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I envy Indian cricket – they had Tendulkar!

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The man has retired. The 49-centuries hero has finally bid adieu to an illustrious 23-year-old career that changed the very definition of Indian batting. Words fail when you attempt to glorify this cricketing legend. You turn to numbers instead. If 18,426 runs at an incredible average of 44:83 in 463 matches with a record 49 centuries and 96 staggering 50s don’t tell you the story, nothing ever will. Sachin Tendulkar was indeed in a league of his own. Thank you, little master. Thank you for the memories. Spoken enough from the mind; here’s what the heart thinks: Sachin was a great batsman. I envy him. In fact, I envy the whole of India because he represented and scored all those runs for them. I envy him, because if Pakistan had someone of his calibre and class, we would have been a different force today. As much as I hate to admit this, the reality is that Pakistan was a ‘Tendulkar’ away from glory – the glory and success that deserted us throughout the last ten years in one-day cricket. In 2003, Saeed Anwar retired. He was Pakistan’s run machine, someone who was considered this country’s answer to Tendulkar. It’s been almost 10 years now and believe it or not, we are yet to find an able replacement, an opener extraordinaire, who could tear apart bowling attacks and pile on the runs. That’s when you realise how Pakistan could have done with a Tendulkar up top. How Pakistani bowlers who more often than not succeeded in restricting the oppositions to mediocre first-inning totals would have loved someone like a Tendulkar to score those runs and avoid the hiccups (read: Pakistan batting’s infamous chasing blues) that earned them the ‘unpredictables’ tag. When was the last time you saw a Pakistani opener go on a lengthy streak playing with consistency, confidence, flamboyance and flair like Tendulkar? From the Wastis to the Nazirs, from the Afridis to the Akmals, we’ve seen a whole host of names come and go. But no one, no one was even remotely close to Tendulkar. The harsh reality is that we just couldn’t produce one. Furthermore, I get atrociously envious thinking about what could have been if we had a Tendulkar playing for us in the 1999 World Cup final or in the disastrous 2003 and 2007 World Cups. My blood boils when I hear that tone of uncertainty in the voice of commentators when we’re chasing a low total. That’s the reputation we have built during the past ten years. A reputation that has developed because of the absence of a Tendulkar. This also reminds me of the popular argument that most Pakistani fans, including myself, present about all those centuries that Tendulkar scored. We say:

"Whenever Sachin gets a 100, India lose."
Oh, who are we kidding? How does that undermine the misery he piled up on opposition teams? How was it his fault that the Indian bowlers were not good enough to clean up or restrict the opposition batsmen? That’s when you think what a wonderful match Sachin Tendulkar and Pakistan would have made. A match truly made in heaven. Sachin’s master class supported by Pakistan’s plethora of bowling talent – it’s the stuff dreams are made of. So don’t blame me for being envious that we weren’t blessed with him. I speak here as a disgruntled Pakistani fan, who respects Tendulkar from the bottom of his heart, for what he has achieved in the sport, but also hates him with equal intensity for scoring all those runs for our arch-rivals. I’m envious because Pakistan was indeed a Tendulkar away from glory through all these years. Wasim Akram, arguably one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, had this to say about Tendulkar upon his retirement:
“Sachin was really 16 at the time when he came to Pakistan in 1989 and Waqar and I thought, ‘What will this 16-year-old do against us?’ I hit him in his face but he still showed a lot of gumption and courage and went on to score a 50 in the fourth Test in Sialkot and that is when we realised that this man was a special, special talent.”
Exactly, Wasim bhai, exactly! Read more by Emad here, or follow him on Twitter @EmadZafar

Michael Clarke: All hail Australia’s golden boy!

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The ‘pup’, as he was affectionately known as in the Australian cricket circles during his early days, Michael Clarke has matured into an enforcing bulldog who knows no fear. Clarke was marked for greatness from a very young age but would often gift away his wickets to the opposition while looking to play strokes. There was and still is no stroke that he cannot play, but the difference from back then is that he now has a more calculated approach and is the prized wicket in the Australian line up as his second successive double hundred against South Africa showed. This has been a golden year for the golden boy, as he has racked up four scores in excess of 200 in the eight Test matches that he has played this year with one of them being over 300. In the process, he became the first man in cricketing history to achieve this unique feat. Not even the great Bradman accomplished this. He averages an astronomical 140.55 for the year to date. Clarke took over the reins of the team from Ponting at a stage where the Australians were down in the dumps having fallen quite a few places from their lofty heights of the number one team that they had maintained for over a decade. A question mark hung over how this Australian side, without the stars that led them to rule the roost, would get back in the reckoning of the best team in the world. This is where Clarke’s astute, inspiring and creative leadership came into play and in a short time he has brought the team at the precipice of the number one ranking, which they will usurp if they beat South Africa in the ongoing Test series. He has led from the front and averages 75 with seven hundreds to his name as the captain of the side. Critics have questioned his ability to play the short ball but it isn’t a weakness in his armour. Yes, he does look a little uncomfortable, even ungainly, against the short ball but as his recent penchant for big scores have shown, coming in Australian condition where the short ball weakness can easily be exploited, it isn’t a limitation. Another source of criticism has been his apparent reluctance to take the number three spot in the batting line up. The old wisdom is that the best batsman of the side should bat at that spot. But when a batsman can dish out centuries like he does coming at number five and dictate the terms to the opposition, who are we to question his batting position. Even Tendulkar, widely acknowledged as the best batsman of this era, hasn’t batted at number three much during his career. They say a batsman’s best days come when he is in his thirties. If that holds true, we will be seeing a lot more of Clarke’s genius in the coming years. With Tendulkar, Ponting and Kallis all nearing retirement age, he will be the torch bearer of batsman-ship in the near future. Read more by Dr Amyn here or follow him on Twitter @amynmalik


Tony Greig: More than the sum of the parts

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The first time I heard of Anthony William Greig I was listening into a Test Match special in 1972 - the first Ashes test at Old Trafford. The voice of John Arlott describing Greig scoring a 50, when England was in need of runs. He scored another 50 in the second and then took a few wickets in Australia's last knock. The match is remembered for a late assault by Rod Marsh, when Australia looked down and out. It did not win the match, but for us serial non-England supporters created last session excitement. In those days live television was rare and when I saw recordings on PTV, it surprised me to see this tall (six feet six inches) gangly cricketer. His bat was held up and there seemed an inviting gap for the ball. Cricket was traditional then - pre One-day - therefore trendy stances were not in fashion. His bowling also seemed innocuous, yet he was able to get wickets, because the ball moved both-ways to create uncertainty in the batsman. Greig ended his Test career with a double, 141 wickets and 3600 runs with an average of 40 plus. In the non helmet days, a 40 average was considered the sign of a good batsman. It now seems to have gone to 50. All present day batting careers should be evaluated in that light. The helmet has had a huge effect on batsmen confidence. Greig's career was mercurial, alternating between great performance and PR disaster. When he ran out Kallicharran in 1974 as he left the field for close of play, a worldwide furor ensued; “This was not cricket!” The decision was reversed overnight and Greig apologised. Later years saw his famous racist undertone message to West Indies in 1976 that they would grovel that summer. That it was England who was made to grovel by Sir Viv Richard, was a humbling experience. But, after the 3-0 defeat at Oval, Greig made amends by dramatically falling on his knees to beg forgiveness and all was exonerated. My two memories are just flashes and yet sped some light on Greig’s character. Hyderabad Test match 1973, day five post lunch England were in problems at 77-5, pitch turning, still behind first innings lead and it looked as if Pakistan would win easily. Not so, Greig and Knott saw out the match, with some brilliant back against the wall batting. Cut to Brisbane 1974; a green and vicious pitch, Lillee and Thompson rampant. The English were physically dominated. Out walks Greig and hits both all over the ground. Every time he hit a four he would signal boundary himself. It was classic aggression and brinkmanship. He got 110 that day and it is regarded as one of the bravest innings in cricket history. For all that Greig would have disappeared into the annals of cricket history as a good cricketer, but for his two most famous contributions, post his retirement from Test cricket. Firstly, professional cricketers owe him a debt of bringing money into the game. He was the one who led the WSC Packer initiative. At considerable risk to his career -in fact his career ended because of it- Greig ran the recruitment of cricketers as the front desk. Those who have not lived the division in cricket in 1977-78 would have no idea of the schism. It divided cricket down the middle. Pakistan’s own star cricketers faced the music also, being thrown out for two years, while the team lost badly in England. Greig faced the brunt; lost his England captaincy and his place in the team. Nevertheless, cricketer’s earnings went from a pittance to international sports scale and also cricket was totally revamped to the look it has today. Second was Greig’s reward for the sacrifice of his career. Kerry Packer and Channel 9 did not forget him and for 33 years he became the voice of cricket in Australian commentary. A South African, who ended up playing cricket as England Captain and then became the voice of Australian cricket; a strange and varied career! But Greig graduated beyond Australian commentary, travelled world over to commentate on a game he loved. He was welcome in Dubai, England, Sri Lanka etc and loved everywhere. Truly the status he achieved out of commentary, he could not out of cricket. Fittingly, in June 2012, the MCC which had banished him in 1977 invited him for the Cowdrey Lecture to its members. It’s an honour accorded to few. There Greig lay to rest the bitter acrimony which had ensued out of the Packer era. It was just not his fate that he could enjoy this final triumph, on being recognised by former adversaries. Having fought a lung cancer ailment, he succumbed to a heart attack in Sydney on December 29, 2012, aged 66. Read more by Sarfaraz here or follow him on Twitter @sarehman


Pakistan versus South Africa: Are we prepared to handle the heat?

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So it’s time, again. The South Africa versus Pakistan Test series starts on February 1, 2013. Exactly a year after Misbah’s boys conquered the world number one side, they face a similar challenge when it comes to statistics, only this mountain they have to climb is much steeper than before. England was the best side in the world then, and South Africa is at the moment. The two series cannot be compared because the differences are obvious; Pakistan faced the world number one last year in the UAE, “a home away from home” on the slow and low tacks. Now, however, the battle will take place in the opposition’s backyard and pitches will be entirely different with more venom in them for quicker bowlers. Pakistan’s successes in the past two years have been impressive and it can largely be attributed to the spin bowling department, with Saeed Ajmal doing the bulk of the damage, and Abdur Rehman and Mohammad Hafeez backing him up brilliantly. It is safe to say that this strategy won’t work this time, not only because of the conditions but because of quality of batting South Africa possess. With Jacques Kallis, Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers, they are the most formidable and diverse batting line-up in world cricket under all conditions, let alone their own home turf. Not to mention, they have Faf du Plessis whose batting seems to have taken Test cricket by storm. With an average of 111.25, he has scored two half centuries and two tons in six innings. Just after taking a glance at the names in batting line-up of the South African team, one can tell how much skill and hard work it will take for Pakistani fast bowlers to do some damage. There hasn’t been a dearth of natural talent and flare in Pakistan’s pace attack over the period of time; Junaid and Irfan are of great potential but they lack experience and thus the role of Umar Gul will be crucial. He has to lead this attack from the front, and not only perform himself, but guide the other two as well. With Pakistani bowling and South African batting discussed, I feel that the real question mark is on the Pakistani batting front; can our batsman hold their nerve against South African pacers? We have seen over and over again that even though our bowlers somehow manage to rise to the occasion, it’s the other two departments of the game that let us down – batting more than the fielding. The openers, Hafeez and Nasir have shown good form in the warm-up game against South Africa’s Invitation-XI and they will have to continue doing that. Pakistan will rely highly on Younis Khan and Misbahul Haq in the middle order because of their experience and ability. Younis’ role will be more crucial, because not only is he a world class batsman, but also one of the best slip fielders Pakistan has ever produced. As far as our captain is concerned, he will have to do the job for which he is mostly hated by Pakistani public in limited overs cricket – he will have to defend against the likes of Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn and survive while the others play around him. Must-watch players: Vernon Philander: This man has been a blessing for South Africa since the past year as far as their pace attack is concerned. Whenever you see him bowling, it feels like he is going to take a wicket. His sporty fury on the pitch is a pleasure to watch, and so he can be a real thorn for Pakistan’s side; our batsmen are usually struggling against quality swing bowling. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s performance in the recently concluded limited over series is a good example of what a predicament good swing bowling can be for us. Muhammad Irfan: The surprise of the last series, this 7ft 1inch tall bowler has improved immensely from the first time we saw him in England; his pace is up by 10-15 km/h and now he seems to know where to pitch the ball. It will be really exciting to see him bowl on the greener and bouncier pitches if he remains fit and that is a big ‘if’ because of his body structure. Nasir Jamshed: Nasir has been a star performer since the Asia Cup last year but now is the time for the real test -- the test of skill, character and technique. If he comes through this storm, it will be a seal that he belongs at the top level of the game and he is destined to stay there for a long time to come. All things said, in my opinion, it will all come down to how Pakistani batsmen perform. Will they able to adapt to the tough conditions? Are they brave enough to get hit on the bodies and not give up? Because make no mistake about it, the ball will move around and bounce more than our batsmen are used to and it will be really tough. They will have to dig in and survive to score runs; and if they do that, we are in for one heck of a series. Best of luck, Team Green! Go get ‘em! Follow Naveed on Twitter @naveed_sid


Pakistan versus South Africa Test series: Analysing our loss at Cape Town

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So we lost to South Africa in the Test series held in Cape Town. The debacle in the first match in Johannesburg was still digestible, due to the uncongenial conditions, lack of match practice, and the fact that Pakistan normally doesn't play well in their first match in a series. However, the fiasco in Cape Town is simply not tolerable, and for obvious reasons. It was Pakistan's best chance to level the series, particularly after reaching 338 in the first innings, and limiting South Africa to 110 for 5. It was Pakistan's game to win, and they squandered the opportunity. Winning or losing is part of sports, but professional teams always analyse the factors behind their losses. Unfortunately, Pakistan keeps on reinforcing the failures. Here are few reasons why Pakistan lost the Test match: Poor team selection: Let me start with the team selection. From ball one, the pitch offered assistance to spin bowling; and Pakistan let Abdur Rehman – who ranks among the top five Test bowlers - warm the benches. Instead, they opted for Tanvir Ahmad, which is utterly mind-boggling. Firstly, he never merited to be in the 16-men squad at this late age (34). In Cape Town, his bowling speed was embarrassingly low (125 kilometres per hour) for any medium pacer, let alone a fast bowler of Pakistani tradition. I bet Younis Khan can bowl faster than him. With Decision Review System (DRS) in action, Abdur Rehman deserved to play on the abrasive, dry, and turning surface. Saeed Ajmal's 10 scalps is a clear indication of the need for a second regular spinner. Rehman is accurate and he takes wickets on such surfaces. Unfortunately, Pakistan had no other bowler to help Ajmal out. Secondly, the selection of Sarfraz Ahmad is not impressive as well. It is true that he scores heavily in domestic cricket, but it is unfair to expect too much from a young keeper in an important tour. Adnan Akmal was doing reasonably well and he should have been persisted. At the moment, Sarfraz cannot score 20 runs, which puts extra burden on an already-fragile batting line-up. Poor captaincy: Before this series, Misbah had been doing a reasonable job with the leadership. However, this tour has been a horrible experience for Misbah as a captain; not to mention his poor batting form. Apart from his influence on the team selection, he made several ordinary decisions, in terms of fielding positions and bowling changes. In the first innings, he allowed too many open spaces for Pietersen and didn't attack the tail-enders. More importantly, he did not bowl Hafeez on a turning track, especially in the second innings. On a track that offered enough help to Ajmal, it is brainless to give only one over to Hafeez in the second innings, especially if we consider his excellent record against left-handers with the new ball. Negative/defensive batting mindset: Tuk-Tuk rings the bell when you see the Pakistani batting line-up. Barring Younis Khan and Nasir Jamshed, all other batsmen have got a lackluster and defensive mindset. They consume too many deliveries, and score virtually nothing. Consequently, when they are dismissed, they put the incoming batsmen under immense pressure. For instance, in the second innings, Misbah (44 off 111 balls) and Azhar Ali (65 off 193 balls) built up a reasonable yet sluggish partnership. In the match scenario, if they had scored a bit briskly, and added a few more runs, Pakistan could post a decent fourth innings total. Pakistan should revisit this mindset, and call back Umar Akmal in the Test team, who has the ability to score quickly in the middle order. The Gul factor: It's time to realise that Umar Gul is not a good Test bowler. It's time to stop calling him the spearhead of Pakistan's Test bowling attack. He might bowl yorkers but he does not bowl them in Test matches, and he did not bowl a single in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Can anyone ask him, why? Additionally, he is a liability as a batsman, always playing an irresponsible stroke (for example, his first-ball duck in the second innings). Our long tail: Pakistan has the long tail. When Pakistan loses four or five top-order wickets, its tail begins. Sarfraz Ahmad contributes nothing, and then the last five are the most vulnerable, who can get out within the space of 10 balls. Perhaps, this is the right time for Pakistan to find some bowling all-rounders. Lack of planning: Is there anything like planning in Pakistan's team management? In the previous two or three team tours, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selected Anwar Ali, Haris Sohail, Zulfiqar Baber, Asad Ali, Hammad Azam, Ahmad Shehzad, Umar Amin, Usman Salahuddin and Sadaf Hussain. These youngsters were either not tried or given limited opportunities, only to be dropped in the next team tour. On the other hand, some players, such as Imran Farhat, Mohammad Sami, Yasir Arafat, and Faisal Iqbal were given numerous chances, despite their continuous failures. As an example, the third One Day Innings (ODI) against India was a dead-rubber, but the team management didn’t try new players, only to drop them for the South Africa tour. Fielding and discipline: Is there any need to mention the fielding and the bowling disciplines? In Cape Town, they dropped at least three catches, and took a wicket off a no-ball. Ironically, this is precisely the margin of victory; South Africa won by four wickets.


Happy birthday Shahid Afridi!

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My first interaction with Shahid Afridi lasted only a couple of seconds. It was just a shake of the hand. Even still, it made my day. It was March 16, 2004 to be exact. Pakistan had beaten India in the second ODI of the Samsung Cup and Shahid Afridi who had been recalled to the team after a long gap had played a big part in the victory scoring 80(58) and also taking two wickets for 57 runs. Shahid Afridi, back then, was all about being carefree. You could see it in his behaviour, the way he talked, the way he moved and the way he always had a smile on his face. Everything about him screamed passion; you could see it in his bowling and you could see it in his batting and in the way he fielded. He was a super star. The crowd doted on him. They chanted his name and wanted him to hit a six on every ball when he came out to bat. You could see a multitude of banners vividly displaying his name alongside messages of hope; you could see the crowd going wild when he fielded near the boundary ropes. His bowling was a bonus in those days. My next memorable interaction with Afridi was during the 2005/06 series after he had smashed Harbhajan Singh for four sixes in an over and that too during the first Test match in Lahore scoring a magnificent 102 runs with seven sixes. He still had that smile on his face with the slightest hint of a beard by then.

“Autograph please”, I said.
My voice barely coming out.
Idahar lao, naam kya hai tumhara?”, he asked in his heavy voice. (Come here, what is your name?)
I handed him the tennis ball.
“Raafay”, I said.
He signed the tennis ball. No words, nothing else written. I was disappointed, grabbing the ball with my hand and turning away.
“Left hander ho?” he said again. “Yes,” I said. “Cricket kheltay ho?” he said again. (Do you play cricket?) “Jee,” I said. (Yes) “Shaabaash, good luck,” he said. (Well-done, good luck)
I felt overwhelmed and ran home to relate everything that happened to my parents. He went on to score another century in the next match with the same passion that is characteristic of our Lala. By now religion was starting to play an important role in his life, it was obvious. Praying five times a day even during the match days was a normal routine for him now. His batting was more consistent than before and his bowling was worth bowling him 10 overs during the ODI matches with four players all on the off-side to stop runs. The crowd still wanted him to hit a six on every ball and he was willing to oblige. Nothing much had changed about Afridi in the cricketing sense - he was still the same. The last of my memorable interactions with Afridi was during the World Cup 2011. Pakistan had beaten Sri Lanka just two days ago. Shahid Afridi was man of the match with the figures of 4/34 in his 10 overs. His beard had grown thicker, he was stronger now. Religion had its markings on him. “InshaAllah” was a common word in most of his conversation.
InshaAllah we will reach the semi-final if we keep on playing like this," he had said.
That smile still played on his face, but you could tell he was a lot more measured in everything he did now; he wanted to lead by example. His bowling had come of age in the past two to three years - easily the best leg spinner in the shorter format commentators would say. Taking a wicket with his hands thrown in the air, legs stretched wide, standing like hero is a familiar sight for cricket lovers now, one that we all dote on. Photo: Reuters Although Afridi has faced a rough patch, I am certain that he will bounce back in to form and please us again in the T20 series against South Africa. As Cricinfo simplifies it,
“Of Shahid Afridi, it can safely be said that cricket never has and never will see another like him. To say he is an all-rounder is to say Albert Einstein was a scientist.”
A complete super star, easily the most loved one in Pakistan and around the world. He became a heartthrob after his first cricket match, and he still is all around the world. Happy Birthday Shahid Afridi; no matter what transpires, you will always be a favourite for millions in the cricketing world. This post originally appeared here. Read more by Raafay here, or follow him on Twitter @raafayawan

Is it really time for Dav Whatmore to go?

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Pakistan’s head coach, Dav Whatmore has suffered severe criticism at the hands of former players and administrators. The former captain, Moin Khan recently showed his dismay at the performance of the national team in the Test series against South Africa. Furthermore, this has opened up the debate on whether we need a foreign coach at all. Although this is a crucial topic, I will focus on the calls for Whatmore’s sacking. I disagree on the timing of these comments. While we drown ourselves in misery, it should not be forgotten that the tour is not over. Pakistan has yet to play a T20 and an ODI series in South Africa this month (the first match of the T20 series was washed out) and these comments would hurt whatever little morale and confidence that is left within the team camp and would put the team under unnecessary pressure. These comments will also undermine the position and authority of the coach himself. I feel that South Africa has been a difficult country for visiting teams lately, though New Zealand was able to win the ODI series there earlier in January. Much has already been written about the performance of the national team against South Africa and I will try not to repeat that here. On that note, we failed because of our batting, which traditionally has been Pakistan’s weaker suit. This traditional weakness combined with the bowling attack that South Africa possesses left us with little room to wiggle. South African bowling line up has devastated many teams over the past few years especially in their own backyard, which is certainly the most difficult place for batsmen in the world, even for teams that have stronger batting line ups like India, Australia and Sri Lanka. So Pakistan’s batting failure should not have come as a total surprise to anyone, and to blame the coach entirely for this is unfair. A coach has to play the cards that he is dealt with. We do not have technically correct batsmen who can thrive in seamier friendly conditions and this is something that needs to be addressed at the grass root level. On an international level, apart from minor adjustments, not much can be done about the technique. To expect Whatmore or for that matter any coach to do wonders for the technical correctness of the batsmen at the highest level is too much to ask for. To address these problems we need to have a more advanced academic system that provides coaching at an earlier stage of development, before bad habits have not become concrete. We also need to provide more opportunities for foreign tours. Especially for players playing under 19 levels and the A team, so that the batsmen can experience foreign conditions and can learn how to play there before they are exposed to them at the highest level. Whatmore’s appointment came as a surprise last year after the interim coach Mohsin Khan had led the team to a 3-0 whitewash of the then World’s No1 team, England. However, his tenure has not been a complete failure with an Asia Cup win, a semi-final appearance in the World T20 and a 2-1 ODI win against India in India. If we take out the 3-0 beating against South Africa from the equation then there is little to choose from. Calling for him to resign or be sacked in the middle of a tour is doing grave injustice to the national team. A review of the performance should take place after the tour is over and mismanagement allegations are leveled during the series investigated, before any such step is taken. I will defer in my judgment about Whatmore’s tenure till we play South Africa in the UAE. The UAE has been the site of Pakistan’s greatest triumph in the last few years; it is where we held South Africa to a draw and where the revival of the national team began after England’s tour of 2010, provided he is still there! Read more by Dr Amyn here or follow him on Twitter @amynmalik


Afridi’s bringing boom boom back!

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I started following cricket sixteen years ago when I was hardly five. It has been the only sport which has kept me so engrossed for such a long period of time. My passion for cricket was ignited by my love for Shahid Afridi. My liking for all other sports fizzles out after a certain period of time, but cricket, for certain remains a sport which will continue to be a craze for me for the better part of my life. In my sixteen years of watching cricket, I have seen some of the greatest teams play and witnessed some of the legends of the game demonstrate their immense talent. I have come to understand all the nuances of the game, but till date I have not found a more substantial reason for my devotion towards cricket than Shahid Afridi. Afridi started playing international cricket at the age of 16. He was a brash lad with good looks and a winner's attitude. Immediately after his fastest century in his second ODI, he became the heartthrob of millions. No one in the cricketing world had any doubts regarding the immense talent he possessed, but we all expected him to be a consistent performer with the bat in hand. Everyone, including myself, wanted him to score fifties and centuries each time he came to bat. We wanted him to clobber the finest bowlers, but he is a human being after all and couldn't deliver every time. Often times, Afridi could not control his nerves and emotions when the thousands were chanting ‘Afridi Afridi!’ and ‘Boom Boom!’  so he succumbed to the pressure of the crowd and often and left us yearning to see what he could have achieved if he showed a little patience. Afridi, due to his inconsistency, was an in-and-out player for the earlier years of his career. Though I was mostly let down with his batting, I got more upset whenever he was dropped from the squad. Just watching him in the greens was enough solace for me. Lala, as he is popularly known, discovered another talent after his continuous failings with the bat. While he used to bowl a couple of overs in One Day cricket and was predominantly used as a partnership-breaker, he soon discovered that he had some talent with the ball. He could bowl the right arm leg break and googly - effectively too. He started working on his leg-spin and developed in to a very good bowler around 2004-2005. Who can forget the peach of a delivery he bowled to get rid of Sourav Ganguly in the Bangalore Test of 2005 and turned the entire Test match on its head? He did not spin the ball too much, but it was his accuracy which amounted for most of his wickets. Afridi possessed the ability to drift the ball in the air. His repertoire of deliveries included a conventional leg-spin, a slider, a faster one, a googly, a flipper and an off-spin, which meant that he could bowl six different deliveries in an over. I, being an ardent fan of Afridi, started to understand that bowling was his stronger suit. He had much more control on his nerves and his skill with the ball in his hand than the bat. Basically, he was a bowler who could bat rather than a batsman who could bowl. Afridi, however, is special because of his unpredictability. If he would have become consistent, Sachin Tendulkar would not have been called the ‘Little Master’ he is, and there would have been two greats in our region. There was destined to be one Sachin Tendulkar and he was born in India. However, for once, Afridi stole the limelight from Tendulkar when he scored a masterful 141 with the bat in the Madras (now Chennai) Test of 1999 and overshadowed the brilliant 136 of the Little Master. His memorable performances with the bat include the fastest century in One Day cricket made from 37 balls at the Nairobi Gymkhana Club, 109 against India in Toronto, 141 versus the arch rivals in Chennai, the second fastest century made in Kanpur in 2005, back-to-back hundreds in the Test matches in Lahore and Faisalabad in 2006, his two centuries in the Asia Cup of 2010 and his match-winning fifties in the semi-final and final of the T20 world Cup in 2009. Afridi’s memorable bowling performances outnumber the ones with the bat. His five-wicket haul on his Test debut against Australia, 5-11 in the Champions Trophy against Kenya, five wickets in the Bangalore Test of 2005 including the wicket of Tendulkar in both innings, 6-38 against Australia in Dubai, 5-35 against Sri Lanka in Sharjah, man-of-the-tournament performance in the 2007 T20 World Cup, title-clinching performance in the 2009 World Cup, 21 wickets in the 2011 ODI World Cup, and several other performances show that he is a far superior bowler than a batsman. Afridi lost a great deal of his charm and a lot of supporters too in the past year. His performances in 2012 worried me, not because he wasn’t scoring with the bat, but because he had become really ordinary with the ball. The bowler who had so much control on his deliveries seems to have lost all his skill. Recently, Afridi was dropped from the bilateral ODI series with India on the grounds of poor form both with the bat and the ball. Although he did not regain his form in the matches he played against Afghanistan captaining Pakistan, the selectors gave him a last chance by including him in both ODI and T20 squads. As has been the case throughout his career, whenever there have been calls for ending his career, he has come up with performances that have stunned everybody. Similar was the case on Sunday when he hit a blistering 88 of 48 balls including seven mammoth sixes! The six on the free-hit literally went out of the park and many have regarded it to be the biggest six hit on South African soil. The performance was reminiscent of our old Boom Boom who could bludgeon sixes out of the ground and make a mockery of the opposition bowlers. He deserved to score a hundred but unfortunately fell twelve short. On the bowling front, there are still major concerns. He has not picked up a single wicket in the three ODIs and has gone for plenty of runs. Having said as much, I assume that as long as he bats like this, no one will grumble about his bowling. To wrap up my little tribute to my favourite cricketer, I will say that it would have made no difference to my devotion whether he performed in the current series or not, but I am jubilant that Afridi gave me one more performance to cherish for the rest of my life.  



ICC Champions Trophy: Will Gayle be Aj-mauled?

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In cricket, rivalries go way back; Miandad-Lillee’s and Imran-Botham’s conflict are a few examples worth mentioning. I have also witnessed the same between Wasim Akram and Brian Lara; Wasim Akram got the best of Brian Lara at least seven times. Similarly, there was a rivalry between Glenn McGrath and Brian Lara where McGrath got Lara out on 15 occasions. Although, this might not be interesting to some of us, this is something spectators invest their time looking upon. However, in recent years after the emergence of domestic T-20 leagues, players have gelled in well with each other and that dangerous yet highly anticipated enmity amongst opposition is not as prominent as it used to be in the early-mid and late 90s. Recently, I came across a news story where number one ranked ODI bowler Saeed Ajmal has placed a target on Chris Gayle in the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy.

 “He (Gayle) may be a good batsman but I am also the number one spinner and look forward to dismissing him quickly and seizing the advantage."
In the past, both Gayle and Ajmal have met three times in the ODIs; out of those three times, Gayle was dismissed before Ajmal came on to bowl on two occasions. Gayle has faced Ajmal in only one ODI where he scored 16 off 34 balls. Furthermore, he has played 27 matches against Pakistan and scored at least 840 runs with a strike rate of 89.07. So is this rivalry good? Is it as good as the ones we have witnessed in the 80s and 90s? I don’t think so. This is because I feel that a batsman like Gayle will not survive until Saeed Ajmal comes to bowl. Gayle is only good for T-20 leagues. Additionally, in the ODI series against the Aussies he played three matches and managed to score 10 runs with an average of 3.33. Chris Gayle showed lacklustre performance in the first three ODIs and was doubtful for the remaining matches. Team management said that he was ‘rested'. However, the ‘rest’ continued when Zimbabwe toured West Indies. Now he is in for the ICC Champions Trophy after the prolific batting display in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013, but he does not deserve it because, according to me, players shouldn't be chosen in the ODI/Test team on the basis of T-20 performance. Gayle is a terrific T-20 player but he does not have the required qualities to play a 50-overs format. His style of playing compliments shorter boundaries and fielding restrictions. His temperament also favours a shorter game. Unlike Amla, DeVilliers, Kohli and Cook, who build their innings and try to play out the 50 overs, Gayle is not able to do so. I would advise Ajmal to choose a bigger target; focus on getting wickets of Amla, DeVilliers, Trott, Kohli etcetera and leave Chris Gayle for Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan. Read more by Zunair here or follow him on Twitter @ZunairEjaz

Misbah is not responsible for our loss in the Champions Trophy

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Too long has Misbahul Haq been made fun of, criticised, and blamed for Pakistan’s losses. When Pakistan loses, it’s Misbah’s fault. When Pakistan wins, an individual performance by a more ‘exciting’ player is credited. Enough is enough! When Misbah replaced the infamous Salman Butt (former captain), the team and the country was at its worse in terms of its reputation, morale and performance.  Since then, Pakistan has been re-moulded into a force to be reckoned with - not by Afridi, or any other individual, but by Misbah. His mature and calculated approach to the game has not won him fans. Instead, it has made him a target of ridicule. He is not being properly appreciated, considering what he has done for his country - leading from the front with consistent individual performances, well balanced captaincy and hard work. He won respect for Pakistan cricket after the debacle that occurred three years ago in England. Between 2010 and 2012 Pakistan under Misbah had the highest win/loss ratio in the world. Also, Misbah is the fourth most effective captain in Pakistan’s test history as of date, ranking three places above Imran Khan. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="475"] PHOTO: REUTERS[/caption] Now that Pakistan has been knocked out of the last Champions Trophy, the most disappointing aspect of this is that Pakistan’s batting has been the reason behind it. Yet again, our batsmen failed miserably against a downsized South African attack and an abysmal West Indies attack, both of whom got thrashed by the Indian batsmen. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="500"] PHOTO: AFP[/caption] What personally has most disappointed me about the tournament is that the batsmen failed to show the heart that their captain showed. Leading from the front and scoring back-to-back fifties should have been enough to secure at least one victory if not two, but if on the other end the batsmen are struggling to reach double figures, it is not a wonder that we could not overcome even a meagre target of 235. Pakistan had come to the tournament as one of the top contenders for the trophy and after their dismal performance, barring the captain''s role, Misbah rightfully showed his frustration over it in the following words:

"If you are not delivering as a player, the team will suffer. At the moment, no one is justifying their place in the team. No one is getting runs."
He further expressed his exasperation by saying:
"It's really difficult when your batting is performing like that. It's really disappointing."
There were no excuses made and the man told it like it was. He vocalised the sentiment felt by followers all over the world, albeit in a more gentle manner. Despite him being to the leading scorer of the tournament at that point, the crowd had booed him and he did not justify himself instead he went on to say,
"When you produce these sort of performances, they (the fans) have the right to say this. The players need to take responsibility."
"The players need to take responsibility" -- this statement highlights not only the character of the man but the fact that he doesn't only preach, he also follows this principle. A captain's role in cricket is most prominent when the team is fielding, and the bowling and fielding in the last two games showed his leadership ability. Making the West Indies fight tooth and nail to chase a tally of 170 was a clear example of that. Pakistan doesn’t deserve Misbah; we don't deserve a mature leader and we most certainly don’t deserve an effective one. All Pakistanis care about is showmanship. The people of Pakistan go head over heels for a below average all rounder, but as soon as there will be someone who is not doing the conventional thing, like being a defensive captain, regardless of the fact that he is winning them games, he must be terrible. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter anymore. Misbah will go down as one of the most efficient and productive captains in Pakistan’s cricket history and only the statistics will be proof of  that. However, he will always be remembered as 'tuk tuk’, the guy who 'tuk'd' away for his team and country, but they 'tuk' away his hopes of winning the trophy. Read more by Ali here or follow him on Twitter @ajzeb

Shahid Afridi, you showed us again why you are king!

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I was cheering, overwhelmed by joy, jumping up and down, running around in my TV lounge shouting "He did it! He did it!". This was the moment I had been waiting for for a very, very long time. I couldn't have asked for more.  A hero, a legend, a fighter and a hope for millions of fans - that's what Shahid Afridi is. He has once again shown what a prodigy he is on the pitch. For 15 years, he has been making his country proud, and he is still going strong! They are so right when they say that Lala is to cricket what Beckham is to football. He was dropped twice in the last six months following poor performances. For an ardent Afridi follower like myself, this news was hard to stomach. All Lala fans across the world were sad, but Afridi handled this situation with great tenacity and said he'd work very hard and prove to the world that he still has it in him. Afridi, dropped from the Champions Trophy, has been pining to prove the critics wrong. He vowed to make a comeback to Pakistan's one-day squad, claiming that he is "better than most".

"Poor form doesn't really reflect that a player is at the wrong side of his game," he said. "Those players who are around with the team for years and are also match-winners, should be kept with the team to boost their confidence.”
Sitting at home and bearing Lala critics constantly hating on him was getting unbearable. I even stopped using Facebook and Twitter for a while because it was too frustrating. To be honest, words cannot express what I felt when people said Afridi was finished. I was very low in spirits. When players like Imran Farhat and Shoaib Malik made it into the Champions Trophy squad, and Pakistan went without an all-rounder, Afridi's exclusion from the team was hard to understand. When people like Rashid Latif and Sarfaraz Nawaz said that Afridi is of no use now, I refused to lose hope. I knew he had that magic and the thrill still there. I clearly recall Kamran Abbasi saying,
"He is flawed and infuriating, but there is magic in those Pathan eyes and wrists.”
After Pakistan lost badly in the Champions Trophy, Shahid Afridi was selected for Pakistan's ODI and T20 squads for the limited-overs tour of the West Indies. As soon as I heard the news, I was ecstatic. July 14 was when the first ODI against West Indies was held. This day, the 32-year-old Pashtun heartthrob won all of his fans back. His performance was nothing short of extravagant. No one could have done this in a better way. His 55-ball 76 was impressive because it came when Pakistan was struggling at 47 for 5. Every time he whacked the cricket ball into the open skies, my heart soared. He coaxed his fellow batsmen to rally around him, as he produced one of those responsible efforts that leave you wondering why he doesn’t control himself more often, hitting through the line with effortless power. Our team becomes dynamic and invincible when Afridi is booming. The figures with the ball were spectacular – the best One-Day International figures by a Pakistani and the second best overall as well as the best in ODIs by any spinner. This performance surely perplexed the West Indies batsmen. For me, Afridi didn’t simply win the Man-of-the-Match award, he owned it. Where has this Afridi been hiding? Was this amazing performance result of him being dropped? Or was this because of him working hard on his game? Many of his critics said that this performance will prolong his stay in the game. He did perform and proved all his critics wrong who were saying that he should not be in the team. I pray that he adds more consistency to his game in the future and that he continues to remain a match-winner. Afridi has a buzz about him which is unmistakable. His comeback also proves the fact that where there's a will, there's a way. Afridi showed us why he is king. There is epic, and then there is Shahid Afridi. Follow Aman on Twitter @LalaLoyalist

Is fast-bowling a fading art?

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Ever since I started following the game of cricket, the aspect that has fascinated me the most is the sight of a genuinely quick paceman running down from his bowling mark to rattle a batsman. I still remember the day I entered a cricket stadium for the very first time – early 2000 – only to witness the run-up of the legendary Waqar Younis. Although I observed the craftsmanship of Wasim Akram as well, the swift yet smooth approach of the other ‘W’ mesmerised me the most. I used to be hooked to the television screen just to see Waqar Younis running (rather sprinting) down to the bowling crease with the purpose to scare the hell out of the batsman. He did not only inspire me, but has also been an inspiration to the world’s fastest runner, Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt. Bolt says he was enthralled by the lightening-like sprint of this speedster of Pakistan. Of course, Waqar Younis was not the only one who struck the fear of God into many batsmen; the time before and after him was also studded with terrifyingly fast bowlers. Recently, however, this high quality runner supply seems to have decelerated. After Shoaib Akhtar, Australia’s Brett Lee has also hung his boots, which left South Africa’s Dale Steyn as the sole fear factor on the pitch to terrify even an all-guarded opponent standing on the other side of the pitch. The question that comes to mind, however, is what happened? Why this sudden drought in fast-paced bowlers? Have the new bowlers lost inspiration in the heroes of the yesteryears? A young bowler with a speed of 145kph will not become an amazing fast bowler if even one of the following traits are lacking in him - agility, good form, athleticism, hard work and fitness, all paired with the finesse of a real sportsman. The player should be trained to take on a lot of workload and practice to be a top-class bowler - one who makes the corresponding batsmen sweat in fear with his speed and technique. The newer lot of players is shying away from this beautiful yet demanding aspect, but it is not just players who are responsible for their sudden lack of interest in fast bowling; the authorities managing the game have also been contributing to this. The growing interest in Twenty20 format cricket has made the pacemen very vulnerable. This is because in this format, a captain prefers an all-rounder over a specialist; a fast bowler, or any bowler for that matter, focuses more on saving runs and is not useful to the captain. Perhaps we should recall what captain Imran Khan used to tell Wasim Akram during the 1992 World Cup:

“Bowl as fast as you can. Don’t worry about the runs; I want a wicket from you.”
And now after 20 years, when we are breathing in a T20 era, I am sure no captain can exhibit the courage to push his fast bowler like this. We need to push the boundaries and give fast bowlers a chance to prove their mettle. The fear of scoring more runs is one of the main reasons why a fast bowler hardly experiments with his length during his spell. This is why bouncers and yorkers – the main weaponry of faster bowlers – are becoming a rare sight now. Some people also blame game rules and the dead pitches around the world as one of the major causes of the slow death of fast bowling, but I would say that rules for the bowlers have been more or less the same. The wickets – especially in the subcontinent – are in favour of the batsman or a spinner, yet Pakistan has been able to produce quality fast bowlers one after the other. The T20 version of cricket also attracts a league of spectators who are more interested in witnessing towering hits and a flurry of aggressive strokes in a short game. In other words, players like Gayle and Afridi are more in demand. But what about the thrill and the exhilaration created amongst the spectators by a fearsome fast bowler? I think we need to trust our fast bowlers a little more. Seeking shortcuts has become the main cause of concern. Sadly, playing Test cricket is no longer as enticing as representing in a T20 league has become.  To preserve the game of cricket in general, the mushroom growth of T20 leagues should be checked and balanced, otherwise we will not be able to witness the likes of Thomson, Marshall, Imran, Lillee, Donald, Akhtar and Lee ever again.

Thank you Faf du Plessis for showing us that the ICC cares… about you!

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Dear Faf du Plessis, First of all, one must congratulate you for imparting a unique idea of utilising the trouser zip for tampering with the cricket ball. In the past, some ‘enthusiasts’ had tried Pepsi bottle tops, dirt/dust in the pockets, finger nails, and even teeth, but none had used a trouser's zip before. Once upon a time in Australia, our Afridi “Lala” had tried to chew and/or bite the ball in frustration after several defeats, but he couldn’t hide it from any of the cameras installed across the ground. As a result, he was fined for two T20 matches. At least, a colourless and transparent zip can still be hidden from half of those cameras. Your efficiency goes far and beyond any previous notable attempts. Well done! By the way, Faf, what was going on in your mind when this groundbreaking idea popped in to your head? Your team was in an unassailable position in the Test match. Perhaps, it was the Dubai-heat that got to you or maybe, you just wanted an early break from a boring match, where you couldn’t score any noteworthy runs. After all, in a caldron like the Dubai cricket stadium, one can even fry an egg without a stove! However, I am still in the process of comprehending the logic behind your act of genius. Hang on, did you do it because you wanted to give this match some sort of historical significance? That was definitely the reason, right? Nevertheless, now you can count yourself in an unparalleled club of some of the best players of the game; Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Shahid Afridi, Sachin Tendulkar, and Mike Atherton, who have all been previously accused of tampering with the ball. Finally, do not worry about those five penalty runs consequently docked from your team, since your captain, Graeme Smith, and his deputy, AB De Villiers, scored them aplenty. But you, dear Faf, must find yourself very fortunate to not have been ban from any future matches. Apparently this punishment is reserved strictly for our Pakistani players, like “Lala” and Akhtar. Akhtar, who was banned for two one-day matches and fined 75 percent of his match fee for tampering during a tri-series in Sri Lanka in 2003, said,

“I am surprised at the decision.”
But I am sure you will not lose any sleep over a 50 percent match fee deduction. Apparently, nobody loses their temper when Faf tampers with the ball. In fact, people, like vice-captain AB De Villiers, defend Faf with a rather naïve statement like,
“Honestly, we’re not the team that scratches the ball.”
After reading this statement, one is compelled to scratch one’s head. Not only me, but umpires Rod Tucker, Ian Gould, ICC match referee, spectators and audience alike were caught scratching their heads. He further added to his statement,
“I know Faffy very well, he’s the last man to try anything like that, it is part of his responsibility to shine the ball and to get it to swing and to look it after, it’s not an easy job, I thought he did it very well.”
How very cute and naïve, for our beloved AB to stand up for his team-mate! I am not sure whether Faf is the “last man” who would try something like that, but he was definitely the first to try his pant zipper and on that note, I agree with you, “he did it very well”. I am happy that you, AB, are not the captain of your team though, otherwise you may have enacted “the Inzi” by leaving the ground premises and walking away with the team in protest. But that would have meant a possible forfeiture of the match and your team could lose a series against a team that was bowled out for just 99 in its first innings. You wouldn’t do that, now would you? A rather satisfying fact is that Pakistan is not the only green team that has been associated to such controversies; although had it been our Pakistani green team, the clamour would have been much louder! The other “green team” is also often not far behind. Historically, South Africa has proportionally (if not equally) choked on important cricketing occasions. Similar to their green counterparts, South Africa has also been involved in the worst match-fixing scandals and the recent ball-tampering scandal must serve as another unwanted feather in their green caps. As I finalise these lines, the Test match has already come to its logical conclusion; Pakistan has lost it by an innings and 92 runs. The series is mutually shared. It was a beautiful Test match and it will be remembered for a phenomenal partnership between AB De Villiers and Graeme Smith, Imran Tahir’s comeback heroics, and Asad Shafique’s excellent rearguard century. Simultaneously, however, this Test match will also go down in history as the match in which the ball was tampered with a zipper for the first time ever and the day the ICC decided to ‘lenient’ instead of sticking to precedent. So thank you Faf - you gave us a reason other than our loss to remember this match. We are forever grateful.

Misbah, your days as captain are over

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Before I begin, let me make a couple of things clear just to avoid the usual debate. I am a huge Misbah fan and he is my favourite player. I am not an Afridi or Hafeez lover. However, you just cannot deny the facts or ignore the reality of the cricketing situation for Pakistan under Misbahul Haq. There is no doubt about the fact that Misbahul Haq has been Pakistan’s best batsman over the past year or so. With 1,119 runs in 26 One Day International (ODI) matches at a healthy average strike rate of 53.28 and with 570 runs at an average strike rate of 47.50 in Test matches, there is no one even close to him. However, the question still arises whether Misbahul Haq is the best captain for team Pakistan and this question needs some serious answers. Since the beginning of this year even his worst critics have accepted that he is a requirement of the team and that the team is weak without him. Hence, the criticism and hatred he used to receive from cricket fans has decreased considerably. However, there is no denying the fact that this year has been extremely poor for the Pakistani team with Misbahul Haq as its captain. Looking at the team’s performance Pakistan has played seven Test matches, winning only two and losing five including one shocking defeat against Zimbabwe. In addition, out of 26 ODI matches played this year Pakistan has won only 11, lost 13 and ended two in a tie. Although people may argue that cricket is a team game and that the captain is not solely responsible for the team’s performance, one needs to probe more into what has been happening. Only recently, Muhammad Yousuf said that the team’s poor performance is due to the wrong role model they have with Misbahul Haq as captain, and I for the most part, agree with him. Ever since Misbahul Haq has become captain, the Pakistani batting line up has moulded itself in his style. Misbahul Haq has a strike rate of 71.54 – which if not poor, is not great either – considering the way ODI cricket is played these days. However, the worst part is its effect on other batsmen. Our opening batsmen, Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad, who are actually considered attacking batsmen, scored a strike rate of 62.22 and 64.01 respectively in 2013. Add to this the vulnerable Asad Shafiq with a strike rate of 68.18 and Muhammad Hafeez with a career strike rate of 70.91 and Pakistan has perhaps the slowest batting line-up at present. But wait, this was not the case before Misbah was captain. Before Misbah took up captaincy, Nasir Jamshed had a career strike rate of 86.19, while Ahmed Shehzad’s was 73.46; Asad Shafiq had a strike rate of 70.0 while Muhammad Hafeez’s was 73.91. At a time when cricket is becoming faster with every passing day and scores of 350 runs are being chased quite easily, Pakistan is surely not benefiting from Misbah’s influence on the team. Moreover, under Misbah’s captaincy, Pakistan has scored 300+ runs only twice. However, the core issue is the lack of intent our players show while batting in the shorter format. Do you remember our team being 60-0 or even 50-1 in 10 overs? Unfortunately, that has become a rare event and most of our batsmen waste too many balls without scoring in ODI cricket. Pakistan’s run rate has been 4.68 under Misbah while before him it was around five runs per over. These were just some of the obvious problems. Now, let us take a look at a few decisions that he has taken as a captain. We do not even need to go too far back; in fact, let us just take a look at the last series against South Africa. Misbahul Haq chose Wahab Riaz and even Sohail Tanvir over Junaid Khan for the first three matches. Any sensible person, with even a wee bit of knowledge about cricket, would be able to tell that Junaid Khan is a much better player than both of them. After all, he was the most threatening fast bowler for Pakistan this year picking up 35 wickets in 21 matches with an economy rate of 4.84. On the other hand, Wahab Riaz has taken a mere eight wickets in his last 14 ODI matches with an economy rate of 5.72. How Misbah could prefer someone with such a poor performance is beyond my understanding. Moreover, Sohail Tanvir had played no ODI cricket this year but he too was preferred over Junaid Khan! Even when Junaid Khan was allowed on the field, he was brought in to bowl in the 26th over of the match. It was unbelievable to see that a fast bowler, who strikes regularly for Pakistan, came on the pitch after half the innings were over. By the end of the series, Junaid Khan proved his mettle by taking more wickets than both of these bowlers even when he appeared in only two ODI matches. The icing on the cake was when Misbahul Haq said at the end of the series that he preferred Wahab Riaz over Junaid Khan because the former can bat better than Junaid Khan. Why would he play a bowler because he bats well, is my question? Misbahul Haq has always said that Pakistan needs an all-rounder in the team. I agree with him, we do need one. However, isn’t it strange that Wahab Riaz bowled just 14 overs in the series and was preferred because he batted well, while Abdul Razzaq and Hammad Azam were not selected for the series, despite having the ability to bat better than these two and can bowl four to five overs a match easily. Most importantly, a captain is responsible for improving the confidence of the players, especially new players. However, Misbah has actually shattered the team’s confidence. Take for instance, Asad Shafiq, who scored a century in the very last innings of the last Test match but was dropped in the first couple of ODI matches. On the other hand, South Africa included Imran Tahir simply since he was in form during the Test series. The list of players, who were included in the team but never played a single match and were dropped, is a pretty long one under Misbahul Haq’s captaincy. If you are still not convinced that Misbah is not the best captain for our team, here are two more examples worth looking into; During the third ODI Pakistan got off to a thundering start and was almost in control with 79 for two in 15 overs. Scoring 13 runs in the previous over, Misbah was gaining momentum, playing freely and was not out on 14 balls. However, for no reason he played down two maiden overs and by the time he got out in the 21st over, he ended up on 19 off 34 balls with Pakistan at 87/4.  He made only six runs off the next 20 balls. The question is how could he waste so many balls for no reason and build pressure on other batsmen, when his job as a senior is actually to lessen the pressure? All he had to do was to rotate the strike. Yes, he is the highest run-getter, yes he always ends up as the top scorer in the match, but is he really playing for the team or himself? I do not doubt his sincerity but it does look like the team is suffering. Then, in the next match of the series, Pakistan needed 41 off 30 balls with six wickets in hands and Misbah still batting on 60 odd. However, Pakistan failed to win the match, not because the opposition bowled well, but because Pakistan had forgotten how to stay positive. Also, since Misbah has taken over the captaincy, our team does not score on 60% of the balls they face in an inning, which makes 180 balls out of a possible 300. You must have guessed by now that I can go on and on with such examples. There is no doubt that Misbahul Haq is the backbone of Pakistan’s batting and our cricket team will be poorer without him. Having said that, it is about time Misbahul Haq steps down from the captaincy in the ODI format at least and Pakistan brings in an attacking captain – be it Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan or even Muhammad Hafeez. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] It is high time that Misbahul Haq steps down from the captaincy in the ODI format at least, and Pakistan brings in an attacking captain like Muhammad Hafeez. Photo: File[/caption] Even if Pakistan loses after showing positive intent, it feels good, but it really kills the spirit of Pakistani fans when the team enters that slow mode, scores 20-30 runs in the first 10 overs for a loss of two or three wickets; it is obvious that they will end up losing the match the dull, boring way. Pakistan will definitely need Misbah in the 2015 World Cup and as he has recently said, he wants to play in the mega event. However, it will be so much better if he plays in the team as a senior batsman and lets someone positive lead the team. There is no doubt that Misbahul Haq has done a lot for Pakistani cricket. After all, he built a team after the spot fixing fiasco and gave us some memorable wins against England and in the Asia Cup. However, in my honest opinion, he should have stepped down after the tour of South Africa in February, 2013 to give enough time to the new captain to become accustomed to the team. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="600"] Pakistan was able to edge out Bangladesh in a tense final and clinch their second Asia Cup title. Photo: AFP[/caption] Having said that, it is never too late and change is always good. This post originally appeared here


Ravindra Jadeja might be ‘the next Wasim Akram’, what a joke!

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It was very awkward for me when I saw a picture of Ravindra Jadeja on a magazine cover with ‘The next Wasim Akram?’ written on top of it. Indian Bowling coach, Joe Dawes gave a statement after losing the second Test match against South Africa that he may try to make Jadeja the new Wasim Akram. [embed width="620"]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x18ww01_jadeja-to-be-next-wasim-akram-says-indian-coach_sport[/embed] His statement implicated that Jadeja should practice some seam bowling as previously done by Sourav Ganguly or Sachin Tendulkar. The first thing that disturbed me was how a spinner can be compared to one of the greatest pace bowlers the international cricket has ever seen. If anything, I personally think Sanath Jayasuria would have been a better choice as he was a left arm slow bowler and a master blaster. However, Jaya’s class is unmatchable when it comes to his batting talent. The second thing that popped up in my mind was the numerous times Indians have choked their talented cricketers by comparing them with Pakistani greats. Irfan Pathan is a prime example who had some real pace bowling talent, but he was forced by his coaches to make his action identical to Akram, which ended up neutralising his natural talent. To add to the cause, the Indian team insists on putting all 11 of their players behind the bat and force Pathan to be an all-rounder, which is a big loss on their behalf. Coming back to Jadeja and his coach’s statement, even if we ignore the fact that a spinner is being compared to a pacer and only focus on their performance, he is being compared to the legend on the basis of his wicket taking ability in the away matches. Jadeja has only played one Test match against the Proteas in their backyard and got six wickets for 154 runs. As Jadeja has not played much of the long format cricket outside India, his record cannot be compared to Akram’s record of 255 wickets in 62 matches with an average of 24.61. Let’s take a look at the performances of the most played format in international cricket; One Day Internationals (ODIs). Jadeja has played 36 away matches and has hunt down 28 batsmen at an average of 48.53. Whereas, the Sultan of Swing has taken part in 121 away matches and has taken 168 wickets at an average of 23.89. Akram has never bowled in a T20 format, so it is irrelevant to compare the records. However, if he had played, he must have better figures than Jadeja for sure. The only way Akram and Jadeja can stand side by side is if you highly overrate Jadeja as the greatest slow left arm bowler of all time. I have no doubt that many Jadeja fans might believe that he is the best left arm orthodox spinner of this era or probably in history, but I rate Abdul Razzak of Bangladesh higher than him and even young Raza Hasan of Pakistan even though he hasn’t played much international cricket. Hasan is immensely talented and soon he will prove it to the world. On the other hand, there is absolutely no doubt that Akram is the best left arm pacer or left bowler that has ever appeared on the field. Seeing the comparison above, I reckon Jadeja has a long way to go to even have his name mentioned alongside the Sultan of Swing. Dawes’s statement is probably one of the most overrated and perhaps one of the most absurd statements that the cricketing world has ever heard. There is indeed no comparison between the two. Such statements usually end up destroying players and their talent rather than building it.



You have to risk it to get the biscuit, Team Green!

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Another Test match, another humiliating batting performance and another defeat. Forgive me if I am not surprised. It would be a lie if I said that I am at a loss of words when in reality I sort of saw it coming. The only benefit I’ve gained from such disappointing batting is that my vocabulary has improved significantly because now I have to explain just how bad their performance was. This embarrassing show of batting from the Pakistani team is nothing new but, unfortunately, just like our beloved Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), our cricket team has not shown any inclination in identifying the issues and trying to overcome them either. Playing the blame game does not, in anyway, constitute as identifying an issue; regrettably, this is something our ‘team’ fails to understand. I remember the time when our team’s aggressive intent and confidence used to be the key to our victories. Sadly, gone are the days when we saw our bowlers taking the game to the batsmen and intimidating them or when Shoaib Akhtar’s glare would throw off the batsman from his game. Now, our players lack the confidence and the belief in their abilities. Now they’ve become timid when it comes to expressing their skills on the pitch. Maybe it’s because back then we had a different generation, a different breed of players, or maybe because now our team just doesn’t believe in themselves anymore. And this lack of confidence has started to show in their performance. Many might lambast me for my absurd observation and argue that a team’s performance cannot depend on a mere glare. Well, I agree, but at the same time, you can’t always get a batsman out with stereotypical tactics. When things are not going as expected, and who would know better about expectations than us, then one has to use different tactics and has to be confident about his playing abilities and place in the team. After all, the belief that ‘I can do it’ is what makes the difference and takes one a long way. Even a talented player like Ravindra Jadeja achieved success in the gentleman’s game because of his confidence and playing ability. When I see Indian openers chase 350 in an ODI, I see the reason being their self-belief and confidence. But when our team chases a score of a mere 200 runs, our openers enter the arena like convicted murderers with nervousness and anxiety radiating from their faces. I remember the time when Shahid Afridi wasn’t known as ‘boom boom Afridi’ and every time he would get on the pitch, I would feel a chilling wave creep down my spine, fearing for worst. But that wave has been missing for years now, maybe because I have become used to it since every batsman in our team now is as precarious as Afridi used to be. For example, I certainly did not expect this kind of attitude from the likes of Aizaz Cheema or Junaid Khan, both of whom were evolving as deadly bowlers but have lost their ability to stand out. There is a cricket myth which says that sub-continental batsmen play spinners better than others. If this is true, then Pakistan is clearly not a part of the subcontinent because ever since I have been following cricket, except for the likes of Mohammad Yousuf, Inzamamul Haq and Younus Khan, all Pakistani batsmen have been vulnerable even against mediocre spinners. During the Test series in against Sri Lanka, we were bamboozled by Rangana Herath and lost the match by 50 runs. And who can forget our famous Sydney Test defeat of 2010 where Aussie Nathan Hauritz humiliated us and eliminated Yousuf with his caught-and-bowled effort. Neither could we hold our fort during the West Indies Test series of May 2011 in Guyana when Devendra Bishoo sent us running home after a loss of 40 runs. Amit Mishra was too hot for us to handle during the recent T20 World Cup and Monty Panesar created mayhem during the 2012 Test match held in UAE. So, do we still deserve to call our batsmen better players of spin than AB de VilliersJacques Kallis and Michael Clarke? I think the answer to that is pretty evident. What our players need to understand is that there is no point in improving your technique if you are always going to be terrorised by the thought of losing a wicket or are too afraid to play a shot; this being one of the reasons I abhor how Azhar Ali plays. We need players who are willing to take risks and understand that you lose some and you win some but at least you gave it your all and went in with confidence beaming. It is because of this very frame of mind that one gets bored when watching our team playing Test matches. This mind-set also needs to be followed by cricket fans who are ready to bash and criticise our team every time we lose but cannot stop boasting when we win. Our team needs our support regardless of the result of the match – that is when they can be confident on the pitch and not be afraid to take risks.


Super Sarfaraz

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In an era where wicket-keepers have become the mainstays of their respective batting line-ups around the world, Pakistan continues to languish at the lowest end of the production line of wicket-keeper and batsman all-rounder. The last wicket-keeper to score a Test century for Pakistan before today was Kamran Akmal, who achieved this feat at Karachi’s National Stadium five years ago. And now, the jinx has finally been broken by the newest member of the exalted street fighter’s club in Karachi – Sarfaraz Ahmed. Sarfaraz is playing in his eighth Test and these matches have spread over four and a half years which in itself is a story. But the bigger story is the re-emergence of Sarfaraz from the doldrums. His first exposure in the longest format was in January 2010 at Hobart, Pakistan succumbed to an innings defeat. Sarfaraz was drafted in the team on an SOS call after Kamran Akmal had dropped in one innings as many catches as all Pakistan keepers combined in Test history in the previous match at Sydney! Kamran returned for the ill-fated England tour of 2010 and couldn’t score a run to save his life in six Tests against Australia and England on the tour. Finally, the selectors seemingly had enough but the wicket-keeping gloves stayed firmly in the Akmal family’s grip as Kamran’s younger sibling Adnan debuted against South Africa the same year in the UAE. Adnan, though a steady keeper, hardly made a sustained impact with the bat and was left out of the team that toured South Africa for a three Test match series in early 2013. Sarfaraz replaced Adnan but found the going extremely tough as Pakistani batsmen were Steyn-ed in almost every innings of the series to crash to an ignominious 0-3 whitewash. It seemed that the Sarfaraz experiment was over despite a facile 40 in his last innings. After getting the axe following the South African tour, I felt that the Karachi keeper, despite his apparent talent, was simply not cut for the demands at the highest stage. The same year, Pakistan had more ignominy coming their way as minnows Zimbabwe toppled them in the Harare Test and Adnan, who had replaced Sarfaraz in the line-up, stuttered all the way up to the Abu Dhabi Test at the turn of the year. A hand injury forced him out of the last two Test of the series, paving way for a Sarfaraz comeback. But we need to pause for a minute here... During a Ramazan T20 tournament staged in Karachi’s Moin Khan Academy last year, I kept a close eye on Sarfaraz as he led the Omar Associates in the final of the tournament against a formidable Port Qasim Authority team that included many Pakistani internationals. I was at close proximity to the boundary rope and could hear the mutterings, cajoling and screaming of the players inside the playing arena. Sarfaraz, who was leading the team, was easily the loudest of them all and was getting incensed for almost no reason all the time; he was either arguing with the umpires or hurling some choicest words at erring fielders. I was extremely irritated by his behaviour and what seemed like a frustrated approach. I remember telling a friend who was next to me that Sarfaraz was a bechara and how he has squandered the opportunities at the highest level and now can only express his frustration at his fellow and perhaps hapless teammates. Attending the final was the tournament director and the future team manager of Pakistan, Moin Khan. I walked up to Moin and told him what I thought of Sarfaraz; Moin nodded and at the same time made a telling observation.

“See, he is yet to play in UAE, in the four Tests thus far, he has only been exposed to extremely tough conditions against Australia and South Africa. I hope he gets a chance in his own conditions and gets some confidence from the team management since I know his real worth.”
As luck would have it, Moin was installed as the manager of the team and when Adnan broke his hand in Abu Dhabi, he and the team management decided to ‘test’ Sarfaraz in conditions similar to home. But in his first innings on return in the second Test of the series at Dubai the woes returned and Sarfaraz returned to the pavilion after a seven run contribution. By the time he took to the crease in the second innings Pakistan was rapidly nearing a defeat. Sarfaraz was set to play perhaps his last Test innings as surely a failure there would have brought to an end his dreams and aspirations in the longest format. The situation that was tailor-made for another failure was turned on its head by Sarfaraz’s resilience; finally the ‘talent’ emerged and, in a lost cause, the street fighter eked out 74 runs to save his career. In the following Test at Sharjah, Moin played a master stroke by asking Misbahul Haq to send Sarfaraz at number five as Pakistan aimed to chase a 302 run target in the last two sessions of the play. The confidence gained from the Dubai effort was fully utilised by Sarfaraz with 46 ball 48 runs that gave the hosts the all-important momentum to stifle the Sri Lankans on their way to a historic win. Despite the triumphant return, Sarfaraz was, surprisingly, left out of the team for both the Asia Cup and the WorldT20. But no one could take his Test berth away and in the first Test of the on-going series, the form, confidence and the stroke-play of Sarfaraz was spell binding especially as the senior batsmen around him groped hopelessly against Rangana Herath in Galle. Two 50s in the match gave Sarfaraz the perfect platform as he came out to bat yesterday at the SSC. Pakistan was in a familiar precarious position, reeling at 140/5. Sarfaraz’s Karachi club and team buddy Asad Shafiq was at the crease with him and the two added 93 crucial runs to bring Pakistan back in the game. Today, he had the tail for company and rather than farming strike, he reposed his trust in Abdur Rehman and Wahab Riaz. Sarfaraz kept the scoreboard ticking and reached 90 when Wahab fell. Now the strike was with Sarfaraz and Sri Lankan pacer Chanaka Welegedara ran in. Sarfaraz knew that there wasn’t much left on the other end of the batting crease, it was almost now or never. And in no uncertain terms he mowed the first two balls of the over to the square-leg fence – one went for a four and the second one crucially went for a six. Yes, that magical moment had well and truly arrived; Sarfaraz was now a 100 not out. A Pakistani keeper of worth had finally triumphed against the demons of the past. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="594"] Photo: AFP[/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="594"] Photo: AFP[/caption] The loud shriek of excitement from the keeper could be heard even in Hobart, Jo’Burg and Centurion. As a cameraman of the broadcasters switched over to the Pakistan pavilion, I started searching for Moin. The camera panned left from right and as the shot was about to finish, I spotted Moin standing in the right corner sporting a big smile with his hands aloft and clapping hysterically. The words of Moin from that Ramazan evening reverberated in my ears.
“Sarfaraz has a lot of talent, give him confidence and give him a few games to settle in his own conditions, I know his worth.”

The history of the ‘doosra’: Spinning cricket the other way

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Two decades ago, when Pakistan was playing Australia in the deserts of Sharjah, the young spin wizard, Saqlain Mushtaq, broke the traditions and started spinning the ball the other way from the conventional off-spin to deceive the batsmen. The wicket-keeper, Moin Khan, would often shout from behind the stumps,

Saqi Bhai, doosra abhi karna hai.” (Bowl the other one now, Saqi Bhai)
Tony Grieg picked it up from a stump microphone and eventually likened the word to the delivery after confirming it with Saqlain in a post-match interview. Thus, the term became a part of cricketing culture. Over the years, the same unconventional delivery from the off-spinners has become one of their strongest weapons which has allowed the off-spinners to dominate the batsmen but with the invention of the ‘doosra’, the cricketing world engulfed into a new debate and controversy about the legitimacy of this delivery under the rules of the International Cricket Council (ICC). What is a doosra? A doosra is a delivery in which an off-spinner delivers the ball with the same finger action as normal off-break delivery but cocks the wrist so that the back of the hand faces the batsman. This gives the ball a spin in the opposite direction to that from an off-break, causing it to spin the other way. The recent controversy has again challenged the delivery, Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal has been reported for a suspect action, cited by match officials after the first Test ended during Pakistan’s on-going Test series in Sri Lanka. Ajmal’s bowling action will now be scrutinised under the ICC process relating to suspect bowling action. He will have to undergo this test within 21 days. Ajmal was once again the highest wicket taker for Pakistan in their defeat to Sri Lanka in the first Test at Galle. However, this is not the first time that the mystery spinner has been reported for a suspect action, he was previously reported in 2009 but was clear to play after testing. Ajmal is one of the best exponents of doosra, especially when it comes to matches with limited overs and, like him, all top off-spinners in the world cricket, including Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka and Harbhajan Singh of India, have used it with great success. In 2004, Harbhajan Singh was reported for a suspect bowling action while deceiving Bangladesh batsmen with his doosras and he was cleared by ICC in 2005. In the following year, Pakistan spinner Shoaib Malik was also reported for the same. In 2009, South African off-spinner Johan Botha was reported for a suspect bowling action and in May, in the same year, the ICC labelled his doosra as illegal. However, after a few tests and modification of his arm, his doosra was termed well within ICC’s rules. One of the worst controversies came unearthed earlier this year, when Sri Lankan offie Sachittra Sennanayeke was banned from all forms of cricket after a suspected bowling action, his arm bend way beyond the permissible limits while bowling doosra. To tackle the situation in 2004, the ICC came up with the regulation of allowing the bowlers to flex their elbow of the bowling arm up to 15 degrees. But still this hasn’t convinced the on-field umpires, who rely on naked-eye tactics to call bowlers for throwing and, of course, the Australian coaches who want the teaching of the doosra banned, at least in their country, as it is considered an act of cheating. While the debate is still on, many off-breaks have used the doosra and others coming in to the ranks are also learning this not-so-secret art but still deceiving the batsmen. However, the ICC still maintains a vigil of the exponents of the doosra, just in case players don’t let loose and break their arms in the process.  

After Ajmal, Hafeez takes a hit – will Pakistan be able to bounce back?

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And so the ICC’s purge against off-spinners continues, with Mohammad Hafeez being the latest victim. It has come as no surprise given the recent suspensions of off-spinners globally and the warning Hafeez himself received when he was reported during the Champions League T20 in September with Hafeez due to be tested at Loughborough on November 24, 2014. In fact, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) itself has been pro-active in this matter, forming a five-member committee which included ICC Elite Panel Umpire Aleem Dar and Pakistan’s spin bowling coach, Mushtaq Ahmad, to weed out suspect actions before they reach the international stage. However, the news of Hafeez being reported comes as a huge blow to Pakistan, especially in the wake of Saeed Ajmal’s suspension and the bleak outlook on his return to the team. Our bowling attack over the last five years has been based on our spinners, and Hafeez and Ajmal formed two thirds of the triumvirate (third being Shahid Afridi) largely responsible for winning games for us that the batting side seemed intent on losing. However, with the World Cup 2015 fast approaching, we are left in a perilous position where only one of the three is available. Yet Hafeez’s position may not be as desperate as that of Ajmal’s. While Ajmal had 30-35 deliveries reported and results eventually showed his average elbow extension to be twice the limit, Hafeez only had a mere four deliveries reported during the first Test versus New Zealand. And while Ajmal is an unorthodox spinner, Hafeez is a relatively straight-forward off-spinner. On the flip side, other orthodox spinners such as Kane Williamson have also been suspended from bowling and Hafeez’s argument of “nothing is different from what I have been bowling in the last 11 years” will not stick since this is an unprecedented clampdown on bowling actions; after all, even Ajmal was cleared back in 2009. Moreover, since Hafeez possesses no variations, it is his regular off-spin that has been called into question. So unlike Marlon Samuels, who only had his quicker delivery banned, if Hafeez is found to exceed the limit then he will be banned from bowling altogether. There were some in the cricketing circle, such as Wasim Akram, who suggested after Hafeez’s action was reported during the Champions League that we should preserve him for the World Cup due to his worth as an all-rounder in the ODI team. However, just as he denied there was anything wrong with his technique after being badly exposed by Dale Steyn, Hafeez dismissed suspicions about his action maintaining it had remained the same throughout his career and participated in the recent Test series against Australia and New Zealand. Perhaps it would have been more prudent for Pakistan to take a leaf out of West Indies’s books, when they withdrew Sunil Narine from their tour of India to work on his action after he had also been reported during the Champions League. Such valuable time could have been used to work on Hafeez’s action and ensure his participation in the World Cup as an all-rounder. It seems it was a risk that was clearly not worth taking if it results in his suspension. If anything, it was a surprise he wasn’t reported during the Australia series and that’s a statement not on Hafeez’s action but on the movement to eradicate off-spin from the game. Despite his brilliant performance in the first Test against New Zealand, there will always be those who question Hafeez’s place in the Test team – a format where specialists are more in demand – but it is a fool’s errand to question his place in the ODI and T20 teams. Hafeez is second in the ICC rankings for ODI all-rounders, and first in T20s. All-rounders like Hafeez are a priceless commodity in ODI cricket – they can bat at the top of the order and bowl their full quota of 10 overs if required and they also allow the captain to play an extra batsman if needed. Simply speaking, Hafeez is a captain’s dream in ODI cricket and should he be banned from bowling, it will completely disrupt the balance of our ODI team heading into the World Cup. While Ajmal could be replaced by another spinner (albeit not by one as good), Pakistan simply does not have any other all-rounders to provide the balance Hafeez does in ODI cricket. In his interview before departing for his tests in Loughborough, Hafeez told reporters how he considered himself a batsman, not an off-spinner, and never rated his own bowling. Although this maybe a defence mechanism in the event he is only able to participate as a batsman, it seems a bit strange that Hafeez does not rate his own bowling when he is seventh in the ICC Bowlers Rankings in ODIs. In fact, were it not for his bowling, Hafeez may not have thrived or even lasted these last four years in international cricket. For long stretches, when his batting has let him down, it has been his bowling that has ensured his place in the team. Should the unthinkable happen and he gets suspended from bowling, serious questions will need to be asked about Hafeez’s place in the team for the World Cup. Plenty of decent techniques have been exposed in Australia before and Hafeez’s is suspect to say the least. His inclusion as a specialist batsman would mean Pakistan would be devoid of a sixth bowler and/or a batsman light. Barely a year on from surrendering the T20 captaincy, Hafeez could lose his place in the World Cup team and Pakistan’s World Cup hopes will be scuppered before they even begin. The importance of November, 24 cannot be overstated.


Is Kohli better than Tendulkar?

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The past week has been a sad one for the cricketing community with the untimely demise of a young Phillip Hughes, falling during a first-class match in Australia. If anything, this incident reminds us that life is short and very unpredictable, and should be celebrated for every moment of joy that it may bring. While we mourn Hughes’s death, I would like to focus on another young cricketer who brings joy to millions who follow him. Virat Kohli has been one of the best ODI batsmen of the last few years. Statistics may not always do justice to a person as is an oft repeated phrase but in his case, mere statistics are enough to blow you away. At the age of 26, he has already scored 21 ODI hundreds at an average of over 52 in 149 matches. He recently became the fastest player to 6,000 ODI runs and has led India to victory in countless matches in many different situations. His Test credentials may not be exceptional, but are decent with 6 hundreds to his name already. He has time on his side, though, to improve them and be known as one of the best batsmen of his era. Many have already started asking if he will be better than Sachin Tendulkar or not? [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="540"] Virat Kohli was a relieved man after his 21st century, India v West Indies, 4th ODI, Dharamsala, October 17, 2014. Photo: BCCI[/caption] [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="540"] Virat Kohli blows a kiss to the crowd after crossing 6000 ODI runs, India v Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI, Hyderabad, November 9, 2014. Photo: BCCI[/caption] A phenomenal stroke-maker all around the wicket, Kohli is also a nightmare for any bowler once in flow. He is capable of decimating the best attacks in the world on any given day and is not just a flat track bully as his performances outside the subcontinent have shown. He often comes across as a brash individual and rubs people up the wrong way with his attitude but he has been maturing with time. He still wears his heart on his sleeve whenever he plays for India, and that aspect might have to change a little if he has ambitions to be an Indian captain in the long run – a likely successor to MS Dhoni. He has been earmarked for captaincy from a very young age; he showed his potential to lead when he became the second Indian captain to win the U-19 World Cup, leading from the front with the bat and returning with victories in the ODIs. Some of his teammates find him friendlier than Dhoni given that he is of the same age-group as many of them. He is soon to debut as a Test captain in Australia, and only time will tell whether the same aggressive style of captaincy that he has displayed in the past during the ODIs will work. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="540"] A few heated words were exchanged as Virat Kohli left the field, England v India, 3rd ODI, Trent Bridge, August 30, 2014. Photo: AFP[/caption] During their last visit to Australia, India went down in a 4-0 Test series whitewash, but the only bright aspect of that tour was Kholi’s performance. He scored a Test hundred, the only century by an Indian, and seemed more than capable of handling the pressure. Fans wonder if he will be able to bat as freely as he likes to with the captaincy burden on his shoulders. But let there be no doubt that in Dhoni’s absence in the current squad, there is no one more capable or deserving to be an Indian captain than the talented batsman. Any team in the world would readily give an arm and a leg to have someone like him in their folds. Let’s see if he can lead his side to victory in the Adelaide Test match starting December 9, 2014, while giving his expected performance. [poll id="366"]


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