New Delhi: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan has some serious advice for his country’s cricketing team, which is set to take on India in the 2019 World Cup in Old Trafford, Manchester today.
In a five-part tweet thread, the PM and former cricketer, who led Pakistan to its solitary World Cup victory in 1992, has advised the team to “banish all fear…as the mind can only process one thought at a time.”
Hours before the two arch-rivals face-ff on the field in England, Khan has recommendations for captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and his team — Focus on mental strength, use specialist bowlers and batsmen against India, and don’t let the fact that “India may be the favourites” prevent you from “fight(ing) till the last ball”.
Khan says that “the power of the mind will decide the outcome of the match today,” and that over the years he has changed his opinion about what the winning combination should be.
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“When I started my cricketing career I assumed success was 70% talent & 30% mind,” Khan tweeted, explaining that “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%.”
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
The two teams last played each other in an ICC event in the Champions Trophy final in June 2017 — when Ahmed’s side humiliated India with a 180-run victory. However, with captain Virat Kohli’s second-ranked ICC ODI decisively stronger than Ahmed’s sixth-ranked team, critics have argued that the hype surrounding the match is more about politics than the actual play.
India has beaten Pakistan in all six World Cup encounters between the two teams, making today’s match the seventh between the long-standing opponents.
In order to give India a run for its money, Khan suggests that 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.”
With an eye towards the sky in anticipation of rain, Khan says that “Sarfaraz must win the toss & bat”, unless of course, “the pitch is damp”.
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“Finally, even though India may be the favourites, banish all fear of losing,” Khan concludes, telling the team to “Just give your best and fight till the last ball. Then accept whatever the result like true sportsmen.”
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
“The nation’s prayers are with all of you. Good Luck.”