I'm dissappointed in myself for not knowing that Lawson's time was up.

I'm dissappointed that I actually trusted what Ijaz Butt said in his 1st press conference.

For a moment I had forgotten that this was Pakistan, where no one sticks to their word. Where everyone says big things to hog the headlines and then forgets about them.

Some people have said to give this new administration some time.

I was doing exactly that when Ijaz Butt said that Lawson would stay till his contract expired and then let go.

Little did I know that Ijaz Butt would make a U-Turn within a week!

So what happened Mr. Butt?

I thought the board had no money to pay off Lawson in case they fired him - where did you get the money suddenly?

When you met him on Friday, you promised to get back to him after discussing certain issues with the board. Instead Lawson heard on TV that he was being fired - what happened to that discussion?

The start of the new Chairman's term has been nothing less than dramatic.

It's as if Chota Rajan has been welcomed by Karachi and he has gone about business by initially getting rid of all of Dawood Ibrahim's men and traces.

In came the new PCB Chairman and out went the COO, the media director, the HR director, the Chief Selector, various other staff members, and now the coach.

Who next?

Now lets hope this Ijaz Butt seriously means business and is not only speaking for the sake of it!

Once the new Chairman, Ijaz Butt, took over the PCB, changes were expected by everyone; however, no one really expected the changes to take place this rapidly.

PCB's management, the selection committee, and the team management have all changed since Ijaz Butt took over, and will continue to do so over the next few months before the big series against India in January 2009.

PCB Management

A number of Nasim Ashraf's yes men have been asked to leave office and more will be doing so in the coming weeks.

Shafqat Naghmi, PCB's Chief Operating Officer, is the latest one to resign from his post. Rumours are however suggesting that Naghmi will not be allowed to leave till an investigation into the PCB's operations under Nasim Ashraf is completed.

The news doing the rounds is that financial irregularities have been discovered and Naghmi along with Nasim Ashraf have been at the centre of them. While Ashraf may be able to escape scott-free, Naghmi would have to bear the brunt.

Salim Altaf, who was fired a few months ago by Nasim Ashraf for leaking news to the media is back in the PCB offices owing to his association with Ijaz Butt.

Salim Altaf has always been involved with Pakistan cricket one way or another, but what he has exactly done during all this time is a question mark. Its also unknown as to in what capacity he has been brought back.

Over the next few weeks, Ijaz Butt is expected to hire a fresh team to manage the PCB including a CEO, COO, and other directors for HR, marketing, media, etc.

This necessarily may not be a bad thing as majority of the management who have been asked to leave were part of the Nasim Ashraf camp, and Ijaz Butt has every right to have a team of his own.

Furthermore, being a former test cricketer, it may also be a good thing that Ijaz Butt is looking to hire professionals with some sort of cricket experience, unlike the administrators and bureaucrats who managed the board under Nasim Ashraf.

Selection Committee

Chief Selector Salahuddin resigned the day after Ijaz Butt took over.

Even though he mentioned that he left because he wanted Ijaz Butt to appoint his own selection committee, the true reasons behind the resignation was the tampering of the squad chosen for the T20 Quadrangular in Canada.

Since then the Sports Ministry has come out and said that a PCB official had asked for a change in the squad, which was approved by the Ministry. Who exactly that official was, we don't know but rest assured he is one of the men who have been asked to leave by Ijaz Butt.

Shagqat Rana, who was part of the selection committee, has also resigned since then, while the 3rd member of the committee, Saleem Jaffar, has been appointed as the Chief Selector by Ijaz Butt.

Jaffar's appointment is however an interim one with his immediate tasks including selecting the squads for the Hong Kong Sixes and the 3 ODIs against the West Indies next month.

It is believed that Ijaz Butt will find a replacement for Jaffar by the end of the year, in time for preparation for the series against India in January.

Former test cricketers Ijaz Ahmed and Shoaib Mohammad have been appointed selectors under Jaffar. Whether they are interim members or permanent is yet unknown.

Once again, a selection committee comprising of former test cricketers can only be a good thing.

Team Management

Manager

Talat Ali, who was the manager of the team for 2 years resigned after the T20 Quadrangular in Canada.

News reports again suggested that Talat Ali resigned with the view that the new Chairman should hire his own team, however a certain controversy on tour in Canada is believed to have resulted in Talat Ali's sacking.

Firstly, Ijaz Butt was never happy with the fact that Talat Ali invited Nasim Ashraf to the team's dug out during the match against Zimbabwe in Canada.

Secondly, some players complained against Talat Ali for not informing them about a particular team dinner that was held for all participants by the hosts in Canada. Half the Pakistan players did not attend because they were not aware of the dinner, while the other half were left embarassed as they were not dresssed appropriately, again because they were not aware.

Sultan Rana and Yawar Saeed have been named as the managers for the Hong Kong Sixes and ODIs against West Indies respectively, while a permanent manager is expected to be named before the end of the year.

Coach

Ijaz Butt openly criticized Geoff Lawson soon after he was appointed as PCB Chairman, which led everyone to believe that Lawson's days were numbered.

I still believe that Lawson's tenure will be over after the ODIs against the Windies, however Lawson in his latest interview thinks otherwise.

There is strong speculation that Waqar Younis will take over as coach before the series against India. Waqar is definitely lobbying for the position and it seems that Ijaz Butt is more in favour of a Pakistani coach rather than a foreign one.

Waqar or no Waqar, Lawson will definitely be going as Ijaz Butt has announced that Lawson's contract will not be renewed when it expires in April 2009. I won't be surprised if he's allowed to leave much before that.

Captain

With the axing of Talat Ali, and the speculation surrounding Lawson, it seemed that Shoaib Malik was living his last few days as Pakistan captain as well.

Misbah, Afridi, Younis were all being rumoured to take over as captain. Besides Misbah, the other two were also heard lobbying for the post and speculation was that one of them would take over by the end of the year when Malik's term expires.

But all that took a back seat after a meeting was held yesterday between the 3 cricket heads - PCB Chairman, Chief Selector, and Captain.

Following the meeting it was concluded that Malik will now have a greater say in squad selection as well as the team composition.

Now that's interesting to say the least. How Malik got his way with Ijaz Butt and Jaffar is still a mystery.

This is a drastic change from the previous policy, where the selection committee had total control over team selection.

How this will change the team comprosition will also be intriguing to witness.

Malik's problems with Afridi and Younis are well documented - will this lead to their axing or will Malik include them despite his differences?

Imran Khan and Wasim Akram showed that a captain with all powers is the way to go in Pakistan, however Inzamam showed why it should never be allowed.

Which way Shoaib Malik will go, we can only speculate right now, but this in no way means that Malik's status as captain following December is secure as Ijaz Butt has stated that Malik's term will be reviewed once the current one ends.


Thus come the series against India and Pakistan could be taking the field under a new man.

Time will only tell whether these changes will bring about a change in fortunes for the Pakistan team or not, but one thing is definite - Ijaz Butt is here with a plan and that plan has kicked off with operation Clean Up.

Just a month to go till the Champions Trophy, and things aren't looking good for Pakistan. One of the three venues - Rawalpindi - has been scratched for security reasons (but credit to PCB for rewriting the schedule to accommodate the two venues).

Sporadic violence continues in Pakistan. And, players are still expressing apprehension about touring, and no cricket board has taken a step in any direction that would shed some light.

Now Pakistan's coach, Geoff Lawson, has been sent to meet cricket boards in order to convince them to send full strength teams to Pakistan. That means the Pakistan team will be minus its coach as it prepares for the tournament (I wonder if that makes any difference!).

And to top it all off, the legislative assemblies in Pakistan have launched an impeachment movement against President Musharraf. This may or may not have lots of implications, depending on how things go. Whatever the case, the timing could not have been worse, unless he resigns soon in which case things will calm down.

So, let's see what happens. This should be an interesting month!

On the post below, Khansahab has asked a few important questions regarding the current state of Pakistan Cricket.

I try and answer them here - with my opinion based on some facts.

1) Will Afridi be dropped in the near future?

The emergence of Salman Butt and Nasir Jamshed as an opening pair has meant that Malik has had to move down the order. The only way Malik could come back into the team for the match against Bangladesh was in place of Afridi.

IMO, Malik instead of Afridi strengthens the batting but it significantly weakens the bowling. Its going to be a tough one for the selectors. I would definitely go with Afridi but DNA's backing of Malik as skipper means Afridi will miss out more often than not.

It could very well be Malik vs Afridi going forward.

2) If the Champions Trophy goes ahead and IF Pakistan perform the same way as they have been doing for a year (great against minnows, poor against established teams) what will happen to Malik and Lawson?

Malik and Lawson will continue till their term ends. DNA has made it clear and I doubt he will budge. He can control both of them more than any other captain (Misbah or Afridi) and any other local coach.

I would have replaced Malik already but the I'm not the Chairman with the Leash.

3) Is Mohammad Asif returning, fitness permitting?

He was cleared by Dubai in shady circumstances. The all famous 3-man committee has been formed and we all know what the results of that would be.

Asif, fitness permitting, would be playing for Pakistan come the Champions Trophy.

4) Is Shoaib Akhtar returning?

The Lahore High Court has paved the way for Shoaib's return but there are still a number of people in the PCB and the team who do no want him to play for Pakistan again.

It will be tough. Even if he does return, I doubt he would be able to carry on due to fitness problems.

5) What will happen to Mansoor Amjad and Saeed Ajmal? How will the team management react to them. For eg, if the pitch is only partially assisting the spinners, will they be given confidence to play and perform?

Saeed Ajmal has a very bright future. Not many spinners make their debuts against India and come out on top.

He's come too late into the international scene but he's by far one of the best spinners I've seen in Pakistan since the days of Mushtaq and Saqlain. He'll do well in tests too. Kaneria has competition.

Mansoor Amjad will stay on the fringes much like Fawad Alam. Its difficult for either to be a regular feature as long as Malik and Afridi are around.

6) What will happen to Umar Gul? Gul has had numerous problems with injuries. When he is fit and in form he is destructive but his frequent injury problems have become a burden on the team especially when he is perceived as the lead man in Asif's and Akhtar's absence.

That's true. He has been as injured as Shoaib has been but as long as he is fit he will remain a part of Pakistan's 1st choice attack.

7) Abdur Rauf has shown promise. Is he a replacement for Umar Gul in the near future? Sohail Tanvir is in form and I think Rao Ifthikar has not performed poorly so I think he will stay.

Like Saeed Ajmal, it has taken Abdur Rauf ages to break into the international team. Not many fast bowlers come into the Pakistan team at the age of 29.

Rauf has been on the domestic scene for 8 years now and in 80 odd first clast games he's picked up 375 wickets to go with 57 in 57 List A games.

He is a promising pacer. Better than Rao and Wahab and in his last 2 ODIs, he did better than Tanvir.

I believe he will be a regular feature in Pakistan's 1st choice pace attack. He should be.

8) How was Safraz all over as a keeper in the Asia Cup and will we see Kamran Akmal in his place?

Sarfraz was outstanding behind the stumps. Some of his work reminded me of Rashid Latif.

Despite that I feel Kamran Akmal will be back sooner than later as Sarfraz's presence weakens the lower order batting considerably.

9) How is the team morale now? Afridi is under stress, the team looked united without Malik and the seniors are not getting along with Lawson. If the team morale worsens undoubtedly this will result in consistent poor performances. The partnership of Malik and Lawson has proved to be one of the most destructive to Pakistan cricket in the nation's history.

Malik is low on confidence and Lawson doesn't have the support of the seniors. This will continue as long as both remain in their current posts, which looks likely with the backing of DNA.

The team will continue to be the unpredictable Pakistan as it has been forever.

I think its a distant dream to expect consistent performances from Pakistan.

Even when we won the World Cup, we were one of the weakest teams in the tournament who had lost more than we won.

“Geoff spoke highly of Afridi and told us that the team will need his experience against India”

- chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed told ‘The News’.

This piece in The News is painting a picture that says that the selectors had decided to drop Shahid Afridi for the match against India today but have included him in the XI on Lawson and Malik's insistence.

It was only 3 months ago that Lawson wanted Afridi out of the team. And the tension between Afridi and Malik is well documented on Well Pitched and other places.

In view of this, I believe that the quote above and the article in The News, is only propaganda to safeguard the selectors' backsides.

I have no doubts whatsoever that Afridi should be in the team as a bowler. There is no replacement for him.

However, many in Pakistan - media and fans, players and administrators - have run out of patience with him.

Thus, in order to avoid the wrath of the world, the selectors are sending out messages that Afridi is playing because Lawson and Malik want him to.

Why are you misguiding the public Mr. Sallu?

We all know that you are the Afridi supporter.

We all know that in the past you have convinced Lawson and Malik on more than once occassion on Afridi's inclusion in the XI.

So what made the tables turn Mr. Sallu?

Is that Leash tightening around your neck?

As the Asia Cup has gone on, speculation over whether Malik and Lawson will survive the axe or not has grown immensely.

Humiliating losses to India and Sri Lanka, Malik shying away from the post-match and press conferences, and Lawson's outburst on the media has all resulted in everyone questioning their positions as captain and coach of Pakistan.

During the lunch interval of the Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh match yesterday, journalists staged a protest demanding the sacking of Geoff Lawson. All this even after Lawson had apologized for his behaviour.

So will the PCB succumb to this media pressure or will they let it be?

Many are saying that if Pakistan fail to reach the final of the Asia Cup, Lawson and even Malik will face the axe.

Unfair?

Well the problem here is not winning or losing the Asia Cup. Its much bigger than that.

It lies in the leash!

It lies in the leash the Chairman has tied around the selectors, the captain, the coach, the senior players.

The problem lies in each one of them wanting the control but neither having any.

The Chairman wants to have his squad, his captain, his coach, his XI on the field, yet he can't control what happens on the field.

The Chairman holds the selectors, the captain, the coach, and the senior players by a tight leash but once they go on the field, the leash is gone and the Chairman can't do much apart from jumping and waving in the stands.

The selectors want their players in the squad and in the XI, they want to dictate to the captain and the coach, but in reality they are just tied to that leash in the hand of the chairman and keep bending over to him.

In the end they don't get what they want, nor do they give the captain and coach what they want.

The captain keeps begging for his choice of players, argues with the selectors, reasons with the Chairman but each time that leash keeps getting tighter around his neck.

He tries to lead from the front, tries to bring the best out of the players, but the unsupporting senior players send all those efforts to the cleaners.

In reality the captain is walked around with that leash and when set free on the field, he seems all at sea.

The coach doesn't get along with the selectors, doesn't get along with the journalists, doesn't get along with the senior players, and with that leash around his neck just bends over to the Chairman after every demand of his is shunted.

The coach puts in all his efforts to build a cohesive unit but when no one listens he sits down quietly with that leash around his neck and takes home a fat cheque for bending over.

The senior players feel hard done by for not being allowed to captain Pakistan, for not having a say in selection matters, for not having the resonsibility that a junior captain has.

They don't feel like doing their best when the coach and captain are so uninspiring. They want to do more, want to say more, but that tight leash keeps them quiet.

The senior players want to have the control that once an Imran Khan, and a Wasim Akram, and an Inzamam Ul Haq had, but with every one-on-one meeting with the Chairman, their demands are buried and the leash is tightened.

At the end what we have is Pakistan cricket in a bloody mess created by a $%^&ing leash!

What is the solution one may ask?

Dump the leash and start over.

You need only one man in control and sadly no one but Imran Khan, who wants to be no where near the cricket set up, can command such control.

Maybe the cricket should be handed over to some Big Brother from Mumbai.

Atleast his leash will be more frightening!

Dr. Nasim Ashraf (DNA), the man repsonsible for running Pakistan cricket, has written a strong worded letter to the Pakistan team management and asked them a number of questions regarding Pakistan's pathetic display in the field against India on Tuesday.

Directed to Talat Ali and CCed to Geoff Lawson and Shoaib Malik, the letter appeared in today's edition of DAWN, Pakistan's daily newspaper.

In the letter, DNA requests a response to all his questions within 24 hours.

I don't know when or how Talat, Lawson, and Malik are going to repsond to the letter but I thought I would also take a shot at answering some of the questions DNA raised.

I will answer them with my answers as well as what I think the Team Management (TM) will say.

However, before that, I would like to ask one question of my own.

Why or how is a letter, that should be stamped "Private & Confidential", get into the hands of DAWN?

On to DNA's questions.

DNA: "...... you clearly told me that Malik was 100 per cent fit and therefore was the second spinner in the side. What happened to that? Why did Malik not bowl?"

TM: Doc Saahab, Malik was 100% fit going into the match and he had planned on bowling but during India's innings, Malik felt pain in his shoulder which prevented him from bowling. His shoulder is 100% now and he will take the field on Saturday if we reach the final.

Q: Malik was the 2nd spinner in the team but he was not confident of bowling. The Indian batsmen were in very good form and everyone was being hit around so Malik did not want to bowl on such a situation. He is 100% fit and the shoulder was just an excuse. His lack of coinfidence is very visible, please replace him as captain as Pakistan requires a more aggressive and confident captain.

DNA: "After the Indian opening pair started to hit us all over the park.....it was fairly obvious that something needed to be done to break their momentum. .... Nobody suggested to the captain that he must have a mini conference ..... Even the commentators (about) bringing in Shahid Afridi at an early stage"

TM: We had planned to bowl only the fast bowlers in the first 20 overs and we stuck to that plan which paid off when Wahab Riaz got the wickets of Sehwag and Gambhir. With the way they were batting Afridi would not have been a good option as he also would have gone for runs.

Q: Sir with all due respect, at first I would like to point out that if we started listening to commentators, you would not be Chairman, Malik would not be captain, and half of Pakistan's squad would be sitting at home watching the match on TV. Secondly, I do agree with you though, Malik should have been more proactive and should have brought on Afridi earlier. He failed to budge from what was discussed in the team meeting. He has shown a lack of creativity, thus I request you to think about a new captain.

DNA: "Even if that was not the strategy, at least the fast bowlers should have been advised not to over extend themselves (more than 22 wides and a total of 38 extras) ....It seemed as if we were just continuing with tactics that were clearly not working! We need to be more proactive on the field!"

TM: We had asked the fast bowlers to stick to a line and length but their plans did not come off. They had an off day. We are confident that they will come good soon.

Q: Exactly what I said in my previous answer sir. Let me also correct you that they are not fast bowlers but medium pacers. The extras has been a problem since you sacked Waqar Younis as bowling coach. I request you to re-hire him.

DNA: "Wicketkeeping was pathetic, especially after Kamran Akmal dropped the catch and pretended that he had held on to it. This is unsporting behaviour..... I do not want such behaviour from any Pakistani player.....We ought to be looking at playing another ‘keeper."

TM: Kamran did not realise that he had dropped the ball. He is working hard in the nets and we hope that he will come good.

Q: Sir, the players behavious is similar to your board. They say one thing, do another thing, act as if they have done something else, and then talk about what they haven't done. As for Kamran Akmal, please read this.

DNA: "If you look at Sehwag run map, he almost had 50 runs on the leg side which is something that he has never done in the past."

TM: The fast bowlers could not stick to one line as the left-right combination was disturbing them. They are working hard in the nets and will come good soon.

Q: I am truly impressed with your analysis of Sehwag's innings. I did not know that you analyze innings to such an extent. That said, the bowlers should take this into account when they take the field next time against him. Even if Sehwag is strong on the off stump, he has fallen on numerous occasions while edging to the keeper and the slip cordon. The pacers will be informed about this.

DNA: "The positives were that Afridi bowled very well and Malik got his 50 but then Afridi threw his wicket away in a most irresponsible manner."

TM: Afridi has done a very good job with the ball and we are pleased that Malik is back into form. Had Afridi stayed longer at the crease, Paksitan could have got closer to the target.

Q: Afridi is out best bowler sir and he showed that in the match, however we cannot expect a lot of runs from him. Those expectations are wrong. Malik did get a 50 but it was in a losing cause and his innings did not mean much. He should be batting higher up and scoring more runs that will have an impact on the match. Please replace him as skipper so that he can be used as a batsman like before.

DNA: "At least our strategy after losing early wickets should have been to bat out the 50 overs."

TM: We had to go for the runs and thus lost wickets in our effort to chase.

Q: It was a pathetic batting display but the batsmen couldn't do much after the bowlers had given away 330. The batsmen had no hope of getting there.

DNA: "I intend to reach Dhaka on Saturday, Inshallah, at noon time and would like to have a meeting first with you, the captain, the coach and the vice-captain immediately, and then later in the evening a meeting with the full team."

TM: We are waiting for your arrival Doc Saahab. The team needs you.

Q: Sir, with all due respect, I do not think it is a good idea for you to come down on Saturday. It will put undue pressure on the team, which is already very high following the largest defeat at the hands of the Indians. The team would like to concentrate on the cricket and the upcoming final, thus it would be a better idea if the team is given time to prepare and think among themselves of how to best approach Saturday's final.

Thank you for your support.

Best regards,

Talat Ali, Geoff Lawson, Shoaib Malik.

And Q.

The day before the match, Geoff Lawson stated that he wants Pakistan to beat India by 150 runs.

What was the point of that statement?

Did Lawson not know that Pakistan may not win the toss and field first instead?

Who does Lawson think he is, Shoaib Akhtar? Only he has the ability to say things he would do and then end up not doing them.

Was Lawson underestimating India or was he only being over confident of Pakistan's chances?

Lawson was right about the victory margin though - a 140 run victory. Albeit, for the other team. India!

Lawson's statement was nothing but pointless.

There were a lot of other pointless things.

Going into the match, Pakistan boasted of a 12 match winning streak. Pointless.

Lawson actually talked about equalling Australia's 21 match winning streak. Pointless.

Pakistan's fielding and catching was worse than a domestic side playing in Cambodia. Pointless.

Sohail Khan sat on the bench as Rao Iftikhar bowled to Sehwag & Co. Pointless.

39 extras. Pointless.

Younis Khan bowled the 50th over and gave away only 2 runs. Pointless.

Kamran Akmal hit a full toss straight to mid on. Pointless.

Younis Khan faced 1 ball more than he did against Bangladesh. Pointless.

Mohammad Yousuf was caught plumb in front and then looked at the umpire as if he had no idea how that was out. Pointless.

Shoaib Malik scored 53. Pointless.

A day before the match I did a the "Real Role Play" write up where I talked about what each Pakistan player would need to do to challenge India. Go back and read that again and you'll see that none of them did anything remotely close to that.

Somebody said to me that it wasn't that Pakistan played badly, but India played well.

I disagree.

There is no doubt that India is the stronger team and Pakistan was never going to challenge them after giving away 330 runs.

Sure Sehwag and Gambhir batted really well and Yuvraj was good in the middle, while Raina finished the innings with some big hits, but it was really the opening partnership that laid the platform for such a big total.

The opening partnership was 152 runs more than it should have been and it lasted 21 overs more than it should have.

The culprit was Younis Khan who dropped Gambhir in the very 1st over of the match.

Younis dropped Gambhir again in the 9th over when the score was 64.

Then Akmal joined in the fun and dropped Sehwag in the 13th over when the score was 91. Sehwag scored 45 more runs.

The way India's middle to lower order batted, Pakistan could have restricted them to a lower total, only if they had held onto their catches.

I say drop the dropper please as Younis Khan's position in the ODI team is truly pointless.

I recently read that on arriving in Jaipur, Shane Warne wrote a paper before the Indian Premier League began. The paper was titled "What's My Role" and included job descriptions for each of the squad members of the Rajasthan Royals.

Yusuf Pathan's role was described as:

"1. Be aggressive, dominate the start of the innings. Play with freedom, take 'em [bowlers] on. 2. [Bowl] Stump-to-stump off-spin. 3. Field in the ring early on and in the deep later."

Furthermore, the paper also gave titles to each of the squad members. Yusuf Pathan's title was "The Statement Maker".

On announcing Pakistan's 16 member squad for the Tri-Series to be held in Bangladesh, Nasim Ashraf requested Geoff Lawson and Talat Ali to write a similar "What's My Role" paper for the Pakistan squad.

Due to Lawson not being able to get a flight from Australia to Pakistan and Talat Ali still stuck in India held up in post-IPL match referee meetings, they held a brainstorming session over the phone.

Well Pitched has managed to get their hands on the Role Paper prepared for the Pakistan Squad.

This is what is looks like.

Shoaib Malik
Title: Kaptaan
Role: 1. Don't bat in the top three, bat lower down, don't go in during pressure situations, bat how you like. 2. Bowl only when you fail with the bat 3. Field from where players can hear you, speak louder, don't let Afridi dominate you on the field.

Misbah Ul Haq
Title: Inzi Part II
Role: 1. Don't find a new way to get out, hit longer sixes than Afridi. 2. Don't bowl. 3. Field where Malik tells you to field. 4. Don't aspire to become captain.

Salman Butt
Title: Opening Solution
Role: 1. Bat 50 overs, guide whoever opens with you. 2. Bowl if other team is easily winning. 3. Field close to Malik, keep him calm. 4. Think like you are the captain.

Shahid Afridi
Title: Boom Boom
Role: 1. Bat in every position, hit ball out of the ground, don't defend, hit ball in the air. 2. Bowl leg spin, off spin, googly, flipper, bouncer, become our Ajanta Mendis. 3. Field in covers, cheer team on, don't dominate Malik. 4. Don't think like you are captain.

Mohammad Yousuf
Title: Prayer
Role: 1. Bat like a dream, hit those cover drives, don't run too hard, take 5 steps after every shot. 2. Don't bowl. 3. Field where you can be hidden, keep praying for wickets.

Younis Khan
Title: Dummy
Role: 1. Bat like Malik tells you. 2. Bowl like Malik tells you. 3. Field where Malik tells you.

Kamran Akmal
Title: Screecher
Role: 1. When opening slash at every ball, when batting lower down slash at every ball. 2. Keep wickets, don't worry about dropped chances, don't give byes, appeal hard, annoy batsmen. 3. Let out "come on boys" every 2nd over.

Mohammad Asif
Title: Drug Lord
Role: 1. Don't worry about batting. 2. Bowl with bionic arm, try swinging ball, if no swing you will get hit, don't worry smoke a joint. 3. Don't smoke dope on the field.

Umar Gul
Title: Gully Cricketer
Role: 1. Don't worry about batting. 2. Bowl yorkers, fast swinging yorkers, blink hard during run up. 3. Field well, keep blinking, don't do drugs.

Nasir Jamshed
Title: Boom Junior
Role: 1. Bat like Afridi, smash every ball, don't worry about Khurram or Khalid. 2. Don't bowl unless Malik asks. 3. Field in slip in beginning, then wherever you have to.

Sohail Tanvir
Title: Windmill Roller Coaster
Role: 1. Bat like you do in domestic cricket. 2. Bowl like you did in IPL. 3. Field like you. 4. Don't get caught with drugs. 4. Think your playing for Shane Warne.

Rao Iftikhar
Title: Anjuman
Role: 1. Don't worry about batting. 2. Bowl outswingers only, no need for wickets, don't give runs so your economy keeps you in the team. 3. Field near boundary, throw like Walsh. 4. This is your last chance. 5. Don't change your name.

Fawad Alam
Title: Super Sub
Role: 1. You will play in a dead rubber. 2. Bat to prove you are a batsman. 3. Bowl to prove you are a bowler. 4. Field in covers and then sweeper, run fast. 5. Eat Vitamins. 6. You will come on as substitute during senior players' cigarette breaks.

Wahab Riaz
Title: Lahori Dugga
Role: 1. Bat fast. 2. Bowl fast. 3. Field fast.

Bazid Khan
Title: Majid's son
Role: 1. Don't bat like your dad, try and take Younis' position. 2. Do you bowl? 3. Field in the deep.

Naumanullah
Title: Domestic Performer
Role: 1. Don't worry about playing, we are giving you your dues, you will be dropped soon. 2. Bowl in the nets. 3. You may or may not get to field.

End Summary to all players:

Discuss your roles with Shoaib Malik. Don't worry if the captain changes your roles. An urdu translation will be provided when we are in Bangladesh.

See you in Bangladesh.

Coach & Manager.

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.

Pakistan's leading pacemen Mohammad Asif and Umar Gul both made their comebacks to competitive cricket in the last few days after being out with injuries for 6 months and 4 months respectively.

Mohammad Asif turned out for National Bank yesterday in the semi final of the ABN Amro National One Day Cup Competition against Habib Bank. He bowled 8 overs for 36 runs including an opening spell of 5-0-10-1. Asif seemed to be back to his best knocking back Rifatullah Mohmand's off stump with a trademark inswinger off the 4th ball of Habib Bank's innings.

Umar Gul played a couple of matches in the ABN Amro Cup and he is attacking the bowling for Pakistan against Bangladesh as we speak. He's spraying it all over the place but at least he's not injured and bowling at full pace.

Looks promising for Pakistan.

The other 2 comebacks were those of Mohammad Yousuf and Shahid Afridi.


Yousuf scored his 15th and 2nd consecutive ODI century with an unbeaten 108 against Bangladesh earlier today. His previous 100 was an identical score against Zimbabwe in the 5th ODI of the series in January. Its not the same comeback as Asif's or Gul's but after Lawson's criticism and demands for having him out of the team, it sure is a comeback.

Afridi was another player that Lawson didn't want in the team and he showed his value by smacking a typical 11 ball unbeaten 27 against the hapless Bengalis as Pakistan posted 322 in the 1st ODI earlier today. Yet another comeback.

Pakistan should easily win the on going match but I have a problem with the XI that is playing.

Similar to what they did against Zimbabwe they are persisting with 3 pacers, Afridi, and Malik as the only bowlers. Thats too thin a bowling line up.

This strategy fared well against the Zimbos and it will work alrite against the Bengalis as well, but what will happen when they face tougher opposition? Surely a 6th bowler is required and instead of doing that against the tougher ones, Pakistan should be trying an XI that fits 6 bowlers now.

Another problem I have is that there is no Sohail Khan in the XI despite being in the squad. He has been the bowler to watch out for this domestic season. He got only 1 game against the Zimbos and I fail to understand why Ifitikhar Anjum keeps getting picked.

Come on team management - pull up your socks already!

Australia's withdrawal from touring Pakistan have left them with a series against the lowest ranked team rather than the highest ranked team. Maybe thats a good thing - this way Pakistan can start from the bottom and work their way up. They conquered Zimbabwe this January and now its only apt that they go on and do the same with their Bengali brothers.

I reckon the PCB should organize a series against the Windies next followed by one with England and New Zealand. They can play the top 4 after that.

As it happens in Pakistan, every series is preceded by selectorial problems. This time is no different.

Triple Threat (Wrestlemania Potential) - Lawson vs Afridi vs Yousuf
Last week there were some news reports regarding Geoff Lawson not wanting Mohammad Yousuf and Shahid Afridi in the ODI team. The reasons apparently given by Lawson were lack of fitness / poor fielding and inconsistent performer respectively for the 2 senior players.

How true is that? Partly. Lawson has argued for Afridi's and Yousuf's exclusion from the team but the reasons given are very different from the actual ones.

It is no secret in Pakistan that Afridi has been lobbying for the captaincy of the ODI team. Thus his dominating presence in the dressing room and the field has made Shoaib Malik very insecure and uncomfortable.

While Yousuf is still sour over his exclusion from the 20-20 squad, and since Inzamam's retirement, has become a reclusive figure in the dressing room distancing himself from the rest of the team. Again it is a commonly known fact in Pakistan that these days Yousuf plays for himself rather than the team.

So is Lawson / Malik justified in requesting the selectors and the board to exclude these 2 cricketers from the ODI team? Lets have a look.

This season, starting from the series against South Africa in October under Shoaib Malik and Geoff Lawson, Yousuf has played 14 ODIs, scored 792 runs, and averaged 88.00. This includes 2 100s and 6 50s including an unbeaten 99. His string of scores reads 53, 117, 58*, 5, 53, 82*, 12, 16, 99*, 74, 72, 38*, 5, 108*.

More than anything else, Inzamam's absence seems to have had a positive effect on Yousuf's ODI performance probably due to addedd responsibilities. On the back of the above performances I really don't think Lawson or Malik are justified. Nor is the Paki public, which feels that Yousuf has batted selfishly in recent times.

During the same period, Afridi has played 13 ODIs, scored 297 runs, while averaging 33.00. At the same time he has picked up 13 wickets. My views about Afridi are known to whoever reads my posts regularly. A Pakistan team without him is incomplete.


Triple Threat (Survivor Series) - Akhtar vs Asif vs Gul
Its inriguing that this combination has never played an international match together. The reasons for that are known to all so I am not going to dwell on those.

Sallu, the Chief Selector, said a few days back that he was waiting to hear about them before finalizing the squad. While Mohammad Asif an Umar Gul were waiting fo fitness assessments, Shoaib Akhtar is waiting for the verdict on his disciplinary issues.

Gul has been passed fit. Asif declared himself fit yesterday only for the PCB to come out today and say that Asif is not ready for the series against Bangladesh. Did Asif announce his return to fitness so that he doesn't miss out on the IPL? Maybe. Reports today also mentioned that the PCB will not allow him to play the IPL so that he can get some rest. They have already stopped him from appearing for a county side.

Whether Akhtar will face disciplinary charges or not will not be known for some time as the committee is yet to give its verdict and it will not do so anytime soon. Akhtar might as well consider his international career over. Whats he got to lose when he's got the King Shahrukh Khan backing him in cricket as well as bollywood. Akhtar should just play for the Kolkata Knigt Riders, do some movies, party hard, and live life King size! After all one should do what he's best at.

Such stories are the norm in Pakistan. I wouldn't expect any surprises in the Pakistan squad. Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, and Khurram Manzoor will be announced as openers. Malik, Yousuf, Younis, and Misbah will make up the middle order. Afridi and Fawad Alam will be the allrounders along with keeper Kamran Akmal. And the bowling will be comprised of Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, and Yasir Arafat. Plus Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Hameed, Khalid Latif, Anwar Ali will get a look in during the course of the 5 ODIs.

I'm not sure what kind of boost would a series against the Bengalis will provide Pakistan cricket. Apart from a few passionate followers of the game like me, the majority would be watching Kolkata Knight Riders taking on the Bangalore Royal Challenders rather than a Pakistan vs Bangladesh ODI.

Even I would be flipping between the 2!