To have some, you’ve to lose some

The cricketing career for Salman Butt and Muhammad Asif has got an end, and similarly it won’t be easy for Muhammad Amir to have a comeback after 5 years By the time I’m writing all this, since my last post, things still messed up for EG, Kolkata and their first match of the cricket world cup is shifted to Chinaswammy Stadium, Bangalore, but a similar sorta debacle came for Pakistan yesterday when the suspended Pakistani trio, Salman Butt, Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Amir were penalized for 10, 7 and 5 years suspension respectively, which means that Salman Butt and Muhammad Asif’s career has got an end, because a 10 year and 7 year suspension sentence means they can’t participate in any kind of registered cricketing event for that time period. On a personal note, I favour this suspension, because literally as I conveyed the same message to my fellow colleagues in my working place and in my university that at least it showed us the points and aspects where we lagging, like disciplinary, managerial, controlling, planning etc (it seems I am studying the basis of managerial studies once), and the result of which is the Doha Verdict in which the trio was suspended. Although according to my standards, they were penalized leniently, else i was expecting and wanting them to be suspended for life including Muhammad Amir else it’ll convey a negative message to the youngsters that they can get the benefit of doubt every time they commit something stupid. Secondly it also exposed our Cricket Board which wasn’t supporting them at all. It meant that the board was also involved in it or at least knew about all this fishy stuff. Why am I saying like that? Flashbacking to Pakistan’s tour to England where all this thing erupted, in the second test where Zulqarnain Haider saved Pakistan from a humiliating Inning Defeat margin, they (the PCB Management) couldn’t control them and Haider was able to gather information about staying in London while having immunity, now he’s utilizing those information and now blackmailing the PCB and Pakistani Government in security threats, as if he is a super star in Pakistan. I don’t think he even close to Kamran Akmal’s stature to be having life-threats. Blah Blah Blah Everyone knows the educational standard here in Pakistan, where Karachi and Lahore are having SOME educational institutes where emphasis on personal grooming is given, but those who belong to rural localities of Pakistan, don’t have such privileges, minus Zulqarnain Haider from it, like we say in Urdu دیڑھ ہوشیار بننا. So its useless to even brag about it. What I feel? What I personally feel when you wear a green shirt with the word Pakistan embossed alongwith the PCB emblem, we should respect that instead of playing personal sinister games. Before having a comeback into Pakistan National Side, Muhammad Asif was already penalized for having drugs and had lifetime ban of entering into UAE because of it. No player is indispensable, at that time we should have start looking for young slot instead of having such a monopolistical influence of these players, if we had moved that way, things must have been on a track. Following are some of the extracts from the former Pakistani players on eve of this controversy. What they said? Iqbal Qasim believes the investigation has shown up the inefficiency in the Pakistan board. “To gain an honest system, and have unquestionable integrity, you have to lose something and players come and go – this will be a momentary loss for Pakistan cricket.” Rashid Latif is confident that the verdict will be to the benefit of Pakistan cricket in the long run. “The ICC had decided to give punishments to the players because there was too much pressure on them to curb fixing. It’s an important day for world cricket and very sad for Pakistan. Amir and Asif are a huge loss.” Former PCB chief Arif Abbasi supports the tribunal’s verdict. “Amir can still make a comeback because he has age on his side, but it is good for him to learn his lesson at this stage.” Former ICC president Ehsan Mani believes Amir can serve his ban and return to the highest level. “The important things with any punishment for those sorts of things is that it sends a very strong message to people that might be tempted to do it in the future… that if you do it then your career is going to be substantially reduced if not completely destroyed.” England captain Andrew Strauss agrees the punishments can serve as a deterrent

Pakistan’s bowling in the New Years test match

Alex Brown at SCG rightly stated

Mohammad Asif completed a career-best six-wicket haul as part of Pakistan’s broader demolition of Australia that called into question Ricky Ponting’s decision to bat first on a Sydney green-top. In union with Mohammad Sami, who dismissed Australia’s top three batsmen before the first drinks break, Asif exploited the heavy pitch and atmospheric conditions to full effect to rout Australia for 127 – their second-lowest total batting first at the SCG and worst at home since 1996.

It was because of the disciplined bowling of not only Mohammad Asif and other bowlers but on the whole it was a team’s effort, and they showed team work, and they looked with a plan, not like randomly playing with no plan at MCG, where they had a humiliating defeat. Australian media too, created such hype and undue pressure which was shown on Pakistani players on the Boxing Day test match, regarding the visitor’s bowling attack, and thus they had won the fight much earlier than the original end of the test match.

But this time, they had miss-cued, and under-estimated the Pakistani bowling attack. Thats why in over-confidence Ricky Ponting after winning the toss on a green-top and over-cast conditions, invited Pakistan to bowl first, in return Pakistan took the advantage and took 10 wickets of Australia first time in an inning for the first time in the series.

But here I am disagreeing with some of the comments of Australian greats that in these conditions even a mid-yorker bowling attack would have succeeded, overshadowing the exampled show of the Pakistani seem bowling, they are usually famous for doing such things, and that’s why they most of the time get the unexpected what they had planned, so literally I don’t have that much of regret because they can’t help it showing their reaction.

On the whole Pakistan this time is playing more sensible than MCG, just keeping the fingers crossed, test match still open and lets pray for the positive result from this test match as we all know winning this test match is important for both teams to improve their rankings, in Pakistan’s case it will be slight and only increase or decrease in some points and nothing on the Raking in any case but in Australia’s case it will be more as it will either degrade them to 4th spot or will help them retain 3rd position.

Cheers