Was Aqib Javed Really Behind Pakistan’s Turning Fortunes?

Days after receiving unbridled accolades for playing his part in helping the Pakistan cricket team secure a stunning comeback win over England in the recently concluded Test series, Pakistan’s cricket fraternity has been thrown into a tailspin with reports suggesting that stories of Aqib Javed’s prowess were exaggerated with Aleem Dar the real hero. 

After a comprehensive humbling at the hands of the hosts in the first test at Multan, PCB decided on two monumental changes. Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah were “rested” for the remaining two Tests and Aqib Javed and Aleem Dar joined the selection committee and immediately relieved Shan Masood and Jason Gillespie from their roles. 

Then came the decision to reuse the surface of Multan which had wizened after the first Test to help the spinners. The next test came and Noman Ali and Sajid Khan went to town on English batters in a record-breaking fashion.

Aqib who had made countless arguments for this very strategy many times was hailed as Pakistan cricket’s saviour immediately, and he basked in it.

The newly crowned hero flew to Rawalpindi and turned the previously-dead pitch into a spinner’s haven and the story repeated itself with Noman and Sajid doing their thing once again. A role as Chairman Mohsin Naqvi’s right-hand man followed Aqib and he bid Lahore Qalandars adieu for his new post.

However, Cricinfo has sensationally revealed that the idea which seemingly turned Pakistan cricket around came from a man who played zero international games for the country. It has been revealed that Aleem Dar, the most decorated UMPIRE in cricketing history, gave the idea of re-using Multan surface to extract some turn.

“Dar was considered the original architect of the idea behind preparing a recycled surface for the second test in Multan which Pakistan went on to win while Aaqib became the public face of the overhaul,” writes Cricinfo.

This means that the accolades being afforded to Aqib actually belong to Aleem Dar and the future decisions of Pakistan cricket may not be in the hands of a savant but a man who got really really lucky. 

The truth, perhaps, lies somewhere in the middle and the series against Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa will serve as true barometers of Pakistan’s progress.