Pakistan left the Champions Trophy with dishonour today. While nobody expects Pakistan to win every game or every tournament, what is expected is that professional cricketers representing their country will show some spine. The Mohali pitch was an unfriendly Eid present from the local groundsman but it cannot entirely excuse the pitiful showing from Pakistan's batsmen. What is supposed to distinguish international cricketers from the rest of us is that they have the eye and the technique to handle even the most trying conditions. Pakistan's batsmen have shown again that unless they are playing on a straight up and down track they are the world's biggest bunnies.

This ineptitude has to end. On difficult, and particularly bouncy, pitches like Perth and this year's Old Trafford track Pakistan do not have the technique to hold out. Pakistan will inevitably blame the pitch, and they will have a case, but that does not escape the fact that because Pakistani batsmen crumble when the ball rumbles they remain some distance from conquering Australia and South Africa, destinations that are must wins on the road to world domination.

A miserable first tournament in charge was made worse by personal failure for Younis Khan. There were also some holes in his captaincy. It was mind boggling that on a pitch made for seam and South Africa reeling, Pakistan bowled so many overs of spin and Umar Gul and Yasir Arafat failed to bowl out. Admittedly, Yasir's first spell was too short but a wise and persuasive captain would have coaxed a second, fuller spell out of him. Gul, on the other hand, bowled only one bad ball--a ludicrously bad one--and there was no excuse for him not to complete his spell.

This Champions Trophy has confirmed two suspicions. First, Inzamam is as essential as ever to this Pakistani middle order, especially when the going gets tough. It will be a relief to see him back against West Indies. Second, if Pakistan are to have any chance of winning the World Cup they will require Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif--or at least one of them--to lead the bowling attack. Ethically you might imagine that there is no chance of that happening but the Pakistan Cricket Board isn't known for its ethical purity.

Ultimately, as mercurial as Pakistan are, the mayhem of the last few weeks was simply too much to overcome. Nobody wants Pakistan cricket to become sterile, the South Africa of South Asia. We still want the flair, the threat of something brilliant. But my conclusion, and the lesson of the last 14 years, is that for that flair and that brilliance to thrill us and produce results Pakistan's cricketers require stable and sensible administration, management, and leadership. Above all, they need to learn how to fight like their lives depend on it.

After several days basking in the glory of a victory over Sri Lanka, Pakistan's Champions Trophy could end in a dismal rush. Younis Khan's team is certainly capable of defeating South Africa but it will be an achievement to immediately bounce back from the New Zealand match.

Even if Pakistan win, a big question mark hangs over the team's bowling attack. With Rana Naved-ul Hasan looking a shadow of the bowler that won hearts with his courage and his incisions, the bowling has a toothless look to it.

Umar Gul and Rao Iftikhar can be valuable support bowlers but a bowling attack without a spearhead is a bowling attack waiting to be taken to the cleaners, particularly in India. Rana has been recovering from injury but he has been back long enough for that excuse to be redundant. As much as everyone would like to see him recover his form, this Rana isn't the raja who became a definite selection.

This is a major problem for Pakistan. Rana's form was poor in the one-day series in England and he continues to be ineffective. The selection committee's patience must be running out, it may have run out already. It is not immediately obvious that Rana will ever get his form back. Pakistan need an alternative and quickly.

Some of you have commented that Pakistan's poor bowling performance confirms the sense in Imran Khan's demand for a recall for Mohammad Sami and Danish Kaneria. Imran's one day philosophy was always to play the best available bowlers and peg back the opposition by taking wickets.

The worry for Pakistan though is that without Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif there really isn't anybody to lead the bowling attack. This thought will inevitably weigh heavily upon the tribunal members at tomorrow's hearing.

Shahid Afridi is as much of an enigma as he ever was. Only a special cricketer can set pulses racing in the way Afridi does. When he succeeds he is audacious. But when he fails he is abysmal. Last year he showed the riches that his aggression, if controlled a little, could deliver for Pakistan cricket. His success was also as a result of the backing he received from coach and captain.

Yet sometime around Pakistan's tour to Sri Lanka, the boom boom went out of Afridi. He prematurely retired from Test cricket and since his return has failed to make an impact. What has gone wrong?

The tour of England was an unhappy one for Afridi. Inzamam held him back too late in the order for him to influence the innings when he had previously been a middle order stick of dynamite. My view on Afridi is that he seems to be a player who does respond to responsibility and this affront to his achievements set him back. By the time the one-day series came around Afridi was off form and the pitches were perfectly unsuited to his brand of bravado.

For these reasons I don't believe this summer's failures are an adequate indication of Afridi's value to the team. In India and in the West Indies the pitches will be tailor made for Afridi to rediscover his boom boom. It's what the specatators want and I'm sure television producers won't complain either.

But Afridi does need to change one thing. I agree with him that going in too late in the order is a waste of his unique talent. He does, however, need to be mentally prepared to go in anywhere between number 1 and 7 depending on the state of the game. This is not an unreasonable scenario for a mature cricketer. Afridi's oft stated request to bat at number 6 has the ring of an unnecessary obsession--and Afridi is a man of instinct not obesession.

All Pakistan fans--and many from other countries--need their dose of Boom Boom. He has looked a distracted cricketer for many months. One blitz will turn that distraction into joy.

As good as Pakistan's win against Sri Lanka was we mustn't delude ourselves that the current bowling attack is one that any country will fear. Indeed, without Shoaib and Asif the pace bowling can be highly competent at best.

What to do? In calling for Yasir Arafat the Pakistan think tank has sent out two clear signals. The first is no suprise and is sent to Mohammad Sami. The message says: "You've blown it mate. You have been too wayward and too expensive in Pakistan colours. Barring a stunning turnaround in domestic cricket your international career is toast. PS We don't care what Imran Khan thinks about you."

The second message is more bothersome. This message says that when it comes to back up in the pace bowling department Pakistan does not possess someone of sufficient quality and speed to replace Shoaib Akhtar.

I find this troubling. Pakistan cricket has made its reputation over the last 25 years or so on the quality of its fast bowlers. When Imran Khan retired, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis were world class. When the two Ws waned, the Rawalpinidi Express was hurtling at full speed. You might say that Asif was set to replace Shoaib as the linchpin of the attack but that isn't the lineage I'm talking about. I'm talking about the lineage of pace and pace is something Asif can't boast. We keep hearing of tearaway pacemen on the fringes of selection. To dominate world cricket, pace is an essential requirement. Once again Pakistan have failed to turn potential into results. This is a situation that must be put right quickly.

In the meantime, Yasir Arafat surprised everybody this summer with his form in county cricket. He ran in like Waqar, tried to bowl a similar length, and all he lacked was extra pace. Even so he is regularly in the 85-90mph category. Importantly, he is more than handy with the bat and I think that attribute combined with his ability to keep it full at the death makes him an attractive option. And he could yet get faster.

I think it might be Yasir time. At least let's see his temperament at international level. Pakistan will need a pace bowling hero to win the World Cup. Even if Shoaib and Asif return in the nick of time for the World Cup, Yasir looks to be an allrounder of genuine potential.

Some commentators have dismissed the Champions Trophy as a meaningless jamboree but the encounter between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was as emotionally charged as any match Pakistan have ever played. The heat was on Younis Khan but he didn't fry thanks to a stunning batting display from Abdul Razzaq and a catching blunder by Sri Lanka's Dilshan.

Razzaq, the ex vice-captain, put in a captain's performance with bat and ball and Younis, the ex dummy captain, put in a yummy performance that showcased his natural leadership skills, obvious in his enthusiasm, energy, and positivity.

It was always going to take an outstanding perfromance to cool Sri Lanka's red-hot streak and Pakistan managed that with a composed chase under lights. The Razzler razzle-dazzled but the pursuit was steered by sensible knocks from Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik, and given an early thrust by Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Farhat.

In the absence of their two best bowlers Pakistan will still struggle to win this tournament but more of this positive approach and India's batsman-friendly wickets could still carry Younis Khan's team a long way.

This was a tremendous team performance and Younis and Bob Woolmer must take the credit for that. Many of Younis's disillusioned supporters will have only now begun to forgive him. Continue like this and he could be pardoned just as enthusiastically as he was damned.

A PCB official has told Cricinfo that the players are responsible for this situation and were given a booklet explaining what is legal and what is illegal. This game of passing the buck is deplorable and offers a wonderful insight into why the PCB stumbles from one disaster to another.

Even the most highly educated individuals fail to absorb the majority of information delivered to them in seminars and booklets. Few people could tell you every ingredient in what they have eaten. Few patients have a good idea of the drugs they are being administered.

Asif and Shoaib might be utterly to blame but then again they might not and Shoaib has already protested his innocence.

This premature damnation from the PCB is embarrassing and it contrasts sharply with the message that Younis Khan and Bob Woolmer are sending out that the players, management, and administration must accept collective responsibility. The PCB should hold its tongue until it has got to the bottom of this sorry affair, an affair that has done much more damage to Pakistan cricket and the team's chances of winning the World Cup than the previous two disasters.

	Shoaib's exit is sure to dent, if not demolish, Pakistan's prospects of winning the Champions Trophy © Getty Images

It's official: This is the worst time in the history of Pakistan cricket. To lose your elite opening attack to injury is one thing, to lose it to suspicions of illegal drug use is quite another. The natural reaction is to hope that there was something wrong with the samples or the analysis. Shoaib's and Asif's lawyers will inevitably try that one. The next reaction is to come up with an extraordinary excuse for an humiliating finding. Expect them both to try that as well. Whether or not those lines of defence will achieve anything is yet to be seen but what this incredible turn of events has achieved is the demolition of Pakistan's prospects of winning the Champions Trophy. A win from here will be a miracle.

I have little sympathy for players who take performance enhancing drugs. The rules are clear. But I do have a little sympathy for the players, blissful ignorance is no excuse but it is partly understandable. It is their doctors, advisers, and cricket board that I have no sympathy for. It is these people who destroy careers through their arrogance and their negligence. It seems incredible to me--if true--that this is the first drug test performed by the PCB.

I am also baffled why they have been called back before the test was repeated? Laboratory tests are never 100% reliable.

We don't yet know the extent of the problem but Shane Warne ended up with a one-year ban when he got into trouble. A one-year ban would be a major setback for Asif and he might never recover though you would hope he would. A one-year ban for Shoaib would be as good as the end of his career.

Your feedback has been tremendous, so tremendous that I thought it might be useful to explain which comments will or will not be posted.

I want to encourage comment, debate, and conversation on Pak Spin—the people must be heard—but some rules are required to ensure that the blog is respectable, reactive, relevant, and rip-roaring fun.

1 Abusive or discourteous comments will not be posted
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9 I reserve the right to edit the comment as I see fit before posting (without consultation with the commenter)
10 The blogger’s decision (ie mine) is final

	Inzamam's absence in the Champions Trophy leaves a crater in the middle order © Getty Images

But it only served to remind us of the crater Inzy’s absence creates in the middle order, which was Pakistan’s strongest suit over a troubled summer. Indeed, Inzy appeared in the finest touch particularly in helping to save the Lord’s Test but also in the dismissive way he batted in the one-day series.

As with each adversity there is an opportunity. Who will seize it?

In terms of team selection, this has become the biggest question for Pakistan’s Champions Trophy campaign. The rest of the team almost picks itself and I expect the openers to fare much better on India’s helpful tracks.

A straight swap would bring in Faisal Iqbal, a young man whose talent many people doubt but who nonetheless has shown flashes of brilliance. Anybody who earns praise from Shane Warne must have something about him.

Another option might be to play Mohammad Hafeez, Imran Farhat, and Shoaib Malik in the top three. But that brings us to the possibility of Younis Khan dropping down the order, and that might be a move that is widely criticised especially if it fails.

Pakistan could of course play Shoaib Malik at 5, and that’s the option I’d go for. Always bearing in mind that Pakistan’s multitude of all-rounders offers great flexibility and Shahid Afridi batting in a Powerplay might win you the match in a few breathtaking overs.

This has been a great debate on Younis Khan’s volte face, and it is clear that people on all sides of the debate are genuinely concerned about the future of Pakistan cricket and unwilling for the cricket board to be anything less than professional.

It is also clear that Younis had tremendous support to become Inzamam’s successor and he has created serious doubts among many of his supporters about his fitness to lead Pakistan. But there remains much good will towards Younis and I share that.

He has always lead Pakistan well and usually struck me as a composed, brave, and jovial character. Let’s hope his hasty resignation—which I still maintain was a dumb way to register his protest—is a moment of madness that will not be repeated. But as I learned when I worked as a psychiatrist, “nothing predicts behaviour like behaviour.”

As for the PCB, it’s hard to harbour any conviction about its fitness for purpose. We will have to judge the new leadership by its deeds and already the decision-making has polarised opinion. Talat Ali has added to concerns by getting off to a bad start—at least Zaheer Abbas knew which player was which. And Younis not knowing that Inzamam would not be available for the final, if Pakistan makes it, was another managerial gaffe.

Finally—before we move on as many of you have rightly suggested—Younis Khan is being freely compared to Imran Khan in his leadership and his desire to do it his way. Well, Imran showed his real strength when he had also shown that he was an indispensable captain of Pakistan. Younis has some way to go before he matches Imran as a leader. Indeed, he isn’t even yet the proper captain, let alone indispensable. History rarely looks favourably on nearly men.

PS I think we’ve had enough comment on this one.

What on earth is Younis Khan up to? © AFP

Last week was climactic even for Pakistan.

We now have a board chairman (Nasim Ashraf—I'm humble enough to drop the title Dr, why isn't he?) who is a pal of General Musharaf. Anything else going for him?

We have a captain (Younis Khan) who behaved in the most inexplicable manner in resigning unceremoniously one minute and snatching the crown once Shaharyar Khan had gone—and don't be kidded by his supporters who suggest this was some kind of ingenious brinkmanship.

What Younis Khan did was dumb, dumb, dumb.

We have an ex-Asian Bradman and ex-team manager (Zaheer Abbas) blaming Inzamam for the Oval fiasco when I know the PCB hierarchy present did at the very least tacitly support the protest.

And we have a great county cricketer and one-time great international cricketer (Mushtaq Ahmed) dumped from being assistant coach because he is a pal of Inzamam's. The excuse that Mushy wasn't entirely cleared by Justice Qayyum is a red herring: Mushy's done the job before and if Qayyum didn't want him involved in Pakistan cricket he should have banned him like he did Salim Malik.

I can understand Mushy's anger. You don't hire somebody and then fire him before he's had a chance to show his worth. Is everyone that Inzy likes out, and everyone that Younis likes in? That's the kind of nonsense Pakistan cricket needs to get away from. This dramatic decision-making leads me to worry about Nasim Ashraf. I hope I'm wrong.

Younis Khan's ill-judged resignation leads me to worry about him too. And that's where I definitely hope I'm wrong—I've always thought he'd make a great captain. But all that he has achieved so far is put the heat on his captaincy in the Champions Trophy.

The question is will he fly or fry?

A ball-tampering controversy followed by a captaincy shambles might spell disaster for most cricket teams, but when it comes to Pakistan cricket it might just mean that all is well with the world.

There was a time when I sulked in desperation at the latest incredible twist in events. The shenanigans and skulduggery were unimaginable. But then I grew to love it. Pakistan cricket is an administrative basket case but a voyeur's eye candy. And the result is that you never quite know what to expect on the field, a flash of genius or a flood of incompetence. Pakistan is the world's most capable team at being either very very good or very very bad within the same tour, the same match, the same session, or the same over. Throw in some of the world's fastest bowlers, most exciting batsmen, laziest fielders, and hottest hotheads and you have created an irresistible mix.

Pak Spin will celebrate all that is wonderful and miserable about Pakistan cricket. It will share the joy and the pain of following the world's most unfathomable cricket team. It might even make a difference, but then again who would want Pakistan cricket to be any different?