Pakistan’s media manager spoke out about obsession with religion in the Pak team. Finally, someone had the guts to speak out about this. Even the late Woolmer had mentioned how he had difficulty at first with constant prayers by the team. But later he felt that it helped the team bond better. It could very well have been a case of the Woolmer compromising on a situation he felt he could never fundamentally change.With the overall rise of religious extremism in Pakistan, its influence in sports is very believable. But under Inzy, religious fervor has scaled needless heights. From Mr. Mir’s report it sounds like this stretched even beyond the blatant display on the field. If you think back to the hey days of Pak cricket when Pak won the World cup in 1992, it was dominated by the suave Imran Khan, the street fighter Javed Miandad and the more progressive minded folks like Aamir Sohail, Rameez Raja, Wasim Akram and others. Unfortunately, a decade and half later, Inzy who was a member of that team has clearly lead the team in different direction. It is time to make a fresh start with perhaps Younis Khan as the captain as suggested by Imran Khan. While Pakistan cricket tries to re-group after the World Cup debacle, Mr. Mir’s report is a perfect place to start.
Pakora Korner 