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Imran Yusuf has a dream.
I had a dream last night, which I share with you below. For some reason my subconscious made me the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board with unlimited dictatorial powers. They say that only one's lover or psychoanalyst is interested in hearing one's dreams, but I have a feeling I'm not the only follower of Pakistan cricket who is affected by such thoughts during the wee hours.
Here’s how the dream went:
[I am sitting in my elaborately and tastelessly furnished office. There is a knock on the door.]
ME: Please come in.
[Steve Waugh and Sunil Gavaskar walk in and take a seat.]
ME: Stevo, Sunny, welcome.
SW: Strewth, Mr. Chairman, I saw the game yesterday. Mate, 10 lbws in two innings? That's a shocker!
SG: Indeed. What a collapse. Nine wickets for 35 runs. A batting performance frightfully, woefully, and - me being Indian, I must say [he smilles cheekily] - marvellously inadequate. No spine, no concentration.
ME: I know, I know. That's why we've decided to pay each of you five million dollars a year to coach and mentor our batsmen.
SW: Bonzer! But how are you blokes gonna afford that?
ME: Well we've belatedly realised we don't actually need a staff of 15,789, out of whom 8,221 seem to have the same designation of Special Advisor to the chairman; we don't need to pay expenses of such wastefulness and corruption they make the British House of Commons look like an assembly of saints; and we're actually going to maximise our massive TV earnings potential, for once, and use the money transparently and effectively. We'll have plenty of cash to spare, but bringing you two on board is the priority. Everyone talks about bowling coaches – ‘Who’s the best? Waqar, Aaqib, Wasim?’ - but my philosophy with Pakistan's problems is, 'It's the batting, stupid.'
SG: Are you calling me stupid?
ME: No, Sunny, calm down. Good to see you've still got fire in the belly. You don't get 13 centuries against the West Indies unless you're a fighter, I suppose. And Steve, nobody was tougher and had more application at the crease than you. You two are top of the list. Any reservations, gentlemen? SG: They'll crucify me in India for this.
ME: Think of it as a humanitarian gesture, an intervention, like that time you saved a Muslim family from a murderous mob during the 1993 Mumbai riots.
SG: You do need help, I must say.
ME: Mr. Waugh?
SW: Do you get Fosters in Pakistan?
[I smile and usher them out.]
You start first thing tomorrow. Thank you. Thank you.
[I press my intercom.]
ME: Get me Fawad Alam and Mohammad Amir on the line, please.
FA and MA: Salaam, sir!
ME: Don't call me sir. Please. I'm just a fat chairman in a cheap suit. You boys are the heroes, you deserve the respect, you've actually earned it. Now listen, I don't want you two getting upset or dispirited by the failure of most of the team to match your efforts. Chin up, onwards and upwards.
FA and MA: Yes, sir.
ME: And Amir, it might be wise to take a leaf out of Wasim Akram's book. Tired of having catches off his bowling dropped in the slip cordon, he eventually got the majority of his wickets lbw and bowled ... Actually, forget I said that, see you boys later, keep up the great work.
[I hang up and press my intercom.]
ME: Arrange an appointment with Bob Simpson. Tell him we'll give him five million dollars a year to teach our slip fielders how to catch. And please send in Mr. Younus Khan.
[Younus Khan strides into the room and we meet and greet.]
ME: Younus bhai, I'm sorry to have to do this, but you are banned from playing the reverse sweep.
YK: But I got to my triple century with a reverse swe...
ME: Shush.
YK: But unorthodoxy has always been part of my game, it's my very nature and...
ME: Chup.
YK: But it can be a very useful way of upsetting a spinner's rhyt..
ME: Buss! Enough.
YK: But why, Mr. Chairman, why?
ME: Because I say so, and I'm the chairman! [Evil laugh.] Next!
[Younus leaves and Salman Butt sheepishly walks into my office.]
ME: Mr. Butt.
SB: Sir, please, just call me Butt.
ME: With pleasure. We're giving you the Sitara-i-Eisaar, that's Pakistan's highest award for huminatarian service.
SB: Sir, thank you so much, what have I done to deserve this?
ME: Nothing yet, obviously. You're about to do something, however, something great and noble and charitable: resign from Pakistan cricket and promise you'll never play for us again. Sign here.
[Butt looks hesitatingly at the paper. I hold out a pen for him. With my other hand I take out a revolver from my top drawer and point it at him. He immediately signs the paper, showing quicker reflexes and superior coordination than anything he's shown in his entire career to date, and walks out.]
ME. Butt! One more thing. Send in the main man.
[Mohammad Yousuf walks in.]
ME: MoYo, your form is like a yo-yo. Century here, failure there, and so on. We need you to play a top innings when we really need it, to take the team to victory. Are you only interested in personal batting records?
[The azaan sounds and, without a word, Yousuf walks out of my office. Suddenly Javed Miandad strolls in.]
ME: Janab, I'm glad you came. We have to clear something up. You're always re-joining the PCB, then resigning, re-joining, then resigning, ad infinitum.
JM: Well, you people keep treating me with disrespect.
ME: And you keep giving us reason to.
JM: What did you say? How dare you. I'd fight you if I wasn't already tired from scrapping with Sunil Gavaskar in the car park. Only play fight, of course.
ME: No, listen. I want to give you a permanent role here. A proper designation, long-term. From now on your sole role is to make sure your nephew Faisal Iqbal never makes the first team again.
JM: That's asking a lot. How much do I get?
ME: How does five million dollars sound?
JM: Great! Hey, since that's so much, I can also make sure Salman Butt never plays for the first team again. ME: Oh, really? Wonderful.
[I press my intercom.]
ME: Hi. Please call Salman Butt and tell him there was a big mistake, we're really sorry, and he needs to return his Sitara-i-Eisaar.
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Comments (53) Closed
Jul 15, 2009 08:53am
nice one Imran!...What u people think is there any grouping in the team....i think there is...
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Jul 15, 2009 09:14am
Wonderful article. May ur tribe increase Imran Yusuf. The sub-continent needs a lot of no-nonsense guys like u in all walks of life.
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Jul 15, 2009 09:20am
"ME: MoYo, your form is like a yo-yo. Century here, failure there, and so on. We need you to play a top innings when we really need it, to take the team to victory. Are you only interested in personal batting records?
[The azaan sounds and, without a word, Yousuf walks out of my office. Suddenly Javed Miandad strolls in.]"
As an atheist, I enjoyed the above scene.Imagine bearded MoYo leaving on hearing azaan without so much as taking leave of Chairman. I was in splits as I read the article.
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Jul 15, 2009 10:10am
That was pretty good Mr Yusuf! But to be honest I had a dream, but it was a serious one. I had scrapped the present set-up through my dictatorial powers. Then I striped off all my powers by having the people that matter sit around a table to make a constitution for the PCB according to which the chairman would be the one elected by the associated members (e.g. associated cricket boards across the country) rather than selected by the president of Pakistan. Because in my dream I had analysed by comparing PCB with the likes of ECB and Cricket Australia and I realized that our problem lies in the administration rather than in the players' attitude in the team.
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Jul 15, 2009 10:24am
Seriously, with this performance if I was a chairman or head of a selection committee, I would select 10 bowlers and a wicket keeper. At least we would get a chance of bowling the opposition out quickly and the bowlers can at least get to a target of 100 runs.. lolxxx
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Jul 15, 2009 10:28am
Great,I wish it was true.We need to do some heart searching and take action.
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Jul 15, 2009 10:28am
The future of cricket in Pakistan after the tragic incident in Liberty Lahore has diminished and it seems for the next couple of years there will be no chances that cricket will be played on our soil. However, crickets fans and good players are enormous in our country like Imran Yusuf and people still take keen interest to see cricket matches.
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Jul 15, 2009 10:38am
Imran - Superbly well written! Made me laugh out loud in the office on a wednesday morning! Cannot believe we have a person like ijaz butt as the chairman - what kind of country is this - and hope the senators can point out the retarded amount of corruption in the pcb! Agree with everything you've written, that said, would like to add a couple of my own points:
1. if salman butt indeed returns your sitara-i-eisaar(bc of JM), i would offer it to shoaib malik and table the same deal. if not accepted, would be happy to add a couple of million (rupees) to the deal, point being - he needs to leave the team - for all our sakes!
2. Misbah should be asked to resign immediately - or needs to be rested for a couple of months.
3. Moyo needs to be brought back from his namaz and still needs to be spoken to (pyaar se), msg he needs to hear is: give as much concentration as possible during the first hour of your batting - then play as you like.
4. Younis is an awesome captain - no complaints about the guy. Infact really happy we have a thinker/ proactive captain and not a lazy malik!
5. (my opinion) Squad from Sept 09: 1. Imran Nazir, 2. Akmal (ODIs/T20s) 3. Younis K, 4. MoYo, 5. Afridi, 6. Alam(opener for tests), 7. Razzaq, 8. Ajmal, 9. Gul, 10. Asif, 11. Aamer
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Jul 15, 2009 10:49am
Heroes of the match were also Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal.
Salman Butt is a better batsman that Khurram Manzoor, any day. Any batsman who can score a century in Australia against Australia has some real talent.
Fawad Alam still has a lot to prove, especially with that shuffle of his - I'm pretty skeptical of his sustained success at the international level unless he eliminates it from his game.
Openers for now should be Salman Butt and Shoaib Malik. Malik is one of the few batsman who doesn't get out to the new, seaming ball. Butt has scored against quality opposition in difficult situations, so he deserves more time to play himself in to form. Fawad Alam can come in at #4, Mohammad Yousuf at #5.
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Jul 15, 2009 11:07am
Sir... did u wake up ? I was anxiously looking forward to Shoaib Malik's entry in your dream... A visit of Misbah Taya would have been nice too...
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Jul 15, 2009 11:07am
first of all make 3 different teams for test one day and t20. then will sack non performers like shoeb malik and misbah and replace them from other 2 teams.
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Jul 15, 2009 11:19am
SARCASTICALLY HILARIOUS , I DOUBLED UP LAUGHING ALL THROUGH, KEEP IT UP IMRAN, WAY TO GO :)
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Jul 15, 2009 11:30am
Good for a laugh, but seriously we need to do something with our first class cricket, since we're not getting any major cricket we need a system back home, even more importantly then ever before, to get tempraments and techniques sorted out for the longer form of the game. A lot is said about the Australian domestic setup, but I really think South Africa is a great example; they stayed out of international cricket for so long, but made their mark as soon as they returned only because their local cricket was that good, with a fan following to match the English Primier Leauge.
From the chairman's perspective, we need to make our local cricket more competitive, ensuring all stars are involved, get sponsorships and go extra distance to make the game popular at regional levels. Make sure there are good pitches, I know there were experiments in the past, but under prepared pitches are not the answer. In short we need to make stars out of our regional teams and thats more important because that's the only cricket Paksitanis would be watching for some time at least. Rushing tournaments like the national T20 is exactlly what we don't need and we need to some how, David Lloyd's words, "sex up", the pattron's trophy and the Quaid-e-Azam trophy.
People like Misbah should realize they have players like Umer Akmal to replace them any time. Having said that there's no need for a massive reshuffle in the team. These guys haven't played a lot of test cricket lately and there's no alternative to match practice and the pressures in the middle. They've shown signs of individual brilliance but to play as a team for five days and more importantly to last the distance they need more cricket. They'll come good, very soon, I'm sure. The same can't be said about the board though.
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Jul 15, 2009 11:35am
Retaining someone like Steve Waugh as a batting coach is a great idea. We need to find a pair of top openers more than anything else.
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Jul 15, 2009 11:38am
But you haven't written a word about Misbah who has persistently failed miserably and Malik who has forgotten how to hold a bat.Any first class cricket playing team would have given a much better performance than the one that was given by our so called heroes.Doesn't this all prove that the win at 20/20 world cup was just a fluke.We can proudly claim to be the worst batting side in the world.
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Jul 15, 2009 11:54am
To be a PCB chairman is not a dream, its a nightmare.......our whole nation is in distress so cricket is just a glimpse of it.....i don,t and i never want that designation even in my dreams.
thanks
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Jul 15, 2009 11:59am
Nice article!!
We need to do something like this. Our batting is a shame, PCB should introduce some new players who are consistent performers and technically good player.Asim Kamal is a very good player and PCB have wasted many players like him. Salman Butt does not deserves to play for national team.
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Jul 15, 2009 12:23pm
i would get rid of several people and basically set a strategy which were everyone who played internationally would say what their strategy for cricket was and all of their opinions would be voted on.
Basically i would 20 20 international league in pakistan and pakistan cricketers association.
One selection committee for all levels expanded 5 people, including a ex captain and a specialist in bowling.
I would play all games in uae (until games return to pakistan) at national level with pia providing flights for fans and also accomodation as package tours provided by the pcb with the help of pia.
Street cricket tournaments would be televised in street cricket cup and the pcb would use these events to find tape ball cricketers to play for national team at lowest levels of the game to bring into national youth teams.
Bring poor kids and kids who would not play due to problems in certain parts of pakistan.
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Jul 15, 2009 01:16pm
Best to bring back good old Inzy. He was a great leader and like jayasurya has a lot of fight in him!
Also get back Javed mian-dad to be a good Dad to all!
Finally all cricketers are like Flintoff. Second hand cars, who break down without notice!
Cricket is finally going out of favour.
Imran Khan was right. T20 is " Tullebazi"
Oh yes..all foreign tours should have 15 players and 115 Board officials!
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Jul 15, 2009 01:21pm
The PCB awarded levish rewards to cricketers after winning the T 20, in a same manner PCB should stricly fine if teh performance of the cricters is not up to the mark .I think this threat would definetly improve the performance of players.However the question remain who will fine the PCB officials?
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Jul 15, 2009 02:33pm
Nice work Imran Bhai but wht abt the Misbah whose form has dipped very badly. And one thing that troubles me is like all the other chairman you did the same making changes to the team & coaching staff, rather than investing & harvesting the new talent & improving the infrastructure of Pakistan Cricket.
But lets always hope for betterment of Pakistan Cricket. Long Live Pakistan
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Jul 15, 2009 03:04pm
Seriously, I will scrap all central contracts as they exist today. The earnings should be performance based. Pay everyone a very nominal base salary. Then for a batsman, pay him Rs. 100 per run scored. Bowlers get Rs 50,000 per wicket. These payments can be adjusted for individual players. On the flip side, there should also be penalties for non-performance; Rs. 1000 deducted for every dropped catch. Rs 500 for every mis-fielding. Rs. 1000 for every no-ball, especially in a 20/20 match, so on and so forth.
This system will get the players attention more than any psycologist's suggestions or a coach's lecture. Hit them at their pocket book, and everyone becomes VERY receptive all of a sudden.
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Jul 15, 2009 03:11pm
Very funny and thought provoking. Great job Imran. We all have such fan fantasies. Also between the lines you said a lot like 10 LBW decisions in two innings. A couple of Pakistani batsmen were unlucky to be given out-like Misbah. but collectively three collapses in 4 innings does ask some deeper questions-like level of commitment of some of the players and application. Even in 20-20 there were collapses. Stability of Yunis and Brilliance of Afridi gul and Ajmal masked a lot of that. Malick's inclusion in the test side is questionable. Openers are a problem still and unless there is a young gun in the waiting I would still consider the Brilliantly gifted Imran Nazir-even though he is generally regarded as a one day specialist. An hour of him at the crease is capable of turning matches in any format and he can still be coached (still 27) into playing a longer innings. My fantasy is to bring naturally exciting players back into the team with a mind set to dominate the opposition and build them around the solidity of Yunis Khan.And groom a bench strength of 20-25 players who could all play for Pakistan and could be rotated. And for every slot you could have a couple of players ready to fill the boots.
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Jul 15, 2009 04:45pm
Thats wonderful,by this only we can release our frustration.Keep it up
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Jul 15, 2009 05:09pm
Well written and helps to take off some stress from t he two losses.
Here is what I would do a s CP:
1. Appoint Amir Sohail as teh head of teh selection committee. Let him, pick his own team.
2. Cancel contracts of Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal for hurting Pakistan in trying to settle personal scores.
3. Find a top wicket keeper and not a wicket keepr/batsman.
4. Bring Yasir Hameed and Asim Kamal back in team.
5. Fire Javed Miandad and ensure Wasim Akram and Ijaz Ahmed are no where close to the team.
list goes on and on ...
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Jul 15, 2009 05:42pm
Well! I genuinely believe that this (series of debacles) will only stop with meaningful changes in the team composition and with a heart-to-heart pep talk with the senior players over the issue of non-performance(s), especially when the ball and the pitch is not acting up on the batsmen (which was pretty evident when Fawad and Younis were putting their heads down), and making a serious effort to eradicate all forms of partiality, animosity and selfishness within the team members. All this, mind you, is achievable and within the powers of the PCB and the tour management. So, Good Luck to Pakistan!
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Jul 15, 2009 06:15pm
Well said but why the useless Misbah ul Haq is not being mentioned here.What good he has done to Pakistan cricket since his inception in the team.All these so called heroes e:g, Misbah, Mohd.Yousuf, Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Shoaib Akhter should never be given any further chances in our team and save us from further disgrace.
Bring in a good batting coach and teach them modern technical batting procedures.Correct their batting and padding approach.Teach them how to play under stress.Take out the old horse Intikhab Alam (With due respect)and bring in modern batting coach.
PCB chairman please consider Pakistan first instead of favouritism.
Thanks
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Jul 15, 2009 06:52pm
Hi I share the same name with the ex captain of the team. I would love to hope to get the group of Shoaib Malik, Akmal, Misbah and the Mr Butt out of the team and rather have ban on the above mentioned players.
Please for God sake bring back Imran Nazir and Asim Kamal back in team.
I hope Akmal does not suffer more only because being from Karachi.
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Jul 15, 2009 06:57pm
Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant.... I had a dream too. It was short but sweet. I was DEMOCRATICALLY elected the President of Pakistan and the first thing I did...Ofcourse, made you the Chairman of PCB with dictatorial rights.
Keep it up.
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Jul 15, 2009 07:12pm
Good job Afridi for staying out and saving your reputation.
Finally I think they should surrender the T20. They don't deserve it. Sorry Paki team you are the most inconsistent team in the world.
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Jul 15, 2009 07:33pm
Rectification:
I hope Kamal (not Akmal) does not suffer more only because being from Karachi and not from Punjab.
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Jul 15, 2009 08:05pm
Heh,nice article, improved my mood considerably. However, immediately reading this article, I came back to my senses (or woke up from your dream) and realized that the problem is serious.
Then, I decided to put myself in your shoes. Here's how that exercise went:
1) I immediately promoted Aaquib Javed as bowling coach, increasing his salary, making him answerable to me, and not Inty (Skipper) Alam. I then fired Inty, and replaced him with a batsman coach, maybe Waugh or Gavaskar (borrowing from your dream, sorry)
2) Then I went ahead and re-appointed Abdul Qadir as chief selector, keeping the new selector system. The re-appointment came with strings attached, i.e. He would concentrate on his own job and not on anyone else's
3) In line with the way things work in Pakistan, i gave Younis more power to fashion the team according to his style. I also threatened him with grave consequences if he failed in his job. I can imagine Malik was fired for creating rifts, and Misbah was rested for poor form, thanks to my *advice*, of course.
3)I also completely revamped the First Class system. I consider it a dishonour that such a third rate tournament is blessed with Mr. Jinnah's title. I removed all Departmental and Local teams, and replaced them with franchised teams, 8 of them, each for a particular region. the departments were welcome to buy the franchises if they so wished. These 8 teams were to be heavily regulated as per international standards to ensure no corruption. And with me watching over, there's not a chance fo that happening. I also invited Shahbaz Sharif to join me to monitor the regulators for good measure.
4)I then went ahead and expanded NCA to have 8 "campuses" for each region. I then hired a lot more top ex-cricketers, each specializing in a skill (opening, middle order, lower order, fast bowling, leg spin, off spin, left arm spin) to monitor the talent at the top level to make sure they had the knowledge and technique to play on any surface.
5) Then, I began to remember more and more of your dream, and decided it wouldn't be such a bad idea to fire all those advisors, and anyone who's incompetent. I also sued Nasim Ashraf, his COO back in the day for the money they embezzled. To make sure that my wonderful administration wouldn't get corrupted, I pointed that gun at Zardari (and shaved his moustache off) to get him to resign as PCB Patron, and take the PCB out of the Ministry of Sports.
Then, I ran out of ideas and my dream ended (unlike yours which stopped before you got to Malik and Misbah)
Ciao!!!
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Jul 15, 2009 08:06pm
Trust you guys to bring religion in cricket. All this rubbish of SG saving a "Muslim" family, et al. Why can't cricket be just a game in Pakistan and cricketers, players of the game?
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Jul 15, 2009 09:54pm
What is the point of making fun of Mohammad Yousaf and his namaz??? He is our best player and his average and centuries per match is better than even Javed Miandad and Inzi.
You did not said anything about Khurram Manzoor but you were so harsh with Salman. Khurram has a bad batting technique and I am sure Salman Butt is technically better than him. Salman is out of form right now but he has performed well under pressure in the past.
Misbah played well in the first test and he was unlucky to be given LBW in the second innings of 2nd test.
It is great to see that new players like Alam, Amer and Ajmal have performed well. We always prasie these players when they win but we also need to support them in bad times.
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Jul 16, 2009 05:07am
We (Indians And Pakistanis) have a common problem, whenever we lose a series, we saw a lots of drawbacks in our team and whenever there is a victory (like T20 world cup), we became overjoyed. I feel what is required to have a proper programme to continuous growth of sub continent players. So please do something for the sake of Cricket.
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Jul 16, 2009 05:14am
Well I would say all of the above comments reflect the kind of love we all have for the game of cricket.
PCB is an enterprise which is worth Millions of dollars. It has been run by the people who have little or no knowledge of handling an enterprise of this massive scale. Pakistan's team has always been like a coin toss no one ever knows is it going to be heads or tails. Although we have seen so many disgraceful performances in the past but the recent double failure tops them all.
There are so many intelligent solutions given in this blog but let me assure all you, non of these are going to be adapted. So all we could do is pray and hope for the best like we do for our country.
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Jul 16, 2009 05:57am
One glaring ingredient which is missing in our team is intelligence. We have too many players with a gung ho & "Asee Sher hain jee" attitude. Look at all captains of good teams. What makes them shine is their intelligence.
Pakistan has lot of talent. Nurturing them is the real issue. Set up an Australian type academy, with players like Wasim & Miandad as Bowling & batting coaches. For fielding we need to import a coach from S. Africa or Australia. How can Intikhab qualify as a coach for any thing. He was a mediacore bowler and could not field or bat to save his life!!!
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Jul 16, 2009 05:59am
Imran Siddiqui
Dude, yours are the most disjointed suggestions.
1. Appoint Amir Sohail as the head of the selection committee? What in the world for? Exactly why do you think he would be better than Iqbal Qasim? Sohail was a disappointment as captain.
2. Cancel contracts of Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal for hurting Pakistan in trying to settle personal scores? Who apart from Sarfraz Nawaz thinks this way? Exactly why would these two be settling personal scores with Younus? Akmal was brilliant in the 20-20 Cup, wasn't he?
3. Find a top wicket keeper and not a wicket keeper/batsman? Today's cricket is ALL about wk/batsmen. The time of Wasim Baris is long over. Akmal remains to be the best there is in Pakistan.
4. Bring Yasir Hameed and Asim Kamal back in team? Asim hasn't played for ages and Yasser Hamid has been given enough opportunities. No need.
5. Fire Javed Miandad and ensure Wasim Akram and Ijaz Ahmed are no where close to the team? Again, what for??
You're sounding like Sarfraz Nawaz, buddy.
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Jul 16, 2009 07:53am
A very good and funny article. But..... in the circumstances of fear and violance in the country..... one should think and try to become a role model for the entire Pakistani community as 'People's Leader'.... not as 'PCB chairman'.
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Jul 16, 2009 08:24am
Dear All
Nice article. I our country Sri Lanka, we have a game for the new year which is to climb a planted pole (tree) which is heavily greased. Who ever reaches the top will be the winner. A player will climb efficiently and every one think that he is going to reach the top. Suddenly the grease will overtake him, and he will end up at the bottom of the tree as a loser. Can you compare your cricketers to this climber. Your team will perform well and you think they are the winners. Suddenly everything will collapse and the end will be disasterous. How many times this has happened?
I think you will achieve a world record for such awesome performance.
Wish you all the best.
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Jul 16, 2009 09:22am
Mohd Yousof isn't a machine; you wake up and there is a century on the scorecard. It is futile to expect one player to hit a century any time, the question is what are Malik, Misbah, and Akmal doing in the team? What have they got to do with test cricket and, increasingly, the 50-over format.
There is talent like Fawad Alam, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Ahmed Shehzad, yet we have got our head buried under the sand of 20-run players who have no potential whatsoever at test level cricket. Imagine Malik or Misbah playing for Australia, South Africa, or India? I don't imagine them playing Ranjhi trophy. This is the heart of the problem, poor team selection: we need to play 6 batsmen, like every other good team, who are batsmen like Mohd Yousof, Younis Khan, and Fawad Alam, not 20-run start players like Malik and Misbah are. Apologies if this sounds a bit harsh, but Pakistan's problem lay bare in poor team selection, not one player who is going to come like tarzan and make a 100 each time.
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Jul 16, 2009 11:37am
Ah are we serious here, me as PCB Chairmen?! What a dream come true, because everytime i see our team loose to ourselves rather then opponent, i feel wow we need some serious management. A management that makes the team believe in its leader, which the management picked. I could go on and on with the issue of our PCB, but the bottom line the managements inadequacy is hurting our team, the results of your games, the overall ranking of Pakistani cricket and also the way our cricket is seen in the eyes of the world. I need not say more, just hire me, and with a little fine tuning and common sense, we'll be at our best in all forms of the game.
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Jul 16, 2009 01:05pm
hahahaha :D
cant stop laughing!
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Jul 16, 2009 01:45pm
The last dream that I read and was inspired by was from MLK. Great work!! Someone please share with the PCB chairman and the PCT.
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Jul 16, 2009 07:34pm
Actually I recently applied for a job in PCB as I am a banker with thirty years experience with marketing, finance, administration and management skills but unfortunately I did not have the courtesy of a reply from Mr Wasim Bari who is incharge of Human Resources. I am also like so many of my fellow Pakistanis very passionate about Pakistan cricket and have played and followed our team for over forty years. I also have very good understanding of international cricket and domestic cricket in UK.
If I was made Chairman of PCB I would make lots of changes (too many to mention here) and my priorities would be as follows:
1. Get rid of all inefficient people and especially those who have got a job in PCB due to nepotism.
2. Only employ people on merit and those who can make significant contribution to Pakistan cricket in terms of honesty, hard work, commitment, professionalism, dedication, efficiency with the ability to organise and promote cricket throughout Pakistan.
3. Winning for the national team in all forms of the game is important, therefore it is imperative we have the right selectors, right captain and right players who are not only talented but prepared to give 100% commitment to Team Pakistan.
4. Make domestic cricket so strong that it is continuously producing quality professional players rather than just relying on luck. Additionally, efforts should be made to make domestic cricket so competitive with high standards that there is interest locally like it is the case for example with county cricket in England.
5. There should be full accountability and if someone is not making a contribution, whether it be administrators, coaches or players they should be removed.
As far as the current national team is concerned I think Yunus Khan is a good captain for all forms of cricket but there are certain players who do not deserve a place in all forms of the game. For example Shoaib Malik is not a test player whilst Salman Butt is not ODI / T20 player.
For the third test match against Sri Lanka I would select following XI:
1. Salman Butt / Khurram Manzoor (although I think we should pursue with Salman Butt.
2. Kamran Akmal (last chance and if he fails he should be dropped).
3. Yunus Khan
4. Mohammed Yusuf
5. Misbah Ul Haq (last chance and if he fails he should be dropped).
6. Fawad Alam (he is not an opener and he will serve Pakistan better in the middle order).
7. Faisal Iqbal
8. Abdul Razzaq
9. Umar Gul
10.Mohammed Aamir
11.Saeed Ajmal / Danish Kaneria.
Obviously later in the year Mohammed Asif and Shahid Afridi should be included in the team and perhaps Shahid Afridi should be encouraged to take responsibility and open for Pakistan. He is also a quality leg spinner which would permit Pakistan to play two spinners in the test team.
In the recent Pakistan A team two players have stood out, one is Umar Akmal and the other Sarfraz Ahmed and these two surely must be given opportunity to represent Pakistan in test matches.
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Jul 18, 2009 07:16am
First give rest to Shoaib Malik & Misbah. Call new talent like Umer Akmal. Confine Kamran Akmal to ODIs, only go for Sarfaraz in tests.
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Jul 18, 2009 11:03am
My Test team would include Shahid Afridi. His contribution as a Test match strike bowler would be invaluable. While he has been inconsistent in the past, he has the potential to be an asset in the middle order if he consisently demonstrates common sense while batting as he did during the recent T20 World Cup.
My TEST team for the 2009/2010 season:
1. Salman Butt or Khurram Manzoor (either one is a gamble)
2. Fawad Alam - while he is not a natural opener, he should be given a chance to prove that his 100 in SL was no fluke.
3. Younis Khan
4. Mo Yousuf
5. Umar Akmal (his scintillating form against Australia A was an eye opener)
6. Shahid Afridi (playing him as an opener in a Test would be too risky)
7. Kamran Akmal (Safraz Ahmed as backup in case KA fails to perform consistently)
8. Umar Gul
9. Saeed Ajmal
10. M. Asif
11. M. Aamer
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Jul 18, 2009 01:03pm
My name is Shaiza Khan, President Pakistan Women's Cricket Control Association - Pioneers of women's cricket in Pakistan. VICTIM OF PCB's DICTATORSHIP!!
IF I had the dictatorial powers as a chairperson of Pakistan Cricket Board........I would definately take the following actions...!
1) I would finish the dictatorial powers and re-instate the Full Council of PCB - the company.
2) Request the withdrawal of PCB's Notification of being a Statutory body (which is illegally running parallel to PCB- the company)which I guess was only introduced so that Chairmen i.e. Tauqir Zia, Shahryar Khan, Naseem Ashraf and currently Ijaz Butt could take FULL advantage of corruption by selling off PCB's property and personally pocketing the money etc..
3) Get rid off the characters such as ZAKIR KHAN, Wasim Bari.....people who seem to find a key position under every chairman. These are the people who introduce themselves to the PCB chairmen and guide them as where the loop-holes are.
At least Zakir Khan should be held accountable not only for misguiding the Chairmen but also because he was in charge of security when 11 people died in an ambush on Sri Lanka's Team March 3, 2009.
4) Make all accounts public and make sure that previous chairmen are publicly tried.
5)Give the Full council their authorities and overlook their committments.
ONLY people on merit, whatever post/position it may be would be employed or engaged to run the affairs of PCB.
Above all the former and present stars/players should be given full respect on and off the field. Honoring them for the laurels that they have brought to our beloved country pakistan. It is because of these players PCB is PCB!!
It goes without saying that women cricketers will get the same respect as male cricketers and there will be NO sex discrimination. Pakistan will be well rid off from the likes of Shirins, Azras, Meeras, Shamsas....the list is endless!!
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Jul 18, 2009 07:09pm
I rather not indulge in a fantasy land. I highly doubt things are going to get any better. You forgot these players come from the land of Paki and anything that is wrong with the country reflects in their performance. Players are no different than the people back home. We as people are liars, cheaters, spineless, dishonest, lazy, backstabbers, uncommitted, selfish and have absolutely no vision of future in personal lives as well as for the country. By the way, winning the T20 did not change my view about my countrymen. We the people, our institutions, our intellect and academia are all so disconnected with the real world. Specifically, this guy Ijaz Butt who has absolutely no clue what needs to be done in terms of bringing cricket back. His answer to every critique; Just walk out of the meeting.. HA HA. Someday as country we will walk out of this so called planet earth.
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Jul 19, 2009 03:00pm
We all know that dreams remain dreams and seldom come true.
However, there is no harm in dreaming since talking about them on a great Dawn.com forum like this, might help to improve our imagination skills and help us all to talk about them, as we all are doing right now.
In reality, it's impossible for a PCB chief to have dictatorial powers in the land of the pure.
In fact, after the late A.H. Kardaar, to whom everybody used to address as "Captain' due to the utmost respect he used to enjoy in cricket circles,I haven't come across a PCB chief who has been as much powerful as he was because of his glittering background, knowledge of the game and the services rendered by him to the noble game of cricket in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Let me share this news with the readers and writers of this great forum that I have the honor of meeting up with A.H. Kardaar during his last days in Switzerland, where he was the ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
As long as we have "Dummy and Powerless" PCB chiefs like the current one, including at least three of his predecessors, cricket in Pakistan will be played on ad hoc basis only. As a result, we all will keep on sweating about one debacle in the cricket team or the other, like the recent two defeats against Sri Lanka.
One thing is for sure, there is tremendous talent in the land of the pure in every department and cricket is no exception to it. I have personally seen, observed and played against many talented cricketers of Pakistani origin in many countries of the world including Pakistan and somehow, they always have got out-standing talents no matter which department of cricket they excel in.
Last but not the least, the only person I could think of in Pakistan who have got the necessary skills, traits and who commands the necessary respect and admiration in the global cricket fraternity is Imran Khan.
Only the great Khan can re-build and revive the ruins of the cricket infra structure in the land of the pure. He can also bring back those glorious days of Pakistani cricket when even teams like Australia, England, India and West Indies were really afraid of facing our quick bowlers and playing against us. I can quote many incidents here but let's think of the 1992 world cup win in Australia - by far the most glittering feather in the hat of Pakistani cricket.
Is Imran Khan ready to lead once again and pull the Pakistani cricket out of the deep hole?
Unfortunately, the right answer to this million dollar question to the disappointment of all cricket lovers of the green-shirts is a big "NO"
Pakistan Zindaa Baad. Pakistani Cricketers Paeenda Baad.
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Jul 20, 2009 12:13pm
If I were the PCB chairman, I would get rid of Younis Khan as whenever he has failed, he has never taken the blame himself our greats have been taking. Instead has always blamed others like those people whose captainship he has taken by introducing rifts in the team as soon as his inclusion was done. Look at his performances. First test - 1st innings 25runs, 2nd innings - 3 runs. Total 28 runs. Shoaib Malik - 1st innings 38 runs, 2nd innings 0 runs. Total 38 runs. Younis Khan 2nd Test - 1st innings - 0runs, 2nd innings - 82 runs. Total 82 runs. Shoaib Malik - 1st innings 39 runs, 2nd innings 6 runs. Total 45 runs. Younis Khan 3rd Test - 1st Innings - 0 runs. Shoaib Malik still going strong with 27 runs notout. Where is the captains innings and where are his responsibilities. Whenever he has been given a chance, if the team succeeds, he takes all the credit just like his former Imran Khan where he took like him all the credit of the win of T20 world cup. I think Younis Khan is the weakest player of all the captains we have ever had. Get rid of him and bring back Shoaib Malik as the captain as Pakistan did do wonders when he was captain with a very young side at hand. As soon as senior players were brought in, his team started performing badly and he was always blamed and like tigers he took all the responsibility.
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Jul 26, 2009 11:02am
good reading !!!
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Aug 11, 2009 03:01am
Presidential Yoke and PCB - Change long overdue
Domestic set up is flawed!
Recent statement by Younis Khan concerning the set up of cricket in the country but either it's a case of late revelation to the chiding Pakistan captain or a rude awakening in the light of continuous defeats suffered in both tests and ODI
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