Pakistan Cricket: Why Shahid Afridi Retired?

Pakistan Cricket has got another bad blow…They lost their first test against Australia at Lord’s by 152 runs. But the real blow was that their newly appointed captain Shahid Afridi has announced retirement from Test Cricket, allowing Salman Butt to lead Pakistan Cricket team in the rest of test matches Pakistan team is set to play against Aussies and England

Well, this is unfortunate for Pakistan Cricket. Whenever it seems that Pakistan team is showing some signs of improvement, another blow controversy them. Pakistan won the 2-match T20 cricket series against Australia. Their supporters and critics have started to call it a new beginning for Pakistani Cricket team. They started off well in the Lord’s test; especially their bowling has been excellent. But their weak point was inexperienced and inconsistent batting line-up. And that’s what cost them the match. They were bowled out for a mere 148 in the first innings.

Although they started off well in 2^nd innings chasing 420, Pakistan got a good start, thanks to Salman Butt. They looked focused until Salman Butt was stumped off the bowling of North. And after that, the Pakistan batsmen looked like they were playing a practice match. Coming in, slogging, and getting out cheaply. No one looked like playing a test match.

And just after this defeat, Shahid Afridi came out and announced his retirement from Test cricket.

All this was very sad. I think Afridi led the side quite well. Pakistani Cricket team played reasonably good cricket except their poor batting performance, which was very much expected. But, I think, the abrupt announcement of Shahid Afridi’s retirement was the biggest drawback. 

Yes, Afridi was never a test cricketer. But he has accepted the test captaincy. He should not have accepted the responsibility if he was not sure about his place in the Test XI. All this has sent a message of chaos and uncertainty, which the Pakistani team wanted to get rid of.

All this shows how Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is handling the cricket affairs of Pakistan. I must say, PCB chairman Mr. Ejaz Butt is the most incompetent chairman in the history of PCB, or even in the cricket world. This man has only brought crises after crises in Pakistan cricket. From the attack on Sri Lankan team to the pathetic series in Australia, Pakistan cricket had to pay (and is still paying) the price of the hasty, short-sighted and dishonest decisions from Ejaz Butt. He is such a mis-fit in PCB that without his exit from PCB, I don’t see any improvement in Pakistan Cricket team.

Anyways, I wish a good luck to Salman Butt and his men and hope that his team performs well against Aussies and England.

Your Turn Now: Do you think Shahid Afridi has done the right thing by taking Retirement from Test? Is Salman Butt a good choice as Captain? Will the Pakistan team perform well now? Or Anything Else…Tell in Your COMMENTS!

Can Pakistan Cricket Team beat Australia at Lords?

Pakistan cricket team is set to play their first Cricket Test against Australian Cricket team at the Lords from 13^th July. This is the first ‘Away’ Test series of Pakistan Cricket team. Pakistani team will play 2 Tests in this series against the Aussies.

Pakistan Cricket is in a recovery phase. The trauma that started from their Australian tour earlier this year in which Pakistani cricket team lost literally every match of series. And the controversies that hit Pakistan Cricket were destructive.

However, Pakistan team has a new captain, Shahid Afridi, the boom boom. Afridi has shown that team spirit and unity can change the whole scenario. The Pakistani team that looked like minnows, has now turned into a cornered tiger. They have already beating Australia in the 2 T20 matches. Yes, the T20 is a lot more different than the Test cricket but victory is a victory at the end of the day.

So, can Pakistan Cricket team win the Test Series? Well, it’s a very tricky question. Let’s analyze the two teams.

Day/Night Test: The Only Way To Survive for Test Cricket?

Cricket needs change! Ever since the first Cricket Test match played between England & Australian Cricket teams, in 1877, Cricket has gone through many changes. And now, most critics believe that some rigorous changes need to be made to the Test Cricket in order to keep it alive!

Test Cricket is the purest form of the game. Cricket, widely considered as World’s 2^nd most famous sport, has gone through different forms of transformation in the last 133 years. From 8-ball over to 6-ball over, from white uniform to colored team kit, from Red ball to White ball, and from 5-day cricket to 1-day cricket and now the 20-over cricket and so on.

The most recent change that everyone is talking about is the Day/Night Test. The proposed idea is said to be important in terms of avoiding the death of Test Cricket. Most of the heavy weights have supported this idea. Former Australian captain Steve Waugh, and the Indian Cricket legend, Rahul Dravid, have also supported the D/N Test Cricket idea, so as Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan Cricket team skipper.

Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has also backed this idea of Day/Night Test matches. MCC is widely considered as the Conservative Guardians of Cricket tradition. In recently held meeting of MCC, it was agreed upon that the Day/Night Test matches were the only way to salvage the longest version of the game. The MCC has also raised concerns about the percentage of the audience who see Test Matches in India, which is only 11% of the total Indian audience watching all formats of the sport.

As proposed, the Day/Night Test matches will be played with

ICC: India Rules Cricket Australia Out?

Australian Cricket is continuously under pressure. First the Australian cricket team has lost its consistency. And now, the Cricket Australia, Australian cricket board, seems to have started losing its influence on World Cricket affairs.

John Howard, the former Prime Minister of Australia, has been rejected for the post of Vice President of ICC, in the Executive meeting of the Cricket’s governing body held in Singapore on Tuesday. John was the candidate nominated by Australia & New Zealand, but only England (apart from the nominators) voted in favor of his run for the Vice Presidency. A vast majority, featuring the Cricket boards of Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa and West Indies voted against John Howard. Cricket analysts fear that this development has raised the concerns of division of World Cricket in 2 parts: “White” & “Non-White nations”!

John Howard is not a new name in Cricket World. As Australian Premiere, he has raised voice against different issues related to Cricket. Especially, Howard has severely criticized Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe. He has also invited anger from Sri Lanka for supporting ban on Muttiah Muralitharan for his ‘illegal’ arm action. 

In the same meeting of ICC board members, India’s Sharad Pawar has taken up the responsibility as the President of ICC. Pawar was former chairman of BCCI, the Indian Cricket Board. 

Now ICC has asked Australia & New Zealand Cricket boards to nominate someone else for this post.  

To me, John Howard’s rejection is not a big issue. But what is more significant is that the ICC Executive Board has divided into 2 blocs. If you look at the past

Worst Ever Pakistan Cricket Team For England?

Well, Pakistan Cricket Board has done it again! Pakistani Cricket team is due to tour England from the next week where Pakistan Cricket Team is going to play against the hosts, England, and the World Champions Australia.

What Pakistan Cricket Board has done this time is not new though. The one-man show continues to run in PCB. Mr. Ejazz Butt, the king of Pakistan Cricket, is absolutely free to make decisions. It only happens in Pakistan Cricket, that the Chairman of Cricket Board announces the team in the Press Conference with the Chief Selector sitting beside him during Asia Cup-2010!

As expected, the Pakistani Cricket Team announced for England tour has raised many eye-brows. The Pakistani Cricket team includes names like Shoaib Malik, Imran Farhat, and Kamran Akmal and excluding Younis Khan, Asim Kamal, Abdul Rahman and Sarfaraz Ahmed.

The most unfortunate news is that Pakistani Cricket team’s

Pakistan Cricket Team: Crisis Or Bad Luck!

Now, I feel sorry for Pakistan Cricket team. Yes, they lack consistency, but their recent record in Cricket does not realistically highlight the quality cricket they have been playing.

It all started from the ICC Champions Trophy in 2009. Pakistan, the-then T20 World Champions, played against New Zealand in the Semi-finals. Pakistan Cricket Team played well, the game was very close, but New Zealand managed to hold their nerves and won the match.

Then Pakistani Cricket team toured New Zealand in the end of 2009. Pakistani team was winning the first test but eventually lost to the Kiwis by 32 runs on the last day. Pakistan Cricket team comprehensively won the 2^nd Cricket Test by 141 runs but the final match was without result. The series was drawn 1-1.

Just before the end of New Zealand tour, Pakistani

Can Cricket Compete With Football?

The biggest sport event on Earth, the FIFA World Cup-2010 is about to begin. Being held in South Africa, this will be the 19^th edition of the World’s most popular global event. FIFA World Cup is truly the biggest sports event when it comes to the craze, popularity and devotion. Even the Olympic Games cannot compete with the excitement and craziness that a FIFA world cup ignites. Soccer world cup is such a big event that people (like me) who normally do not follow football, are bound to take interest in the game!

Football or Soccer is the planets’ most popular game. Soccer has the world’s largest fan following on Earth. It’s fast, it’s exciting and it’s highly competitive. People are crazy about Football.

FIFA, the Federation of International Football Association, is the worlds’ most influential and powerful sport governing body.

So, why I opted to write on Soccer World Cup-2010? Actually, I got the feeling that I should write something about the comparison between Cricket & Soccer, or ICC & FIFA, for that matter.

Soccer is said to have a Chinese origin, where it was discovered by the English and is now the most followed sport in 93 countries with a two-billion population. 

FIFA has 208 member nations. The English Premier League (EPL) and the Champions League are the most popular football leagues. Soccer also has the largest base of diehard fans, players and professional leagues in the world’s largest economy, Europe.

As mentioned above, the FIFA World Cup is the biggest and most lucrative sporting event in the world. The 2006 tournament, involving 64 matches, 32 nations and television coverage in 214 countries, had a cumulative television audience of 26 billion people. According to another report, the final between Italy and France was watched by 700 million viewers.

Well, everybody knows Soccer or Football is the world’s most popular sport. But which sport comes 2^nd, it is highly debatable. The popularity level is measured in terms of total estimated followers/fans for a particular sport. The most recent records as

Pak V Aus: Was Sydney Test Fixed? ICC Investigates!

Well again the Pandora Box of Match-Fixing in Pakistan Cricket has been opened. I feel very sorry to see Pakistani cricketers been accused of match-fixing. This is not new though. We have already talked about Match-Fixing phenomenon right after the Australian tour of Pakistan Cricket team in the previous post.

So what’s new then? Actually a video is being shown on different news channels and on the web in which Pakistani Cricketers are shown expressing their views in front of the Probing Committee of Pakistan Cricket Board, which was formed to investigate the worst ever tour of Pakistan team to Australia. In this video, team management raised their concerns about the possible involvement of some players in Match-Fixing during the Austrlia-New Zealand tour of the Pakistan team.

In the same video, players like Shahid Afridi and Mohammed Yousaf, who captained the side during the tour have criticized Shoaib Malik for his back-biting, negative behavior, indiscipline and politics. Now these are some serious allegations. But I am surprised that such a player has only got a ban of 1 year and a 20 million rupee fine. And players like Mohammed Yousaf and Younis Khan have been banned for indefinite period, although they were not charge with such severe allegations.

I always wonder, why these ‘great’ heroes of Pakistan Cricket, sell their

T20 World Cup-2010: A Cricket Failure?

The World T20 Cup-2010 has come to end with a historical win of England. Yes, England the land where Cricket was born. But it is shocking for most of the people that this is the first ever ICC title for England in the history of Cricket.

I personally believe England truly deserved to win this title. They have been far much superior than any other team in this tournament. Even Australia had seen some ups and downs. Especially the Semi-final against Pakistan has been termed as the Match of the Tournament. Where Michael Hussy took simply demolished the Pakistan bowling to take his team into the finals.

Many people asked whether Pakistan deserved a place in the Semi-finals. But the way Pakistan played in the Semi-final against Australia all these mouths are shut now. Pakistan was the first team in the World T20 Cup-2010 that troubled Australia. And Pakistan always won the match, had Hussy not showed his powerful display of batting.

The most disappointing efforts came from

T20 World Cup-2010: Miracle in Cricket?

Miracles do happen. This can be proved by what happened to Pakistan Cricket team in ICC T20 World Cup-2010 when they eventually booked their seat for the Semi-Final of T20 World Cup-2010.

Pakistan had lost their first 2 matches of Super-8 round. They were almost out of the Semi-Final race. And then we saw that miracle. Pakistan won their last Super-8 match and then on the same day, England beat New Zealand to take Pakistan to the Semi-Finals of T20 World Cup-2010.

Pakistan team is highly fortunate and the other two teams left out of mega tournament were a lot unlucky, especially South Africa who have been labeled ‘Chokers’ due to their habit of losing the important matches.

South Africa were looking very impressive except their defeat to India in the first round. However, they lost important match against England in the Super-8 round and then they were beaten by Pakistan in the final match.

New Zealand, on the other hand also lacks

Can Pakistan Play T20 World Cup Semi Final?

Sluggish - The least one can say about the performance of Pakistan Cricket Team in the match against England.  And after losing a close match to New Zealand, people can only hope Pakistan qualifies for the Semi-finals of the T20 World Cup-2010.

Pakistan were playing the first match of their Super-8 round in the ICC T20 World Cup-2010, being played in West Indies. Pakistan batted first and could only score 147 despite a start. As usual, the poor batting forms of all the batsmen stopped Pakistan from getting a higher score.

In response, Pakistan Fielding was just good enough to help England achieve the target. Not only the batting failed for Pakistan, the bowling was also terrible. And fielding… well don’t ask me.

Saeed Ajmal was truly the hero for England. This man

ICC T20 World Cup-2010: An India-Pakistan Comparison

In Twenty20 Cricket you will find two strongest teams: Pakistan and India. India was the champion of the first T20 World Cup in 2008, while Pakistan was the champion in the 2^nd T20 World Cup in 2009. And this is the third edition of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup-2010. All eyes are again on these two teams, who will win, who will lose in T20 World Cup-2010? India and Pakistan have played both group matches in the ICC T20 World Cup-2010. I thought it’s a good time to compare the performance of both these teams in T20 World Cup-2010 so far.

India and Pakistan are archrivals and when these two play, it’s not easy to sit calmly in front of the TV set, especially, if you are an Indian or a Pakistani. India, Pakistan Cricket rivalry has been adding beauty to the game ever since they played each other for the first time. Especially, their record in Twenty20 World Cup has been outstanding against each other.

India and Pakistan, both have started T20 World Cup-2010 as favorites. However, India has

ICC T20 World Cup: Who is Favorite?

Twenty20 (T20) Cricket seems to have overshadowed the International Cricket. After 42-day extravaganza of IPL, Twenty20 World Cup (T20 World Cup-2010) is going to start from April 30.

This year will see the third edition of T20 World Cup. The inaugural T20 World Cup was won by India in 2008 when they beat archrival Pakistan in the Final. The second Twenty20 World Cup was won by Pakistan, beating Sri Lanka in the Final. This year T20 World Cup will be played in West Indies.

The question everyone is asking now is who will win the Twenty20 World Cup-2010. The answer, of course, is not easy!

Pakistan has the best record in Twenty20 World Cup, they are the only team to reach the final of the first two T20 World Cup tournaments, could only won the last T20 World Cup in 2009. Pakistan also has the best winning ratio in Twenty20 World Cup with 22 wins, 7 losses and 1 no-result.  However, Pakistan team for Twenty20 World Cup-2010 misses key senior players due to injuries/bans. Shahid Afridi, the skipper, is sure to make his team fight hard to win Twenty20 World Cup-2010.

Another favorite of T20 World Cup-2010 is India. India also has the privilege

Sania Mirza Weds Shoaib Malik Against All Odds

Finally, the hot Sania Mirza weds Shoaib Malik. Hot Sania Mirza is a super tennis star of India, and shoaib Malik, a former Pakistan Captain. Yes it sounds odd.  But it’s a reality now.

The sizzling Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik won the battle against all the odds. Sania Mirza’s wedding with Shoaib Malik was not a child’s play. It’s like crossing a river of fire for both, Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik. When the news broke out that hot Sania Mirza will marry Pakistan’s Shoaib Malik, nobody believed it. This disbelief was not because Sania Mirza was a bigger celebrity than Shoaib Malik (although I believe so); nor it was because Sania Mirza wedding will end up her tennis career: The biggest thing stopping everyone to believe was that hot Sania Mirza would marry a Pakistani! “Impossible”, everyone said (including me)!

Hot Sania Mirza is a role model for the Indian women. Sania Mirza was a tennis superstar. Sania Mirza gave hope to the young tennis players in India. Sania Mirza was remarkable with achievements in her very short successful career. Hot Sania Mirza had to face different controversies

Hot: IPL, Sania Mirza, Sushmita Sen, Bollywood?

Well, it’s all happening! The Indian Premiere League (IPL) in full swing; Hot Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik wedding, Ayesha Siddiqui’s plea for divorce,  Bollywood losing to Indian Premiere League (IPL-2010), Wasim Akram having fun with another hot Sushmita Sen…. Whoosh…!

I couldn’t decide which topic I should choose to write on. Indian Premiere League (IPL), Sania Mirza-Shoaib Malik-Ayesha Siddiqui triangle, Bollywood, Wasim Akram-Sushmita Sen affair or what? Finally I decided to discuss all these in one single post, isn’t it great!

The hottest topic these days on all the Indian channels is the Hot Sania Mirza-Shaoaib Malik wedding. The Sania Mirza, Shoaib Malik wedding news has left behind the Indian Premiere League (IPL-2010) in hype and sensation. I am sure Lalit Modi, the commissioner of Indian Premiere League (IPL) must be annoyed with all this. After all, Indian Premiere League (IPL) has overshadowed all other stories in India. Even, Bollywood, the Indian film industry, has been hit hard by the Indian Premiere League (IPL-2010).

Bollywood films like Love, Sex Aur Dhoka, Well Done Abba, Hum Tum Aur Ghost, Mittal V/s Mittal, Prem Kaa Game and

Sania Mirza Weds Shoaib Malik: Tennis Ball On Cricket Pitch!!

By: Sana Khan

A surprising but pleasant news hit the world this week when the two sports stars from Pakistan and India confirmed their engagement reports. Shoaib Malik, the former Pakistan Cricket Captain and Hot and sizzling Sania Mirza, the top Indian Tennis Star are going to get married in the mid of April.

This is not the first time a wedding is being taken place between an Indo-Pak couple: There are plenty of such examples including former Pakistan Cricket Star and current Chief Selector of Pakistan Cricket Team, Mohsin Khan who married Rina Rai, an Indian Film Actress. Apart from the celebrities from India and Pakistan, there are dozens of couples belonging to the two rival countries and living a happy life together.

The Pakistan Cricket star Shoaib Malik hails from Sialkot, Punjab. Sania Mirza, on the other hand belongs to a Hyderabad Deccan, India. Both are Muslims.

I was personally shocked to hear this news, because there is no match between hot Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik. Oh come on, these two are totally different individuals, from totally different backgrounds, play totally different sports, and represent totally different (in fact, rival) countries. But maybe this is why it is said that couples are made up in the skies! In other words, “Rub Ney Bana Di Jorri…”

But there is one common thing between Shoaib Malik and hot Sania Mirza (of course, apart from being Muslims), and that is

Match-Fixing: Which Pakistan Cricket Players Are Involved & Why?

This has not happened for the first time with Pakistan Cricket supporters. Yes I am talking about Match-Fixing in Pakistan Cricket. When everyone in Pakistan, support the Pakistan Cricket Team, they pray for their national Cricket team’s success, they talk about Pakistan Cricket Team and Pakistan Cricket players with great passion, love and respect. Why these ‘great’ heroes of Pakistan Cricket, sell their national pride for a small sum of money. The Match-Fixing is a monster which has swallowed the pride of Pakistan Cricket; it has brought shame, disrespect and humiliation to the Pakistan Cricket and disappointment for the Die-hard lovers of Pakistan Cricket.

Why am I writing about Match-Fixing today? Because I just read news about a Senate’s Committee of Sports, who has held a meeting with top brass of Pakistan Cricket Board, including Mr. Ejaz Butt, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board. After the session, the senators told the media that “We have witnessed some solid evidence suggesting that more than one player of the current Pakistan Cricket team was involved in match-fixing”. The senators also said that the “evidences were circumstantial but convincing”.

In one of my earlier posts, I had strongly supported the bans, fines on Pakistan Cricket (you can read this post to know the reasons why I supported the decision).  But at that time, it was not clear that one of the reasons behind these penalties were Match-Fixing. I can’t understand why the hell in this world only Pakistan Cricket players are accused of Match-Fixing. Why Pakistan Cricket heroes sell their identity, their pride, the love of their fans for earning a few dollars? Are they morally dead?

It has been confirmed that Ex-captains of Pakistan Cricket team, Younis Khan, Mohammed Yousaf, and Shahid Afridi were not involved in Match-Fixing. And I firmly believe (somehow) that none of these players can be involved in such a criminal activity as Match-Fixing. However, the reports suggest that the players of Pakistan Cricket Team who are involved in Match Fixing

Indefinite Ban on Younis, Yousaf: Pakistan Cricket in Shambles?

I was shocked (just like all of you) when I heard this news. Pakistan Cricket got a bad day. There were media reports about one year ban on Pakistan Cricket players, Shoaib Malik and Rana Naveed-ul-Hassan and fines on Shahid Afridi (the Boom Boom of Pakistan Cricket), Kamran Akmal, and Umer Akmal, but no one was expecting a lifetime ban on players like Younis Khan and Mohammed Yousaf who are the backbone of Pakistan Cricket Team.

In the last post I had discussed about the Pakistan Cricket Board Committee’s Recommendation on Bans, Fines of Pakistan Cricket Players. In that post I had supported the committee’s recommendations for the ban and fine on Pakistan Cricket Players citing the different reasons. However, when I read the news about the lifetime ban on Mohammed Yousaf and Younis Khan, I was totally surprised. Both them are the most senior, experienced and skillful batsmen in the Pakistan Cricket Team.

So, what’s my take on this decision from Pakistan Cricket Board? Well, I totally support the Bans and Fines on Pakistan Cricket Players. I know some of the bans (especially the ones imposed on Mohammed Yousaf & Younis Khan) seem to be a bit harsh, but let me tell you

PCB Committee Recommends Ban, Fines on Pakistan Players: Right Or Wrong?

At last there is some ‘good’ news from PCB: The board’s committee designed to probe the Pakistan’s pathetic tour of Australia earlier this year, has come up with some solid decisions. The committee led by Waseem Bari, has recommended the PCB to do the following actions:

>Ban on Rana Naveed-ul-Hassan & Shoaib Malik for 12 months; 

>Fines of Rs.3 Million each on Shahid Afridi, Umer Akmal, and Kamran Akmal.

Why I call this as good news: Well, I just posted the last story about The Dilemma of Pakistan Cricket! in which I  talked about the underlying reasons behind the pathetic performance of Pakistan Cricket team. Among other problems I pointed out that the lack of accountability is the core problem facing Pakistan Cricket. And today, at least the PCB has taken actions against some of the culprits in the team.

The recommendations of the committee are not surprising at all. I personally feel, and I believe most of the cricket fans feel the same way, that there are groupings in the team; players are not playing for the team; players are rather playing for

The dilemma of Pakistan Cricket!

Have you ever thought why there are so many problems with Pakistan Cricket or any other sport for that matter, like Hockey?

Believe you me, like all of you, I am also disappointed with the performance of Pakistan Cricket team in the recent times. Except from the T20 World Cup, Pakistan’s performance has been rather humiliating. But what is more important is the reason behind such a ‘consistent’ poor show. Well, of course there are many reasons behind the Pakistan cricket disaster. But I believe the root cause is Politics!

To me, the major reason is the way the institutions are run in Pakistan; like other institutions, the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board or the Pakistan Hockey Federation (for that matter) are appointed by the President of Pakistan. There is no criteria whatsoever that can be followed in this process. Since nothing in Pakistan is free of politics, the appointment of the head of PCB is mainly undertaken on