Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan took to Twitter on Sunday to advice the Pakistani cricket team on how to play the much-anticipated game against arch-rivals India at the World Cup in England in the match to be held today.
In a series of tweets just hours before the start of the match, Khan, who led Pakistan to World Cup victory in 1992, said that today’s match will be more about the mind than talent.
“When I started my cricketing career I assumed success was 70% talent & 30% mind. By the time I finished playing cricket I felt it was 50-50 ratio. But now I tend to agree with my friend Gavaskar it’s 60% mental strength & 40 % talent. Today role of mind will be more than 60%,” he wrote in the first tweet, in which he also referred to Indian batting legend Sunil Gavaskar.
Khan, who is hailed as one of the greatest cricketers of all time, put his faith in Pakistani skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, who he described as a “bold captain”.
“Today, given the intensity of the match, both teams will come under great mental pressure and the power of the mind will decide the outcome of the match today. In Sarfaraz we are fortunate to have a bold captain & today he will have to be at his daring best,” Khan tweeted.
He then gave three tips to the Pakistani cricket team skipper Sarfaraz, while underlining that fear of losing leads to a negative strategy leading to crucial mistakes.
“All fears of losing should be banished from the mind as the mind can only process one thought at a time. Fear of losing leads to a negative & defensive strategy & crucially mistakes by opponents are not pounced upon,” Khan wrote.
Khan advised Sarfaraz to go in with specialist batsmen and bowlers who can handle pressure. He said that Sarfaraz must bat first if the pitch is damp. His biggest advice to the Pakistani team was to “banish all fear of losing”.
“So here are my suggestions for Sarfaraz & Pakistan team: 1. In order ro have a winning offensive strategy Sarfaraz must go in with specialist batsmen and bowlers because “Raillu Kattas” rarely perform under pressure – especially the intense kind that will be generated today. 2. Unless pitch is damp, Sarfaraz must win the toss & bat 3. Finally, even though India may be the favourites, banish all fear of losing. Just give your best and fight till the last ball. Then accept whatever the result like true sportsmen. The nation’s prayers are with all of you. Good Luck,” he wrote.
When I started my cricketing career I assumed success was 70% talent & 30% mind. By the time I finished playing cricket I felt it was 50-50 ratio. But now I tend to agree with my friend Gavaskar it’s 60% mental strength & 40 % talent. Today role of mind will be more than 60% 1/5
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) June 16, 2019
2/5 Today, given the intensity of the match, both teams will come under great mental pressure and the power of the mind will decide the outcome of the match today. In Sarfaraz we are fortunate to have a bold captain & today he will have to be at his daring best.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) June 16, 2019
3/5 All fears of losing should be banished from the mind as the mind can only process one thought at a time. Fear of losing leads to a negative & defensive strategy & crucially mistakes by opponents are not pounced upon. So here are my suggestions for Sarfaraz & Pakistan team:
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) June 16, 2019
4/5 1. In order ro have a winning offensive strategy Sarfaraz must go in with specialist batsmen and bowlers because “Raillu Kattas” rarely perform under pressure – especially the intense kind that will be generated today. 2. Unless pitch is damp, Sarfaraz must win the toss & bat
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) June 16, 2019
5/5 3. Finally, even though India may be the favourites, banish all fear of losing. Just give your best and fight till the last ball. Then accept whatever the result like true sportsmen. The nation’s prayers are with all of you. Good Luck.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) June 16, 2019
Pakistan has faced India six times in World Cup tournaments, losing all.
The match is scheduled to begin from 3pm (IST) onwards.
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester
Squads
India: Virat Kohli (c), Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Vijay Shankar, Rohit Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c/wk), Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Babar Azam, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Imam-ul-Haq, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, Haris Sohail, Imad Wasim, Fakhar Zaman