Some Thoughts on Pakistan's 30...

Captaincy Debate

Shoaib Malik and Misbah-ul-Haq were retained as captain and vice-captain respectively.

For me, this was the key take away from Pakistan's 30 probables that were finally announced yesterday after much delay.

After lengthy discussions, it was the Chairman and his leash that proved to be as tight as ever before.

Despite numerous arguements from senior PCB officials, as well as, some senior players, DNA had none of it and maintained his stance of Malik completing his 2-year term as captain.

Ins and Outs & Inefficiencies

Shoaib Akhtar's in, Mohammad Asif's out, Mohammad Yousuf's out.

Different reasons and circumstances for these 3 who were all expected to be a part of the squad.

What bothers me is that regarding Shoaib and Yousuf - when the PCB knew the deadline was 11h July, why were'nt all these issues sorted out in time.

Why did DNA, the selectors, and all the others involved wake up at the last minute?

The Asif issue was beyond their control. That's understandable but on the 11th of July when the probables should have been announced, there was no news of an IPL drug scandal.

Just goes to show how inefficient an organization the PCB is.

They have been criticized way too much now. Why don't they all just resign?

Inconsistency

Not only inefficient, but the PCB is also an inconsistent lot.

Looking at the 30 probables you would notice that there is no Naumanullah there.

One wonders then that how could a batsman who a month ago was good enough to be in a squad of 16 for the Kitply Cup, is no longer good enough to be in the top 30 ODI players in the country.

And that too without playing a game in between.

Remember when I said this about him.

Considering that there is no Yousuf, this might have been an ideal opportunity to give Nauman some games.

They defy logic, the PCB do.

Some Positives

The selectors included 5 uncapped players who were among the top performers this domestic season, which shows that the selectors aren't completely asleep.

Anwar Ali, who has been on the fringes for some time now, along with Ahmed Shehzad, the leading U19 batsman, Mohammad Aamer, the left arm pacer who impressed Wasim Akram, Azhar Ali, this season's leading domestic List A run scorer, and Mohammad Ali, the young pacer from Shoaib Malik's home town have all been included in Pakistan's 30.

More on them later.

Asia Cup 2008: Misbah behind Saeed Ajmal

I just wrote about how Misbah looked like the man who could take Pakistan cricket forward.

But then I thought about the dreaded leash that takes away all power and control from the Pakistan captain.

Around Misbah's neck though, it seems to be a bit more loose than it is around Shoaib Malik's or others.

I've heard that it was Misbah who pushed for the selection of Saeed Ajmal in the squad for the Asia Cup.

A number of people, including me, questioned Ajmal's inclusion at the time.

Misbah, however knew what he was doing.

Throughout the Asia Cup Misbah kept pushing for Ajmal's inclusion in the XI but the request kept falling on deaf ears.

Finally the selectors gave in when they sat down to select the XI for the match against India, and aptly so for a match in which Misbah was to captain.

Ajmal repaid the faith placed in him with handy figures of 1-47, the best among Pakistan's bowlers against India last night.

He kept the batsmen tied down, bowled the doosras with aplomb, and didn't allow Dhoni nor the Pathan brothers to take-off during the last 10 overs.

He did a job that Saqlain Mushtaq used to once do for Pakistan - bowl at the death, pick up wickets, and restrict runs.

Saeed Ajmal has been around the Pakistan domestic scene for 11 years having played 72 First Class and 92 List A matches for Faisalabad, where he is originally from.

Many of those matches have been played under Misbah, who has captained Faisalabad for 5 years now.

So Misbah definitely knew what he was doing calling for Ajmal's inclusion in the 15 and then the XI.

What matters here is that the selectors, or moreso the Chairman, listened to Misbah. Something they haven't done with Malik or Lawson.

Does Misbah then command a certain amount of respect and credibility that Malik doesn't?

Surely.

What also matters here is that Misbah knows who can get the job done and under what circumstances.

Does this then make Misbah the ideal man to lead Pakistan going forward?

Definitely.

Asia Cup 2008: Misbah the Captain!

Pakistan had lost badly to India and Sri Lanka. They had failed to defend 300 as well as chase it.

They were going into a game that they could not afford to lose to keep their hopes of an Asia Cup final alive. They were up against an opponent who had had the better of them in the recent past.

Their batsmen were not firing whereas India's, Sri Lanka's, and even Bangladesh's were knocking 100s left, right, and centre.

Their bowlers had looked listless against the Gambhirs, Sehwags, Sangakkaras, Jayasuriyas, Rainas, Dhonis et all.

Given all this leading up to a crunch game against India with the captain's availability in doubt, what does one do?

One can do a lot to lift a team, but what Misbah, the stand-in captain, did was something that seemed a bit over confident and out of character for a Pakistan captain.

During the press conference on the eve of the match, to a question on whether he was ready for the captaincy or not, Misbah responded with:

"I am ready for the captaincy. When you are vice-captain you always are ready for nearly everything, so I am ready for it. I will take along the team with me and win the match."

Misbah had also talked about how it would be India who would be under more pressure than Pakistan, something that Osman Samiuddin had termed "Cute Kidology".

It definitely was that given the recent perfrmances of both the teams.

Then came the morning of the match.

Pakistan lost Shoaib Malik and Misbah was told to walk out for the toss. Now it was in Misbah's hands to make sure he and the team lived up to what he had talked about the night before.

Misbah lost the toss. India went into bat and posted 308.

Pakistan were chasing a total of over 300, something they had failed to do earlier in the tournament, and something they had successfully done only 4 times before this match.

But MISBAH DELIVERED!

And boy, did he deliver!

Not only did Pakistan chase that total down, they did so comfortably, and Misbah was right there in the middle when it happened hitting the winning runs.

Misbah took the team along with him as he had mentioned and won the match.

Misbah, who in the past had been criticized for not finishing matches, did just that last night - he finished it and remained unbeaten on 70 in an unbroken partnership of 144 with Younis Khan.

Misbah made India look like the team that was under more pressure. Again something he had talked about earlier.

In the post match conference he talked about being positive - about how he had told his bowlers to remain positive despite going for 8-9 runs an over and about how he had told his openers to go out and be positive rather than preserve wickets.

The result of that was India, who were 88 for no loss after 10 overs, slipped to 91-3 at the end of 12. And the result of that was an opening partnership of 65 in 8 overs, which could have been more had it not been for the misunderstanding between Salman and Nasir.

What Misbah said could have backfired, but last night, Misbah looked like the hero.

He looked like the man in charge who was living up to what he had talked about and he looked like the man who could lead Pakistan cricket going forward.

Asia Cup 2008: Misbah, Skipper..

From Cricinfo Ball by Ball:

Third powerplay on. Two fielders out of the inner circle. Misbah had opted for three men out in the last powerplay.

I don't know if captains have done this in the past, but this is the 1st time I've seen or read about it.

What more, the move resulted in 3 wickets for Pakistan in the first 2 overs of that 2nd powerplay.

Pakistan has a new captain, but is he here to stay?

Asai Cup 2008: Boy!

From Cricinfo ball-by-ball:

11.5 Abdur Rauf to Raina, no run, short of length, on the middle and leg, turned to the on side. "That's the better line boy," says Sarfraz.

Thats the first time I've heard a 21 year old refer to a 29 year old as "boy" !

And the boy has taken 2 wickets in 1 over and brought Pakistan right back into it.

On a separate note, this is Misbah's first match as captain.

Shoaib Malik collapsed during a fitness test earlier today, which led to Misbah donning the captain's cap and Nasir Jamshed getting a game at the top of the order.

As widely specualted, Saeed Ajmal is making his debut, chosen ahead of leggie Mansoor Ahmjad, while Wahab Riaz was replaced by the Boy!

Its a must win game for Pakistan and their new captain has vowed to win this one.

Asia Cup 2008: Pakistan's Tormentor - Nadeem Ahmed

Pakistan scored 288-9 in their 50 overs but only thanks to a face-saving 100 run partnership for the 8th wicket between Fawad Alam and Sohail Tanvir.

Hong Kong had Pakistan reeling at 161-7 with more than 20 overs to go and if it wasn't for some responsible batting from Alam and Tanvir, Pakistan could have folded for less than 200.

Actually had Pakistan's chief tormentor, Nadeem Ahmed, continued his spell after picking up 4 wickets from 7 overs, Pakistan would have definitely folded for less than 200.

Why Tabarak Dar, the HK captain took Nadeem off is anybody's guess. But he truly was on top of Pakistan.

Playing only his 2nd ODI, the 20 year old left arm spinner, destroyed Pakistan's middle order.

He picked up the wickets of Younis, Yousuf, Misbah, and Afridi in 4 consecutive overs as Pakistan fell from a well placed 120-2 in 19 overs to 150-6 in 26.

Some people may say that Pakistan batted poorly, but what happened last night shouldn't have suprised or shocked anyone as Pakistan's fragility against left arms spinners is well known around the world.

Paul Harris, Monty Panesar, Ashley Giles, and Mohammad Rafique have all in recent times shown that Pakistani batsmen are suspect against left arm spin.

Why that is, I am not sure but here is a brilliant piece by Osman Samiuddin on Pakistan's track record against left arm spinners.

Coming back to Pakistan's Tormenter-in-Chief, Nadeem Ahmed. He finished with figures of 4-51 from 9 overs, which would definitely had been better had Dar kept him on after his 7th over.

Nadeem Ahmed played his 1st ODI 4 years ago when he was only 16, also against Pakistan in the previous Asia Cup. Then he had figures of 0-63 in 10 overs as Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik had piled on the runs.

Last night though, Nadeem Ahmed had different ideas.

He managed to induce a top edge from a sweeping Mohammad Yousuf.

He managed to entice Younis Khan down the track and have him stumped after he had been hit for a 6 and 4 in the same over.

He managed to fox Misbah and trap him plumb in front with a straighter one.

And he managed to catch Afridi's checked stroke near his feet off his own bowling.

With figures of 4-33 in 7 overs, Nadeem should have definitely continued bowling.

Inzamam Ul Haq, whose career ended with an ugly swipe against a left arm spinner, would be proud to see a Multan boy do well in world cricket.

George Binoy had warned Pakistan about Nadeem Ahmed a day before the match, but we all know about Pakistan and their preparations for matches, don't we?

Asia Cup 2008: Day 1 - Half the Side Gone

Pakistan 140-5 against Hong Kong.

The top 5 back in the pavilion.

HK's left arm spinner has picked up 3 wickets - Younis, Yousuf, and Misbah!

Nuff said.

Pakistanis doing well in the IPL?

Geoff Lawson today dismissed the rumours of a rift with the PCB selectors and said that he would be back in Pakistan soon.

All well and good that is but what was he thinking when he said this:

“Our players are doing well in IPL matches and I have been monitoring their form.”

Was he talking about the Australians? Because the Pakistanis bar Sohail Tanvir and Umar Gul haven't done well at all.

I wonder which IPL Lawson has been watching.

So Dear Mr. Coach of our favorite team in the world, please take a look at the following:

Shoaib Malik, Pakistan Captain. 52 runs in 5 innings at 13.00. He sat out half the Daredevils' games because he wasn't considered good enough.

Misbah Ul Haq, Pakistan Vice Captain. 117 runs in 8 innings at 16.71. He sat out 6 matches because RCB was delusional.

Mohammad Asif, Pakistan's premier strike bowler. 7 wickets in 7 matches at 37.71. He was dropped for a few games and then stayed out due to injury.

Shahid Afridi, Pakistan's star allrounder. 81 uns in 9 innings at 10.12. 9 wickets in 10 matches at 25.00. He too was dropped for a few games.

Salman Butt, Pakistan's solution to opening problems, 193 runs in 7 innings at 27.57.

Alright so Salman Butt played a few good knocks and Afridi was good with the ball but at large the Pakistanis have probably been the least desirable foreign players in the IPL.

I agree with arguements such as they didn't get enough opporunities or that they weren't used properly, but to say what Lawson said is just plain wrong.

The players don't need to worry though as Cheif Selector, Mr. Sallu, has said that IPL performances will count for Zilch when selecting the squad for the upcoming tri-series.

The Ul Haq Jinx Videos

Following on from the "Ul Haq Jinx" post, videos of some of those freaky dismissals have been added on to the Well Pitched Facebook Page.

1. Inzamam ducking a Caddick yorker
2. Inzamam obstructing the field
3. Inzamam hit wicket to Panesar
4. Misbah scooping Joginder to Sreesanth
5. Misbah jumping to get run out
6. Misbah hit wicket to Sreesanth

Enjoy!

The Ul Haq Jinx

The Inzamam Ul Haq Jinx

Against: All international cricket teams.
Where: All over the world.
When: 1991-2007.
Dismissal: Numerous run outs.

Against: England.
Where: England.
When: 2001? (0r was it 1996?)
Dismissal: Andy Caddick bowls a bouncer. Inzamam ducks. Andy Caddick bowls a yorker next ball. Inzamam ducks again and gets bowled.

Against: South Africa.
Where: Sharjah? Kenya? Morocco?
When: Early 2000s.
Dismissal: Nicky Boje bowls a short one. Inzamam pulls over midwicket. Ball sails over the ropes. Inzamam's back foot hits the stumps. Bail dislodges. Given out "Hit Wicket".

Against: England.
Where: Pakistan.
When: 2005.
Dismissal: Inzamam plays the ball back to Harmison. Harmison throws the ball back at the stumps. Inzamam moves away to avoid getting hit. The ball hits the stumps. Inzamam is out of his crease. Given "Run Out".

Against: India.
Where: Pakistan.
When: 2006.
Dismissal: Inzamam at the striker's end. The fielder at mid off, I think Zaheer Khan, has the ball in his hand. Zaheer throws the ball towards the striker's end. Inzamam casually defends the ball with his bat. Fielders appeal. Inzamam given out "Obstructing the Field".

Against: England.
Where: England.
When: 2006.
Dismissal: Monty Panesar bowls. Inzamam plays a strange looking shot and loses his balance. Overbalances and falls over the stumps. Out "Hit Wicket".

Inzamam Ul Haq retired in 2007 and his replacement in the Test and ODI team was a man with the same name, Misbah Ul Haq.

The Misbah Ul Haq Jinx

Against: India.
Where: South Africa.
When: 2007.
Dismissal: Joginder Sharma bowls a full one outside off. Misbah hits it over long off for six. Sharma repeats the same half volley outside off. Misbah moves toward off stump. Lobs it over to short fine leg and is out caught by Sreesanth.

Against: South Africa
Where: Pakistan
When: 2007
Dismissal: Don't remember the bowler. Misbah moves way outside offstump to play a stroke. Ball crashes into leg. Misbah was probably standing on the 6th sump outside off.

Against: India.
Where: India.
When: 2007.
Dismissal: Misbah pushed the ball to the covers. Runs for a single. Makes his ground at the non-striker's end. Jumps in the air to avoid a throw from Yuvraj Singh I think, or maybe Dinesh Karthik. Ball hits the stumps. Replays show Misbah's feet and bat in the air. Out "Run Out".

Against: Kings XI Punjab
Where: India.
When: Today.
Dismissal: Misbah hits Sreesanth for 2 consecutive 4s. Next over he hits him for a 6 and a 4. Next ball he moves back and across, hits ball to the covers and takes a single. Replays show backfoot hitting stumps and dislodging bail. Out "Hit Wicket".

In the span of 8 months, Misbah has managed to do what Inzamam managed over 16 years.

Surely Misbah is making up for lost time.

Misbah Sacks Charu Sharma

I read a report this morning that mentioned that Charu Sharma, now the former CEO of the Royal Challengers Bangalore, was sacked because he benched Misbah for 2 games.

This sacking has been the most bemusing incident in the on-going Indian Premier League.

It beats the Bhajji-Sreesanth slap-gate saga, as well as the Warne-Ganguly spirit-gate episode.

RCB's offices claimed that Charu stepped down due to personal reasons, while a source close to Charu denied that and said he had been fired. Charu spoke a day later and said he was "summarily dismissed".

No one spoke of the reasons though.

This morning, however, the above report disclosed that the reason was Misbah.

I find this totally absurd.

Misbah didn't play 2 matches and RCB lost both. Then Misbah was included in the XI as soon as Ross Taylor left for Kiwi duty and RCB won that game, but Misbah failed. Misbah played the next game as well, failed again, and RCB lost.

It was THEN that Charu got sacked. After Misbah had played 2 matches.

And guess what happened in the match RCB played after Charu's sacking. Misbah did not play and RCB lost.

So who kept Misbah out last night? Will that person also be sacked?

And what exactly is the job description of the CEO of a cricket team?

Dravid wasn't enough. Preity was!

Those of you who are Bollywood fans and follow all the gossip associated with it would be familiar with the famous saying - "two bollywood actresses can never be friends". Its very common in Bollywood to read about arguements and cat fights between two bolly babes. There have been too many instances to prove this otherwise.

So how long will it take before Katrina Kaif and Preity Zinta start clawing each other?

Much to my dismay, Preity's team won last night. Katrina cheered all she could, tried her best to get the Royal Challenger batsmen firing, but apart from Rahul Dravid no one could do much.

Poor Misbah has been out twice leg before now, and both times to leg spinners. The one to Afridi might have been a shoddy decision, but he was plumb in front to Chawla last night. So much hype I had created that I think its back fired big time. But he will come good. Hopefully soon for the Royal Challengers' sake.

Rahul Dravid on the other hand played a grand knock. There was no slogging, no edges, and no streaky strokes. It was pure batting. He played proper cricket strokes. His knock was full of drives, pulls, cuts, and boy did he bat well. It was an amazing innings but unfortunately not enough.

Dravid faced 50 odd balls for 60 odd - A Sehwag or a Gilchrist would have had a 100 in that many but Dravid is Dravid. He played out of his skin and looked determined to take his side to a decent total. But it wasn't to be. His current run is similar to his run as captain of India - tries hard, looks to lead by example with the bat, looks lost in the field, and its never enough.

The Kings from Punjab continued their winning streak and are looking very strong. They have a world class batting line up and a fiery bowling attack to boot. They are the only team with 5 wins along with Rajhastan Royals. After losing 2 matches in a row, they are performing as promised.

So what changed?

Some have explained the change in fortunes by pointing out that Yuvraj is listening more to Jayawardene and Sangakkara. Others have said the Bhajji slap has done Sreesanth a lot of good and he is bowling like never before. The emergence of Shaun Marsh at the top of the order has also been given as a reason. While the promise of new SUVs to all squad members by Preity Zinta is also mentioned as a potential reason.

But I think the main reason behind these victories is...

The Preity Zinta hugs!

(Pics courtesy http://photos.cricket.com/ the exclusive supplier of photos to the IPL)

Battles of the Beleagured Captains, Bollywood, Paki Powers, & Leading Stumpers

Battle of the Beleagured Captains

One of Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, captains of the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Deccan Chargers respectively, will come out on top tomorrow.

Old friends and team mates, both of them have looked out of place in 20-20 cricket.

Apart from their last innings in the Indian Premier League, they have seemed all at sea at the crease failing to adjust their games to this form of cricket and on top, their captaincy has also been anything but inspiring.

They come head to head tomorrow.

Will they be able to produce a 20-20 innings? Which one will lift their team out of the losing rut they are in? Which one of them will redeem themself tomorrow?

Battle of the Bollywood

Kolkata Knight Riders won their first 2 matches of the Indian Premier League. Kings XI Punjab lost their first 2.

Then KKR lost their next 3 matches on the trot. And KXIP won their next 3.

Shahrukh Khan is obviously disappointed at the losses but I'm sure he's hurting a lot at the fact that Preity Zinta's team has gone ahead of his in the points table. No one likes losing you see, and moreso no man likes losing to a woman. Specially not a Bollywood one.

It gets better tomorrow as SRK's Kolkata Knight Riders take on Preity's Kings XI Punjab.

Will SRK have the last laugh as he always does? Or will Zinta continue smiling and hugging her players?

Battle of the Paki Powers

Misbah Ul Haq will finally get his chance for RCB tomorrow. Or so I hope. I think common sense will finally prevail in the RCB camp and Misbah will be given his first taste of the IPL since Ross Taylor has made his way to the land of the Queen.

Misbah will be up against a team mate though - the Chargers' Shahid Afridi.

Not only are the 2 the most powerful hitters Pakistan have, they both are Pakistan's most successful 20-20 players as well. Misbah is the 2nd highest run scorer in all 20-20 Internationals, while Afridi is the highest wicket taker; and both were instrumental in taking Pakistan to the final of the 20-20 World Cup last year.

It will be a great watch if Afridi is given the ball when Misbah is in full flow. Will Afridi be able to stop Misbah? Or will Afridi bear the brunt of Misbah's blade like Harbhajan and all other spinners have?

Battle of the Leading Stumpers

One tops the most dismissals list in test cricket and the other tops the ODI one. One is second on the test dismissals list and the other is second on the ODI one. One is arguably the best wicketkeeper to play cricket, while the other definitely the best keeper batsman ever.

Both have come against each other a number of times for South Africa and Australia, but tomorrow one takes the field for RCB and the other for the Deccan Chargers.

Its Mark Boucher up against Adam Gilchrist.

Watch out for Gilchrist and Gibbs going great guns against Steyn with Boucher behind the stumps and Kallis at 1st slip. Where else but the IPL.

All this and more at the IPL Double Header starting at 1030am GMT.

(Note to Uncle J: 4 thoughts in 1 post, only for you. I could have done 4)

Random Royal Ramblings (RRR)

Unlike previously reported by me, the Australian ODI players are not leaving India just as yet. Which means that James Hopes, David Hussey, and Cameron White are staying put and will play in the Indian Premier League till the ODI leg of the Aussie tour to the Windies starts.

After questioning, recommending to, and pleading Rahul Dravid to include Misbah in the starting line up for the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he has finally spoken:

"It was difficult fielding all the foreigners," Dravid said. "We needed an allrounder because our bowling was not strong, so Kallis played. Ross Taylor will leave now and Misbah will definitely get his chance."

Misbah will definitely play against the Deccan Chargers on Saturday then. That should be interesting - Pakistan's most successful 20-20 batsman up against Pakistan's most successful 20-20 bowler, Shahid Afridi. More on that in another post.

Gautam Gambhir showed exactly why he has replaced some seniors in India's ODI team.

I like Shikhar Dhawan. I think he has international potential. I have thought that since I first saw him play for India A against Pakistan A and he along with Robin Uthappa knocked centuries and ripped apart Pakistan's bowling. Maybe the success in the IPL will take him to the next level.

I couldn't help feel sorry for Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis when they were putting together their 87 run partnership. Sure those runs came in about 10 overs at more than 8 an over but the expressions on their faces said it all - How they wished the match had another 3 days to go.

Dravid and Kallis showed that proper cricket shots can bring you runs in 20-20 cricket. But proper cricket shots can't help you chase 190 odd in 20 overs.

At least RCB showed that they were determined this time. And at least Dravid admitted he needs Misbah. (I can see Ottayan grimacing over my mention of Misbah over and over. Ottayan has a good piece on proper cricket and 20-20 right here. Worth a read.)

Kallis picked up 2 wickets and also scored faster than a run a ball half century. Does it make him a world class 20-20 player now?

Glenn McGrath, yet again, showed that the bowlers in the IPL need to stop cribbing and start bowling like the Master.

McGrath's team mate Yomahesh seems to have understood that.
What a great name, Vijay Kumar Yomahesh. Yomahesh! Lovely.

Speaking of lovely, did anyone see Katrina Kaif cheering for Bangalore last night? What a lovely she is. Finaly Priety has competition. Katrina's even appeared in a video for the Royal Challengers, which can be viewed here.

Shoaib Malik will have to stop relying on his "friendship" with Virender Sehwag if he wants to play for the Daredevils again. AB De Villiers is looking for a game and Malik with the bat looks worse than Ponting.

Vettori finally got a game and he showed exactly why he was one of the most successful bowlers at last years 20-20 world cup. Apparently he didn't play the last 2 matches because of food poisining. Pity he has to leave so soon.

ICC definitely need to create a window for the IPL in the FTP.

Speaking about the FTP, it might be re-christened soon and called the FLP - Future Leagues Program.

How ironic is it, that the two most expensive franchises are currently at the bottom of the points table?

I wonder what Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya are thinking.

And I wonder what they're thinking about their respective executives / advisors - Harsha Bhogle and Charu Sharma - maybe the 2 need to go back to commentating.

Oh and the title of this post is so because strangely everything in the IPL seems to be associated with Royalty or abbreviations with the same letters - Royal Challengers, Kings XI, Super Kings, DDD, KKR, RR, you get the gist.

Royal Challengers South Africa Need Misbah

Joginder Sharma continues to bowl the last over for Dhoni.

Dravid continues to leave Misbah out of the XI.

The Super Kings continue to remain the only unbeaten team, and the Royal Challengers continue to lose.

Maybe some things ARE predictable in the Indian Premier League.

I'm afraid the Royal Challengers Bangalore will not win till they include Misbah in their batting line up. Apart from Ross Taylor the other batsmen are players who need time to settle down and there is no way that the likes of Dravid, Jaffer, Kallis, Chanderpaul & Co. can chase or post 170+ totals in 20 overs.

I can't undersand how anyone can leave a player like Misbah out of a 20-20 team.

Here is a man who single handedly led Pakistan to the finals of the 20-20 world cup. His innings against Australia and India in the group stages were single minded efforts to lead Pakistan to victory or near victory. The way he batted in the final of the World Cup when all seemed lost and he had nothing but the tail for support just shows the kind of mind Misbah possess for the 20-20 game.

He is by far the most experienced batsman in this form of cricket having played in Pakistan for years. He led Faisalabad to the title in the first ever 20-20 competition held in Pakistan in 2004. The same year he led Faisalabad to victory in the 6-team 20-20 competition in England. In 2005 he led Faisalabad to the final of the domestic 20-20 competition only to lose to Sialkot.

Even before domestic 20-20 cricket began in Pakistan or England, Misbah and other Pakistani cricketers used to play this form of cricket for their clubs in annual night tournaments (20-20 in Pakistan has been played for over 2 decades now).

I don't have Misbah's record from those club games but in domestic 20-20 cricket in Pakistan, he has played 23 matches and scored 683 runs at an average of 56.91 and a strike rate of 134.2. His 20 innings have produced 1 century and 5 fifties.

His international 20-20 record is even better. 10 matches, 10 innings, 338 runs, average of 67.6, strike rate of 135.20, 3 fifties.

How do you leave a man like this out of your team?

Maybe RCB are looking to justify the near million they dished out for Jacques Kallis, but I highly doubt that the figure of $900,000 will ever be justified.

Plus if RCB keep looking like South Africa with Boucher keeping, Kallis at 1st slip, and Steyn attacking, they're not going to win anything.

Rahul, Vijay Mallya - you need Misbah.

IPL Leaders - End of Q1 Results

14 matches of the Indian Premier League have been completed in 10 days - thats 25% of the 56 matches to be played over 40 days in the group stage.

I think this is a good time to take a look at the top performers of the IPL thus far.

Leading Batsmen
1. Brendon McCullum (KKR) - 187 runs at 93.50
2. Matthew Hayden (KXIP) - 176 runs at 88.00
3. Kumar Sangakkara (KXIP)- 172 runs at 43.00
4. Shane Watson (RR) - 162 runs at 81.00
5. Andrew Symonds (DC) - 161 runs at 80.50

85% of McCullum's and 72% of Symond's runs have come from 1 innings. Plus their averages are inflated because of those innings being unbeaten ones. Hayden, Sangakkara, and Watson on the other hand have been more consistent.

The international players have performed better than their Indian counterparts - the first Indian to appear in the list of leading run scorers is Yuvraj Singh at 7 who only has a single 50 plus score in 4 innings.

Uthappa, Sehwag, R. Sharma, Raina, Y. Pathan, and Abhishek Nayar are some of the Indians who have done well in bursts but none has matched the top internationals.

Sachin hasn't played yet and the other 3 of the famous Big 4 - Ganguly, Dravid, and Laxman - haven't done anything of note.

With the likes of Misbah, Gibbs, and Hodge coming in to the teams and Gilchrist and Greame Smith batting with form it will be interesting to see how the above table changes over the course of the IPL.

Leading Bowlers
1. Irfan Pathan (KXIP) - 7 wickets at 16.14
2. Ajit Agarkar (KKR) - 6 wickets at 10.50
3. Shane Warne (RR) - 6 wickets at 17.50
4. Shahid Afridi (DC) - 5 wickets at 15.40
5. Harbhajan Singh (MI) - 5 wickets at 16.40

Unlike the batting, 3 Indian bowlers dominate the top 5 wicket takers of the IPL. Thats a surprise.

Whats not surprising though is that 3 of the top 5 bowlers are spinners in Warne, Afridi, and Bhajji. Last year's 20-20 world cup showed that spinners in this form of the game are very potent attacking weapons and it is no surprise to see them high up in the list.

Afridi is the highest wicket taker in all 20-20 internationals and he was also one of the leading wicket takers of the 20-20 world cup, which also got him the 'player of the tournament award'. He has been in brilliant form with the ball for the Chargers and I reckon he will end up as one of the highest, if not the highest wicket taker in the IPL. Shane Warne will as well.

Indian bowlers have done better than their batsmen as another 3 in RP Singh, Rajat Bhatia, and VRV Singh feature in the top 10 list. Who said India's batting is its strength?

Watch out for Dale Steyn who joins RCB this week and Umar Gul who joins KKR. Steyn wrecked the Windies with scorching yorkers in a 20-20 game earlier this year, while Gul finished top of the wicket taking list at last years 20-20 world cup.

Other Stats
Highest Team Score: 240-5, CSK vs KXIP.
Highest Individual Score: 158*, Brendon McCullum (KKR) vs RCB.
Best Strike Rate: 219.60, Virender Sehwag (DDD).
Most Sixes: 15, Brendon McCullum (KKR).
Best Bowling Performance: 3-17, Murali Karthik (KKR) vs DC.
Best Economy Rate: 4.00, Mohammad Hafeez (KKR).

I'll update these lists and stats in another 10 days after the next 14 matches as the IPL reaches its half way stage. Will these players continue their run of form or will others rise to out-perform them?

The next 10 days provides cracking battles with the likes of Delhi and Mumbai bringing their historical Ranjhi rivalry into the IPL, Warne's high spirited Royal taking on Ganguly's Knight Riders, Dravid's Royal Challengers taking on old friend and team mate Laxman's Chargers, and a whole lot more.

And it all starts today with Indian captain Dhoni's Super Kings going up against the man Dhoni took over from, Dravid's, Royal Challengers.

This will be the farewell game for Hayden, Hussey, Oram, and Taylor, so keep an eye out for top performances from them. Misbah and Steyn could play as soon as tonight, and if that happens, the favorites CSK could be in for a tough one.

As always, tonight at 230PM GMT.

The Paki Bad Boys

Over at Cricinfo I just read a list of XI cricket bad boys according to Martin Williamson. He had one earlier in January as well.

Basically, Martin Williamson has put together 22 bad boys of cricket including teams and individuals who have been up to no good such as Botham and cannabis, Gibbs and match fixing, packer's rebels, Warne and drugs, other match fixers, and a whole lot more.

Even though Martin Williamson has covered a lot, I think he has missed out on some more interesting bad boys of cricket from Pakistan. I cover them here.

(Note: some of these may have been reported, while some are from first hand information available to the author).

The Carribean Rum
Starring: Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Mustaq Ahmed, Aqib Javed
On the eve of the first test match between Pakistan and the West Indies during Pakistan's tour of 1993, Pakistan's bowling attack was held up by the Grenada police at a beach. They were caught with rum, marijuana, and 2 suspicious looking females. The police held them on charges of marijuana possession and the 4 spent a night in jail as the first test was pushed ahead by a day. The incident was widely reported and the Pakistani press initiated a religious attack on them. Wasim and Waqar were the captain and vice captain of the team.

Son of a Pitch
Starring: Aamir Sohail
Back in the late 80s the Pakistan U19 or the Pakistan A team was on a tour of Zimbabwe. The XI for the next morning had been announced by the captain after a practice session and Aamir Sohail was not in it. When the teams turned up at the ground for the match they found that the pitch had been dug up and play was not possible. It was later found out that Aamir Sohail had paid the ground a visit the night before and dug it up because he was not in the playing XI.

Canadian Potatoes
Starring: Inzamam Ul Haq
By now a famous incident that took place in Toronto during one of the Sahara Cup tournaments between Pakistan and India. There was a spectator in the crowd with a mega phone chanting "aloo, aloo, aloo" (potato, potato, potato) at Inzamam every time the ball came to him. At a later stage during the match, Inzamam who had been fielding in the covers moved to 3rd man close to where the spectator was. As the over ended the 12th man - Mushtaq Ahmed walked around the boundary line with a bat. He handed the bat to Inzi who jumped into the crowd and threatened to beat up the man with the mega phone. He took a few swipes but missed as the security held him at the right moment. For once I would say, thank God Inzi did not connect - if he had he would have been serving time for murder. Instead he got suspended for a few matches.

Love in the Air
Starring: Shahid Afridi
The Pakistan team was flying back from Sri Lanka after a tour in the late 90s. In the flight, Shahid Afridi decided that he was in love with this girl sitting across the aisle. He walked up to her and declared his undying love only to see the girl's brother walk up and punch Afridi in the face. The Pakistani players held Afridi just in time otherwise the protective brother would have had his face disfigured. Recently in a TV interview Afridi was questioned about the incident and his reply was: "Today I am a father of 2, but back in the day I used to fall in love with every beautiful girl". Its funnier when he said it in urdu: "aaj to 2 bachon ka baap hu lekin jawaani ke dino me jo khubsoorat chehra dekhta tha, usse pyar ho jata tha".

Rocked at the Sun Fort
Starring: Hasan Raza, Atique Uz Zaman
The setting was the Sun Fort hotel in Lahore, the occasion was Pakistan team's camp at the Gaddafi stadium, the purpose was training for Pakistan's tour of England in 2001, and the incident was getting caught with call girls. Javed Miandad, the Pakistan coach at the time, caught Hasan Raza and Atique Uz Zaman with call girls in their hotel rooms. The 3 players were suspended for a certain period of time. The newspapers were full of religous attacks yet again. It was later reported that a hotel staff member had told Javed Miandad that some girls were visiting the players' rooms.

High on the Highway
Starring: Hasan Raza, Taufeeq Umar, Misbah ul Haq, Zulqarnain Haider
Drunk driving and carrying alcohol without a license is a grave offense in the UAE. Cars and licenses are confiscated and the guilty are put behind bars. The law here is quite strict.

The Eurasia Cup in 2006 was played in Abu Dhabi and involved the A sides from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and the international teams of UAE, Netherlands, and Ireland. Pakistan A defeated the lankans in their last group game and had a day off before the final against India A - availing the day off the 4 Paki players left for Dubai from Abu Dhabi around mid night. They were on their way back at 6am when the police hauled their car over for speeding. The driver was a local Pakistani friend of the players who was reeking of alcohol. On checking the boot of the car, the Dubai police found cans of beer and took the 4 players and the driver to jail. The players were only released on the insistence of the Abu Dhabi Cricket Council and other top officials but not before 8pm on the eve of the final of the tournament.

Hasan Raza scored a match winning unbeaten 106 and shared a 4th wicket partnership of 174 with Misbah who scored 73 to lead Pakistan A to a 6 wicket win in the final the next morning. Taufeeq Umar gave them a solid start with a run a ball 40.

Casino Royale
Starring: Ijaz Ahmed
The 1999 World Cup final was to start at around 10am London time. The players woke up at around 7am to see Ijaz Ahmed walking into the hotel. When questioned he admitted that he was out all night gambling at some casino. Strangely enough he played the final and was let off scot free.

Match Fixers
Starring: Pakistan
There were too many players involved in this to list them down here and its a chapter that I hope remains closed in Pakistan despite Shoaib Akhtar coming out with disturbing facts. I know it was prevalent throughout the 90s and early 2000s, I hope to believe that after the 2003WC no player was involved in it, but I also know that its difficult to rid this menace off Pakistan when boys at the mere age of 16-17 are offered tens of thousands of Rs. back home to perform poorly for their clubs, departments, and regional teams.

Unfortunately, Pakistan will always have the image of "only bad boys play cricket" and their players will keep getting involved in controversies around the world. At the same time we are fortunate enough to have such intriguing characters playing cricket in Pakistan that we will continue to be entertained by them on and off the field.

None of them though reaches the heights of the bad boy image that Shoaib Akhtar has been able to create for himself. Or for that matter Shane Warne. who do you reckon is the bigger one? Warne or Shoaib? Or does Sir Ian Botham go above them?

Hopes Tops the List in Episode II of the IPL Player Auction

Part II of the IPL Player Auction was held today. I reported yesterday that Misbah and James Hopes were likely to recieve the highest bids in todays Auction and they in fact did. Well kind of.

Hopes was the most expensive player auctioned today as he went to Preity Zinta's Mohali for $300,000.

Misbah was picked up by Vijay Mallya's Bangalore for $125,000. I thought he would have gone for much more but I guess not many were interested in him, which is surprising. Misbah joins Darvid, Kallis, and Chanderpaul in the Royal Challenger's middle order.

A number of other international players, who were not listed in the 18 initially announced to be auctioned, were sold today as well. This had something to do with a list of names provided by the franchises to the BCCI.

The first English player was signed up with the IPL today - Dmitri Mascarenhas was picked up by Jaipur for $100,000 after an agreement was signed between Jaipur and Hampshire, who have released Mascarenhas for the initial part of the county season. Hampshire will reportedly be compensated for the time Mascarenhas is not available to them.

This just goes to show how the counties and boards are willing to oblige to the BCCI for the IPL, actions that are totally opposite to the ones bing shown for the ICL. Its quite obvious that Shane Warne, captain of Jaipur and Hampshire, would have played a role in the negotiations.

The other players auctioned today include:

Jaipur: Shane Watson ($125,000), Sohail Tanvir ($100,000), Morne Morkel ($60,000), and U19 players Taruwar Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja.

Kolkata: Salman Butt ($100,000), Mohammad Hafeez ($100,000) and U19 players Iqbal Abdullah and Siddarth Kaul.

Mohali: Luke Pomersbach ($50,000), Kyle Mills ($150,000), and U19 players Ajitesh Argal and Tanmay Srivastava.

Delhi: Brett Greeves ($50,000) and U19 Pradeep Sangwan (Soulberry, your wish of Sangwan in the same team as Asif and Mcgrath has been granted).

(Know anything about Greeves Uncle J?)

Bangalore: Ross Taylor ($100,000), Abdur Razzak ($50,000), and U19 Shreevats Goswami.

Mumbai: Ashwell Prince ($175,000), and U19 players Manish Pandey and Saurabh Tiwary.

Chennai: U19 players Napoleon Einstein, Abhinav Mukund, Viraj Kadbe.

Why did Mumbai pay $175,000 for Ashwell Prince when no one was interested in him the first time round?

Many players still remain unsold, but reports indicate that they will be paid their base prices despite not playing for any team.

Earning money for no work? I am definitely in the wrong job.

Pentangular Champions - Sindh or Punjab?

The main event of the Pentangular Trophy begins this morning at the National Stadium in Karachi where Punjab takes on Sindh.

Its Shoaib Malik's team against Shahid Afridi's, its Pakistan's largest province against the 2nd largest, its Punjab's experienced batting line up vs Sindh's inexperienced, its Punjab's batting pitted against Sindh's bowling. And so much more.

The match has all the ingredients required for a potboiler and considering that it is being played on a lively track at the NSK, one can expect a cracking contest.

The winner of the match will be crowned the Pentangular Cup Champions. However, if the match ends in a draw, then the Federal Areas, which have played all their matches and currently lead the table, will be crowned Champions.

The Punjab batsmen, which resemble a Pakistani line up - Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah ul Haq, Shoaib Malik have been in tremendous form throughout the tournament, but they have played all their matches in Punjab (Lahore and Sialkot) on dead tracks. This is the first time they will be up against a strong bowling line up and that too on a grassy wicket. Will these batsmen continue their outstanding string of scores?

Sindh's bowlers Sohail Khan and Anwar Ali have wrecked havoc during the competition on the NSK wicket and they will have their hands full in front of a strong batting line up. They have also been well supported by the spinners Afridi and Kaneria. Will Sindh's bowling force live up to their potential?

Compared to Punjab's experienced batting line up, Sindh primarily comprises of Pakistan hopefuls in young openers Khurram Manzoor and Khalid Latif in addition to Naumanullah and Faisal Iqbal. Add Shahid Afridi to the mix and it looks like a strong batting line up, but still on the weaker side when compared to Punjab's heavyweights. Will the Pakistan prospects live up to expectations and make a lasting impression?

The contest will also pit Pakistan's number 1 wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal (Punjab) and his understudy, Sarfraz Ahmed against each other. Will the junior outplay the senior keeper?

One can expect a nerve wrecking match that has the potential to be a cracker and go down the wire. The fact that the Championship is on the line makes it all the more exciting.

For those who get GEO sports, you can catch LIVE action starting 6:00am GMT. I will cover as much as possible right here.

IPL Player Auction Part II - Will Misbah be a Big Draw?

18 International players and 16 Indian U19 players are set to be allocated to IPL franchises tomorrow in what will be a 2nd auction for the international players and draft picks for the U19 players.

Jaipur aka Rajhasthan Royals spent only $2.9 million at the 1st auction, effectively leaving them $2.1 million for tomorrow, and thus are the best placed team to pick up more stars as the IPL Player Auction Part 2 gets underway.

The other teams are left with very little money totaling to a few 100 thousand dollars thus they may not be able to pick up more than 1 international player each at the most.

Misbah Ul Haq, who was arguably one of the best batsmen in last year's T20 World Cup, looks to me as the biggest draw at tomorrow's auction. I reckon if he was there in the first one, he would have been the highest priced Pakistani player but strangely he was missing.

Considering that Bangalore have $374,000 left in their kitty, which is the highest balance after Jaipur's, I see Shane Warne's Royal team picking Misbah up. If they do at a relatively low $400,000 or so, he might end up being the bargain of the tournament -a tag currently associated with Ricky Ponting.

The other players up for grabs include Mohd. Yousuf and Ashwell Prince who no one was interested in the last time round in addition to new entries:

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez
Australia: Shane Watson, Brad Hodge, James Hopes, Luke Pomersbach
SriLanka: Prassanna Jayawardene
New Zealand: Ross Taylor, Peter Fulton, Jamie How, Jeetan Patel, Chris Martin, Kyle Mills, James Franklin
Bangladesh: Mohammad Ashraful, Mashrafe Murtaza

I wonder if anyone will buy Shane Watson - he'll probaby turn up to play and get a stomach bug or something. I don't see how any of the franchises could be interested in any of these names. They have spent millions on big names in the first auction that all these names look like minions.

Misbah and James Hopes will most likely generate the most interest tomorrow. Lets wait and see how much the franchises dish out for these players. Pomersbach, whose big in the Aussie domestic T20 scene, could also be a big draw.

For the U19 players the BCCI have restricted their salary at $30,000 and 2 players each will be alotted to the 8 teams through draft picks. Since there are no seedings for the teams yet, they will be numbered 1-8 randomly, and select the players in order. Team number 8 will get the 8th and 9th pick, while team number 1 will get the first and last pick, and so on.

Someone is going pick up the hammer again tomorrow and some more cricketers are going to be dollar rich.

How much do u think Misbah will go for?

Punjab scores 723, Wins by an Innings, BUT Shoaib Malik gets Flak!

Where have you seen a skipper of a side that wins a match by an innings and over a 100 runs garner flak from the authorities?

It can only happen in Pakistan.

After dismissing Baluchistan for 375 in the first innings, Punjab hammered the Baluchi bowlers at over 6 runs an over to score a mazzive 723-4 declared in a mere 114 overs to set up an innings victory in thir Pentangular Cup match up.

Punjab's spectacular innings made the authorities criticize the dead track prepared by the Sialkot groundsmen, who in response told the PCB that they had shaved off the grass at skipper Malik's request. The PCB then gave Malik a sound warning for going against their will of playing the Pentangular matches on lively tracks.

I wonder if the PCB has something against Malik. I say this cause no one warned Misbah when in Malik's absence, Punjab's first match was played on a flat deck against FA and Salman Butt hammered Shoaib Akhtar and Sohail Tanvir for a career best 290. Moreover, as I mentioned before, the PCB also gave Malik flak for not opening with Nasir Jamshed in the previous match, whereas Misbah had done the same and not heard a word from the PCB.

Is it just something against Malik or a liking towards Misbah?

Punjabs's massive total was built around a 251 run 2nd wicket partnership between Salman Butt and Nasir Jamshed. Salman continued his spectacular run with the bat scoring his 3rd century in as many matches - his 160 came at a run a ball and included 25 fours and a six. Nasir has also been in fine form during the competition and smashed 140 with 14 boundaries and 3 sixes.

After their patnership it was Misbah-ul-Haq's turn to come to the party. Misbah hammererd the Baluchi bowlers and scored 208 of only 218 deliveries with 17 hits to the fence and 6 over it. A double century at a strike rate of 95 is truly a remarkable achievement, no matter how bad the bowling and how flat the deck.

Shoaib Malik then ended Punjab's innings in a hurry hitting a quickfire 60 off only 37 deliveries.

Facing a 1st innings deficit of 350 runs, the Baluchi batting folded for only 220 in under 50 overs to hand Punjab an innings win.

The deck didn't look too flat then, which makes me wonder even more - is it PCB against Malik or is someone in the The News running a propaganda against him?

News from PEACEFUL Pakistan

When I posted after meeting Dr. Nasim Ashraf two weeks ago, I mentioned that I doubt the PCB Chairman met Sheikh Mubarak Bin Nahyan to only discuss human development and a possible series in Abu Dhabi was most probably discussed considering Australia were not going ahead with their tour to Pakistan.

Well, this morning it was reported officially that Pakistan and West Indies will play a 3-ODI series in Abu Dhabi in November. So a series in the desert was discussed but not for March but November. Now just like the big newspapers and gossip magazines, I can also claim - You read it here first!

This is all well and good for the cricket fans in the UAE but I have a concern. In the recent ICC meet of the top men from the various cricket boards, Pakistan managed to add some 38 ODIs to their FTP for 2008 and 2009. But what they didn't manage to do is add any test tours - Pakistan plays a test series against Australia next month if they tour and the next one after that isn't till the end of the year against India. Then there's another gap for a year before Pakistan travels to Australia in Nov 2009 for a test series.

Thats a total of 6 sure tests in the nex 2 years and maybe another 2-3 if Australia travel next month. PCB blame the ICC for getting a raw deal, but is it really that or is the PCB being dollar-hungry and just scehduling ODIs?

How does one then expect Pakistan to ever become a good test team?

How will this ever get Mohammad Yousuf to achieve new heights?

Won't this waste bowlers like Asif and Gul who will play ODIs day in day out and burn out without making an effort to become world class test bowlers?

Where does this leave Danish Kaneria who doesn't play ODIs?

Does this mean Shoaib Akhtar's test career is over?

Someone needs to do something about this.

In other news from Pakistan, the Pentangular match between Punjab and NWFP ended in an expected draw but not before Pakistan opener Salman Butt and Vice Captain Misbah notched up centuries.

Salman continued his fine form scoring 117, following on from his 72 in the 1st innings and record breaking 290 in the first match. Misbah scored an even 100 and remained unbeaten before the match was declared a dull draw. Nasir Jamshed also looked in fine touch hammering 59 with 10 bounaries and a six. Earlier in the day fast bowler Wahab Riaz, who was, one of the umpteen debutants against Zimbabwe, picked up 5 wickets to end NWFPs reply on 446. NWFP's 1st innings lead got them 3 points from the match.

During the Punjab match I read that the PCB selectors were upset with Shoaib