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cricket Curtains on
two cricketing chapters about to be brought down cricket Shoaib
Akhtar: Will he ever be playing again? A foreign coach
for the national team still a good idea
Even some apparently well-off organisations got disillusioned with playing on at the domestic level and eventually withdrew their cricket teams from the circuit
By Gul Hameed Bhatti At the dawn of every new Pakistan domestic cricket season, before a quite similar looking schedule is announced yet again, the 'stakeholders' in the process sit down and put their heads together to go through yet another futile exercise to make radical changes in the existing structure. More often than not, the main thrust appears to be towards 'curtailing the role of the departments' in the first-class cricket pattern of the country. Once again, the Pakistan
Cricket Board (PCB) heirarchy and office-bearers of Strangely, as time goes by, the role of the departments in the progress and development of Pakistan cricket has diminished instead of getting enhanced. When Pakistan's former captain and cricket strongman Abdul Hafeez Kardar, in his capacity as the then President of the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP) -- now known as the PCB, had invited various commercial departments to formulate their own cricket teams, hand out contracts to the best talented players available and join mainstream first-class cricket, the sport in this country had received a great fillip at the domestic level. But that was the year 1973. Thirty-four (34) years down the road, Kardar's dream has turned quite a bit sour. Of course, there are many more departments involved in Pakistan's domestic cricket. Apart from the nine teams in the first-class Patron's Trophy Championship, there were as many as 18 others in the non-first-class Patron's Trophy Grade-II event in the last season alone. WHAT ACTUALLY ARE THE DEPARTMENTS? Before we move on, we must confirm for our readers what exactly the departments are. A glance at the list of names shows that the 'departments' include government and semi-government organisations, commercial companies from the corporate sector, the armed forces, government-run and private banks, national airlines and educational institutions, etc. Not all departments can be categorised as commercial organisations because several, like the Pakistan Education Boards (PEB) and the Higher Education Commission (HEC) have teams composed of students, who are not paid 'employees' of these departments. In 2006-07, the nine teams represented in the Patron's Trophy competition were Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Pakistan Customs, Attock Group (previously known as Attock Refinery Limited or ARL), Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL). And here are the 18 departments on the non-first-class circuit: Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), Public Works Department (PWD), Dewan Farooq Motors Limited (DFML), Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC), Karachi Port Trust (KPT), Pakistan Army, Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF), Capital Development Authority (CDA), Pakistan Military Accounts (PMA), Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Television (PTV), United Bank Limited (UBL), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Pakistan Education Boards, Defence Housing Authority (DHA), Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Service Industries and Pakistan Railways. When Pakistan's first national championship, for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy was played way back in 1953-54, two departments were part of the set-up. One was the Combined Services, composed of the Pakistan Army, Navy and Air Force teams -- which now compete as separate units, and the other the Pakistan Railways. The latter remained part of the first-class structure for the next four decades before being relegated to the second class circuit. Railways had been crowned national champions twice in successive seasons in the early 1970s. After having disbanded their cricket team for a while, the Railways authorities again entered their outfit in domestic cricket in 2003-04. Unfortunately, they remain confined to the non-first-class section as they are unable to call upon the services of the country's top players. WHY THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST DEPARTMENTS One of Pakistan's former captains and star all-rounders Imran Khan has been one of the most vocal advocates of the PCB reverting to a domestic structure totally dependent on a regional, association or divisional/provincial basis. He wants the departments out. He may have a point. At the same time he may be a trifle ruthless in his demand. To start with, a large number of cricketers whose bread and butter is connected with playing for these departments will have to start looking for jobs again just to feed their families. The PCB is, however, looking towards evolving a system where the Board itself will generate substantial finances for a whole lot of cricketers in the country. No one really knows yet as to how that system would work. Maybe, allowing the departments to have a separate tournament structure of their own -- as they now have -- would be a good idea while regional cricket could be made more competitive and hard fought. That's for the PCB to decide, but they really don't have to kill the departments because they'll die of natural causes anyway. A cursory look at the list of departments which have come and gone shows that even some apparently well-off organisations got disillusioned with playing on at the domestic level and eventually withdrew their cricket teams from the circuit. A case in point is that of the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), who qualified from the non-first-class circuit, but decided to opt out after playing three seasons of first-class cricket. The Pakistan Autombile Corporation (PACO) severed its 10-year association in 1993-94 after having put much money into the sport, in addition to sponsoring the high-profile Pentangular tournament as the PACO Cup for several seasons. Allied Bank became one of the foremost cricketing outfits of the country, starting in 1979. Just over 25 years later, they suddenly withdrew from all national sports. Similarly, Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) saw no charm in continuing with domestic cricket after their team was relegated to the non-first-class circuit. UNITED BANK OUT AND IN One of the strangest withdrawals of a department from the domestic circuit was that of United Bank Limited's. UBL became Patron's Trophy champions in 1996-97 and yet didn't enter their team in the tournament next season! They returned in the non-first-class Patron's Trophy Grade-II in 2004-05, but haven't moved forward since then. In recent times, the withdrawal of Saga Sports (of Sialkot) from national cricket was sad. In 2004-05, their team finished as runner-up in the Patron's Grade-II event, but the company's owners appeared to have had enough and haven't allowed a team to be entered again. The Higher Education Commission, which had survived as the Pakistan Univerity Grants Commission (PUGC) after having started as the Combined Universities, were not represented by a team in 2006-07. Also out of the picture were Leo International and the National Highway Authority. New teams like CDA from Islamabad and Pakistan Military Accounts have emerged, State Bank have returned after having been absent for almost twenty years and a new outfit organised by the Port Qasim Authority (PQA) is on the way. The detractors of departmental cricket say that money should not be the main consideration for players to be in mainstream cricket. But surely, money is important. The point to ponder is whether the departments are playing their role efficiently enough. With so many of these outfits around, a whole lot of cricketers are active on the domestic circuit, but are they the best of the lot? After PIA and the main banks have scooped up the cream, the other departments are left with only second-grade players. What role do they exactly play in the progress of the country's international cricket? Are the departments getting the kind of mileage that they expected in the national media? Certainly not all are managing that. The commercial organisations will soon get more disillusioned and start disbanding their sports teams as they will not be getting the required projection for their depratments themselves. For the sake of sanity, the departments should stay on for the time being. The cricket in their sector should be made more competitive and attractive, as it should be at the regional level too. The amount of pain caused by change should be as little and swift as possible. Gul
Hameed Bhatti is Group Editor Sports The News/Jang Group of Newspapers gulhbhatti@hotmail.com TEAMS
OFF THE NATIONAL DOMESTIC CIRCUIT No. Teams Last season 1 Allied Bank Ltd (ABL) 2004-05 2 Combined Services 1978-79 3 Commerce Bank 1973-74 4 Dawood Industries 1975-76 5 Higher Education Commission (HEC) 2005-06 6 House Building Finance Corp (HBFC) 1993-94 7 Income Tax Deptt (ITD) 1978-79 8 Industrial Dev Bank of Pakistan (IDBP) 1980-81 9 Lahore Municipal Corp (LMC) 1978-79 10 Leo International 2005-06 11 Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB) 1988-89 12 National Highway Authority (NHA) 2005-06 13 National Tyre & Rubber (NTR) Co 1968-69 14 Pakistan Autombile Corp (PACO) 1993-94 15 Pak National Shipping Corp (PNSC) 1999-2000 16 Pak Security Printing Corp (PSPC) 1978-79 17 Pakistan Steel 1987-88 18 Pak Telecom Company Ltd (PTCL) 2005-06 19 REDCO Pak Ltd 1999-00 20 Saga Sports 2004-05 Curtains on two cricketing chapters about to be brought down As Inzamam has retired from ODIs, there is no way he can play for the team till September. Pakistan recently played a three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi which they won 2-1 Like any other sport, cricket has its own culture. A culture of which many nations are part of; a culture which boosts participation of many people from around the globe; a way of life which portrays different spirits and traditions and like all other backgrounds, it also faces good times and hardships. In cricket too, there have
been some issues/queries/problems lately which should One such case (the first chapter in this story), which has been going on for the last two and a half months and hasn't been solved yet (till the filing of this article) due to some awkward measures taken into account and lack of professionalism, is the mystery of Woolmer's murder. Pakistan's cricket coach at the recently-held World Cup in the Caribbean, Bob Woolmer -- a former England player, South Africa's former coach and a person who was had dedicated his life to help out associate nations of the International Cricket Council (ICC) before opting for Pakistan job -- was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica just a day after his team's second match in the quadrennial event. On March 17th, Pakistan were embarrassed in the World Cup at the hands of minnows Ireland when they were knocked out of the competition -- had also lost to hosts West Indies in the opening match. A day later -- on March 18th -- Woolmer was found unconscious in his room and was later pronounced dead in a hospital. On 19th March, the Woolmer family gave their permission for a post-mortem to be carried out, which took place on the 20th. It turned out to be inconclusive and further tests were ordered. Afterwards, Jamaica's Deputy Police Commissioner Mark Shields, who was given the charge to look after this case, was asked at a press conference whether he believed the death was murder. He ruled out at that moment if Woolmer was murdered saying: "No, we're not saying that". But only three days later came the bombshell news. It was announced that the tests showed the cause of death to be asphyxia, as a result of strangulation with the police confirming later that they were treating the death as murder. Dr Ere Seshaiah, the pathologist, produced the autopsy which suggested that Woolmer had been murdered. But that didn't turn out to be the only conclusion in this case. Many reports came up in different newspapers and websites over this period. Some confirmed that Woolmer, was indeed, strangulated. Subsequent reports said that toxicology tests were said to have revealed that Woolmer had been poisoned. There were other reports as well which claimed Woolmer might have been attacked by a disgruntled fan or player. The others went on a totally different scenario. Different forensic reports were carried on and they threw more clues as to whether he was indeed poisoned or not. A report in a British newspaper claimed that Woolmer's death may have been caused by a rare weedkiller, traces of which had been found on his champagne glass. And this claim was even made stronger when Pakistan team's manager at that time, PJ Mir, confirmed that "Woolmer had received two champagne bottles during the tournament". And while Mir revealed that, it came to knowledge that the bottles were presented to Woolmer by team's bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed, who later agreed that he did so. More drama was seen later. Police said the CCTV footage from the hotel might help them in finding out who Woolmer's murderer was. They worked on and on and were at last able to find a clue which might had helped them in solving the case. A clip in the CCTV footage showed Woolmer talking to two people two days before his death in the hotel's lobby. The people were recognised as two Pakistani reporters who were talking to Woolmer in the video. The police and the media immediately came to the conclusion that these people must have killed Woolmer. But those were only their wrong assumptions as they couldn't provide the true conclusion and were blamed for creating panic and spreading false news. As neither claim was proved true, people awaited desperately to find out what really had happened. Woolmer's family was in deep sorrow and they immediately wanted an end to this mystery. Woolmer was cremated in his hometown in South Africa after a period of almost two months after his death and was given tremendous tributes. Things, then, had started changing dramatically. A claim in another newspaper, of England, was made that a Home Office pathologist had concluded Woolmer died of natural causes and was not murdered. Reports from the post-mortem, photographs and other material had been examined by Dr Nat Carey. The original post-mortem, carried out in Jamaica, decided that strangulation was possible because a bone on Woolmer's neck had been broken. Later, Scotland Yard said that Woolmer wasn't murdered, neither was he poisoned nor he died because of weedkillers. They said Woolmer died a natural death. Scotland Yard reviewed the case that Woolmer died from heart failure and chronic ill health. The broken bone in his neck, which was key to suggestions that he had been strangled, was understood to have been caused by his subsequent heavy fall. And this has been almost proved right as the Jamaican police were set to make (till the filing of this article) what will be an embarrassing climb-down that Woolmer died of natural causes following the Scotland Yard report. Though this case has taken quite a while to get solved, the good thing is it was now being handled in a correct way and no innocent people are now being dragged into the frame and alleged falsely of murdering Woolmer. All the claims have been proved wrong now and the case, which should have been solved in a couple of days after Woolmer's death, is about to present the true story behind the whole saga. When Woolmer died, Pakistan team's captain Inzamam-ul-Haq stepped down from the captaincy role and retired from One-day Internationals a day later. Though this wasn't an appropriate time to make such decisions, Inzamam, of all people, decided to do so and announced he won't play one-day cricket again though he still wants to give it a go at Test cricket. Inzamam was battered afterwards. People blamed him for Pakistan's miserable flop in the World Cup. The Performance Evaluation Committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which was set up to probe into team's performance in the Caribbean, came to a conclusion -- after interviewing about forty players and officials -- that Inzamam was the main man behind the team's down fall and his bossy attitude and lack of coordination with the players, the coach and the management were the main reasons for the team's humiliating exit. Though he hit back at his critics, that he isn't to be blamed for everything and there were others factors involved too in the team's downfall, but there doesn't seem to be any chance that he'd be included in the Test squad for the upcoming assignments. Inzamam should quit all forms of cricket because things in near future don't look like going his way. As Inzamam has retired from ODIs, there is no way he can play for the team till September. Pakistan recently played a three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi which they won 2-1. Their next assignments are two ODIs in Scotland, one against India and the other against the home team. Then they are pencilled in to play in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in September, in South Africa. Inzamam can get a chance then when the Proteas tour Pakistan in September to play two Tests and five ODIs. But whether he'll play in that series is not guaranteed because some other issue have also went wrong for him. Before his retirement, Inzamam was among the few team players who held the top-ranked central contract -- A. But as the PCB cancelled all the contracts after the World Cup, no player, and that includes Inzamam, had a contract left with the team. New central contracts are to be announced soon. And as the news is in the air these days, Pakistani selectors may recommend Inzamam for a central contract, again, but in the lowest pay category. Although the selectors are divided on whether to recommend Inzamam for a contract, they might include him in a 30-man list to be submitted to the PCB this following week. But when they'll, they might include him in the list of players who are on the lowest pay scale -- on Grade C. And as these contracts will be performance-based, there is not a single chance Inzamam gets a nod of improvement on his contract. Inzamam doesn't fulfil the three aspects of contracts' categories -- performance (Inzi is down and out and is going through a lean patch), fitness and utility -- and thus is unlikely to cement his future in the team. After this entire conclusion, it can be justified that Inzamam's playing career is almost over now and he should, himself, say goodbye to cricket. Inzamam, though, has been a batting maestro for Pakistan over the years -- both in Test and one-day cricket -- but his days as a player are surely over. Inzamam should realise he can not play all life long and there is a time in a sportsman's life that he gets away from the limelight and gives others a chance to fill in his shoes. If Inzamam doesn't make a decision soon, others will surely bring down curtains on his spotted, otherwise glorious, career. The
writer is a staff member at 'The News' Karachi shehnu@gmail.com
cricket Do we really need a 'gentleman' to lead Pakistan? One must not forget that under Inzamam Pakistan won some fascinating battles in and outside the country and overall his performance was no doubt above average Shoaib Malik has just taken over the reins, and it will be unfair to form an opinion on his style of captaincy and leadership skills at this stage of this all-important assignment. At one-day level his place in the team is undisputed as he's a worthy all-rounder, but his Test credentials are not that impressive. Maybe after 12 months from now we'll be in a position to judge as to where he stands. The committee, which was
formed to determine the causes which led to Pakistan's The three-strong committee had observed that the Pakistan Cricket Board, its former chairman, Shaharyar M Khan, and former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq were responsible for Pakistan's early exit in the West Indies. To begin with there was no need for such an exercise. Everybody who monitors the team's performance with some degree of regularity knew from day one that this outfit could not win the Cup. Frankly speaking, the team did not have what it takes to become a champion side. With Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Asif and Abdul Razzaq all unable to make the team because of injuries, it was always an uphill task for Pakistan to qualify even for the semifinals. Add to it an unsettled opening pair and an out-of-form middle-order, and the stage seemed set for a disaster. Unfortunately, everything went according to the script and went Pakistan out of the World Cup. If a probe was inevitable, it should have been conducted to find means for lifting the falling standard of the game in the country because what caused the failure was quite clear -- the team were not strong enough physically and mentally to take on such an enormous task, i.e. regain the trophy they had won in 1992. Another thing that challenges the authenticity of the report is the fact that while doing its job, the committee talked to several people who should not have got an invitation in the first place and whose input was unnecessary. Similarly those who should have been consulted were ignored for reasons best known to the inquiry panel. The committee was critical of Inzamam's style of captaincy, alleging that he acted like a dictator. This is, perhaps, the most interesting observation. Contrary to what the panel members claim none of the players interviewed gave any hint regarding Inzamam's abuse of power. All the players who talked to the media after appearing before the committee clearly stated that nothing went Pakistan's way during the tournament despite the fact that they had worked pretty hard, and no player had, apparently, any complaints against the ex-skipper. But even if we accept the committee's argument, do not we know that in a culture where everybody wants to have his own way it is necessary for a leader to enjoy more than his share of authority in order to produce positive results? Imran Khan is a prime example. He, too, used to be called a dictator, but under him Pakistan reached new heights and achieved some outstanding home and away wins including the 1992 World Cup. But Imran did not gain that status overnight. He used to set the benchmark himself. He always led from the front, encouraged his wards, and had no fear of losing. He used to make his own decisions and stick to them, and claimed responsibility for all losses. Others who succeeded him could not maintain the momentum he had built although they had far stronger sides to play with. In our culture it is necessary for a leader to have a charismatic personality, and he has to be strict and reserve in his dealing with players and Board officials. That's how he can draw the best out of his players. To some extent Wasim Akram, too, emulated Imran, but he lacked the charisma that surrounded the latter's persona. Javed Miandad, Waqar Younis, Zaheer Abbas and Saleem Malik were great players, but as leaders they were not so successful because of their soft, and sometimes negative, approach. So as a rule we do need a guy who himself raises the bar and is straightforward to the point of being blunt. There's no room for politeness, which is mistaken for weakness by most people. One cannot keep everybody happy. Same was the case with Inzamam. He did what he thought was best for his country. He might not be an ideal choice for captaincy we all knew, but when he had taken over Pakistan did not have too many options. Also one must not forget that under Inzamam Pakistan won some fascinating battles in and outside the country and overall his performance was no doubt above average. He was not an angel -- nobody is -- and did make some mistakes, but they had nothing to with his style of leadership. One must also remember that at the time of his appointment a lot of objections were raised, specially over his laidback approach and gentleness. Had Inzamam been a gentle captain Pakistan cricket would have been in a far worse state than it is now. If he did act like a dictator, it is because Pakistan needed him to do that. Otherwise, Pakistan could easily have ended up with at least 11 captains on the field. Pakistan, traditionally, need a strong captain who is aggressive and can fight for his for his players' rights, but does respect the opposition. One who backs his charges to the hilt and plays a vital role in the decision-making process. This is not Australia or England where players respect their captains for what they are and follow their advice religiously. Here we have an entirely different set-up where differences of opinion among team members trigger revolts and problems that, if not dealt with sternly and allowed to flare up, cause irreparable damage. Shoaib Akhtar: Will he ever be playing again? One wonders, in spite of being on the deep end of the sea and being a very competitive swimmer he still needs to realise that a tiny algae, a green spiral, a weed can drown him still Shoaib has been accused of many things in his career. Cricket can be a cruel as well as a wonderfully rewarding game and that may be part of its fascination. But the barbs often hurt, and the deepest wound of Shoaib's life was inflicted upon him when he was sent back from India just before the ICC Champions Trophy testing positive for Nandrolone, a counter band anabolic steroids. Ironically, a hastily
arranged, improperly carried out doping test resulted in a At Lahore airport on his arrival from India Shoaib looked mortified with embarrassment and filled with an angry, burning sense of injustice which I remember as I first met him on the eve of a tribunal hearing. Even after several months and with plenty of opportunity to ponder all the aspects of the doping scandal, I still feel the PCB's decision to call Shoaib back from India was correct but the circumstances in which the players were subjected to dope testing by the board headed by Shaharyar M Khan were acrimonious. Without a proper plan and player-education and in absence of a qualified nutritionist and a team doctor how could the PCB take an initiative when many other boards were silent on the issue? At the time when other cricket set-ups in developed countries were not really ready to comply with the ICC, making procedures steady and foolproof, just out of goodness a British educated chairman went to an extent of dope testing his players. It was ironic. It only added to confusion and also threatened careers of the two most outstanding fast bowlers. The Test career of Shoaib Akhtar, the most ferocious fast bowler in the world, may be reaching its end is now the question so many people ask since he has not been able to play for his country after testing positive for Nandrolone. Now, he is out on the pretext of achieving full fitness. Remembering that Shoaib did play in a Test in South Africa, picked four wickets helped Pakistan to an emphatic win, had a physical bout with late Bob Woolmer, strained his thigh muscle and returned home before the tour concluded. Such was his injury that he had to absent himself from the World Cup 2007 -- Pakistan suffered. One knows Shoaib too well. I know him much before he actually grew into a top fast bowler. Still lurking skeptically at the Army Sports Ground in Rawalpindi Shoaib was a charming young boy. He was fast, furious and ambitious. Such was his keenness to develop into a Pakistan prospect that he used to ask for dietary charts and physical development programmes. I also had the privilege to write a comprehensive article on Shoaib when he was given the rough end of the stick after Pakistan A's tour to England in 1996-97. I also conducted one of his interviews for the Pakistan Television after he had rattled the top Indian batting line-up at Calcutta in the Asian Test Championship match in 1998-99. I had frequent sittings with him while he struggled on Pakistan's tours to Sharjah and the West Indies in 2000. Conversations well into late hours resulted in a development of a relationship that was based on mutual respect. He was often sultry and over-powering, easily disillusioned and at times paranoid about the treatment meted out to him, he kept on struggling with media nipping and frequent injuries. Forceful and eccentric, he bowled magnificently in the matches he played for Pakistan however there was always a growing cynicism about his future. He broke down at crucial moments and left his captains, particularly Inzamam-ul-Haq disappointed. It's an open secret that Inzamam hardly got along well with Shoaib, mostly because of his tantrums and untimely injuries. The disliking may well have been reciprocated at times. Nevertheless, one wonders why the world sees only one side of the picture. Shoaib has devastated top batting line-ups and it is undeniable that he gives his full while he's on the field. It is also undeniable that he has often been self-destructive. Since making his international debut he tried to make people accept the cultural change. He has been an embodiment of Western type values in a socially constricted environment and that has frequently resulted in unabashed criticism from the conventionalists and orthodox. So much has been written against him. There have been times when quite a few writers suggested that Shoaib mostly played his cricket under the influence of injury-maskers. Instead of proper rehabilitation, under enormous pressure he returned to international matches prematurely using artificial means to avoid breaking down at crucial junctures. My last contact with Shoaib was during the first tribunal meeting. I represented him as his medical counsel. Aamer Sohail, the former Pakistan captain had called me for the first time encouraging me to battle it out for Shoaib in front of the tribunal headed by Mr Shahid Hamid, an ex Governor of Punjab. During the tribunal proceedings it was evident that Shoaib and Asif both were not aware of the anabolic steroids and were apparently not well equipped about the intricate details of the harmful aspects of the tonics, nutritional drinks and protein supplements. The first two sessions of the tribunal proceedings were uneventful but on the third day it was evident that the adjudicators were not convinced particularly on Shoaib pleading innocence. He was eventually banned for two years. Once Shoaib was banned there was confusion. It was ironic that people around him convinced him that one had not pleaded his case properly or one was there with a hidden manifesto. One wished Shoaib should have known at the first place that the decision could have gone either way. It was his damned fate that it went against him. Despite the fact that he had taken Nandrolone mistakenly or unknowingly it was present in his body and the tribunal strolled on the tougher path. One still maintains that it was a very harsh decision nevertheless well within the WADA rules. It was simply childish, knowing Shoaib, one just overlooked as a temporary bout of anger and ear-fuelling since he had been told different stories. Interestingly, the second tribunal used the same theory that one had given in writing to the first. Shoaib must have realised by now or he will soon. Itís not about self-vindication but it gives enough clues that Shoaib is naÔve in many ways listening to people to an extent of foolhardiness. He is a simple soul in contrast with his appearance and persona. This simplicity has often hampered his playing regularly for Pakistan. He was injured frequently and that was not unexpected. Despite being exposed to different parts of the world he had few people whom he trusted, even very few doctors. One may well admit there were times when Shoaib was never properly rehabilitated and this is presumably one of the reasons that he has never been able to attain complete match fitness, breaking down frequently. This is an old story, what's new now? Will he ever be able to return to international cricket? Will he be able to maintain the star status? Whatís in store for him in the future? It's a very pertinent question. Presently, in spite of the emergence of Mohammad Asif and his elevation to vice-captaincy, Shoaib is badly needed to support the team in the next six months with South Africa and Australia expected to tour Pakistan. And in between Pakistan travels to India in October 2007. Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul and even Rao Iftikhar Anjum are good enough to form an above-average bowling attack and with Shoaib it could be spicy, deadly and outstanding. Shoaib's implication in the doping scandal exposed the rudimentary drugs policy. Shoaib as a man is very sensitive. For him appeals of equal magnitude emanate from the spirit. That which sustains the human in him also brings him to the innermost recesses of his being and convinces him that ocean of feelings is far deeper than the superficiality of what may be quantified and measured, analysed and captured by the senses in one-dimensional segments of time... in the three-dimensional character of space. What gives excitement to life, what makes him consider the significance of it, what leads him to an appreciation of the beautiful, the good, and the true, lies deeply in the core of his being? It is solely the depth of his spirituality that has access into it. No instruments of modern technology those which often requires for medical rehabilitation are not required and it just couldn't stretch even the outermost filament of his covering. Usually an energetic self-publicist, he arms himself with illusions and his cricketing prowess hasn't been half as important to Pakistan as an ability to keep him in the public eye. Shoaib Akhtar has had a penchant for the quotable quotes. He tried to attain personality status before he actually achieved anything on the field of play. His has been a classical example of 'big mouth equal big money'. Once Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis's aura waned, Shoaib became Pakistan's modern folk hero. Anyway, as all true hipsters know, his credentials for trendiness were severely dented by long hair thirteen years out of date and a preference for second-rate Springsteen copyists Midnight Oil. Shoaib was not the type like an Imran Khan, a Wasim Akram or Waqar Younis. Public never marvelled at his complete mastery and rushed off illusively in the hope of him achieving a similar type of all-encompassing success. Shoaib competed with Waqar and Wasim, more delusively and out loud than letting his record speak for him. He had genuine speed and could set the stage to his liking, horrifying batsmen, bruising and battering them, his consistent fitness failures arousing public's sympathy. His macho man image didn't shrink and he championed the up-front qualities of Argentina's Diego Maradona. He has been a bowler who despite the public's changeability forced himself into limelight. He often found that no publicity is bad publicity. He has been involved in doping and night club scandals, physical battles with Bob Woolmer, not signing the central contracts (eventually he signed the contract before leaving for South Africa) arguments with colleagues, officials and compatriots, complete apathy and lack of trust in his captain, Inzamam Ul Haq, brawling in two hemispheres and still, just as everybody began to treat him as a big disappointment, he could do something amazing with the ball and be the star once again. One wonders who had written his bloody script then. One is very sure that Shoaib will be back again, say by September 2007 but how long he'll last will solely depend on the medical advice he seeks and the methods with which he rehabilitates. One wonders, in spite of being on the deep end of the sea and being a very competitive swimmer he still needs to realise that a tiny algae, a green spiral, a weed can drown him still. A foreign coach for the national team still a good idea One would like to offer his heartiest feelings and congratulations to Wasim Akram for providing his services to Pakistan cricket voluntarily as by doing so he has won millions of hearts across the country The announcement of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that they are no more interested in hiring the services of former Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore have greatly reduced for the time being the intensity of the debate over a foreign coach in India which was going around for quite some time. The Indian cricket circles are clearly divided into two schools of thought, as the one which is led by legends like Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev is of the view that an Indian will be a better choice, the other one is insisting upon having a foreigner for this coveted post which has the support of senior players of the Indian team in which Tendulkar, Dravid, Ganguly and Kumble are most prominent as all of these big names of modern day cricket had a meeting with BCCI president Sharad Pawar and they very clearly showed their keenness for a foreign coach especially Dav Whatmore. But by not appointing Whatmore for this slot, BCCI on the one hand have given respect to the opinions of their former players especially Gavaskar but on other hand they have taken the suggestions of senior players for a foreign coach very seriously and by doing this they very tactfully succeeded in satisfying both the parties to some extent. Sunil Gavaskar in particular was very critical of the idea to have Whatmore in the Indian team set-up and he questioned publicly his credentials as coach as in his opinion he failed miserably in transforming the Bangladesh team which was at his disposal for years into a formidable one and also bringing continuity in their performances. There are speculations and whispers in the Indian media which are quite strong that Gavaskar is opposing the foreign coach and making an all out effort in the hope to get appointed his brother-in-law, former Test cricketer Gundappa Viswanath, in the capacity of a coach or a batting consultant. If a coach with not sufficient background and much weaker reputation in comparison to Whatmore gets the job he will not be in a position to dictate terms and will not resist against having Vishy in the consultant's role and it will pave the way for the realisation of Gavaskar's dreams but had Whatmore been given the responsibility then the chances of this stood very dim as he is qualified and knows very well the modern day technique and vice versa, also having the pride of guiding Sri Lankan to their biggest triumph in World Cup 1996. As coach of the Indian cricket team one enjoys a lot of media attention, perhaps the most as compared to other teams and a lucrative financial package as South African legend Allan Donald and various former cricket greats have already pointed out. The refusal of the BCCI for Whatmore is completely opposite of their earlier stance in the recent past where we saw hectic efforts from top BCCI management to get Whatmore's consent but now the whole scenario has dramatically changed and the Indian board has taken a U-turn in this connection. The offer from BCCI was so attractive that Whatmore flatly refused and never took any sort of interest in becoming the Pakistani team coach but now in these changed circumstances what the PCB and Whatmore are thinking only time will tell. As a die-hard Pakistan cricket fan one would like to offer his heartiest feelings and congratulations to Wasim Akram for providing his services to Pakistan cricket voluntarily and by doing this he has won millions of hearts across the country and this kind of generous acts of our role models will not only enhance their image as individuals but also our country's reputation will get a lot of boost. He has very rightly said while guiding the upcoming youngsters in the just concluded camp that Team Pakistan requires a foreign coach. We as a nation take foreigners a lot more seriously as compared to our compatriots in every department of life and cricket is no exception. As far as the summer coaching camp of the Pakistan team is concerned, which is going to be held in Abbottabad, I personally feel that the appointment of Haroon Rasheed and Aaqib Javed is quite right but the induction of Mohtashim Rasheed as fielding coach is debatable. He has never played any international cricket and lacks the required guts so for this position one would like to mention the name of Ijaz Ahmed Senior as he is a former Test cricketer and also belongs to the same city (Sialkot) as our captain. It will be a great idea as he will bring with him a lot of courage and hard work as he was the best fielder whether it was close-in or anywhere in the deep with a strong arm of our past team -- and by displaying his potential as a brave fielder he succeeded in getting applause from his captain and legendary cricketer Imran Khan -- when the fielding standard was even worse than today when we have the likes of Imran Nazir, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan and several youngsters in our line-up. A suggestion which requires a great amount of attention from the PCB, as they should take it very seriously and sympathetically, is that they forget the bitter past as Inzamam has faced a lot of criticism for his uncompromising attitude and it is very humbly requested by an ardent cricket lover to provide a single chance to former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq in the coming season to call it a day in a befitting manner because in the past we have witnessed numerous occasions where our legends of recent past including Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Saeed Anwar left the international arena in an unceremonious way. We should avoid this now and set an example that even opponents be given a fair deal -- this is another thing that this type of treatment is not very common in our society -- rather maligning and victimising them for one reason or the other. I assure that this will greatly affect the image of the PCB and its top brass and will go a long way in improving their working. A significant move which the PCB has initiated is that they have introduced a performance based new pay structure for the contracted players which is very appreciable as this will enforce discipline and create a situation where every one will only think about performance and cricket and will never count himself superior to others. This rule has three categories for the players. This has been in the offing for quite some time and now the time has come to implement it. The players had some reservations about this and they have a detailed meeting with those who are responsible for preparing the contents of the document but in my personal opinion it is good for cricket as who ever will play for Pakistan afterwards will avoid indulging himself in petty issues/politics and this will bring a complete change in their attitude towards the game that they will only care about personal performances as they are professionals and will give due attention to cement their places in the team. This would also curtail the player power which will be a great breakthrough. This has been applied by the BCCI also and it is a very constructive move by our board and after its implementation our national heroes will forget infighting and grouping and become more mature compared to their yesteryear's track record.
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cricket organisations from the length and breadth of Pakistan are getting
together in the hill station of Bhurban (on June 16) to discuss among various
things how to make the departments be shown the door while inflicting the
least amount of pain.
have been solved, resolved in some cases, answered may be or brought to an
end. Many questions are still pending over them and people are seeking
answers. They want to know the truth and this should happen soon.
poor 2007 World Cup campaign, recently submitted its report after taking
feedback from countless people, and, ironically, as usually happens in this
country, the findings have generated more controversies than they have
settled. Unfortunately, that is the way things work here, and this exercise,
too, turned out to be a futile attempt, inclined only on maligning certain
figures. The basic question as to why Pakistan went crashing against Ireland
remains answerless.
disciplinary measure. Shoaib and Mohammad Asif in tandem could have easily
exploited the green pitch at Mohali. Until today, most of the people
concerned with cricket believe that it was the Nandrolone in their bodies
that kept the two supreme bowlers out of the World Cup 2007, ending in total
shambles for Pakistan. These critiques are ready to go to their graves
convinced that not the injuries but the steroid in their bodies coerced the
PCB to drop them from the team.