Countless sportsmen have been known to be religious. Many famous athletes take inspiration from their own belief in the divine to conjure athletic miracles. Any successful sportsperson would tell you that the foundation of all triumphs is belief - in one’s ability.
Similarly many world-beaters have been known to be superstitious. 14-time major winner Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest tennis players of all time, can’t concentrate on court unless his water bottles face a particular direction.
Even the WT20 champions West Indies, who rocked everyone with their ‘champions dance’ and exuberant celebrations, often mention God as their inspiration. Darren Sammy praised Jesus Christ during the after-match ceremony after winning the WT20. Even the ever controversial Chris Gayle talks about God frequently and even invoked a prayer for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who was undergoing heart surgery in London this week.
Inzamam leading prayers back when he was captain
Hence, belief in the divine in itself has never been a hurdle for sportspersons and in many cases has been a source of inspiration. It is when religion supersedes professionalism, or overtakes training in importance, that it can hinder performances in any field of life – including sports.
Recently appointed Chief Selector Inzamam-ul-Haq was seen giving tips to the players who are attending the training camp at Gaddafi Stadium this week, in the build-up to the national team’s tour of England. While many of them received batting input from the Pakistani great, another highlight of the training session was Inzamam-ul-Haq leading the prayers with the cricketers behind him, including the current ODI and T20 captains Azhar Ali and Sarfraz Ahmed.
Again, there shouldn’t be any issues with players performing religious rituals alongside their cricket training. Except that in this particular case, there is an unwanted baggage that Pakistan cricket has spent a lot of time trying to offload.
Inzi's latest foray into 'Islamising' the team may be far more dangerous
Inzi’s affiliation with the Tableeghi Jamaat, and its influence over the Pakistan cricket team, have been well documented. It was the Tableeghi Jamaat’s influence that cut short Saeed Anwar’s career and virtually dictated Pakistani cricket between the years 2003 and 2007 when Inzamam was the captain.
It was under Inzamam’s captaincy that Jamaat prayers became unofficially mandatory. Those not under Inzamam’s mini-caliphate’s influence were sidelined or had to be as indispensible - Shoaib Akhtar, Younis Khan and Abdul Razzaq struggled to find a regular slot in the squad. While Misbah-ul-Haq never quite availed the chances given to him during his early years, many believe is lack of overt religiosity also kept him away from the national team.
Inzamam leading prayer during the training session on Monday
But then again, one could argue that since Inzi was the captain he could influence the means to ensure team unity. Inzi chose overt religiosity, which often meant cutting training sessions short to accommodate prayers, dictating personal lifestyles of the players and creating Inzi’s persona as a caliph whose ‘orders’ can’t be refused. The team under Inzamam regressed in terms of fitness and fielding, at a time when both these facets were being worked on around the globe.
Its eventual ramifications notwithstanding, Inzi’s Islamisation during his captaincy can be overlooked as an individual leader’s failed attempt at unity and discipline (ironically), but his latest foray into the training camp and leading the team’s prayers can be a lot more dangerous.
The influence of Islamism over all aspects of the Pakistani society - at both the micro and macro levels - has meant that prayer leaders are often deemed synonymous with overall leadership. The job of the chief selector is to select the best possible squad for a series, not infiltrate their personal space by inserting his ideology.
The problem doesn’t lie with praying at all, of course. It’s the display of religiosity, which very few have been able to say no to. After all, even if Inzi wanted to lead prayers, it could’ve been done inside the mosque near Gaddafi Stadium or the dressing room.
Praying together, more than any manifestation of unity, is often an exhibition of a monolithic ideology that the entire squad has to conform to. And it wouldn’t be wrong to suggest that such conformity has mostly been harmful for Pakistan cricket.
Whether it’s Shoaib Malik apologising to ‘all Muslims around the world’ after losing the WT20 final against India in 2007, or Ahmed Shehzad harassing Tillakaratne Dilshan into (re)converting to Islam, organised religiosity has had a bad influence on many of our lot.
What differentiates the influence of the divine on most other teams and athletes, and the Pakistan cricket team, is the retention of the idea of personal belief in the former. Because a collective ideologically motivated squad takes on ‘the Other’ in the ‘battlefield’, while the one adhering to a personal belief, looks for inspiration from within to help the individual perform to the maximum.
Misbah-ul-Haq has spent around six years to create an ethos not defined by ideological adherence, or carrying religion on the sleeves, which has made the current Test team possibly the most disciplined Pakistani team in its history, and arguably the most successful as well. With Misbah probably calling it a day within the next year or so, Inzi’s ideological influence on Pakistan cricket would be dangerous, even more so as a selector than as captain.
