A second chance for Amir
For a long time, I was so gutted by what Mohammad Amir did that I felt his crime was unforgivable. He had been with the team for a year; a year of travelling, a lot of learning and a lot of guidance. But I guess the guidance came from all the wrong quarters; Salman Butt was his best friend on the Pakistan cricket team, as he once claimed during the World T20 in the West Indies. And that friendship cost him. Did anyone expect a street-smart character like Amir to be so gullible? Was he so innocent that he just got sucked ...
Read Full PostTeam Pakistan: Back with a bang!
Can anything taste sweeter than victory? If you are a Pakistani fan who has gone through the spot-fixing case, the ensuing talks of banishing Pakistan from world cricket, the semi-final losses in the World T20 and World Cup 2011, clearly not. And what if that victory is against the number one side in the world? It just makes it all the more sweet. It might take a couple of days for this to settle in. Consider this- in 2010, the cricketing world was so irritated with a particular team and the board’s chairman that there were talks of throwing them ...
Read Full PostPakistan’s Test side shows promise
Last year when that dreadful News of the World (NoTW) sting named some players in a fixing scandal, many feared the death of Pakistani cricket. With international teams already refraining from touring Pakistan, allegations of corruptions almost completely isolated Pakistani cricket. As this year ends, we find Pakistan slowly, but surely, roaring its way back into the cricketing world. All credit must be given to the players who have somewhat managed to recreate the market value that was once associated with this brand of cricket. Pakistan’s form in ODIs this year has been nothing short of spectacular. With 24 wins and ...
Read Full PostAn open letter to Salman Butt
Dear Salman Butt, I started following you from your days in the Under 17s. I still remember how I started loving Slazenger bats with yellow coloured grips, just because I saw you playing with one in an U-17 Asia Cup match back then. I still remember, randomly enough, that Habib Oil Mills sponsored that tournament. I still remember your test debut against Bangladesh at Multan, where you made a quick fire 37 in the second innings. Salman, I still remember your ODI debut against West Indies, where you were out for a duck, caught in the slips. It was a decent delivery by ...
Read Full PostPakistan’s approach defies logic
Test cricket has been losing its edge in the day and age of T20 slam bang cricket. Who would you want to watch David Warner or Chris Gayle bludgeoning sixes or Asad Shafiq playing as though he were playing a timeless test match? It is fairly natural for all of us to look for some excitement in test matches. Pakistan had a golden opportunity to bring back the flare that it is famous for – unfortunately, Misbah and his men decided to play for a draw on a pitch that provided very little chance of allowing ten wickets to ...
Read Full PostAfridi’s removal: Bad, bad decision!
You have a problem with your car? Don’t try to fix it, buy a new one. If you think about it, this is exactly how Ejaz Butt goes about changing the Pakistan cricket team’s captains. For me, this is just another failure on Butt’s part. Sure, Pakistan won the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup, made it to the semi-finals in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy, played well in the 2010 Twenty20 World Cup, and exceeded our expectations in the 2011 ICC World Cup – was all of this Butt’s success or a reflection of the talent in Pakistan? Just imagine the brilliant ...
Read Full PostReality check: Pakistan can beat India on their home turf
I am not a pundit, and I am definitely not Paul the octopus. I am just a cricket fan who believes in his team. All I ask of other cricket followers is to show respect to our highly talented cricketers who have played exceptionally well to qualify for the semi-final. There is every chance that Pakistan will end up playing at the Wankhede Stadium on April 2, 2011. Us Pakistani “rickshaws” will take the highway to Mumbai, leaving behind the BMWs Mr Shastri has claimed India to be. Team Pakistan can win the semi-final, and nonsensical warnings from Mr Rehman Malik ...
Read Full PostWhy ‘Boom Boom’ should be captain
With the cricket World Cup less than 25 days away, Team Pakistan still finds itself without a leader for the mega event. By not announcing Shahid Afridi as captain so close to the international cricket tournament, the PCB has again given us a practical example of how incompetent their management is. Why they allowed this uncertainty to prevail before such an important event is a mystery to me, and one that is so befuddling it makes me want to protest outside their office. I don’t agree with people who claim that Afridi doesn’t perform well as captain. Although I do not ...
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