Inzamam's Heroes & Lara's Champs

Many doubted that the rebel ICL will ever go through due to the bans on players from their boards, the launch of the IPL, and various other operational issues. However, against all odds, Kapil Dev (chairman of the ICL executive board) announced the composition of the 6 teams taking part in the 20-20 competition in ICL's 1st year.

Click here to see the complete composition of the Hyderabad Heroes, Kolkata Tigers, Mumbai Champs, Delhi Jets, Chennai Superstars, and Chandigarh Lions. The coaches of these teams are prominent former international cricketers. I would've thought Moin Khan and Micheal Bevan, two of the coaches, would have been good to play as well. Wonder why they're coaching.

The captains haven't been announced yet but Inzamam and Lara are expected to lead their teams - the Heroes and Champs respectively. The Pakistani fans should look forward to watching the Hyderabad Heroes in action as it not only includes Inzi, but also Abdul Razzak and Azhar Mahmood. Moreover, Moin Khan is coach of the team. Ambati Rayudu, the 22 year old touted to be India's latest batting prodigy, would love the prospect of batting along side Inzamam Ul Haq.

The Aussies should be looking forward to supporting the Chennai team, coached by Bevan, which includes Stuart Law and Ian Harvey. I still remember the 1996 world cup semi final between Australia and the Windies where the Aussies were 4 down for 40 odd before Law and Bevan scripted a remarkable recovery. What a partnership that was.

Lara will play alongside Nathan Astle for Mumbai, while the Chandigarh team looks like a strong outfit with internationals Cairns, Farhat, Marshall, Hall, Sodhi, D. Mongia, and Tuffey in the ranks.

The ICL looks set to get underway as soon as the issue of grounds get settled. Rumours flying around are that grounds in Sharjah, a private club in Karachi, and a few around India will be used. the prospects would have even been brighter had the IPL not been launched but then nothing flourishes without a little bit of competition. And rebels are always welcome.

Let the ICL roll...

The Unfortunate Case of Abdul Razzaq

I like Abdul Razzaq. I think he's an impact player - one THUMPING all rounder who's given us some fond memories. So i think its great he's taken back his retirement decision even though it makes his initial decision seem like a petulant act of a jilted player.


But let's be honest - Razzaq is and has been taken for granted for a long time. He's one of those unassuming characters who quietly goes about his business turning in solid, consistent performances, and occasionally devastating match winning ones, without too many people seeming to notice. When Razzaq truly burst onto the scene in the '99 world cup, he bowled with brisk pace and plenty of enthusiasm. He bounded in with purpose and had Sachin as his bunny for a while. He was used to counter the early swing and seam on offer during that tournament and displayed terrific temperament on more than one occasion to pull Pakistan of many a potential dark hole. But it was only later on, when he found his niche lower down the order, that his batting truly exploded. With that distinctive clearance of the left leg and blinding bat speed, he thumped them back harder than they could throw them at him. Anything even slightly fuller went high and handsome over long on or long off. Anything shorter was savaged over midwicket. Remember the 90 off 40 balls he blasted to almost take Pakistan to an improbable victory over New Zealand? Or the 5 consecutive fours against an in-prime Mcgrath? His batting was a thrill to watch - hope was never lost as long as 'fauji' was still in. His batting wasn't to bad in tests either and he chose pakistan's arch rivals to play some of his most important knocks. His 45 and 90 against india in that famous Karachi test, a match in which he also took 7 wickets, were drowned out by Akmal's hundred and Asif's majestic bowling display. Once again, a classic case of Razzaq not being given his due.


This is not to say the player bears no blame himself. His biggest critics have pointed at his bowling time and again and i completely agree. What happened to Razzaq the bowler? The guy could swing the ball, both with new and old, and genuinely harried batsmen. He was a real first change threat, stemming the runs by taking wickets. No longer. A mysterious shoulder injury robbed him of his pace and now his first ball is always a wide-of-the-off-stump half tracker at about 110kph which gets smashed for four. The rest of his spell is pretty much a succession of dibbly dobblers which he may as well have not bothered with. No longer does he get that threatening reverse swing and seems to be merely going through the motions. Another criticism has been his lack of emotion and energy on the field. Once again, not entirely unfounded.


Should Razzaq be brought back into atleast the ODI team? Yes. I have a sneaking suspicion that his fellow fast bowler, Geoff Lawson, might be able to get some of his bowling magic back. Will he be a disruptive influence? Only time will tell. But he is 27 years old. His prime years are in front of him. Dodgy haircuts notwithstanding, he deserves to be given a run again and represent his country. If the idea was to give him a wake up call by dropping him, job done. Lets get him back in the set-up. Boom boom may take all the headlines and win the fans' hearts, but there is no better, and consistent, lower order biffer than Razzaq in the game today.