Bloggers here on Khelo Pakistan begin their writing with pre or post match reviews but I choose to start with fans.In the absence of a fan base, the beautiful game of cricket would go the way of Pakistani hockey. A sport where the size of press office often exceeds the crowds in the stadium. To understand the game in all its aspect, it is important to understand that how different people view this game differently

I identify two broad categories of fan. There are those who typically appreciate the long form of the game--- the five day, red cherries, all whites clothing ---- would applaud a good performance irrespective of the team and seem to have an artistic attachment to the game.

Then there is fanatic, for whom the event is a conflict between good and evil to be won at any cost. The fanatics look upon it as a game about heroes and villains, with the heroes turning up for their team. The One Day Internationals (ODIs) target the audience. In this form of the game, it is significant that teams dress in different,  more clannish forms of clothing.

To summarize this: Test match cricket targets the fans ODIs the fanatic.

What about t20? Twenty20 as a concept does a better job of targeting the fanatic. This is mostly because it does away with the ODI's middle overs (20-40), which to the fanatic a drag. The twenty20 format allows the fanatic to indulge in titter, and of course Twenty20 does not have the dead phase between overs 20 - 40. So it's a slicker proposition. The addition of cheerleaders completes the symbolism: defeat the enemy, grab the loot, and get the girl Bang!

Now how their attitudes are different:

 Gentleness of The Gentleman’s Game heading towards a downfall?

Cricket, the sport which was known to have been The Gentleman’s Game because of its nondiscriminatory nature, has evolved during the past few years and the spirit of the Game is slowly diminishing, mainly being replaced by the hunger for Money and Power. It is very unfortunate, that today, many players are ready to sell themselves for huge sums, but there comes a question in our minds, can pride really be sold merely for money? Is money enough reason for a player, who entered the world of Cricket with supposedly one motive, to serve his country and bring pride to it, put such a humiliating mark of shame on the name of his country? Apparently, yes. 

GAME ON

Take a look at the following scenario:

A humiliating tour of Australia followed by stepping down of the Chief selector; Indefinite Life-bans on several star players along with heavy fine on others; few key players out of the side due to injuries and a much speculated player power in the team. This was the time when Mohsin Hassan Khan took over the charge as a Chief Selector, with a tough task of choosing a team from a very limited pool of individuals.

Mohsin Khan selected the team for T20 World Championship in Carribean, Asia Cup and the England tour. Induction of new players to replace the old ones in order to rebuild a team was bound to take some time in order to make any impact. As the young unit was coming in terms with international level, another jolt of 'spot fixing' came out on the scene which resulted in the ban of 3 integral members of the squad to make it further worse for Mohsin khan. These were the initial 6 to 7 months of his tenure; the worst possible.

Today, almost a year later, there has been a complete turn around, a miraculous one. The Test side of Pakistan has never been this stable and consistent in all those past years. The One day squad has depth and the bench strength is heartening to see. To build and erect a shattered team on its feet in just about a year's time is a remarkable achievement. Let's take a closer look at Mohsin Khan's tenure as a coach.