Boria Majumdar in Dubai
In his autobiography, Wasim, released in 1998, Wasim Akram dedicated an entire chapter – ‘Coping with the mental pressure’ – to Huma, his wife, describing their sessions of therapy.
“She has been a rock to me in so many ways, not least in getting me mentally strong for challenges on the field,” he wrote in the introduction to the book. “You can’t perform on talent alone at the highest level, and Huma has helped channel me into the right psychological areas that allow me to do justice to my abilities.”
Apart from Akram, Huma – who tragically passed away in 2009 – also worked with his teammates like Saqlain Mushtaq and Saeed Anwar.
This was more than 30 years ago. Are you saying that in 2025, you hadn’t thought of a sports psychologist until you were beaten up (again) by India?
Also, how do players feel secure or get confidence if there is no stability? Half a dozen coaches – some of them World Cup winners, or highly respected around the world – in the last three years, some sacked without explanation. Musical chairs with captains. The entire environment is a cesspool.
Imagine a player doing a machine-gun celebration after scoring a 50, especially months after a terror attack that killed dozens? Before someone jumps in and says: ‘Oh, Surya started it’, please pause and reflect. A gun celebration? Really? I’d argue that Sahibzada Farhan could have gone on and scored a century and taken the game away had he focussed on the match and not on the antics. Instead, he tried to play to the gallery and be a hero. He became the anti-hero instead.
Haris Rauf is the other one. When a batter hits you for a four, just go back to your mark and focus on the next ball. Try and get the batter out. Don’t go back to your fielding position and show six fingers. By doing so, you aren’t helping your own cause. Your bowling gets impacted, and that’s precisely what happened with Pakistan.
Also Read: A reminder for Pakistan: Not all is well
Abrar Ahmed had an economy rate of 3.5 for the tournament before he ran into Abhishek Sharma. Shaheen Afridi was supposed to be the trump card with the new ball. Both didn’t know what hit them once Abhishek and Shubman Gill started teeing off. Abrar, in particular, looked dazed. India aren’t just getting into Pakistani heads; they’re living there rent-free.
When India were all out for 36 in Adelaide in December 2020, Ravi Shastri, then coach, gave the team a day off. Just switch off from cricket and come back after a day, he told them. In the next Test in Melbourne, India made a miraculous comeback and squared the series. Pakistan need an India detox. Surya is just the latest in a line of Indian players who have successfully riled them up and got under their skin.
The truth is they were played and their administrators did not help with all the shenanigans last week. Pakistan can still make the final, but for that to happen, they need to go back to the drawing board and play some cricket. Forget the gun celebrations and all other theatrics, and just get back to training and match play.
On our live show last night, a few Pakistani fans walked in and showed the middle finger to Gargi, Ashok and I. At the time, I was saying that this was a cricket game and that’s how it should be treated. Pakistan may have lost, but there was no need to rub it in. Without hearing that, they just turned provocative and tried to disrupt the show. We kept cool and defused the situation. With every stupid act in the middle, we’ll see more of this. And the loser in all of this is Pakistan cricket. The faster they understand that, the better. Else, it could soon get to a point of no return.
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