For the players, to carry disappointment after such an emotionally charged event is understandable, but it is important that they process these emotions in a healthy manner. Instead, it seems the negative feelings manifested themselves in other ways.

In a press conference, the valiant Misbah-ul-Haq tried to convince us that rumours of discord in the Pakistani dressing room had been false. But the reports were difficult to ignore.

First came the worrying report that Pakistan’s fielding coach, Grant Luden, had filed his resignation after being abused by senior players such as Shahid Afridi, Umer Akmal, and Ahmed Shehzad, due to his demanding practice sessions.

Read on: Separately-held training sessions — not signs of rift enough?

What followed was a more worrying account of Ahmed Shehzad, who has a history of indiscipline, getting involved in an altercation with head coach Waqar Younis, after being reprimanded for playing the same flawed shots in practice sessions as he had against India.

Such haughty attitudes seemed especially distasteful on the back of poor performances.

 

As I watched today’s match against the West Indies, I could imagine Grant Luden laughing and then crying, only to laugh and then cry again like some schizophrenic super-villain from Batman’s Gotham City, as he watched Shahid Afridi and Umer Akmal drop multiple catches.

I expected similarly sorrowful reactions from Waqar Younis when Ahmed Shehzad picked the wrong delivery to drive straight to gully, out again in a similar style as before.

These were the very faults the coaches had been abused for trying to correct. If anything, the cricketers in question owe the management a heartfelt apology.

That being said, such complaints are not new. Mohammad Hafeez, who was sent back due to his injury, criticised the extreme training regimes his teammates had been facing Down Under.

While the players certainly need to work on their fielding, it is important that the coaching staff finds the right balance.