Though Shahid Afridi was subjected to widespread criticism and even ridicule over his recent ‘there is no talent in Pakistan’ comment, the former captain wasn’t actually off the mark. The all-rounder despite being street smart isn’t a very good communicator. What he probably meant was that Pakistan at the moment doesn’t have the sort of talent that the country’s cricket fans want to see on the cricket field. He was, perhaps, talking about the sort of talent that made the likes of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis great or almost put, at one point in time, the likes of Mohammad Amir on the path to similar greatness.

The problem with Afridi’s remarks wasn’t the fact that he raised a question mark over the myth that when it comes to talent Pakistan has always been a super-rich country. To me the problem is that like most other Pakistanis, Afridi was giving too much importance to that one aspect: talent. What he believes is that the reason why Pakistan are falling short at the international level is primarily a dearth of talented cricketers. Many of us are plagued by this widespread misconception. What we need to understand is that in today’s sports and that includes modern-day cricket, talent is merely one aspect needed by one to become a world-class competitor. Albert Einstein knew that decades ago when he said that genius is one percent talent and 99 percent hard work. The key word here is hard work. And in today’s world of international sport, hard work doesn’t mean a few hours of training and then back to normal life that is full of biryani, parathas, nihari and things like that.

The world of sport has changed since the balmy days of Hashim Khan, Hanif Mohammad right down to maybe Imran Khan and Javed Miandad. It’s all about science now. The fitter you are and the more you practice, chances are that you will be better than your opposition. Unlike sports like track and field in which Africans have the edge because of their genes, genetics and things like that count for little in sports like cricket.

The classic example of what hard work can do for you is Virat Kohli. When Kohli first came in the picture, he was a chubby kid from Delhi with loads of talent. In many ways, he wasn’t much different from similar kids who had earned national colours at about the same time on our side of the border. Boys like Umar Akmal and Ahmed Shehzad were accepted with open arms by the cricket world for the promise they once held. Today Kohli is at the top of his game, easily one of the best batsmen in the world. And where are Umar and Ahmed?

Why is Kohli a class apart? Somebody like Afridi might suggest that he is more talented. I don’t agree. Take a look at what Kohli did once he made it to the Indian team. Unlike Ahmed and Umar, who gleefully used their time off cricket to enjoy the night life of Lahore and elsewhere, Kohli transformed himself into a supremely fit athlete with the sort of work ethics that would make even the likes of Jahangir Khan proud.

Rain or shine, Kohli will be found either in the nets or at the gym. From traditional stuff to hi-tech fitness gadgets like high-altitude masks and TechnoShape, India’s Test captain has ignored nothing in his quest to become the fittest cricketer not just in India but in the world. All that hard work has resulted in a chiseled body, strong core and the sort of muscles that help him clear even the biggest grounds with ease. Kohli wasn’t always like this. Like other cricketers he tasted failure and but the difference is that he learned from it. Instead of living with failure, he gave himself a reality check and changed the way he lived and played his cricket. Kohli achieved jaw-dropping success at IPL this year. When asked about his secret, Kohli announced his mantra was simple ‘Eat, sleep, train, repeat’.

One big misfortune of Pakistan cricket is that when it comes to our young cricketers, there aren’t any similar stories. But fortunately we do have the senior duo of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. Their training methods might not be as modern as Kohli’s but Younis and Misbah work hard enough to make sure that they are fitter than cricketers 10 or even 15 years younger.

Neither of them was considered particularly talented when they were first noticed. Though Misbah made his Test debut way back in 2001, he only played five Tests in three years. His highest score was 28 in his debut innings in Auckland. Inzamam-ul-Haq, then the dominant middle-order batsman, wasn’t a big fan of Misbah which meant that he took over command of the national team Misbah didn’t get a single chance to play a Test for four years after playing his fifth in Karachi against Bangladesh in the summer of 2003. Like many other snubbed batsmen, Misbah could have lost hope and faded into international wilderness but that’s not the way he is built. Misbah continued to work hard, braving periods of depression and frustration and finally his never-say-die attitude was rewarded. Today the world acknowledges him as one of the finest batsmen of his generation and perhaps more importantly the most successful captain Pakistan have had since Imran Khan.

Misbah had talent, there is no doubt about that. If Inzamam, now Pakistan’s chief selector, was blind to it then it was his fault. But had Misbah just relied on it and put the blame solely on the captain or selectors for not picking him then it is highly unlikely that he would have played for Pakistan again let alone captain them. Misbah decided to look for faults within and worked hard enough to get what was rightfully his. He knew he was good enough to get a chance to play for Pakistan again but didn’t sit back and wait for them to present it to him on a platter. He fought for it and won.

Such are the ways of Pakistan and their cricket that there are no guarantees for a cricketer who is both talented and hard working. There are countless cases when more deserving players were overlooked to accommodate less deserving ones. But ask Misbah or Younis and they will tell you that hard work will certainly give one better odds.

Pakistan will have to instill a culture where work ethics and hard work are given more importance than anything else, even talent. That’s the only way that we can take our cricket to the next level.