There’s never a dull moment in Shoaib Akhtar’s life. He is always in the news for one reason or the other. Sometimes it is his shaky fitness that forces him not to play international cricket and on other occasions he is facing some kind of charge that keeps him under the spotlight.
The latest being that Shoaib has been fined $3,000 for leaving the fitness and training camp early at the National Stadium, Karachi, and without seeking the manager’s approval as well as not being present at the disciplinary hearing. The camp comprised fitness drills as well as practice Twenty20 matches between the two probable teams in order to prepare for the forthcoming inaugural Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa.
As he returned to international cricket after a long lay-off due to injury and a ban related to charges of using performance-enhancing drugs, Shoaib was, as expected, eager to prove a point. The point, however, was dismissed ruthlessly by the surprisingly assertive batsmen on the opposing team who, for a change, looked in command while out in the middle. The show of power owed much, though, to the flat track and the scorching Karachi afternoons that had deprived the speed-merchant of the vigour and zeal that’s associated with his bowling.
Add to all of that, the question mark over his fitness. Shoaib faced a severe case of dehydration and was ushered back to the caring hands of the trainer in the dressing room. What followed was a broken mirror, a complaint of a stiff neck and Shoaib was never again witnessed at the camp.
The team of selectors then announced the 15-man squad to board the plane to South Africa for the championship and Shoaib’s name, along with many others’ whose wasn’t, made the headlines. Shoaib has played only a solitary day of Test cricket and a handful of ODIs in the last 14 months. He was pulled out from the Champions Trophy after a urine sample proved he had taken nandrolone, a performance-enhancing drug. Different versions were presented to the jury as to why and how that substance made its way into his, and Mohammad Asif’s, body. And as we all saw, Shoaib and Asif were cleared.
What followed was a day in the field against South Africa where we all thought Shoaib was back. A satisfying performance and a televised argument later (with the coach Bob Woolmer at the time), Shoaib was back on the stretcher again. Omitted from the West Indies-bound team for the World Cup due to injury concerns (although the nandrolone-factor won more votes from the doubters) Shoaib’s career was sliding back into oblivion, as far as his cricket was concerned, at least.
As with injuries with him before, Shoaib emerged confident and ‘fitter’, although he wasn’t selected for the Abu Dhabi tour and was later dropped from the Asian XI squad for fitness reasons and was said to be carrying extra baggage after the training camp in Abbottabad. The determination and the will to prove them wrong took Shoaib on a rectification path and the lighter international load allowed him to ‘invest time in himself’.
Shoaib’s attitude has always been mystifying. Even his peers have taken to that. Inzamam’s public outburst against him during the home series against England, when he ‘chose’ not to bowl and was duly able to smack a few around the ground, being the prime example. Shoaib has been tagged his own man, an individual, a spotlight-hogger. He, in my opinion, with over 370 international wickets and a horde of bruises that he inflicted on batsmen (physically and psychologically) does deserve some.
Shoaib’s aggression off the field, however, remains mysterious and bewildering. However, it’s the attitude of those who don’t know him and still choose to comment is more shocking. The mirror incident at the training camp was a frustration-venting act. The alleged violence and usage of obscene language at the PCB headquarters that landed him the latest of his fines was apparently brewed by an official’s tone while speaking to his family. However, what the world saw was a broken mirror and heard an array of foul words.
Going by the one-off meeting, I would say Shoaib is just about as human as any of us. He had aspired to become the world’s fastest bowler. He has had problems within his playing circle and even during his short stint with county cricket. Some say he chases fame and doesn’t concentrate on cricket. They probably haven’t seen Shoaib standing in the Edinburgh rain signing autographs for youngsters as well as imparting cricket knowledge to them.
Shoaib once told someone, “Everyone says 11 men make a winning team. They don’t. It’s the fast bowlers that win you matches.”
He has certainly proved that in the past. The public awaits another glimpse of that, maybe not in the dramatic form of shelling Brian Lara on all fours or the infamous Kolkata (Calcutta) inswingers to Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, but in the form of speed, aggression and most importantly, the sight of Shoaib donning the green and whites, on a regular basis.
© Faras Ghani 2007
Published in Magazine (Dawn) 19th Aug 2007
No comments:
Post a Comment