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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IPL without Pakistan: Who is the real loser?
Since its inception mid-way through the last decade, Twenty20 cricket has added a new dimension to the gentlemen’s sport. This relatively new brand of cricket not only marked a certain form of revival for the sport, it also managed to expand its fan base by exploring regions of the globe that had previously shunned it because of the length of its duration. The inaugural T20 World Cup soon followed and brought the most significant twist in its otherwise steady growth. The crowning of India as the World T20 Champions marked wild celebrations back home and took Mahendra Singh Dhoni and many of his unknown men ...
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Mohammad Hafeez: The real Boom Boom
When Pakistan cricket was hit by the spot-fixing scandal two years ago, many thought it was going to be the cause of demise of cricket in the region. We felt humiliated when two of our best bowlers and the captain were found guilty of deliberately bowling two no-balls against England at Lord’s. However, soon after that Pakistan not only managed to reach the semi-finals of 2011 World Cup but also managed to destroy the number one Test side England by white-washing them 3-0. Pakistan’s success in the World Cup has been attributed to the sharp but sometimes erratic leadership of Shahid Afridi, ...
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Breaking News: Afridi can slap
The breaking news logo in red flashed across the screen and the news anchor continued to exaggerate the half-baked story for a good 10 minutes in a shrill, breathless manner. Autograph mangnay walay paristaron per chokkon, chakkon, dhakkon aur thapparon ki baarish (Fours, sixes, pushes and slaps raining on autograph-seeking fans) Shahid Afridi ki Karachi airport per maar dhaar se bharpur century. (Shahid Afridi whacks a fan completing a century with a bang) Shahid Afridi jazbaat per qabu na rakh sakay, maddahon ki dhunayi kardi! (Shahid Afridi loses control over emotions, bashes fans) Shahid Afridi kay shaeqeen ko dhakkay aur thappar! (Shahid Afridi’s pushes and slaps for his fans) As usual, all our ...
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Whatmore: Magician or mistake?
With the appointment of Dav Whatmore as coach of the national team, several former Pakistan players and fans have voiced the opinion that removal of Mohsin Khan from that position was an uncalled for action, considering the excellent run of results the side had enjoyed under him, notwithstanding the recent drubbing at the hands of England in the limited-overs series. However, an overview of Pakistan’s performance over the last year-and-a-half indicates that the good results that they enjoyed predate Mohsin’s appointment as interim coach. That’s why it would be unfair to the likes of former coach Waqar Younis — under ...
Read Full PostWhy we hate Misbah
First of all, let me apologize for the misleading headline. This is not a hate article about Misbahul Haq, nor is it one which supports him. When Pakistan lost to England, almost all of us decided to blame him for the defeat. Like all of our country’s misfortunes and losses, we decided to make our captain the scapegoat. Let us recall the events that culminated in Pakistan’s defeat. We had an opener (Hafeez) who didn’t score a single run, Afridi who got run out for three and didn’t take any wickets, Umar Gul who got hit around by Pietersen, a pitch as dead ...
Read Full PostFlashback 2011: Pakistan in all its glory
Team Pakistan entered 2011 under the dark clouds of the spot-fixing scandal. With the backbone of their squad ripped apart as a result of the suspensions of Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif, and Salman Butt, few expected them to achieve anything significant in the next 12 months. However, as they often end up doing, Team Pakistan fought back magnificently and achieved a number of milestones. Here’s a look at some of the memorable events of the past year: 1. Series win in New Zealand Pakistan started the year with a closely fought series against New Zealand. Under alien conditions, Pakistan’s new squad showed tremendous determination to seal ...
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T20 fever and the Big Bash
The first time that T20 cricket burst onto the scene was in 2003 in England, and some eight years down the line there is no arguing that it is the most popular form of cricket. Millions of dollars have been put into competitions like the IPL and Stanford 20/20 tournament which have enjoyed enormous success. A testament of its wide appeal is the number of World T20s already held. In Australia, the format was launched in 2005 and an excited crowd attended the domestic fixture at the WACA, which had seen poor attendance for Australia-Pakistan Test match some time earlier. This ...
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Mohammad Hafeez: The sweetly timed turnaround
About 18 months ago, Mohammad Hafeez was wondering where he had gone wrong — he probably hadn’t seen himself play cricket. His comeback series after almost three years in the wilderness – the 2010 World Twenty20 – lasted six matches, 39 runs and two wickets. So when he was selected for the limited-overs squad to take on England that summer, shock prevailed. He hadn’t scored a half-century since December 2006 and despite an all-rounder’s tag, failed to get more than three wickets since October 2003. He averaged 18.6 with the bat after 48 ODIs. There was a huge uproar following his selection ...
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Shahid Afridi is my neighbour
I have a special bond with my house. It has nothing to do with nostalgia but simply because Shahid Afridi is my neighbour. I’m not quite sure if this affects property prices but just looking at the boy next door evolve into a champion and national captain gives me a lot of pride. I remember my younger days – as a guest in Karachi – when I’d wait to play cricket in the afternoon when this new Pakistani opener used to interrupt the match and take us all for Maghrib prayers. I went to the mosque because of him. When I moved to his ...
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