The performance of the Pakistani cricket team in their match against India and West Indies and a narrow win against Zimbabwe, destroyed the dreams of millions who were hopeful to see their team, if not win, and then at least put up a fight for their survival. The hype created before the match through the remake of the Cricket world cup 1992 song, had made many wish that Pakistan may repeat the glorious win of 1992. But does the current Pakistani team carry enough juice to get to the finals? Brian Lara has something else to say. The former West Indian captain stated that if Pakistan hoped to make it to the quarter-finals, then the senior players need to wake up from their slumber.
According to Lara, back in 1992, Pakistan had a lot of match winners. Imran Khan was himself an inspiration. This Pakistan team will not be able to create a fear in the opposition. He also said that even if they do reach the quarter-finals, they will not be able to enter the semi-finals. Lara said that this team does not look strong and it barely has match winners. The batting is dependent on Misbah-ul-Haq, but he also is miles away from the best cricketer’s mark. None of the Pakistani batsmen level up to the cricketers like Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, David Warner and Brendon McCullum, who have taken batting to a different level.[junkie-alert style=”white”] Brian Lara stated that there was no comparison between the Pakistan cricket team of 1992 and the current cricket team, as this team has no match winners [/junkie-alert]
Lara also expressed that the Pakistani team used to have a sense of mystery and aura, as they had a certain unpredictability attached to their performance. Anything could be expected of them. These players could come out and stun the crowd with their performance. They now lack the resources to threaten other teams that are more into aggressive play. Lara urged the senior players of the team to wake up, of they wanted to win.
Lara wasn’t the only one who had something to say about the Pakistani side. Laxman also criticized the Pakistani team by stating that they seemed out of depth. Zimbabwe had a good chance to win the game and they successfully restricted Pakistan to 235. Pakistan batsmen failed to perform. He also said that a lot of responsibility was on Misbah, although the team has talent.
Pakistan really needs to tweak up its performance. It is playing at a loss of Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Umar Gul and Junaid Khan, but they need to overcome their weakness and repair their reputation. A lot is at stake for Pakistan. Its next match is against the cricket giants, South Africa on Saturday.