'Just two' new faces in Pakistan squad has raised more questions
The selection of Fawad and Najaf hasn't faced any sort of criticism yet with people hoping that they will prove their selection right and contribute for the country
By Muhammad Shahbaz Zahid
The three-match One-day International (ODI) series between Pakistan and World Cup runners-up Sri Lanka was finally confirmed a few days back.

Making domestic performance touchstone for selection welcome move
With the young captain and another youngster as his deputy, the inclusion of the young lot in the national side gives the team a new and balanced look
By Gul Nasreen
Obviously aiming for a fresh start after a disastrous World Cup campaign, the new policy by the new selectors of infusing new talent and making domestic performance a touchstone for selection to the national squad is a good omen for the crisis-hit Pakistan cricket.

Though Pakistan cricket team's campaign was over in just nine days in the recent World Cup event after their 'deadly' ouster in the first round, there was a person who kept the national flag high in the mega event till the last moment. And that was no other than ICC Elite Panel umpire Aleem Dar, who became second Pakistani to supervise Cricket World Cup final. Previously leading umpire Mahboob Shah had officiated the final of the 1987 World Cup at Calcutta. At 38 years and 321 days, Aleem also became the youngest-ever umpire to stand in a World Cup final. Before him, all the previous umpires who supervised the finals of the mega event, were 40 plus.

After such a great distinction, Dar deserves to be given Pride of Performance by the Government of Pakistan. In recognition of his umpiring potential and services, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the parent institution of national cricket, should also come forward with a reasonable cash prize. It is pertinent to mention here that in the past, it has been a routine to honour different national heroes for their notable achievements at international level.

Dar, who launched his Test career as an umpire with a match between England and Bangladesh at Dhaka in 2003-04, is now being considered as a leading umpire along with Australian Simon Taufel. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has also renewed his contract for another two years and that is enough to ascertain his status in world cricket.

Aleem's umpiring skills and their value at international level can be gauged from the fact that he got two grand matches within just six months. The final clash of ICC Champions Trophy, widely known as the mini World Cup, between Australia and West Indies in India late last year, was the other big encounter. At the Barbados final, veteran West Indian umpire Steve Bucknor was certain to stand in his fifth successive big match, but there was a close contest among the rest of the leading umpires -- Aleem Dar, Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) and Billy Bowden (New Zealand) for the other spot. However, Aleem was preferred over others due to his impressive and outstanding umpiring.

During his two months stay in the West Indies, Aleem spent most of his time with Indian Muslims settled in the Caribbean. At Grenada, he also played two cricket matches for local sides and excelled in both the matches scoring 55 and unbeaten 101. Dar, who started his ODIs umpiring career in 1999-00 with a match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Gujranwala, has supervised as many as 88 one-dayers and 37 Tests so far.

While talking to 'The News on Sunday' (TNS) last Monday at his residence, Aleem informed that April 26, the next day after the second semifinal, was a memorable and one of the happiest days in his umpiring career.

"I was having my breakfast with New Zealand umpire Billy Bowden when ICC Umpires Manager Douge Cowie told me about my appointment for the final match. Those moments were very precious for me and frankly I was not able to control my emotions on that occasion.

"Everybody including leading umpires and their wives congratulated me on the great achievement," a jubilant Dar further told.

To another question, Dar said that he took the grand final as a routine game and there was no sign of any pressure on him. "However, prior to my semifinal assignment, I was a bit worried because a lot was at stake in that game but with the Grace of Allah I managed to do good umpiring in that game and then was rewarded with the final match," he asserted.

When asked to explain the situation when he sent the Australian batsman Michael Clarke back after signalling Lasith Malinga's third delivery of 37th over dead, Aleem said: "Clarke was penalised for running on the pitch for which senior umpire Steve Bucknor had already warned the Australian batsmen." Aleem said that he faced no security problem during his stay in the Caribbean particularly at Kingston, Jamaica that has been notorious for lawlessness.

Responding to another question, Dar praised PCB's efforts for the well-being of the umpiring community in the country. "The PCB Chief Dr Nasim Ashraf has kindly accepted my request regarding match fee for umpires," he explained. "Now the fee for domestic matches has been doubled and for international matches the fee has been raised three times," Dar informed. Aleem further said that now after looking at attractive financial packages in umpiring, hopefully more number of Test and international cricketers would join this field as a profession.

Regarding his next international assignment, Dar, well known for his ability to handle crunch situations, told that he was going to depart for England on June 2 to officiate the last two matches of the upcoming four-match Test series between England and West Indies.

Replying to a question regarding pressure in World Cup matches, Dar said: "It was my second World Cup and that's why there was no extra pressure on me in the Caribbean. However, the Ashes clashes have been more pressure games in modern day cricket than World Cup encounters," Aleem elaborated. The soft-spoken umpire appreciated junior teams Bangladesh and Ireland for their remarkable progress in international cricket.

When asked to comment on the status of Pakistan cricket, Dar was of the view that winning and losing were part of the game and one should not take it so seriously. "Our national side was a talented outfit and a bright future can't be ruled out for them," he predicted. "The Pakistan team under a new leadership would be a different side in the next international tournaments including the Abu Dhabi ODI rubber and Twenty20 Cricket World Cup scheduled to be played in South Africa later this year," he expressed his hope.

To a query regarding his future plans, Dar replied: "It's our faith that nobody can predict what is going to happen next moment but I will try to continue with umpiring till the age of 50/55.

"If I managed to do so, definitely I would complete century of Tests and double century of ODIs by that time." He informed that these days an Elite Panel umpire has to supervise 10 to 13 Tests and around 20 ODIs annually, which by all means, is a heavy workload for an umpire.

The appointment of Shoaib Malik as captain seems to be a long-term and wise decision because following their humiliating exit from the World Cup by minnows Ireland Pakistan badly needed a person like Malik, who's never been found involved in any sort of politics. His creative and leadership qualities with a positive impact will enable him to guide the team through the difficult phase they find themselves in currently. Through his fighting spirit and new ideas he can again mould Pakistan into a winning combination.

Malik has won quite a few matches for his country with his impressive performances with both bat and ball, and his appointment as skipper in the presence of senior players indicates that PCB has at last decided to curb the menace of player power by taking a bold step.

Malik has been handed over the captaincy at a time when the team are faced with quite a few challenges that include -- but are not limited to -- an unsettled opening pair, fielding and fitness problems, and above all grouping among players.

This team is clearly divided into groups. Shoaib Akhtar and Younis Khan, along with their supporters, have distanced themselves away from the group led by former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, who enjoyed the backing of the remaining senior players.

That was the main reason behind Younis's reluctance to take up the captaincy because he is well aware of the fact that if he accepts the offer, the trend of leg-pulling will start once again. After all he has in past witnessed incidents where some players were shown the door who dared to challenge the authority of senior players including Inzamam.Yasir Hameed, Asim Kamal, and Misbah-ul-Haq are the prime examples. They all became persona non grata one after the other. And they had only one thing in common: they were all having a good relationship with either Younis or Shoaib, and despite their impressive performances at domestic level they were ignored for national duty. This was the scenario which forced Younis to reject the captaincy offer.

Malik after becoming captain might face a situation where his close buddies in the team may create hurdles for him which would not allow him to handle the team smoothly and with authority. This has happened in the past when despite the presence of senior players, Wasim Akram and Javed Miandad got captaincy, but later their closest friends conspired against them, and with the support of senior players staged a revolt forcing them to step down. Malik will be well aware of all these bitter facts, and he has shown maturity by ringing Younis and Shoaib to take them into confidence.

He will surely be chalking out a strategy to ensure such incidents do not occur again, and will be trying to bridge the gulf, if any, between him and the senior players of the team. By working collectively they can put Pakistan cricket on the right track. Graeme Smith and Ricky Ponting are the best examples.

When they were named captains their seniors had had quite a few reservations, but with passage of time and their continuous consultations on team matters with senior players, they have turned their teams into stronger units producing outstanding results.

But this practice is not very common in our part of the world as a similar situation also prevailed in India where after the World Cup debacle Rahul Dravid had become a villain, and led by Sachin Tendulkar the senior players were trying to get rid of the right-hander from Bangalore. But the BCCI stepped in at the right time and foiled the bid.

However, Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene has done quite a good job as his team stand united under him. He had taken over from Marvan Atapattu, and a similar situation, where senior Sri Lankan players were not happy with the decision, existed there, but today Sri Lanka are a lot stronger than they were when Atapattu was at the helm.

So the need of the hour is that Malik take the seniors into confidence and engage them in discussions and consultations with him over team matters and introduce discipline in the team. If he does not compromise on discipline he will succeed in gaining support of the majority of players because in the past it was a common sight that when a senior player violated team discipline, the board and the team management let him get away with it and took a lenient view. But if a junior player did the same they all came very harsh on him and this created a situation where the juniors did not take the advice of the captain and senior players seriously.

All these factors were the reasons behind all misunderstandings in the past which never reconciled and instead led to very nasty situations. So Malik will have to consider all these things and will have to work positively to overcome the problems currently afflicting Pakistan. He must show mental strength to take the burden and never give an impression that he is not very receptive as far as criticism is concerned. This was very true for Inzamam. Whenever a person dared to criticise the team or Inzamam, he took it personal. In the end, he paid the price for his folly.

So Malik, by leading his team from the front and taking bold decisions and paying attention to his seniors' advice, can lay the foundation for a bright future. Also, he must not feel hesitant in asking for a piece of advice from legends like Imran Khan and Miandad.

He must also take criticism in his stride while making full use of his potential and knowledge of the game so that he could be remembered as a successful Pakistan captain.

The three-match One-day International (ODI) series between Pakistan and World Cup runners-up Sri Lanka was finally confirmed a few days back.

The ODI series will be staged in Abu Dhabi with the matches to be played on May 18, 20 and 22 after the series, originally schedule for May 9, was postponed due to Sri Lanka's delayed arrival from the Caribbean and lack of interest from sponsors and television channels.

The organisers, though, finally secured sponsors and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Sri Lanka had one cracker of a World Cup trip and would be looking to continue their good form against Pakistan as well whom they lost their home series (both the Tests and one-dayers) back in 2005-06 season when Mohammad Asif ripped through their batting line-up for more than one occasions and announced his arrival on the world stage.

Though they have rested three of their star players -- Chaminda Vaas, Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara -- for this tournament, the rest of their line-up doesn't lack any sort of firepower either and under the captaincy of Mahela Jayawardene, they can prove out to be a nuisance for the already baffled Pakistan side.

Team Pakistan has been going under a lot of changes since the World Cup debacle and is trying to make the most of the opportunities coming its way to silence the critics.

Pakistan have already announced that the new coach for the national team would be appointed by July 1st after their previous coach Bob Woolmer was murdered during the World Cup in the Caribbean. Talat Ali, the team manager, has taken over the coaching responsibilities until a new man is found. Former India coach and New Zealand opener, John Wright's name has been linked with the job along with outgoing Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore.

Former Pakistan team captain and batting maestro, Inzamam-ul-Haq, called it quits from one-dayers after the World Cup and now has been replaced by all-rounder Shoaib Malik. Though Inzamam had a wealth of experience which Malik doesn't, he has vowed to fill in his (Inzamam's shoes) and has asked his seniors to support him.

For the Abu Dhabi series, Pakistan announced a sixteen-man squad last week. Batsman Younis Khan, who has county commitments with Yorkshire in England, and pacer Shoaib Akhtar, because of injury, were already out of contention to play against Sri Lanka before the team was announced. And there were quite a few surprises when the squad was named.

Pacer Mohammad Asif, who missed out playing in the World Cup due to an elbow injury, was recalled to the squad and surprisingly named the vice-captain.

Asif, who has a brilliant Tests record 49 scalps in 9 matches and a pretty ordinary ODIs record with 22 wickets in the same number of matches, was also banned for a year before being included in the World Cup-bound squad alongside Shoaib Akhtar (who was banned for two years) for drug offence. He was later cleared by an appeals' committee of the PCB.

There were rumours that Asif missed the World Cup not because of injury but because of the fear of another ban, which would have certainly ended all hopes of him of playing again in his life, because the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) had challenged the case in the Court of Arbitration of Sports (CAS), of clearing Shoaib and Asif from their respective bans, after they themselves admitted of taking nandrolone which resulted in their bans.

But as Asif has been named the deputy of Shoaib Malik for the Abu Dhabi series, there are speculations that there isn't any sort of pressure from WADA on the PCB and its management for taking his (and Akhtar's) doping tests and they are free to play international cricket.

Along with this unexpected news of Asif being named the vice-captain and inclusion in the side, there were only two new faces for the Abu Dhabi assignment in spite of Pakistan's poor showing in the West Indies.

Fawad Alam, the young Karachi all-rounder, who had an outstanding domestic season, expectedly took his place in the squad.

Fawad has been in exquisite form over the last couple of years in domestic seasons. Fawad has scored 2047 runs @ 47.60 in 28 first-class matches with fourteen fifties and three centuries. His batting average in one-day domestic matches is pretty high as well with 981 runs @ 40.87 in 31 matches with two centuries and four fifties.

To cap that, his bowling performances are pretty similar to his batting which justifies his all-round capabilities. He has 12 first-class wickets and 28 wickets in domestic one-day competitions with best of 5 for 53.

The other reason because of which he was selected for this ODI assignment was his breathtaking form in the Twenty20 tournament last year. Although his team, the Karachi Dolphins, lost to Sialkot Stallions in the final, he still made the headlines next day. Fawad was not only declared Man-of-the-Match but also named Man-of-the-Series. In addition, he won both the Best Batsman and Best Bowler prizes as well. Fawad has 249 runs from fourteen Twenty20 matches at 41.50 and 18 wickets at just 11.22 a piece.

Besides Fawad, Najaf Shah, a left-arm fast medium bowler who plays for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Rawalpindi has also been called up after an impressive domestic season and some equally impressive performances in the trial matches which were played between the 39 probables that attended the recent camp at Lahore in order to get selected for the Abu Dhabi series.

Najaf has an astonishing 237 wickets from just 65 first-class matches with 7 for 57 his best. He has taken these wickets at just 24.43 apiece and has an even better economy rate of 2.89. Besides that, he has fifty one-day domestic wickets and five Twenty20 scalps.

The selection of Fawad and Najaf hasn't faced any sort of criticism yet with people hoping that they will prove their selection right and contribute for the country as well as they have been for their departmental and city teams. But what has faced criticism is the retaining of previously selected players in the squad.

The most criticised selection is that of Kamran Akmal who has been retained as the wicket-keeper in the team. Akmal has performed poorly in recent times, both with gloves and the bat, and calls for his replacement were being and still made among circles. But without an understudy in sight, the move to retain Akmal is seen as a vote of confidence in him by a new, empowered selection committee.

Meanwhile, former captain and wicket-keeper Rashid Latif has slammed the inclusion of Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq in the Abu Dhabi-bound squad. "Razzaq, Yousuf are veteran players and young players should have been picked in their place for this series," Rashid said. "We must groom our youngsters for the future and the three-match series against Sri Lanka could have been a prime time for the purpose for exposing them," he added.

Rashid also criticised the selection committee of picking only two new faces for the ODI assignment against Sri Lanka. "Apart from two newcomers, this is almost the same team picked by the previous selection committee. So what is the change?" Rashid questioned. "We must think about the future ahead and pick the players accordingly," he added.

Opener Salman Butt, meanwhile, has made a comeback into the squad, having been dropped after a disappointing tour to England last year. His inclusion means a shuffle, yet again, could be seen in Pakistan's opening line-up. Imran Nazir and Mohammad Hafeez along with Yasir Hameed would be eyeing the opening slot with Butt for the series.

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Danish Kaneria, who are playing for their counties these days, have been left out for the series. They wouldn't have been called up to play even if they weren't playing in England after their performances in the recently-concluded World Cup.

Shoaib Malik, who will be captaining Pakistan for the first time, has stressed that the new players were the best available. "These are all deserving players and it is the best team available to us. The selection committee discussed the names with me and the decision was taken between us," Malik said.

Well it might be the best team available for the selection committee and the captain; there could have been more experimentation and changes in the squad. Abdul Razzaq could have been given more time to get fitter for the series afterwards. Mohammad Yousuf, after a disastrous World Cup and a hectic year before, could have been replaced by a new face but then, as Inzamam has retired and Younis opted not to play for Pakistan, his inclusion in the squad can be supported.

Pakistan squad for Abu Dhabi series against Sri Lanka: Shoaib Malik (captain), Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal (wicket-keeper), Abdul Razzaq, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Najaf Shah.

Obviously aiming for a fresh start after a disastrous World Cup campaign, the new policy by the new selectors of infusing new talent and making domestic performance a touchstone for selection to the national squad is a good omen for the crisis-hit Pakistan cricket.

The way two uncapped players -- Fawad Alam and Najaf Shah -- have walked into the 16-man squad for the three-match series against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi this month, indicates those at the helm of affairs have at least tried to come to terms with the requirements of the crisis-like situation in national cricket.

With the young captain and another youngster as his deputy, the inclusion of young lot in the national side give the team a new and balanced look and can augur well for Pakistan provided they played 'collective cricket'.

The attempt to experimenting with a new opening pair is also timely because right now we have to embark on raising a new formidable side in a few years. Right now the new as well as the recalled players have ample time to settle down and consolidate their place in the team while the selectors also feel free to experiment as there is no major event like the World Cup in the pipeline.

Now coming to the selection of the talented duo of Fawad and Najaf, they really deserved the chance. The compact batsman Fawad Alam had performed magnificently in the domestic season and it was on the basis of this good show that he has got his first chance in the national side. The uncapped 21-year-old Karachi boy also impressed selectors with his recent batting form for the Pakistan Academy team in Bangladesh.

The promising Karachi youngster Fawad Alam is left-handed batsman and slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He had been knocking at the doors of international cricket since his outstanding showing in domestic competitions especially during the matches of the Twenty20 Cup in Karachi last year where he stole the limelight and was adjudged as the Player of the Tournament. This by no means was a meek performance.

He is a reliable stroke-player who has the added advantage of being a left-arm spinner and also a good fielder. The most striking feature about the rookie batsman is that since coming into limelight during the last year's Twenty20 Championship, Fawad has been performing consistently at the domestic level.

It was his consistency in form and approach to the game that convinced the selectors that this was the right time to try out the new talent. His selection is timely in the context that right now Pakistan need to consolidate their middle-order in the aftermath of the World Cup 2007 debacle. He has had a good start to his first-class career and in 28 matches has scored 2047 runs at 47.60 with the help of three centuries and 14 fifties. Going by sheer statistics, he seems to be a compact player who has the ability to deliver under pressure.

As far as left-arm paceman Najaf Shah, 22, is concerned, he has walked into the national team after being constantly ignored since 2005 when he played superbly for his PIA team in the domestic season. He was the top wicket-taker for PIA in the then Patron's Trophy and had impressed many with his speed and ability to move the ball both ways.

It may be mentioned here that Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer (late) had then termed Najaf as good future prospect. Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer, who accompanied the Pakistan A team to Zimbabwe and Namibia for a brief period in 2005, was then all praise for Najaf Shah, saying "the youngster had all the qualities to prove as the real asset for future Pakistan cricket."

Woolmer had expressed these views in his report submitted with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and had also forwarded it to the then selection committee, but to no avail as the then selectors had their 'own priorities'.

"I never had the opportunity to see Najaf thoroughly. He has the guts and talent to emerge on the national cricket scene," Woolmer had said.

Najaf also bowled Pakistan Academy to a title-winning triumph in a tri-team Academy tournament in Bangladesh recently. The talented pacer from Rawalpindi was one of the reasons behind Pakistan's successful outing on the tour.

Aaqib Javed, the National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief coach, also singled out the rookie left-arm paceman for special praise during the Pakistan Academy's recent tour. "Najaf was simply outstanding throughout the tour. He could be a future star," Aaqib was quoted to have said.

In the triangular one-day series, Pakistan Academy defeated their Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan counterparts once and lost one game each against them. Fawad Alam captained the Pakistan side while Najaf as bowler won laurels for the country.

Now coming to the opening pair, Pakistan have been unable to find out a good combination for opening its account on solid lines during the last many years. Over half a dozen players have been tried as openers but none of them clicked. Opening is one of the persisting problems of Pakistan cricket since long and has been dooming Pakistan's to sudden collapse more often than not in international outings.

Once again, discarded openers Yasir Hameed and Salman Butt have been recalled and given opportunity to get a fresh start. Butt, 22, was discarded after a mediocre start during the last summer's tour of England while Yasir was not considered for the World Cup after the tour of South Africa ahead of World Cup. However, the duo is capable pair and better show by them through a bit of hard work can justify their re-inclusion in the national side.

The off-shore Sri Lanka series will be Pakistan's first after their World Cup debacle. Pakistan is scheduled to play three one-dayers against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi from May 18-22. The Pakistan team is without Inzamam, who was the backbone of Pakistan's middle-order, after his retirement from one-dayers after leading his team to a humiliating World Cup exit.

Younis, also a key batsman, is unavailable for the series in Abu Dhabi because of county commitments with Yorkshire.

As for Sri Lanka, they will be without key players Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara and Chaminda Vaas who will be playing in the English County Championship. The absence of three main players of Lankan team and two from Pakistan's team will be an advantage for the youngsters.

We hope that the youngsters avail this opportunity to show their mettle at the international level. They should particularly capitulate on the absence of key players from both the sides. A bit of more hard work by the duo of Fawad and Najaf and careful selection and display of strokes by the 'new opening pair' could make them consolidate their place in the team and make their credential a bit stronger for a place in future national team.

Though these youngsters need to be encouraged and given ample time to settle down, yet under the new policy of judging players on the basis of series-wise performances is something that can deter them.

Anyway, one hopes Pakistan make a fresh start in the off-shore series, leaving behind the sour memories of the World Cup and the youngsters settle in the team before the hectic new season in which we play the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, host South Africa, and tour of India and then host Australia.

After crossing the first hurdle of accumulating the fragmented pieces of Pakistan Cricket following the disastrous show in the World Cup, the second hurdle of assembling a team for a three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi was also "amicably" overcome.

After going through the team combination it was quite obvious that the new writers (selectors) have written an old script, as some nine members of the World Cup squad were retained in the Abu Dhabi bound squad, and only two new faces emerged in the first ever squad announcement after the World Cup. Fawad Alam, the young Karachi all-rounder, and Najaf Shah, the left-arm fast medium bowler from Rawalpindi were picked.

The 39 probables announced for the Abu Dhabi series on April 22nd included only 15 new faces. Surely the motive of the Pakistan cricket administration was to focus on the 2011 world cup as well as the major assignments down the road, then why more young players were not included in the bunch of 39 players, although, it does not seem likely that Misbah-ul-Haq aged 32, Asim Kamal aged 31, Naved Latif aged 31, Shabbir Ahmed aged 31 and Shahid Nazir aged 29 could make it to the next World Cup, therefore more young players could have been included in the camp at the expense of these players.

Moreover, it was high time to bring in the rotation policy with good effect, by resting the players who have been tried and tested many a times to incorporate new players. Players like Mohammad Yousuf, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Kamran Akmal etc could have been replaced with new faces because it will only benefit the Pakistan cricket by securing its future.

The new Pakistan captain, Shoaib Malik has no doubt a huge task ahead as he is young and the past experiences of revolts against junior captains would certainly be at the back of his mind. The appointment of 25-year old Shoaib Malik is seen as a bold step however the outcome is yet to be seen, therefore keep your fingers crossed, and hope for the best.

Shifting away from the skipper and coming to Mohammad Asif who was appointed vice captain, he is no doubt a good choice, but he would be better off under the wings of an experienced leader, but this is not the question of concern right now, there is another dilemma encircling Asif after the doping episode.

Although, the Pakistan Cricket Board has cleared both Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar, but the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) was unhappy with the decision and was set to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland. The ICC also supported the WADA appeal adding, that it was committed to a dope free game. How this issue would be tackled if raised by the ICC or WADA in the future?

Interestingly, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Asif have one thing in common, before their appointments for their respective positions, both were surrounded by controversies. Shoaib had admitted throwing away a 20Twenty match deliberately, and Asif had the doping scar. Since, Shoaibís case was resolved prior to his appointment as captain therefore it is believed that the PCB had at least consulted with the WADA and ICC to relax the nerves of young Mohammad Asif.

Finally coming to another important post, the coach for the national side. The PCB had already given an advertisement with a heavy-duty criterion, and Chairman Nasim Ashraf said that they would wait till May 15 for more coaches to file for the job before taking a final decision. Earlier, many former greats urged PCB to form a technical committee like the Indian cricket board to select the coach. Countering the demand, PCB Chairman said in a May 07 press conference that Mudassar Nazar, Zakir Khan and Imtiaz Ahmed will choose the best coach from the applicants.

Apart from Mudassar Nazar who has played 76 test matches and also has considerable amount of coaching experience under his belt, neither Zakir Khan nor Imtiaz Ahmed has an impressive record with two and 41 test matches to their credit respectively. For the all important committee, an out of the box solution should have been found by also considering people outside the PCB setup. Many believe that a foreign coach will not be suitable for our team and the past experiences prove this opinion right, because under two foreign coaches (Richard Pybus and Bob Woolmer), Pakistan were knocked out of the first rounds of 2003 and 2007 world cups respectively. On the other hand, another school of thought, suggests that a local coach would get involved in politics, they quoted the example of Javed Miandad, who has served as coach for three separate terms and left after unpleasant events every time. In such a situation, what should be done?

The question that I would like to ask is that do we really need specialist coaches for every department of the game? What a coach can do with people having played over one hundred matches yet faulty in their techniques. We should look for some other options to overcome the problems being faced by the Pakistan cricket.

In my opinion, just before the final stage of representing the national squad, a penultimate phase should be introduced. A young player should be selected for the stage and then get trained under qualified coaches. For this stage I believe, qualified (foreign or local) coaches should be hired. The coaches for the bunch should be assigned a duty to grade a player on the basis of his ability, and performance during the course of his training.

If a coach is assigned to grade players after every three months or any other span of time, then the boys will be motivated to do well, and the end result will definitely be in Pakistan's favour.

The proposed scheme would act as a filtration plant at the very last end, which would provide the national team with a refined product in the form of a trained individual who can replace any injured or an out-of-form player. Moreover, the rotation policy will also be effective with this liberty of having a large group of trained players, and by doing so we will have more than eleven players ready to represent the team at the top level, and situation like the current World Cup could be avoided when we had no one to replace Shoaib Akhtar, Muhammad Asif, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq or Kamran Akmal. It will also keep the playing eleven on its toes.

The question arises that do I want to say that the national team should be left alone with nobody to guide them through? What I believe is that there would be no need of a heavy-duty coach for the national team as the boys coming into the team would be properly groomed by the time of their debuts. Yes, a strategist would be needed to chalk out the approach to a match accordingly, and a physical trainer would be required to keep an eye on the fitness level of every individual and to take endeavours to fix any problem in this all important aspect of the game.

To initiate the practice the players of the under-19 team, which won the world cup competition along with upcoming youngsters from the domestic circuit should be picked for the penultimate pool and provide them with the best of coaches so that their imperfections can be rectified before the final stage of representing the nation.

It is indeed a good move by the PCB to engage legendry Wasim Akram for a few weeks to train youngsters. Now this exercise should be stretched further, and other people like Javed Miandad, Rashid Latif, Aaqib Javed, Abdul Qadir, Intikhab Alam etc. should be engaged to train the youngsters in the earlier proposed setup.

The writer is a freelance contributor