all top dogs to grab the World Cup trophy. Before going on to win the 1992 World Cup, Pakistan lost badly to three teams: India, West Indies and South Africa. Here are the scores from these matches: Pakistan (173 runs) lost to India (216/7) by 43 runs; Pakistan (220/2) lost to West Indies (220/0) by 10 wickets; Pakistan (173/8) lost to South Africa (211/7) by 38 runs. But then again, we all know how Pakistan proved their mettle through their unpredictable performance and won the World Cup.

The second factor that prompts me to believe that Pakistan still make it out is the skipper, Afridi, leading the squad. If there is any player in Pakistan squad who, in true sense, personifies unpredictability, it will not be wrong to say if someone claims Afridi personifies unpredictability holistically. Though the skipper has been in spotlight at present not for his “Boom Boom” stint, but for having lost that spell, but there is no denying the fact that he is a match-winning player. Pakistan’s triumph of world cup in 2008 owes to Afridi’s mesmerizing performance. He has the charisma which keeps all in the team alive. He exudes energy in the field. He has so far contributed in almost one format of the game out of three comprising batting, bowling and fielding. His captaincy in 2011 world cup was worth appreciating. Though, at present, he is a bit out of form, but Afridi still has magical spell in form which though invokes at times unpredictably like Pakistan team, but whenever he plays with full focus, he always brings laurels for Pakistan. Most importantly, the player is, I think, playing his last T20 world cup, so he will really try to end it with an amazing performance in which we have a chance repeat history and mark the 2008 triumph again.

The third factor that makes me believe that Pakistan are going to rock the World Cup are the omens that so far have come in favour of the team. The nature has started to conspire for the Pakistan Cricket Team. A few days ago, Indian astrologer, Greenstone Lobo, who says his analysis is based on research and is scientific, predicted that Pakistan would take the World Cup trophy from arch rival India, if they manage to reach the World Cup final. Such predictions on the part of the astrologer should impress upon Pakistani fans lot in a positive way. Moreover, though history has favoured India when it comes to major events but whenever the greatest cricket rivalry has taken place in Kolkata, the green shirts have always carried the day. The other omen is Pakistan’s entry into the World Cup with a swagger after thrashing Sri Lanka in the warm up, and grabbing a convincing win against Bangladesh on March 16.

Though on the face value, all the odds have been stacked against the Pakistan Cricket Team, but there is no gainsaying the fact that the same team have time and again, when faced with adversity, leaned in, showed tremendous resilience and proved that they should not be underestimated. According to Matt McWilliams, “Adversity is an event we cannot change or control. What we do control is our response. Champions in sports, in business, and in life use adversity to their advantage.” There is no doubt that the team have been battling adversity in form but the adversity can turn out to be a blessing in guise if the team, instead of taking it as a pressure, approach it with positive frame of mind, with a show of grit to overcome it and thus every player in the team strives to perform well.

All that is required at present for Afridi-led squad is a firm show of grit in the play. Grit is the key to shine and outstand among T20 titans. Completely believing in the quote of Henry Ward Beecher, who says: “Ones best success comes after their greatest disappointments.” I am hopeful that the green shirts, in order to recuperate from the bruises they got in Asia Cup, will give their best in T20 World Cup and will reinforce the theory of unpredictability, epitomized by their spectacular performance on unexpected occasions. We as cricket fans wish best of luck to the Pakistan Cricket Team and hope that the team will bring laurels to the nation.

The blogger is a graduate in Social Sciences from Government College University, Lahore. He can be reached at uinam39@gmail.com