KARACHI, 17 January 2003 — Pakistan’s foreign coach Richard Pybus has told the players that if they don’t pay heed to his advice he would rather resign than sit in one corner and silently watch the team under perform.
His warning and an immediate offer to step down as Pakistan coach came after the team had lost the second Test in Cape Town in humiliating fashion last month.
And this is just one of several incidents which have come to the knowledge of Arab News‚ and which illustrate that apart from poor form and fatigue, they are also other factors which have contributed to Pakistan’s inconsistent performances in recent months.
Information gathered also from eyewitness accounts about incidents which have taken place in the team in the last few months don’t augur well for the World Cup.
They make it crystal clear that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and the designated manager for the World Cup Shaharyar Khan have some hard work on hand to turn around the Gen. Zia’s attitude and atmosphere in the team before the World Cup.
And one does not highlight these incidents with any purpose of demoralizing the players but to state the obvious in the hope that Lt. Gen. Tauqir Zia and Shaharyar can have some no-nonsense and serious talks with the players so that things settle down in the team and it plays to its full potential and like a combined unit in the World Cup.
The Pybus incident makes it clear that some or all the players apparently have not been taking his advice seriously or bothering to implement it.
The fact that the South African based coach told the players very clearly that he was unhappy they didn’t listen to him and if they wished he would resign makes it obvious why the team performed below par in South Africa.
Because all other leading teams base their success on the simple formula of the players listening to their coach and using their cricket skills as spelt out to them by their coach.
According to internal source, Pybus told the players that if they felt they could not communicate with him and would rather have a Pakistani coach, he had no problems resigning on the spot.
But he made it clear that if he was to continue then they would have listen to his advice in the larger interests of the team.
“Pybus was clearly upset after the second Test defeat and the careless manner in which some of the senior players had got out and he vented his feelings very clearly in that meeting,” said the source.
Pybus, it is confirmed, had also conveyed to the board chairman in the recent past that he would not have such players in the team who are spoilt and not team men rather then watch them upset any planning and the team atmosphere.
He had spoken to the chairman from Sharjah with particular reference to Shoaib Akhtar last October during the Test series against Australia.
Shoaib who is seen as a true blue match winner for Pakistan in the World Cup ironically has been involved in two incidents since October where he has had straight fights with other players.
In the first instance he had a fight with Saqlain Mushtaq during the Colombo Test and then in Zimbabwe clashed with Younis Khan during nets.
And in South Africa after he was released from the team after the one-day series, he also exchanged words with the manager and Waqar Younis on his fitness problems. All this makes it obvious that the chairman needs to do some tough talking with the fast bowler who despite his erratic behavior can be devastating on his day and is perfectly capable of bowling Pakistan straight to the World Cup final like he did in 1999 in England.
One does not need to state here that Shaharyar will have to pay extra attention to Shoaib who sources say tends to get rash after what starts out as a banter and fun with other players.
“Similar was the case when he clashed with Saqlain and then Younis,” a source stated and added that his fight with Saqlain happened on the morning of the final day of the Colombo Test when Pakistan were very close to victory and the incident did leave a bad taste in the dressing room.
Perhaps it is time the fast bowler realized he has a commitment to do well for Pakistan in the World Cup given the faith, trust and investment the board chairman has made on him in the hope that he will remain a genuine match-winner for the team.
Another problem not allowing the senior and junior players to unite in a spirit of camaraderie is the inexplicable sarcastic attitude of a few players toward the youngsters. “Yousuf Youhanna has developed a irritating habit of always poking fun at Faisal Iqbal and other youngsters even when they perform well. He does this under the guise of having some fun but in the end his behavior does leave them disheartened,” a source disclosed.
PBC awaiting India’s yes or no over scheduled tour
The PCB is still waiting for a final yes or no from the Indian cricket authorities on their scheduled Test tour of Pakistan in April-May this year.
PCB director Chishty Mujahid said on Wednesday that any alternate program to replace the home series against India could only be put in place once the Indian board finally confirmed if they are coming or not for the scheduled series.
India is due to tour Pakistan from April to play three Tests and similar number of One-Day Internationals and the series is part of the International Cricket Council (ICC) future tours program.
But since the Indian government has not permitted its team to play against Pakistan at the senior level since May 2000 for political reasons, the Pakistan board remains uncertain if the tour will take place or not.
“To be fair to them (Indian board) their secretary has sent a letter confirming that they have asked for clearance from their government,” Chishty said.
“He has informed us that they can only give a final yes or no on the tour once they know what is the position of their government on resuming cricket ties with Pakistan,” he added. Chishty said Pakistan had sent several reminders to the Indian board on the scheduled series and also sent copies of the letters to the ICC for their record.
But he confirmed that PCB was looking at an alternate arrangement like hosting a triangular one-day series in the same time period if the Indians didn’t come.
“But the problem is this alternate schedule is still in the air until we know for sure if India will tour or not,” he explained.
PCB hold decision to penalize players
The PCB has put on hold its earlier decision to penalize the Pakistan team for every defeat in tests and One-Day Internationals despite the poor performances on the recent South African tour.
The Board had rewarded the players for their 2-0 and 5-0 wins in Zimbabwe in November with a 20 percent extra payment on their entire tour earnings which included the match fees, tour fees and additional fees.
But the PCB had also said it would deduct 20 percent from the match fees of each player for every defeat and this figure was later reduced to 10 percent for the South Africa series.
But now it appears as if the Board is also having second thoughts on whether to deduct any amount from the player’s total earnings for the South African tour.
A board official when contacted said he could not give the exact amount which could be deducted if the Board implemented its system of penalizing players for every defeat.
“I can’t say anything right now because we have not calculated the exact figures. Let us see what happens,” he added.
Wasim Akram blames Indian company on computer images
Pakistan’s former captain Wasim Akram has claimed that an Indian company had used computer images to create the impression that he had advertised their product.
A civil court judge in Lahore is hearing a petition against the left arm fast bowler from a Pakistani citizen who claims that Wasim by endorsing a alcohol drink on his clothing in the print media has violated Islamic laws of the country.
Wasim however explained that he had appeared in some advertisements endorsing other Indian products with Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath and wore special clothing for this purpose.
“But the clothing did not have any alcohol brand embossed on it. I think this has been done afterward through computer imaging,” Wasim added.
