Its been a week since the PCB announced this years list of centrally contracted cricketers; a list that did not include Shoaib Akhtar. Knowing Shoaib, I was surprised that there were no press conferences called, no outbursts against the PCB, and no claims to higher ups being after his career. In fact there was no comment at all from him till yesterday.

Yesterday, while the Pakistan 15-man squad for the 5th ODI was practicing at the Gaddafi Stadium, they had a surprise guest in Shoaib Akhtar. Shoaib, dressed in addidas gear, joined the Pakistan squad for some bowling practice and he hurled the ball down at top speed (150ks +) for a good half an hour. He looked in top shape and there were no fitness problems whatsoever.

After his bowling burst he was hogged by the media who questioned him on several things ranging from his fitness to how he feels about not being centrally contracted. His simple answer was that he doesn't play cricket for money and he doesn't need a central contract to play for Pakistan. He also said he has nothing against the PCB and refused the retainership they offered him. See Shoaib's full comments here and here.

During last week I spent quite some time thinking why the PCB did not offer Shoaib a central contract, especially when they had spent millions on him over the last few years with doctors, personal trainers, lawyers, and what not. I spent an even more time trying to figure out why Shoaib Akhtar did not make any comments regarding the situation. For a player, who loves the attention and the limelight, to stay quiet was odd.

After speaking to some reliable sources I learnt that it was Shoaib himself who requested the PCB not to offer him a contract. A central contract with the PCB restricts players from playing county cricket, puts restrictions on certain endorsements, disallows players from traveling abroad for cricket matches without board consent, stops players from giving interviews to certain media channels, papers, and magazines, in addition to a number of other restrictions.

Thus Shoaib Akhtar, who is pursuing a bollywood career, has a number of endorsement offers from Indian brands, and is trying to negotiate a county contract, is definitely better off without a PCB central contract. The central contract he had last year gave him a monthly salary of Rs 200,000 - giving that up for a few millions through endorsing brands and acting in movies, while still being able to play for Pakistan, isn't that bad a deal is it?

The fact that Malik and Lawson invited Shoaib to attend the practice session and the selectors allowed it, probably realising that the back up bowling seen during the current ODI series wasn't up to scratch, goes to show that Shoaib's cricket career is probably still not over.

All those who thought that it might be the end of him and a no central contract would rid Pakistan off him for good, think again. IMO, he will be spearheading Pakistan's attack against the Aussies. And I am right behind him.

I saw my first game of cricket in almost 3 months and was greeted by the sight of messrs Sohail Tanvir and Kamran Hussein opening the attack for the boys representing the Land of the Pure. Niether, mind you, managed to break the 130kph barrier. Meanwhile,on the other side of the border, our neighbours have a bowling attack that, for the very first time, i am somewhat jealous of. While they have a 19 year old tearing it up with the big boys and giving the Aussies a serious working over, we have Samiullah Niazi, Iftikhar Rao (Why oh Why oh Why??!) and Kamran Hussein struggling to bowl out the Zimbos and putting us to sleep. It makes me want to weep. Not to mention hide my face at work.

Let's dwell a bit on Kamran Hussein. His stats suggest that he is nothing more than an average all rounder. He has almost identical first class batting and bowling averages (23 and 25 respectively), and only made it into the team based on his strong performance in the current first class season and the PCB's ostracization of Abdul Razzaq. However, it is only after seeing him bowl that i despair at the lack of depth in Pakistan's bowling resources. After his first couple of overs where he was getting gentle inswing into the right handers, he was about as useful as a third nipple. The Zimbabwean batsmen repeatedly walked down the pitch to him and attempted to 'Hayden' him, with some success too. Not what you want to see happening to your opening bowlers against a team like Zimbabwe.

On the brighter side, i noticed considerable improvement in Sohail Tanvir. I remember having a conversation with Q sometime back that the only way this bloke would ever be worthy of a place in the Pakistani side on a long term basis was if he started to bring the ball back into the right handers. Lo and behold, not only was he bringing it back in quite considerably, but he was also actually setting up the batsmen for that particular delivery. This ofcourse means that he is suddenly transformed into a much more potent threat given the fact that he does already get prodigious away swing from the right handers. The combination of natural away swing and the surprise indipper means that the best batsmen will struggle to cope with him.

One player i was really looking forward to seeing in action was Sohail Khan. Today he ended up with 1 for 38 off 7 overs. Not a earth shattering debut by any means. But Sohail Pathan, as he is known on the domestic circuit, is one for the future and looks to be worthy claimant to a place in the Pakistani pace attack. But the powers that be will need to make sure he gets the proper attention and help him fine tune his bowling. One of the things i noticed straight away was that his run-up is not brisk enough - he almost ambles to the crease and then gathers himself to hurl the ball with a last minute effort which must no doubt out tremendous pressure on his upper body. Not the best way to go about things if you want a relatively injury free career. Given that we have Geoff Lawson as coach, i think the prospects are good that he will be well taken care of and his technique honed for him to emerge the finished article. What he has going for him good pace (around the 140 kph mark) and the willingness to pitch it up on the stumps. Waqar Younis was ofcourse a great exponent of those two qualities and Sohail Pathan bowled a 'waqaresque' scorching reverse swinging yorker to claim his first international wicket, a sight which we had almost started to take for granted when Wasim and Waqar were in their heyday.

Moving on to the batsmen. This is the first time i have seen Nasir Jamshed play and, unfortunately, i have a feeling his success against Zimbabwe may indeed end up being the last success he tastes for a while. He has a bit of Saeed Anwar about him - the Saeed Anwar of the pre-95 era. A more experience and talented bowling attack will quickly expose his rooted-to-the-crease-and-swish-at-anything-outside-offstump technique. I hope i am proven wrong but from what i've seen i dont see him making the openers slot his own. Khalid Latif actually looked much more solid than his opening partner and played some nice shots. But he too ultimately fell to an ugly slog after consuming more than 40 balls for his 19 against what is a pedestrian bowling attack. debut nerves maybe, but in my opinion infinitely more solid looking than Mr. Jamshed.

As i type this, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf are slwoly but surely taking Pakistan towards the finish line. its good to see Malik coming up the order where he has had most if his success in ODIs. It would be good to see him actually taking it one step further and cementing atleast one opener slot. This would not only bring SOME stability at the top of the order, but would also allow more flexibility lower down and allow us to play another batting/bolwing allrounder.

Anyway, its good to be back blogging after a 2 month hiatus. In those two months alot has changed - while filling out forms i now tick the 'Married' box! But with the series against the Aussies coming up i cannot help but be excited and have my fingers crossed for a exciting and competitive series. One big step towards that would be to have the following bowling lineup: M. Asif and Gul to share the new ball, Sohal Khan and Sohail Tanvir to bowl first change with Kaneria fulfilling the legspinning duties. Only if we can put those 5 bowlers out on the field consistently will we have a chance of pushing the Aussies.

Your thoughts!

But where does it leave us?

The best part about blogging is what your fellow bloggers are saying. If you are ever looking for an alternate view or for something you hadnt thought about, you are sure to find an answer in the blogging world. And that is just what happened to me about 5 minutes back.

Who better than our esteemed friend, Mr Soulberry to come up with a very believable explanation of the whole Harbhajan - Symmonds saga. I just read his blog entry where, being from Punjab he explains that one of the choicest combinations of Punjabi vernacular can easily sound like the word monkey. If this is actually what happened then it makes the whole episode a lot funnier than it is and quite honestly a bit absurd. As I mentioned in the comments for the same blog entry above, what Harbhajan may have said is how a Bostonian would say monkey. Just as park = paaahk in Boston, monkey = maaahki; also in Boston... well sort off. But then one mans monkey could be another ones mother. I wouldnt use either of these words with Zidane and Symmonds in the same room. Harbhajan was being provocative if he was using his best Boston-speak, but definitely not racist.

This whole episode leaves more questions unanswered at the end. Couldnt the captains just have sorted this out themselves at the end of the days play in Sydney? Did Ponting and the Aussies consciously go around Kumble? Was there any malicious intent involved? Kumble is on record saying that he tried to talk to Ponting but the matter had already been reported. I think its common sense to at least talk to the opposing team's captain before making an allegation as serious as racism

The other worrying and questionable aspects are the ICCs role and India's pre-emptive muscle flexing. Firstly, what more could the ICC have done wrong here? Did it take them a whole 2 weeks to figure out that the whole thing was just a mis-understanding at best? Even if you look at the worst case scenario, what exactly is the case of the match referee? Is he the judge, jury and advocate? I dont think ex-players are well equipped to be judges, as Proctor has so ably demonstrated. I will give him the benefit of the doubt in that he was simply ill equipped to deal with an incident like this and that he had no malicious intent. But the ICC needs to do some serious soul searching here - it is ok to admit defeat and ask for input.

Finally, what was up with the Indian team "showing solidarity" with Harbhajan and being on standby with a chartered jet in Adelaide instead of being in Melbourne, preparing for the next game? This is very disturbing... sure the powerful dictate and set the rules, but this is a bit too much. This is like gali cricket where you could just leave if you didnt like the ball that got you out.

I think the next evolution will be a helicopter and/or jet on standby at the ground itself - one wrong decision and you can just fly back home. Wouldn't that be awesome! Most cricket grounds are pretty big so a plane can land on the ground itself. Instead of signaling for a powerplay, the captain can just call for the plane - traveling light redefined indeed! Pakistan definitely doesn't have the economic muscle India does, so waiting for the next PIA flight can be a bit embarrassing... beware, this powerplay isnt for everyone!

What do Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Mohali, and Delhi have in common apart from being cities of India?

These are the 8 cities that will be fielding a team in the Indian Premier League (IPL) set to get underway across India in April.

What do Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya, Shahrukh Khan, Priety Zinta, and Ness Wadia have in common apart from being one of the rich and famous in India?

They are the proud owners of teams taking part in the IPL.

For the benefit of our Non-Indian and Non-Pakistani readers, Mukesh Ambani is the richest man in the world and owner of one of India's largest companies - Reliance Industries. Vijay Mallya is owner of Kingfisher, which manufactures beer and operates the Kingfisher airlines. Mallya is also one of India's richest people. Shahrukh Khan and Preity Zinta are film actors with Shahrukh Khan arguably the best actor India has today. Ness Wadia is Priety Zinta's boy friend and is the heir to the Wadia empire of Bombay Dyeing.

(Uncle J, do you think Priety is Hot?)

Earlier today, the BCCI opened the sealed bids for franchises of the teams to take part in the IPL. Mumbai was the highest selling franchise, which Mukesh Ambani won for a bid of $111.9 million! That was followed by the Bangalore franchise that was won by Vijay Mallya for $111.6 million. Shah Rukh Khan won the bid for Kolkata for $75.1 million, while Preity Zinta and Ness Wadia won the Mohali franchise for $76 million.

The full list of franchisees and the amounts paid for the teams can be viewed here.

The bidding that took place today made the BCCI richer by $723.6 million!

For the high profile bidders this is just the start as now they get involved in a bidding war for players, which include as many as 79 international stars including Shane Warne, Glen McGrath, Sachin Tendulkar, Shoaib Akhtar, Ricky Ponting, and a whole lot more.

The IPL gets underway in April and it already looks very exciting, especially with the high pofile franchisees. I wonder what the teams will be called? SRK's Kolkata Baazigars? Mallya's Bangalore Kings? What do you suggest these teams be called?

As many as eight 50s were scored in the 1st ODI between Pakistan and the Zimbos. Thats an ODI record. The 5 half centuries in Pakistan's innings is also a record. This doesn't say much about the batting but actually highlights the low quality of the bowling that was on display.

Its time for more Fantasy Cricket. The response to the previous competition I set up was not that great, probably due to the short notice. David Barry was the only one out of the bloggers who joined the competition. He even ended up winning the league in the first 2 tests before I made a strong comeback in the 3rd test :-)

The Commonwealth Series is coming up involving arguably the 3 best ODI sides in the world today - Australia, Sri Lanka, and India.

The most interesting fantasy competition is on cricketweb. You have to choose 11 players from Aus, SL, and Ind for the entire commonwealth series - 25 substitutions will be allowed during course of the competition in between matches. Follow this link to create your team for that. Once you have registered and created your team, follow the link that says 'User Comp - Join' on the left side bar. You will be asked for the key - plug in the following:

1200811083

Let the games begin!

You can also join the on going competition on espnstar by following this link. You can make a team for the 4th test and once that is over, make one for the Commonwealth Series. Each game is scored separately so it doesn't make a difference that you didn't take part during the first 3 tests.

After registering and making your team, follow the 'join league' link on the left bar, and enter the following in the required fields:

username: Don Q's Downunder Competition
password: downunder

I hope this time I attract more fantasy players. Let me know if you need any help.

Pakistan's squad for the first 2 ODIs against Zimbabwe was announced over the weekend.

I was disappointed not to see Sohail Khan in it. Initially I thought that the selectors had made a blunder but the next day reports of an elbow problem did the rounds. Apparently the problem is not when he bowls - he hurls the ball down at 85mph. The problem is with throwing the ball, which he cannot do due to an elbow injury. Pakistan's newest pace prospect is out with an elbow injury even before playing an international game. I remember AMKs comment when I did a post on Sohail Khan - didn't take long for him to break down did it?

The uncapped 18 year old Nasir Jamshed beat Kalid Latif and Khurram Manzoor to the opener's slot due to his magnificant 182 in the 4-day practice game against the Zimbos. The selectors are keen to have him open the innings with Salman Butt but I hear that Shoaib Malik wants Kamran Akmal to open.

I don't know why Kamran Akmal is in the squad in the first place. Sarfraz Ahmed is in the squad as well but apparently as an understudy. 2 wicket keepers in a squad of 15 for the first 2 ODIs? It doesn't make sense to me. Sarfraz should play all 5 matches.

I don't like makeshift openers and Akmal is just that. He should be on the bench.

The reason Malik wants him to open is so that he could play an extra bowler, which only shows how much confidence Malik has in his own ability as a bowler. According to the reports I've read the selectors would like to play the following team:

1. Salman Butt
2. Nasir Jamshed
3. Younis Khan
4. Mohd Yousuf
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Misbah ul Haq
7. Shahid Afridi
8. Kamran Akmal
9. Sohail Tanvir
10. Rao Iftikhar
11. Samiullah Niazi

Shoaib Malik on the other hand wants Kamran Akmal to open and either of Fawad Alam and Yasir Arafat to play instead of Nasir. Alam, a top order batsman and a left arm spinnner, and Yasir Arafat, a fast bowler who can bat a bit, are both ideal for the ODI game. Both deserve a place in the team but not instead of a specialist opener.

The selectors along with Malik and Lawson will be sitting down today to decide on the final XI. Lets see whose vote prevails - Malik's or the selectors.

If I were chairing that meeting I would ask Malik to open with Nasir, drop Butt, and play Alam or Arafat instead of him. Malik is not a make shift opener. He has done it for Pakistan, Sialkot, and PIA before. All his ODI hundred have come from that position too. Why he has moved down from even the number 3 position since becoming captain is anybody's guess.

Sadly I am not Chairman of Selectors for the PCB.

A few days back I thought that India being well ahead of the Aussies half way through day 2 of the test was one of the strangest stories from the cricket world. The weekend is over and India have won that test and that too convincingly.

What has been surprising about the current domestic season in Pakistan, has been the number of openers that have excelled. Majority of the leading batsmen this season has been openers or number 3s and all of them have been included in the squad for the 4-day game against Zimbabwe.


Khurram Manzoor
The only player to score over a 1,000 runs this season. 1,025 runs in 12 matches at an average of 54 with 3 centuries and 4 fifities. The 21 year old PIA opener was this season's most succesful batsman. He has been around the domestic scene for 4 years now and looks set to be tried out as opener against the Zimbos. He has been included in the patron's squad for the 4-day game.

Shoaib KhanThe 22 year old opener from Quetta amassed 884 runs in 10 matches at an average of 52 with 3 100s and as many 50s. He would feel harshly treated as he has not been included in the squad for the pratice match despite being the 3rd highest scorer of the domestic season. He should get a game against the Zimbos.

Umar Akmal
The 17 year old brother of national wicket keeper Kamran Akmal has been one of the most succesful batsmen this season. He notched up 855 runs in 10 matches at an average of 78. In his debut first class season, the boy posted a 248 and an unbeaten 186. In addition he scored 4 half centuries batting at number 3 for the domestic champions SNG. Umar has not been named in the squad for the 4-day match and he probably will not be granted a match in the ODI series as he was named in the u-19 squads for the tri-series in Sri Lanka and the World Cup in Malaysia. But one for the future. He's touted as the most talented batsmen out of the Akmal brothers and he showed his potential this season.

Nasir Jamshed
The 18 year old left handed batsman scored 800 runs while opening for National Bank of Pakistan in 10 matches at an average of 53. Knocked 3 centuries and 2 half centuries. He has been included in the squad for the 4-day practice match.

Afaq RaheemAnother opener, he scored 801 runs this season with the help of 2 centuries and a fifty at an average of 47. He has also been included in the squad for the 4-day match.

Khalid Latif
The 22 year old, former U-19 world cup winning captain, had his most succesful first class season where he scored 633 runs in 10 matches at an average of 37. There were more succesful batsmen than him on the domestic scene but he has impressed the selectors with his strokeplay during the 3 centuries he scored this season. Also an opener, he is expected to open in the ODIs against Zimbabwe. Also included in the squad for the 4-day practice match.

Considering that so many openers created an impression during the current domestic season, I wonder what happens to all of them after their international debuts.

There were a number of pace bowlers who caught the selectors' eye this season and leading the pack was none other than Sohail Khan. I have already done a post on him in detail and I'll say it again that its been a long time since a fast bowler has risen to fame so quickly in Pakistan. There were some other bowlers as well who did extremely well.


Wahab Riaz
The 22 year old right arm fast bowler was the 2nd highest wicket taker this season with 51 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 17. He had the best average during the season and picked up 4 five wicket hauls and 1 10 wicket haul. He will be sharing the new ball with Sohail Khan in the 4-day game.


Rauf Akbar
with 48 wickets he was the leading bowler behind Sohail and Wahab. At 30, it doesn't look like te right arm medium pacer will be granted a chance in the ODIs but he has the chance to impress the selectors further in the 4-day game.


I believe the selectors stopped there as the next 2 fast bowlers on the list with 46 wickets apiece, Samiullah Khan and Junaid Zia, have not been included in the squad for the 4-day game. They probably will not get a game in the ODIs either with Sohail Tanvir, Yasser Arafat, and Rao Iftikhar expected to share the new ball along with Sohail Khan.


The other players to make the Patron's XI squad are Naumanullah, Kamran Hussain, Rizwan Ahmed, and Yasir Shah. Naumanullah was the 2nd highest run scorer in the domestic competition and has duly earned his place in the practice game, however at 32 and having played first class cricket for the last 11 seasons, his best years are behind him. Or can he do a Misbah?


Kamran Hussain is a 30 year old allrounder who opens the batting and bowls medium pace. He has also been around for a long time and had a failry successful domestic season scoring 568 runs at 38 and picking up 35 wickets at 18. I oubt he would get an ODI as the allrounders are aplenty with skipper Malik, Afridi, and Fawad Alam in the ranks. Rizwan Ahmed and Yasir Shah are unknowns and are probably there to make up the 14 member Patrons XI squad. The former is a middle order batsman, while the other is a left arm spinner. Don't expect them to play much.


With hardly any middle order batsmen being tried out in the 4-day game, its quite apparent that Pakistan are set to try out new openers against Zimbabwe. Khurram Manzoor and Khalid Latif seem to be the favorites at the moment but performances in the 4-day game will probably count. Pakistan is expected to announce their squad on the 16th and I expect both these plyers along with one from Nasir Jamshed and Afaq Raheem making it. Shoaib Khan will feel hard done by but then how many openers can you fit in? I also don't expect two new opener playing each game with Salman Butt holding on to one position and other being rotated. Fawad Alam is expected to get more games so expect Younis and Yousuf to be rotated in the ODIs as well. Kamran Akmal is expected to sit out with Sarfraz Ahmed taking the duties behing the stumps.


I would see the following XI with rotation playing in the 5 ODIs against the Zimbos.


1. Salman Butt
2. Khurram Manzoor / Khalid Latif
3. Mohammad Yousuf / Younis Khan
4. Misbah ul Haq
5. Shoaib Malik
6. Fawad Alam
7. Shahid Afridi
8. Sarfraz Ahmed
9. Yasir Arafat
10. Sohail Tanvir / Rao Ifitikhar
11. Sohail Khan / Wahab Riaz

That should make up the 15 member ODI squad with either of Yasir Hameed, Nasir Jamshed, and Afaq Rahim coming in as the 16th member if the selectors go in with a 16 member one. Lets see how much the selectors agree with me.