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Journalism of Courage
After days of soul-searching, the Pakistan Cricket Board has come to the conclusion that lack of cohesion and spirit were responsible for its team8217;s defeat in the recent Test series against India.
PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said he understood the futility of crying over 8220;spilt milk8221; but it was vital nevertheless to look into the performance of the team in view of future tournaments, especially the 2007 World Cup.
8220;I don8217;t want to take names here. And I don8217;t want to cry over spilt milk. But we have to look towards the future, towards building a strong team for the 2007 World Cup,8221; he said at a seminar.
8220;But yes, when I met the players individually in Lahore and Karachi, I got the distinct impression that cohesion and spirit were missing in the team after the one-day series,8221; Shaharyar said.
The PCB chief, however, spoke in defence of captain Inzamam-ul Haq and coach Javed Miandad. 8220;Inzamam is the best man for captaincy at present. I think we fought brilliantly in the one-day series but for some reasons we fell away in the Test matches and it all went wrong in the final Test.
8220;In contrast, India was a more united and combined side. They are lucky to have a core of experienced and quality professionals in the team who perform consistently and guide the youngsters. So their victory was not a big surprise in a way,8221; he said.
But Shaharyar said the one big positive had been that 8220;we have decided that in future only that player who is willing to perform for the team and not himself8230;. Someone who puts his team before everything else, will be picked.8221;
