The highly successful tour to Sri Lanka is indeed a magnificent turnaround from the dismal days of the debacle in Bangladesh and a shot in the arm for Pakistan cricket. The visitors outplayed their feisty opponents in all three formats to cap off a remarkable resurgence. The tour is indeed ground-breaking as for the first time since their first Twenty20 game in South Africa eight years ago, Pakistan managed to beat an opponent on an away tour across the three formats. No doubt, the turnaround has its reasons. Primarily, credit must be given to the national selectors for the induction of talented newcomers like Mukhtar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Imad Wasim and a few others whose enthusiasm in the field and the never-say-die approach clearly inspired the others to lift their game. Adding to that were valuable contributions from comeback men including Shoaib Malik, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Sohail Tanvir and the marvellous Anwar Ali who, indeed, swung the pendulum Pakistan’s way to bring joy to the entire nation.Cricket is a team game but more often than not, in the past Pakistan cricket outfits have found it difficult to rise above disturbing factors like player-wrangling, injuries and poor governance to give their best on the field.The performance of relatively new players like Anwar, Imad, Yasir Shah, Shan Masood, Sarfraz Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan across the three formats indicates a bright future for Pakistan cricket. Every time Pakistan needed a saviour during the course of the tour, a youngster, combined with a seasoned teammate like Younus Khan, Misbahul Haq, Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez or Shoaib Malik, produced a sensational burst of cricket. The most encouraging aspect was the ability of bouncing back from impossible situations in all formats of the game. The batsmen deserve rich accolades for their consistency and it is high time Pakistan fans acknowledged the contribution of Grant Flower, the batting coach who quietly goes about his business, but makes a telling impression when his batsmen perform when it matters. Cricket is a team game but more often than not, in the past Pakistan cricket outfits have found it difficult to rise above disturbing factors like player-wrangling, injuries and poor governance to give their best on the field. Thankfully, however, none of these factors reared their ugly head in the recent Sri Lanka series and the players remained focused on the immediate objective on hand, which was to win matches. Yet, while it is important to whole-heartedly laud the overall faring of the Pakistan team in Sri Lanka, it is a fact that the hosts are still going through a rebuilding phase following the retirement of stalwarts such as Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. To face the formidable England side in the UAE in October could be a different proposition altogether and Pakistan will have to be at their best to win that contest.
