Pakistan at the 2024 World Cup: making sense of our early exit

 Pakistan is a cricket-loving country will be an understatement. It is difficult to explain our relationship with this game. Once a symbol of colonial legacy, this sport later became a means to attain parity against our colonial masters. Beating them at their own game remained a source of motivation for generations of cricketers. The moment finally came in 1992 when we won the World Cup and ironically that too after beating England. However, there is more to cricket in today's Pakistan.

Once this game was only limited to Lahore and Karachi but gradually it has become a sport of the common man. From the mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan to the seashores of Gwadar, this game has takers everywhere. Cricket is a sport that has gone beyond socio-economic bounds and has broken these barriers and nothing brings otherwise the bickering Pakistanis together like cricket does.

This game has given us so many heroes. All of them adored and followed. Cricket is a means of hope in our country and our players, time and again have given us ample reasons to cherish and support this team.  

Our cricket team is an abstract of the long complex research article that is Pakistan. What is wrong with our cricket is the same as what is wrong with our country. The early exit from the ongoing World Cup has grinded our gears and our team and its players are continuously being thrashed by fans and experts. The criticism is both constructive and agenda-driven but is only unidimensional.
Nobody is talking about the PCB and its follies.

Talking from the cricketing point of view, in both the matches that Pakistan lost, more than the opposition beating us, Pakistan lost those matches. The reasons are the usual and casual Pakistani recipe of defeats; dropping catches at crucial moments, irresponsible batting fielding, and tactical errors have cost us those games. But to make a better sense of our defeats, we have to bisect the buildup to this World Cup. The musical chair at PCB, where we saw at least 3 chairmen in the last year or so. A similar musical chair was initiated in the team. Unity and positivity which was the forte of this team once, was fast eroded by the vindictive and politically charged administration of the PCB. Then, the preparation, we prepared for this series in England, Ireland, and Pakistan in the early days of summer. The conditions were not a match to what we were to get in the US and the Caribbean thus failed to prepare us for the challenge in the US and the Caribbean. Keeping in mind, that international cricket is being hosted for the first time in that part of the world, Pakistan chose not to play any warm-up matches before the World Cup in fact they reached the US just a few days before the start of the World Cup. It would have been better had PCB arranged a series here in the USA and even squeezing a match or two with USA would have been beneficial. However, it is felt that cricket is not a part of PCB’s priorities. Then the entourage that has accompanied this team. I have no qualms about the coaching staff, over the years the coaching staff has swelled in international cricket but the rationale behind having two team managers needs to be explored.

The cricket culture in Pakistan needs a revamp. Our fitness standards have declined sharply. Post World Cup, no excuse or relaxation should be accorded to the players and only the fittest players should make it to the squad. Other than physical fitness there is a need to work on mental fitness. For this mental conditioning camps should be organized for the players. It has been observed that at the important and decisive junctures of the game, the players kind of get into a shell- a state of mental blockade. Pakistan needs to improve its domestic cricket. More facilities and more money should be channeled into Pakistan’s domestic cricket. There is a need to have more A-tours, and there is a need to build the bench strength. Also, the age cricket should not be just an occupational opportunity for the veteran cricketers. To churn out good cricketers, more precisely to graduate good cricketers we should invest in A-list, age, and domestic cricket. There is also a need to look at improving PSL. PSL is fast becoming home to redundant international talents. PCB should try to get the present lot of international players to play PSL, this would bring PSL if not at par at least near to what challenge international cricket offers.

The chasm between modern cricket and Pakistan cricket is widening. An impact of which will soon start to reflect on other formats as well. Pakistan has a lot of catching up to do. We should also be preparing for the next T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. Imad Wasim can be a good choice to lead us in that World Cup but it should be associated with his own fitness and commitment to Pakistan cricket.

Pakistan cricket fans should also not give themselves into agenda-driven criticism and should support their team because it is in times like the present one when you need the support of your fans the most but again this support should neither be blind nor taken for granted.

In our cricketing history, we have been through worse, this too shall pass.  

The Amar Singh Chamkila Review

 Amar Singh Chamkila is out and as expected it is winning accolades. When talents like Imtiaz, Diljit, Parineeti, and Rahman come together you expect fireworks. This movie is not just the work of Imtiaz-the director but Imtiaz-the artist and Imtiaz-the human. It is felt that Imtiaz has fallen in love with not only Chamkila but more than the slain singer he fell in love with his story. The film oscillates between Dhanni Ram and Chamkila. The vulnerabilities of Dhanni Ram made Chamkila and many of us who have gone through struggle especially class struggle can easily resonate with both Dhanni Ram and Chamkila. Imtiaz’s treatment of the movie is just beautiful. His use of the original clippings of both Chamkila and Amarjot only adds to the authenticity of the movie and then the picturization of Naram Kaalja tells you about the phenomena and rage that was Chamkila. Imtiaz has shown how much respect he has for Chamkila and for Amarjot. In the scene where Chamkila and Amarjot get intimate for the first time, any director of today would have slipped in a kiss but Imtiaz showed restraint and ended up creating a very beautiful series of visuals for the audience which do not demean the love Chamkila and Amarjot had for each other but also depicted the innocence of love very beautifully. Also, he did not compromise on casting. To me, the star of the movie is its casting. All actors from main leads to character actors, have been cast according to the demand of the character and not as per popular demand or what the market would have demanded. For this Imtiaz should be applauded. Any big actor would have easily worked with Imtiaz but he understood the importance of casting Diljit and his going ahead with this decision only helped the final product. Diljit was the right choice as he has proven it with his convincing portrayal of Amar Singh Chamkila and his musical and Punjabi background have only helped him in this regard but other than that it is interesting to note that he has already done a movie named “Jodi” that was loosely based on the lives of Chamkila and Amarjot. However, more than Diljit it is Parineeti’s Amarjot that wins you over. Nothing to take away from Diljit but Parineeti has worked very hard to live Amarjot. Diljit had no preconceived notion to beat but Parineeti had to outgrow or beat her Bollywood heroine tag which she has successfully done through this movie. Earlier, I had my reservations but as the movie progressed Parineeti won me over and by the time the movie ended, I had nothing but appreciation for her. Her mannerisms and expressions were spot on.

Rahman’s music is deeply ingrained in the plot. As the primary music material comes from Chamkila himself, Rahman’s compositions help take the movie forward and set the mood of the viewer. I have already talked about Naram Kaalja but Vida Karo too has its moments and leaves an impact on the listeners. The thing is Rahman understood his music’s role in the movie as it has been the case with other Imtiaz movies, in Amar Singh Chamkila too music tells the story, and Rahman’s music does it wonderfully.

The themes and sub-themes of this movie have touched upon our raw nerves and at times make you wonder and question our society's hypocrisy and its attempts to put cover on the inconvenient social truths. Also, this might be the reason why this movie has come out on Netflix as a cinematic release may have created an adverse reaction from certain quarters and lately the boycott trend has become a norm in India.

If you have reached this far, it means that you know I have liked the movie and at least one viewing is highly advisable but had this movie been in Punjabi, it would have looked more beautiful and closer to the subject source.