We need to work on our mentality and not crumble under pressure, claims Wasim Khan
PCB’s Managing Director Wasim Khan has stated that the country is proud of its players and the rich history that it has, which is why it needs to work with professionals to prepare players mentally for the highest levels. He further discussed the progress their women’s cricket team has made of late.
Pakistan’s cricket team of late has come under quite some flak from various sectors for underperforming on the big stage. Time and again they have shown glimpses of the vast promise they hold, only to ultimately let the fans down. Be it never winning a World Cup game against their archrivals or their dismal performance in the recently-concluded mega event, it is time they fulfilled their potential.
On their day, the team showed what it can achieve by beating ultimate champions England in the group stages. However, both its successes and failures came in streaks, highlighted by the fact that they won their last four matches yet failed to qualify for the knockout round, earning the tag of ‘mercurial'. However, Pakistan Cricket Board’s MD Wasim Khan believes they need to seriously work on the issue to keep it from repeating itself.
“We need to work on the mental strength of our players right from the age-group cricket. It is not good that the people affiliate terms like ‘mercurial’ with our side and say that we crumble under pressure,” Dawn.com quoted Khan as saying, reported Hindustan Times.
“We are a proud cricket nation and need to get rid of that tag. We need to use a sports psychologist, something which is being done by all the top sportsmen and sportswomen around the world,” he added.
Meanwhile, the governing body has been taking big strides to enhance the outlook towards the female cricket team.
“The way the women cricket had been neglected in the country is a reflection on how women are treated in society. We have done things differently now. Earlier, ours was the only women’s team that did not travel business class when travelling for more than five hours. They do so now and we have also increased their daily allowances and match fee to bring it to the level of the men’s side,” revealed Wasim Khan.
The team has never gone past the first round in World T20s or even reached the top four ina 50 over World Cup but they will be hoping that changes soon now that they are being provided with the right infrastructure.
“The women playing domestic cricket will now earn 10,000 Pakistani rupees per match. What we have is fighting spirit and resilience. A lot of these women have to go through a lot to be where they are right now,” Khan concluded.
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