Cricket at last!

I was in the break-out room of our Mobilink office with dozens of colleagues huddled round the big TV screen watching the T20 WC final. The match was well poised but at a very critical juncture. Pakistan just lost its skipper Shoaib Malik and with an ever-increasing required rate the match was tilting slightly into India’s favour. There was a huge roar as soon as the new Pakistani batsman stepped onto the field, it was for none other than Shahid Khan Afridi, ‘the boom boom Afridi’.

People pinned their hopes on him, including myself though reluctantly. But my worst fears came true as on the very first delivery he faced from Irfan Pathan, he tried to hit him over the mid-on fielder but instead lofted it high enough to be caught & bowled for a first ball duck. Though, people do blame Misbah’s paddle sweep for the loss in Twenty20 final at the hands of India in 2007 but for me, it was Afridi, who was equally responsible for a very irresponsible shot in a WC final. I have been a very severe critic of Afridi all through his career and the reason for that was that I’ve always believed that he has all the shots in his stock to make him a complete batsman but never liked the guy for his irresponsibility and recklessness in crunch situations. For me he was ‘Doom Doom Afridi’, and with each of his outings as a batsman in the recent past he quite literally doomed the team with the bat.

Coming into the T20 WC 2009, I was again in particular critical of his selection along with Salman Butt. And it proved me right with the kind of start we had but it was all till the day we faced the Proteas in the Semi-final and it was no surprise that along with millions of other Pakistanis I was astonished to see the team spirit and the tenacity with which the green brigade played against the South Africans and of course the Shahid Khan Afridi.

Whether it’s the change in his batting order, his mindset or whatever it was, I was impressed. And although his masterful innings both in the semis and the final still doesn’t make me an overnight Afridi fan but yes he at last managed to wash out the stains he carried from the last T20 final and I was more than glad to see him bat like that. His bowling has been nothing short of exceptional recently but it was his bat that sealed the honour for the country. His performance with the bat in both crunch matches was probably the best of his career and he rightly deserved to be the man of both matches. More than anyone else this win would certainly make Afridi realize how useful he can be with this lethal combination of leather and wood given that he disciplines his both skills with the kind of fitness he already has.

The glitter of the gems that Afridi produced in the last two matches shouldn’t blind anyone from appreciating Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal, more than their skills it was their intelligence and understanding of the situation as bowlers that worked for Pakistani. Particularly I was really impressed by Saeed Ajmal and after a long time since Saqlain Mushtaq Pakistan finally got a very good thinking off spinner with an excellent control and temperament. Umar Gul, well the more we say about him the less, the guy has proved his mettle in all formats of the game, his swing, superb yorkers and variations with the bowl proved him too good for the opponents, specially seeing him bowling yorkers like that reminded one of Wasim and Waqar and thanks to him for the great difference he made. Both these gentlemen helped us reached the semi-final and beyond and actually paved the way for Afridi to take the cup home.

Muhammed Aamir is another upcoming talented lad along with Ahmed Shehzad and though the latter got few chances than he deserved the former grabbed the moment with both hands and very much made his own. There’s a lesson for Suhail Tanveer in it as well, ‘never let the money and fame go into your head’, if he’s sensible he won’t chose to walk Shoaib Akhter’s path.

And who can miss out on Abdul Razzaq, the veteran who justified his place on the very first match he had after a two year layoff. The three wickets he took in the final actually set the tone and Younis Khan very rightly said that, he had the match winners but couldn’t get the right combination and Razzaq’s inclusion helped him find that combination, which we all felt from the New Zealand match onwards. All other members notably Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik and other squad members along with Coach Intekhab Alam deserve all the adulation and appreciation. Congratulation to all of them!

And lastly on Younis Khan’s retirement, I think by keeping his weaknesses and strengths in mind, it was a very wise and timely decision he made. He not only redeemed himself from the initial criticism he received as a captain but now he walked away on a very very high note while shutting up all his critics.

And special congratulations to all our Pushtun brothers and sisters all around the world especially to all the IDP’s where ever they are in Pakistan. It was the Pushtun factor that was the major factor in bringing a major cup home after a lapse of 17 years.

In the end amidst all the uncertainty that surrounds us all, with so much to grief and so less to cheer, our cricket team has given us a reason to remember our identity and be proud of it. It was cricket at last that brought the smiles back, it was cricket at last that reminded the world ‘Don’t write us off’, indeed it was cricket at last …

Congratulation to every single Pakistani wherever they are!

Long live Pakistan.