Rana, as frequently pointed out, is an accidental cricketer, but that can hardly be said of his endeavors on the field. If there are determined cricketers out there, Rana is probably as determined as they come. There is more about his persona to admire though then his obvious never-say-die attitude. There is his cheerful, Duchenne smile, which at times seems ever present on this radiant face. Then there are his dazzling, big eyes which spread the gusto that is core to his whole philosophy on life it seems.

To complement that are two reasonable sized ears, a perfectly straight nose and a full, un-cleft perfect chin. If in fact there is any feature on his face that does not do justice to the aplomb and fortitude he has made his hallmark as a cricketer it is his receding hairline. May be what is needed is quick and quite call to Advanced Hair Studios, who helped out Shane Warne in his “pursuit of hirsute happiness”.

What’s more it could be an easy way of joining quite an esteemed club of former cricket greats, names like Graham Gooch and Martin Crowe. There is no reason obviously to be as overambitious as Warnie and aim for hair extensions and ponytails but no harm in hoping for an honorable all round temple covering. TAFHCA members shall live in hope.

Male baldness is reportedly a visable sign of high testosterone, a fact supported by the manly manner in which Rana has worked so far throughout his career. His brave efforts, however, seem to only comb-over his lack of penetration, and his performances in the 2004/2005 VB series against Australia could have provided some hair loss for Pakistan supporters & coaching staff alike. Still, the choice between Rana & Shoaib was one of toil vs style, and until Shoaib can prove his willingness to roll up his sleaves and get his hands dirty for any sustained period of time, Rana's place in the Pakistan cricketing pantheon is justified.

doesn't shoaib akthar suffer from hair loss? how come he gets away with it.

Shoaib doesn't suffer from baldness, to the best of my knowledge/research, but shaving his hair off & reducing his wind resistance might be a way for him to find a little bit more pace - something he seems quite preoccupied by.

Shoaib doesn't suffer from hairlessness at all, and I don't think either, much to TAFHCA's disappointment, that he has any plans to get a minor trim, let alone a complete shave. Legend has it that the flowing hair, which as Ken notes flutters across the breeze as he comes into bowl from his extensive run up, is an essential part of his over all personality, it represents his over all flamboyant nature. He’s a sucker for attention, loves being in the limelight, his hair is just one more way of showing a bit of pomp, so I doubt he’ll ever change his style. And to honest with you, if he keeps on bowling like he has in this series against England, I wouldn’t mind what his hair is like. TAFHCA can stretch the limits of its munificence in such cases.

hi zainub

i have just read ur article i tell u one thng u have an amazing talent as writer inside u plz keeep writing best of luck to u some how plz try to add in ur msn plz i wanna discuss about some extra topics as also i am a corospondent of roznama 'aman' in faislabad

Funny article :P.
Although why you chose Rana's aesthetics as your choice is...odd.

Hair or lack of (in Rana's case), does not really matter as long as he performs well on-field.

Im a soccer nutt, so a few examples:
Refree Collina. Totally bald. Totally scary. Undisputedly the best ref in the game.

Players like Bekham,Cantona,Ronaldo etc
shave their head on and off,
doesnt stop millions of people loving them the world over.

With the One dayers to come & the Indian tour on the horizon,if Rana & Shohaib (if you consider him bald :P) perform well, we may see a few fan's shaving their head's in support.

Although I wont be one of them :P.

Munk!!

PS: Hope you're a regular contributor Zainub. Gl :).

wow..great writer
you are right that Rana is an accidental cricketer because he mentioned in one of his interviews that he was always interested in playing hockey. But when he saw that hockey wasn't that popular. So, he thought of becoming cricketer.
He wasn't selected for international team earlier because we had W's in the team at that time.
keep it up !

I think Rana's evolution into a penetrative new ball seamer has been quite remerkable. To be honest, at the time of his debut he looked like a bowler who the captain could ask to tie things up and create pressure on batsman by the sheer weight of runless monotony. But I'm beginning to respect his desire more with every passing day. Honest trier, he runs in hard and extraxts every bit out of his ability/skill-set. We must remember that nature has not been extravagantly generous with him when it comes to talent, so he has his limitations. He will never be a Shoaib at pace, an Akram at swing or an Imran at charisma. But it is cricketers like him who humanize the game and their rags to riches stories touch our heart by inspiring us to emulate such people.

Well said Jay - I agree. Atleast Rana brings to the table what, unfortunately, many Pakistani cricketers have lacked of late and that is 'blood, sweat and tears.' He is no Shoaib, Wasim or Imran but from my understanding he was brought into the team as an 'allrounder' however we are yet to see him dazzle us with a crucial or impressive batting performance. Maybe he is just a hardworking medium pacer?
Taking shots at Shoaib has become a pastime of mine in the last few years simply because he is way too cocky. Imran and Wasim were charismatic and confident. There is a difference. If you can't walk the walk, don't talk the talk. Titles are for underachievers unless they say 'World Champions.' As in Brian Lara's case, his records have not to date helped the West Indies win a championship.

p.s. Thank you cricinfo for this blogger's paradise. Zainub you're encouraging us with your literrary genius!

Shoaib has proved his worth in this series. Let us all hope he finds the joy of hardwork in the future as well. His commitment should not go unnoticed. It is a genuine effort to be loved and glorified by Pakistanis and International supporters. It is also a wise decision for his career. As for the Rana, analysing him is a cause for eating your own hat. He will embarrass his critics time and time again with his dedication. We need that spirit in this pakistani side. The time of the 2 W is history. In these times, people like Rana, who aspire to greatness rather than are born with it, are well placed for success. We should not forget that even in the times ofthe 2 Ws, Aaqib and Imran were valuable supporters. Maybe in the times of Sami and Shoaib, Rana and Shabbir could be of similar effect? Food for thought.

If I was running the net sessions, I would ask Rana to continute honing his bowling skills. Shabbir Ahmed's action is under a cloud of suspicion again, and he is equally as prone to injury as Umar Gul is. In the absence of a quality seamer to back up a reinvented Shoaib, the opportunity is ripe for Rana to step up and cement a place in the lineup for the next few years.

So some of you might be wondering why I didn't mention Sami's name above. For the love of God don't get me started on him. His control over the line and length of delivery is close to being non-existent and deteriorating with every series. His bowling average would make any batsman proud (47) and his strike rate is about to surpass the average of all averages, Don Bradman's batting average. He really needs to assess his bowling now or he will soon lost his place in the side and fade away from the scene much like Saqlain did. Cricket, you see, is a hard business and Sami has had more than a fair number of opportunities to impress, which he obviously squandered. Don't be surprised if you wake up to hear the broadcaster announcing that Sami has been replaced by Mohammad Asif (or Khalil or Anjum) in the very near future.

Rana is better off polishing his bowling skills rather than worrying too much about his batting. He WAS an all-round prospect. Not anymore. It is imperative that he keeps improving as a bowler until he's at a point where we can expect him to take 5-wicket hauls with a 4 wickets/match average and have a strike rate in the 50's.

Forget about Rana.We all are well aware of his never say die behaviour but is there any one to tell me what mohammad sami is doing in this team. Does he warrant a place ahead of Rana and Umar gul?

Given Sami's test record, especially since the India series in early 2004 is abysmal. He does have an enormous amount of stamina and is the only Pakistani fast bowler who can bowl 30 overs a day without killing himself. Needless to say, this is not enough to sneak into the team ahead of Gul or Rana. He will be dropped soon.

Just a quick note to say thanks for all the positive feedback, it's a bit of a relief actually! I'll touch on Sami and the rest of the bowling attack, and indeed the whole team in a separate post very soon.

Pakistan's pace attack hasn't looked this strong since the 2 Ws retired-a Shoaib roaring at his peak, Rana running in tirelessly and troubling batsmen with his variation and swing, Shabbir with his high action, Gul with the ability to swing the ball both ways and a tight control on line and length, Sami with his skiddy pace, and Shahid Nazir, Yasir Arafat, and Mohammad Asif all pressing for a spot in the Test squad on the back of a variety of impressive domestic performances. Razzaq, for the time being, is injured.

However, one needs to look back only one year to realize how quickly things change.

Shoaib, tired after pushing around the Aussies all series.
Sami, injured.
Rana, just appearing on the international scene.
Razzaq, unwell.
Umar Gul, injured.
Shabbir, either injured or banned for the familiar bowling action issue (I forget which).
Mohammad Khalil, debuting in the first test.
Mohammad Asif, debuting in the final test.

How weak was our attack back then? With the exception of Shoaib, who successfully intimidated most of the Australian top order-no mean feat-with his pace on bouncy wickets, none of the quicks could make an impression.

Things are looking decidedly brighter.
--
note: It's GRREEEAATTT to see a Pakistani writer here; finally we are being represented properly!
Keep up the great work, Zainub! I checked out your blog, love your session posts in the series...rock on!

N

My biggest fear for the India-Pakistan series is that Abdul Razzaq will be picked ahead of Rana.
Please please please do not let this happen. We need Rana's swing(old ball and new). As for Sami's high average, he can still take crucial wickets at important times, ask yourself, would batsmen rather face Razzaq or Sami? Razzaq (and Akmal) saved us at in that Second Test, let that be his final heroic swansong.
Picking him ahead of Rana and Sami would be 3 steps backwards. We beat England without him and we can beat India without him. Use him for ODI's only from now on.

Its very disappointing to see that Rana Naved was dropping from the team against the second test with India. He is a brilliant bowler and THE best bowler not only in pakistan team but also in the entire world. There is no justification in sacking Rana Naved for the second test. That was a very naive and stupid decision to rest him.

How wrong I was about Abdul Razzaq (in my Jan 5 post) and how happy I was to be proven wrong by Abdul Razzaq-7 Wickets and a 130 odd runs, just goes to show, always give somebody a second chance, never write anybody off, Razzaq, you bowled beautifully in both innings at Karachi-the Sachin dismissal was out of this world! I used to call you "Pie-Thrower", now I call you "Hero" and I hope to see you bowl for Pakistan for many more years. Also, Kudos to the "Kids" Mohamed Asif,Salman Butt, Imran Farhat and Faisal Iqbal-you won it without Inzamam and you fought like champions, Kamran Akmal, at least I was right about you-you showed Sehwag who the "Technically Unsound" batsman really is. You saved us at Mohali and you won it for us at Karachi and may Heaven smile on you always.