Cricinfo - Blogs - Pak Spin - A vice too early

Totally agree with you Kamran, although Asif is a great bowler and an exciting prospect for Pakistan, but I think he should have never been appointed the Vice Captain Of Pakistan team, whatever he did was morally and ethically wrong and we should have followed the example of Aussie's although they let Warne play but they never appointed him at any position in the team, PCB again failed to preserve the honor of the country and failed to make a statement against such acts, I think Umar Gul was a more deserving candidate for the position of Vice Captain.

Its been almost 7 months since this doping scandal took place, if PCB had handed over both the players a one year ban in a few months from now they would have been free to play again without any fear of any Inquiries, these two players missed the WC anyways so I don’t know what PCB gained from delaying the matter, I think the whole matter was mishandled by PCB, their judicial Inquiry and the appeals by these two players and subsequent Injury claims were a complete farce, and only brought shame for the country.
It is interesting to note that Shoaib has only played one test since this whole fiasco took place
and Asif has Played three tests and 5 Odis, although Asif has been selected for the current series but its not a high profile series and even if he had missed this one it would have been of no consequence.

The team for the Abu Dhabi has been announced and the squad is as follows:

Shoaib Malik (capt), Salman Butt, Imran Nazir, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal (wk), Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami, Umar Gul, Rao Iftikhar, Najaf Shah.

I think Razzak should have not been included in the Squad, also the selection of 5 openers is beyond comprehension, Shahid Yousaf should have been selected. We need to groom somebody in place of Inzi and Younis. Shahid has been consistently performing in Domestic cricket he also performed well in the practice match, PCB selected four all-rounders and Six fast bowlers, I think they should have selected more batsmen and should have tried them alternatively in three matches. With the exception of Fawad Alam and Najaf shah there are no new faces in the team,
Same faces will produce the same results, The selectors should have selected some more youngsters and tried them in this low profile series.

PCB seems to be moving in the right direction to groom young blood and start the preparations for the next world cup. But I believe they are going a little overboard with the young blood intentions. You need to select leaders not just young and good players for the leadership roles. The decision to appoint Shoaib Malik is the right one as he seems to have the right personality profile for the job but choosing Asif is a tricky one that may bite them back. Asif is a great bowler with all the potential of becoming a great one. I think he needs to concentrate on his bowling and nothing else. Giving him the responsibility of vice captain might spoil him. He has not proven his metal yet in the extreme pressure situations. His interpersonal skills are not proven. He lacks the speech confidence. And off course not to forget the WADA issue. I think it is a wrong choice nad will put undue pressure on him.

Salman Butt would have been the right choice here. It would have given him confidence and he could become the next Saeed Anwar for Pakistan cricket.

PCB has got one good an done bad decision here.

interesting move i guess!even i was surprised to see asif as vice,but lets see maybe we have found the right deputy for malik--both are sialkoti's so that factor might also work!altough i was in support for afridi as vice!
fawad alam should bat at no.3 in the upcoming matches

So the blog is alive, kicking and shl**sing again and that too with a vice which is malice. Whatever the reality may be about his doping issue, whatever the outcome of that inquiry may be, but Mohammad Asif is not the material for the role of a leader. Making him a vice captain so soon is not a bold move Mr. Kamran Abbassi, imo its very much a pain-doo move. It was obvious that the PCB would do that and they did not disappoint us, at least not me. The guy has a possible face-off with WADA and I wonder if he has to lead the team in the absence of the prince of injury prone Malik, can he do any yada yada? I doubt it. Calling him a Sheikhupura McGrath or even a Rahmat ullah Alai is not going to solve the Pakistani leadership problems.

The point in dispute here is not about his bowling, he is a very, very good bowler. I haven't seen many who can bowl with such accuracy and consistently for such long spells, besides he also has the ability to take wickets, which makes him rare. His conversion rate is also very good but, lets not talk about his bowling which is undisputed here. The point is about his personality which appears very weak and meek and it is very obvious, unless someone is a real pay-D-- and cannot see that.

Its a known fact that he got in to the trouble of doping because of Shoaib Akhtar's influence, or whoever for that matter. If a person can be pushed or convinced so easily and yet he can call himself an innocent? OK, you may accept him for once, thats fair enough. But, this is another issue where decision making is the key to success and what kinda knowledge and experience he has in this field? I won't pin up any hopes that Mohammad Asif would contribute anything significant in this role. The pros aren't any, but the cons are many and it could also affect his bowling especially if the media brings him in to the limelight and that is likely to happen very soon i.e., if he has to lead the team in the middle and that will be a disaster if we loose him as a bowler as well.

A very wise move although i still regard Naseem Ashraf to be a complete waste of time. Wholesale changes would have made no difference anyway and if we had Asif available in the WC we have have had a win or 2 in the bag. He is not McGrath and to get to that status he will need to prove his worth but he certainly is a very talented young man and I wish him all the best and may he be a better choice than Mr Akhtar who like Naseem is a complete Jack.

you cant honestly think the pcb will change its ways do you?
it is run by a bunch of idiots who bend over for musharaff at his will.
dont expect pakistani cricket to move forward while these idiots are still here

he is too new to be vice captain apart from WADA thing... when there is a young captain, the vice captain should be an experienced player ... Afridi should have been concidered for that .

These are the instances when one truly has to question the PCB's decision making capabilities. Don’t get me wrong, I think we can all agree that Asif is a great talent and will more than likely go on to become a superstar. It is not his talent that is in question but rather his ability to fill the role of vice captain. The nandrolone scandal in itself is only the part of the problem; the underlying factors that lead to his involvement in the scandal are what concern me the most.

Throughout the investigation, Asif was painted as a "simpleton kid" who didn't know any better. If this indeed is true, then it must be understood that he may not be suitable for leadership in the Pak team, an institution known for adherence to social hierarchy. One must also consider the fact that for a kid coming from such a humble background, it takes a long time to adjust to the high profile life and the horrendous amounts of stress that comes with it. By burdening him with leadership so early on, the PCB is only making him further susceptible to stress related exhaustion. Last year Inzamam’s leadership skills were brought into question after he lost his wicket in a couple of bizarre incidences and mismanaged the England test that ended in a forefit. In all the cases it was evident that his level of understanding when it comes to the nuances of the rules and regulations was questionable; this was attributed to Inzy himself being a “simpleton.” PCB has to take lessons from history if it is to truly improve its own record of mismanagement.

The second thing that must be taken into consideration is the fact that extremely talented fast bowlers who start their careers off with a bang sometimes end up taking a plunge into really murky waters when their wickets suddenly dry up. This is probably due to the fact that the batsmen have had the opportunity to study them and also that these bowlers albeit highly successful in bagging wickets, are still green behind the ears and don’t have the experience and expertise to counter the batsmen right away. Sami and Pathan are two examples. There is no guarantee that Asif is immune to such a phenomenon. If by chance this is to happen, then he must be given the freedom to do some introspection and modify his game. As a vice captain, he will not be afforded this liberty.

Lastly, the PCB must understand that they can’t simply relinquish all control to young and inexperienced players. Some responsibilities must still be maintained with the old guard who ought to guide the new leadership. Given that the captaincy role has been awarded to Malik, it only makes sense to have someone like Mohammed Yousuf or Abdur Razzaq to be made vice captain over the duration of the next 2-3 tours.

The PCB has to make sure that it doesn’t jump into the “restructuring” frenzy and make poor decisions which will harm the long term future of the team; making Asif vice captain so soon may be one such move.

It seems to me that the previous thread will not be updated reasonably soon enough, so I guess I will repost the following comment:

My regret over the new squad and vice-captain knows no bounds. It seems that this selection committee is being controlled by Inzi and that the committee is merely a “dummy” committee. Or else they are very stupid and lack foresight.

I worry about Pakistan’s image profusely. What is the point of making Asif VC when he may well be banned as a result of the WADA appeal? The world is going to laugh thinking that another cheat is being touted as a future captain of Pakistan. Fast bowlers are injury-prone (especially in Pakistan) and I am sure many eye brows will be raised over Asif’s appointment. He is a world class bowler and that much is accepted but appointing him as VC is a different matter altogether. Mohammad Yousuf was the ideal choice for vice captaincy. Maybe Asif is the VC only until the Twenty20 Cup. After that the selectors can see whether Butt, Hafeez or Alam anyone else can be promoted.

The new 15 man squad is a laughable affair:

Salman Butt: Why do we want to give another life to an already failed experiment? He is an educated cricketer but he is absolutely inconsistent. He has only been given a brief break; it is imprudent to believe he would have changed his game so much so as to deserve another chance. He needs to be “rested” for another two years at least so he can improve his temperament and skill.

Imran Nazir: The most disappointing selection. Scored one fifty vs South Africa (and in the process was given one lifeline) and then did not click. Did not score when it mattered, in the WC. Scored substantially against a minnow side and was dropped 4 times to easy catches and survived a very good LBW shout, when he was clearly plumb. So all I can say is that if Pakistan is playing Zimbabwe or Bermuda, Nazir should be selected as opener. Is already an “established failed opener” in international cricket.

Kamran Akmal: This selection defies belief. Why were Moin and Rashid excellent wicketkeeping batsmen? Because there was competition. With Akmal’s selection it is proven that Inzi is still controlling the selection process and that Akmal can have a free ride. They need to create competition between “Akmal and Zulqernain/Sarfraz”, not between “Zulqernain and Sarfraz”.
Zulqernain was the best choice owing to his domestic experience.

Abdul Razzaq: This guy signifies why Pakistan still is a struggling country. Cant ball, cant bat, cant field. Too weak and lethargic. Has only taken wickets of tailenders in the past two years and his batting is worsening as he is getting older. The biggest laughing stock in the country.

Mohammad Sami: Talented? Yes. Improving? Yes. Deserves a place on merit? No. (I.e. still not good enough) Forget the question about why Anwar Ali or Sajid Shah were not included in the 39 probables. Why not give a chance to Abdul Rauf or Mohammad Irshad instead? Inzi did intervene in Sami’s bowling to an extent (told him to slacken his pace and shorten his run-up) and prior to Inzi’s captaincy Sami was a world class bowler. I think he will improve but I still believe there are better bowlers than him.

Players to watch out for:
Fawad Alam: Should have been included in WC squad but Wasim Bari thought otherwise. The future of Pakistan cricket but will he be kept in the side consistently or will he face the same fate as Asim Kamal?

Najaf Shah: Thank God he was selected over Khalil. Experienced player and hopefully will perform accordingly.

Mohammad Hafeez: Very resourceful player if used in middle order or lower middle order. If he is made to open he will fail again. Recently he has transformed into a world class off spin bowler in ODI’s. Trust me only in a stupid country like Pakistan we can keep using him as opener and keep including Razzaq in the squad.

Finally a message to Ashaq: Mate, I’m really impressed that you’ve refrained from bashing me lately and also have not been bitter to Javed A Khan. I appreciate your recent attitude. Keep up the good work!

Wow cant say i didnt see this comming, but seems like PCB is looking for a quiet people to lead the team so that PCB won have to deal with much it just seems like all hope is gone but i want o see how this pans-out.

Kamran, i know this is off topic, and i don't mean to jack your thread but Shoabi saying he wants to " Invest time in himself " is just full of... well ya know. This guy will play the whole 20/20 cup, i assure you, but the second we play a test match he's gonna break down like a european car.

Now getting back on topic. I think Asif is fine selection. He's... well... ok, i'll admit it, he's an absolute idiot. The kid is a fantastic bowler but he lacks common sense (He hung around with Akthar. Now look what has happened) I'm not worried about pressure getting to him, i just think that he is not a leader.

As for the selection, this is clearly a very deperate move by the PCB. This is also a move by the PCB which will FAIL. WHERE THE HECK IS RANA. ok i was just joking, but there is too much youth. They lack the experience. But since this series doesn't mean jack, it is totaly ok to experiment.

Good luck Pakistan for i reamin an optimistic and hopeful Pakistani.

As I has said in your previous blog Asif was clearly the outstanding candidate for the vice captaincy. It is also very pleasing for the Board to recognise we need variety in our bowling attack so it is very welcome that we see a left handed bowler introduced, however will he actually play (Niazi comes to mind!) . Although it is very disappointing the selectors have gone again with players that have failed consistantly such as Afridi, Sami and Akaml. It is high time the selection commitee sent a message to all Pakistani cricketers that talent is not enough we require consistant preformers willing to work hard.

Khansaab, well said about Imran Nazir. Looks like he has a very big pava.

A patient came to Hakeem Luqman complaining of stomach ache and, he asked the man what he ate? The man replied, burnt bread. Luqman gave him some medication for his eyes. Upon asking why he is not treating him for his stomach ache, instead giving him some medication for his eyes? Luqman replied, if his eyes were OK he wouldn't have had burnt bread. Similarly, why should we blame Mohammad Asif for his appointment as a VC? Blame the blind men of the PCB.

The PCB is such a bunch of morons and idiots that no matter what you say thats enough to describe them. Reportedly the current selection committee has more powers than the previous one, but one never knows the true story and who is behind them and who has more say than the committee itself? Saleem Altaf until recently was the CEO, perhaps he is still holding some position there. Actually he does not deserve to be anywhere near the PCB office, not even near the chowkidar of the PCB. After the age of sixty people get "Sathiya-oed," (bonkers) in his case he has proved that its not just an expression but, it is a fact and a reality. Those who have not seen this heated debate between Saleem Altaf and Waqar Younis (which is in three parts, each part almost 30 minutes long) must see this, here is the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ve7gYK-nrQ (part one)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3EEK5hnbQg&mode=related&search= (part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svvcaHZcwQM&mode=related&search= (part 3)

Just look at the way this Sucker Altaf was defending Naseem Ashraf and kept on beating around the bush and not coming to the point. Much as I hate politics and bureaucracy I wonder why we need to see it so often in cricket? How long do we need to put up with these suckers? This same guy Salahuddin, who is now the chief selector, used to write pages and pages of criticism full of venom against the PCB. Now he has been bought and sold a dozen times by the same PCB.

At the moment there are few legitimate candidates for captaincy and/or vice captaincy. Since we have already selected a captain who cannot cement his place as either a batsmen or a bowler, why should Asif not be handed over the vice captaincy? He is diligent, hard working, appears to have a good cricketing brain, and most importantly can win a match. The last factor is critical as Pakistan of late has had a paucity of real talent. This match winning ability will, at the very least, keep the others "honest". Is he an ideal VC? Probably not. He is injury prone as most of our bowlers are, and is sure to miss matches and maybe even the odd series here and there. He has also done himself no favours in the eyes of a self-righteous world, and a monitoring organization, by taking illegal substances.

What he did was illegal (rightly or wrongly - that is another debate, albeit one which took place several months ago) but it is certainly not immoral and it is definitely not cheating. Who is he cheating - Batsmen, bowlers, the opposition team, or his own team mates? If so why and how? He is not express by any stretch of the imagination, so does the drug make him bowl a better outswinger? The answer is no. Steroids were taken in order to recover from a series of injuries. The shelf life of a fast bowler is the shortest of all in cricket. To be injured for a year or two could mean 1/4th of your career is over, that is if you are good.

WADA should do the sensible thing and that is allow recovering athletes the freedom to decide the means and methods (under medical supervision ofcourse) best suited to heal their injuries. Athletes may not be allowed to play till the drug is out of their system but at least the stigma of being branded cheats by the media and its mindless couch potato patrons is spared upon these hardworking individuals. Ofcourse, that is not going to happen, in which event the PCB should tell WADA to "stick it where the sun don't shine".

Who are the other possible Phd candidates? Razzak, Afridi, Yousuf? I think not. Butt? Not even in the regular XI. Gul? Tireless work-horse; however has shown little to no inclination that he possesses any leadership qualities. Also injury prone. Kaneria? Perhaps, but is not a regular in ODI's and maybe talks too much (and delivers little)for his own good. Our chirpy butterfingered keeper? No.

Ultimately the VC is not going to affect the outcome of the results, so maybe the whole topic was moot. The team still has huge gaps to fill. The 1st 3 batting positions are hugely suspect, the team lacks an out and out strike bowler ala Shoaib A.,butterfingers has got to be dropped, as do the bits and pieces players (Afridi, Razzak, and the captain). On second thought our "can't bat, can't bowl, can field" captain may be canny enough to overcome his massive shortcomings. Time will tell.

Finally, khansahab, on team selection you are somewhat correct when you write the selection commitee lacks foresight - mediocrity begets mediocrity; however I must say that I doubt whether Inzi or for that matter the ghost of Kardar had anything to do with the committees final selection.

What a pathetic decision, i think it came out through a Lucky Draw. The most laid back guy in the team whose career is confined with controversies due to that Drugs Issue, there will always be a question mark in front of him whenever and where ever he leads the Pakistan team. On top of that i saw him on tv in couple of interviews, he cant even speak Urdu properly how will he speak in front of whole world and what will he portray?
I am not against his bowling, i mean he is a wonderful bowler and asset for the team but too innocent for some management role, i feel like we are on the edge of completely losing him. Although he is from the same District where i belong, but i am never in favor of him being appointed in a management role, at least not for now unless or until he is cleared from the WADA and shows some presentation, communication and leading skills.
Lets see what happens...........

Asif -- the vice captain ? Wrong message sent to the world. This lad is not even cleared of the doping scandal and continues to remain on the edges. And he s being made vice captain ? I feel thats going to be a bit tricky for Pakistan. Asif s place is not even fixed, thanks to his silly ignorance about the n-thing. He as a bowler would certainly add teeth to the weak Pakistan attack.

I think first Asif should first consolidate his place in the team devoid of injuries and doping scandals and then he be made the vice captain, other wise this vice captain thing would be another cat and mouse game, as it is in India right now , where there is no vice captain to India for the current tour of Bangladesh....

Its also silly to find Kamran Akmal being persisted in the team despite his long list of failures dating back since England tour.

And what are 16 players doing in the team for 3 game series ? Lot of them would be tourists. But the selectors have done right thing by not opting for complete overhaul as they did in 2003.

Hey everybody take drugs ... it will make you vice captain............just shameful

Considering the performance and a stable postion in the team Asif seems to be the only choice left for the Board. Other than this reason I find it hard to justify the selection for the vice captain job. I would call it a desperate move rahter than a bold one.

he's just establishing himself as a bowler because he is still unexperienced. whats the point of vice-captaincy? give it to M. Yousuf who deserves it and who's more mature.

When you make a worker an administrater you loose the worker and gain a politician. I am now worried that after shoaib malik likely failure Asif will be made captain and whenever he will fail he will be kicked out. Even if he is not kicked out he will become part of the history of pakistani cricket poolitics. I hope he doesnot turn out some body like Waseem Akram though the company he keeps (Shoiab akthar and some showBiz Starlets)is not very promising.

Salman

I believe Muhammad Asif as very right choice. He is young, energetic, very active in the field, and every time ready to give his 100%. Don't forget his stand alone performance at tour of South Africa, he was only hope for spectators throughout the series!

Am I the only person who thinks that Yasir Hameed deserved a spot in world cup playing squad and that he is an excellent captaincy prospect??

What Pakistan would have given to have M. Asif in the line-up on that fateful green-top against Ireland? Who's fault is it that he wasn't there, his own of course. No one's buying the injury story. Akhtar and Asif stayed away because they knew they would be targetted for drug tests during the WC.

It was a strange choice of vice captain. I agree that youth is the order of the day but were there really no other choices? Akmal I thought might deserve a chance as vice-captian. So what if his keeping is erratic, so is the new captain's batting. Good leaders don't necessarily have to be good performers as well. On the contrary, an average player could become better given more responsibility.

Good luck to the lads for Abu Dhabi. I hope they're prepared for some hot weather and dusty conditions.

So Asif made vice captain? Do you think since Afridi wanted to get it he should have done drugs to? How can you give vice to a guy who cheated with drugs in the same year. Moronic and degrading to sport.

its good to see that pcb is trusting on the younger players now...appointing shoab malik a the captain was probably the best thing they did this whole year...but i think they still dont knw that a new and young 15 man squad wont win them matches....the senior players are there for a reason...after inzamams retirment...a lot rests on m. yousufs shoulders...he alone with one or two new comers cant cover up that gap....if the vice captaincy was given to mohammad yousuf...he wud have gained confidence..that the board trusts him...honestly he was never given a perfect chacne to captain the side...although his nature shows he mite not be that good of a captain...but it wudve helped shoaib malik....and perhaps wud have had the team in control...with these 2 young guns takin over captaincy and vice captaincy pakistan will have to struggle there way to the top again...things wont be easy in the beg.

I think its a bad move considering that Asif would not be able to focus on his bowling as much as he would have been able to if he wasn't selected as the vice-captain. I thought Razzak deserved to be the vice-captain.
Also Khansahab, I don't get your hate for Abdul Razzaq at all. Why are you bashing the guy who always gave 200% to our cricket team ? i agree that he had injury problems over the past few months but beside that your argument is not valid.

Posted by: Faraz - The first Faraz on all of Kamran's blogs anywhere at May 8, 2007 4:57 AM

Pain-doo move indeed Javed (Montreal); I mean whats the point of showering your message with all this diplomacy Mr. Abassi? After such a schlaking of sorts in this past half-year or so...these mother******s are still playing the old digga games. Be it salahuddin lalloo or that 1987 world cup zero salim jaffer, we are back to square one.
All of this yields to the fact that my proposed solution of a bloody civil war to rid the digga community of this thugism is the only way to get life back to normal.

I am so disgusted I mean, no doubt these are our people- these people from punjab...but there is a limit to hypocrisy and double standards and these "haramis" need to be ousted to restore some sort of balance and sanity of decision making.

What nonsense, both captain and vice captain from sheikupura...what is this ?? sheikhupura eleven ?!?

I agree with u Mr. Kamran.I also think its a bit too early forasif to be a vice-captain.Although we have no doubt on his abilities but the personality or character of a captain and vice captain should be unquestionable and asif has imposed a big question mark on himself on that drug issue.I also believes that if PCB has appointed a young captain which is certainly a good move,its deputy should be a senior so that the seniors should have their view in team management.I would also like to see afridi as a vice captain..
Finally Mr.Kamran you are really doing a good job by posting the views of young generation so atleast we can say what we think.Keep up the good work.

The stupitidy of PCB knows no bounds.
How can anyone justify selection of the likes of Razzak who has not performed well over the past year or more, Afridi is a very over rated player who performs well one in every 50 games.
I do not know what Afridi's batting average is, but I would imagine its very low.
Does the PCB look at consistancy of performance or as I suspect they are picked for performances very long time ago.
Pakistan cricket has a long long way to go before they will be able to chalange Australia

lol I was waiting for Inzi bashing and Khansahab didn't disappoint me at all. So lemme get this straight, Inzi retires from ODI expressed that he wana play one more yr of test(which he deserves), is not a captain, most probably won't even be in test matches Yet Khansahab conclude that Inzi is controlling the selection process, while he conviniently forgets that Sami (which I think should be dumped) is solely still in cause of Imran Khan's backing. I think Asif as vice captain is a stupid choice, I would have dumped all the openers mentioned including Imran Nazir and salman Butt as both have been given ample chances and gone with a new opening pair and brng in new bolwers to get rid of Sami, Rao and Rana. But I still fail to see how Inzi selected this team?:) care to elaborate?:)

I beleive Shahid Afridi would have been the best choice for Vice Captaincy (if not captaincy), since he is currently the most experienced player in the team. His batting may be erratice at times, but he is a world class one day bowler. And if the board was looking to make a bold move, they should have gone will the aggressive choice. Plus Shahid Afridi has a good criketing brain (you can tell by the way he mixes his deliveries when bowling), and he very rarely gets injured. And in the recent 20-20 tournament in Pakistan, he led his team (Karachi) to the finals with great leadership, although he was unable to play in the finals. And maybe if given the responsibility of vice captaincy, he would bat more intelligently than he currently does. So, i beleive at this stage in Pakistani cricket, it would have been a great decision.

I find the decision to appoint Asif as vice captain a mind boggling one. With no previous captaincy credentials, Asif is still relatively unknown with respect to his personality. He is so young in his career that we have not seen him fight through a slump in form, or withstand the pressures of international cricket day in day out. He is an unknown commodity. I think the decision was taken to avoid placing pressure on Shoaib Malik. Afridi, Yousuf of Salman Butt are more experienced and have all led before. So appointing any one of them may have given Shaoib the feeling that they are breathing down his neck.

please stop calling mc grath of sheikhupura, he is no mc grath, he is mohammad asif... let him have his identity yaar...bare ho jao chacha!!!

The vice captain needed to be someone who was performing well and could make to both, the test and the one day sides, hence Afridi is ruled out. It couldnt be Younis because he had already rejected the idea. It couldnt be Yousuf because he was already superseeded by Shoaib. It couldnt be Akhtar because he is never fit and available. It couldnt be Razzaq because his performance charts are falling all the time. It couldnt be Akmal because its already a surprise he made it to the side at all. Still if we think Asif was not the best choice, we should try to accept it because the decision has been made and If they have made this decision they should stick with it for a considerable amount of time.

I was thinking that Hasan Raza could make it to the team this time but he was pushed out by Fawad Alam who was quite a sensation at the Twenty20 and the domestic season this year. So fair enough!

Salman Butt is back, Hafeez and Nazir are still there - looking at the past records we have another couple of top order disasters in the offing - AGAIN!

Like with any young side with a new-young captain having an uncapped left arm pacer to work with, one cannot deny any fantastic possibilities but on the outlook I have to admit that the side looks bland and tasteless.

I do not agree with you. ICC, and now WADA, is clearly biased against PCB. No one knows what happened in the hearing of Shane Warne and whether the punishment given to him was consistent with his violations. ICC realized this 4 years later when Shoaib and Asif were apprehended and then relieved. And you want PCB to wait for WADA before deciding who would be the best VC for its team. Kamran, get out of slave mentality. You can do something about WADA's adverse decision, including sacking Asif if needed, but you can't let WADA decide things for PCB.

Well... I think the idea is a good one. And lets get the issue over with as quickly as possible. It's a problem with Pakistan cricket. Simple fact is they need the structure. For some reason the team needs to know who is in charge should anything happen for any reason. I doubt very much if there was no vice captain and the captain left the field there wouldn't be chaos on the pitch.

All of that said I think with the dopping charge still hanging over Asif's head this is a poor decision. But lets hope that this adds stability to a very unsure side.

Well well well……..The only reason I find they have opted for Asif as the vice captain, is that he is the only player besides Yousuf, who walks in to any Pakistani side any day automatically. Its not that Asif is some captaincy or vice captaincy material. Now once PCB has decided not to go with Yousuf, Asif was the only other choice. Shoaib Akhatr’s name does come into mind and he of course is the second best player in our side (after Yousuf), but he doesn’t play enough matches to hold a vital position. Whereas, Asif might prove fitter.

Mohammad Hafeez?????????? Why on earth is he in the squad? What has he done off late or ever in his career? An opener who averages 18 with the bat!!! Isn’t it a shameful average? People say that records don’t always speak the truth. Alrite!! Lets move ahead….had he been a dasher and a pinch hitter, we might have understood the reason for his average. But his strike rate is an awful 58!!!! Yes 58 it is!!! He averages 33 with the ball…which is just average!!! He is economical, yes!!! But he is not that good a bowler to be played, sacrificing the opening slot!!! Abdul Rehman can very well do the spin job with more wickets…whereas Malik and Afridi are there to do their jobs!!! Indeed HAFEEZ is the technically MOST WRONG player in the Pakistan squad!!! Almost every time, we see our side struggling because he is usually in the pavilion in the first 4 overs. I find no single reason for him to be in the side.

Nazir, Hameed and Butt all justify themselves!! With the later two my top pick. Hameed is the most correct opener available to Pakistan these days. Where Butt has immense talent!! I feel Hameed should be a regular, whereas we can afford to shuffle Imran Nazir and Salman Butt.

Yousuf at number 4!!! No debate

Number 5!!!! We missed a trick!!! We should have selected an established mid order batsman!!! Misbah or Hasan could have been the choices. Malik is too early for number 5!!!

Razzaq 6!!! I cant understand why people criticize him so much. He is quite a decnt all rounder and a very sensible batsman. He has to be in the team anyhow.

Afridi 7

Akmal 8

Rehman 9

Rao 10

Asif 11

Atlast we have got some thing on this blog to talk about...!
succesfull are those whose lears from their mistakes and dont tend to do it agian , when it comes to PCB its opposite..!

Really it seems like a bunch of idiots.. having no know how of cricket ,, now appointing asid as vc i dont think it will be a good move not only due to wada case but also due to the fact that he is new to international scene and requires more time to establish his authrity on the field esp on pakistani players,, in which out of 11 6 were alredy announced their aim to be the nxt captain....

Javed A Khan, here, raised a good point that problem doesn't solved by calling him sheikhupura Mcgrath, problem, still lies over his power and authority to lead esp in the absence of shaoib malik.

let me tell u one more thing as well with guarantee that by maiking him the captain he will fade and decline( due to the heavy resp) not prosper .
I endorse Javed bhai's comment that we might loose him as a bowler as well soon..!

I think its fine to appoint asif as vc. We must move on from the nandralone affair. Much bigger stars have done it and are still heroes internationally. My only regret is that they have not inducted enough new young talent. A new keeper and shahid yousuf would have been good in place of hafeez and yasir.how many openers do we need .

Salaam,

I wanna ask why is razzaq in the team, he bowls some lollipops, can't bat against quality bowling an has poor fielding to backup(why doesn't somebody tell him that what they want prominently from him is to bowl & he will not b picked up until he gets back is bowling rythm & pace). This team is never goin to improve if they have him in the playin 11. To me even the captain's choice of shoib mailik is sickening, he doesn't have a place in the test squad, just for d sake of havin a young captain doesn't mean pick up some x,y or z(an make sure he is not the fundamentalist type) an make him the captain. Also is there nobdy in d country to replace the wicketkeeper. I'm sorry if my comments hurt sombdy, btw i am not from this country, but i hav always watched ur team wid great passion. I think mohd yousuf should hav been made the capt in d first place instead of inzi(he was never captaincy material), i think even now to me he is d best choice until a youngster shows some consistency in both versions of d game.

Wassalam

Asif is super bowler. If he can keep himself mentally and physically fit, he could be in same league as Waqar or even Akram when he retires. The PCB is probably the wrost run cricket boards which takes a sadist pleasure in ruining careers. Hopefully Asif will not fall prey to the PCB.

As far as vice captaincy is concerned,, I feel Kamran Akmal is a much better choice.

What on earth is going on in pakistan?

They reward steriod users with the vice captaincy?

They are spitting on the sporting world with their actions.

Good Move?????? for God's sake it can be anything but a good move to make Asif the subordinate of Shoaib Malik. Everybody is praising the decision of making two young players captain and vice-captain by relating to the examples of Greame Smith(SA) and Flemming(New Zealand). Can any body point out a single simalarity between Malik and Smith? Will Malik go out and chase down or support in chasing a mamoth score of over 400. It is not even possible in "his" wildest dreams. We all know he has not got the edge to be a captain.
Secondly, coming to the appointment of Asif, the so called McGrath of wherever has never been tested under pressure (except perhaps after taking nandrolone). The guy appears to very week in handling stresses (specially from media) as can be seen from few of his media appearances (TV Shows and interviews). It is the begining of his end.
Now, let me tell you the scenario going on in PCB. Those guys wake up in the morning deciding to give a shock to the nation. Draw up a list of very improbable people for a job, float that idea in media which runs "A source told on the condition of anonymity Shoaib Malik will be the captain". Then they wait for a week, read the articles and comments of the people to see what they think and then decide on the popular consensus. How can I prove myself correct? here is the prove.
(list of player)
Afridi: PCB says "Nah! alot of people thinking hes gonna be the captain... so he cant"
Razzak: PCB says "Hes senior, looks intelligent, people can guess that too. So not possible".
Imran Nazir and Hafeez: PCB says"Yes they can be but wait a minute Salman butt will be more shocking. Hes not in the team and cant certainly make it. So lets float his name".
Shoaib Malik: PCB says "Hes a good candidate. Cant justify his selection all along. Cannot bowl properly bcoz of kinky action. Pathetic technique. People wont guess that."
And those were the two names floated. Weeks later, they decided it will be Shoaib Malik.

Then 10 days later, an official goes to naseem ashraf,"Sir! there has been a problem with the captaincy selection".
Naseem Ashraf,"What's that?"
official "Shoaib Akther and Asif were not considered. They could have been shocking nominations as well. Both of them are not in the team. People cud not have imagined them as well."
Naseem Ashraf, "Damn!!! lets see wht we can do. Shoaib Akhter can be guessed. Make Asif vice-captain."
official,"Sir you are a genius. how easily u solved this problem. U are rightly the chairman. Nobody can in his dreams think of namin Asif the vice captain. Great Sir!!!!"
I can imagine that official will have been Saleem Altaf!!!
may Allah bless us!

I think time has come to invest in Young and geniune players not on alrounders. We should make bold moves by dropping razzaq,afridi,kamran akmal,salman butt,hafeez and bring in the new players. Abudhabhi series is a no bearing series and even Srilanka is giving rest to its senior players and we should give chance to our academy players instead of sending tried and tested players again. I agree with Khan Saheb. Selecting Kamran Akmal again is shock to me

Simply put...a very stupid decision. First he (Asif) got caught using drugs for which he claimed ignorance...how can you make an ignorant idiot a vice captain. I am now fully convinced that PCB is a bunch of loonies.
We should privatize PCB and fire all these brainless, logic challenged, common sense deprived old farts. These are the folks who play a much bigger part in ultimately destroying the future of Pakistan's talented youth.
Asif is a great bowler and I really enjoying seeing him bowl. Just let him concentrate on his bowling. He could be a good candidate couple of three years down the road after he gain a little more experience with both bowling and public speaking...not now !!!! You (PCB) needs to cultivate Asif and give him enuf training and guidence to nudge him in the right direction (leadership role - capt or vc).
PCB dont challenge God's patience....please try to help yourself time for God helps those who help themselves.

Pakistan Cricket is definately moving in the right direction. Moving in the right direction does not mean that there are drastic changes to the team. We need a balanced and unbiased approach to dealing with our National Team. The current team announced has a good balance of youth and experience. I am sure if the team spirit is good, this team can rise to the tough challenges which are presented to them. Lets all wich the team well and show our support to the young leaders.

I also tink that its too early to appoint him as Vice Captain not because of WADA threat but only because it is a pressue job and this can also effect his performance it can take him to the heights of glory but it can also come out his failure to retain his position in the team

Dear Kamran , I tend to agree with your last paragrahp , if the PCB had any intentions of such move , they must have waited for teh WADA review to be over before making such a decsion . I have seen him play and to bowl his heart out for the team . If this was his reward , then it has come to him with a pinch of salt at this early stage of his career . In my humble opinion , the CAP & VCAP of the team should and must have been the two guys with NOT A HINT OF Questionable behaviour either by intent ( SM case of throwing a 20/20 match by intent ) or by ignorance ( Asif's stated claim of not knowing what he was taking as a medicine !) Alas , it is so true , one of the writer has mentioned " By hook or crook , show your intent of being a corrupt Pakistani and you will gain power and all the trapping of a celebirty . Both the choices are with good intentions " to invest in young talent" but in wronged people . SM should never have to be considered any responsible job , ASIf should not have been cosidered too as long as WADA review hangs on his head , SM will be watched for as logn as it takes for the ICC anticorruption unit where ever the team and he goes , rest assured for this and ASIF carrer may be already been hanged out now for the destruction even before it surged ahead. He would be picked up in every major tournament and targeted as " under the cover of randon dope testing without any other considerations !" , PCB cronies could not have done better than this to put these promising youngerter's career in general and their lively hood in particular , on the line and knwoingly done so ... May God help ASIF & SM from now on ....

i thought the decision to make Asif as vice captain is bluder that PCB has made. In a team where there is no unity the PCB has invited more trouble in team my making one of the youngster as vice captain. I though Afridi was the best option, because of his aggresiveness on field and it would also be a respect for one of the senior member of the team. Now no one can stop Pakistan from losing to lesser competetive teams. All the best Pakistan

Couldn't agree with you more Kamran. But this has been the norm in PCB (actually in Pakistan) that we don't learn from our mistakes. The last case isn't so old, that of Mushtaq Ahmed. If we keep appointing people for responsible positions who are or have been involved in controversies that haven't been cleared, we won't be able to concentrate on the sport itself. If Asif is smart enough, he should reject the offer, for now. But I guess, this won't happen.

Mr. Abbasi I agree with you.
Asif is, no doubt, a very good player.
A bowler, Pakistan was looking for.
But Its really not fair to appoint him the captain, before the WADA's decision.
Salman Butt is a very good choice for this post and we know that his in and out of team was bascially due to lack of synchronization with INZI and nothing else.
Also the past players have reckoned a future captain in him, so why not give him a chance for the good of team and Pakistan Cricket

you are correct Kamran Sahab, it is wise...but tooooo early to take this movement...captain is fresh...so, I recomend Mohd. Yousuf or Abdul Razzak to assist him as v-cpt...let have youngsters more and more experience ...then to have responsibility

Khan Shab, Did Inzi change Sami? Was he a world class bowler before nd suddenly Inzi with magic stick changed him from world class to below class!

Come on, Inzi is the best batsman Pakistan ever produced. and believe me no one can produce such talent in decades.
We all forgot what he did from 1992 until now for our nation. 94 % whenever he scored a century, pakistan won. Probably this is best in world

The selection of so many openers is really very silly.It will again lead to chopping and changing of openers.They should just pick two openers and give them a run for a long period of time in both versions of the game.I think they should play imran nazir and salman butt as openers and play yasir hameed and hafiz in middle order.Hafeez averages 18 as an opener and is not really gud enuf.Imran nazir can be groomed into a dangerous one day batsman if given good chances.
Altho the selections of najaf shah and fawad alam are gud ones but once again mohammad irshad is not selected.One of the main bowlers should have bin rested and irshad should have been given a chance.He is very pacy and can be a gud alternate of shoaib in the long term if groomed properly.
The pathetic selection of all is probably of kamran akmal.Its an ideal time to give a young keeper like zulqernain or sarfaraz a chance at the top level.this will once again make kamran akmal feel as if he is a lord.He should have payed the price for some horrible keeping and batting in the last one year...terrible selection this is

AOA

Mr. Kamran I have been reading your Blogs for very long. I am very very disappointed to read some comments from different people who were discussing politics, racism and saying those remarks about what so ever which should not be appeared on your blog. We are all cricket lovers and we are not here to discuss any thing else. You have to read the comments before they appear on your blogs so you have the right and duty to not to publish those comments which are not related to cricket.

ALLAH HAFIZ

Great Comments Khansahab, though I dont totally agree with them, by and large, they make a lot of sense. Especially those about Imran Nazir, Sami, Akmal and Asif. I am also disgusted at the composition of new team.

Vice Captain ? why are our selectors/administrators hell bent on further reinforcing the laughing stock tag on our cricket ? You have a great bowler with 10 test matches and 25 one days behind him and being made vice captain ? someone who can break down after three tests (like in SA).

And the biggest mistake is Kamran Akmal !!! If it was deserved, than there must be extreme lack of talent in our country when we have a wicket keeper who is arguably the worst wicketkeeper in international cricket. Sangakara, Gilly, Boucher, Dhoni and McCullum are clearly far superior, Nixon, West Indian and WK from minnows are atleast as good if not better than Akmal. I thought we could do better than that. I am now pretty sure that the this pseudo-new setup is not going to achieve anything substantially better.

I totally agree with you Kamran, its way too early to appoint Asif as a vice captain. IMHO he doesn't even deserve to be considered for captaincy role ever in his career for the shame he brought to Pakistan cricket. There're other players who could do the job much better than Asif. Why not appoint someone like Salman Butt? He's young, talented and most importantly he's very well educated and comes from a good background. Asif is not a captain material at all. I really like him as a bowler but appointing him as a vice captain is something only PCB could do among all the cricketing bodies in the world!

I think Asif is a very good choice for vice captaincy as he has the ability to lead from the front and is capable of proving this nomination a right decision. He has so far shown his mental strength in all the cricket he has played. He has also shown maturity on the field and minus the nandrolone issue, seems a perfect choice for the betterment of future of Pakistani cricket.

I was taken aback by the choice.. this means that if Malik is off-field OR is not playing a match, Asif is the on-field captain - or even, lead the team out. Question is, has he displayed the responsibility and the capability of leading a team out? Worse - do Pak want a player under scrutiny of WADA leading the team out? Isnt there atleast a bit of honor attached to leading the Pak national team onto a field?

The choice kind of has me shocked. Afridi might have been a better choice - and its about time someone shows confidence in him. With his talent, you never know - putting responsibility on him might put paid to all his in-consistencies..

Anyways - for now, let me assume the selectors know what they are doing..

I agree with you on this Abbasi Sahib. Asif is definitely a great talent for pakistan as a bowler, not as a decision maker for the team. I think in my opinion the nod should have gone to Afridi. This would have given him greatly needed confidence and become more consious of his attitude, both on and off the field.

This appointment of a cheat to the role of vice-captaincy highlights all that is wrong with the pakistanian game.
They bring cricket into disripute and if the sub continent were not the economical lifeblood of cricket I would say ban them till they clean up their act.

Why did they make him captain. Abdul Razzaq is the person who deserves it anyway what if tommorow they say asif u r not vice he would be really disapointed.He just started his career god knows wat will happen to his perfomence after being vc.He is too young for too much pressure. Razzaq Deserves it his performence is brillliantttttttttt and is senior as well.What is happening with the pakistani team.

Asif being made a vice captain is a joke. We have already been reduced to laughing material during the world cup and now we have announced a team where the leadership is being given in the hands on unexperienced lads. Its high time, i feel Imran Khan should take over the ADHOC board and get things in place. Pakiz need a leader like Imran. Sami and Rao Iftikar have been tried n tested n failed. The same goes for Salman Butt, however i feel the guy has in him to make it. I would still say that Faisal Iqbal could hav been given a brief opportunity. Where is the youngest ever player of world cricket - Hassan Raza, last i knew that he was the captain of Pakistan A, the national team tried him so much at the wrong time and a tender age.

We were once feared for our fast bowlers, however today we dont hav a single decent fast bowler. Batsman - none to be relied on. I feel on the basis of merit selection the President should look at the young talent on the streets of Karachi, Lahore, RawalPindi n certain other places n get these youngsters in the line up.

KAMRAN Listen to this:
Jason Giambi, Mark McGuire, Barry Bonds, Jose Conseco all these sportsmen are professionals of the WORLD'S RICHEST Sporting League, the Major League Baseball. These "professionals" of the highest kind took performance enhancing drugs and then found themselves in positions of responsibilities as Captains, Lead Hitters, Leading Home Runs Scorers you name it. And you still think Asif is guilty. MAN, COME ON!!! Stop beating the same Bush Over and Over again. These guys (Shoaib & Asif) want to put the whole thing behind them and you are one of those people who are not letting them.
Why is it so hard to make believe that WADA has NO jurisdiction over the sport of cricket , the PCB or any other relating authority just like it exercises no control over NFL, NBA or MLB. Get Over it man! And don't you get it? Asif's vice-captaincy will only strengthen his case. WADA will think twice when putting forth a charge sheet against a reigning vice-captain of an international cricket team. Like Paul McCartney once said "Let it Be", so just Let it be man, let it be.

I think asif is A gud choice than all .Mohammad Asif might well be a judicious choice as vice captain but it is injudicious to appoint him before the WADA business is done. A vice too early for the young man's good.

Sir, I am an Indian by origin but have followed South Asian cricket just like any other die hard cricket fan. I have had the honor of playing for the country as well but not in Cricket but some other sport.

The reason I mention the above point is that when a person is selected to represent his or her country, directly they become a reflection of the think tank that gave this privilege.

To start off with some major concerns

a) Person sitting on top has to be a good leader. In most cases this personality doesn't need to have Cricket background but should reflect highly on other skills. Seeing failures all the way from communication, mis-trust, performance, selection and being laughed at by the world on excuses ARE good enough reasons that all of the interested country men should force his resignation.

b) How can you put up a tainted cricketer as a leader? And that too for a fast bowler whose injury rate are the highest. Is that an investment for future or directly reflective of problems to come ahead.

c) Finally weather it is India , Pakistan SL or BAN there need to be some readers, writers, followers that should just take upon themselves for using whatever means to get people asking questions.

Finally I end by stating that you yourself sir (who personally I respect for what you have written earlier) should use your position to organize maybe a talk to PCB discussion and take questions and get them answered.

This is very very critical for Pak cricket, South asian cricket and cricket in general. I really hope that people remember you not only as a writer but also as a person who tried to make a change. Whatever be the result....I am sure it would be better than what it exists today.

Wish you and your team all the best.

I believe that the appointment of Muhammad Asif as vice captain is an excellent one because Pakistan is yearning for new players getting responsibilty. You have a young captain so a similar vice captain isn't a bad choice.
Mr.Abbasi, I'm surprised at your comments: whenever Pakistan cricket undergoes some sort of evolution, you question it and criticise it. Why can you not see our country's cricket develop?

Anwar ali should have been in for Sami and Jamshed ahmed should have been instead of Rao Iftikhar.

These two bowlers won pakistan under 19 world cup.
and we need some youngsters to come in for this low profile series.

This move will either turn Asif into a Imran Khan, or a Wasim Akram.

Take whatever meaning you will from the above.... But those with a sound knowledge of Pakistani cricket will know what it foretells.

excellent kamran,
i rate this as one of your best articles written on thsi blog.
khansahab, i agree on most of your points. but not when you say yousuf should be appointed vice cap. i dont think shoaib malik will be very comfortable having yousuf as his deputy since he is more experienced than shoaib malik.
we need to make shoaib's life easy and should have appointed someone like salman butt
and yes kamran needs competition from zulkarnain. i reckon kamran needs to be given a long break
keep up the good work kamran
i always enjoy reading this blog

Asif is real captain for future Shoaib malik is just a stopgap

Pakistan Cricket has always been a victim of politics. Mohammad Asifs appointment as the vice captain has definately raised a lot of eyebrows and why not, he is under WADA and not yet cleared, he has only played a bunch of handy ODI games, and expereince wise, isnt any where. Undoubtably a fantastic bowler and for someone to peak in his cricketing career at this early stage is always a phenomena. But then Asif's immature behavior has also led to his downfall. Appointing Asif as the vice captain this early in the game would have been a NO NO from anyone who follows the game closely. PCB might have different ideas, Dr Nasim Ashraf has not even given a valid reason for the selection of Asif. Razzaq, Shahid and Mohammad Yousuf would have certainly been good contenders but Asif is just a random pick and one that will not benefit Pakistan, atleast not for now.

PCB has this uncanny knack of surprising everyone.
The decision of appointing Asif as VC is no different either.
Salman Butt would have been an ideal VC. Atleast he could attend to pre & post-match conferences in place of media-shy Shoaib Malik.
anyways best of luck to Mr. Asif.

I think this decision is a good one but can also be good if it works. It is bad obviously because Asif has played not even ten tests and not even 25 odis. He has not captained domestic sides to a great degree either as shoaib malik usually captains Sialkot.Although giving him this responsibility could increase his confidence and motviate him. He may not be expierienced but already out of the bowlers in the squad, asif is no doubt the best.

On khansahabs comment, I would like to critise that some of the opinions are wrongly accused. Imran nazir is an expierienced batsman who probably didnt play well in the WC, but then who did? At least he made a pride saving knock at the end.
Akmal bhai has had his downs, but he shows promise. remember his series against india, where he saved pakistan in tests and odis.

Abdul razzak, you can never rule out such a player. Maybe he has lost his bowling slightly, but he gets 1 or two wickets and goes at 4-5 per over. We need him for an extra bowler. He is also a great batsman who can play defensively and offensively.

Mohammad sami has just started improving. This is where pakistan should keep playing him. He is young and expierienced.

Otherwise I think most of your other points are valid.

Mr.KAMRAN, what has happened to PCB ? Iam really surprised at the VC selection.Whether intentionally or not - He is held guilty & the appeal is still pending.What will be the face of pcb if he is held guilty & banned for a year or more ? Why they take this risk & become a laughing stock is a million dollor question.Even otherwise what is his credentials as a leader ? is there any answer ? He may be an excellent bowler but is he a good leader? I THINK THIS IS A BAD DECISION WHICH PCB MAY REGRET LATER.IN THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES WHETHER ONE LIKES IT OR NOT AFRIDY IS THE RIGHT CHOICE UNTIL AN ALTERNATE IS FOUND.

In 1953, Sir Robert Hutchinson wrote in the BMJ: "From inability to leave well alone; from too much zeal for the new and contempt for what is old; from putting knowledge before wisdom, science before art, and cleverness before common sense; from treating patients as cases; and from making cure of the disease more grievous than the endurance of the same, Good Lord, deliver us."-- I quoted this famous saying in part in one of my comments as a warning about what should be PCBs attitude after the world cup debacle. PCB has done exactly what i was afraid of. Too much contempt for past and too much zeal for new. They and pakistani cricket fans are going to suffer for this even more.

Kamran Saab, it appears, is bent upon suggesting anything that could possibly put Afridi (the unreliable) on a position of leadership. I dont doubt Afridi's ability as a player but having a vice captain (or god forbid captain) as 'technically correct' as Afridi is not a great idea. In my humble opinion of course. True cricket i feel should be different from baseball.

this massege is to all my brothers who use this blog for column writing. my dear bros, this is not a news paper where you put your gold ideas in front of readers. who do you think is so inspired by you to read all the bullshit you put in 100 lines. do you think you are some bloody journalists. if you really are, go and put this crap in some news paper and leave this blog for good. put short massegs so that people can understand and share your thoughts. i feel so bizzare by seeing such long masseges. thats why most blogs have a maximum limit of massages. i think we should have one in this blog too.

i think our board should learn some lessons on rules and descipline from English Cricket Board Andrew Flintoff was sacked as vice captain when he was found drunked outside on a beach in the west indies and what we are making Shoaib and Asif should not be given any position in the team till they are cleared by the WADA.If they are found guilty they should be banned, but we are making him our vice or our next captain,what example of our corrupt systems are we setting.
Another thing about Asif is he is too new and young for this responsibility and there are much expectations from him which he have to prove. He still needs to prove himself as a worldclass bowler like wasim and waqar.I think his performance is still less than the expectations from him.

CRITICISM !
CRITICISM !
CRITICISM !
..

can we stop this nonsense and support the team for a change. Because after all its PAKISTAN team. we always give example of Aussies and European sports, then why isit so hard for us to understand that thier biggest strength is the support that they get from thier country. if we dont give support and more importantly confidence to our player, how could we expect them to win.

everyone of us has become such a genious of the game, that even before anything happens, we start guessing the consequences. will malik be a good captain? is asif the right choice for vice-captancy role? Is this the best possible squad? or we sould have included kaneria, shahid yousaf or someone else ?

i mean how can any of us (including kamran) can guess, its right or wrong. we dont we leave PCB, let them do thier job , let the selectors do thier job, let the players play and let the leaders lead. and then if something goes wrong then we comment on that particular matter only.
i hope you people understand what I am trying to convey over here.

for Kamran Abbasi, its understandable, its his job to cricize, even if there is nothing to criticize on. (right kamran?). but why do we speak the language of our former players. THINK ABOUT IT GUYS !!! MAY BE ITS TIME TO WAKEUP...

This decission is not a wise one. Asif is such a young and valueable player. To put him in the politics of power with in the team is very unfair.

Kamran, dude it seems our fellow Pakistani's arent following cricket as much. I guess it was pretty much expected. Anyways..back to the topic in hand.
Asif as a vice captain. Ive always thought that this position doesnt mean anything in Pakistan cricket apart from the rare matches when he has to lead the final 11. So whether Asif is made the vc or not doesnt really matter. The question here shud be, Do I see him as a future captain of Pakistan team (which shud be the main criteria when deciding a vice captain).. the answer is simple and precise.. NO !!! I'm sure one of the young guys could be a far better leader than Asif -no offence he is a fine bowler. Anyways.. Sri Lanka isnt taking their crown jewels to Abu Dhabi that means pakistan shud take the most from this opportunity and try out the young guys. I say Fawad Alam to open with a right hander -if not then Salman butt to open with Yasir Hameed. Rao Ifti shud sit outside to test the new Najaf Shah. The only name I was expecting which isnt there is Abdul Rahman, I think he showed enuf class and determination to play in ODI's esp for the fact that he can hit big boundaries as well.
Over n out Kamran.

Well i believe that Asif even without WADA thing is currently not a good choice of VC. He is new ot international scene, has not toured all the continents for a full tour, has been involved in injury scare and drug issue which is still looming. Imagining Asif captaing Pak now if Shoaib gets injured doesnt sound right at all, the proper choie would have been Razzaq.
Now the new selection, i must say guys for God sake stop bashing Inzi, He was without doubt the Greatest Batsman Pakistan has EVER produced and still plays Test. Dont forget Inzi in multan when Bangla was about to add us as 1st test victim. Dont forget him against Aussies when Pak defeated them in test series in Pak...he made 99 with mushi, dont forget when he single handidly batted in caribean test series that wa robbed from Pakistan by West Indies Umpires (worst umpirees ever)...dont forget inzi solid performances against Brits in last home test series...dont forget he is one of the three players in the world who when make a major score 80% of time there team wins...dont forget inzi in india when he handled the batting line last time....Dont forget how he mustered the last New eland series in new zealend where he n yousaf were amazing...last but not the least The 92 cup....He is without doubt the GREATEST EVER BATSMEN...much much better then Sachin, Rahul, Lara (in my books as his major score hardly ever gets WI to victory), Vaughan, Jaywerdine...he is our Inzi.

This is a new era and i wish Board will arrange in a way that when Inzi retires from cricket he plays his Last Test in Multan where the Sultan of Multan is given the BEST reception...Inzi the sultan of multan

Asif as Vice is a bit bizarre.Perhaps the selectors took the word 'vice' a bit literally.The guy has been on the 'Roids' and allegedly enjoys the odd scotch and some of that high quality Moroccan tobacco,All prime time vices im sure.

These are fine qualities if your going to become the second in command of a street gang.Will they be of benefit in a cricket team? and if we are going to choose our captain based on vices then the best qualified person should have been the brother from Rawalpindi or maybe they considered him to be over qualified.

What next? Sarfaraz Nawaz for coach would be great,and assistant coach who doesnt lead Prayers but knows how to roll a joint,then we will be able to really challenge the supremacy of the Australians.Whilst proving how westernised and enlightened we are.

I would have imagined someone with a bit more international experience would make vice captain. The 'young blood' and 'out with the old' theories are all ok but what experience does Asif have in leadership roles? He has already shown extremely poor judgement with the whole doping issue, are we to believe that Asif is capable of being a master of cricket strategy and out-fox the likes of Ponting, Dravid etc? After all he is slotted to lead Pakistan in the absence of Shoaib Malik, somehow I don't see that scenario going too well.
All said, I have a lot of faith in his bowling capabilities just not too sure if the added pressure will do him any good.

I am not very amazed by the selection of Asif as Vice captain. We always talk about to be like Australians but we never follow what they do in-order to maintain discipline. Shane Warne is one example, and Andrew Symonds is other.

When corrupt ministers are handling offices, how you can expect good things to come out. Very Sad.

PCB seems to be moving in the right direction to groom young blood but still too early to make any comments. As far as Asif is concern no doubt that he is as genius bowler and in future he will be a big asset for Pakistan line up, but you cannot ignore the efforts made by Mohammed yousif in the year 2006. So think that Mohamed Yousif would have given the chance to be a Vice Captain.

Lastly, the PCB must understand that they can’t simply relinquish all control to young and inexperienced players. Some responsibilities must still be maintained with the old guard who ought to guide the new leadership. Given that the captaincy role has been awarded to Malik, it only makes sense to have someone like Mohammed Yousuf or Younus Khan to be made vice captain over the duration of the next 2-3 tours.

I think asif appointment is an early call...as someone who is just 1-2 yrs old andur giving him a vice responsibility..this is something strange..and also Asif is onlzy in the side for his bowling...his batting skills are yet to be admired..i think Shahid Afridi can be a best choice for vice captaincy...as he has been captaining his local side for quite sometime from now and his aggression is known to everyone. I will not put Abdur Razzaq into this list as i think Razzaq is same in approach as Inzamam...
For me, Asif's appointment is something strange, as his WADA case (as Kamran pointed out) is yet to be finalized. Suppose if WADA takes some action against him then again we will face embarassment that our Vice Captain is in trouble...don't know where to go then...
I would go for Shahid Afridi for a Vice Captain and Shoaib Malik as a Captain

hmmm its a surprise move i wud have gone for afridi but it seems to b a good and a differen one ... better luck for de pakistan cricket team ...come on guys u have got somethin new so go on doin new

i was so surprised to hear Asif as the choice for vice captain. The shocked face quickly changed to one of joy. It is a brilliant choice, he has the same frame of mind as Shoaib Malik, the youngsters in the squad need to be led by people with talent who put 110% all the time. Have you ever seen Asif sulking around when things arent going his way? I havent at all, hes like Danish Kaneria...every ball they start new like its the first ball of the match with all their effort.

As for the WADA/Drugs business i still think he was innocently brought into these torrid circumstances. I dont think the PCB did what was required of them, when you put a baby in a room with a tiger it wont be scared unless you tell it to be. Its the same with telling a kid not to play with fire because its dangerous. There were no prior warnings given to the players about the consequences and what they should keep away from!

I am surprised though like many that PCB have decided to go with the tried and tested players...

Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Sami

^ The above players dont deserve to be in this squad. They are like sunday league cricketers anyone can do their job. Pakistan has a population of 150 Million or so. Im sure you ca