Will PCB be able to save future of Zulqarnain & Zulqnains of Future???

So… He returns back to home… I don’t know he should be called as “Subha ka bhoola” or “Laut k budhoo” but I have some serious reservations on the whole story. I really doubt that the story can be that simple. It is actually too simple to be believed.

He left for London few months back when he had achieve a confirm place in the team because of his exceptional match-winning performance against South Africa and poor performance of Kamran Akmal. It was Zulqarnain’s dream place as he worked really hard to be the part of Pakistan’s national cricket team after death of his mother. He wanted to be a proud son of his mother who passed away when he was 12 and his father who was patient of Hepatitis C when he made test debut. Someone really insane could make such mistake and we proved that he was not sane.

He says, “I think no one will put his future on line and there were some reasons when I left the team and went to Britain."
Whereas the disciplinary committee of Pakistan Cricket Board opines, “Haider had a complex personality, was a "weak nerve" person and "a person who is easily convinced into believing whatever is said to him."

Zulqarnair is a typical Pakistani cricketer who is mentally very tough when he is in the ground and can win the game easily even if it looks difficult apparently. But he was weak in handling matters outside the field. I believe, it was the responsibility of the board to handle the issues which were highlighted by Zulqarnain. Pakistan cricket board should have handled the case by assuring him that he will not be penalized for anything he has not committed and by escalating the cases of match fixing to International Cricket Council instead of threating him to face disciplinary committee and to face the consequences. Everyone knows that bookies have a role in international cricket and they are hardly visible. In Sarfaraz Nawaz’s words, bookies killed Hansie Cronje who fixed matches and then told the truth to the media. If this is the case then how can we accept that a person with Zulqarnain’s background can remain cool and calm? He will either get involved in fixing or will run away from a place which hurts his life and his dreams.

He was weak, no doubt but do you think, he really to be away from international cricket, fame, world cup and especially his family.

If the answer is NO, then PCB has to listen to him and take action to save future of Zulqnain and Zulqnains of future instead of having apathetic attitude towards heroes of Pakistan by saying “he was a weak nerve person”. I expect that PCB will not test their own players’ nerves anymore and will resolve the matters instead.

Six-Day Book Fair at Aiwan-e-Iqbal

Pakistan cricket should work as an organization

The surprise changes in Pakistan cricket team after losing Semi Final to India were not a surprise by the Selection Committee of Pakistan Cricket Board as it has always been an unpredictable board, just like the cricket team. The question is, will they stand with their decisions or will they change it in the “greater interest of the nation”. Instead of pointing fingers on the selection and reviewing the world cup, I would rather discuss how the productivity of board’s employees can be enhanced.

PCB = ONE MAN SHOW
Pakistan cricket board has always been a One Man Show from the modest beginning. We have lots of influential players and officials in our history who crossed the boundaries of their jobs and interrupted in others’.
Imran Khan would always pick his own team to give results and would never go with the team of selection committee. Wasim and Waqar have always been influential to board’s decisions.
Naseem Hassan Shah’s decision of appointing junior but talented cricketers Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis as captain and vice-captain by replacing senior most and a time-tested experienced captain Javed Miandad could never be justified. The decision brought players’ power in the system again and ended with a revolt of 11 players against the young captain.
Mujeeb ur Rehman’s decision of investigating match fixing and giving a mysterious clearance to the senior players shows the power of an appointed dictator.
Tauqeer Zia’s decision of bringing Ramiz Raja as CEO, saving Shoaib Akhtar from lots of genuine controversies, bring senior players in for World Cup 2003 and dropping them after the tournament without giving any logical justification brought a new wave to the system that you can play blame game if you are unable to justify your decision, especially when you hold a government office too.
The credit of appointing a low profiled player as captain goes to Naseem Ashraf which brought a series of politics in the cricket board and divided the team into groups as every member of the team was better than the captain.
And it is Butt’s turn now. Who can forget Yousuf’s exclusion after Australia-New Zealand series, inclusion during England series, appointment of Shahid Afridi as test captain who was not willing to go as player even and exclusion of Younis Khan from the series and inclusion in world cup squad and above all, out of nowhere, giving the honor of becoming test captain to Misbah-ul-Haq who was not in the camp even and then delaying the decision to appoint captain for world cup, just to satisfy his own ego.

Interestingly, most of the decisions have to be taken by the selection committee and rest of them goes to the disciplinary committee (if there is any).

Pakistan will not be able to win tournaments if they do not held players and officials accountable for their performance on few set standards which define the job description of every individual and the process to evaluate them. Players and the touring management (including the physio and manager) should be held accountable for their errors even if the team wins the match. Let’s see how the organizations get best out of their employees and how PCB can do the same.

Reward & Punishment TheoryPakistan Cricket Board is an organization and it should be run as an organization. Reward and Punishment theory should be implemented in such a way that no one complains for not providing justice. Currently, no one knows why he is being punished (as Razzaq said) and what different did he do which earned him a reward and especially what he needs to do to maintain the same momentum.

Job Description (Define Roles)
It is the chairman who has veto power on any decision of any member of the organization, especially the selection committee. The chief selector has highlighted the same for many times (especially on Younis & Yousuf issue) and most recently, Ijaz Butt & Afridi have requested Miandad to join the team to improve their batting.  The JDs say that the role of a captain starts when he crosses the boundary rope, before that it is selection committee’s task to give him the list of 15 players. The captain cannot go beyond that. He can only suggest the changes and requirements but cannot influence management’s decisions. The captain has no right to jump into management’s decision and requesting an old cricketer to help his team. And same goes for the chairman; it is selection committee and the think tank that has to suggest the requirement to fill the gap and it is HR’s call to negotiate the salary on which they can hire a professional. The chairman has to monitor only that nothing unethical and unprofessional goes within the organization and to handle external pressure. PCB’s chairman interrupts the internal affairs and avoids external pressure.

Have a Track Record & Provide constructive feedbackThe cricket team is one of PCB’s departments and every employee (player & official) of this department should be given a task with according to their JDs (Job Description) and should be given tasks according to their strengths along with the guidelines on how to improve the weaknesses.

There should be a track record of every individual’s performance. If he performed well, coach and captain should have a one-to-one session with him to tell what exactly did he do well and which areas of improvement he has which may affect as soon as he loses his form. It is even more important when selection committee decides to drop someone on the grounds of his poor performance. The player should be given complete details of his performance and he should be given a complete guideline of having a comeback to the team. Areas of improvement should be defined clearly so that he could improve his technique or the pressure handling. He should be referred to the right person with a timeline to accomplish this task and that delaying it may hurt his central contract and can affect his place in the team for a longer period.

If we drill down furthermore, we will be to give tasks to the each individual according to the situation however few guidelines can be given to everyone which will be effective on most of the games. Exceptional scenarios can be dealt differently. As a most important department of the PCB, Pakistan Cricket Team needs to follow few golden rules;

Attack Bowlers’ Job
Attack bowlers are strikers and know the art of taking early wickets. Their (including first change bowlers’) job is; to take early wickets and to restrict the batsmen within 70 – 75 runs in first 15 overs, if they do that, they should be given full marks and if they are unable to produce results, they should be asked the reason of not performing according to their JD.

Right Arm Leg Spinner / Off Spinner with Doosra
Right arm leg spinner and an off spinner like Saeed Ajmal who has a weapon of Doosra to get wickets are known as wicket taking bowlers. They are not expected to restrict a batsman from playing shots. Their job is rather to invite the batsman to play shots and to take a chance for a wicket. Even if they are a bit expensive (even 60 runs in 10 overs are okay) if they get 2 or more wickets from the middle order and one from the tail in death overs. If they do that, they should be given full marks.

Right Arm Off Spinner / Left Arm Leg Spinner / Medium PacersNormally they both are Stock Bowlers and their job is to give maximum of 35 runs in their quota of 10 overs. If they exceed it, they should be asked to improve. Management and captain should not expect wickets from them. If they get wickets, they are giving more than what is expected however their main job remains restricting the batsmen and making sure that middle order batsmen have to struggle to get runs in their overs even if they try to play “V” shape inning. Stock bowlers stats should show less than 35 runs in 10 overs even if they do not take wickets and rest of the bowlers concede more than 300 runs in remaining 40 overs.

Middle OversMiddle order batsmen do not give wickets easily and they do not play big shots either. Stock bowlers serve the purpose in a better way however intelligent captains surprise the middle order by giving ball to the strikers to get few quick wickets. Even in these overs, if striker gets punished for his aggressive bowling and taking chances of hitting the wickets, he should be encouraged to play attacking cricket. If he concedes excessive runs, he should be immediately replaced by a stock bowler.

Death Overs & Batting Power PlayLast 10 overs and batting power play are very crucial for the batting side. They try to get maximum runs in these overs by using the restrictions of circle. For these overs, strikers (attack bowlers, right arm leg spinner or “Doosra” off spinner) should be given task to bowl against set batsmen. Stock bowlers (right arm off spinner, left arm leg spinner and medium pacer) should never be given this task as it is not their prime duty to get wickets and with field restrictions, it is never a good idea to have defensive fielding.

Wicket KeeperHe has the most crucial job. He cannot afford to drop a single catch, miss a single stump out or the run out. He has to be agile all the time. His one mistake can cost a match. In modern cricket, wicket keepers have to be good batsmen who should have the ability to 30 to 40 decisive runs however primarily his job description is to do well behind the stumps and he should be accountable for that only. Even if he doesn’t perform well as a batsman, he should not be punished or if he performs exceptionally well as a batsman but misses the changes behind the stumps, he should not be given favor for good batting as it is not his prime responsibility. His performance behind the stumps should be excellent and should be accountable for that only.

Openers’ JobOpeners have to maintain the average of 4.5 to 5 runs per over in first 15 overs without losing a wicket. They are expected to play orthodox cricket and to help their middle order by turning a new and moving ball into dead old ball so that middle order could play its natural game and keep the score board moving. Making runs against new ball is comparatively easier, so if they do not use new ball and field restrictions effectively and play defensive innings like middle order batsmen then they should be questioned.

Middle Order’s Job
They need to survive for minimum of 20 overs with maximum of one wicket down by playing V shape cricket and maintaining the average of 4 runs an over and above all by surviving to the striker. They need to have a cool and calm brain which keeps them going slow but steady. If middle order plays unorthodox shots and loses the wicket then they should be ready to face the consequences as there errors normally lead to a collapse which ended with defeat.

All RoundersNone of the teams expect too much from the bowling all rounders but few quick runs. Addition of 20 to 30 odd runs is considered reasonable contribution from them however they need to target any average bowler and punish him as much as possible.

Batting Power PlayIt is something which is playing decisive role in modern cricket. Batting side must take it when their best batsmen are at crease and if they do not survive then the best pinch hitter should be sent with the same task that team expects 25 runs from him in the power play. 50 to 60 runs from both the batsmen in power play is the target which they must achieve.

Game PlanThis is the Job Description of each player however coach, captain and the team make changes in the game plan according to the pitch, outfield, weather conditions, pressure of the match and strength and the weaknesses of the opponent, such as;

1.    Captain’s role is decisive in the game; does the body language of the captain remain positive in tough situations?

2.    Field placing and body language of the team was aggressive in the match.

3.    Captain used power play to save runs or to take wickets?

4.    Did the all rounders add 75 to 90 runs in last 10 overs?

5.    Did the tail try to resist and add 15 to 20 runs per player?

6.    Did the strikers bowled out the top class batsmen of the opposition?

7.    Did the middle order survive to the strikers of opponent?

8.    Did the players stick to the Game Plan or not and was plan B and C used when plan A failed?

9.    Offense is the best form of defense, did the captain and the players exhibit this?

10.  Are the culprits given guidelines and action plan for the next match & if they were, did they implement that?

If we are evaluating the performance of our team on these basis after every match even if we win or lose, only then we can improve otherwise we will keep worshiping and stoning our players without knowing about what they are good at and if they are performing according to their Job Description or not.

Having a full time elected chairman is also need of the time who must be accountable if he does not perform according to his JD and tries to impose One Man Show. Organizations survive only if their employees know their jobs, perform according to them and do not interrupt others’ domain. PCB has to follow the same if this organization wants to get best results from the employees.

A team of Fighters - Pakistan

There was a Shoaib Akhtar...

It is said that he replaced Waqar Younis as quickest bowler of the country and who had potential to be world’s fastest bowler but he had to prove himself. Waqar Younis was (is) the greatest fast bowlers of all times and taking him in the team by keeping Waqar was a tough decision for the selection committee and the captain. Wasim put all his weight in the favor of this young man who could earn victories for his side and could be an asset to the country. The one who had urge to be the best bowler. He remained unnoticeable from 1997 to 1999 until Pakistan visits India after 12 years and Wasim introduces him as a secret weapon.

It was second day of first Asian test champion ship where Pakistan was playing against India at Eden Gardens Culcatta. Wasim gave the ball to his most trusted bowler when India was in a stable position with 147/2 on board in 50 overs. Ramesh and “The Wall” Dravid were on the crease. Dravid was facing this gentleman who was not visible by then but was confident to break the wall.

He goes to his mark and runs towards wicket, passes the umpire, jumps in the air and delivers 1^st ball of 51^st over. It was a yorker ball which broke “The Wall” and disappeared the leg stump… It was one of the happiest moments of the match for entire team. They congratulated him, celebrated the achievement but they came back to their fielding position as world’s most competent batsman, the little master Sachin Tendulkar had arrived on crease and was ready to face the bowler. He runs towards popping crease again, crosses umpires, jumps in the air, approaches the stumps, delivers the ball and stuns everyone, including the greatest batsman of all times. It was the first time even in the batsman’s history when he was bowled out on the very first ball he faced. He never had a “Golden Duck” before. The ball introduced him as world’s quickest and genuine fast bowler of all times. He was none other than Shoaib Akhtar who was an outstanding addition to Pakistan’s fast bowlers. He was one of the best fast bowlers of the world and earned a respectable place with a series of Pakistani creative and aggressive fast bowlers from Fazal Mahmood, Sarfaraz Nawaz, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis.

Even after the retirement of Waqar and Wasim, he kept the pressure on to the world’s best batsmen. Brian Lara said once, “Shaoib’s bouncer was the only thing that feared me in my whole career.”

He was injury-prone who has always been struggling with his fitness in his whole career. He was flat-footed and in his childhood, doctors were doubtful that even the child would be able to run properly. He had an abnormal bend in his elbow which dragged into the controversy of throwing the ball (The jerk allegation) however he cleared by the doctors and then by the ICC. It was his mental toughness that kept him moving for around 15 years.

He had few setbacks in his career and the most talked about was his super star nakhray. He never had an ideal relationship with media and had faced charges of being undisciplined. But one thing he never compromise on was his image of a fast bowler and match winner, he proved that whenever he was given a chance (although he did not have an ideal end to his career).

Pakistan is a land which produces genuine fast bowlers who could change the face of the game in one spell of 4 hours. Pakistan will keep producing such legends and I would strongly suggest the fast bowlers of coming generations to learn few things from Shoaib. He enjoyed his real fast bowling all the time and the status of being unplayable till the end. He was never alleged for match fixing and this was the best part of his career. Although, his stats do not reflect that he was unplayable but there is no doubt that he remained a threat for the opponents in his whole career.

We are in a habit of ridiculing our legends. After Imran Khan, Inzamam was the only great cricketer of Pakistan who was given farewell and a proper way to announce his retirement. Javed Miandad, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Rashid Latif and now Shoaib Akhtar ended his career in a way which never suits a legend.

Muralidharan has also ended his career with this world cup and he remained wicketless and lost the final but his nation wished him for his future and thanked him for his services. There are many other stories from the other world but we hardly do so.

Let us start a new practice this time as we welcomed our cricket team although they lost to the arch-rival and same should be done to the legend. Let us clap for him and thank him for his matchless services to Pakistan Cricket…

Good Bye Shoaib and Thank You for giving us a privilege to enjoy genuine fast bowling

My Prediction : World Champion India

India has been exceptional throughout the tournament. And I predict that the new world champion will be India. Why I am so confident about that, let me share.

1.    India has a large range of technically sound batsmen. Tendulkar, Sehwag, Yuvraj, Dhoni, Kohli, Raina and Yousuf Pathan can do miracles in favorable conditions. Their medium pacers and spinners are more effective when the opponent is under pressure.

2.    Something really interesting, I would like to share. Six ladies won the titles of Miss World and Miss Universe within 7 years’ time. I really wanted to know as to what noticeable these Indian ladies had done that the others from around the world could not even be considered seriously.It did not take me so long to search the answer as Lt. Col. Jeelani wrote in a feature that India had the largest potential market for the cosmetic products, and the Western cosmetic industries were aiming at penetrating into this market in order to virtually colonize the region which could feed them for decades to come. The idea of giving titles of Miss World & Miss Universe worked really well.

3.    The reason is very same for introducing India as World Champion because India is the largest potential market for cricket products, cricketers and revenue generation from the same game.

4.    It is a land of bookies who can change the game from any corner. There is a wrong perception that they always get benefit if the favorite team loses. Spot fixing has opened more doors for them. They have different methods to force the cricketers of both the parties to perform badly. According to Sarfarz Nawaz, Hansie Cronje’s death is caused by the bookies. The threats can also play a vital role if Sri Lanka’s players do not perform according to bookies’ plans (if they are accessed by them)

5.    International politics also lead towards the same. To prove world’s most emerging “greatest nation”, it is very important that India wins the world cup as great nations are always disciplined and have good repute in games as well. India needs to work a lot on to produce match winners and disciplined cricketers however it is important that they have the image for the same.

6.    In quarter final against Australia, there was an appeal against Sehwag which was referred for review but the angel which could finish his innings was not showed. I am rather more doubtful because Sachin was not given not out Saeed Ajmal’s delivery. The ball was not turning as much as it was showed. Test cricketers have also raised their concerns over that especially when there are chances of intentional errors.

7.   Sachin Tendulkar was not given LBW and Stumpped out with the help of "Technology" on Saeed Ajmal's bowling. Saeed also said the same on media. He says, "‎I don't know how the television replays showed my delivery turning towards the leg side because I had bowled an arm ball and it went straight. I was 110% confident when the referral was made that the batsman was out." Such decisions can also be taken in final when and if required.

8.    India has a nationalist media which goes to any extent to support their team and to defame the opponents. Media always tries to put incredible pressure to the visiting teams. Sri Lanka can be influenced too.

9.    Indian media creates visibility and they know how to present their players as super stars. It creates terror on the hearts of opponents or at least on the hearts of cricket spectators.

10.    The best part of the Indian media is, they have presented their average players as super stars. Indian cricketers are excellent actors on screen and they do the same when they make hundreds, fifties or they bowled someone out. Their pictures and expressions can be threat to any player of the opposition.

11.  Indian commentators have very good vocabulary and they use every good adjectives for their players even if they lack that quality. Commentators add that in their players and the spectators start feeling the same way.

Why can’t they

1.    Below average bowling which can’t restrict teams (with the exception of cricket diplomacy) to score maximum runs. Bangla desh, England, South Africa and many others have recently enjoyed batting against weak bowling side. Bangla Desh made 283/9 runs, England made 338/8, South Africa made 300/7 in 50 overs.

2.    India’s top class batsmen do not perform under pressure. Their batting line up could not survive for complete 50 overs in 3 out of 6 group matches (268/10 vs Windies, 296/10 vs South Africa, 338/10 vs England and 260/9 in Semi Final. None of the batsman was confident while playing against Pakistan. Even Tendulkar struggled against Pakistan, under pressure and gave 6 chances to the fielding side (4 drop catches, 1 stump and 1 LBW). They are one of the weakest sides in terms of fighting spirit.

3.    Sri Lanka’s batting, bowling, fielding, fighting spirit and mental toughness are far better than India’s team. They have fighters like Kumar Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Dilshon, Muralidharan, Mendis, Malinga and few others who can perform exceptionally well on any conditions. Each one of the above mentioned can change the game within few moments. And if we go through the attitude of Sri Lankan cricketers, we will find that they have always been on top against India.

4.    The kind relationship between India and Sri Lanka have, is not so different than the relationship between Pakistan and India. And that makes Sri Lankans furious in the field which has been exhibited for many times in all forms of cricket.

5.    Sri Lanka is not diplomatically as weak as Pakistan is but it is only one strong out of the field factor which goes in the favor of Sri Lanka.

Although on field, Sri Lanka is a far better side than Indian however these things are not sufficient if you are playing against India, especially in India.

As a cricketer, I will be the happiest person on earth if Sri Lanka wins as every cricketer like to see the best side winning however I believe India will be the world champion as it is designed. And “World Champion India” is beneficial for all, including ICC, media, international politics and international business need as it was a need of the time in 90s when the whole word came to know that Indian women are world’s most beautiful women. This time around, it will not be “Miss World” but it will be “Miss World Cup”.

“Miss World” Cup

Before 1992, I never knew that any external reason could change the results of any competition as I was a passionate cricketer by then who was a strong believer of the fact that the good performance in the ground is sufficient to win a game and it was another truth that I was too young to understand the meanings of “external pressures”. I was one of the most reliable members of my school team who helped the team play the final of inter-schools tournament. The school announced a holiday on this achievement and all the students came to the ground to support their team. We were the super stars of the day, playing the final match at the ground of the school which was playing against us. We were being appreciated by the crowd on every good shot, “well bowled” and “well fielded” but after the 11^th over of the first inning, a few bad people with guns in their hands arrived and took the middle of the ground, parked their bikes right at the pitch, shouted at us, threatened the players and officials and forced all of us to leave the ground immediately or to face the consequences which could hurt our (even the officials’) career.
The teenage school-going players had never faced such a situation before. We were unable to understand what actually did happen. Our sports teacher approached us, in the meantime and suggested us to go home. We were not ready to leave the ground and wanted to play (win the trophy in fact). But he said, “Go home, save your lives”.

We never knew what actually happened. The whole cricket team went to see the sports teacher to ask if the venue of the final had been announced or not and when would we play the final again. He told us that the final would not be played and we had lost the trophy because of our poor track record of previous years.

None of the players agreed to this, we wanted to play because we were a better side this year, we tried to protest but nothing went in our favor and we lost the final without playing a complete match. We were told that apart from that interruption of the people at final, there were some other reasons too for not playing the match again.
Someone whispered, “this is what is called the external pressure”.

A couple of years later, in 1994, I was watching the “Miss World Contest” on a television channel. After the final round, Miss Aishwarya Rai was announced as “Miss World”. Sushmita Sen had already earned the title of “Miss Universe” the very year earlier. And then, there was a long tale of having a large number of Miss-Worlds and Miss-Universes (like Diana Hayden, Yukta Mookhey, Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta) from India. I was just surprised that 6 ladies were conferred upon these titles within 7 years’ time (from 1994 to 2000). I really wanted to know as to what noticeable these Indian ladies had done that the others from around the world could not even be considered seriously.Lt. Col. Jeelani in a feature in a daily newspaper published from Lahore wrote that India had the largest potential market for the cosmetic products, and the Western cosmetic industries were aiming at penetrating into this market in order to virtually colonize the region which could feed them for decades to come.
I never knew that such external reasons could also be a decisive factor in crowning a lady participating in the Miss World Contest.

I recalled that Pakistan cricket team visited India in 1987. It was a famous “Cricket Diplomacy” series. Pakistan was a very strong team who defeated India in India under the legendry leadership of Imran Khan. Indian spectators started stoning the Pakistani players when they were fielding and Imran Khan had to ask his players to wear helmets if they wanted to save themselves from the crowd’s torture.

This is the only incident of its nature in the history of the game when a fielding side fielded while wearing helmets.

Indian official scorer of that match Tushar Trivedi tells the story, “It was the post-tea session of the third day of the match when the crowd suddenly started abusing Pakistan players. There was a section in the crowd that hurdled bottles at the Pakistan fielders. The spectators chipped out small pieces of concrete from the pavilion stand and threw them at the players. When there was a serious threat of his players getting injured, Imran Khan opted to walk out.

Mr Tushar further narrates, “With crowd in no mood to relent, the authorities decided to call in Gavaskar and asked him to pacify the crowd. He spoke in the microphone in Gujarati and urged the crowd to stop throwing things and treat Pakistan players like their guests of honor. This cooled down things. But captain Imran was not pleased with this, and he asked the players to get back into the room until the things get settled. After a few minutes they emerged but by wearing helmets.”

Source:http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/68122/

And the Skipper Imran Khan says, “I think Pakistan’s stand is understandable, in 1987 I had to ask the players to wear helmets on the boundary line, we didn’t want the team to come out of the ground but it was threatening the safety of the players. We were ambassadors of peace at that time, so we did not want to mar the tour because General Ziaul Haq, the then Pakistan president, had done cricket diplomacy by visiting India during a match.”

   16 February 2005, Daily Times

This is not the only incidence of Indian crowd’s uncharacteristic behavior. They have done the same to Sri Lankan team in 1^st Semi Final of World Cup 1996 which was being played between India and Sri Lanka at Kolkata. India lost 8 wickets for 120 runs but the match could not be continued because fanatic Indian supporters not only started throwing stones on Sri Lankan fielders but also caused a riot in the Eden Garden stands.

We witnessed the same in 1^st match of Asian test championship between Pakistan and India. When India’s defeat was obvious and the last pair of Indian batting line up was standing there, Indian supporters started throwing stones again on Pakistani fielders. Pakistan cricket team had to leave the ground. Indian security people got the services of Sachin Tendulkar who paid a visit to the ground and requested the spectators to calm down but it made no impact on them and then eventually police had to intervene. They got the stadium emptied. All the spectators had to leave the stadium. Both the teams entered the ground just without any spectator in the stands. Shoaib Akhter bowled out the last man to earn the victory for Pakistan.

Along with such unpleasant moments, Pakistan has suffered from rulers’ so called “Cricket Diplomacy” for many times. This Cricket Diplomacy has never done anything good to Pakistan cricket in past. We played a “Very Goodwill” series against India in Pakistan. It is said that it was also influenced by the government of Pervaiz Musharraf. We have experienced Dosti but at the cost of losing the games. We lost to win the hearts but none of the teams could do that as such abnormal steps do not help in developing relationship. India has always been the ONLY beneficiary of cricket diplomacy.

The same old spent-out and impotent “Cricket Diplomacy” is going to be practised this time again as the Indian Prime Minister has invited Pakistani President and Prime Minister to visit India on the 30^th of March to watch Semi Final. Mr Gilani is now scheduled to join his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh at Mohali.

I am afraid, today’s India is not different, it is more unsecure now and we have more concerns regarding the security of the players. External reasons can play a vital role in 2nd Semi Final.

Pakistani officials are in a constant coordination with Indian foreign office. They have promised "state-level" security to Pakistan cricket team in response to the apprehensions of a terrorist attack as there is a news item in circulation that Pakistan team may be targeted in India. Pakistan has requested India to ensure ‘special security’ for its cricket team after Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced on Thursday that the government had received intelligence reports that terrorists groups might try to target them during the ongoing World Cup in India (headline of all the newspapers of 25th March).

Apart from other visible and invisible threats during Pakistani team’s stay in India, they may face something unpleasant if they reach final as Manohar Joshi, the former chief minister of Maharashtra has already said that if the Pakistan team reaches the final in Mumbai, the Shiv Sena chief will decide whether to allow them to play or not.” Such threats cannot be taken lightly especially when they come from the extremist parties which do not have a peaceful track record. This threat will remain there until Pakistan wins the final. I would suggest the ICC to alter the plan and the Final should be shifted to either Colombo or Dhaka, if Pakistan wins the Semi Final.

I am afraid; there is something beyond the cricket itself which will be played during the Semi Final between Pakistan and India; of course the bookies saga is not something to be ignored.

If we look at the performance and attitude of both the teams, we will find Pakistan a better side. Bowlers earn victories for the teams and Pakistan’s bowling squad is undoubtedly the best one in the world. India’s over-rated strong batting line up has been exposed during three pool matches where they could not survive for complete 50 overs, even against the below average English bowling attack which could not get even one wicket against Sri Lanka in their quarter final.

India’s batsmen are good but they can easily be handled by the Pakistani bowling attack which contains a handsome number of some really good fighters like Umar Gul, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Shoaib Akhter, Abdul Rehman and Mohammad Hafeez. They have the capability to restrict any side to a fighting total and can defend any total.

Pakistani batsmen are not, although, technically as strong as the Indian batsmen are, yet to face Indian bowling attack at a batting track you do not need to be an exceptional batsman. Younis, Misbah, Asad, Hafeez, Umar Akmal and even Kamran and Razzaq can play very well against Zaheer, Harbhajan, Munaf, Ashwin and other part time bowlers.

Pakistani side always performs well under pressure. It is evident from their history. If the game remains within the field pressure and techniques, and no external pressure is exerted, then Pakistan will surely win, even the notorious Indian sledging cannot stop Pakistan.

I have a fear based upon the analysis of the objective circumstances. Therefore, I believe that a thinking mind will keep feeling unsafe for the team Pakistan until it reaches back home safely. Raymond Davis case has cruelly questioned Pakistan’s diplomatic strategies at the international fora.

Non-Muslims and their governments know more about the law of Diat than the Muslim world and they know it can resolve all the matters and such events cannot harm the relationship between the two nations. Can’t the very Diat rescue come into action if, God forbid, something irreparable happens to the Pakistani players in a Shiv Sena famed arch-rival of Pakistan?

May The Almighty safeguard the Pakistani players.

Warne’s Prediction, Bookies’ land and Match Fixing Drama

I wrote “England played exceptionally good but I doubt the result...:-/” as my facebook status when the last English pair did not run to earn a victory. As a cricketer, it remained a mystery for me until I heard the breaking news. Warne’s prediction, although it reached me late, resolved the whole matter. The breaking news was; “Shane Warne wrote on his Twitter account: 'Looking forward to the game between India and England today (Sunday) should be a cracker. My prediction - a tie'
'I think Warne is a genius to have predicted that way (a tie). What more can I say,' Strauss told reporters late Sunday, after the group B league match ended in a dramatic tie at the Chinnaswamy.
Soon after the match ended in a tie indeed, Warne tweeted again: 'Before u (you) think there was something untoward re prediction of a tie, thought it was going to be a cracker-tie was tongue in cheek-but right.'”

This was the news of the evening…

The question is; is it just a co-incidence that a super star who has also been involved in such cases in his past, still playing the most controversial league (IPL) and has good relationship with the land of bookies “predicts” something unusual and it happens as he says.

Predictions in cricket are normally about victory or about the close contest, not about the tie match. It is not soccer or hockey where the tie matches are routine and most of the teams manage this because of their defensive game plan. Cricket, especially, one day cricket is gives results but here, it was a different case altogether.

Let me add few more points with reference to this match. Cricketers from India and Pakistan know how deeply match/spot fixing is rooted to this land. The players meet bookies of the grass root level at the grass root level. They smell all the abnormal changes in the game and highlight them immediately even if they do not have any tangible evidences to prove of what they say.

The same was observed yesterday. After Sachin Tendulkar’s outstanding inning, nobody knows what happened to strong Indian batting line and they could not survive for complete 50 overs. For me, it was nothing different as I believe, Indian batting line up is over-rated because of their media and they cannot survive when they need to. They perform well in favorable conditions and same happened yesterday. But their comeback was really amazing. It is not that from nowhere they came back and starting performing good but the case is different.

First of all, Indian players especially when they are bowling hardly fight back. It was news for me when I witnessed a dent to the batting line up of England, which has real guts to win the game by 7 wickets. But it could be believed as a rare chance however someone who did this all was absolutely not worthy of it. Had he been Wasim, Waqar, McGrath or Shane Warne, I would have believed it without having any doubts but those who did this all were Zaheer Khan, someone averaging around 30 runs/per wicket and never enjoyed the status of being a real fast bowler. I could even believe this if the last ball was not so suspicious…

Munaf Patel, averaging 29runs/wicket, was unable to save 14 runs from the tale-enders but he managed to save 2 runs at the last ball. There is a big question mark on the mid-wicket conference of the batsmen, the fumbled save of Yusuf Pathan at mid-off and above all, on not making any attempt of second run.
Being a cricketer, I believe, there is no single cricketer in the world who does not take a chance to win the match (even at the cost of his own wicket) at the last ball. Batmen always agree to run, even blindly to the target, just to take a chance, to confuse the opponent and get a risk from an expected over-through or any such miracle. There are less than zero percent of chances that after making 338^th run, batsmen go to the fielding side start congratulating them without making any effort. No one can believe that they remain satisfied after leveling the scores where winning the game was not difficult.

There could be lots of psychological reasons of not defeating India at a place where people do not clap on a cricketing shot of the opponent and start hitting them or injuring them when they win the game even in the presence of a huge security force. Who can forget the Semi Final between Sri Lanka and India in the world cup 1996 and test match between Pakistan and India in 1999 when player had to leave the ground because of Indian supporters? But this is not the only case, the question is, who asked English batsmen not to score a winning run. The case is not that simple.

I would rather raise three important questions before closing the debate;

1.    Will ICC get this match investigated?

2.    Will ICC punish if the cricketers found guilty?

3.    Above all, at the land of bookies, will ICC assure the whole cricket playing nations that the big tournament will remain clean?

4.    And that no Suresh Raina will be given indemnity for not being a Pakistani?

5.    Or the culprits will be saved for the greater good of the “game”?

PCB ---- heading towards an ultimate disaster

“Unpredictable” is the most suitable word for Pakistan cricket board, team and individuals. Nobody knows when PCB takes a U-turn on its decisions, when the team conquers world’s best team and kneels down to the weakest side, when a top class cricketer announces his retirement and all of a sudden, gets a chance to play at highest level without any prior preparation.

It happens only in Pakistan…

In a grown up system, administration and the players of the system are two important and essential parts who work within their domains to strengthen each other but they never interfere in each other’s domain. Both are answerable for their job and get rewards/punishment according to the performance. But, here in Pakistan, the case is altogether different. The members of cricket board influence cricket team and it affects performance and the member of cricket team can interfere to resolve any matter of the administration. That is how PCB hurts its performance and image.

Let’s have a look at the reasons in detail and try to reach a feasible solution to save Pakistan Cricket board from its imminent disaster.

The reason of this whole mess is quite understandable. The story begins, continues and ends with individuals’ power and absence of transparent system. From Abdul Fazal Mahmood to Muhammad Amir, Pakistan has been blessed with the talented performers and match winner players. Everyone has been contributing positively to bring it to the lime light. This land has produced world’s most creative cricketers. No one can deny that Imran Khan introduced the philosophy of “Fight Back” in modern cricket. Had Abdul Qadir not been performing exceptionally good in limited over games, the inclusion of spinners in one dayers and T20 would have still have been a dream. Doosra belongs to Saqlain and reverse swing enjoyed its glory from Waqar and Wasim’s hands. Such talented people can destroy any planning of the opponent, be it the cricket ground or the cricket board.

Imran Khan, a captain, always exceeded his limits and insisted to play with the team, he selected instead of going to the ground with the team of selection committee. In past, Inzamam ul Haq, Waqar Younus, Wasim Akram and most recently Shahid Afridi showed his concerns over the selected players.

And unlike Cricket Australia, no one could warn them, “Mr. Captain, this is not your job. The task you are assigned, starts from the boundary rope and ends when you cross it. Let the right people do their job”

It is not the end of the story; we are the eye-witness of number of revolutions against weak captains like Miandad, Wasim Akram, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf. And now, it is the turn of a person who is not part of the team, he is none other than, chairman cricket board, Mr. Ijaz Butt. A world class player could not get a certificate of representing national team because the chairman did not want him to join back and vice versa.

Such cases clearly portray poor management and absence of a transparent system which holds a reward and punishment theory and its strict adherence. We have seen few examples of punishing players but with zero investigation and one pen stroke, they were given a certificate to represent the country at highest level. They turned out to be “Mr. Clean” within no time. None of the officials has ever been punished for his poor performance and even if they were, the issues were never investigated.

Pakistan Cricket Board has its constitution which recommends elected professionals for every post but it is being run by the appointed people, the ones who are answerable to none.

The accountability part is missing everywhere. PCB needs to introduce a system where players and officials of the board could be asked the reason for their poor performance and could be punished for any misconduct.

It is true that PCB is not playing its role effectively. They are unable to handle issue at international level and they are failed to develop a system which could emerge professional cricketers from the scratch level.

The job description of selection committee should not only be defined but should also be adhered. They should be forced to visit every Grade I and Grade II match and to submit their report to chairman about their observations. The observations should not be based on score board, but should be based on the decision making of the playing sides and their attempts to make efforts to win the game.

Level I, II and III coaches should be groomed according to their skills and should be sent to Australia and England for further certifications.

They need to have back up of every player and need to design their job description. From Under 15 to the National Team, they should be sent for workshops on media handling and how to be a role model for their fans, how to avoid controversies and how to be mindful about the people with negative background.

Pakistan Cricket Board needs to understand the changes of outer world and role of the media. Pakistani and international media has been more influential than past. Same should be communicated to players and official. And if anyone disobeys the code of conduct, must be penalized by the board and no one should be allowed to go against that, even if it hurts there career. In the long run, it will help the system.

In a nutshell, if PCB really wants to avoid the expected disaster, it has to work on two things, one, its system by following reward and punishment theory and its strict adherence. Two, grooming the individuals to handle international media. This practice can develop PCB as a role model for rest of the world.

Why Pakistan lost to New Zealand in World Cup 2011

If we summarize the performance of the recent match of Pakistan then we can have better plan for the remaining tournament.

1.    Tournaments like world cup cannot be won without having match winners. Pakistan is blessed with few real match winners. But they have defensive policy at times and inclusion of Abdul Rehman is an evidence of the same. Abdul Rehman is an orthodox left arm leg spin bowler who does not have a great range of variety; neither has he had an attacking attitude. His task is to save runs, not to take wickets. Such bowlers can never play a vital role in team’s victory. And when a batsman in good form plans to play big shots, he starts playing against such bowlers who neither have verity, nor the attitude. He must be replaced by a match winner and fighter like Saeed Ajmal who can be expensive but will surely be a match winner as he did (with exception of Hussy’s inning as it his day)

2.    To me, asking a run-saver like Abdul Rehman for 2^nd attack was a sin. I am unable to understand why Afridi and Waqar made this plan. A medium pacer like Razzaq can move a new ball and can be beneficial in early overs. He can get wickets if batsman makes a mistake and even if he does not, Razzaq can save runs. (History shows the same for both, Rehman did not save runs but Razzaq did, in previous matches).

3.    Offence is the best form of defense. You have to have an attacking attitude and plan if you want to win the game. You need to make attempts of taking wickets even if the batsman is playing his best shots. None of the Pakistani bowler, including Shoaib Akhter, tried to hit the stumps in last 7 overs. They tried to save runs which is a tested and failed policy.

4.    Collapse in batting was a display of lack of planning and attitude. Waqar, Afridi, Younis and Misbah had ample time in dinner to make a plan. Pakistani players lost their heart in bowling and never came back. Collapse in last 5 over does not mean we had lost the match. 302 was a fighting total and could be defended even if we had 10 runs/over in last 10 overs but we had to have wickets in hand which we lost early on.

5.    Pakistan still has best bowling side. Umar Gul was outstanding with ball and bat, he must be appreciated. Abdul Razzaq showed that he should be moved to number 6, in place of Afridi.

6.    Afridi is always lacked resources at the end of the inning, he need to rethink what to do and how to save bowlers like Umar Gul, (Ajmal) and himself till the end. Gul, Afridi and Ajmal have potential to restrict any batting side with their aggressive attitude and variety of bowling.

7.    There is lot more like Kamran’s wicket keeping, fielding collapse and other stuff to write on however I believe it is part of the game. We drop catch, make errors in fielding, have habit of losing openers’ wickets but we are famous for the fight back and always do that. What we lost yesterday was; the trust on our Never-Give-Up attitude, we are famous for and the bowling attack which was not used properly and which did not show resistance.

An over-rated batting line up

Do you still think, India can win the world cup and is favorite for becoming the world champion?

To me, there is no reason for thinking so… If India’s media advertised and presents its team as world’s best, it does not mean they are. You have to have few qualities to be number one in the world.

Without having fighters in the team, no one can beat the world in such a big tournament. India lacks fighters. They have great names and as one of the spectators said “entertainers” but not the match winners. None of Indian player can be considered as match winner. They are outstanding players in favorable circumstances.

Sachin Tendulkar proved himself as an individual performer again. Even when he was about to cross the magical figure of 100, he stopped playing his nature strokes. He did not maintain the momentum of the scores and used reasonable 8 balls to get his last 2 runs to complete 99^th international hundred. Isn’t it amazing that a world class batsman who is about to achieve 100 or 100s is still greedy for runs but not to win matches. His performance revolves around his individual scores. And as soon as he completed his century, he started playing unreasonable strokes.

A great name like Tendulkar should have played till the end of the inning or at least till the end of the power play.

I was a child when I heard from one of my cousins that Sunil Gavaskar would never play for the country but he plays for his records and Miandad plays for his country. I was not able to understand that as I was not a professional cricketer, by then and never knew that 20 runs under pressure are more important than 200 in favorable conditions.
My cousin told me (which anyone can verify) that in world cup 1975, Gavaskar was the opener of Indian team. India was playing against England who batted first and gave a target of over 300 runs in 60 overs which was a huge total in that form of cricket. Gavaskar came into the ground as opener who should have tried to win the game and to set the example for rest of the team to play positively by trying to win the game but he played a “captain’s knock” and made 36 runs in 60 overs (that is a world record by any opener) and remained not out. Gavaskar did not even thought of achieving the total although they had a huge batting line up.

Having a matchless media does not mean players have improved. As a cricketer, I have great respect for Sachin Tendulkar. I am not sure if anyone will be able to beat his records even in next 100 years. To me, he is a god for all the generations of batsmen but no one can rate him a fighter or match winner and so is the whole team.

What happened to Kohli, Pathan, Yuvraj, Dhoni and others over rated player that they couldn’t even survive for the whole 50 overs??? And this is not the first time, Indian batting line up has showed same performance against England and their average bowling side could not even restrict Bangladesh.

Even if Pakistan encounters India in quarter final or semifinal, Pakistan must remain positive as Indian batting line up cannot resist fighters and their bowlers are not worthy enough to restrict any good batting line up below 300 on South Asia’s flat tracks especially under lights when ball gets wet after 15 overs and does not create difficulty for resistant batsmen, in second inning. Indian cricket team is not a threat in the tournament. Pakistani players need to stay and play their natural game. Although they have not great names like Tendulkar, Sehwag, Ghambir, Dhoni, Kohli, Harbhajan and Yuvraj but they have world’s best fighters like Afridi, Razzaq, Misbah, Younis, Umar Gul, Umar Akmal, Saeed Ajmal and many others. They need to follow three points to be on top;

1.    They should play their natural game which contains fighting spirit

2.    They should consciously avoid Indian media

3.    They should consciously avoid Indian bookies

They will be the champions, I am sure…