How can the Pakistani players overcome their fear of India?

[Pete Rose]

It starts from the fact that the Indian players are ten times better than ours. It's something we will have to endure for a long time.

I do not know why some Pakistani fans cannot accept it, but it might be the only way forward and the only way we could inject some fresh blood instead of seniors like Hafeez, Wahab, Azhar.

The only player that looked good enough yesterday was Malik. And that's a shame considering he is already 35.

i think most fans accept that. speaking for myself i am angry at inzi and no one else.

 

[Mamoon]

So why were they making so many mistakes in the field early on when there was still some pressure? My view is that India were shaky at the start and could easily have been put under more pressure by a more tuned in team. I don't see any inferiority complex in the Pakistan players, I see players who lack skill or brains who think they are far better than they are. Massive egos without the talent to match, e.g., Wahab, Hafeez, Umar Akmal, etc.

Pakistani players are not only inferior to the players in the big teams, but they are also well aware of it. That's why you don't see any show of intent and flamboyance on the pitch. They play against India and others like scared kittens, which is perhaps contrary to the way the play and train in the nets, which explains Mickey's frustrations.

That however was not the case in the past, which is why Pakistan had the reputation of an attacking and charismatic team. We didn't always win but we at least we had the belief that we could compete. The likes of Imran, Wasim, Miandad, Akhtar etc. had the arrogance.

 

[bluevision]

Lack of skills more than anything else.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

i think most fans accept that. speaking for myself i am angry at inzi and no one else.

Same here. I cannot believe that the guy who promised a revolution 1,3 years ago still keeps selecting consistent failures JUST because they are seniors (and we need that experience according to him).

This is what I also meant: once you know that you are bad and are going to lose most games then you better start investing in new guys in the hope that it will pay off in the future. You have got nothing to lose.

Mickey needs to put a halt to this and select more guys like Shadab who have the potential.

 

[Pete Rose]

Same here. I cannot believe that the guy who promised a revolution 1,3 years ago still keeps selecting consistent failures JUST because they are seniors (and we need that experience according to him).

This is what I also meant: once you know that you are bad and are going to lose most games then you better start investing in new guys in the hope that it will pay off in the future. You have got nothing to lose.

Mickey needs to put a halt to this and select more guys like Shadab who have the potential.

I have interesting take on Mickey's predicament: he is traumatized by his last firing. So he is just keeping his head down and being the company man. The last time he took on senior players it did not end well for him. He is putting up with Pakistan now for the lack of better options, I feel.

 

[Prince of Pakistan]

I have interesting take on Mickey's predicament: he is traumatized by his last firing. So he is just keeping his head down and being the company man. The last time he took on senior players it did not end well for him. He is putting up with Pakistan now for the lack of better options, I feel.

I think that's indeed how he started. He let Misbah do his thing and even didn't interrupt in PCB's matters. But it's been some time now and things aren't working so it could be that he might start interfering now.

If he wants something he will have to take bold decisions. Otherwise project Pakistan will be another failure on his CV.

 

[IndYeah1]

Pak team needs a proper rebuild.

Discard Hafeez. Yesterday. How many more years of soft runs against weak teams, and consistent failures against the top ones, do you need before you do this?

Why do politics consistently screw up selection? I don't understand why Fawad Alam and Sohail Khan don't play cricket for Pakistan. Its not as if its superstar performers keeping them out.

And one more thing, sorry to say this, but Sarfraz is not captaincy material. He's not even that good a player on his own. He's a decent wicket-keeper who makes his share of mistakes behind the stumps, and at best a grittty lower order bat who is good at nudging the ball around. When you put a weak player in charge, he's going to end up over-compensating in wrong ways, instead of making the right calls. And his in-game leadership and tactics are quite ordinary - I saw this during the Windies games as well as the CT.

I can't think of any reason why Imad Wasim should be playing for Pakistan, unless both Shadab Khan and Yasser are injured. Shadab looks a genuine prospect - I think HE can be Pakistan's Jadeja a couple of years down the road - and more of a wicket-taker with the ball. Imad is a limited player who should play T20s only, if at all.

For better or worse, give Azhar Ali and Shehzad a long rope at the top of the order. Both are limited players, but I can see Shehzad really suffering from a lack of confidence. Give him an extended run, tell him, he has 20 games, and see if he can get it together. If not, set him aside. This constant back and forth, is getting neither him or the Pak team anywhere.

Azhar Ali, the one guy I respect in this Pak batting team. Not the greatest of ODI games, but he's a decent bat who can hold one end up at 80 SR or so. Bat the team around him, recognize his value-add, instead of pressuring him and making him the scape-goat for the failure of the entire batting unit. In the absence of Sharjeel, I don't see too many quality options for the Pak team at the top of the order. You aren't going to magically find a class ODI batsman who can play at a high level. Use the likes of Azhar and Shehzad while you hunt for one.

Batting units are always a sum greater than its parts - all Pak needs is a couple of good complementary players, and suddenly things can look a lot better.

Azhar Ali
Shehzad
Babar Azam
Fawad Alam
Shoaib Malik
Sarfraz

 

[nads_rocks]

The only way Pak can defeat India is to stay away from media before these games and these tournaments. Stop the youngsters from having over confidence and saying things like i will make pak win india have never faced me i will get kohli out etc...

The battle is already lost before they come on to the pitch be it to bat or bowl it does not matter. They already have that in their head that they have to beat india and india prey on that weakness and negative mentality of pakistan which is why they let their performance do the talking.

You don't see that passion in Pakistan anymore, the will and strength to play for your country for your fans for the support around the world watching you. Your dropping easy catches of players who you cannot afford to give a lifeline to.

Bowlers have forgot how to bowl fierlessly,what was once AAG has now turned into PHUSSS.

Batsman are making Indian bowlers look far superior when they are not that special. Good bowling attack not GREAT!

Kohli is great but all great batsman can be sent back to the pavilion. The attack the intent is not there. Pakistan have stopped doing their homework on players. They should know these players and be familiar with the way they play because you have faced them and they play similar so why are you giving them comfort at the crease by playing spin?

We do not have an ajmal anymore and Imad Wasim is no ajmal. Hit them with yorkers hit them with toe crunchers. All that attack and positive bowling is missing and the fielding is a shambles because players are too much under pressure and scared.

Safraz is a good captain but he must lead from the front if that means opening the innings and setting a platform then be it or come in after Babar Azam at no.4. You don't need experience to be enough anymore to play todays modern level of cricket. You need players who will play for the country their nation their fans show passion show some fight and when players like Shahzad Hafeez Azhar and Wahab have constantly lost the battle again India where it matters then a line needs to be drawn!

Once Pakistan go onto that pitch with a clean head and play cricket and just cricket and believe me they are still capable of playing great cricket and on their day can still be world beaters. Treat each game as just that and not look at it like its india or australia etc.. ONLY then will this one sided matches btwn India and Pak be turned around and once Pakistan beat India in an ICC tournament they can believe that it is possible and the 13-2 can and WILL turn around to look abit more respectable.

Alot of work needs to be done but youngsters MUST be persisted with not for 1 series or 2 but for a year or 2. All these teams that have moved ahead of Pakistan have done just that. We have a rubbish board and crap management but the talent is there and the players are there too.

 

[PakLFC]

Perhaps they should watch a motivational movie like some "Rocky" flick before playing India. Another thing they can do is watch a video of Pak win over India giving them the confidence to emulate that. Self belief is everything, it's all in the mind. What they need is an energy boost before the match starts. Motivational speeches don't really work in my opinion.

 

[Zak_Fan]

Just watch Wahab's spell to Watson. Still pumps me up.

 

[pillionrider]

[MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] has put it perfectly through all his posts here.

You look at Hasan Ali when he bowled for example. Whenever he bowled a good ball he would smile lightly, and on one occasion he nodded to Rohit in a friendly manner to throw the ball back at him when it had dropped near Rohit's feet.

Only Amir looked like he wanted to intimidate Rohit. Wahab also didn't look like he wanted to be the Indians' friend on the field (never mind that he became their best friend).

However, given Amir's history, and having watched his interviews with Indian television channels, I wouldn't be surprised if he goes the Akhtar way, should he be invited here for broadcast stints.

Of the whole lot, only Shoaib Malik never seems intimidated by the aura some Indian players carry around them. And that's why Mamoon's reading of the whole situation is perfect because, Shoaib through his wedding and otherwise has spent a lot of time in India, on Indian channels and with Indian cricketers most likely at parties etc (Sania is good friends with Yuvi). So you can see the familiarity he has, allowing him to be able to hold his own personality on the field.

 

[Bhaijaan]

What is it about Bharat’s intimidating grip over the Pakistan team in big matches.

This is supposed to be fun tournament for retired cricketers.

 

[Unbiased-Fan]

Few decades ago, Pakistan would beat India for fun, but now even winning single match against them is considered as an achievement

 

[shortbread]

Perhaps they should watch a motivational movie like some "Rocky" flick before playing India. Another thing they can do is watch a video of Pak win over India giving them the confidence to emulate that. Self belief is everything, it's all in the mind. What they need is an energy boost before the match starts. Motivational speeches don't really work in my opinion.

There's a massive gulf in the skill levels especially in the batting and fielding departments. Self belief alone cannot save a batting lineups inability to win matches. They can't rotate strike, cannot hit the bad balls, cannot take good catches, cannot dive etc.. etc.. Against the weaker sides we're competitive, but the good teams, different league altogether.

If it was a mentality thing when playing against India, why suffer a hammering against England in the series before the WC?!

If Miller hit that ball and a Pakistan fielder was underneath it, 0% chances of it being taken.... ZERO. Irrespective of the foot touching the rope.... they won't even attempt it. When was the last time one saw Chacha leap in the air to take a catch at slip. Watching the slow mo chachas reflexes are slower than the spectators in the background. They have their hands on their heads in disappointment and yet Chacha hasn't realised what's really happened!

Less said about the batting the better, it's like it's still stuck in the 90s. The atrocious running between wickets, stupid shot selection, inability to counter attack, lack of batting innovation.... it's like frozen in a betamax VHS era!

It's not belief...... the gulf between the top cricketing sides and Pakistan is massive. Like Bumble said, Pakistan have been left behind and belief alone won't fix that.

 

[Sir Alex]

Yep. It's clear that over the last 10 years, India has consolidated its superiority over Pakistan in all aspects of the game.

Pakistan had an edge I'm terms of bowling but they took that for granted thinking that an Akram of a Shoiab would magically appear every decade and walk into the national team from tape ball cricket. It used to happen in olden times when bowlers were a mystery, ball tampering was rampant and then there was this once in a lifetime talent like Akram. But now once video analysis and all became a big thing, every new bowler could be shredded into pieces and demystified. Also, fitness and nutrition levels picked up in India even at the lowest levels. And they.have upgraded the conveyor belt to modern standards unlike Pakistan who are still stuck in early 90s relying purely on raw talent and then random words like dil, jazba bla bla etc.

Another thing is that over the last 10 years bilateral between India and Pak has become nil. All match ups now happen in multi nation tournament where the stakes are high. While India have largely moved on the hyphenation with Pakistan, Pakistan still view. India as their nemesis. This puts extra pressure on the players as they think that no matter what they do, they'll be remembered for how they performed vs India. Naturally this leads to extra risky or extra risk averse cricket from Pakistan.

Meanwhile India don't care much about their match ups with Pakistan these days. Yes there is still some anticipation but it's nowhere near the level it used to be back in the 90s and 00s. Remember how a no ball from Bumrah cost them the CT 17? Well, Bumrah shrugged it off and so did the rest and he moved to bigger strengths without wasting time introspecting much.

Pakistan would do well to de hyphenate themselves from India. Instead, you have PCB administrators letting their motor mouths go yap yap whenever an India match come up. This has to stop. Understand that India now is a team far above than Pakistan, and hence it is wiser not to issue chest thumping challenges. Rather, work with.BCCI to have more matches happening- perhaps at neutral avenues so that Pakistani cricketers come out of their awe for Indian counterparts and also learn from them. Cricket can be used a diplomacy tool. Instead of insisting India to tour Pakistan , understand the ground reality and make baby steps. Make suitable concessions and don't behave like overgrown children by adopting My Way or the Highway attitude.

 

[Justcrazy]

India has used its finances very well at developing the lower levels. Lot of under 19 , under 16 , under 13 players playing 3 day cricket. This build the skill sets.

India playing so many Tests every year , where as Pakistan just playing 20 20.

The gulf is massive .