UAE- Homeless Pakistan's incredible journey to the top
Date
8/24/2016 1:20:12 AM
dubai - Being Homeless has failed to deter Pakistan from reaching the pinnacles of Test cricket. The credit for Pakistan taking over as the number one Test nation must go to the country's most successful captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who took over the reins of the team at time when they had hit the nadir post the 2010 embarrassing spot-fixing saga. Pakistan have adopted the UAE as their home turf since countries refused to travel to Pakistan after the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore. Although the conditions in the UAE suit Pakistan, the team has never enjoyed 'home advantage'. Misbah and Pakistan team management's displeasure at the pitches given to them in the UAE is well known. During a private conversation, the Pakistan skipper had expressed that he got batting wicket when he had asked for turning tracks during Pakistan-New Zealand 2014 Test series, which was a 1-1 draw. Pakistan have posted Series victory against Australia, Sri Lanka and England in the UAE but that success was despite never getting their wish of rank turners fulfilled at their UAE 'home'. Misbah is of the view that when every country makes full use of home conditions, why is Pakistan denied that advantage? To make a fair contest between Test playing nations, the International Cricket Council (ICC) needs to draw guidelines for preparing pitches so that 'home advantage' doesn't become lopsided. Another disadvantage, for Pakistan, of not playing home matches in Lahore or Karachi is that they don't get enough fan support and on the other hand Pakistani fans are deprived of international cricket. As Misbah has rightly said not playing on home soil for so long is also emotionally draining for the Pakistani players. "Sometimes people think it's really easy for us to play in the UAE. They think the wickets suit us and we win there," he said. "But just living every day, away from your country, without your family and friends, is really difficult. It's mentally tough. "I can only see my mother once a year. I only see my sister once a year. Some of my friends, I could not see for three or four years because of these commitments. We are out of the country all the time." Despite all these difficulties, the man from Mianwali has created a cohesive unit to take Pakistan to the top of the ICC Test Rankings for the first time in their Test history. Next up for Pakistan is a 'home' series in the UAE against the struggling West Indies in October, followed by more difficult examinations of their credentials in New Zealand and Australia. Rank Team Points 1 Pakistan 111 2 India 110 3 Australia 108 4 England 108 5 New Zealand 99 6 Sri Lanka 95 7 South Africa 92 8 West Indies 67 9 Bangladesh 57 10 Zimbabwe 8
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