The way forward for Pakistan cricket
All the rumours of sacking Misbah as captain have been laid to rest after Pakistan’s victory in the Asia Cup. The fear of Pakistan going downhill after the ODI series lost against England is no more there. Pakistan cricket has been stable, and for once the cricket season ended on a high note with not much to worry about. But what’s next for Pakistan? There are still many unanswered questions like: Who will be the next captain for Pakistan? Which new bowlers will have a future in the team? For how long can we persist with spinners as our main weapon? Who is the right ...
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Kohli: The future of Indian batting
India has always produced exquisite batsmen from Viswanath to Vengsarkar, Azharuddin to Tendulkar; from this pedigree, another star has emerged that shines brighter than the other young guns around. Virat Kohli has set himself apart from his contemporaries with such dominant performances that India’s batting future seems to be secured. Actually, in the last few weeks we have had a glimpse of that future twice; once, when Kohli led India to a successful run chase in Australia, chasing 321 from 36 overs. And again yesterday, when India completed their highest, Kohli was at the ...
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Saeed Ajmal, the doosra Saqlain
Off-spin bowling has never been as glamorous and stylish an art as leg-spin. In fact, it wasn’t long ago when off-spin wasn’t event considered an art, as every part timer could roll over his arm for an end changing spell of off-spinning lollipops. From Benaud to Qadir and Warne to Mushtaq, leg-spin was the only form of slow bowling that was considered an essential ingredient of a potent bowling unit. All that, however, changed with the emergence of a skinny young man from Lahore who not only reintroduced off-spin as a genuine threat but also added such artistry to his repertoire that his invention laid the foundation of ...
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We don’t need Amir and Asif
Imran Khan, who was recently in New Delhi to promote the World Cup, proclaimed Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif to be “the best opening bowling pair in the world” and said that these bowlers are particularly significant to Pakistan’s chances of winning championship. He further said that without these bowlers in the team, the Pakistani bowling attack is “not potent.” With all due respect to the cricket legend, I do not agree with Mr Khan’s comments here. While I completely agree with him that Amir and Asif may be instrumental to Pakistan’s success at the World Cup, let’s not forget that ...
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When you pay cricketers peanuts, you get monkeys
So the Pakistani cricket team finally returned home last this week. I for one was a tad surprised not to see an angry mob armed with anday tamatar, to say the least. Cricket, as we all know, is the second most popular religion in Pakistan – we watch it, we talk about it, and until reality hits by age 16 – half our population dreams of becoming a pro in it. If you think about it, it’s extremely understandable – the public reaction – the shock and hurt over the latest match fixing allegations and the irritation over Ijaz Butt’s ...
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