But the company is so crammed with talented, testosterone-driven heroes that their absence shouldn't necessarily hamstring its forthcoming campaign. Subedar Major I.U. Haq has great phlegm and can hold a position forever. Lance Naik Afridi, urf Shaheed, (sometimes reduced to the ranks for recklessness beyond the call of duty), can turn a skirmish into a rout single-handed, but it is never clear whether his actions will cause Pak Company to be the router or the routee. Naib Subedar Yousuf, always a fine marksman, has in the past year become infallible, his conversion ratio of shots to hits nearly perfect. Subedar Y. Khan, a fine strategic thinker and no mean shot himself, was long ago singled out by Colonel I. Khan (no relation) as officer material.

One of the recurrent frustrations of Pak Company has been its inexplicable failure to defeat the Light Blues in world tourneys despite defeating them in other, bilateral battles. Subedar Major Haq has been working on this with Pak Company's new secret weapon: the prayer huddle. This formation's solitary drawback is the possibility of being ambushed from behind while bonding in faith. Naib Subedar Yousuf, however, has solved that problem by suggesting that Sepoy Kaneria, surplus to requirement in the prayer huddle as Yousuf himself once was, ought to act as a look-out.

On the face of it, Pak Company shouldn't have a prayer this time round: it comes to the tournament without its fastest and best bowlers, uncertainty about its opening pair, and a recurrent tendency to come unglued in moments of stress. Colonel Khan, who is an expert witness as far as Pakistan is concerned, thinks that the team's preparation for the World Cup has been the worst ever that he can recall and I'm not going to argue with him.

But if I was a betting man looking for big returns on a small investment, I'd put some money on Inzamam's men. The Pakistan team has two things going for it:

a) The absence of Shoaib Akhtar is a huge bonus whether the team knows it or not. The operatic absurdness of his behavour subverted the authority of the coach and deranged the whole team.

b) Pak Company is never short of talent. It's selectors behave like fickle recruiting sergeants, drafting in gifted eagle-eyed rookies and then dumping them after a skirmish or two. A case in point is Sepoy A. Mehmood, a fine all-terrain fighter, forced to seek foreign employment because he inexplicably fell out of favour. Most teams would find their cupboards bare after such prodigal behaviour, but Pakistan still has all the fast bowling talent it needs and in Afridi, Razzaq, Mehmood and Shoaib Malik, it has a string of ODI all-rounders who can, when the stars align and when they remember to put their brains in gear, turn matches on their own. It goes without saying that in Younis Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Yousuf, the team has batsmen of real class.

Pakistan's largest liability is its captain, who seems to have outsourced inspiration and leadership to that offshore Entity, the great Call Centre in the Sky. Contrast the way Inzamam blundered about, clueless, in the team's confrontation with Darrell Hair, with Ranatunga's clinical, ruthless defence of Muralitharan when he was called for chucking in Australia. Whatever the rights and wrongs of those confrontations, Ranatunga was in charge of events while Inzamam was hostage to them. If World Cup rules (like those of the Davis Cup) allowed non-playing captains and if Colonel I. Khan was willing to fill that bill, Pakistan would a real contender for the Cup. Even without a first-rate captain, Pak Company remains a serious threat to every other team in the competition.

Mukul, I take my hat off to you. Reading between the lines in your flowery language, you can write nothing but things that are inflammatory. You are like the Prince Philip of cricket writing.

Good one,Mukul.But cannot agree more with Aditya-be prepared for vintage backlashing from across the border although strictly speaking there is nothing insulting or derogatory in the article. I shall pray for you nevertheless!!

This is the first time I have read any of your articles. I am a pakistani and I think you have expressed your feelings superbly - the good thing is you like the team and think that this team can still do well. I agree with you on that - I think this team will do well than their last appreance b'ce they are not under pressure and this is West Indies not south africa. And I think Krishna if you ever have a chance to travel accross the border you will find things much differently.

mukul, it looks like u really like to criticize other teams, dont you? just the other day, u labeled the west indies as "lara and the eleven dwarfs", and now u criticize pakistan. and wat on earth do u mean by "Sepoy Kaneria, surplus to requirement in the prayer huddle as Yousuf himself once was, ought to act as a look-out"?

You are the right person to write the "History".

Nice dramatization of key facts for Pak team. Hoping for an exciting WC after a long time.

It would be foolish to count pakistan out because they are so unpredictable. Inspite of being so unsure of themselves, they surpassed South Africa in the warm-up.
Their bowling attack is still competetive(unlike india where some bowlers lob pies at 100kmph to regain rhythm and lost glory!).

Their batting looks solid save No 1 and No2.It would be best to adopt a strategy similar to Srilanka in 1996.Not so great bowling, but impeccable batting strength.

Mukul, I think you took the metaphor to a degree of absurdity that I have never see in cricket journalism! Nevertheless, if you look beyond the self-gratification of the writing, this article does raise several interesting and pertinent points on the potential performance of Pakistan in the forthcoming World Cup. However, I would agree that the absence of Shoaib Akhtar may be a blessing in disguise for the team because of the following reasons:

(1) Whilst outright pace is perhaps always a significant component in any attack, I do not think that the wickets in the West Indies are overtly suited to express-pace. Ironically, the trick to bowling could be to take the pace off the ball which would make clearing the short boundaries on these grounds significantly more difficult.

2) The egotistical attitudes of Shoaib have perhaps never been conducive to the collectivism and team unity that is required to win a World Cup. He is more likely to cause disharmony and divisions within the dressing room, and the significant periods in which he has been injured have coincided with periods of great success and unity within the team.

However, I do disagree with your analysis of the captaincy of Inzamam. He is clearly someone who leads on the field by example rather than by words. Yes, that is perhaps a fault but his captaincy prior to the ball-tampering incident had brought a period of moderate stability to Pakistani cricket which had hitherto not been seen for many years when the captaincy seemed a mere merry-go-round. He appears to have the full respect and backing of the team (perhaps with the absence of Shoaib) which could not be said for the previous incumbents such as Wasim, Waqar and Moin Khan amongst others.

First-rate piece!Bouquets,not brickbats, from me.Colonel Khan--crusty, ignorant and dictatorial as ever, continues to bask in the vanished glory of one successful campaign waged in World Cup pre-history and deludes himself of the supposed infallibility of his dubious judgment.Finally. the Pakistanis should bow down in gratitude for having the speedsters absence being defined as an undisguised blessing.Bravo!!

Amazing work. i dont see anything insulting. In fact on the face of it you have been really kind to Pak and actually praised Imran (though not undeserved I must say). And i cant agree with you more, Shoaib not being in the team is a blessing for Pak. Maybe he would have made a difference in a short tournament, but he was always going to be a HUGE problem for them in a 2 month tour. And cant agree with you more about Haq and a non playing captian in imran. I think if Imran became their coach, and Younis the cappo, I wud fear for their opponents. As long as they have Haq as captain and Woolmer as caoch, there is trouble always round the corner and they can blow hot and cold.

i am surprise to see that krishna didnot think this article is insulting.if you consider this is not insulting(Looking at this endearing mob of M.A.S.H. style misfits, you wouldn't know that it is, in fact, a company of elite soldiers, first-rate fighting men. Those two big fellows over there in glitzy mufti, shamming injury, and suspected of emptying some dull opiate to the drains till a few weeks ago, were the squad's death-or-glory artillery boys, its big guns. Then their habits got to them. Now they're convalescing, poor chaps, certain to miss the big battles coming up) then hats off to you also

Its a balanced article.As a Pakistani,the first half can drove me to reply and send same type of topic for the indian team although I am someone who love India and after Pakistan supporting it for the wc champs.But the second half was in Pakistan's favour and to be honest my reply would have contain the same type of information you pasted.
Now personally,I think Aditya and Krishna are too worried but i would ask them that not many ppl will be against to what its been said in the article.My next comment will be posted when inshAllah Pakistan brings the wc back or even India because they r my two favorites.
This Pakistani team will surprise many-so immediately start writing a blog on it so you have much more time for other things as soon as the finals end of this wc.

The Indian war of independence of 1857 laid the way for the departure of the colonial powers 90 years later. The so-called sepoy brigade might do the same thing - pave the way for the Pakistan team to take a few future world cups, if not the present one. The nifty defeate of South Africa in the first skirmish proves the point.

Alas, the learned babu who writes this piece fails to conjure up other metaphors from the bygone era on Indian slavery - the portly NCO Haq may just as well be the Bakht Khan who won the initial battles, or the Rani of Jhansi, Mangal Pandays, Ishwiri Prasads (Yunus, Yusuf, Hafeez?)one might find in the present Pakistani team - a valiant group who might lose the war today, but put the East India company to route.

The learned(?) writer might do well to read the history of a historical event in greater detail before making comparisons - alas, all battlefields are not alike.

wow, what have you been reading? Like Aditya said, Vocabulary like this is absolutely mind blowing. But I agree with everything you said. Talent has never been an issue in Pakistan. The difference is Dicipline, and Champion mindset. As long they can't work on these two important things. They will stay the way they are right now. I wish, I could coach this Pakistani side for 1 WEEK. hahaha but I am DAMN serious about that

Mukul, you got it wrong,its not Sepoy Company, beware its the DIRTY DOZEN who are set to ruin all other contenders hope, this time history will repaet irself in a short cycle of 15 years !

A beautifully written article - glad to see that there are at least a few contributors to cricinfo who can construct a vivid extended metaphor that's just right both linguistically and conceptually.

I'm from across the border. I respect your views but have one comment. Why don't you call a spade a spade? Inzi is not good, Shoaib is not here, Asif is injured so Pakistan should lose. Simple.Why the ifs, buts and howevers? The glorious game of uncertainities or a run of the mill Indian view which thought Ganguly was way past prime and Aussie cricketers were rude in pushing the cricket board president. Just wondering!

Mukul, excellent. I read cricket blogs regularly but this time lines written by you took me to the battle field and i thought of some company commander who percive for the fight and analyze the situation. Everyone is saying the same about Pakistan Sepoys what you are saying but your style is different. I am thinking why there are few comments about your written blog. But good job Kesavan, only fiction man can write such lines from across the border.

On the whole, a nice assessment of Pakistan's contingent making its way to the BIG CUP. BUT....

(-- now for the "precedented" backlash frm "across the border". --)

Mr. Mukul, Sir, when exactly did you see Kaneria not being included in the team huddle?!! And your comment that it would be Yousuf keeping him out, was not naughty, it was below-the-belt. Add to that ur labeling Kaneria as 'sepoy', and it spoiled an otherwise cleverly written article. Kaneria is an integral member of the Pakistani team, whether you accept it or not. Cheers.

It's quite funny how you seem to refer to the Pakistani cricketers as army people. To refer them as army people, you are reviving the India-Pakistan rivalry in Cricket, as well as the war that takes place between these two nations' people.

Another bias method which seems to amuse me is how you've seemed to almost dismiss Pakistan's chances in the World Cup. You will be referring to Pakistan's 'big guns' as if they have got to where they are from almost drugs alone and that without them, Pakistan is almost nothing.

Then you write: "Pak Company is never short of talent," as if it makes up for the abuse you throw at Pakistan Cricket Team. Ofcourse, you won't directly find this abuse, you'll have to read between the lines ;)

To refer to the men in Pakistan's squad as 'talented, testosterone-driven...' shows disrespect as the reader just about that the writer is referring to males.

There is also a lot of disrespect for individual players as you will put words like 'phlegm', and words that show as if they are of a low status in the cricketing world, crammed into the same sentence to signify their 'respect.' However, you do then refer to the batsman, Yousuf, Inzi and Y. Khan has 'real class,' which seems to make the reader almost forget all the disrespect that has been said about the Pakistan squad.

More defence is used to make the reader almost forget the abuse of the Pakistanis by referring in the very last sentence as the Pak squad as a 'serious threat.'

Overall I think you have disrespected the Pakistan squad as if your counter-part, Kamran Abbasi, has been 'sledging' the Indian cricket team with small sly insults in his blogs to gain the respect of his fellow countrymen.

dude, what planet are you from?

Hello ..
I am a Pakistani supporter .... and this was some article ..... haha ... I really enjoyed it ..

Thank you for another great article. Perhaps you could have elaborated a line about Umar Gul who was Pakistan's best ODI bowler of the yesteryear.
Please note that Razzaq will not be playing in the world cup.

I don't have the desire to read the article through, it's too much effort to follow the metaphor. However, I've read enough to question on what evidence you base the assertion that Younis Khan is a "fine strategic thinker".

Also, as far as I can see, the "pre-modern state" remark refers to Pakistan as a country, which in my view is most certainly insulting and derogatory, in contrast to krishna's opinion.

Cricinfo in general is far above such cheap jibes, and I personally am beginning to question whether you are really the right person to run an Indian blog. That may sound harsh, but I assure you it's not personal - I have agreed with several of your cricketing observations. However, these are outnumbered by the majority of posts that are either irrelevant, ridiculous or offensive to much of your readership.

I found your sarcastic take on the religious angle petty and questionable. It clearly exposes your anti-Pakistan stance.Had it been one of the interactors indulging into such cheap shots, people would have skipped over but coming from someone who claims to love cricket, I find it pathetic.

Mukhul you have written a maserpiece and i support you tht Pakistan can be serious contenders like they beat Africa.Asif doesnt have a brilliant record in ODI's.

Indians couldnt come up with cheaper antics. What a provocative article. Pakistan will Beat India in this WC. Mark my words and read it over and over again. By the way Pakistan is the only team conducted tests on it's players. Has India conducted the tests ?...What a pathetic article by a garbage writer !!

And another point I'd like to mention is that this is supposed to be an Indian Blog, written about Indian Cricket, or am I wrong?

Simply insulting the rival and talking about Pakistan in a INDIAN blod doesn't quite seem to make sense for me. I was wondering, why are the sides of this page blue, and not green?

Well written. Inzy and co might have been awarded a few higher ranks. And Col Khan?? The way he led, he should have been Gen Khan!!

But Pakistan is a real contender for the cup no doubts, as long as they managed to stay disciplined at the crunch situations.

While absence of Mr.Akhtar could well be the gelling factor in the team but being rated as underdogs could well be the secret course into the castle. Lack of an innovative war plan, I feel, might not hurt as much as the dearth of producing an innings the Subedar is known for. It is getting evident that Mr.Haq is suffering from his weakening reflexes as his lackadaisical effort in his languorous innings of 45 not out against the South Africans in the recent series suggests. Its high time that he gets back to his old and let his bat talk to the media.

I think, Pakistan has a sea of gifted players. I agree with Mukul, about the absence of Shoaib Akhtar. However absence of Asif and Razzak is going to be a big blow to their preparations. I firmly believe a team having number of all rounders in one day game has a better chance of success. This was evident in India's victory in 83 as well as SriLanka in 96.
Pakistan may a good team to watch inspite of being in the situation that they are in.

Mukul, the flowery language and all is fine - but what is the point of this blog? The Pakistanis have Pak Spin, while the English and Australians have tons of people writing for them. We don't have a single blog expressing the Indian view - and clearly your blog is adding to waste. Please write something more relevant!

I hope Brig. General Woolmer has a plan for the openining troops that will hopefully bomard enemy troops. I also hope that he keeps giving 1st sergeant Sami hugs in the swiming pool to boost his confidence and destroy enemy lines by throwing that grenade of his.

You are writing an article a day before the cup's opening and you don't know Razzaq is out of the squad through injury? Hats off to your journalism!

Yes Mr.Mukul your writing is very flowery, keep in mind you are not writing an essay to pass your PHD exams or what not. I am not sure how you can criticize Pakistan's opening since Mr.Sehwag who needs to seriously loose major weight like honestly, I can go on and on but never mind. Australia has this worldcup locked down yet again.

Haven't read a cricket article like this for a while. Well done for being so original, although I bet it may well leave a lot of people scratching their heads.

i dont know about backlashing krishna .. but i think this frame of mind that across the border ppl will definately disagree will get us anywhere if u get my point... as far as sir ur article is concerned it was a masterclass although i still believe it will be a tough ask of inzi man to turn around a corner this time reasons being not shoib's absence thanks god for that but ...
1 without mohammed asif the attack lacks potency
2 the captaincy at best can be infantry
3 and a team filled with too many of those bits and pieces players that can on there day be destructive and win matches single handedly but there day on avg comes once every 50 matches unfortunately

though i being a hard core cricket fan and a pakistani team fan as well would still chear for the and chear for cricket cause pakistan win or loose if they fight good cricket definately wins
keep your fingers crossed
adios to you all
enjoy the game

Good analysis Mukul. I don't see anything wrong with this article. I think pakistan can be a surprise entry in the top four since they have no pressure whatsoever of doing so. But cannot agree more that inzi should lead by example and should be a bit more lively during the action. Just one comment which i found derogatory on timesofindia.com was the headline "no english please, we are pakistanis". I did'nt expect that from a reputed newspaper. I think we should avoid such inflammatory remarks. Just wanted to get it out of ma chest. peace

I am from Pakistan and would like to tell Krishna that I quite like this article and agree to most of things. I must also say that by assuming backlashing from acroos the border, you don't have to be ethnically or geographically discriminatory because it's not like that. Mukul, it is really a nice piece of writing and quite closely reflects the state of affairs of Pakistan cricket at the moment. Infact, I would suggest if you can send its copies to Dr. Nasim Ashraf and Wasim Bari. Thank you.

Mukul. You sound like an another frustrated follower of cricket from across the border who belongs to the losing breed of the die hard but deflated fans of the 80's n 90's. A typical mentality of grudge and hatred from a representative of a generation who has spent their youth with a phobia from the green tigers hich owes to embarassing surrenders.All i can say is that this Sub Major is capable of reminding your flop heroes of their true place which is nothing but on a stage arranged for a catwalk with some rotten bollywood tune in the background which would be a blend of some western copied music. All i can say is that try to find some formulas to get some fighting spirit in your over rated full time models cum part ime wannabe cricketers.
P.S. I hope this commment gets posted.

Mukul. You sound like an another frustrated follower of cricket from across the border who belongs to the losing breed of the die hard but deflated fans of the 80's n 90's. A typical mentality of grudge and hatred from a representative of a generation who has spent their youth with a phobia from the green tigers which owes to the embarassing surrenders from the soft blue and soft hearted models. This Sub Major is capable of reminding your flop heroes of their true place which is nothing but on a stage arranged for a catwalk with some rotten bollywood tunes in the background which would be a blend of some western copied music and an another copy of an already copied Bollywood classic oldie of the 70's. All i can say is that try to find some formulas to get some fighting spirit in your over rated full time models cum part ime wannabe cricketers.
P.S. I hope this commment gets posted. Though i must appreciate your sense of humour and creativity.;-)

haha...well-said (whatever I understood, in any case), a lot of critisim is quite fair. The captain is a libaility, indeed, because he is not only uninspirational but is bound to make errors in judgment on the field. But to a lot of us that is the beauty of Pakistan cricket: Undisciplined, and without a consitution indeed, we play cricket with an aura unique to us and don't give much to the betting man in terms of predictability. You never know which Pakistan will show up, which is never enough consolation for the opponents. In some senses, we bring to cricket what other teams fail to: drama, publicity, and at the end of the day, a good laugh. I have my fingers crossed for Pakistan, you hold your breath.

hahahaha! brilliant! lolz...i dont think theres gonna be or should be backLashing like krishna said, but this is an intriguing article, i wish u'd gone even further into your analogy...because the Palace (PCB) certainly is a crazy place! nicely written....and as for the Men in Blue, well, of course u had to mention it...but it didnt effect pak in 92, 99 or '03....hopefully this time it will effect India (in a bad way, hehe) and then the 70-30 record we have against India will come into real perspective..i hope Afridi clicks for a game against India!
interestin readin....and i also think can inzy is being put down too much...2yrs ago his captaincy had venom in india with his back towards the wall, i think for this SwanSong of his...u'll see him more animated...but regardless of animation, i think u'll see him more dedicated, concentrated, ruthless even (inshaAllah!)

Mukul, you just like playing to the gallery, don't you? I hope no one takes the bait to defend Pak and ignores this entry, because thats what this blog deserves.

I salute you Mukul... even though im from "across the border". I do agree with you, as I am sure a lot of Pkistanis do, when it comes to Pakistan's fickle selection policies. I do not think Pakistan is a serious contender this time around, although their unpredictability factor does make me an optimist.
This was one of the wittiest, tounge-in-cheek posts, and I would like to congratulate on that.
Shahzaib Quraishi.
Dallas, TX.

No, I am speaking from across the border. But there is nothing in the blog which can disturb someone even hardcore Pakistani cricket fans. It was one great piece of creativity with keeping everything in right perspective. We all are saying thanks for missing Shoaib for the cup. But Inzi still have a big role to play. We are not as optimistic of our chances as you are. Hopefully, we will turn out to be a fighting unit during the tournament. We just want our Sepoys to fight till the last drop of blood in their bodies. Everything will be fine whatever it might be after that.

Mukul,
I am extremely disappointed with the fact that you are allowed to write on Cricinfo blogs. First you write "Lara and Eleven Dwarfs" and now this one. Both articles speak volumes of your stupidity and ignorance. Reading these articles was disturbing, I sincerely ask you to please give us all a break. In the meanwhile work on the factual correctness of your articles instead of making your babbles more and more cryptic. Hope this helps.

Instead of hiding your aggression behind flowery prose (which is rather cowardly I might add), may I suggest that you think before you speak? As articulate as you are, you could've simply gotten to your point but I dare say, The BJP is preparing for the worldcup again? As a "Social Historian" why don't you practice your writing on something less inflammatory...for the sake of your kids and mine. Don't mix politics with sport, my friend.

"Most teams would find their cupboards bare after such prodigal behaviour, but Pakistan still has all the fast bowling talent it needs and in Afridi, Razzaq, Mehmood and Shoaib Malik...." Pray tell me, which Razzaq you are talking about?

wtf?

Mukul, I just love the way you write about the Pakistan cricket team, it's just so funny, but interesting at the same time!! I think it is fair to say that there is alot of dirty politics in the PCB. I think that the people of Pakistan would agree with me on that!! I think a good cricketer like Azhar Mehmood is being given a very raw deal by the PCB!! I also agree with you on the fact that Shoaib Akthar is the villain of world cricket. He is as guilty as sin and should have been banned from international cricket last year itself, but politics in the PCB got him out of jail!! I dont have anything personally against Pakistan, but I dont give them much of a chance to win this World Cup realistically!! I think that Pakistan should look at India and learn from us. They should not be so immature and fickle-minded in their outlook towards cricket!! I hope that Pakistan will understand this in good time!!

I never enjoyed reading you as much i did this time. I could not agree more . But i bet, they are coming in the action this time. I donot know but this is some how, the second nature of Pakistanis (not only the cricket team), to be inconsistent. You will never be able to predict what they are coming along with. Defeating Newzealand 2 times in a row in 1992 and then being defeated by Bangaldesh in 1999, is the feat done ONLY by Pakiz ever.

Any how, let see what Inzi has to offer this time. For some not-so-good reason , i beleive that this time either light-blues or green shirts are going to draw attention this time.

You, Sir, are a Hero. Never has such a tenuous analogy been stretched so far.

good post.... (pakistani poster)

Seems like you read few articles, put in your words in colorful way and post it. I was expecting more than that from archrivals. I agree at least on one point. By no means Underestimate Pakistan Cricket Platoon.

I am not sure whether these comments will be posted, but hopefully this writer(mukul) would read them at least on his own.

Your "imagery" sadly doesnt make any sense, infact is quite stupid!

However whats more digusting is your potrayal of the muslim congregation in prayer which you have desribed as a the "prayer huddle" with "the possibility of being ambushed from behind while bonding in faith".

Now if this is humor then this is sick and infact highly insulting! Living in India, no matter how faithless you are; you must have come across muslim rituals. And in your "wannabe-western", "secural" state relegions are supposed to be respected not ridiculed!

Hopefully cricinfo will take a notice of this and will make sure such kind of cheap journalism will not be encouraged!

Well, someone's got to do it sooner or later, so might as well go ahead and get started on the so-called vintage backlashing from across the border.

The short of it is that humour is scarcely your forte Mukul, and I say this in good faith. This ended up being the biggest load of drivel that's appeared on this website, not so much for the views it expressed, but for the style of writing, which tried exceedingly hard to rise above itself, but ended up being weighed down by an inability to be funny. If you dont have it, you don't.

Regarding the particular views, the focus on "prayer huddles" doesn't reveal a particularly mature mindset. It's needlessly inflammatory, as for that matter, is the comment on the "inexplicable failure to defeat the Light Blues" in the world cup. It sort of presupposes that Pakistan cricket has little scope beyond an obsession with India, which is a particularly precious thought. Not to mention the fact that it's one of those lame statistics that one might hide behind to conceal the fact that in the greater scheme of things the record stands heavily loaded in Pakistan's favour. One is almost reminded of Javagal Srinath's comments in the last World Cup about how he is the "fastest veggie bowler" on the planet.

Umm, yes, but that doesn't change the fact that he's still a poor trundler in the greater context of things.

Really enjoyed the artile and Mukul you raised some valid ponints. The selectors have played a big role in mis-managing the immense talent at their disoposal. Being a paki and your average die hard cricket fan , I believe that mr khan should be given the role of pcb head. BUt sadly his being a political figure is a hurlde. Looking forward to reading some more stuff from you, keep writing.

I am not sure why my friends Aditya and Krishna are reading too much between the lines. I think it was an accurate analysis and somewhat correct analogy. I see most positives and few negatives pak team does posses, correctly pointed out. No doubt faith is playing a critical role in pak campaign. Whatever the result maybe, at least some inspirations are there. Excellent article and accurate analysis. keep up good job Mukul

Great comedy, Mukul, I have been reading you articles and wondering why you were on Cricinfo, I now realise you have aspirations for stand up - however, your points are mainly correct and valid, and as a patriot, I will always say Pakistan Zindabad. The problem is that even by our usual standards, this build up was chaos - but some teams thrive on it, I just hope ours can. Anyway, as long as we beat the Indians, I don't care!

Mukul,
Not being a pedant but it is A Mahmood not mehmood. And oh razzaq has been ruled out, hasn't the company sent you word? Very funny and I disagree with the posters above. There is nothing inflammatory coz u had your tongue firmly in cheek. The look out thing made my day. I could really dig in but oh well the ones from across the border don't do humour when it comes to their cricket company.

Major Mukul,
Great job!!

There is nothing wrong with the article politically krishna, but I would still say what the heck crawled up your behind mukul? I mean I was trying my best and biting my hand to make sure I'm reading this sort of material on a venue like cricinfo for real. Pathetic, childish and so non professional stuff. But again, just to make things clear, I'm not saying that there is any political error there.

Hat off Mukul, i am across broder, but you have written amazingly to the core, keep on dude!
Ahmed

Nice one Mukul. Call me an eternal optimist but I still believe pakistan can lift this cup if sepoys sami (I was never his fan but just hoping Colonel I. Khan was right for yet another time when he was rating him high) and Rana. Let these guys fire and others are already capable of wreaking heavoc on any side.

wtf!!! man stop showing off..and write some real stuff...

Your pragmatic look at the Pak team is a very refreshing read. And quite accurate too, I might add.

hi mukul
A very well writen comparison to the east india company.I applaud your effort.I cannot disagree more to krishna abt yy wud this bring out a backlash across the border.Its just an assesment of a team like any other team on the cricket circuit.
I m nt sure mukul though if Pakistan has enough bowling resources left to get to the semis.With asif and to an extent Shoaib Pak company wud have been a serious contender for the crown.So far as the pak india clash i think after a while this time india wud start favorites to take the game.Pak company used to have a better bowling atatck and thats why they wud usually win against india but tht doesnt seem to be the case in this world cup.Colnel Imran was pak company's best ever leader and sub major haq cannot think of coming close but if he can score some runs that wud atleast help him lead from the front and instill some confidence in him and the team.cricket is by chance but with the loss of key players pak company's chances have seriously dwindled although to count a team like them out wud be a mistake.
From
Philadelphia
USA

I am from across the border. I couldn't stop laughing. Its a very realistic assessment Mukul. I salute you for this. Have a garam chai ki pyali on me ~~(_)D

dude... what's up with the allegoric references... just write straight up...it sounds cute in the beginning but then gets quite annoying...

You say bad thing about pakustaan kirkit. I blow you up. Prepare to meed bhagwaan. I press button now and u blow up. Hindu skummm......
And now that I've perfected the fundamentalist-pakistani stereotype and given you all an extremely potent reason to hurl a barrage of "told-you-so's" to the Talented Mr. Mukul here, jump over to Kamran Abbasi's blog and return the favor in kind, shout some extremist slogans and burn a few effigies, let's finally talk about cricket.
Mukul I like what you write. You're passionate enough to shun political correctness and call a spade a spade when need be - and not a modern-portable-disinterring-device. Right on about the Aussies, right on about the windies, nearly there about the pakies. Some things you missed out about our sepoys however:
Havaldar Akhtar, if recent reports are to be believed, is supposedly living in Dante's hell ever since he got himself and his protege booted from the camp. He's also raring to tear into the opposition's ranks come the 20/20 skirmish. Some pakis think Havaldar Akhtar's best use would be to force/trick him into suicide tactics - strap a covert bomb on his waist, send him into the next campaign, press the button and methodically mutter 'oops' for good measure. And then perhaps eulogize him in Tool's words: "He had a lot to say. He had a lot of nothing to say. We'll miss him." Decorate him posthumously. And then lastly, spare a brief moment for not only Gentleman Cadet Asif, but also the countless unsung, nameless faces in the reserves who - despite convictions of martyrdom, despite intent, despite craft - never got to see battle and retired with dreams unmet, convictions broken. Yes, I'm talking about the ghosts, the could-have-beens, the should-have-beens who were kept at bay due to the Pakistan Commanding Board's (PCB's) policy of : "All sepoys are equal but some are more equal than others." - (a la George Orwell for the uninitiated).

AHAHAHAHHAHAA
get a life !!!!

Yes you wrote more than reality, but pakistani captain and coach are fickle minded, they both don't know how to utilise the best of game Afridi, and they are sopiling him they didn't and don't know he is the real threat to world, Izmam prais Hafiz and did not give the chance to open Afidi, but time will tell hafiz and the other would not give the good start to pakistan, Younis is too slow,they should go with afridi and nazir but it does not look like because in both warm up game they did not give the cahnce to afridi open let's hope but m sure pakistan batting will not , but the allrounder willl be the winner like afrid and mahmood.............

God help him to understand the necessity for opening with Afrid.......

well, the only thing I get from this article is that when you have failed to thrive as a historian, give a shot at cricket.

The article was a good one. Whatever team Inzi get whether it's strong or weak they going to beat a hell out of other teams. That's what I am sure of.

Makul, Please Please Please... Do us all a favor and shut your mouth! Reading back to back blogs with such poor taste and content is a real embarassment to this website...

I have no idea how your blog was chosen by cricinfo....because you have absolutely no knowledge of cricket or even social history for that matter. You want to write flowery passages? Then go to a website where the rest of you fruits congregate...This a cricket website pal...something you know NOTHING OF.

Please Mr. Makul...Don't Quit Your Day Job.

Brother, while I agree that you have been fair and all that, you are missing one of the basic rules of writing. Less is more. If any editor in any publication worth its salt had seen this piece, he would have slashed it to pieces. They days where flowery language with obnoxious words were appreciated, have passed. You are not going to be given accolades based upon how many difficult words you know. Come on man, dont spoil the names of other Indian journalists with your writing style. That said, in terms of content, you have been fair. It was neither too critical, nor too supportive of the Pak team, exactly where they should stand at the start of the World Cup.

I am posting it again,hope you will have the b...s to post it.Else i will post i elsewhere.
I can suggest you a title for your next one on India RAHUL AND HIS ELEVEN ENGLISH SPEAKING MONKEYS"
It would be interesting to see a match up between
the monkeys and the Sepoys,although the monkeys have suffered quite a few defeats in the recent past at the hands Of the sepoys,last time when the sepoys were in monkey land they gave the monkeys a special ... whipping ala shaheed shahid Afridi
who is again itching to hunt a few monkeys,
RAHUL is worried bcz he has (Saurav)in his ranks, whom he does not trust another problem for RAHUL IS his Artillery it is sub standard Ala Bofors scandal,
Another problem for Rahul and his monkeys
is most of his monkeys are too old they have lost their edge,but still rahul and his eleven monkeys can put up a significant fight,
as far as the sepoys are concerned they always play well when their backs are agianst the wall and specially when they play Rahul and company.
They came to the tournament as underdogs as the rest of the world is always jealous of them and always want to discount them,but Pak company has
regrouped and their are chills running in their opponents already,
The pak company even when they are not at their best are always ahead of Monkey & co
as far as ratings are concerned,its just that
Monkey company is more popular bcz of its eleven english speaking monkeys and the money they generate from part time circus keeps their former
slave masters very happy.
The forthcoming contest between the two will be really exciting,Subedar Inzmam has been the best leader they have had in a long time
and he has found able deputys in Khan and Yousaf,they are short in the artillery department but still its enough to hunt a few monkeys,
Subedar Inzimam is on a mission he does not fear any pressure as he is a man of faith and when they huddle together and pray a new Pak company emerges
fearless and full of faith.
And remember Kaneria is an integral part of that
huddle its not india where minorities are mistreated and left out.

really nice and honest opionion.
pakistan side has been always so consistently erratic,but everyone in india knows never write them out.
they can with with this team loose to bangladesh(again)and can beat australia or india any day.
they wud not be my favourites but they are always a force to reckon with.
Because they like all punjabis are never afraid of anything, like true tigers i hope they really do perform well.
well if not please fans dont stone their houses.

i will there in the carrebian islands watching these men in green put up a good fight

The article is witty and funny. One may or may not agree with Mr. Mukal's view and some may also not find him funny. However, i dont see why some of my fellow Pakistani's are getting excited. I am a pretty devout muslim and a Pakistani and I didnt take offence to the 'muslim huddle' either. Its a tounge and cheek article, let it just be that without drawing in cross border issues.
Go Pakistan!

Your article remindes me of your Ghandi, Jinnah once said "Mr. Ghandi never says what he means and he never means what he says" I hope you post this comment its also part of the history. Good luck to indian team, I hope we have an india and Pakistan final.

Its amazing with the all that unprofessionalism and indiscipline,Pakistan still is number 3 ranked in both forms of the game. That shows some talent.....

good and refreshing one. lets see what happens this time in world cup. in all previous cups we were ready to take the bettle but could not won from light blues this time we are not ready so may be this time?????? one thing which can be observed from previous performances of greens is a clear cut efforts and termendous results whenever they are pushed to walls. i can remember 2004 india tour when paki team was without shoaib,asif,umar gul and sami was out of form and still they managed a vital series victory. so hoping for best and same sort of efforts.

Whatever you are smoking...must be really great...it shows in your writing.

Clever piece of writing...after reading couple of lines...I totally forgot to agree or disagree with you. Just felt like enjoying it.

And...thank god finally somebody realized that NOT having Shoaib 'Actor' is actually a blessing.

The beauty of watching Pak team playing cricket is...you have no idea whats going to happen. Not even a greatest Jotshi can predict how the team is going to play...let alone the malang captain and vaio savvy coach.

Keep the passion up in your writing...and keep smoking...

The 1857 analogy is well taken. But two facts indicate the analogy may be more apt for the Indian team. First, a majority of the Sepoys who rebelled against the British was Hindu (see William Dalrymple's brilliant book, "The Last Mughal"). Second, the sepoys bolted under pressure, even when they had an advantage over the advancing British. Both point to the need for an analysis of the Indian team...especially given their performance in the last final of the WC.

Mukul, nice creative angle and most of the stuff was good analysis BUT....i think u need to stick to the cricket..u have no rites watsoever to talk abt what kind of a state pak is or abt what pak team does or doesnt do in their huddle..that comment was assumed and stupid..howvever ur getting better..

great article...as far as rahul and eleven monkeys...chill ..here azar doesnt have to become amit to to become captain...ditto the nawab ..saifs father...also zaheers and munaf r indians first rate..all the state teams have all representations...each is treated fair in this country...president is a muslim pm is a sikh ..and sonia is a foreigner....and lalu and the communists run the parliament....wasim bhai i am a jain ..and my fiance is a muslim...cheers to india..and best of luck to both teams...defeat aussies and africans and the complainin phirangs of uk....unite to defeat them ...or yesterday it was pawar who got pushed arnd ...and tomorrow it will be u and me....follow my countries example and try to make an infosys and reliance in ur country..

For Wasim, GET A LIFE,BUDDY!!!! Don't be so childish. Read the damn article several more times, may be you will understand then......

Mukul, Funny Article, I liked it.
have fun in world Cup. Let be the Sub continent country win.

Mukul.. I agree with you on one thing. If and Only if a certain I Khan was the non playing captain ( read coach) pakistan would have been with a great chance of winning the cup.it is surprising that Pak cricket board does not understand this.I would be prudent to spend the US$ on him than on Bob woolmer.

Mukul, nice post but some of your religious comments involving Yusuf & Kaneria are unneccsary and uncalled for. Please stick to the cricket.

You don't have to bash Pakistan Cricket to become famous with Indian cricket fans.

Awesome article!! And some really excellent responses on this blog. What surprises me is how seriously some of the more one-dimensional rebuttal artists take themselves. It's really illuminating to note how little it takes to successfully needle the emotionally vulnerable and the rabidly passionate. Come now, cricket is just a game. Let's appreciate some good writing, some skillful debate, and some quality humor, without having us an embolism. Cheers!

Well-written piece, no doubt, but also a piece that reminds me why the 1947 parting of ways was necessary. You see, for the average Pakistani, the offshore Entity is niether offshore, nor somone we outsource to. The Entity is THE SOURCE of inspiration, and because it is, the best way of getting the team to gel as one cohesive unit is to get them in tht prayer huddle you seem to ridicule between the lines.

This article is every reason why we stand by the Two Nation Theory. I know the writer had no ill-will, nor did he intend any mischief; but he just fails to see where we come from. Some of my fellow-countrymen, in thier enlightened moderation, will feel compelled to prove to everyone the extent of thier enlightenmen and the heights of their moderation in waxing eloquent about the "literary" merits in this article. Metaphors, Similies, and all else literary must surrender its license and bow in respect to what is most sacred to us - our faith, our constitution. The allusion to Inzi's marshalling his troops through faith, and the implication that those in the team were unwelcome in the huddle, are in bad taste, offensive and smack of an ignorance of the underlying factors peculiar to the team and the nation.

I am getting a bit sick and tired of this "dont count pakistan out" rhetoric. the constant reminders of the 1992 exploits, their victories in unexpected circumstances... blah blah blah. lets be honest now, every team at some point of time has managed herculean feats. be it new zealand, or zimbabwe or pakistan. heck bangladesh made history when they defeated australia in england a year ago and then almost managed a test victory against them too! my point is that when we recall the 1992 exploits, we conveniently forget the circumstances under which pakistan qualified for the semi finals... they managed to secure a single point lead over australia thanks to a rained out match against england where after being routed for 74, england had them by the jugular at 45 for no loss. add to that the debacle in the england - south africa final where the best team of the tournament was rejected a berth in the finals due to a rule that is best summed up as the colloquialism for intestinal refuse. and yeas i feel that while mukul began the article quite well before losing continuity by drifting in and out of the plot: once referring to the team as an army then another second as the pakistan cricket team. otherwise i like your style of writing mukul.

"Sepoy Kaneria, surplus to requirement in the prayer huddle as Yousuf himself once was, ought to act as a look-out"? A very nice way of symbolic writing. Dear Pak countryfellowmen, don't get upset with this piece of article. There is nothing insulting in this. It's a very unique way of analyses of the team's capabilities and their chances in the world cup. Mukul, I liked the article.
Dr. Syed Erfan Asif
Pakistan

You seemed to have pulled a Mr. Abbassi here: write something controversial and attract people to your blog. Was I bieng to diplomatic in my last comment, and not adding enough fuel to fire, that you didn't post it?

Drmanish dont be so over sensitive,this is a cricket website not a political one my comments were in response to Mukuls offensive remarks,as far as your sugessions please i would again remind you this is a cricket website and not a Political one otherwise I could have given you some other stats from the most recent world bank report about the poverty,homelesness and other socio economic issues,as far as you being a jain and your fiance
being a muslim congartulations, whats his Name,
Cheers.

"Mukul Kesavan teaches social history for a living"

After reading the first paragraph of article i am disappointed that a person who doesnt even know how not to use derogatory language for other countries/nations teaches social history for living. I think if this is the last thing he can do for living then he better sacrifice his living in order to save world's social history and future.

Or he should travel to pakistan to see how pre-modern it is. an ignorant social history teacher is recipe of disaster for coming generations. we need to get rid of these losers both in PK and India.

Nice article Mukul. Props for that man. I know ppl r pissed about some of the stuff in there. But the facts r facts. Nice dramatization - especially the part about Kaneria being the look out - lmfao!!!

mukul....ive always enjoyed reading ur comments...and this one just made my day....the way uve dramatized our team Pakistan is great...and surely i dont find it derogatory...thanks for looking up to a team which is prior to the world cup looking down on the barrel...

i'll be using those term throughtout the WC by which u refer to our players...loved that "LANCE NAIK AFRIDI"...i think he can be the man ffor pakistan this time...
in the end i equally wish the best to ur team India for success in the Worldcup...who cares which side the wc comes back to...it shall return to the SUBCONTINENT..

Yes, Krishna and all other Indians, I am sure you people are not naive enough to understand that there are no smoking guns across the border.

well well well...
first of all.. i wud like to comment on some of the responses..!!

Mr. shamit..
do u really think the PCB and the pakistan should LEARN from INDIA?

so would u like to listen wat should we learn?

me should learn the confrontational hell between between KIRAN MORE and SOURAV GANGULY?

we shold learn that nearly all the senior indian monkeys (as i wud quote from the title of mr. mukul's upcoming article"RAHUL DRAVID WITH ELEEVN ENGLISH SPEAKING MONKEY'S") were alllll against inclusion of ganguly back even though he performed in domestic?

we should learn how nearly-lost mr.damliyah back ganguly even if he scnores no more for an year?

so......!!!
rather demanding PCB to learn from BCCI or somewat, i wud like youuu to suggest yourrr borad to learn atleast to hide their shames..

secondly..
Mr. avik roy

its really easy as far as u think to evoke the emotionally vulnerable and rabidly passionates..!!
and u think.. u really think that this blog is a so-called skillful debate and a QUALITY humor..

let me tell u sir, if someone narrates the praying of cricketers in a MANDIR a hurdle in their cricketing abilities.. will that be a GOOD HUMOR for u? if yes than my dear.. i have reservations on ur sense of humor..

and finally MR.MUKUL.
u are getting too much into (i would call it) rationalism. u have no right to comment of someone's religion or some'one's performing of religion in cricket or watever.
u comment on kaneria being not included coz yusuf think he's a hurdle?

wat abt mohammad kaif not included? and dinesh karthik preferred regardless being a faaaar low grade player from suresh raina and mohammad kaif?
am i allowed to write that its becoz rahul dravid thinks him a hurdle in his pooja.. and not so abt patahn and zaheer who are included?

This article.. must have a no-place in a cricket website..
i persoanally condemned this kind of features or blog by ANYONE.. i repeat ANYONE... any pakistani writing abt the indians or indians writing abt pakistani or any countries..
its simply evoking fire.

yeah i totally agree with you. i was happy the day i came to knew that shoaib was no more part of our team in the world cup. felt little bad abt asif but thats the part of the game.. we think the bowling department is little weak but we got all the power and experience in the batting dept.. Inshallah our team will perform their best. our best wishes are with them.

A few words for Kapil, "In 1992 Pakistan would have qualified anyway had their match against SA not been affected so badly by rain: SA won because of that very stupid rule that cost them semifinal. Thus getting a point for England match was not that fortunate; pakistan lost 2 points to the same rule". People quickly recall the SA semifinal and Pak/Eng match but they forget Pak/SA match; obvious bias.

Flowery language doesn’t seem to over look the piercing tone for the religious beliefs.
Loose that part and we have a nice balanced non-biased “Cricket Article”. It's a sensitive issue and many will not see the way you do.
I too think Inzi is a mediocre captain but a grand player. We will respect him in any way he thinks he can get the job done.

Mukul, I stumbled upon your blog quite by chance last week. I thought "Lara and the Eleven Dwarfs" came as close to evoking the perfect cricket article from the heady, glorious days of the first half of the 20th century, eclipsing, as it easily did, most of the inane fodder found on Cricinfo (Siddharth V. -- that brilliant, charismatic and wholly under-rated writer aside). However, "Subedar Major Haq and a Company of Sepoys" goes several steps further and, just as easily, establishes you as the cricket writer with the most panache in the 21st century. The witty blend of metaphors and analogies in what is essentially a very sensible critique elevates your "blog" into the realm of writings by venerable, colonial-era cricket journalists/writers like Sir Neville Cardus and John Arlott. Your very humourous allusion to Yousuf and Kaneria, one can see, has been, as expected, misinterpreted by an ever-increasing legion of the mistakenly pious, but that should not make you desist from entertaining -- even enthralling -- us with future, even more superbly choreographed dalliances between the sublime and the ridiculous. Thank you for reviving what I had come to think of as a dying art: the supremely under-stated cricketing missive that aspires to reach even the uninitiated and strikes -- in the best possible homage to great cricket-writers from the past -- home with all the lightning speed of a Fred Spofforth yorker!

I feel Mukul Kesavan is very scared and on the other hand understands us very well and purposely has gone with the army metaphor and have tried to target us on the areas we are weak such as following which we tend to improve on these days.

He very well knows that if these guys will pray together which of course shows unity and require discipline than 1965 episode can be replayed as the only time we have shown faith, discipline, unity and courage post Pakistan much bigger than 1992 world cup of course.

In fact we should take his article as a lesson that all our enemies always think of hitting from behind and change our tactics to half praying and half guarding as many of you would know what I mean, but what they are really not aware of that if it were up to them we wouldn’t have existed by now but we still we do exist and worst of all after all the confrontations against our arch rivals we have remained unbeatable for years in almost all aspects.

mukul....I guess you are saying that Pakistan will win the world cup? you are on the right track if you are saying that.

Mukhul, I guess you should give the pen some rest. I know its a cool atricle but It sould not be accessible to some blokes who don't read it for fun. See you ended up in a making a crazy bloke who does not know about cricket in India question the professionalism of one of the richest sporting bodies of the world. Why do you put your self and expose India to such un educated blokes?

no wasim ..it is not a political forum..i agree and the article that mukul has written reflects the circumstances..yes i agree there is poverty in india..we have to fight on so many fronts..poverty terrorism ..corruption..but also there is chance for everyone out here..thats why i lv this nation.i dont condemn any nation...urs i am sure is great too..i see w akram on star sports and i find no difference between him and my best friend sayyed imran..as regards my fiance ..thanks..HER name is dr tasneem... all i mean to say is that mukul has written this article in a very analyical way..obviouly kaneria doesnt know to pray namaz..so he will watch out for ...i should say guard the team against outsiders ...think of it in a writers point of view....and think of the global perspective of what i am tryin to tell u...think how india pak can learn to be as consistent as aussie and south africa..a case in point is mrf bowlin academy...our pace attack is largely due to mr lillee...cant we start a spin academy like that ?we dont ..ur countrymen r blessed with good physiques for fast bowling,but they end up like akhtar ..why?or asif?why ..cos we dont have a culture of sports in both our nations..i write this in my capacity as an ex mumbai u16 legspinner...i quit cos my father didnt have the money to get me into a ranji side ..i am a doctor now..but had i been in aussie ..i would have had greater support..scholarships and all...thats what i mean ...when we look at our national team ....we look at our society...urs in constant upheaval..ours needed to borrow from aussie knowledge not utilising our own manpower or knowledge..the administrators r like jamindars..feudal lords..dalmiya was one such example..heck its all about money over here..even our cricketers reflect our society...the richest of them all will open restaurants to grow more rich...ask him for some donations and he will put up some bat for charity...only one soul mr i khan has done something good...most great players give nothin back to the game...finally a word of advice...the management rt now of the indian team is perhaps the best i have seen in 20 yrs...nonperformers r shown the door ....players like karthic get the deserved chance..captain gets one or two men of his choice cos he thinks they r match winners and they r....all 15 r competing for places ..anil is standin behind harbhajan,..sreesanth is behind agarkar and zaheer ...karthick is behind all batsmen...sehwag knows that this is his last chance ...and pathan knows that ashish nehra and ishaant singh r fightin hard to get back in the squad..chappel has introduced a performance oriented multidimensional culture..all have to adapt..there is competition in the first 15 and beyond....and colonel vengsarkar is the best selector ..he minces no words...sehwag was taken in at the instance of dravid..whats wrong with it ..dravid has acknowledgedit...he wins he takes the credit he looses he gets the blame..fair deal..its a good team and the approach is rt...good luck to both the teams..may the best team win...

Having read all the posts - and being a Pakistan supporter who has lived in Australia since 1989 - and as someone who always believed the team could come back from all the first round losses in 1992 - but one who stopped believing in miracles when we lost early wickets in the final at the MCG - but started to believe again when Wasim and Mushtaq took some incredible wickets to turn the game around.

Seems this time around I should be supporting Australia.

Because I don't seem to have anything in common with the vitriolic subcontinentals who seem to take it all too seriously.

It is only a game after all.

Hey guyz chill out, hope the Cup comes to the Sub-continent but Mr. Mukul seriously the religious factor was just uncalled for and the same goes for anyone from either countries (India or Pakistan) in calling names or insulting eachother. Best of luck to both the teams...CHEERS

I would like to think that Ali is taking the mick, but unfortunately I don't think he is. The reason why writing such as this blog entry is not seen very often is that it is not very good - take a look at Sudz's post a while back, it hits the nail on the head.

I completely disagree with Ali's comment that the journalism on cricinfo is "inane" - the standard of journalism on cricinfo is in fact extremely high in my opinion.

Your blog entry had no flow and I think you went crazy with the thesarus after you wrote it by gong through every word and painstakingly right clicking it and finding a more rare synonym for each one. I hope no West Indian read your dwarf article, because if you are attending the world cup and some locals recognize you they will show you how much punch a dwarf packs. Should't you be busy writing something negative about Ganguly? Even without Shoaib and Asif we have bowlers who would make any internation ODI side and each one of them is more faster and consistent than any Indian bowler and you know it. The thing that has me excited is our batting which hasn't looke like this for ages. A more fitting analogy would have been comparing the Pakistani squad to Pakistan's SSG elite commandos, not regular old sepoys!

Mukhul, I actually did not complete what I intended to say in my previous post. I mean there are numerous times my views opposed yours. I guess that does not pose a problem. I still do not agree you making a comparison like you did in the article. I'm sure you would have written the whole article with a grin in your face. Well, I don’t know if the grin was an evil or a good one.

Putting me in your shoes, I will exercise caution in writing such article. Especially being an Indian and writing about of all teams, Pakistan. It has been a well known fact that people across the border are not TOLERANT as the Indians. Many a times, whatever an Indian talks about them is seen in a religious point of view. I think the people who read this should have the tendency to separate sports from politics and religion. People from Pakistan, I am afraid, majority of them have not attained that level of maturity. I was glancing through the posts and there were at least two people read your post with a religious point of view.

I love cricinfo and I think it’s the best site for cricket lovers like me who travel constantly. Tarnishing it with such articles breaks my heart, not the fact that these articles appear but the way people translate and read it. This, I’m afraid will cause detrimental affects to life outside cricket. I hope in future you think what you write and not feel after you post it. It will be interesting to see other articles up your sleeve and what kind of issues it will raise to satisfy your quest for identity.