\u2022 Pakistan\u2019s head coach stresses need for \u2018consistency at the top\u2019
\n\u2022 Says decisions shouldn\u2019t be taken in haste or anger; terms players like Fakhar, Saim \u2018irreplaceable\u2019
\n\u2022 Rain clouds threaten today\u2019s \u2018dead rubber\u2019 against Bangladesh<\/p>\n
The sun came out briefly in the garrison city on Wednesday afternoon, its rays breaking through the gloomy clouds whose incessant downpour had forced the much-anticipated Champions Trophy clash between South Africa and Australia to be abandoned, just a day earlier.<\/p>\n
For some fleeting moments, the sun shone on the pitch at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. It had been covered all Tuesday, but with the rain taking a break, it was basking in the cool breeze.<\/p>\n
In the stadium\u2019s press room, however, there was no such reprieve for Aqib Javed. Following Pakistan\u2019s premature ouster from the very Champions Trophy it is hosting, ahead of their Group \u2018A\u2019 game against Bangladesh on Thursday, the team\u2019s head coach braced to face the firing squad.<\/p>\n
Only a few months ago, \u2018Aqib-ball\u2019 had turned things around for the Pakistan team. Now, things didn\u2019t look too rosy. The euphoria that marked the Champions Trophy\u2019s homecoming \u2014 the first International Cricket Council (ICC) tournament in Pakistan since 1996 \u2014 quickly descended into gloom.<\/p>\n
The bleak outlook came to the fore when Pakistan players made their way onto the Pindi Stadium outfield for their final training session of the tournament. For a while, they enjoyed a game of football. But then came the rain, forcing players to take cover, and the pitch to go back into hiding.<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s last Champions Trophy game is in danger of a washout. It would perhaps be a fitting close to a campaign that has dampened the hopes of the country\u2019s fans.<\/p>\n
Naturally, Aqib\u2019s press conference was more of a post-mortem of what\u2019s ensued, rather than what\u2019s to come. And when a question was asked regarding the match against Bangla\u00addesh, he guffawed before stating \u201cat least someone was looking ahead\u201d.<\/p>\n
This was Aqib\u2019s first appearance before the local media since Pakistan lost their must-win clash against bitter rivals India in Dubai three days ago. Seemingly ready to bite the bullet, he took full responsibility for Pakistan\u2019s failed campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no excuses in life\u2026 there shouldn\u2019t be,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cIt\u2019s my responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aqib\u2019s contract was till the end of the Champions Trophy. When pressed if he wanted to continue, he said he would only stay on if \u201cpeople feel I still have something to offer\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m the last person looking for the job,\u201d he would add.<\/p>\n
Aqib spoke about the players being unable to handle the pressure of the India game, which had become a must-win game after they lost to New Zealand in the tournament opener. Also, about the lack of game awareness and experience being contributing factors; and the fact that they had failed to live up to expectations.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne can never be satisfied\u2026 we tried to win but we couldn\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cOn pitches where scores of over 300 are the norm, we didn\u2019t put up a big score. Our big guns failed to fire. We have to improve overall, have consistency in every aspect. There has been a lot of upheaval in the Pakistan Cricket Board in recent times. You need to have consistency at the top, ensure that long-term policies continue.\u201d<\/p>\n
No haste<\/p>\n
Aqib, though, was keen to stress that decisions are not taken in haste or \u201canger\u201d, defending top batters Babar Azam and captain Mohammad Rizwan, as well as the pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t argue that [going forward], they shouldn\u2019t be in the team,\u201d said Aqib. \u201cShaheen, Naseem and Haris are one of the best fast bowling trio in the world. They\u2019re extremely talented. As far as Babar is concerned, do we have another option? All of the players [who are in the team] are on the basis of their performances. Unfortunately, they couldn\u2019t do that at the Champions Trophy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aqib also defended the team\u2019s selection, which has come under immense fire. He said opening batters like Saim Ayub, who was ruled out of the tournament due to injury, and Fakhar Zaman, who got injured in the opening fixture, were irreplaceable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some players who are vitally important like Saim and Fakhar, who create a positive impact\u2026 you can\u2019t replace them,\u201d he said. \u201cMost players in the team are those who won [One-day International] series in Australia and South Africa, in the most difficult conditions. But we couldn\u2019t do the same in our home conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to him, Pakistan needs to quickly turn the page on its campaign and look forward rather than dwelling on the past. \u201cWe should try to overcome our weaknesses. We will do what\u2019s the best for the team. We have been trying to bring in players who can make the team better. But you can\u2019t just change the whole team and bring the Under-19 players to the national squad. Our job is to prepare for tomorrow. Once you\u2019re down, you want to make a mark and come back in life.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a dead rubber but, like Pakistan, Bangladesh \u2014 who fell to India in their opener before losing to New Zealand \u2014 are looking for something positive to take back home.<\/p>\n
But with rain clouds hovering over Rawalpindi, the game is in danger of being another damp squib in every sense.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u2022 Pakistan\u2019s head coach stresses need for \u2018consistency at the top\u2019 \u2022 Says decisions shouldn\u2019t be taken in haste or anger; terms players like Fakhar, Saim \u2018irreplaceable\u2019 \u2022 Rain clouds threaten today\u2019s \u2018dead rubber\u2019 against Bangladesh The sun came out briefly in the garrison city on Wednesday afternoon, its rays breaking through the gloomy clouds […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6047,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6046"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6048,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6046\/revisions\/6048"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/weeklyyoung.pk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}