What Pakistan cricket is going through at the moment, is something every Test playing nation has gone through at some point of time. It is not the failed transition that stopped Pakistan from winning more number of tournaments. It is the right intention to bring good young players in that transition that was missing.
With Inzamam-ul-Haq now in charge of selection committee and massive transformation taking place in domestic cricket, Pakistan is expected to gain rich dividends when they begin their tour of England next month.
Some steps taken by the cricket board shows exactly the way they should prepare for the tough tour. Pakistan will be arriving in England four weeks before the first Test. This will give them ample amount of time to get used to the conditions. This is a good sign considering they never ever thought of giving proper time to prepare their game-plan on any of the previous tours. Mudassar Nazar’s return to the PCB is also a great sign.
A change in the system is appreciable. It shows that the board is showing some interest in its cricket. The success of its functioning though is only dependent on how the team is performing on the field.
Pakistan will have a new coach in Mickey Arthur. Tainted Mohammad Amir is making his comeback to Test cricket. Sarfraz Ahmed has been made the new T20I captain for Pakistan. There is a breath of fresh air blowing in Pakistan cricket at the present. If they manage to upset England in any of the Test matches, Pakistan will take their first step towards becoming their old self.
There is no doubt that there are a number of good signs for Pakistan cricket at the moment. But great cricket teams around the world have not won matches if they were dependent just on ‘good signs’. They won because they produced good performances on the field. Pakistan needs to do just that.
