KARACHI: Pakistan’s campaign in the on-going 2011 Cricket World Cup is most likely to end at the quarter-final stage or even before that according to a majority of the fans interviewed recently during a survey conducted by Dawn.
Nearly one thousand cricket fans from all walks of life were asked to give their respective opinions on ‘where will Pakistan finish in the 2011 World Cup’ and to the dismay of the national team, as many as 52 per cent of them said the chances of survival for Shahid Afridi’s men beyond the quarter-final stage appeared quite grim due to lack of depth in the team’s bowling and fielding resources.
“Our batting has begun to click now but our bowling – after the sad ouster of Aamir and Asif in the fixing scam – lack penetration,” said Nadeem Butt who is employed with a foreign bank in Karachi. “Our fielding like always is less than satisfactory which could affect Pakistan’s chances and they may crash out at the quarters.”
Sara Naseem, studying International Relations at the Punjab University, said she did not see the Pakistan team going beyond quarter-finals since some of the other competing teams like England, India and Australia were much stronger in comparison. “We are still not playing as a unit and our bowling is also weak which may hamper our chances later on,” said Sara.
But it is not as if the team had no supporters at all. About 27 per cent of the fans were willing to keep faith with their team and were of the opinion that Pakistan can reach the semi-finals if they avoid unnecessary controversies.
Mohammad Mokarim, a young Pakistani advocate practising law in Denmark reckoned that Pakistan’s prospects in the World Cup could largely depended on a controversy-free campaign by Afridi’s men. “If we manage to avoid the nasty controversies, I think we can go upto the semis. But, of late, we have been so much bogged down by the unwanted rows that I doubt if we could carry on without indulging in anything damaging, both on and off the field,” he said candidly.
His views were endorsed by Abdur Rauf, a college teacher from Quetta, who said Pakistan could easily qualify for the quarter-finals as the Group ‘A’ was much easier compared to ‘ Group B’ which comprised strong teams such as like England, South Africa and India. “Once we qualify for the quarters, I am sure we can advance to the semis since Pakistan plays the crunch games quite well. But we need to be on guard in the first round games where we normally falter.”
He added that if mighty hitter Abdul Razzaq is utilised properly, Pakistan will be in a better position to produce positive results in the World Cup.
Pakistan were rated as one of the favourites to lift the Cup by only 9 percent of the fans that included Asif Ghouse, a businessman from Islamabad who said the team could reach the final now since the culprits of the infamous spot-fixing scandal in England were out of picture. “The current team members will give their 100 per cent to clinch the most prestigious title in world cricket, I am sure of that,” said Asif. “With Salman (Butt), (Shoaib) Malik and others sidelined, I think we can fire on all cylinders to lift the title.”
Karachi University’s BA Honours student Najm Faraz said Pakistan could lift the title since the biggest force in cricket, the Aussies, were now slipping up and were nowhere near their best. “When we are on song no team, except the Australians, could stop us but Ponting’s men are now clearly struggling and that gives us a good chance to win lift the World Cup once again after the Imran Khan days,” a charged-up Najm said.
The other 11 per cent comprised fans who either refrained from predicting Pakistan’s fate in the extravaganza or refused to show any interest whatsoever in the country’s campaign at the World Cup.
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