Showing posts with label Moin Khan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moin Khan. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Can we find one thing about Pakistan's Cricket that we all agree on?


Posted by Q at Wednesday, March 04, 2015 Pitched (1)
"Sarfraz is our reserve opener" - Moin Khan

"Sarfraz career will be at risk if he opens" - Waqar Younis

"If there is one thing that can possibly be agreed upon in Pakistan cricket, it is that nobody agrees with anyone. And some will disagree with that." - George Dobell

That pretty much describes Pakistan cricket in a nutshell.

In this cricket crazy country, everyone is an analyst, everyone has an opinion, and everyone believes their opinion is right.

You go to Australia and everyone will tell you that Sir Don Bradman was the best batsman ever to play for Australia. Indians will say Sachin Tendulkar. West Indies' would say Sir Viv Richards.

What about the best batsman to ever play for Pakistan?

You go to Pakistan and you will be greeted to an endless debate about Javed Miandad and Inzamam Ul Haq. Some will throw in Mohammad Yousuf's name, while some will even mention Younis Khan! And then there will be that generation, which will dreamily talk about the era of Hanif Mohammad, Sadiq Mohammad, Zaheer Abbas et al.

Same story if you ask them about the best fast bowler to ever play for their country.

Glenn McGrath for Australia. Kapil Dev for India. Courtney Walsh for West Indies.

What about Pakistan? You'll hear something like this:

"Wasim Akram was the best"

"He tried to sabotage Waqar's career who was far better. If Waqar had not missed those years he would have more wickets than Wasim Akram"

"Imran Khan taught both of them what they knew. They were not better bowlers than Imran"

"Sarfraz Nawaz was the true inventor of reverse swing. Even Imran learned it from. Sarfraz was by far the best"

"You guys were not even born when Fazal Mahmood was putting Pakistan on the cricket map. There is no comparison"

"No one was faster than Shoaib Akhtar. Have you seen anyone clean bowl Sachin like that? Shoaib was the best ever"

"If Asif and Aamer did not listen to Salman Butt, they would have been better than Wasim and Waqar. Aamir will come back and show that hes the best ever"

"Sab choro yaar, Aaqib Javed sab se behtar tha!"

Hell, the debate will be endless even if you discuss wicketkeepers!

Rashid Latif and Moin Khan will be debated and then there will be some who will talk of Kamran Akmal having more catches and more hundreds than either of them. Oh and Wasim Bari for the ones who always talk about that era.

I don't think I can find a single statement that Pakistan's cricket management, experts, and fans will agree on.

Maybe that Imran Khan was the best captain the country ever had?

Not really. I have heard arguments that Javed Miandad was a better captain, and that Abdul Hafeez Kardar was the best one, and some even say that Misbah is better than both Imran and Miandad!

Maybe that Shahid Afridi is the best allrounder to play for the country?

Ha! Forget what the numbers say. Imran Khan, Abdul Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood have their backers. Even Wasim Akram has a few for that status!

What about Pakistan's team of the 90s being the best Pakistan team ever?

Nah, Imran Khan's team of the 80s was superior say many.

Oh wait I have found one I think. 

1992 was the best World Cup ever for Pakistan!

That can't be disputed can it?

Ofcourse it can! 1999! So what if we lost the final? The team was stronger than the one in 1992. Yes, you will hear that!

Saeed Anwar is the best ever opener produced by Pakistan!

I think that might be it. The one statement that everyone will agree on.

Or do we have people who believe that Hanif Mohammad, Sadiq Mohammad, or Mohsin Khan were better?

Someone please find me one statement regarding our cricket that we can agree on. 

Just one!

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Tuesday, November 4, 2014

A Rare Success for Pakistan's Leadership


Posted by Q at Tuesday, November 04, 2014 Pitched (1)
This 2-0 series win over Australia was sweet. Extremely sweet! There are so many stories within this 2-test series that I don't really know where to begin; but they all need to be told, for this series win is right up there as Pakistan's best test series victory, in my lifetime, if not ever.

When I think of Pakistan's victories in test series that I have witnessed, the greatest ones that come to mind are the ones against England '92, Australia '94, Asian Test Championship '99, South Africa '03, England '05, India '06, England '12, and this one Australia '14.

It will take time for this win to sink in and to realize how this one compares with past victories; and time will also tell the role this victory plays in shaping the future of Pakistan's test team.

However, one thing is quite clear. I don't think Pakistan has ever dominated a series the way they did this one. And that too against expectations considering that Pakistan were ranked number 6 in the world and they were up against the world's number 2 side, which was the top ranked side till a few months ago! Those lucky punters who believed in us with the bookies like Paddy Power will be rubbing their hands excitedly now too!

Pakistan completely outplayed the Australians and how.

I think that the greatest story of this 2-0 test series victory over Australia lies in the rare success of the PCB and the team management. No one could have even thought of a result like this considering that barely a few weeks ago Younis Khan had threatened to quit tests due to his sacking from ODIs and Misbah Ul Haq had stepped down from the team for the 3rd ODI against Australia due to losing all his confidence in himself.

In a situation like this with Pakistan's senior most cricketers down and out, it was PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan' years of diplomatic service experience that came to the rescue. You can't give enough credit to Shaharyar sahab for convincing Younis to continue his test career and also for putting his weight behind Misbah at a time when the skipper was at an all time confidence low.

For a cricket board that has had leadership problems and management issues for as long as I have known it, this series will go down in history as the rare occurrence where true leadership was demonstrated by the Board. I salute you Shaharyar Sahab.

As for the new team management, this was their second series in charge. Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Mushtaq Ahmed, and Grant Flower had got off to the worst possible start in their first series in charge in Sri Lanka a couple of months ago. The T20 and ODIs against Australia were also nothing to write home about.

The tests against Australia however were a different story altogether. Younis Khan has publicly acknowledged the effort that Grant Flower put in with him. The success of Pakistan's batting line up, in a series where Australia's world beating batsmen failed, also lies in the work that Grant Flower has put in.

Sarfraz Ahmed has had a marvellous year with the gloves and the bat. Moin Khan deserves a lot of credit for not only Sarfraz' inclusion in the team, but also for the confidence Moin has had in his abilities for a long time now.

Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah combined to take 28 Australian wickets in the 2 tests. Prior to this series, Babar had played all of 2 tests for Pakistan, while Yasir had played none. They did have tonnes of first class experience, but this series was no domestic game, it was against the mighty Australians and both the spinners exploited the Aussie weakness against spin to great effect.

It was a big ask in the absence of the more experienced Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman, yet both Zulfiqar and Yasir stood up and performed like champions, and I believe some credit must go to the spin consultant, Mushtaq Ahmed, who has been working behind the scenes with Pakistan's spinners.

While Pakistan's batsmen and spinners dominated the series, the pacers, Imran Khan and Rahat Ali, both with very little international experience, also performed their role to great effect. Both of them provided crucial breakthroughs in both the tests and their reverse swing was noteworthy, especially compared to the Australian pacers, who were pedestrian at best.

Every time Waqar Younis gets involved with the Pakistan team, the pacers tend to pick up their performance. Whether it is as bowling coach, or head coach, Waqar has always had a positive impact on the team, and more so, on the fast bowlers. This time is no different. He made a difference when Rana Naveed was part of the team; he did it with Umar Gul, Mohammad Aamer, and Mohammad Asif; and now he has done it with Imran Khan and Rahat Ali.

I know that everything looks good when the team performs. It makes the captain look good, it makes the team management look good, and it makes the board look like a professional unit. There may be little chunks here and there that need ironing out, but for Pakistan, this leadership and management seems to be coming together well, and at the right time considering that the World Cup is right round the corner.

Praising the leadership will be incomplete without a word or two about Misbah Ul Haq. Anyone in power is prone to criticism and being Pakistan's captain makes you even more vulnerable. Every single move is scrutinized and every little mistake is admonished as if one has committed a grave sin. With Misbah, it is no different.

For the past 3 years, Misbah has been criticized by former players, his own players, and the large fan base of Pakistan cricket. He has had supporters too, but he has heard his fair share of criticism for a number of things - for the way he bats, for the way he leads, for the players he supports, and for really everything he does on the field.

The pressure on Misbah, particularly during this year, has been immense. The losses have hurt, and the loss of his own form has hurt even more. One of Misbah's great strengths has been his performances under pressure. Hell, he took over the team when they were going through the worst crisis in their history; if that is not absorbing pressure and leading then I don't know what is.

The pressure never really did get to Misbah. Or so I thought. He seemed to soak it all in, ignore the critics, and continue in the way he thought best. But he finally crumbled. He buckled under pressure after a number of losses for Pakistan and batting failures for him, and he decided to sit out of the last ODI of the series against Australia.

For a captain to sit out of a match because he has no confidence left and he feels the team will be better off without him should result in the end of a captaincy career.

Not for Misbah though.

To come back from that to lead the team to its first test series win over Australia in 20 years, whitewash the Aussies and dominate them like they were some minnow, score twin centuries in the same test, and smash the fastest century ever in test cricket is nothing short of remarkable!

Misbah came back from the ditch and at the end of the series stood tall as the most successful captain in Pakistan's test history, along with Imran Khan and Javed Miandad.

The series win over Australia and the largest ever win for Pakistan in terms of runs was a rare occurrence, but so was the success of Pakistan cricket's leadership.

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Friday, March 7, 2014

Shahid Afridi's Milestones & Misbah's Run Outs


Posted by Q at Friday, March 07, 2014 Pitched (1)
Pakistan owe their position in the Asia Cup Final to their hero, Shahid Afridi. If it wasn't for his match winning strikes against India and Bangladesh, Pakistan would probably not be playing the final tomorrow.

In Sri Lanka, Pakistan will meet a familiar opponent in the final. Even though Sri Lanka has been the more dominant team in the tournament, Pakistan should fancy their chances against them.

Head to Head, Overall

Pakistan won the last ODI series between the two teams 3-2, and their overall record against them is also better, which reads Pakistan 80, Sri Lanka 53, Tie 1. Even though there is not such a huge difference in the record in more recent years, Pakistan still leads the head to head 10-8 in matches since 2010.

Head to Head, Tournament Finals

The head to head in Tournament Finals however is even closer. Pakistan and Sri Lanka have played 12 finals with each team winning 6. The last time the two teams met in an ODI final was in 2004 in the final of the Paktel Cup in Lahore. Sri Lanka won that by 119 runs. The last time the two teams met in an Asia Cup Final was in 2000 in Dhaka, which is where tomorrow's final will also be played. In 2000, Pakistan won the final by 39 runs.

Shahid Afridi's Milestones

Shahid Afridi's batting form has been key to Pakistan's success in the Asia Cup and if he proves to be the difference between the two sides once again in the final tomorrow, he may reach some new personal milestones.

1. Afridi is one man of the match award away from over taking Kallis and Ponting to become the sole third highest man of the match winner in ODIs.

2. Afridi needs 3 wickets to over take Brett Lee and 4 wickets to over take Glen McGrath to become the 6th highest wicket taker in ODIs.

3. Afridi needs 60 more runs to go past Inzamam Ul Haq to become the highest run scorer for Pakistan in Asia Cup matches.

If Afridi is at the top of his game tomorrow, he will probably reach one of these milestones, if not more.

Sri Lankan Milestones

Shahid Afridi is not the only who might reach some milestones. If Sri Lanka's best batsman in the tournament, Kumar Sangakkara, and their best bowler, Ajantha Mendis, are in top form then they could become the all time highest run scorer and highest wicket taker in Asia Cup matches respectively.

1. Sangakkara is 145 runs away from Sanath Jayasuriya's record of 1,220 runs in Asia Cup matches.

2. Mendis is 5 wicket away from Muralitharan's record of 30 wickets in Asia Cup matches.

If either of those milestones are achieved, then Sri Lanka will surely be looking at lifting their 5th Asia Cup title.

Misbah's Milestones

 Misbah has been a prolific scorer for Pakistan in ODIs since taking over the team. He has bailed the team out on many occasions and on others has set up victories as well. In this Asia Cup, however, it has been a different story.

Misbah scored 73 in Pakistan's opening game against Sri Lanka, yet Pakistan lost the match. Pakistan won their next 3 games against Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh and Misbah's contribution in those games was 0, 1, and 4.

In two of those games, Misbah was run out.

What is interesting is that Misbah has been run out 7 times in his ODI career, and Pakistan has not lost any of those 7 ODIs - 6 were won, and 1 was tied, with 3 of the wins against Sri Lanka.

So it is not only Afridi's form with the bat that is key to Pakistan's success, Misbah running himself out is too!

Pakistan are the defending Asia Cup champions, and if they manage to win tomorrow Misbah will add another feather to his cap by becoming the only Pakistan captain to win two Asia Cup titles.

Interesting Pakistani Milestones

1. Moin Khan was the Pakistan captain in 2000 when Pakistan won the Asia Cup for the first time. It will be an interesting feat for him if Pakistan win tomorrow, giving him two Asia Cup titles - 1 as captain and 1 as coach.

2. Mohammad Akram will also be a part of a similar feat if Pakistan win. He was part of the team in the Asia Cup in 2000 and is currently with the team as bowling coach.

3. Misbah, Hafeez, Umar Akmal, Afridi, Gul, and Ajmal were part of the victorious Asia Cup campaign in 2012 as well. All of them will become the only Pakistan players to be a part of two victorious Asia Cup campaigns if Pakistan win tomorrow.

4. If Pakistan win tomorrow, Shahid Afridi will become the only Pakistani player to win the Asia Cup three times.

This Asia Cup has provided thrilling matches and one can look forward to the same tomorrow. Here's hoping for a cracking game and Pakistan achieving all these milestones!

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Thursday, September 19, 2013

WAKE UP PAKISTAN !!!


Posted by Q at Thursday, September 19, 2013 No Comments
No need to apologize, Moin Khan says of Pakistan's performance.

 Nothing wrong with Misbah's captaincy, PCB Chief says.

 Najam Sethi shrugs of Harare Humiliation

 Mediocrity won't win you tests, Misbah tells batsmen

 Those are the headlines that have appeared in Dawn, Pakistan's premier newspaper, over the past few days, following the defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe in the second test.

What message are Pakistan's Chairman of the cricket board, Manager of the cricket team, and Captain of the cricket team sending out to the public?

How can Moin Khan be unapologetic in a humiliating defeat? He needs to wake up and realize that it wasn't a loss to a South Africa or India or Australia, even though the latter will also be a humiliation in these days. Pakistan, who were among the top 4 test teams before the series began, lost to a team that was unranked before the conclusion of the series!

How can you not be apologetic?

How can Sethi sahab shrug off the defeat and say that nothing is wrong with the captaincy? How can the chairman not hold the captain, coach, manager, and players accountable for the defeat? Why is the Chairman or the other members of the board not questioning the players and support staff?

Is anyone even bothering to try and figure out cause of this embarrassing defeat?

How can Misbah talk about mediocrity? He himself is the Kingpin of Mediocrity!

A mediocre team is the result of our mediocre captain.

Yes I know Misbah is the best batsman we have and that he is the only one who scores and no one else supports him, but that doesn't mean that he is not mediocre himself. Scoring a ton of 50s and standing at the crease for umpteen hours does not make one a great player.

Misbah's inability to convert his 50s into big centuries, his inability to push the scoring rate, his inability to close games makes him mediocre.

And that makes his team mediocre.

Why aren't any of these people taking this defeat seriously?

No one would have imagined a troubled team to topple over one of the top four. Yet, Pakistan folded in front of good seam and swing bowling.

Zimbabwe should be given credit, but that does not mean that no one in the Pakistan cricket set up should be worried.

Moin Khan should have said "We apologize to the Pakistani fans for letting them down".

Najam Sethi should have said "It was an embarrassing defeat and we will look into it".

Misbah should have said "My captaincy was mediocre and the batsmen were not in touch."

Wake up Pakistanis, don't take this lightly!

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Saturday, July 11, 2009

Random Pakistan Cricket Fact #15


Posted by Q at Saturday, July 11, 2009 Pitched (18)
Kamran Akmal has more dismissals in test matches than Rashid Latif and Moin Khan.

For an average wicketkeeper, I found that quite amusing.

How has Akmal managed to surpass Rashid and Moin?

His dismissals per innings (2.05) are also higher than Moin's (1.24) and Rashid (1.88).

In fact, Kamran Akmal has more dismissal per innings than any Pakistani wicketkeeper in tests!

Figure that one out.

Imagine where that figure would be if he didn't drop all those catches, or miss all those stumpings.

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Saturday, April 4, 2009

What Loyalty!?


Posted by Q at Saturday, April 04, 2009 Pitched (2)
"It is true that ICL is facing problems and they couldn't organise their tournament in March-April. But you go through good and bad times and one expects people to behave more maturely when tested."

"I didn't like the way Yousuf and Razzaq had offered to switch loyalty"

That is Moin Khan reacting to Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzak's statements saying that they were willing to cancel their ICL contracts if selected for Pakistan.

What else did you expect of these guys Moin?

Did you think they were going to stay loyal to you and the ICL for as long as they played?

You talk about behaving maturely when tested - is that how they behaved when they left their own country to join the ICL?

The moment they were tested, either by the captain or the selectors, they shifted loyalties.

Yet you expected that they would stand by the ICL during its bad times.

By now we all should know that all these players care about is themselves.

Had another league come up that would have offered them more money than the ICL, they would have torn their ICL contracts and jumped ship long time ago.

So Moin Khan, you of all people, definitely should know better.

Related Article: Moin Khan Miffed at Loyalty Switch

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Sunday, November 16, 2008

Even International Teams Cannot Match the Badshahs-Heroes Rivalry


Posted by Q at Sunday, November 16, 2008 Pitched (20)
The Lahore Badshahs take on the Hyderabad Heroes for the ICL bragging rights tonight. With the best of 3 finals tied at 1-1, the winner takes all in tonight's match.

There is a lot of history between the two sides, which makes today's match even more compelling.

Rewind to November 2007 when the first ever ICL tournament kicked off.

The Hyderabad Heroes team in that tournament was captained by Inzamam Ul Haq and coached by Moin Khan. The team included Abdul Razzak, Azhar Mahmood, Chris Harris, Nicky Boje, Ambati Rayudu, Shahabuddin, Ibrahim Khaleel, IS Reddy, Alfred Absolom, and others.

The Heroes didn't win much in that tournament.

Fast Forward to March 2008 and the 2nd edition of the ICL 20-20 Championship kicked off.

A dozen and a half Pakistani cricketers had joined the ICL and there was a new team playing the tournament - the Lahore Badshahs.

Inzamam, Azhar Mahmood, and Moin Khan had all moved from the Heroes and were part of the Badshahs now.

Razzak however, remained with the Heroes.

The Badshahs cruised through the group stages and entered the finals series unbeaten.

Up against the Heroes in the finals, the Badshahs stumbled for the first time in the competition.

They lost the 1st final by 6 runs and were down 1-0.

The 2nd final ended in a tie and the Badshahs' players failed to hit the stumps even once in the bowl out, hence conceding the ICL championship to the Hyderabad Heroes.

Inzamam and Moin Khan had lost out to a team they had captained and coached in the previous tournament.

And their main nemesis in both the finals was their old team mate Abdul Razzak who was also the player of the tournament.

Fast forward to October 2008 and 2nd season of the ICL kicked off with the 3rd edition of the ICL 20-20 Championship.

The tournament started with a rematch of the previous tournaments final and the Heroes were victorious once again on the basis of run rate as the match ended prematurely due to the lights of the stadium switching off 6 overs into the Badshahs innings.

The tournament went on, the Badshahs gained steam with every match, qualified for the semis, went past te Superstars in emphatic fashion, and then waited for the Heroes to join them yet again in a best of 3 finals.

In the 1st final, Abdul Razzak, a former team mate of the Badshahs and the one who had denied them the title in the previous tournament, yet again proved to be the thorn between the Badshahs and a victory.

Tempers flared as Razzak smashed his way to 69. The Badshah bowlers seemed flustered by Razzak's onslaught and the casual taunting by Razzak got under the skin of Rana Naveed and other bowlers.

But this time the Badshahs were not going to stumble.

Despite an imposing total of 170, the Badshahs raced to their target with 5 balls to spare.

The Badshahs were 1 up but they had to win 1 more match.

Come the day of the 2nd final and tension between the 2 sides was evident.

The Badshahs wanted to win badly and not repeat the same mistakes of the previous tournament.

The Heroes wanted a 2nd title and were not going to fall without a fight.

158 should have been an easy target for the Badshahs but Abdul Razzak, their enemy number 1, shook them up with 2 early crucial wickets.

The Badshahs were rocked and were staring at defeat with the scoreboard reading 87-6.

Their innings ended at 150 but not without drama. Sami, batting on 18 and looking good, smashed Boje to the long off boundary. Kemp running around took a stunning one handed catch while still in air.

The catch was cleanly taken but the Badshahs thought otherwise.

For a minute it seemed like Oval 2006 but this time sense prevailed over Inzamam and the match continued but not before some foul verbal exchanges between Azhar Mahmood and Steve Rixon, the Heroes' coach.

Come today and the teams go one on one in the 3rd and last final of the series.

With so much history, stress, tension, and drama between the Badshahs and the Heroes, you should expect nothing less than a totally charged up contest.

A contest that even the rivalry of two international sides cannot match.

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Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Stand up to the BCCI !!


Posted by Q at Wednesday, April 09, 2008 Pitched (11)
- Former Pakistan Captain Inzamam Ul Haq who led the Lahore Badshahs in the ICL Edelweiss 20s Challenge and is leading the ICL Pakistanis in the ICL 20s World Series.
Moin Khan, who is coaching the teams captained by Inzamam, is also the ICL agent for Pakistan. He gets a neat commission from the ICL for every Pakistani player he signs on and has been instrumental in getting together an international looking Pakistan side for the league.
The presence of big names like Inzamam have led a number of Pakistani cricketers to jump ship. Ignorance on part of the PCB is another factor leading players like Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umar, Mohammad Sami joining the ICL bandwagon.
You can't blame the cricketers - for apart from being ignored for national duty, they earn more from the ICL than from playing domestic cricket and maybe even earn more than their IPL counterparts.
The PCB here failed on several accounts.
  • They failed to provide the 'rebel' cricketers with enough confidence that they still have a future in Pakistan.
  • They failed to increase pay packages for domestic cricketers. Or at least for those who had represented Pakistan or were on the fringes.
  • They failed to negotiate IPL packages for these cricketers. The Badshahs were a hit in India so theres no reason why the BCCI would have ignored these cricketers, which have proved to be big crowd pullers.
Where does all this leave Pakistan cricket?
Not in very good shape unfortunately.
The domestic competitions this year, despite having the first choice internationals, lacked subtance due to 18 of the countries' top cricketers playing in the ICL.
If another dozen or 2 dozen cricketers join the ICL it would leave the domestic structure in tatters with only 2nd and 3rd grade cricketers participating in it. Or rather only those whom the ICL are not interested in.
So what should the PCB do about this?
Its quite simple honestly.
Let the cricketers earn their livelihood by playing in the ICL and allow them to play domestic cricket in Pakistan. Its not that these cricketers don't want to play for their regional teams or departments - they do, the PCB has banned them.
Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar have a case filed with the High Court to overturn the bans. Abdul Razzak has filed one as well.
The sooner the PCB realises that the ban is unfair, and its only going to hurt them, the better.
But then if the bans are overturned the PCB will come into the bad books of the BCCI. They can't afford to do that.
Someone then needs to knock some sense into the BCCI. Who can do that? The ICC? CA?
All the national cricket boards need to come together and stand up to the BCCI. They need to let the BCCI know that they are at a loss since they are not getting a share of IPL revenues and at the same time they are losing cricketers to the ICL because of their support to the BCCI.
I hope that sanity prevails and the boards don't go for a cut in IPL revenues as opposed to having their domestic cricketers back.

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Sunday, April 6, 2008

Shoaib Akhtar in Hotter Soup - The WAR Continues...


Posted by Q at Sunday, April 06, 2008 Pitched (4)
The PCB banned Shoaib Akhtar, Nasim Ashraf gave a press conference, Shoaib gave an interview to GEO, Hamid Mir disclosed off-camera talk, Shoaib confirmed off-camera talk on other TV channels, and now it has all come back to bite Shoaib on his back side!

To read about what has happened over the last few days since this war started, read here, here, and here.

Had Shoaib remained quiet after the ban, seemed apologetic for his indisciplinary acts, and filed an appeal, maybe, just maybe, he could have gotten away with it. He has filed an appeal and the PCB is setting up an appellate tribunal to her it out but I highly doubt Shoaib would be listened to this time round.

His vindictive interviews to the media regarding match fixin, former cricketers, the PCB, and Nasim Ashraf have completely back fired.

  1. The ICC have stated that the ACU is going to question Shoaib - this is going to get him or others into serious trouble. In order to keep intact whatever little integrity he has left, he cannot go back on what he has said. If he speaks the truth and is able to give some sort of evidence, it could potentially shake up cricket in Pakistan, India, and South Africa.
  2. The IPL have disallowed Shoaib from playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders - Lalit Modi said that since the IPL was looking for global acceptance they had to follow international guidelines, thus it would be wrong of them to allow a player banned by a home board to play in their league. Fair enough, but there could be more to this. Ottayan has pointed out that it was the BCCI that requested the ICC to question Shoaib regarding his claims of being approached by bookies in India. This could have triggered the BCCI barring Shoaib from the IPL.
  3. Nasim Ashraf and the PCB have filed a defamation case against Shoaib - a lawsuit demanding millions of dollars in compensation for making derogatory comments about the PCB and Nasim Ashraf has been filed by the PCB. If he cannot provide evidence against Nasim Ashraf and his "fee cuts", Shoaib is going to be poorer by some $3 million! Plus I doubt the tribunal will reverse the ban following these statements.

  4. The ICL looks out of the options list - Shoaib publicly spoke about slapping Inzamam and Moin Khan who are the captain and coach of the Lahore Badshahs respectively. Playing for the Lahoriyas is out of the question now. He could play for some other ICL team but then Moin Kan is the agent for Pakistani players taking part in the ICL and I believe he will put in all efforts to keep Shoaib out of it.
What now for Shoaib? I think he has bowled his final delivery in all forms of cricket.

Bollywood and Rakhi Sawant look like the more realistic option.

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Thursday, April 3, 2008

The WAR is ON !! - Shoaib Akhtar Rips Apart the PCB and Nasim Ashraf


Posted by Q at Thursday, April 03, 2008 Pitched (20)
Shoaib Akhtar appeared on Capital Talk on GEO TV last night.

Before I go on to disclosing what he said on and off camera, let me brief you on GEO TV, Capital Talk, and its host Hamid Mir.

GEO is a privately owned Pakistani television channel based and telecasted out of Dubai Media City. The onwers are also the owners of Pakistan's most widely read newspapers - Jang and The News. There are a number of talk shows aired on GEO and majority of them have the reputation of being anti-establishment. Capital Talk is one of them and Hamid Mir usually bounces on every opportunity to criticize the Government. At times rightly so, at times maybe not.

Back to Shoaib Akhtar.

The show was aired last evening and Shoaib Akhtar talked about how he has been victimized by the PCB and criticized Nasim Ashraf and the PCB of having double standards and personal vendettas against him. He said a number of other things, the key ones being:
  • He said that the PCB had no right to ban him since he is not a contracted player and thus the PCB laws do not apply to him.
  • He questioned Nasim Ashraf's eligibility to be PCB Chairman since he was a US citizen and not a Pakistani one.
  • He blamed President Pervez Musharraf of nepotism saying that Nasimn Ashraf was chairman only because he was the president's friend.
  • He brought up the match fixing issue mentioning that those players who were involved didn't get any bans and yet he was being banned.
  • He also talked about instances where he was offered money to under perform yet refused to do so - he mentioned Johannesburg and India as the 2 places where he was offered money.
  • He reminded everyone of the times when he played for Pakistan despite being injured or not fully fit because the team management demanded it.

Shoaib spoke about all this on camera. But what happened off it is what I think is going to start a war within Pakistan cricket!

Once the show ended, Star News ran a story on Shoaib Akhtar. They gave their views on him and reported about the ban and the reactions associated with it. Half an hour or so into the program the reporter contacted Hamid Mir via telephone.

Hamid Mir mentioned that he had just interviewed Shoaib Akhtar and spoke about the above mentioned points. As the Star News reporter probed further into Shoaib's criticism of Nasim Ashraf and the match fixing comment, Hamid Mir opened up and said that Shoaib Akhtar had made a number of glaring revelations off camera.

According Hamid Mir these were:

  • Pakistani, South African, Indian, and Australian cricketers are all involved in match fixing.
  • Shoaib Akhtar has been offered money to throw matches by cricketers from all these countries and in all these countries.
  • Shoaib Akhtar slapped Moin Khan and Inzamam Ul Haq on 2 separate occasions inside the dressing room when they offered money to him to under perform.
  • Briefcases full of money have been left in Shoaib's hotel rooms in South Africa and India by players from SA, Ind, and Pakistan to throw matches.

For Pakistani readers these stories have been heard of before but only partly - Shoaib getting into a spat with Moin Khan or Shoaib and Inzamam having arguements in the dressing room are commonly known facts but there were never any concrete stories as to why the spats took place. According to Hamid Mir, Shoaib Akhtar came clean on those incidents.

But even that is not what I think will shake Pakistan cricket. It is what Shoaib Akhtar said about Nasim Ashraf.

Hamid Mir told Star News that Shoaib Akhtar told him that he has always given a share of his match fees to Nasim Ashraf. Not only from matches played for Pakistan but also from those played for counties, World XIs, Asian XIs, etc. He also mentioned:

  • The PCB Chairman demands a cut of the fees earned by all players representing Pakistan - whether is is their match fee for playing for Pakistan or their county contract.
  • The latest cuts that are to be paid to Nasim Ashraf are those from the IPL contracts.
  • All Pakistan players give a share to Nasim Ashraf to play for Pakistan.

After disclosing all this, Hamid Mir said that Shoaib told him that if his ban is not overturned he will go to court and go public with proof on all these allegations on Nasim Ashraf and the cricketers involved in match fixing.

Concluding his tele conversation with Star News, Hamid Mir signed off by saying that the PCB did not have any just reason for banning Shoaib and he thought that it had happened because of Shoaib treating Nasim Ashraf the same way he had treated former captains Moin Khan and Inzamam Ul Haq - i.e. with a slap.

In Hamid Mir's words: "ho sakta hai Shoaib ne Nasim Ashraf saahab ko bhi apne haath ka maza chakhaya hoga kabhi".

It could be a result of sour grapes on the part of Shoaib Akhtar or it could be a case of political motives on part of Hamid Mir but the kind of facts that have been disclosed, whether true, false, or exaggerated, are bound to shake up Pakistan cricket.

Shoaib has a case on his hands - against the PCB, against the cricketers, and against the man that banned him, Nasim Ashraf.

He claims he has proof of match fixing, nepotism, and demand of shares from players' fees.

He has threatened to go public with all these facts and proof.

Pakistan's newly elected Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has already passed on his request to the PCB to overturn the ban.

A lot has already happened within 36 hours of the announcement of the ban.

I sense a lot more is in store. The War has just started and I believe it will end in a reinstated Shoaib Akhtar and a sacked Nasim Ashraf.


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Tuesday, March 25, 2008

16 Years Ago On This Date...


Posted by Q at Tuesday, March 25, 2008 Pitched (9)
Pakistan won the ODI World Cup on this day. 25th March 1992.

Not many Pakistan cricket fans will forget that date.

Maybe if we as a country had more to be proud of or had we won the world cup 4 times like the Aussies, 25th March wouldn't hold much significance. But the fact that that is the only time that Pakistan won the world cup and that too of a sport that is close to religion and life for some, 25th March is significant. It is very significant.

That period of the early 90s was also a good overall period for sports in Pakistan. Apart from the cricket world cup, Pakistan won the hockey world cup in 1994, Jansher Khan was the number 1 ranked squash player at that time, and Mohammad Yousuf (not the artist formerly known as Yohanna) was the world snooker champion. Sadly such is no more the case.

Moving back to happy times.

I was all of 12 when the 1992 world cup took place, and I was just starting to get the grasp of the nitty gritties of cricket as a player and a watcher.

The '92 world cup collided with the boom of the sattellite dish in the Middle East and watchingm LIVE cricket on TV apart from the tournaments held in Sharjah, was a new phenomenon in the UAE.

The dish in our house was installed on the day Pakistan was to start its campaign against the Windies. By the time the decoder caught the signal, Rameez Raja was approaching his 100 and Pakistan's innings was coming to a close.

Pakistan lost that match and also those against India and South Africa. A miracle gave them 1 point in the washed out match against England in which they had been bowled out for a mere 73. After the first 5 games out of 8 in the group stage, Pakistan had only managed to beat Zimbabwe and they had all of 3 points.

With 3 matches to go, the competition seemed over for Pakistan and the newspapers were full of criticism and some journalists had even gone to the extent of reporting the details of the flight that the Pakistani cricketers would be returning on.

The build up to the world cup was hardly any good for Pakistan. Skipper Imran Khan had a shoulder injury, which prevented him from bowling. Their pace spearhead Waqar Younis had broken down with a stress fracture of the back and was ruled out of the world cup. Javed Miandad had been initially dropped from the squad due to indifferent form and Saleem Malik was named the official Vice Captain. Miandad only made it to the squad when Imran Khan informed the management that he won't be able to play in the initial matches.

The squad comprised of a number of inexperienced young cricketers with minimal international experience - Inzamam-ul-Haq, Aamir Sohail, Aaqib Javed, Mushtaq Ahmed were only a year old in international cricket.

Moreover, with Miandad captaining the side ahead of official Vice Captain Saleem Malik when Imran Khan sat out the first few matches, Malik led a mini revolt inside the dressing room disturbing the young inexperienced team.

Many books and documentaries on Pakistan's '92 world cup victory have done the rounds and I'm not sure if this story has been told before. I am sharing it cause it is my favorite and it will probably go down as the moment that turned the tide for Imran Khan's cornered tigers.

The night before the match against Australia, Imran Khan had summoned his troops at the team hotel. Pakistan had just arrived at Perth from Brisbane where they had lost their match to South Africa. The team dressed in their green coats and khaki trousers waited for the skipper and in some time Imran Khan turned up wearing a T-shirt with a tiger printed on its front.

It was then that he spoke to the team about his dream of winning the world cup. About how he wanted everyone to pick themselves up. About how Saleem Malik should think whether he wants to play for Pakistan ever again or not. About how the Pakistanis were cornered like tigers and they had to win all their matches from here and also hope that other results are in their favor for having any chance to make it to the semis. Imran Khan spoke to each member personally in that meeting. He even held a press conference after that requesting the Pakistani public that he believed his team can do it and they all should pray for them.

Pakistan beat Australia the next day. They had never beaten Australia at Perth before that and I doubt they did ever again, but if anyone gets the chance to watch that match again, do so to see what Pakistan can do on a day they believe in themselves.

They went on to beat Sri Lanka in the next game and New Zealand as well who had not lost a single game the whole tournament. Australia managed to beat West Indies in their final league match, which gave Pakistan a ticket to the semi finals. 1 extra point from a rained off game had pushed Pakistan through. It was truly a miracle.

The rest, as everyone says, is history.

Pakistan had won 5 matches on the trot, new heroes were born, Imran Khan's dream had come true, and the Pakistani tigers had won the cricket World Cup!

These memories will hardly ever go.

Wasim Akram's deliveries to Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis
Inzamam-ul Haq's 60 off 37 when he walked out looking at 8 runs an over for victory
Moin Khan's strange shot for 6 in the semi that all but sealed an impossible chase
Javed Miandad doing the sajda after the semi win
Aamir Sohail pointing Botham to the dressing room
Mushtaq Ahmed's googly to Greame Hick
Aaqib Javed's diving catch off Graham Gooch and running around the park
Rameez Raja's running catch to seal the victory in the final
Imran Khan and Javed Miandad hugging after winning the cup
These are moments that are etched in the memory forever.
25th March, this day 16 years ago. I will never forget.

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Tuesday, January 22, 2008

A Dilemma Called Kamran Akmal


Posted by Q at Tuesday, January 22, 2008 Pitched (10)
He took an amazing catch diving to his right off Sohail Tanvir and effected a brilliant stumping off Shoaib Malik where he caught Brendon Taylor out of his crease by millimeters in a matter of mini seconds. What Kamran Akmal did yesterday behind the stumps would have made the Gilchrists and Bouchers of the world proud.

However, before this series, his place in the team was in doubt. His form behind the stumps in the recent past has been below par. He has dropped, fumbled, and done everything that a wicketkeeper should not do. Sarfraz Ahmed was called up to join the squad in India and he's a part of the current squad as well as an 'understudy'. Kamran was also expected to sit out this series with Sarfraz getting more chances but someone in the team management / selection committee has a lot of faith in him.

Now I come to the part where I explain why he is a dilemma.

Kamran's test career is 5 years old. In that time span he has knocked 5 centuries, which is more than what any Pakistani wicketkeeper has managed in his career. Moreover, each one his 5 test 100s has been one that has either saved the match for Pakistan or won it for them. No Pakistani wicketkeeper has played match winning roles for them in the past. Kamran's test average is higher than Rashid Latif's and Moin Khan's - Pakistan's best wicketkeepers of the 90s. The case is exactly the same in ODIs -more 100s than any other Paki stumper and a higher average than the best from the 90s.

So we all know that he is a capable batsman but does he warrant a place in the XI solely based on his batting? Definitely not.

Lets move on to his weaker trait - wicket keeping. I compared his stats to some of the best from Pakistan. Have a look.

I was surprised that Kamran's record behind the stumps in tests is better than the best Pakistan has produced. Including Wasim Bari. However, In the ODIs his record is the worst among the ones compared.

I know Kamran Akmal is no Gilchrist, Boucher, Sangakkara, or Dhoni with the bat or the gloves. But for Pakistan he is pretty damn good. So why is everyone, including me, after his neck?

Maybe we don't like his teeth or his smile. Or maybe we don't like his screeching voice everytime he screams out to a fielder, which is as irritating as someone scratching the blackboard with their nails.

Whats your reason for dropping Kamran Akmal XI?

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Thursday, November 15, 2007

Inzamam's Heroes & Lara's Champs


Posted by Q at Thursday, November 15, 2007 Pitched (9)
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...

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