Javed Miandad rues the fact that Pakistan cannot produce players like Virat Kohli

Former Pakistani captain Javed Miandad recently looked very impressed with the way the Indian captain Virat Kohli is performing at the moment. At the very same time, he lamented over the fact that the Pakistan team is not capable of producing players of the calibre of Virat Kohli. Reflecting back at the recently concluded ICC U19 World Cup, Miandad pointed out the differences between the colts of India and Pakistan.

India U19 had crushed Pakistan U19 in the semi-finals of the tournament by 203 runs. Citing the way the Pakistani players gave up, Javed Miandad noted that the gap between the two sides was very much evident. Furthermore, he hailed Virat as the best player in the modern day cricket. He noted that it is the approach of the Indian captain that sets him apart from the rest.

“Winning and losing is part of the game but when I watched the semi-final I could see the gap between the two teams in terms of game sense, professionalism and system,” quoted Javed Miandad.

“One main reason for that is Virat Kohli. He is without doubt the best today. He has the technique and temperament and approach to get runs anywhere. We are not producing players of his calibre for a number of reasons,” Miandad added further.

PCB fail to understand the importance of U19 cricket

Interestingly, even Virat Kohli was a product of the U19 World Cup. He had led the Indian team a title win in the 2008 edition of the tournament. Javed Miandad rued the fact that the PCB and the administrators fail to comprehend the importance of the domestic cricket and the U19 cricket. He also noted that the Champions Trophy win was a good example of what the raw talent can fetch.

“They don’t seem to understand the importance of U-19 cricket or domestic cricket. Their main focus is the PSL. But even for the PSL to become better and greater, we need to first salvage our cricket system. We won the Champions Trophy out of nowhere. It was a great performance and it injected life into cricket in Pakistan. But we manage to do this only because of our raw talent,” mentioned the former captain.

Players not improving

Adding a little more on the same note, the former cricketer rued over the fact that the present cricketers are not keen on working on their individual skills. They are content with what they have. On the contrary, players like Virat Kohli are keen on improving their game with every passing season.

“Just imagine if that talent is groomed through a proper selection system and in a strong cricket system what we can achieve. To make matters worse present cricketers, I don’t think are spending enough time individually on sharpening their skills. Fitness is very important but so is working on one’s skill level. Kohli has improved over the years and one can see he works hard individually on his game,” Javed Miandad conceded.

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