The Cricket World Cup is going on on expected lines. Teams like New Zealand and India are almost there in the semi-finals. The other two spots are up for grabs – we expect any team from Australia, England, South Africa, Pakistan, and Afghanistan to be there. Having said that, there have been a few upsets straight away – Netherlands defeating the in-form South Africa, Afghanistan defeating England first, and then registering a comprehensive eight-wicket victory against Pakistan. While the Netherlands’ victory over South Africa can be said to be an outright upset victory. However, Afghanistan defeating England on a spinning track was a pure test of batting and bowling skills in which Afghanistan prevailed completely. Talking of the much popular and publicized defeat of Pakistan it was the case of a stronger team emerging victorious. Afghanistan outplayed Pakistan in every department, be it batting, bowling, or fielding. Pakistan team looked completed out of sorts right from the time they went into bat, presupposing that it was the same track wherein Australian batting had collapsed against Indian spinners. That assumption led to a slow batting, slower run rate, and 90s-style batting. even though in slog overs Pakistani batsmen took charge and put on a respectable score on board but the same was chased by Afghanistan batters with ease. The winning shot led former Pakistani cricketers in the commentary box to be in tears. This match was emblematic of the rock bottom that Pakistani Cricket has hit. Only a series of overhaul changes would ensure that they can have a team which can qualify for the next World Cup in 2027. The current team looks in pathetic shape and utterly hopeless. We should keep in mind that West Indies was outplayed by both Netherlands and Afghanistan and hence could not qualify for the World Cup. If things do not improve quickly in Pakistan cricket and wholesale changes are not brought in they may be headed that way too. Cricket is expanding at a fast pace. We now have established cricket leagues in Canada, the United States, and almost every first-world country in the world. There are talented players emerging from countries we would earlier reject as minnows. Coming to Kashmir we were expecting a Cricket match either in Jammu or Srinagar. Tough luck this time. We must try hard to get an international match happening in either Kashmir or Jammu. We are hopeful that under the august leadership of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha we could see this happen sooner.
