3 Waqar Younis. An enlightening exchange between Salim Altaf, director of PCB operations, and Waqar on GEO television was a public relations triumph for Waqar. Altaf, who revealed himself to be a man mired in bureaucracy and unwilling to address Waqar's complaints directly or in detail, implied that Waqar had been employed by the board for just under a year without any appraisal or review of his performance. Shameful management, I'd say. No wonder then that Waqar's role drifted so far from his original job description to render it irrelevant. Yet Altaf clung to that original job description as if variation from it was impossible and used it to justify the board's final treatment of Waqar.

My view is that the board handled Waqar's ouster in a crass and insulting manner. By Waqar's own admission, Bob Woolmer and Inzamam-ul Haq both preferred to have Mushtaq Ahmed as assistant coach. But on the evidence of the first two crash-wallop games in South Africa, Pakistan's fast bowlers are going backwards rather than forwards.

Indeed, to say that Waqar would not be useful for one-day games is mindboggling for Pakistan supporters who saw him become one of the greatest one-day bowlers ever, particularly in pressure situations. Not just that, he was a pioneer.

4 Mushtaq Ahmed. I want to understand how one minute Justice Qayyum's inquiry can be used as one of the reasons to keep Mushtaq out of the coaching set up but is then conveniently forgotten a few months later? Where's the intergity in that about turn?

5 Appointments by acquaintance. It's not always wise to protest too much. The PCB has got into a peculiar habit of refuting criticism by penning rebuttals in newspapers. One such rebuttal denied a charge of nepotism in appointments at the board and refuted an earlier piece published in Dawn, Pakistan's most highly-respected newspaper.

I made some inquiries of my own and discovered that senior Pakistani journalists are convinced Ahsan Malik, the new head of media at the PCB, is closely related to Nasim Ashraf. Malik was one of the first appointments by Ashraf's regime. Now my view is that it is fine to appoint a relative provided they happen to be the best person for the job. Unfortunately, the jury is out on Malik. And now that the board has publicly denied this relationship--in a piece curiously penned by Malik himself--it has got itself into a potentially disastrous situation. The disaster would be this: If the two are indeed related, which senior journalists insist that they are, then I do not see how either of them can remain in post having denied that they are related to each other?

To add to the sequence of doubtful recruitments, the PCB appointed PJ Mir, a friend of both Ashraf and President Musharraf, as its media manager for the World Cup.

Where's the independence in these appointments? Not much if critics are to be believed.

6 One of the latest media brainwaves is for the PCB to help newspapers send journalists on foreign tours by introducing a "cost-sharing" scheme. Excuse me, in case I've forgotten how journalism works, but anything that compromises the independence of those journalists is unacceptable. In a poor country like Pakistan, he who pays the piper really does call the tune. Most journalists in Pakistan do not enjoy the power, freedom, or the pay of their colleagues in richer countries, and the PCB's initiative is not one of liberation but of media management.

7 With each new PCB regime we are promised merit, ethics, and transparency. Nasim Ashraf's is no different. He also said he wanted to be judged by performances and not mere words. Well, I'm afraid that both the words and performances are causing concern.

Pakistan fans, who care passionately about their favourite game, want some answers. This is not just about the World Cup--although it partly is--but it is about something far deeper in Pakistani society: Whether or not we can trust our major institutions?

If the PCB were to address these concerns I would be delighted to share its responses here. Don't hold your breath though, this is a cricket board already with much to answer.

However, the strangest part is the in spite of all the shambles in the last ODI game, Pakistan will still win a game or two in South Africa in spectacular fashion. But then only to go down hopelessly again. That is the enigma. What do you do with a team full of mavericks? I once captained a club team here in England in which we had 5 Pakistanis and it was simply impossible to keep them under control or make them agree to any plan though they were still individually good players and when in mood could win you a match singlehandedly. Wild horses all running in different directions, sometimes with luck that direction turn out to be the right direction but it is matter of chance.

In Pakistan players reflect and complement the shambolic board and vice versa. Don't lose sleep over it Kamran. It is a very normal state of affairs.

Mr Abbasi talked about Waqar's ouster and PCB's transparency in the column. It is interesting to note that in the interview that Mr Abbasi has mentioned, not once did the public get a straightforward answer from Salim Altaf. Not only did he fail to answer questions about Waqar's ouster, he also failed to give any answers pertaining to Mushtaq's appointment as Assistant coach. Every one of his replies went something like this: "It is the collective decision of the management...The decision was taken after due process... Ad Hoc Committee is the management..."
I fail to see any transparency in answers like that.
Moreover I don't see the reasoning behind Mushtaq's appointment. He was a great legspinner with limited batting, fielding, or fast bowling ability. All he can do is coach Kaneria, the only legspinner in the team, who might not even go to the World Cup. How he is a better asset to the team than Waqar is beyond me. Inzi had a lot to do with Mushtaq's appointment, them being great buddies and all that, and Waqar had to take the fall to accomodate Mushtaq. The only thing transparent about this issue was PCB's culture of nepotism/favoritism, and their inability to come up with a straightforward answer. Someone should sit Salim Altaf and Dr Nasim Ashraf down, and ask them yes-or-no questions only.

I was deeply indignant in watching Pakistan lose by such a big margin yesterday. I hope the board attempts to send a replacement very soon. Asif had too much workload of late and we need to have at least 2 fast bowlers except Sami and Rana Naveed. I still wonder why was Rana Naveed persisted with given his dismal display in the recently concluded twenty 20 match. Pakistan can ill afford to go to the world cup losing this ODI tournament. It speaks volumes about South Africa's meteoric rise in ODI ranks and trying to do the seemingly impossible which is winning this world cup.

Eversince his appointment as the PCB chair, Dr. Nasim Ashraf has managed to outnumber his mishandling of affairs than the number of days he's been the boss. If i remember correctly, Dr. Ashraf was one of the few expatriates who was invited by general Musharraf during his regime for the development program, and he was assigned the education sector (please correct me if i'm wrong). However, managing an education sector and being the boss of a sports board are two entirely job descriptions and require different credentials. I've always believed that running the board is the job of the professionals, just like playing cricket itself is a specialized field and only cricketers are supposed to take part, similarly running the board requires management professionals with experience and knowledge of the local culture. It dosent really requires a great deal of cricketing knowledge (My humble opinion).
Treatment carried out to waqar was definetly uncalled for, south african tour would have been an ideal place for waqar to pass on his experience to the youngsters.
I still believe a full strength pakistan can still be a serious challange in the world cup, admitedly today's performance is a disaster but there's still hope. Return of Gul and Akhtar can definitely boost to the bowling line up, and i say this again that the all important number 3 spot needs to be reassessed. Malik always takes time to get his innigs away and so he will not be of extreme importance in the lower order. Kamran Akmal in my opinion with his batting style should be persisted at the top of the order. Even today Pakistan could have done a little better if they had relied more on the batsman to deliver and use afridi and razzaq for the last 150 runs or so, the pitch looked an absolute belter and YKhan and MYousuf shud have been good enough to strike at 6 an over for 25-30 overs. No matter how huge a total is, chase always has to be methodical and not maniac like today. Pakistan's almost sucessfull effort at Karachi against India is a prime example.
The biggest problem with pakistan is the lack of depth in the squad, even though an Akhtar, Asif & Gul attack will be handly in the WC, but Pakistan needs to look forward, in the last 1yr or so, they havent groomed any fast bowler other than Asif. Even though Rana has had his share of sucess (and on today's evidence misfortune too),i think it's about time we move from the stop gap arrangement and look at atleast another fast bowler for future. Both Akhtar and Shabbir will turn 32 this year and pakistan needs another two or three fast bowlers in the reserve to take over the spot.
In the end i still feel that Inzamam has done more than a decent job at the helm, considering the crisis the team was in when he took over. He has provided stability to the side and for that i think he should be credited.

Kamran Abbasi artile is enlightening but nothing new . Being an ex Pakistani residing in Australia I follow Pakistan cricket very closely .
When Gen. Musharaff took over control of Pakistan cricket he promised a clean up . I am sure that the Pakistani public are still waiting .
Further more Dr.Nasim Ashraf is a political appointee by Pres.Musharaff .
What can be expected of such appointments ; but for them to do the orders of their masters .
Honour / Integrity and Merit are things of a long forgotten past .
No wonder South Africa whipped Pakistan in the last two games ( Por 20 and ODI ) we can expect more of the same under the present administration.

well ...i agree with u sir....however the problem is the system it self...if the system it self is so distorted then how do u expect an orginization such as pcb to be clean of nepotism and favourtism...pcb is deeply affiliated and controlled by pak government and as long as the actual pakistani system is not rectified..the fruit of the wrong system will remain the same in pcb is just another example of it...look at the administrative system..look at the health care system ..look at the education ..why pcb would be any different...?

No, Waqar. We need Waqar back. Pakistan is built around fast bowlers not Spinners. Whi is Mushtaq Ahmed gonna help. Afridi? Yep thats about it. N' i don't even think Afridi deserves to be in the Pakistani squad. Well, maybe Wasim. Maybe he can hep us (doubting it) We all say that we need politics out of Pak cricket, well anyone have a suggestion, cuz i don't. Just when i thought that Pakistan was gonna a threat to the Auzzies for the world cup n' all the politics will disappear and Kamran Akmal regains form n everything good. Man, i need to get my head back in the real world. Pakistan SUCK. :(

It kind of funny most of out institution there in pakistan are like this. But cricket in think we are ourself to be blamed we gave them (bureaucrates) a chance to rule us. I think its high time that our former cricketer should unit and do some effective work , but i serious questions for Chairman of Selector he was a good crickter he is part of this who so called corporate plan

Kamran, your first piece which was worth reading! Keep it up, and also write one on the inclusion of incompetent players consistently selected.

Excellent points Kamran and I hope one day we can actually get some answers too from the PCB. When we get rid of the retired army men and politicians, we get someone like Dr. Nasim Ashraf to be in charge of PCB. The appointment of PCB chief has always been whoever can convince the President of Pakistan. The current team has no management and it looks like match practice is no longer a requirement to be in the team. I am just amazed by one thing. How come no one in the management (captain, coach, etc.) can figure it out that you do not 4-5 allrounders in the team. Abdul Razzaq and Afridi had no match practice but found their way in the playing eleven. Where did the common sense go in cricket. And it is not like we are trying this for the first time. We have Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Afridi, Razzaq in the same team. They are neither good bowlers nor batsmen. They have been tried again and again and if you look into their performance over the last two years, except for a game or two, none of them have been consistent. Of these, Shoaib Malik has the best technique and I can deal with him. I think it is time we stick to the basics, bring in specialist batsmen and bowlers and at the most two allrounders, one playing and the other back up. Yasir Hameed deserves a chance in the one-day eleven as a specialist opener. No other team would create a zoo of allrounders in their playing eleven. It is a disease in our management who thinks that anyone who can bowl occasionally and is an average batsman should be in the team. It is time to wake up and get things right. In my mind and honestly speaking, even Younis Khan (based on his record) does not deserve a place in the one-day team. Only two hundreds over a pretty long span and an ordinary average.

Well as we know from our previous expereinces nothing would be done about wotever mess this new PCB management is creating ... the only thing that can be expected is that when things again will go horribly wrong ( which is bound to happen looking at the way this new management is progressing ) this management will either resign or will be forced to do so. These sort of things will keep on repeating if PCB is continued to be run on AD-HOC basis. If theres no law theres no accountability.

Kamran you are absolutely right. The pcb is a microcosm of everything that is wrong with pakistan. I never liked Salim Altaf and he made the PCB look as stupid as we all think it is. It was inevitable that the firing of waqar younis was going to rear its ugly head and it has at the worst possible times. Pakistan cricket once again is going through turbulent times the only constant is the captain who I adore but has made many questionable decisions of late.
1.Asim Kamal, god forbid we would play a grafter in test cricket and a player that had done nothing wrong to get booted in the first place anyways. A man who wouldn't throw his wicket away unlike our friend Farhat. This noninlcusion is a big reason we didn't score more runs.
2.For once can the team management stop making excuses for the youngsters. They have all played plenty of matches and they should put pressure on them and tell them that hundreds and matchwinning efforts are expected by players other than the big three and asif.
3.Bob woolmer? he has brought a sense of stability to pakistan cricket. but where is the identification of a pitch once failing in edgbaston and then here again. did they not learn anything from brian lara stupid decisions in india. its time that after the world cup hard decisions are made.
4.Yousuf should be captain to post world cup pakistan. the reason, he is calm and cool. once again in the 2020 younis looked totally lost. not knowing how many fielders in the outfield and making some hideous decisions. the only reason i think yousuf might not be given the captaincy is his beard something are president is wary of because the beard doesnt go on well with his friends on downing street and in washington. they need a guy that smiles like a fool and thinks hes smarter than he is. i saw yousuf captain in 2020 and i thought he was very good. pakistan dont need rara captains they need a cool hand when things get bad in the ever corrupt pcb.

Kamran Abbassi, its really good that you have done some excellent PI job to expose Nasim Ashraf's hypocrisy and his false promises rather, 'caveat emptor' must I say? And also unveiling his typical Pakistani style management by appointing the media chief on a "rishtay naatay" basis, and the way he is throwing a juicy bone towards the sports journalists by giving them hopes of accompanying the teams going abroad at PCB's expense. I am glad that you have highlighted these issues in this blog so that we can also air our views and express our concerns. I am sure that these discussions are definitely creating more awareness among people, and the voice of the people is louder than the leader 'who bangs the drums of war'.

In one of my posts here, after reading this news in Dawn newspaper about sponsoring journalists and offering them "free lunch". I wrote that it is exactly like the US policy of sponsoring journalism to report the Iraq war. The difference between today's US journalism and the one during the Vietnam war is - the journalism during the '60s was independent, bold and professional and today's journalism is cheap, sponsored and unprofessional. And Nasim Ashraf is out here to bring the American journalism in Pakistan and that too in sports! And what a shame it is.

Taking the liberty of using your line, "he who pays the piper really does call the tune" I would like to call him Dr. Peter Ashraf, and Peter not only wants to be the pipers paymaster, but he expects them to play the tune which he wants to hear. Since Peter is a doctor of philosophy, he wants to prove it to us that he is very philosophically minded person and his primary goal is to project himself using the logic of "I think therefore, I am." And his secondary goal is to gather the pipers (journalists and yes men) and categorize them as follows: A. Those that do not affect the playing. B. Those that inspire the playing. C. Those who distort the playing. And he wants to use and exploit the category C to get the best out of them only to project his vision. Mind you we are talking about playing pipe bands here and not cricket. He is doing everything to blow his own trumpet and nothing for cricket in Pakistan.

I understand that managing PCB is a very sordid affair and its not easy for anyone to run it on a ad hoc basis without any legal, approved, democratic constitution. He is taking decisions that are not for the development of cricket but for the benefit of his relatives and friends and for the glory and grace of his inflated ego. This is something the people of Pakistan should NOT allow and accept it at any cost. Where is the accountability bureau here? How come he is allowed to spend the money from the PCB coffers at his whims and wishes e.g., hiring that expensive British lawyer for Inzamam's trial was fine, but hiring him for PCB as a defense lawyer against your own players i.e., against Shoaib and Asif's appeal and then paying the lawyer 30,000 pounds for a single visit, is absolutely not justifiable.

PCB is making millions of dollars these days and that money should be spent in promoting cricket, in building more playing grounds and stadiums in the country for the promotion of domestic cricket and in structuring the academies and not just for players but, also for umpires and coaches from within the country. Also, to create a certain level of education and courses in English language so that the players can communicate decently when they are interviewed, so that they create a better image of the country, as they are the goodwill ambassadors of the country. Himself, (Peter) he has a pseudo accent and he talk with so much arrogance and you can smell the stench and the niff in the air when he speaks. And that is because he is not being fair and square.

I agree with you. This past match was an example of our selection process at its best, How can we leave out a talented all rounder (with experience in foreign conditions) like mahmood? Of course this is no surprise in Waqar's dismissal as he was only one of the BEST fast bowlers ever in both formats of the game, and the boards personal vandetta against Wasim. I mean we have such a great treasure of resources in the form of former players that we can utilize and the best our team can come up with is mushtaq ahmed? COME ON! This heierarchy in the PCB should not surprise us Pakistanis as it reflects the political base of the country and like everything else is being run by Musharaaf. Maybe by the end of this year musharaff will introduce grass root level democracy in the PCB by appointing someone who does not know his middle name. As far as the team goes, WAKE UP PEOPLE! we need shoib, i know hes a constant nuisance but he is our best threat with the new bowl (asif is better at tests due to his inexperience in the one day format).

Yes, there's plenty to ask. I think the highlight of this article is the question raised about replacing Waqar Younis with Mushtaq Ahmed as the national bowling coach. It really is mindboddling and a ridiculous decision to stumble upon. I wonder how a leg spinner would put forward better advice for 6 fast bowlers esp while they play on bouncy South African tracks.

I remember Shoaib Akhtar quoting before being withdrawn from ICC Champions Trophy,"President Musharaf has asked me not to speak on the matter, therefore, I am keeping my lips closed". Talk about "independence", mates. It's called politics, which are there to stay no matter who runs PBC.

Boby(saleem altaf) should be taken to the nations court on violating the nations interest .

The yet another paltry performance by Pakistan cricket team has confirmed the lack of spirit, application and discipline with in the team. I liked the comment of Osman Samiuddin yesterday that Pakistan team should go home and skip the world cup. It is always said that this is most incredible team in the world. I always wondered does the pride lie in being most incredible team or being the most invincible one? I am not advocating ouster of any player after a few bad performances, however, Rana Naveed has been proving way too expensive, out of form, less penetrative since last year’s ODI series against India in Pakistan. In fact he is the one who on many occasions in the above-mentioned period, made the final task easier for the opponents. He continued this in England. Akmal had a disastrous trip of England and even before that his expertise behind the wicket was questioned quite oftenly. Mohammad Sami was already declining till last year and his temporary expulsion from the team did no good to him. Yet Inzi, Woolmer and may be the other selectors too have a different range of specifications for the players to be or not to be in form. Imran Farhat is another good (bad) example of “selection based on relationship”. Even on a dead wicket he would get out on the slips or before the wicket. This is the talent of the players and this is the outcome of our board’s beloved coach Bob Woolmer. This is very unfortunate that any regime in Pakistan that gains power in the country or in an organization, by hook or by crook, doesn’t feel shame for even a day before they start working with the same level of selfishness, greed, lust and dead conscience like others before them. Be it the political leaders of the country or chairman of the board of a famous game. We have forgotten hockey where we ruled the world for a quarter of century, only because of a handful of selfish people. Time is not far when people would forget this game as well.

With a system like this im still surprised we keep on producing world class players.The general and their appointed MDs and CEOs have screwed up the entire sports set up in Pakistan. Hockey is a example in this regard and cricket is following up.

Mr. Abbasi, I find the following snippet from your blog quite amusing... "Pakistan fans, who care passionately about their favourite game, want some answers. This is not just about the World Cup--although it partly is--but it is about something far deeper in Pakistani society: Whether or not we can trust our major institutions?"

Let me elaborate a bit on the amusing part. Late last year two of pakistan bowlers were caught for drug-abuse - a very serious charge in international sport. It was determined that the urine sample was not tampered wih and that the findings were accurate: after all the fast bowlers waived off the right to test the second sample (Sample B, or the reserve sample) in case they felt that the findings were not accurate. Now as per WADA, these cricketers should have been banned but we all saw what happened. In fact when the PCB gave the cricketers a clean chit based on the finding that the bowlers were not educated about drug abuse and thus were innocent! I find it absurd to see that Shoaib Akhtar, who has been playing intl cricket for the past 10 years and who participated in 2003 world cup when Shane Warne was caught for drug abuse, is not aware of drug-abuse.

Anyways, PCB hushed up the matter and in fact claimed that WADA doesn't have any authority to take action against the players as it was an internal matter! And all the Pak fans, including you, were hailing the ruling. Isn't it amusing that PCB, and pak fans, are willing to do anything to save their players, apparently for the world cup, and integrity is just a word to be ignored, but when this very short-sighted attitude harms Pak cricket, you are yelling murder!

It seems that the adage "you are ruled by the people you deserve" is indeed true.

I couldn't agree with you more, Mr. Abbasi. This board management is no different than the ones we had in the past. The irony of the matter is that the PCB Chairman and Saleem Altaf keep talking about bringing change and improving Pakistan cricket but I am afraid our team's graph is going downward. Given the recent performances by our team, it will be a miracle if we made it to the semi finals. I hope that players will keep our hopes alive as they have done in the past. We have completely lost faith in people who manage our cricket.

board should think about BOb's, he is sharing information / technique to south african, because we know that he is from south africa, how he see to loss his country!!.

Kamran nice piece, and unfortunately spot on. 4 years ago following the debacle of the last world cup we had a cleaning of house and plans were being laid for the next world cup, here we are 5 weeks before the event and things are in complete pandamonium. The answer is simple, politics! Anything in Pakistan that is related to power, fame or wealth becomes hugely political. We have no independent board run by professionals, we have no accountability, no constitution, nothing. Unfortunately we cannot have former professional cricketers as administrators because very few former cricketers have the education and training to be effective administrators. Saleem Altaf and Wasim Bari are both cases in point. If you look at Pakistan's history there are only a handful of former players you could trust to such a position. Rameez and members of the Majid/Imran family. Otherwise you have to get a professional administrator and at best leave only the purely basic cricketing aspects to the cricketers and even those have to be monitored closely. Over the past few years I have repeatedly sent a business plan to the various PCB chiefs, this is a detailed plan and based on my years of experience and training in management and finance in global organizations. I am sure I am not the only one to present them with such plans, the point being it is relatively obvious to find the cures to our ills, the fact that we don't only strengthens the arguement that politics and not logic dictates the workings of the PCB!

i think.. pakistan should skip the world cup, if they want to save themselves from any humiliation.

I'm very hopeless with this new PCB . All the worst things r happening during their regime. I'm amazed at PCB's stance over one of world's greatest Waqar Younis. Not even did he deserve the respect but also shud have been encouraged and applauded at the improvement he injected in the inexperienced bowlers. But all he received was otherwise.

What role Mushtaq can play after this humiliating defeat in first ODI .. can he tell the fast bowlers where did they go terribly wrong ???

I don't understand the sending of Shoaib Akhtar and Shabbir .. I believe PCB have some medical team attached with them who assess the fitness of the players .. but how dumb they were by sending those players to the tours who got unfit while playing their very first game .. Shabbir cudn't even survive a 20/20 game .. is there any accountability at all ???

No wonder we'r never able to become consistent in performances inspite of always having some of the world's best players available .. and this new PCB sucks the most for sure .. Mr. President Musharraf , we don't care if u leave the Govt. or not , but plz leave the pakistan cricket alone ...

You have really talked on very critical issue.I am also of your view that the present status of our national cricket team is due to the bad policies,mismanagement and appointment of wrong people on important posts.Its pity that the noble game of cricket has now being run in a political way.Personel ego has become more important than performance and need of the hour.Thanks to the comptetence of our selectors that we suffered humiliating defeats in twenty20 and First one day in Sout Africa.If our selectors will keep on doing drawing room selction then we should be ready to see even more distasteful performances.Its only due to our board that we have lost legends like Imran Khan,Miandad,Wasim Akram,Waqar Younis and many others well before their retirement age.They could have played even more if there would have been some sort of respect for them in the board.Present board is no exception and is running cricket affairs in totally unprofessional way.My word the way they handled Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhter speaks their competency.Keep on watching there blunders, while they sent out of form Shabbir Ahmed who could not last for even twenty 20 game and are now sending him back.PCB Chairman Dr.Nasim Ashraf who promised to prepare constitution of the board has yet to do that because he mightr be having other important personel matters to solve than this,which ultimately can make board answerable.We can only pray that Pakistan cricket could get rid of this board and some one like Irman Khan could become its head then only we can hope some betterment.Till that time continue watching their "aaniyaan jaaniyan".

Nice Post Kamran-
what a pathetic perfomace by pakistani bowlers-
1. sack mushtaq- whats his role in pak team?
2. sack naseem ashraf and salim altaf- we need proffesionals to run the board unlike these beurocrats who go in circle.
3. What is fat ass inzi doing? look at all the decisons he took? pathetic to say the least-

i also think in addition to my earlier comment that pakistan team it self should manage the PCB, since no regime is strong n honest enough.hahaha!

Pakistan from being second favorites for the World Cup along with S. Africa has gone down to the ranks of being least favorites among test playing nations along England with their performance in the 1st ODI. I get a sense that they feel they have accomplished their mission by competing with S.Africa in the test series and the 20/20 and ODIs are just an afterthought.

Kamran you are spot on. Being a Paki supporter its hard to digest whats going on the field and off the field.. Believe me Pak has always made a balance between off the field and on-field dramas. Watching yesterday's match was pathetic to say the least.Naved was battered and bruised,Sami is sami you cant expect anything from him,but he can be made an opener with his batting abilities.Its time for Pakistan to take some harsh decisions, Hafeez has to be sent back to domestic cricket, and Abdul Razzaq has to be dropped, seeing him bat and field brings a 'yawn' to the spectators.. Its big time Pakistan has to ressurect the team for they have only 4 matches and hardly a month to go before World cup .Inzamam has to come up the order and has to be proactive,in last match he could have tried Afridi or Hafeez much earlier when Rana was getting a pounding.Pakistan before the world cup have to
1.Set an opening partnership
2.learn to play short-pitch balls and not to bowl them
3.Bring on Danish Kaneria
4.Improve the fielding drastically.

Barring England and Pakistan , I think all the 6 teams are all set for WC. The only postive Pak can get from the 1st ODI is Malik's batting practice, and Sami telling his friends ' hey mate iam a batsman, not that 90mph bowler'..... I would love to see Pakistan comeback with a bang..

Mujtaba

Dear Kamran,
Considering the results achieved by first ODI one must ponder on the fact that this team in terms of performance is any where near a match winning combination. For the past six months we have been lagging behind in our batting dept and this ODI was no exception either. Our bowling which was considered a strong point gave away 392 runs yesterday. I wonder who else could the management tried (considering injuries).
If performance alone should be the lonely indicator of selection, then none of the bowlers deserve to be in the squad apart from Asif, who could be given the benefit of the doubt.

Mr kamran u r right. I blame PCB and slectors for the lose of 1st ODI.

What were they thinking playing sami and rana together ???

Why not an open debate is carried out live on TV and Naseem Ashraf alongwith with his bunch of advisors is asked to answer. Live phone calls should also be taken.

An excellent observation by Kamran Abassi. The recent performances of the team are a testament that things are going downhill. Something fishy is making the players spineless and toothless. They seem so aimless and rudderless that too after a good fight in the tests. I just do not understand and neither give any justification for players like Mohamad Sami and Rana along with few others for their inclusion. I respect Imran Khan but his support for sami is totally wrong. How on earth these blokes still don't know where and how to bowl after such a long time in the team. I am a big fan of Woolmer but I am disappointed that in 3 years there has been no or I should say zero improvement in fitness, both mental and physical.

Someone has to take a stand and come out in public to admit their failures and point out the people who are responsible for it.

Just like in Hockey where the previous secretary has totally destroyed the game with his petty politics, Mr. so called righteous Saleem Altaf is doing to cricket. What special qualities has given him the God father status to take brainless decision and still remain in a powerful position. He should have been the man to go not Shahriyar Khan. Dr. Naseem even if he is sincere will not be allowed to bring the changes as it the hopeless and neverending system of our that stops any progress.

There is no hope as people in Pakistan do not want to change no matter what happens and we have been witnessing this for so long without being able to bring any change. To bring a change and improvement, one needs to change the mindset and unfortunately we are still living in dark ages of noblemen and clergy where any change is rejected by the people themselves.

When the esteemed Prez of Pakistan is the patron of cricket how can one expect the PCB to be manage better then the country itself. I have to disagre with u on waqar i think he shouldnt have been invited in any position where he can be in contact with players, same goes with Wasim, rashid latif and miandad. Were these guys gr8 players ofcourse they were. But we all the know the turmoil thier egos caused.

The yet another paltry performance by Pakistan cricket team has confirmed the lack of spirit, application and discipline with in the team. I liked the comment of Osman Samiuddin yesterday that Pakistan team should go home and skip the world cup. It is always said that this is most incredible team in the world. I always wondered does the pride lie in being most incredible team or being the most invincible one? I am not advocating ouster of any player after a few bad performances, however, Rana Naveed has been proving way too expensive, out of form, less penetrative since last year’s ODI series against India in Pakistan. In fact he is the one who on many occasions in the above-mentioned period, made the final task easier for the opponents. He continued this in England. Akmal had a disastrous trip of England and even before that his expertise behind the wicket was questioned quite oftenly. Mohammad Sami was already declining till last year and his temporary expulsion from the team did no good to him. Yet Inzi, Woolmer and may be the other selectors too have a different range of specifications for the players to be or not to be in form. Imran Farhat is another good (bad) example of “selection based on relationship”. Even on a dead wicket he would get out on the slips or before the wicket. This is the talent of the players and this is the outcome of our board’s beloved coach Bob Woolmer. This is very unfortunate that any regime in Pakistan that gains power in the country or in an organization, by hook or by crook, doesn’t feel shame for even a day before they start working with the same level of selfishness, greed, lust and dead conscience like others before them. Be it the political leaders of the country or chairman of the board of a famous game. We have forgotten hockey where we ruled the world for a quarter of century, only because of a handful of selfish people. Time is not far when people would forget this game as well.

The current situation with Pakistan cricket is no different than the country itself. No institutions but individuals, No constitution, No merit, No discipline.......
Now see the PCB, I really don't know where to start? So many issues and problems. Ahaaaaaaaaaa...
When will we see a transparent and constitutional PCB, not only showing respect to our legends but also managing things well.

Kamran, i fully agree with you. There are foolish people running the board who don't have proper knack of the game of cricket. There was marked improvement in fast bowling department when Waqar was the coach, he made Omer Gul from an ordinary fast bowler to a genuine match winner. Moreover, every body could see how Rana and Gul reverse swung the ball in his tenure and they controlled the problem of "NO" balls. In addition, Waqar was hired till the world cup which obviously meant that he was given a task to improve fast bowlers for the mega event then why he was asked to restrict only to test cricket, this is just mind boggling.

Inzi & wasim bari are not good in judging young talent . Why Asim kamal was not selected in the test team. Inzi was fully supporting Faisal Iqbal who i swear is not half a player as compared to Asim. Sadly, wrong people are occupying PCB. Imran Khan has been voicing for a long time now that domestic structure in Pakistan should be changed. I fully agree with him as our system failed to produce world class players, the players with whom we are still alive on world scene are those who have natural talent and our domestic competitions and coaching system have nothing to do with it. I am failed to understand that why the whole structure is not being overhauled when PCB can have the capacity to do so by having huge finances. For God sake don't destroy the prime sport of Pakistan. We are no longer recognized in Squash and hockey and Cricket is the only game which binds this nation together.

Dr. Ashraf has smelled like bacon since the day he showed up.

Waqar has always managed himself with dignity, grace and integrity. More than any other cricketer, he ought to be considered the best ambassador for the sport we have. The treatment given was a travesty. But knowing the knowledge, skills and patriotism he possesses, I hope he returns as bowling coach.

The PCB offers an international face to what the world knows about Pakistan's underneath. Superficial and soulless; bereft of class and a moral center.

By the way, it's absolutely tragic that Imran Nazir and Zulqarnain Haider never got an opportunity in the ODI. Please don't tell me they were flown to prove the deserved a trip to the Caribbean based on the Twenty20.

You probably forgot to mention one name Kamran and that is Asim Kamal.

Anyways, don't know what to say after that insulting defeat of our paper tigers. People may find reasons for this defeat but to me our team probably had a bet with South Africans that they would not let them cross 400 mark and they won the bet rather than the match. I still remember that match in which our paper tigers got out for 43 odd runs against Windies and our batsmen kept nodding their heads saying "well bowled". This time the difference was they didn't nod their heads saying it was a good pounding South Africa, we'll take it as a medal on our chests filled with wounds you've inflicted on it.

A bunch of club cricketers. Please don't bother to take plane for the world cup otherwise you'll humiliate yourselves, your country and your fans too by loosing to minnows also.

Oh yes this is Pakistan cricket, as it usually is. I wonder if any board has ever done anything to make anything foolproof. Bob Woolmer is the final glimmer of hope, which too is fading away fast. But what are we Kamran, the Pakistani supporters?

When they drop Shoaib, we push for him, we push for Shabbir as well - both are back in Pakistan. We are now backing Imran Nazir and Azhar Mehmood? based on what.....domestic performances? Do they really count?

Barring Asif and Yousuf who has performed consistently?

Pakistan cricket will never change. There is no rule, no law just a senseless passion for the sport.

Wasim Bari had pointed out that Shabbir is not fit, he was still sent.

Where is Yasir Arafat?
Where are the two guys who won us the U-19 cup?
Where is the U-19 keeper?
Where is thay boy - Fawad Alam (20-20 hero)?

We play a politically balanced side and sometimes they perform, sometimes they don't.

Lets listen to Imran Khan for once..........For heaven's sakes......play specialists...

If the first 4 batsmen don't perform don't expect the rest of the team to bat!!

We are becoming the Indian team of the late 1980s. Too many batsmen, too few specialists.

On an ending note, if the allrounders start performing, the same team will start performing (like last year) and you will notice success.

Write it somewhere and remember I said it...

(Azam)

I have a request here to add for the PCB that Cricket is one of the few things that brings this nation together and make it proud, or may be the only thing. With the state of all the sports in our country, hockey, squash, our horrible performances in Asian Games and Olympics, please do not take cricket from us now. All you people are concerned with from the administrators to managers to players themselves is take the money and run approach, you are not accountable to anyone, you are not answerable to anyone, and all this will result only in the downfall of cricket like hockey, squash and other sports.

I agree. Majority of the problems here are created by Board. I saw Waqar's program with Saleem Altaf. Fakhr should have asked him that board has duty to be answerable to the public. It is not a private corporation. As part of the accountability, names have to be named of people who were involved in the Waqar situation. Saleem Altaf did not name anyone. Then again, our whole country is run on the same basis...so who cares.

I agree with your comments. But who will listen to all the rhetoric. No body will care about it... It looks that sincerity to the very cause of the country is an alien factor in the present set up of PCB. The PCB president, selectors, coach and the captain are behaving like sole owner of the property "Pakistan Cricket". The players who are in good books of these people will always remain in the team whether they perform or not. As for our foriegn coach is concerned, he has a clear mission to somewhat polish the donkeys and to make the tigers blunt. No need to explain the characteristic of the above these creatures.

Aboslutely spot on. Tired and exasperated with this junk politics of our cricket.Sometimes, it is hard to convince oneself to attach any more hopes not with our cricketers but with this shambolic psuedo-management.Hopefully, one day they will be accountable for their wrongdoings.

the way pakistan lost the match to south africa was a total failure....

not a single pakistani batsmen could match or even come near to mark boucher or even kallis or smith.. eventhough all of them are capable of,

some-1 tell afridi how to slog.. i mean there is a way to play even wildly.. he plays too wildly!
coach can perhaphs teach him how to play slog, where to hit when the ball is coming outside the off and where to hit when on leg and stuff like that..
i think with the help of some advice he can even break his own record of fastest century..

pakistan are capable of winning the world cup..
each loose strengthens not weakens|!!

be optimistic....

In urdu we have an expression, its called " thook kay chataa" and thats what this board has done with Mushtaq and Shoaib Akthar. Both were first dropped from their respective positions and then recalled. Same will happen with Waqar Yunis, he will probably be recalled as well. He was thrown out purely to establish Doc Nasim's authority in the board. Seems to me that Doc is running the board more on this whims and ego rather than via any kind of "professional" approach.

1) First, I don’t think PCB is solely responsible for the delay. I am sure president Musharaf’s office and other involved institutions have their share of delays as well.

Second, I think PCB need to prioritize there task and then publicize their priorities. If world cup is their top priority, and for that matter if they have work load to share then they can simply say that we will visit the constitution issue as soon as Pakistan team returns from WC.

However, PCB being a administrative authority should have minimum role to play with world cup team preparation and should emphasize more on constitution. Right now they have publicized more about constitution and have spent time more on Pakistan XI issues.

2) PCB (the administration) must not have any role in selection. All they need to do is to choose selector. And let those selectors decide who should be in Pak XI. I think its plan stupid to ask PCB why azhar mehmood is not in the team or Imran Nazir is in the team. Selection committee is accountable for such decision. But how can you make selection committee accountable when Nasim by pass all the rule and send shoaib Akhter without the selection committee consent.

3) Waqar younis is an idiot. He himself is responsible for the treatment he go. When he is employee of PCB who is being paid to do a certain job then he simply cannot have any sort of work attitude. If an employee come to me and sasy that I am not happy and I will “resign” in the morning. I will not even say that resign now I will say you are fired. Saleem Altaf probably hid many facts but whatever Waqar has revealed has made him look stupid as far as professional ethics is concerned. Pakistanies in general are supporting waqar, because 99% of us don’t know how to conduct themselves in an organization. I am not saying PCB staff is angel, they might have be doing manipulation but Waqar has showed that he is so naïve that he don’t know how to talk with an organization head.

Conclusion: For all PCB assignment we need professionals who know how to conduct themselves within an organization.

Waqar said on BKBH, that I was not working for money. Then WTF he was taking money. As long as he was being paid he was not Waqra younis the great bowler but Waqar younis as bowling coach employed by PCB.

4) There are many WHYs like this? And I think best solution is to have a system in place as soon as this world cup is finished. For time being we need to bear with Inzy’s wishes. I have severe doubts about Inzy thinking capability but I have no doubts about it honesty.

5) Nepotism is not bad but unfair nepotism is bad

6) –

7) -

Kamran - All your points are valid and they should be addressed by the PCB. My biggest concern is that as cricket fans, you, myself, as well as the hundreds of people who post on this blog alone, can tell that Wasim Bari and the PCB have made a laughing stock out of Pakistan by first sending Umar Gul and Shoaib Malik to South Africa when BOTH apparently already had injuries, then sending Shoaib Akhtar less than a week after announcing that he was UNFIT, then similarly sending Shabbir Ahmed, only 4 days after announcing that he too was UNFIT. For God's sake. What kind of management is this? Wasim Bari and his team of selectors, and the PCB Chairman Nasim Ashraf must have the decency to resign for their incompetence and inability to manage a game that is held in such high regard by the whole country. Even now, Pakistan has been forced to play sub-standard players like Rana Naveed,Mohammad Sami,Abdul Razzaq and Mohammad Hafeez, even when they continue to fail and disappoint time and time again. Sitting in Pakistan are well-deserving players like Yasir Arafar,Azhar Mahmood,Salman Butt,Rao Iftikhar,Mohammad Irshad just to name a few but they cannot get into the team because of the politics than is part and parcel of the PCB management.

Kamran, what I would suggest to you is to do a huge service to Pakistan cricket - ie - please print out some of the comments on this blog and send them to the PCB. Maybe we can shame them into paying attention to us, instead of ignoring the fans time and time again, and running the Pakistan team into the ground.

AOA

Yes you have asked all the right questions from PCB who will rather never come up with answers in this regard as what we have seen in the past suggest.

For world cup preparations we are going in all opposite direction if we have to have any chance for the world cup we have to unite as a nation for get any differences between us.

World cup is just few days away now we all know that our board is preparing for the WC for last four years since last WC and we are still there where we are in the last WC.

The major flow is in our domestic structure from where our cricketers come as against Australians domestic setup which is so competitive that when cricketers come from there they all ready for test match cricket cricketers like mike Hussey and Mitchell Johnson.

Imran khan is 100% right because when we pick our team they start to learn cricket after coming into national team for example how to leave the ball on seaming wickets the basics are not learned in our domestic set up. When they are playing in domestic seasons they are scoring many runs because our system is full of flaws pitches are dead and all that

In the last we pray to ALLAH TALLAH that what ever we have prepared for WC that comes out well

ALLAH HAFIZ

Kamran sb
You have asked a question at end
Wheather or not we can trust our major institutions? and answer is a big NO.
A country in which a General can be the President only because having military on its backgroud and no popularity among the masses, and sorry to say the president killing his on people without any strong evidence,just to prolong his own rule and he is not answerable to any one then how can you think that other institutions can be trusted.

Isn't Nasim Ashraf himself got the position b/e he is a close friend of retd. Gen Musharraf?

Isn't that his friend Musharraf himself running a country of 160 million people without a constitution (which is used only to silence critics with a distorted and illogical explanation of words)? Then why so much fuss about PCB that usually runs a cricket team of 16 players?

This the worst PCB management and selection and medical team i have ever seen...they make contoversies after contoversies and there is no satisfactory reason given to the cricket fans of Pakistan...they thinks spectators and cricket lovers are fool in every abroad tour any of the PCB's official can be seen with the team...its that a joke they are hired person they dont have a right to use the PCB funds for their pleasure they are making things worst for cricketing future...if you give power to the fan we will certainly kick these officials out of PCB...what have they done for cricket? is there any new ground they made? in Karachi there is only one ground of international standards there must be atleast 3...they doing the same things as other sports association do to like hockey,squash and football...Actually associations and boards in Pakistan are made to destablised and destroy sport rather than making them steady.

cricket board , iam sure would have no answer of a single question u asked.they r a bunch of corrupt people they all r playing with this nation its a brutal joke with pakistan. really dont know who is running this show, dr naseem iam afraid is making a history of making blunders.
lastly dont be hopefull about world cup its over now for us, lets plan for next wc from now.

Dr. Nasim Ashraf (DNA) lacks basic credentials to head PCB. DNA does not possess the basic knowledge about the game of cricket. DNA even does not have any leadership traits. He got his present position because of his famous phone call from the oval to his boss.

The Ad hoc setup of PCB is the root cause of the decline of Pakistan cricket. PCB needs a person of Nr Khan’s caliber to head PCB.

Woolmer and Salim Altaf have failed to transform the talent of Pakistani cricketers into a winning combination. Salim Altaf has been acting as the CNC of PCB.

Woolmer is a passive coach. Pakistan needs a dynamic coach, some one who is a risk taker by using young in-form players. Even the Pakistan team selectors’ performance has been really pathetic.

I completely agree with you. It seems like ever since Mr Ashraf has taken over PCB, everything seems to have gone wrong.
One particular concern is absolute lack of communication between team management and players/coaches. The blame game have gone way too far and lets see who will be the escape goat this time since Shoaib Akthar is not in SA anymore. Team morale is at the lowest and doesn't seem to be getting any better after the 1st one day thrashing.
It seems like Bob Woolmer is already shopping for a house in London and has given up on any hope of World Cup success. It's time for the whole team/management to sit down and do some serious soul searching.

AssalamoAlekum,

With such humiliating defeat in the first ODI has made the whole nation shameful , IS THERE ANY ONE TO ANSWER to the whole nation's die hard fans that on what basis they were calling pakis the best . It shame for PCB and the selectors responsible for dealing with star players foolishly . Now time is telling that the only victory pakistan got was because of the presence of SHOAIB AKHTER & if some one still denies it he is a big fool and the most stupid person and what to say about our batsman they dont need coaching they need miracle to advnce their skills of batting on harder and bouncier pitches , they look extremely miserable and all their agressiveness and dashing approach fly away while they were dealing with good seam pacers on bouncier tracks , against moving ball, their foot get jammed in fact no movement at all and at any ball you perciev they will give away . so obviously with such poor technique once they get beaten then can never recover and transfer the attack back on the bowlers and get in so much pressure which is hard bare.

Hi Kamran,
you have the right to inquire about the state of affairs at PCB and without any shadow of doubt they are not satisfactory. PCB is in a state of absolute chaos. However, dont you think that PCB is just nothing but an extension of the society. Its just an another organization in the country, where its almost impossible to find an organization running professionaly even with an army of so called professionals.Friend ship with the president of Pakistan should not be an open sesame to become the chairman of PCB and if it happens this way then we should not expect any thing other then disaster.
Cricket is more then a game in our country, its bigger then any thing in the country so we need some one who not only has required competencies to run the business but also values the aspirations of millions of people.
Regards
Saif Abbasi

Another very good and thoughtful blog Mr. Abbassi. I totally agree with you about the saga of sacking Waqar and bringing in Mushtaq. As we all can see so far in SA tour, our strenght (bowling department) has suffered really badly besides Asif in the test matches. In limited overs in one word it was SHAMEFUL. I think sacking Waqar is going to cost them the WC! Pakistan has been playing cricket for more or less 50 years now but even today their management is acting like newbies. We people don't learn from our past mistakes.

PCB: Incompetent and ridiculous

The board is going down the drain. Being a medical docter doesnt qualify you for running a cricket board. the esteemed chairman is from usa and even there big hospitals and medical concerns usually have a management guy running the things. The treatment is left to the docters.
The team is being run amok by inzy bhai. There is no place for merit or performance. As long as you are in the good graces of the powers to be. You shall play but if you happen to question the wisdom of all the tableeghi infusion and late night taleems. You are deemed not worthy of a place.
Woolmer has been sidelined for a long time. He is just waiting to finish his contract. he could have done a lot of good but nobody wants to listen to him. they dont train or work out as per the coach and trainer. It was a sad sight to see on the england tour as every morning woolmer would setup cones on the field and drills, but no one would show up.
nepotism and wanton disregard for any transparency in the board affairs is trickling down to the team. Where one man rules. Its not Imran style, where imran would take anybody who could help the team win didnt matter if they liked each other. today its different, no matter how good you are, whether you can help the team, if someone doesnt like you. that someone cannot make the team and/or will be kept as much as possible. we dont have to go far. for example: Waqar Yunis, azhar mahmood, shoaib akhtar, asim kamal, yasir arafat, the list goes on. there is the other side too. players like rana, sami, razzaq, akmal...no matter how many runs they give, how many catches they drop? matches lost there is no accountability. i hope the chairman naseem does what he had boasted. i hope for the sake of pakistan cricket and its fans.

Dr. Naseem Ashraf has destroyed the morale of Pak pacers by exculding Waqar. In yesterday's game our pacers were hapless, clueless & whatever less. You can't expect from Mushtaq any benifit to Asif, Sami or Umar Gul.

this is what I just don't understand, 3-4 months ago they sacked mushtaq ahmed and all of a sudden they've brought him back. until then our bowlers were doing well, and at the moment they're just getting smashed all over by the SA batsmen. they should think about getting waqar younis back.

Well, I doubt about the audience that is scrutinized here. Transparency, merit, ethics and other such traits are considered in places where one is accountable for his deeds.
Dr. Ashraf's "folly to be wise!" tactics and being a 'Yes Man' to his boss will lead us to the same pandemonium that we stumbled upon at the last world cup; with Richard Pybus backing off at the last minute and Tauquir Zia leading the ouster of all our star studded line-up and then following them by being kicked out himself.
Are we about to witness the ouster of Bob Woolmer after the defeat in South Africa? Will Wasim Bari like he so-oft did...resign from his post, to be reappointed six months later!
Inzi though being the backbone lately, is not in his prime form of late. There has not been enough exposure to international cricket that our benchstrength has had. The three main stay had hardly given any opportunity to the youngsters to earn a honest bread and butter to them.
We should have gone to each ofthe last three to four series by resting one of the three main batsmen of the team and given more exposure to the youngsters.
Cricket is not an art anymore. The science of cause and effect has affected it like any other discipline of this time.
It's not just us..but England, West Indies, Sri Lanka and India have similar worries in terms to the new pace that cricket these days has taken. It's not a game of all-rounders but crickets who can adapt to the situation as soon as possible.
There is barely anyone in the team who can be assigned the leadership role after Inzamam. Sorry to Younis but he needs to come a long way in order to come t terms with the modern day limited overs cricket.
I sympathize with the ouster of Waqar as the bowling coach, and with such uncertainity prevailing, I hope we do much better than what we did at our last World Cup campaign.

It is indeed sad as a fan of Pakistan cricket to see the state of affairs of the Pakistan team and the Pakistan Cricket Board. The selection process and subsequent mishandling of current players is not right. Also, the way former lengends of the game, like Waqar Younis to quote a recent example, are treated is beyond comprehension and incredulous at best. Constant changes in the batting order, adding and dropping bowlers without apparent reason and the appointment of coaches leaves one amazed as to what is going on. And to top it all, the team appears directionless and devoid of any set strategy or well thought out tactics when on the field. Is it too much to expect a more disciplined and considered approach on the part of the team given the talent that is available. And will the team management and coaching staff ever get their act together? Given the present state of affairs, as much as I hate to say it, a world cup debacle looks very much on the cards.

I totally agree with Mr. Kamran Abbasi, the point he made regarding Mushtaq as bowling coach is very valid as what is the point in placing a bowling coach that is a legspinner? knowing the fact that there are more fast bowlers in your side without a legspinner in it? I don't know why Mushtaq is good enough for Inzimam and Bob Woolmer as a coach and not as a player? and the way the Pakistani fast men where treated in 20-20 and first ODI its a shame that Waqar is not there when he is needed the most....

Hello i just read this all. I have one more question why the Umpire are so much againsr Pakistan? Is it any possibility to keep ceck on them?

I don't think Pakistan or Pakistanis in general are serious about wanting to address institution-building. It has become a celebrated disease which the best of education or professions cannot cure.

Since Nasim Ashraf took over, there has been nothing by arbitrariness in the decision making process. It will remain like this.

Of course Pakistanis should hold themselves responsible. If a General can commit treason by orchestrating a coup, decimating all institutions and get away with (7 years and counting), what Nasim Ashraf does pales in comparison. The rot starts from the top and Pakistanis accept this. Musharaf knows the protests are ineffective as does Nasim Ashraf. NA is only answerable to Musharaf - who himself is answerable to no one. And many Pakistanis support that - the majority are at best ambivalent. A failed state at its best.

Thank you Mr.Abbasi for your opinion.This bureaucracy and corruption inside the PCB have been the bane of cricket devlopment in Pk.This was what Imran Khan battled all thro' his period as our captain.A man os similar status is reqiured to purge this woefull disease if Pakistan cricket is to realise its true potential: believe me Pakistan have great talent all over the land but here to feudal hierchay rules.

It's a pity that Pakistan cricket is falling apart right before the world cup. I totally agree that the board needs to answer some valid questions and concerns. It is undoubtly the most unstable board in the world and the way Waqar Younis was treated just shows the lack of respect they have for those who served for Pakistan Cricket for so long. It's not just about the respect that Waqar deserved but the results of his appointment were showing in the field. In the absence of mainstream bowlers, he made sure that our bowling line-up remained a superb one. Rana was back in form and Umer Gul was a changed bowler under Waqar. Pakistan's first ODI performance under Mushtaq is a sorry one and I think the PCB needs to start sending an SOS to Waqar Younis. Naseem Ashraf is no different from his predecessors and the politics have more than increased since he took over. The madness in Pakistan Cricket has to stop, or is it too late? Can the Pakistan team already be counted out of contention for the world cup? I think the board's gotta turn things around in the remaining 6 weeks.

New regime but old habits remain and i'm afraid this is part and parcel of Pakistani society and runs deep in the administration and also the mind set of the players. There really is no hint of professionalism in the team. These are supposedly the best sportsmen in the country yet look at Afridi's antiques again, getting heated up with a spectator after his dismissal, Razzaq's poor fielding, the general lethargy in the field, the poor shot selection and lack of concentration and inability to learn from your mistakes. Yet the PCB persist with the same formula time and again showing that there really is no depth in the cricket structure in the country or that new guys are not given a chance. I'm afraid Pakistan are heading towards a disastrous world cup campaign unless they can muster together a half decent revival in players such as Azhar, Shoib, Umar Gul and drop a few of the all rounders who make up the bulk of the team but never really perform (particularly Abdul Razzaq who is ineffective with his bowling, fielding and only occasionally sparks with the bat!). Get in some batsmen and proper bowlers and forget the all rounder policy. U can't win matches with bits and pieces players all the time, just sit down and analyse the team performances of recent years ann add that to the hammering in the last two matches.

Change your picture Kamran Abbasi. It's utterly revolting!!!!!

Why is it that everyone seems to focus on these issues leading up to the worldcup.
These issues were here before and will remain provided that the whole board is not cleaned out and actually taken over by "professionals" who have some knowledge about the game.
Having said that I don't think a bowling coach makes that much of a difference. These guys - the bowlers should know where to bowl and not to over step the mark for a no-ball. Come on what is waqar going to teach them? How not to overstep the mark?
They've been playing long enough for ODI's to know what it takes, if they dont then simple , just drop them.
Also is it just me or is Inzy playing past his use-by-date. I think he should stay in tests and let younis captain the team in that way we can play the extra bowler/batter. Just a thought

Kamran, are you aware that the country has been run for decades by people in uniform, the cricket board (previously called BCCP) has almost always been an ad hoc board ( recall the word 'ad hoc' used by saleem altaf time and time again in the Geo interview), every public institution is headed by a retired general; as Javed miandad in his twilight years mentioned sarcastically ' people in my hey days who could not get themselves selected into the team are now trying to judge my selection by becoming selectors! - ala Sikander Bakht, Haroon Rashid, Bari, Saleem Altaf'

There is a TV drama currently running called ' Saas bhee Kabhi Bahu Thee' - ie the mother in law was a daughter in law sometimes ago!, these current so called coaches and selectors were treated similarly themselves and are now venting their pent up frustrations onto the next breed of players, as regards Waqar and Miandad et al , these guys were not coached, what experience or credentials do they possess as coaches, Waqar was destroyed by Ajay Jadeja in Bangalore WC 1996, Javed was there - he still harps on about that last day of his career in his autobiography that he should have been the captain blah blah!

If Imran wants to play politics then he should try and play it in the cricket establishment, if he can win it once again for Pak, the public will vote in droves for him at the next election, but of course the generals wont let that happen (sorry about politicising this blog), Wasim is another guy who has some brains. Once Waqar lost his pace, he lost his place! - Unlike Kapil and Wasim.
Unity , faith, discipline.

What sense does it make for Pakistan selectors to not select Shoaib Akhter in the first place on the grounds that he was not fit, and then to send him to Soth Africa a few days later to replace Umer Gul! C'mon Pakistan selectors, use some common sense.

Dear Kamran,

I am really not much aware of the intricacies of running a cricket board but like every other organization worth its mustard, doesn't the PCB get audited by third parties? If so, aren't they questioned about their objective-setting process and objective achieving plans etc.? Can anyone enlighten me?

yes sir this was the talk which should have been started from the moment of departure of waqar but its never too late. Mr. ashraf seems to be the first half of ****proof as it is all protected under his roof. i cant understand this person. he seems to me an addict of popularity phobia. no chairman till date has boosted himself in media in comparison with this person who thinks himself a superstar like shah rukh khan. but has nothing except words. i will do this, i will do that?????????? what actually happened when they people get a man who showed himself thru his work they could not actually accept him bcoz it was against the rules there should not be a work. there should only be talks like Mr. ashraf. waqar immidietly after taking charge in series against siri lanka started showing his work a disciplened bowling attack and with in 9 months time frame our bowlers became the figures of providing success(it was visible atleast thru their performance) and it was not aceptable by the people sitting in board bcoz peoples appointd by board should not do work they should only talk. i will do this i will do that........! and Mr. inzi u were among the grates of pakistan but appointing Mushtaq in place of waqar is your biggest mistake and now be ready for after effects.

I totally agree with you Kamran I think there is too much poltic involved within not only the team but the whole country and I belive until a system of merit is created where players and officials are choosen based on their skills and not thier connections pakistan will not be consistent both on the pitch and off the pitch. Bob Woolmer is a excellent coach but I dont think he is given enough resources to improve the the team and the team is not strong enough mentally and they give up too easily having having seen them do so against South Africa on sunday in the 1st ODI when the africans attacked the pakistanis went in to their shells and were resigned to loosin the match after only 20 overs.pakistan will not win the world cup until they sort their fielding out and learn to do the basic things like line and length consistently which only M.Asif is doing at the moment.I really hope they sort themselves out before the world cup.

Why is it that you always harp on about afridi? have u actually seen him bat recently? i have seen better technique in street cricket let alone first class arena. What was afridi's performance with the bat in the two matches ? so much for " shock & awe"

do u actually understand cricket/coaching, waqar younis left a month ago , the "kids" who he was coaching have already "unlearnt" the wisdom that waqar was imparting ?

you have asked exactly the same questions that were in my mind. although u didnt cover all the aspects in detail, still is a good article.
almost similarly the way previous chairman handled things (doping on top apart from several others), the new admin is not delivering either. and he has been given due time. what have we seen? nothing.

question marks on selection committee. wasim bari with all due respect was one if not the very best wicketkeepers of the world, is not a good selector. ditto for his comrades in the committee.

a good player doesnt necessarily mean good leadership or other skills. what were the reasons zaheer abbas got sacked as manager? incompetent..unable to do a job(at oval). what has the other people in the pcb done?..thats incompetency as well.

inzimam may be a legendary batsman, he is far from being a good captain. aggression on the field is not in his nature. off the field? i dont know. look at the top 2 teams or others in the world. how they operate. two words. Agressive Approach.

what had imran nazir, shabbir, afridi, razzaq done in domestic level this year that they were sent overseas? what had azhar mahmood not done to be not sent? hear pcb has summoned him. well, atleast one thing they did rite.

too many glitches here and there. and that too before the world cup. i wonder whats gonna happen to our team once they get there.

i sure wish imran's spirit was in the team. wounded and cornered tigers. but i am sorry to say that wounded the present team are, tigers they are not. in fact, they are totally opposite to the tigers, tigers are not this dull, dont lack the nack of the kill.

learn something from australia..."they hunt in packs" are the words lou vincent uttered after he joined his team recently. i wonder, has the spirit of the tigers shifted to the kangaroos rather than us?

I am really disturbed by the selection policy and the performance of the pakistani pace attack which was tipped as the real power of pakistan team. I wonder will pakistan be able to make it to the second round I seriously doubt that. I think the history is going to repeat itself again and this time just after three years.

totally agree with you sir.
a good thing out of pieces like this may be that we lower our expectations for the pakistan cricket team- and who knows, even after the centurion debacle- the players still have the potential to spring a surprise in the world cup.
put it this way, if we don't expect much it won't hurt as much.

Now this is the time to say Kamran, sorry dear, but the joke's on you...you can talk about the best playing eleven and you will get 200 responses with at least 199 differant permutations and combinations. You compare Warne ot Abdul Qadir and every Tom, Dick and Harry is an expert....you talk sense about accountability, nepotism, favouritism and the lot, and what u get is.....silence...ppl are just not interested...tch..tch...tch...

the headline in The News screamed "South Africa embrasses Pakistan!"..thats how I (and I'm sure the rest of Pakistanis) feel..EMBRASSED! Electing to bowl on a belter of a pitch.. please read Inzammams logic of doing so in 'The Dawm..' and getting smashed all over the park...I'm sorry its not the board that has to answer but our Patron (Ahem) who has to some explaining to do..How long will this ad hoc system continue? who is really in charge? the chairman? the selectors? the Captain? the coach? We dont have a clue! Injured players being sent to SA, selectors sitting in the dressing room enjoying their time in SA with their families? or our captain or coach? The Captain has no expression while his team is being trashed, the Coach,reads the newspaper (or the classifieds). If anyone over here is under any illusion that pakistan is going to win the world cup or even come close, i have news for you.... Pakistan will win the world cup for the most pious team... need i say more...How we miss Imran, Javed, Wasim, Waqar, Rashid, Moin...Men who knew how put up a fight...Sad Sad Sad

"If the two are indeed related, which senior journalists insist that they are, then I do not see how either of them can remain in post having denied that they are related each other?"

Sorry, I had to have a bit of a chuckle at this - only in Pakistan could such a story arise (I say this with fondness)!! How on earth can n