Ground Reality
Securing
Pakistan's
sports future

  By Bilal Hussain

In the 60 years of our existence, we, the Pakistanis, have excelled in various fields but it's the field of sports in which we have really stood out during the best part of the post-independence period.

Top class sportsmen like Hashim Khan, Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan (squash), Samiullah, Hassan Sardar, Kaleemullah, Shahbaz Ahmed (hockey), Hanif Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad (cricket), Mohammad Yousuf (snooker) and Aisamul-Haq-Qureshi (tennis) have made all Pakistanis proud by excelling in the sporting arena.

But in the past few years, the graph of our performance at the international level has dipped. It is disappointing to see that in recent times our international ranking and reputation has slipped as a result of our performances in the international arena.

It is unfortunate to see the current state of affairs where our teams have fallen into disarray, under perform and suffer from a lack of new blood within their ranks. But how can one blame the players when there is no investment or efforts being exerted to groom the players or uncovering new talent?

Let us take the example of cricket; the lack of patronage from the government, sporting federations and corporate quarters has manifested itself in the lackluster performance that is now seen on the playing fields. It is obvious to all that due to the lack of consistency or introduction of modern techniques, Pakistan is struggling to qualify for tournaments, though there was a time when we ruled these sports. A case in point is the 2007 Cricket World cup where our team lost to Ireland, a new comer to the game itself!

Juxtaposed with the difficult time that our nation is facing, the sporting arena has often provided a much needed outlet. Cricket is not just the country's favourite sport it is a national passion. The love of the people for cricket can be seen from the deserted streets whenever Pakistan plays in a major tournament's final. In recent times, however, there is a glimmer of hope with organisations from the corporate sector now realising the importance of including sports into their corporate social responsibility mandates and incorporating the revival of sports into their agendas.

The recently concluded "Mobilink - Hunt for Heroes" initiative is a formidable example of the shifting of responsibility and level of involvement. The forum provided an open and transparent platform for youth to exhibit their talent and skill, and was the culmination of months of strategizing by the company on how best to contribute towards building a solid base for the revival of cricket in Pakistan.

Reports indicate that it has been the largest 'hunt' for cricketing talent nationwide as more than 12,000 talented boys, under the age of 16 participated. It yielded to the forefront some superbly talented cricketers who will now be trained, groomed and given opportunities to play cricket at the highest level in the country.

Securing a place for cricket in the hearts of our people is not a challenge, it is to secure a future for cricket within our country, which is the real challenge. It goes without saying that we as a nation do not lack talent, but we as a nation do lack the formalized structure and streamlined processes to preserve our favourite sport. Although the campaign has provided the nation with a ray of hope, it is now up to the concerned governing bodies to ensure that there is a future for these young hopefuls. It can only be hoped that the talent uncovered through this "hunt" will help provide the much needed boost to bring our team back into form, and once again take the nation to international fame and glory.