Pakistan has 30-40 fast bowlers like Akhtar waiting in the wings

The 18-year-old Gujaranwala lad, Imran Nazir, doesn’t say much but he is enjoying the new-found adulation. So what if rival bowlers have a few harsh words to say to him, he lets his bat talk. The confidence with which he has taken on fast bowlers at the top of Pakistan batting order only adds to the woes of an average Indian supporter, already despondent at the lack of teeth shown by their team.

Pakistan cricket has no system. It’s a smaller nation than India and the climate, conditions and food habits are similar to those in India. Pakistan is always embroiled in some controversy and some players are in direct conflict with the PCB. There, cricket may have suffered somewhat, but it has still done better than the administration-fearing Indians, who are so proud of their cricket system.

Tauqir Zia and Miandad hold the youngsters in high esteem and nobody is teaching these players how to conduct themselves on the field. They would rather give them a bat or a ball in their hands and ask them to carve out their own place in a man’s world. Why only Nazir and Fazil³? Twenty one-year-old Younis Khan slammed a Test century on debut while Lahore off-spinner Shoiab Malik, 18, is already putting pressure on idol Saqlain Mushtaq for a place in the team.

The Indians are still struggling to find two openers, mediumpacers, an all-rounder and a young wicketkeeper. Their off-spinner HarbhajanSingh, at 20, is guilty of not working hard enough. If Mohammed Azharuddin and Robin Singh are not being pushed for a place in the side, there is something wrong with the system. Besides, India cannot look beyond Javagal Srinath and Venkatesh Prasad.

When was the last time an Indian youngster came along and carried theteam on his shoulders³? Only Saurav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid did that someyears ago but since then, nobody else has even come close to matching them.

You see the Pakistanis enjoy themselves on the field and contrast them with the uptight Indian approach. India needs players like Manoj Prabhakar, who had the instincts of a street fighter, a man of ordinary talent but one who was always willing to strive that extra bit.

The Pakistanis have always learnt and played their cricket the hard way.There may have been through rough times but the team has always thrived on aggression. This streak of aggression is missing in the Indians, who, barring a few individual records here and there, haven’t done much to be really proud of.