DUBAI: Monday might not have been a good day for Pakistan on the field — they dropped as many as seven catches in what was one of their forgettable outings in recent times and lost to New Zealand by 54 runs and crashed out of the T20 World Cup — back home there is still hope.
For a long time, Pakistan have produced some of the best cricketers across genders.
From the flamboyance of the likes of Imran Khan and Shoaib Akhtar to the elegance of the likes of Sana Mir and Bismah Maroof, even for fans outside of Pakistan, watching some of the greats of the game has given some pure joy. Behind many of these players, there are coaches who have stood behind them right from the go.
Sir Imran Rana of Daughter's Cricket Academy is one of them. His ward, number two-ranked T20I bowler, Sadia Iqbal has come a long way to make it to the international level. "I am from Faisalabad, Pakistan, and I run this academy as a social work of sorts—it's not a commercial one," Rana told this daily.
"I try to train kids from government schools who cannot afford expensive cricket training. Our system in Pakistan is not that supportive of players coming from low-income groups. So I decided to do it. I would have loved to play cricket professionally, but I couldn't do that and that is why I am trying to fulfill that dream through this academy. We have a boy's academy as well, but I put my efforts into working with girls. The academy's name is "Daughter's Academy" which tells you everything you need to know. By God's grace, I have a few players playing for the national side," he added.
In a society where women practicing any sport, let alone representing it at the national level, are looked down upon by many social entities, Rana opted to start the academy only for women so they could get all the necessary training possible early in the age.
"When I first went to see the Government School practice sessions, all the girls there were very young and I could see that the coach trying to teach them was not aware of most of the things a person in his role should know.
The players did not have kits also, so I felt I should do this for them. Then I started with a few players first. We did a few camps as well, and then many people joined us to continue it. We all start from somewhere and this was the thing for me. I started in 2008. It has been 16 years, and I still hear taunts from a lot of people about this, but I do not care about those naysayers," he added.
Iqbal, Waheeda, Umm-e-Hani, and Tasmia Rubab — cricketers from Daughters Academy who have made it to the international stage for Pakistan. Iqbal has gained a reputation to be one of the best bowlers in Pakistan and her numbers reflect the same. "Sadia Iqbal has been one of the best players in the world. I feel like she was introduced a little late in the system. If she would have introduced a little early she would have achieved even more. She was one of the most fit players in the region.
The moment she got the chance, she took that opportunity and became a star. She is one of the most hardworking players I have seen and she is very obedient. She bowls exceptionally well with the new ball. She has also added a few variations to her bowling," Rana proudly talks about his ward.
Given the current situation with the women's team, where they could not challenge the opposition in the ongoing T20 World Cup, Rana believes Pakistan should back their players, especially the bowlers. "We need to back our bowlers. Recently, in one of the matches when Fatima Sana copped a ball on her face, she stepped in and bowled four overs and went for many runs. you have to understand who was batting, Chloe Tryon was on the strike, she is one of the best hitters in the world.
She got a lot of criticism in our country. If she didn't know she was supposed to bowl, she still was brave enough to finish her overs," he said.
While Pakistan might have crashed out of the tournament, coaches like Rana are there to make sure the new generation is ready to fill the shoes when the time comes.