Pak cricket needs players who serve nation like India: Roebuck

Sydney, Mar.13 (ANI): Describing 'turmoil' as the main feature of sport, particularly in cricket in Pakistan, noted cricket columnist Peter Roebuck has said Pakistan needs players who play for the country much like India.

"Pakistan desperately need to find a bunch of senior players prepared to serve and not seek. In that regard India have been more fortunate," Roebuck said in his column in The Sydney Morning Herald.

Commenting on the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) drastic decision of banning two of the senior players for an indefinite period and imposing hefty penalties on others, Roebuck said such unceremonious step would not resolve issues in Pakistan cricket, and there is a need to focus on the basics of the game, which has been continuously neglected by the country's cricket administration.

"It can take years to build a team and five minutes to demolish it.The basics were not given their due. Until that changes, until hard work and tough training and intelligence are restored throughout the system, Pakistan cannot hope to bounce back," he said.

Roebuck pointed out that sacking a few players and imposing fines would not resolve issues, but the root cause of the team's pathetic outing in Australia must be examined.

"Sacking a few players is not going to improve anything if their replacements come into the same lazy and self-centred culture. It is not enough to change the guard. The causes need to be examined, and that means going beyond petty personal disputes," Roebuck said.

"Pakistan cricket needs to find responsible players able to stick together and strong structures off the field. Otherwise it cannot hope to make a fist of it at Lord's, or anywhere else," he added. (ANI)