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 ...
Read Full Post
Why should Afridi steer the ship?
On March 30, 2011, when the team lost to our arch rivals and eventual champions, India in the semi-finals of the coveted 2011 World Cup, this is what our team captain at the time, Shahid Afridi had to say: “I want to say sorry to my nation. We tried our level best but couldn’t make it. I am pleased with the way my team played throughout the competition.” He apologised for leading a fragmented, jaded, and weak team to the top four; something which he envisaged on February 9, 2011. The talismanic all-rounder was ...
Read Full Post
Pakistan vs India: Silencing the match-fixing rumours
The match-fixing rumours started spreading after India’s victory over Pakistan in the Asia Cup match that took place on March 18, 2012. The match was played in its real essence – a typical Pakistan-India match that contained everything: high scores, long partnerships, centuries, nervousness, misfielding, bad shots, huge sixes, all round performance by the top performers of both the sides, two heroes, two villains from both sides, tense captains and a nerve-wracking experience that a match between arch-rivals usually instigates. But still, they say, it was fixed and their reasons are: Cricketing authorities want a Pak-India final, to earn millions of dollars and ...
Read Full Post
Tendulkar: A retirement or a century?
Every cricket lover will agree that Sachin Tendulkar is indeed a legend. He has been one of the best batsmen, the most prolific run maker and arguably the biggest cricket icon the game has ever known. Let’s recap his achievements. Tendulkar is not only the man with the most runs under his belt (over 15,000 in Tests and over 18,000 in ODIs), he is also the first cricketer to score 200 runs in an ODI. With the increasing trend of T20 cricket, it seems that his record for the most runs in ODIs and Test matches will stay with him forever. But now there’s ...
Read Full Post
Save cricket in Pakistan
For a developing country like Pakistan, with a population of almost 190 million, sports play a vital role in developing the society on both social and ethical grounds. Although the national sport is hockey, cricket is the heart and soul of the whole nation. Taken as a platform to express feelings, every day history is made in the numerous cricket grounds across the country. As the game does not involve severe exercise, it is played by many and more recently the gender discrimination that used to exist has also ended. Cricket is amongst one of the few sports in the country played ...
Read Full Post
Team 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 Post
Defining moments of cricket in 2011
From cricketers being put in the slammer for spot-fixing to Shane Warne returning to play cricket – this year has seen it all. Here is my list of the top ten defining moments of cricket in 2011. 10) Ponting hands the reigns to Micheal Clarke It is hard to sympathize with Ponting considering that he is the captain who led his side to the most wins and has lifted the World Cup twice. But the writing was on the wall after the first Ashes defeat for Australia in 24 years, and the first time that a team had lost three matches by ...
Read Full Post
Mediocre coaches give mediocre results
Saudi Arabia’s dismal run at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup campaign resulted in the mid-tournament sacking of their national football team coach Jose Peseiro, who was replaced by the world-renowned Frank Rijkaard. We see a similar trend in Iran, where Afshin Ghotbi was replaced by Carlos Queiroz, while Qatar fired their long-serving coach Bruno Metsu and appointed Serbia’s Milovan Rajevac in his place. In fact, wherever ‘the beautiful game’ is followed with passion and sincerity, failures on the field are taken seriously by both the fans and the concerned authorities. Football federations leave no stone unturned to rectify their errors and go ...
Read Full Post
Afridi out, rhythm broken
Shahid Afridi might be a heartthrob who stars in fancy Pepsi commercials, and flaunts his hair in a shampoo ad campaign, but he is much more than that. Our nation loves him because he is bold. He violates conformity, embraces flamboyance and transmits synergy characteristics found in successful leaders. He led Pakistan to a laudable campaign in the 2011 World Cup, given the instability and chaos that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was in. We lost to archrivals India in the semi-finals in Mohali. We hated it. But we forgot that it was just not Afridi’s fall to take. Yesterday the ...
Read Full Post
The ‘fixed’ price of World Cup 2011
Modern cricket has been tainted with controversy of match/spot fixing and corruption scandals. But despite the drama, the sheer volume of viewers tuning in and fan interest has only increased. When this month’s issue of Sports Illustrated (SI) India hits stands, it will trigger much debate, deliberation and a wave of “I told you so” comments among followers of cricket all over the world. The cover story “Dirt in Cricket” deciphers 400 minutes of conversations between SI journalists, bookies and politicians in India. The story was shared with Yahoo Sports, a few days before it is to appear in SI, and promises ...
Read Full Post
