Finally, Chelsea!
It took nine long years, eight different managers (and more than £60 million in compensation for the termination of their respective contracts), innumerable player signings worth millions and several occasions of heartbreak, but at long last, Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea have finally gotten their hands on the European Cup. A penalty shoot-out victory over Bayern Munich ensured the illustrious trophy went to Stamford Bridge (or indeed any London club) for the very first time. The talismanic touch of interim coach Roberto Di Matteo worked again as his team defied the odds to win ...
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They paved paradise, and put up a cricket stadium and golf course
There was some good news for the city’s sports fans following the announcements that new “world-class” cricket and golf facilities are going to be set up in Shakarparian. Hundreds of thousands of cricket fans would be especially enthused by the knowledge that the capital will finally be home to a cricket stadium as would a dozen-odd golf fans. But I kid. Golf has more than a dozen fans in the city. Maybe even a few hundred. While a cricket stadium has been a long-standing dream for many Islamabadis, a bit of an odd one considering the relative proximity of Rawalpindi Cricket ...
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What the Pakistan Premier League should look like
The dream of Pakistan Premier League (PPL) has finally become a reality: the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Zaka Ashraf has declared that this event will be held in October. Here’s what I think the event should look like. Name To be really honest, I would like a unique name for our tournament. Case in point; Spain’s La Liga and Australia’s Big Bash, two unique names which almost every sports fan knows. And frankly there are too many Premier Leagues in our region. Why not something in Urdu? Total number of teams There are speculations that 16 teams will feature in the event, which is ...
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Why Imran Nazir should be on the T20 team
Imran Nazir, a talented right-handed batsman and consistent performer in the T20 format, is desperate to get selected for the Pakistan T20 squad. While there are plenty of reasons which prove that he deserves to be part of the team, the PCB cannot give one as to why he should be dropped. If the PCB is of the opinion that Imran Nazir was given chances but he failed to prove himself, I would like to ask them if he has ever failed in the T20 internationals. It just doesn’t make sense to drop him from the T20s when it was the ODI ...
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Good riddance to Imran Farhat!
When Mohammad Ilyas announced his resignation following the series between Pakistan and England, I was a content man. Not because Mohammad Ilyas wasn’t going to be part of the PCB selection committee going forward, but because his resignation signaled the end of Imran Farhat’s career. It has been cause for suspicion that Farhat’s inclusion in Pakistan’s squads has been due to dear daddy-in-law, and with him no longer selecting the team now, Farhat was likely to be dropped. This was made official when Pakistan’s new chief selector, Iqbal Qasim, announced Pakistan’s squad for the upcoming Asia Cup. I was doubly satisfied when not only Farhat, ...
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Why Ponting was dropped and Tendulkar wasn’t
The month of February saw two greats being met with two different fates. Both Ponting and Tendulkar have not been pulling their weight in the ODIs recently but while one was dropped from the ODI team and his career in the format all but ended, the other got a life line to go to Bangladesh and participate in the Asia Cup. Australia is a country where tough decisions are taken in a stride and selectors are ruthless and unforgiving. As Steve Waugh and Mark Taylor found out before Ponting, reputation counts for little when a team is being picked. If you ...
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Is Pakistan ready to host again?
In 2009 when the Sri Lankan team arrived in Lahore, much was said about their security, or the lack of it, after armed men were able to ambush their vehicle with ease. At the time of their arrival at the airport, the security protocol suggested that improvement was needed. But at that point the most worrying aspect was being hoarded by fans’ excitement or the media. Few thought a gun attack was in the making that would cause casualties and injuries. But it happened and, despite ‘intelligent’ reports, a targeted and planned attack was to take away international cricket and the ...
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Khan v Peterson: The saga continues
The drama that unfolded after Amir Khan’s controversial defeat to Lamont Peterson, which resulted in the Briton losing his WBA and IBF light-welterweight titles to the American, just refuses to die down. Over the past month we have witnessed a string of accusations ranging from biased refereeing to a ‘mystery man’ tampering with the judges’ scorecard emerging from the Khan camp. Khan had initially started out by blaming referee Joe Cooper of unfairly deducting two points off him for pushing Peterson and had immediately demanded a rematch, along with appealing against the decision to the IBA and the WBF. However, it is ...
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The outrageous cricket that Pakistan played
Outrageous would be an apt term to describe Pakistan’s show on the fourth afternoon in Abu Dhabi. How the team produces such cricket when you least expect them to is beyond belief. Pakistan were expected to stir up a few surprises – on the cricket field this time – against England but a series-win, despite the home-like conditions, remained a hope rather than an aim. Die-hard optimism notwithstanding, it was always a push from God that the team management and the captain sought considering the gulf that existed between the two sides prior to the series. Pakistan’s batting line-up remained meek – ...
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Why cry foul?
We, the Pakistanis are a strange bunch. Any ill that befouls any Muslim, or so called Muslim anywhere in the world, suddenly becomes a national cause. The most recent in the sporting world is from the boxing arena, where Britain’s Amir Khan fought Lamont Peterson of the US for the International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association light-welterweight world titles. Amir Khan lost and Lamont won, so why such a big fuss here in Pakistan? Why is there so much media hype about racism? Why are Amir’s fans stating that ‘rightful victory’ was ...
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