Skipper of Pakistan cricket team Muhammad Hafeez on Saturday said that the overall performance of the national team in Twenty20 Cricket World Cup was good but due to bad luck we had to face defeat in the semi-final. Talking to the media on arrival from Colombo here at the Allama Iqbal International Airport on Saturday, Hafeez said that unfortunately, they could not give results as per expectations of the nation.
---- Team and management to be reformed, hints PCB chief
However, he said, all the players worked hard, but due to hard luck the batsmen failed to achieve the target in the semi-final. He said that he was thankful to the entire nation for their support. Replying to a question about Abdul Razzaq, Hafeez said that the decision not to include Abdul Razzaq in the squad of the semi final was that of the team management, as one bowler was needed.
All rounder Abdul Razzaq said that we wasted a good opportunity to win the World Cup 2012. When asked to comment on the World T20 final, he said that West Indies was the favourite team to win. The players who arrived here included Muhammad Hafeez, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Imran Nazir, Sohail Tanveer, Nasir Jamshed and Coach Dave Whatmore. Other players had proceeded to South Africa and England for playing cricket leagues.
Moreover, PCB chairman Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf in an interview has hinted at a major overhaul in 2013 in an attempt to make Pakistan the best team across all formats of the game. He added, "we have given considerable latitude to players and also provided them much space to perform," he said. He said, "we have been observing each and every player in the team, who is performing well and who is not. I also understand those who talk a lot without producing results, so I think 2013 is the year for an overhaul and things will be better soon."
Zaka said, "I want to give Pakistan cricket a new direction and a future - a future beyond all the previous tragic incidents. What is required is to have a free and clean environment for cricket with no more room for yet another controversy. I don't find any reason that Pakistan cannot be the top team in all formats. Pakistan is a very talented cricket-playing country but we have to work hard to make it possible. We have short and long-term plans but I just need time. We are focusing on the youth as the current lot who are above 30 might not be as athletic in the field as the Australians are but we can make our upcoming youth a complete product, bringing them up with the best system and training." The PCB Chairman also pledged a reform of the PCB administration, saying the problem with Pakistan cricket was not in the system or in its constitution but in the people who are in charge. He said that he would work to ensure the PCB falls in line with the ICC's decision that all member boards should have free elections and be free from political intervention.
Zaka further said that he didn't want to rake up the past but was confident about the present, insisting that player-power in Pakistan cricket was being curtailed. "One thing must be ensured that the institution is bigger than the player," he said, adding, "The PCB won't allow any player to offset the unity in the team, and each one will have to be responsible for their own performance. I hope that there are not any groups within the team but if there is something it will be dealt strictly."
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