Karachi: Former Pakistani legendary cricketer Javed Miandad, who has always been vocal about his opinions said that the semi-final clash between India and Pakistan in the recently concluded U-19 World Cup brought to light the difference between the cricketers of both the nations.
Labelling Indian captain Virat Kohli as the best in the world, Miandad pointed out that Pakistan doesn’t have cricketers with the calibre as that of the 29-year-old.
“Winning and losing is part of the game but when I watched the semi-final I could see the gap between the two teams in terms of game sense, professionalism and system.
“One main reason for that is Virat Kohli. He is without a doubt the best today. He has the technique and temperament and approach to get runs anywhere. We are not producing players of his calibre for a number of reasons,” said Miandad.
A veteran of 124 Tests, the former right-handed batsman also rued the fact that Pakistan in the past had produced quality cricketers more than all the other cricket-playing nations and threw light on the fact that the non-professional attitude of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was holding back cricket in the country.
“They don’t seem to understand the importance of U-19 cricket or domestic cricket. Their main focus is the PSL. But even for the PSL to become better and greater, we need to first salvage our cricket system,” added Miandad.
He also said that Pakistan cricket has been hampered by the use of substandard pitches, lack of long-term planning and the inability to produce quality batsmen.
“We won the Champions Trophy out of nowhere. It was a great performance and it injected life into cricket in Pakistan. But we manage to do this only because of our raw talent.
“Just imagine if that talent is groomed through a proper selection system and in a strong cricket system what we can achieve,” he said.
Miandad, who has earlier been the coach of the Pakistan national team added that the PCB isn’t judicious in spending their money and also that many of its employees were getting paid heavily, without doing any substantial work.
He said, “To make matters worse present cricketers, I don’t think are spending enough time individually on sharpening their skills. Fitness is very important but so is working on one’s skill level.”
Miandad once again cited Kohli’s example, emphasising on the hard work done by the Indian.
“Kohli has improved over the years and one can see he works hard individually on his game,” he opined.