'Selectors are influenced by match-fixers'

Pakistan’s selection committee has come under heavy fire from the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) which has termed the omission of various Karachi-based players from the 30-man World Cup squad a way to promote match-fixing.

Notable omissions from the preliminary squad include Fawad Alam, Mohammad Sami and Khalid Latif, all of whom represented Pakistan in the last year.

However, according to the KCCA President Sirajul Islam Bukhari, the trio’s absence is because of their clean background.

“These players have a clean background which is why they haven’t been selected for the World Cup,” Bukhari told The Express Tribune. “The selection committee is under the influence of match-fixers and that’s the reason they’ve selected players with a questionable past.

“We see a gradual overlooking of Karachi players and it’s all because of the match-fixing issues. None of the cricketers coming under the scanner recently are from Karachi. Danish Kaneria [questioned by Scotland Yard] was the only one suspected but was cleared last year.”

Bukhari also questioned the continued omission of fast-bowler Sohail Khan who made his debut for Pakistan in 2008 but has failed to cement a regular spot in the squad.

Kamran Akmal, according to the KCCA president, was glaring proof of how suspected individuals keep returning to the squad.

“Akmal was a doubtful inclusion due to his alleged involvements with bookmakers and now he’s back in the squad despite being overlooked for the last two tours.

“I’m glad Shoaib Malik hasn’t been included otherwise things would’ve been worse for Pakistan cricket at a time when we’re already under so much scrutiny.”

Akmal is the second highest run-scorer in the ongoing Quaid-i-Azam Trophy with 767 runs from nine matches while Malik has scored 745 in just five matches at an average of over 120.

© Faras Ghani 2011
Published in The Express Tribune Jan 7, 2011

Malik should've been made the captain: Lawson

Former Pakistan coach Geoff Lawson labelled out-of-favour former captain Shoaib Malik as the ideal and ‘obvious’ choice to lead the team instead of Salman Butt following Shahid Afridi’s decision to retire from Test cricket with immediate effect due to injury and ‘lack of Test temperament’.

Malik, who was omitted in favour of youth for the first Test at Lord’s, was first appointed captain in April 2007 following Pakistan’s first-round exit in the 50-over World Cup. However, after impressive results against minnows and poor show against potent opposition, Malik was eventually replaced by Younus Khan with his stained relationship with seniors deemed integral to his downfall.

Lawson, sacked as coach after only year-and-a-half into his two-year contract, reckoned that Malik was handed captaincy too early in the past and given that the current squad is full of youngsters, Pakistan has no choice but to rename Malik as captain.

“It might’ve been premature to name him captain then,” Lawson told The Express Tribune following Pakistan’s 150-run loss at Lord’s. “But three years on, he’s certainly capable of being captain again. To me, he’s the obvious choice. He’s well respected by the younger players and the seniors that had problems with him aren’t in the team.

“In 2007, he was a reluctant captain. He was young and wanted to concentrate on his cricket. Now he’s matured and given Pakistan’s penchant for changing captains regularly, I’d say you should give it to him and move forward.”

Malik led Pakistan in three Tests but was unable to win any of them. Of the 36 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) he captained Pakistan in, they won 24, including a record 12 consecutive wins. Malik was also incharge of the team in the inaugural World Twenty20 where Pakistan agonisingly fell short of the target in the final against India.

“Malik did a good job as captain and at that time he was learning how to lead a side. He was taking the right steps in the right direction and if he’s named as Afridi’s successor, I don’t think it’ll be a step backwards by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).”

Lawson also showed apprehension in the board’s decision to name Butt, Afridi’s deputy, as the Test captain. Butt, who scored 63 and 92 in the first Test, was lauded by Afridi in the post-match press conference but Lawson wanted the PCB not to appoint the opener as captain for the sake of his career.

“Butt’s a good choice as vice-captain but he’s years away from being a captain. I would’ve let him concentrate on his batting because he’s probably the best batsman they have right now. He has captaincy potential but throwing him in at this stage will crucify him.”

© Faras Ghani 2010
Published in The Express Tribune July 18, 2010

Malik firm to carry form into remaining games

Shoaib Malik, the architect of Pakistan’s superb win over India on Saturday, remains confident that his match-winning knock was not a one-off spectacle and hopes to carry his form through to the next crucial matches of the Champions Trophy.

“When a team puts up a 300-plus total, the opposition is always under pressure even with aggressive starts,” said Malik during a chat with the media. “It was tough chasing under lights and the fact that we put up 300, it also added to the psychological pressure.”

I was quite content with my performance. It was difficult at the start and I had to adopt a defensive approach to my batting because stability was what the team needed. I blocked and blocked since the team had lost quick wickets that added to the pressure on me,” explained the all-rounder. “However, there came a point where I could play my natural game and could afford to attack. The resulting century was a joyous occasion for me, Pakistan’s win against India putting it into a different context. I’m very happy we won and I want to carry my form [second century on the tour so far] into the remaining matches.”

Meanwhile, Indian captain MS Dhoni was candid about his team’s shortcomings in the crucial game. “Pakistan bowlers exploited the conditions well, they had fielders in the right places and batted knowing fully well what was required,” said Dhoni. “We failed at that, lost too many wickets, gave away too many runs, bowled too short and a safe line and there were chances we could’ve created but we weren’t consistent with out line. In conditions like these, you have to change and adjust accordingly. We had to be smart but we weren’t and in the end, we could’ve done a lot better in the match.”

“At one point I thought we were short on three bowlers. It was an off day for Harbhajan and I didn’t know who to turn to, who to bowl, where to bowl and what field to place. The shots went into the gaps and it became really tough in the middle.”

While the Indian captain felt the heat, Younis, with the fractured right-hand finger, was happy with his side’s performance and looked forward to the match against Australia.

“I’m glad we made our own way to the semi-finals instead of relying on other teams. I’m also happy since I decided to play this match despite the injury as I would’ve definitely missed being out in the middle if I had opted to sit out. Even if we had lost, my risk would’ve been worth taking and people would’ve agreed that I tried instead of hiding. I’m glad with what we achieved and how the players responded in all three departments of the game and it was a great feeling to beat the top-ranked ODI team in the world by 50-plus runs.”

© Faras Ghani 2009.
Published in DAWN newspaper, Sep 29, 2009

Younis Khan’s men — poor starters, great finalists

Second chances are rare in sports. Unimaginable, especially in the shortest form of international cricket. Seldom is a poor performance overturned by sparks of brilliance to win matches. Rarely is an array of poor fielding displays — that continuously let opposition off the hook — followed by shattered stumps that pulls them right back. It simply belies all cricket ethos and sits against the norm.

But the Pakistan team was never the one to bow to ethos and adhere to norm. It seemed an eternity to wake them from the Bhurban conditioning camp and the many Selfridges’ trips. The load-shedding, it seemed, had tampered with the veins and an early exit loomed as the team took to the field in their first warm-up.

As the team progressed unconvincingly, temperament went astray with the bat in hand. Until Younis Khan, followed by Kamran Akmal, came of age. Accuracy seemed a lost art with the ball and overstepping was adopted as norm. Until Umar Gul treated opposition with swinging spaghetti. The fielding display went from poor to wretched. Until Shahid Afridi galloped towards long-on boundary, clutching onto his prize from the heavens.

And out of nowhere, against expectations and predictions, it all seemed to fall in place. Just like that. Younis had issued repeated reminders that Pakistan have always been slow starters and will pick up pace with each victory. Never had that statement been more aptly illustrated on the field as the men in green saved their best for the best, South Africa at Trent Bridge, in an attempt to appear in their second successive final. Pakistan’s route to the semi-final is as much courtesy a favourable draw as spurts of brilliance. Skipper Younis and Intikhab Alam, the team’s coach, shared plans that contradicted, and fouled any hopes the fans had of a decent performance by their idols. While Younis wanted stability at the top, Intikhab preferred aggression. Neither seemed to work and the experiments that the team management vociferously pointed out would lead to an improved performance landed flat, failing to make an impression.

Not so much the cornered tigers, but cornered nevertheless.

And out of nowhere, as Salman Butt was put out of his misery by the team management, Akmal repaid Younis’ trust and gamble in him. Shahzaib Hassan deposited a few in the stands but it looked as if the injury to all-rounder Yasir Arafat, and the subsequent arrival of Abdul Razzaq, brought with it a change of fortunes and a bag of miracles.

Gul seemed to realise he still had it in him to bowl fast and swing the ball. Young Aamir was the surprise packet while Saeed Ajmal left doubts about the legality of his action behind and continued to flux batsmen.

Afridi, first-ball slogs and rash stroke-play aside, remembered he has improved as a bowler of late. Then came his batting which was, indeed, a revelation with a renewed vigour to occupy the crease and accumulate runs for his team. And Akmal, as a wicket-keeper with no Danish Kaneria in the side, held onto catches and created world records.

Younis, who had up until the semis shouldered batting responsibilities, sat back concentrating and scripting the perfect plot. Tweaking Shakespeare, with mirth and laughter let the greatest prize come, hoped the captain.

The route to success, surprisingly, was smooth off the field as well. With Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif in a different time-zone, the team rather became a damp squib as far as the sniffing paparazzi were concerned. No curfew-breaking clubbing nights, no training scuffles, no bat-fencing at team-mates, no blazing-up to speak of.

Daniel Vettori, the New Zealand captain who was sidelined for much of the tournament due to injury, did try and help matters by blurting out desperate excuses to justify the humiliation received at the hands of Umar Gul. To no avail, unfortunately as his ‘informal inquiry’ for the match referee to look into the state of the magic white ball was shooed away and buried forever.

There were also reports of a rift in the camp, as Abdul Qadir, post-resignation, decided to reveal all. But rifts have been omnipresent in the dressing room since time began and that, on most occasions, failed to affect the combined performance on the field. Beffiting, perhaps, was the presence of Shoaib Malik, who Qadir would have omitted from the squad had he been able to ‘do things his own way’, in the middle as the winning run was scored.

Younis on the eve of the tournament made it clear that he wanted to face India in the final and beat them this time. That changed as short balls grew tall on the Indian batsmen. He then wanted it to be South Africa but in the end, it did not really matter to him.

As the light training sessions failed to replicate the growing tension among fans, the players, especially the youngsters, had realised destiny was a tiger tamed.

© Faras Ghani 2009
Published in DAWN newspaper, June 26, 2009

Flintoff’s absence huge advantage for us: S Malik

Shoaib Malik, the Pakistan all-rounder, has termed the absence of Andrew Flintoff as a ‘psychological advantage’ for his side and urged his team-mates to utilise the opportunity and start the tournament with a win.

Malik, speaking after Pakistan’s training session at Southgate on Friday, was confident of Pakistan’s victory when they take on England at The Oval on Sunday despite back-to-back losses against South Africa and India during the warm-up matches.

‘We arrived in England quite late and need some time to adjust ourselves,’ Malik said. ‘We played poor cricket in the two matches that we lost but we’re growing in confidence gradually while getting accustomed to the conditions and I’m sure we can start with a win on Sunday.’

‘Although England have a slight advantage over us due to home conditions, the absence of Flintoff has surely tilted the balance in our favour. He’s a great all-rounder and his absence is a huge psychological advantage for Pakistan, something we’ll utilise and ensure we win the match and carry the points into the next round.’

Refusing to pick his favourites for the tournament, Malik termed India, Australia and South Africa as strong teams but stressed that Pakistan must not be counted out on the basis of their poor show in the warm-ups.

‘It’s near impossible to pick out favourites in this type of cricket. You only need a couple of batsmen to score fifties or a couple of bowlers to take two or three wickets and the balance suddenly shifts in your favour.’

‘Obviously you don’t get as many chances as in ODIs or Test matches, but strong teams cling on to whatever chances they get and that is exactly what makes them strong in Twenty20.’

Mohammad Aamir, meanwhile, was cherishing his wicket of Rohit Sharma at The Oval on Wednesday and was confident he would be able to carry the his good performance upon the team’s return to the same venue on Sunday.

He, too, pointed at Pakistan’s late arrival into England as his side’s sluggish performance but promised a much-improved performance.

‘We were basically short on match practice but have had several training sessions since that loss and we’ll enter the ground [on Sunday] with a positive frame of mind,’ Aamir told Dawn.

‘Although winning or losing doesn’t matter when you give your 100 per cent, we are quite weary of expectations back home and will hope to win the tournament this time round.’

Coming into the tournaments shouldering huge individual expectations after being spoken highly of by Wasim Akram, Aamir shrugged off any notions of nervousness that he might have had prior to taking on the field against India.

‘It has been a great honour being spoken to highly of by Akram but despite it being a Pakistan-India match, I was confident of my abilities, gave it my 100 per cent and was very happy with the fact that I took a wicket in the match. Despite the loss, we remain confident of a good show against England as a lot of our players are used to the conditions and we posses an array of Twenty20 specialists and no wonder we sit on top of the Twenty20 rankings.’

While having high hopes for his side, Aamir has set high standards for himself as well, wanting to be a ‘top-ranking bowler’ in the next five years. ‘Everyone knows the things Wasim has said about me and it is purely because of that I don’t want to disappoint him.

He’s a great bowler, has appreciated me and I feel really lucky not only to have such comments from him, but also being able to spend time working with and learning from him.

He is my sole idol in world cricket and I want to come up to his expectations and, in five year, hope to become a top-ranking bowler.’

Following the match against England, Pakistan will take on Netherlands on Tuesday and are scheduled to play back-to-back Super Eights matches on Thursday and Friday if they qualify for the second round.

© Faras Ghani 2009.
Published in DAWN newspaper June 6, 2009