Hence, while Inzy must take a fair share of the blame for the disaster, the strength of the inquiry’s damnation is somewhat out of proportion with Inzy’s sin. An employee only persists in destructive behaviour if an employer allows him to. The World Cup failure was as much down to Dr Ashraf as it was dictated by Mr ul Haq.

Which leaves us wondering where Inzy goes next? How much of this can a man take? This winter has to be his last in Pakistan colours. Whether he plays one Test, one series, or one full domestic season of international cricket, Inzamam ul-Haq must name his date to go—and stick to it. A time limit will help the succession and let’s hope it helps restore his dignity.

Careers are marked with successes and failures, rights and wrongs, blame and absolution, heroes become villains, and villains become scapegoats. The end should be a moment to celebrate, but to celebrate properly we have to know when the end will come.

A person assigned by the department starts blackmailing the department and becomes bigger than the authorities. Who is to blame ? The department or the individual ?
The irony is the temporary nature of things in our country. A new chairman is too scared to put his foot down and wants results. What choice does he have ? Fire the 300 ODI experienced captain or fall prey to his blackmailing.
Everyone blames the lack of structure and lack of deapth in resources. Interest in sports is declining. Why ? is it the structures fault or the lack of success of our teams ? Imagine if we win the next hockey world cup what would that do to the popularity of the sport. On the other hand we invest heavily in the infrastructure and work on 'grass root' level. A typical chicken and egg situation.
Talent, skill, technique, everything put aside we want teams who are consistent and bring home results. Are far less talented but have 11 professional athletes who give it thier best when on the field. Who still play for the team even though they are the best in the world and yet not the captain of the team. Lets stop preparing heroes, lets look for professionals who play for the country not for personal glories.

Unfortunately Inzy has been made the fall guy for the debacle which took years in the making. It was quite convenient to pin this on the big man since (1) there would be almost zero collateral damage as he is gone anyways and (2) the sorry bosses of PCB would survive to the next debacle. Its a shame with the way we treat our heroes. It was tasteless to put the findings publicly even if every one of the findings were dead right. A man who has given 15 of his best years for this country didn't deserve this kick from behind.

Inzi no doubt was a great batsman, a great player. Yet we, while sympathizing with him, keep forgetting that he was the captain of the ship. and it was his responsibility to steer the team to safety. Yet he failed!! If he had all the powers to get his voice 'n opinion heard by the PCB officials, as being alleged in the recent inquiry report, he should also have the power to think like an intellectual and guide the team with shrewd tactics. In corporate culture, no matter what mistake a laborer makes, no matter what mistake a manager makes, it's only the CEO who is liable at the end. If he can take credit for all the profits, he should also be able to take the blame of the loss, or any error by any of his subordinates. In such a culture even the board of directors is not held accountable, because the CEO literally has the veto power. It's time that Inzi takes the blame 'n moves on with his life. He has spent his peak 'n it's best he probably plays a series (he deserves the chance to retire gracefully as a great player), 'n then take up some thing else to earn his bread 'n butter.

It's a shame the way we treat our national heroes when the going gets tough. First twas Wasim, then Waquar and now Inzi to take the wrath.
When will we ever learn to appreciate our heroes.

It is really sad that Pakistan cricket boards committee is saying that it was all Inzy’s fault, but is is very much unfair with a great player. The main culprit are cricket board officials.

inzi is shameless but not only him, everyone responsible. Hopefully pak don;t improve as i go for india

Now that the source of decline in Pakistani cricket has been found, its time to move on. The new captain has to be supported and young players have to be aided in a proffessional manner in order to get the best out of them.

There is a saying that you don't beat a man when he is down - it is much easier to kick the b****d.
Does Inzamam deserve this. A great cricketer, who single handedly won matches for Pakistan - remember the Test against Bangladesh - Pakistan would have lost but for Inzamam's brilliance.
If as is said "Selectors waited for his blessings" whose fault was it?
A great cricketer has been made the scapegoat for a number of errors by the PCB.
Cricket teaches us to play the game fairly - I think Inzamam has been treated very unfairly. It's NOT cricket!
(I live in Singapore - was born in Sri Lanka and am a Hindu, but have always been thrilled to see Inzamam bat.)

I too had a lot of problems with Inzi's tenure as captain, but the manner in which they tore him apart, all the while entirely absolving themselves, was utterly disheartening. He was a good man, albeit too readily influenced.

It is time to move forward, then looking for scapegoat for the wc failiures, the first step already taken by finding decently available leader Mr. Malik hope rest of the teams give full support to prop up the low morale,lastly it is high time indiciplined Mr. Akthar to be dropped from Pakistans team and nurture budding talents, well good luck to pakistan team to come out of challenging times to be competitive to enjoy the fruits of sports.

nicely said Kamran...A player like Inzy needs an amazing end...lets just hope it comes quick!..

Absolutely pathetic. It's funny how the PCB is hiding behind Inzamam; so relaxed and so certain of their allegations while Inzy eats the dust. As usual, this report/conclusion is to brush off all the speculation on PCB for poor management, poor selection and poor judgement. Who has been the dictator of Pakistan Cricket for decades??? I think the answer is quite obvious. Now the PCB has an excuse of not making a major overhaul. The root cause is Inzy as he has now been removed from captaincy. So I guess that solves the problem? Gimme a DARN break!

Its is all about blaming others. I accept that Inzamam was a dictator. But who allowed him to be one? I think the top leadership of the Pakistan Cricket Board is equally responsible. Appointment of Parvaiz Mir is another blunder. He was only interested in raising the religious issue. If it was really becoming an issue, he should have talked to the top leadeship of the PCB confidentially instead of giving statements in the press. The board is being run by nincompoops who keep on getting the jobs because they know someone important. I think I can definately do a better job

how can it be inzys fault if his players were not producing runs hes not to blame

AOA All,
What a mess...if Inzamam is to blame for everything then it directly implies that our criciket board the whole management were impotent, since he was in control of everything...what a shame....shame shame shame...our whole cricket system is disorganised and undisciplined..ultimately these things will happen again and again....Inzy made lot of mistakes and he could have been v.strong, but those who are managing the affairs should have been string enough to put a tap on these things...but did not and now made inzamam the scapegoat....

hi every body
first of all i must say that i 1000% agree with ur words that
-----------------------------
"An employee only persists in destructive behaviour if an employer allows him to. The World Cup failure was as much down to Dr Ashraf as it was dictated by Mr ul Haq."
-----------------------------

the only difference between inzy and other officials is that inz admitted his fault and they don't have courage to admit it. Inzy we want u to come back as u did after 2003 world cup, when u make ur return a memorable event while playing test match again in multan.

i think who ever came up with the conclusion of blaming inzamam for everything is a BIG joke and a typical paki reaction.
blame the captain since he has moved on!!

what about dr nasim ashraf, who dicided Imran Nazir should be sent to the world cup! and this same guy bck in march said shoiab and asif will be tested for drugs within a month!

its been two months and theres been no sign of the two taking a drug test! and not only that, asif is actually made vice captain without proving he is drug free!

some of the blame has to go on inzi but not all, it is also shoiabs, razzaq and asifs fault for letting the nation down!
we could have finished WI off for less then 180 if we had our strike bowlers in the first game.

and even if we got out for 132, shoiab and asif would have blown away the Irish for 60 odd runs! so why dnt htye cope the blame also!!!

and most of all its nasim ashraf, the guys a complete idiot, he has said he wil change pakistan cricket around but has not done anything! he comes out with statments such as the consitution will be in place by january 31st. But its been 5 months since and so sign of the constiution coming into place! does that not count towards the WC failure?

now he is saying that shoiab and asif will be tested for drugs but that has not happened!

and on top he says he will hire an american fielding coach, but i dnt think that will happen!

this guy is just simply a fat hungry man for money and he is eating into the Pakistan crickets profits and coming out with a load of CRAP!!!

you guys who are journalists in pakistan should GRILL this man and make him look like a donkey who does not know what he is doing. he is just passing the BUCK and blaming others!
if he wants to be the chairmen he needs to back his statements not retract from them! Dr nasim ashraf is a complete loser and he is taking pakistan cricket down with him!

please please you guys in pakistan who report to the world, do something about this guy or our beloved country will be tarnished!

This is as tragic as it is unfortunate. Wasim Akram and Inzamam ul Haque are two of the best players ever produced by Pakistan, and towards the end of their career both have been treated very shabbily. If a nation refuses to acknowledge and duely honor its heroes, quite soon the heroes stop surfacing. Look at the pattern: At the Imran left, there were a handful of legends in the team. There were two Ws, the two openers, and a middle order boasting of exciting new talent in the form of Inzi. By the time Waseem parted, there was just one real legend left in the team (Inzi again), and now that Inzi is going, there is no-one except perhaps Asif one can pin any hopes on; since Yousuf still has to go some way before he gets counted as one of the Legends, and Akhtar, the cocky loud mouth, never was and never will be a legend.

Pak Cricket could benefit from not having these boards at all.

No doubt Inzamam is a world class batsman- the greatest that Pakistan has produced, but definitely he is not captancy material as he lacks those inborn qualities which make great leaders. He was made captain as there was no other choice available at that time. However, to blame him solely for the fiasco is not justified. He's role is only one of many factors which led to this debacle. The prime responsibiility, I think, rests with the ones who run the game in this country and those include the "Patron" and his "chosen-one" administrators. When the patron has got the entire country hostage and there is corruption and deterioration in every sector of the society, how can sports in general and cricket in particular remain unaffected and make progress?
As far as Inzamam's retirement is concerned, he should play the upcoming three test series against SA, IND and AUS and not only become the highest test run scorer for the country (surpassing Javed Miandad's record) but also try to become the first Pakistani to break the 10,000 runs barrier. I hope, the PCB shall give him this opportunity which will be an acknowledgement of his immense services to the country as a batsman.

Well, it's a bit late now to pass blame. If Inzi had this much power, why was nothing done to to remove him from the frame and use him as a Batsman?? The PCB should of sought advice from Pressie Musharraf, he's an expert when it comes to coup's?

The God Father (President Musharaf) failed and, the lesser of the two evils prevailed. I don't like either of the candidates, but when it comes to support the underdogs, I just try to choose the lesser of the two evils, hence I'd support Inzamam ul Haq. Kamran Abbassi, you are right about Nasim Ashraf spending time in maximizing his chances of remaining as the Chairman of the board. But, you did not elaborate how he managed to do that? Was it by licking the General's boots or what? Not so long ago you wrote an exclusive thread on him titled, "Peter Piper" and we all wrote so much about his serendipities and idiosyncracies but, nothing has happened, he is such a "dheet" that he would never go unless someone boots him out and that cannot be done as long as his big daddy is there.

And Saleem Altaf is another big chamcha of the PCB and pain in the woteva, he always try to gain favour by cringing or flattering and kowtowing to his boss by defending him, perhaps thats his survival tactics. He's gone bonkers and needs to be in some kinda asylum to spend the rest of his pathetic life there. It was expected that the PCB will shift the blame on someone but, obviously not on Nasim Bano, 'coz he is being protected by his GF. Obviously the blame was to be shifted either on the captain or the coach. The coach is dead and as a mark of respect and also due to so many controversies they have deliberately avoided Woolmer's name.

I don't mean to say that Inzi is totally innocent or a "pappoo" as he looks. But, what Inzi has done as a captain is nothing new (excluding his tableeghi missions and halaqas in the dressing room) he acted like any other dictator captain of the past in choosing his team. Right from the days of Kardar, Fazal Mahmood to Imran Khan, Wasim Akram et al have done the same. His only fault is his ODI career ended so miserably. Had he won the WC, he would have become Multan's Saint-Zamam-ul-Haq. magar yae ho na saka .... aur ab yae alam hai that he must be singing 'yae na thi hamari kismet'. Being a PPP, perpetually, pathetic, pay&do, he may not know this ghazal hence, he only remembers the word, 'kismet'.

Already there is a lot of Inzi bashing going on since the WC debacle and now this last nail from the PCB, which imo is a bit too much for him. He should announce his retirement and take a break, go to Rai-wind, enjoy life in his usual "Eat, Gym & Sleep" style. I don't want to add anything more to increase his sorrows or his woes, au contraire, I would wish him A Happy Nihari.

Inzamam Ul Haq is taking the blame for all that has gone wrong in the world cup but that is extremely harsh.Is it right to treat such a great like this? Pakistan performed badly in the world cup because the three main batsmen Inzamam, Yousuf and Younis Khan didn't perform.Inzamam wasnt a great leader but results under him really weren't that bad.Sure he could of done better but circumstances were difficult.Inzamam has been the best talent Pakistan have ever produced.He has 25 Test match hundreds 17 out of 25 hundreds have helped Pakistan win or draw a game.Wow.That says everything.Under pressure he was the best batsmen in the world.WELL DONE INZI.

Sacking Inzi as Capt'n makes most sense. His dictatorial and despotic ways are what got the Pakistan team in the rut. For all his wonderful batting, he only superseded it with lacklutre unimaginative captaincy. Inzi was a HOPELESS Captain

But the PCB would do better than to blame him alone. Perhaps a look into their own affairs would be more revealing

That is bull. All i can say is that whole cricket group, which includes the captain, players, selectors, PCB, even the spectators. I am not going into detail, but one should come to there own conclusion as to why I blame them.

Kamran, you have gone and said it again: ceratinly, Inzamam does not bear entire responsibility for the WC debacle. It was the Pakistani way of doing things-ad hocism, et al that were thrashed by Ireland in the gloom of Jamaica.
I only hope that the mindsets change after all this so that some professionalism and all that can be introduced here.
And finally, where O where was Saleem Altaf during his incarnation as Chief of Operations when Inzy was busy turning himself into a "dictator". Musharraf, please take note.

Well Inzi I think its a badluck factor for you and you have an equal share in landing to this situation. I understand that the only thing you will be hoping you now is to leave the arena in dignity and probably that is the reason you have not resigned from Test Cricket. You may be hoping that out of the blue you can have a good match and end your career on a happy note but Inzi what are you doing for that? Not electing to come up the order, not chosing to loose wait and get fit, not learning from your mistake (your blue eyed boy M Hafeez got 15 chances since south africa tour and he failed on all those fifteen time and you elected to pick him for WC and at the same opening slot). Inzi you have to answerable to all of us who are crazy about cricket. The only time in the last few years you perform was by batting with tail enders! reason... your lacking in fitness, as while playing with tailenders all the running you need to do is for your own runs and not for others runs so a 60 or 70 at that points requires the fitness of only 30 to 35 runs. Cmon inzi we are not blind and we follow the cricket very closely because we love this game.

Inzi deserves better. He has served the nation for over 15 years, he won us the '92 world cup, he has made us all proud to be Pakistanis over the years. Forget this storm in a chaa da cup, history will remember Inzi for the great cricketer he was (and still is).

Inzi... we love you.

Not a surprising verdict, after all ASH wouldn't be taking blame. true that he sat in the dressing room as if he was a player, or declared Pakistani bowlers were drug cheats with out evidence and Inzamam was a fanatic, and also a pathetic attempt to bring Younas in for Inzamam. Apart from that, all the mess was Inzamam's, hmmmmmm, what else is left? Anyhow, Inzamam and the whole team could have done well and they didnt. I hope that Inzamam would not be a villian in history as the meia is portraying him, rather a celebrated hero.

Not unexpected, The easiest person to blame has been blamed for the world cup debacle. The chairman PCB, Saleem altaf and co will obviously not say that it was their fault as well. Its typical of Pakistani inquiries which are always a blame finding exercise. Has this entire show has helped Pakistan cricket? Answer will be a vehement NO. I am going to be devils advocate and try to look at things from Inzimam point of view. Reasons why Pakistan lost

2 key bowlers were stupid enough to use nandrolone. Not Inzi's fault

Razzaq broke down a day before world cup. Not Inzis Fault.

Shahid Afridi was not able to control his temper and was banned. Again not Inzis Fault

Pakistani Batsmen are brought up on slow low pitches and cant handle a moving ball on a green pitch. UMMM Inzi's fault NO.

Ireland won the toss and groundsman made a horrible pitch . Again Inzi not to blame.

I am not saying Inzimam is absolved of all responsibility, He has to take the blame ( He has said repeatedly he takes the blame) so should PCB and Management (No one has had the decency to accept blame there).

So my suggestion to all these SIANAS of PCB is grow up, share the blame and make postive recommendations not just play the blame game.

I think Inzi has a good years of test cricket left in him. I mean in South Africa he looked a class apart from his colleagues. Next season we will see Inzi come back stronger than ever and answer all of his critics with the bat.

dEAR kAMRAN In my humble opinion your write up is very mild in its nature of being critical of the player in question in general BUT the Emplyer in particular . London Test fiasco was done right under the eyes of the DR & Director , this shameless due have courage to indulge in mud sligging . INZI was if a problem , he should have been sorted out before London fiasco or soon after words but nothing was done . DR takes the cover behind being the Chairman only 6 months before WC but he was a permanent pemeber of the adhoc commitee and was physically seen on the TV screens during London fiasco . How can he or the shameless director Salim , point fingers now , You were expected to DIESECT them both in your write up but alas , you perhaps are also worried about MUSHY whoes cronnies are already depriving your DAWN Group where you serve ( If I am not mistaken ) and perhpas your employers do not want you to generate more heat thus face more pressure of MUSHY and his cronies ... Fair enough you are out to protect your own bread & butter too while help people to unravel the coruptness of the PCB , adhoc cometti , director and the selectors with mild write up . Salim Altaf may have english ascent but he is a yes man of another Yes man and crony of Mushy the chief Pat. What the report by so called Paid employee or the paid yes man cronies ( SA & Ejaz butt too because he too is the benficiary of the PCB chairman's stay in the board ) is saying is in-line with the National habit entrenched in its built up , IT IS the fault of others , I am Mr Clean . no wonder the fault lies with INZ or the Chief selector if the team did the worse in WC2007 , a sort of repeat of WC2003 , I do not expect mircles from this team or even this board now , in near future or even come the wc2007 , we have seen the INSHAULLAH WE WILL WIN FIASCO for the past 8 long years and can be spared another run now . I peronally have lost any interest in Pak Cricket team for others I do not know

Kamran,

I quite agree with you that Salim Altaf and Nasim Ashraf should take the blame also. There is no blame on either obviously as they are still there. Dont worry time is not far when Nasims friend will be gone and so will he. About time though somebody brought Salim down to size. He has the nerve to sit on the committee, being a culprit himself.

As to Inzy, what can one say. He should have retired from one day cricket one year ago so a new captain could have replaced him. A great player, time catches up with every body. Now he has to face the consequences. Power gets to the head in our country very easily. Cant you see whats happening now!!

The World Cup was a failure because (a) Pakistani has no openers (b) Pakistani batsmen are generally weak to useless on a seaming pitch (c) Pakistan lost its 2 serious all-rounders, one through injury, the other because he remains immature (apart from the yielding of the bat at a fan, remember Afridi's diabolical dance down the wicket to rough it up when the gas cannister exploded in the test match with England only a year earlier, child) (d) the 2 top bowlers both declared themselves unfit (why take Asif to South Africa and bowl him for 10-15 over spells?, with a World Cup a month away?) (e) the middle order failed to bat at all.

Inzamam is partly to blame, but he basically a lazy thinker. Doesn't like running between wickets and rarely runs on the field. He has been the wrong man for a long time because his still is unlikely to bring the best, or fighting spirit out of anyone. However, that's not the reason for the World Cup fiasco. We could chase a sub-250 score from the West Indies and made only 130-ish from Ireland. Look hard at the pathetic batting performances and you will find your answer. Also, note that, mashallah -- we got whacked in Round I, before the Super-8s. Having spent a month in Barbados I spent a lot of the time thanking Allah that we weren't witnessing Pakistan getting whacked by Australia, India, South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand which based on the team's performance is exactly what would have happened.

We are rubbish, and we know it. Need to turn it around.

once again PCB has failed. Not Inzy, but the pathetic excuse we have for a board, the pcb. Quick to pass the blame, Quick to make mistakes. The whole idea of having pakistani people in the board is a mistake. How can 1 man be responsible for 11 players and the boards mistakes? DICTATOR?? the fault lies with the PCB for giving inzy so much power. Politics and our beloved cricket should never mix, but thanks to the PCB its all politics and no cricket.

Fisrt of al shame to inquiry board. The board should not forget that people are not fool. Peaple have enough access to assess the things happening around. How can only Inzi be blamed????? If he was a dictator then who gave him that power??????? People need answer. Pakistan have never learned to respects the cricketers who have given so much for their country and the word DICTATOR and all the blames to Inzi is the Prize for what he did for his country and for Cricket. God bless PCB.

Inzi can be wrong not the only man to be blamed. Board had almost ruined Pakistan's WC campaign with the issues of Asif and Akhtar. Whatever the situation and whatever the condition Players have to perform not only captain. Either Inzi can bat in place of all 11 players. Anyway, I am a great supporter of Pak Cricket......God Bless Pakistan Cricket.

Again I agree to Inzimam and disagree to Board and Kamran. He was captaining Pakistani Team not the board and not a single player has said anything bad about him. Even when he is not captain. Most of the people respect him.

It seems it was ryhmed poetry.

this is a silly finding as it could be. if inzamam was a dictator than this should have been complained by the team mates. what the board was doing then? was inzy powerfull than the board officials?

We in Pakistan have habit of insulting out heroes..We did with Wasim Waqar and Now inzi.So this is nothing new. Whatever happened Inzi will still be my hero....the greatest One day and one of the greatest test batsmen Pakistan has ever produced

Defeat is orphan. Says who ? Seems like Inzi has been declared father after DNA test.

great column. i just wanted to say that pakistani people have got such a short memory.although we have had our fair share of problems over the last year but what about the great 3 years before that. for the first time watching cricket in my life i was happy with pakistan cricket. inzi should play on in test cricket for the next three series ( south africa, INDIA, AUSTRALIA )which are the most important. we need to give the man a break or he is going to break.

Inzi is a gr8 man in pakistan criciket and wot i know is tat he still has everything in him to be the #1 batsman in pakistan side. He should be to continue atleast upto 2007/2008 season. I dont blame 80% of pakistani people who are un-educated and have only emotional analysis about the situatons but I realy condemn the pigheaded professionals sitting in PCB offices after graduating cricket on basis of batting averages mostly not more than 25.00 and bowling averages not less than 40.00 and are notching star of all times of pakistani batting out from the game in such a disgusting manner. Hey, shame upon u all including salu bhai,ijaz butt and horse like salim altaf. I think all of them should take new birth to imagine any comparision with class of inzi. I dont care, if inzi is a dictator or wot ever, wot i know is tat he is a man who has been stabilizing the back bone of the #1 sport of this country since two decades. And I cant let crooks like altaf,ijaz butt and salahuddin salu sort of things to decide the future of our hero our inzi, whose big charge against the spinners of like murali,kuble,harbjhan etc doesn't result in many other possibilites than a towering six. In a gloomy way i quit here with a saying,"Inzi, Plz do play for sake of me n for sake of tens of millions of other supporters n for the sake of pakistani cricket which otherwise is looking to traverse in similar ways the hockey have gone!!!! Plz show us wid few more brilliant runchases and some of excellent match winning innings that had been a feature of you, tats y I and so many luv u to be still in team until a suitable replacement arises". N tae my words PCB officials,"You should think that after scoring 1700 runs in a calender year wud help yousuf to take all burden of batting on his shoulder, because everyone knows yosuf is gud becausse he is scoring gud but inzi is BEST although he is NOT in form, I think you understand wot i want to say n dont dream of knockingout inzi with a replacements by crackpots like faisal iqbal,misbah or asim. N if PCB official dont listen to it, then they would be written as the villians of the likes of yahya khan in history of Pakistan cricket". Long Live Inzi Batting, Long Live Pakistan Cricket, Long Live Pakistan!

What rubbish has PCB done again!!!! How on earth could they just put the blame on one player??? It was on the cards anyhow, as it has been our tradition!! We saw the same happening in 2003 when we went out the world cup in the earlier stage.

How on earth could Salim Altaf afford to call inzi a ‘dictator’??? One must not forget that Altaf was the Director Operations even before the World cup. Why didn’t he then realize that Inzi is a dictator? Or Inzi just waited for the World Cup to dictate terms??

And even if Inzi had a larger say in team selection, one must not find it that wrong either. Different nations have different temperaments and cultures. What’s workable in Australia is not necessarily workable here in Pakistan. Everybody knows how Imran and Wasim used to lead he team. Both of them had even greater control over selection than Inzi.

And one must not forget that Inzi had been one of the most successful captains of Pakistan. His success rate is only behind that of Salim Malik and at par with Wasim and Waqar. Even Imran and Javed had lower success rates. And as it is said that comparisons with players of different eras is not a good thing to do than lets compare with the current captains!!! And as a matter of fact, only Ponting and Jayewardene manage to have better captaincy records than Inzi!!! No Fleming, No Smith and No Dravid!!!!

So, when we blame our captains of defeats, we must credit them for all their successes too!!! And yet another point is that Inzi is the most successful ODI captain when it comes to captain’s batting performances!! He averages more than anybody, even more than RT. Ponting!!! True, that he had some lacking, being no exception as everybody doe shave a few in the bag!!! But being silent and less lee talkative doesn’t spoil the recipe of good captaincy!! Does it? We saw Younis Khan, how well (or how bad) his extra zealous attitude proved to be disastrous whenever he got the chance of leading th side.

Inzi did make a few selection errors, for which he should be questioned, like that of playing Hafeez and Farhat over Butt and Hameed and insisting with Kamran Akmal!! But on the whole, he made our side more stable than it ever was!!!

It would be a pity if he is dropped from the test side. Pakistan desperately need him in the middle order specially in the test match format of the game. Inzi should play 3 test series against Aussies, SA and India. Without Inzi we have lesser chances of creating an impact!!!

What kind of committee is it? why neutral persons were not appointed in the committee? Why not persons like Munir Hussain, the senior journalist, Salim Yousuf or Sikandar Bakhth who have nothing to do with PCB or current players and mostly remain neutral and respected among the people? What do you expect from the committee comprises of Board's paid employees? If players wanted by Inzamam were not the choices of selection committee then why almost all of the UAE-bound touring party are the same as wanted by Inzamam, off course Inzamam, Younus Khan and Shoaib Akhtar are not available hence you are seeing two new faces in the squad, why the players accused of Inzamam's favourite are still in the squad if they were in the team because of Inzamam's favouritism and not because of the choice of selection committee? This is a trend in Pakistan to blame others and keep eyes shut on your own mistakes. Please close this drama of fact finding etc. and just focus on future.

Inzi may have failed in the WC, but Pakistan
won so many test matches under his supervision.
Not many captains achieved that. Not only that,
he led from the front scoring centuries after
centuries in the last few years. Inzi is Big
brother figure to the younger team members and
his presence is a huge motivation to the team.
Even after the Enland debacle Pakistan won a series against WI and a test against SA.

What's his fault? Is he too religious? I see
lots of Pakstani sports writer criticizing him
for being religious. That's pure discrimination agaist a person who used to be adored by you folks for bringing harmony and disclipline to
the team through five times namaz.

I'm a B'deshi and well wisher of the Pakistan team, but this is my honest opinion.

The outcome of this inquiry comes as no surprise to me. Someone had to be made a scapegoat and it was obviously going to be Inzy - even though I believe that neither Inzy nor any other player in the team should cop an ounce of blame.
The underlying issues are systemic in nature - and it is not like they have emerged over the last few months, rather they have been embedded in Pakistani cricket for many years now. In fact so many years that these issues have become the globally notorious charasterictics of Pakistani cricket.
The issues are bleeding obvious to anyone who has followed Pakistani cricket for a number of years, although I acknowledge that the majory of Pakistani cricket fans are completely ignorant of these issues. The issues are (I will try to keep this as brief as possible):
1. Sport should ideally be kept independent of politics. How can this be the case if the president of the country is the chief patron of the cricket board. Fundamental structural issue!
2. The above point leads to the appointment of cricket board executives in a highly subjective fashion. The competency of these executives will naturally be doubtful. If the executives do prove to be incompetent in running the board and cricket in the country iin general there positions will not be reviwed objectively because they were never appointed objectively in the first place. The executives just need to ensure that they are in line with hidden agendas to keep their positions.
In the context of the last few months, the incompetency of the PCB executives (and the chief patron!) has been bleedingly obvious.
a) The entire Akhtar and Asif doping issue was poorly dealt with by the PCB - and bear in mind that the PCB was entirely responsible for managing this issue. First the PCB impose bans on the two players in mention to make the PCB look as though it is impartial and full of integrity. Then, according to plan, they grant an appeal and subsequently clear the players on the basis that they did not take the drugs knowingly. If this was the case then they should have not been banned in the first place! So without looking ahead to the World Cup the PCB clear the players just so that Asif could tour to South Africa. Then, come the World Cup, the PCB realises that the players can be randomly tested for drugs and that they should not let Asif and Akhtar play. So really Pakistani cricket was in turmoil even before the World Cup started because the team that was to play in the World Cup had not even played a game together prior to the World Cup - complete chaos! This was planning for the World Cup by the PCB at its best! (Sigh!).

Although I have many more points to raise I will truncate it here for now. If the general public tried to see what has been really going 'behind the scenes' then the verbal abuse and harassment would be sujected not to the players but a different group of stakeholders. To those that were aware of these issues the early exit of Pakistan from the World Cup came as no surprise.

No surprises with this report given the haste with which its been put out. Typical Pakistani mentality to pass the buck. Thank God, Woolmer was spared. Had he been alive, this fiasco would have been blamed on him.

Of course, the board is never to be blamed for any of this. Given Inzamams personality I hardly see him as being dictatorial. Having spoken to a friend who lives in Jamaica, I found out that the team had broken up into small groups rather being a cohesive single unit. This can be blamed on the captain AND the team management. What was the point of all these officials if they couldn't manage the team ? Managing doesn't ensuring their hotels are booked and the meals are on time. In our chumcha culture, captains et al encourage cliques i.e. party bazi rather than focussing on their main task which is winning matches.

I totally agree! Pakistan Cricket will recover...how long will it take...that's the question. PCB is a money making organization and needs to be run professionally!! Till that happens...these extreme ups and downs in Pakistan Cricket will keep happening.

You got to be out of your mind while asking Izi to announce his rtirement. Inzi as a player is still one of the best available in the lot. Pakistan dosn't enjoy the luxury of Australians with take overs waiting for their turn. He is still with the best pair of hands in slips (no talking of one days here). So dear Abbasi, I will beg him to stay a little longer. Cricket is a game of luck as much as anything else. In 1992, We were out of it if the luck didn,t help against England. Slection of a team is the matter Salim Altaf is pointing at but then non of disagreed when the team for WC was chosen. Inzi might not be a good captain but then, are you sure we were beaten due to a substandard skipper. If its to me I will actually keep Mr. Saleem Altaf to stay away from Pakistan Cricket.

What rubbish this so called "verdict" is... absolutely ridiculous. Just goes on to show what a joke PCB has become. I agree that as a leader Inzi needs to take the blame for WC debacle but it is ludicrous to say that he became a 'dictator'. He did what he was allowed to do by ppl like Shaharyar and Naseem Ashraf. Why didn't Saleem Altaf and Salahuddin Ahmed complain about this earlier? And can someone tell me why they were in this committee in the first place. These guys are equally responsible for the shambles that we call Pakistan Cricket and should have been the first ones to be fired. If Inzi became a dictator it was because of these goons who did not have the guts to confront him.... perhaps they were more concerned with keeping their jobs than doing a service to the country!

The fact that Kamran has devoted his precious time in compiling this latest blog is an enigma in itself. Why o Why o Why are we not surprised in the least!!

As a nation it has remained our 'noble' tradition in all facets of administration and governance , be it the country or running the cricket set up , that NO ONE is accountable for any wrong doing. It's quite easy. You see all we have to do is to OUT-SOURCE our reason and accountability to our CREATOR up there and not worry about it at all. It has worked in the past, is working rather well at present and shall remain a force in the future unless some future ruler (read Dictator) turns out to be a close mate of anyone connected with running Australian cricket and hands over the keys to running Pak cricket ( and rather a brilliant move it will be me thinks! )

Poor Inzi, of late, has always maintained that the reasons for his and his team's abysmal performance is the WILL OF THE CREATOR which must compensate for switching off his own thought process and rationality. And in an equally arrogant fashion the Chairman of the board and his Lackeys continue to operate on a similar premise. The selector is also the judge and jury ( Mr Altaf) and the good Doctor must surely remain above such ‘distasteful matters’ in order to concentrate on his gallant efforts in bringing the ‘Institution’ down.

So is it at all surprising that no one but Inzi must carry this shameful and blatantly corrupt administration’s carcass on his shoulders…surely not. We are basically a Jungle nation who has always ‘Feasted’ on the demise of national sports stars whilst never really appreciating their true worth when they are amongst us. Instead of remaining in our conscience as stars in the HALL OF FAME our great cricketers of past including Inzi are merely bricks in a WALL OF SHAME . Cast a look back to immediate history and you shall see the likes of Javed, Wasim ,Waqar, Saeed Anwar, Rashid Latif et al , sacrificed at the altar of this monstrous ‘deity’ that is the Pak Cricket Board..

Our precocious, immensely gifted cricketers, brimming in confidence , full of hope and a sterling future arrive in front of this monster to be scythed down into a mediocre, self doubting, infirm of mind and without purpose bunch of men only to represent our country in front of the world.

We need a revolt…of any sorts ..from the masses to get rid of this monster for as long as it remains IT SHALL KEEP DOING WHAT IT HAS ALWAYS DONE TO ENSURE THAT WE KEEP GETTING WHAT WE HAVE ALWAYS GOT.

Ofcourse Inzi was the main culprit, you take the adulations when you win, you take the blame when you lose - as simple as that. Along with Inzi Nasim Ashraf was another villain in this debacle. Shehryar Khan should never have been replaced, his resignation should not have been accepted but I guess our President (Mushy) is equally bad in all spheres of his leadership. He made a jerk into PCB head. Finally blame should also go to senior players, not the least, Younis Khan, for not playing according to the conditions, I dont understand how can someone who cannot play good hook shot in good conditions can try to create a hook in seaming condition. Younis got out to that stroke on a number of occasions during crunch/pressure situations. Which reminds me Akmal and Azhar also got themselves dismissed against Ireland playing similar shots. Bloody Hookers !!!!

The same Inzamam who was soft and the ex-cricketers were asking him to be tough is a dictator now. I laught at it

committee kaee report saiy phaly haee wasim akram bahee ya word ke chaukay hi capt.inzamam ul haq kay baray maiy.aur player's kay rawaiay kao issue bana kar ahab khud bahee ais mamlaiy maiy aha gaiy.akhair ya din dekhana haee tha.

Its a tradition here to play the blame game. Make one person scapegoat and solve the issue. Inzy was the culprit, but ignoring other factors like the adhoc doctor and his management is simply turning a blind eye on the other perspective of the side.

Pakistan Cricket has been a mess for a while now, thanks to the power that be. Amir Sohail, Ramiz Raja, Tauqir Zia, Sharyar Khan etc. Inzamam included as well but he was great player but never meant to be a Captain. His fault he was the captain during this period and did what he thought was right, however flawed it was, he was allowed to do it.

Pakitan has been playing with negative tactics , since Woolmer became the coach and they won on basis on manipulating the conditions and not on the merit of performance.

Woolmer Era -> no steady opening pair or new consistent batsman were indentified and groomed

Miandad -> Not liked by all, he has his faults but was able to produce a couple of batsman.

At this stage, Pakistan cricket needs a revamp, bold descions, even uppopular ones. Common sense has to be used making M.Asif vice would have ok if done down the line after six months based on performance, he has been rewarded thus negative for the team.

We also need to have joint farewell matche for a couple of player Shoaib Akthar, Inzamam, Younis Khan & Abdul Razzaq. We have done poorly with them, so without them it will be it no different but atleast new players will have a chance and we might have team for the next World Cup

Yes I completely agree with Kamran.These inquiries have turned out to be a farce whenever they have embarked on a 'fact-finding' mission as they are termed. Mr.Saleem Altaf should not have been on the enquiry commission, he should be removed if he does not have the decency to resign.

He was gr8 and he will remain gr8, no one can snatch this title from him.

I think this is Ridiculous to put the blame on a person who serve the pakistan cricket in a way one can wish. Inzy is a kind of player who did a remarkable job for Pakistani cricket.

yes there is a time for a player to quit from the international arena but I think Inzi still have lot and I request the board please let him play for the country.

If you see the people who madde this decision they did not score the runs in his whole carrer what Inzi did usually in one match.
Where were they when Pakistan was on winning track and every one was ready to take the pride as they are the people who did the Job for pakistan.

How Scandalous that a two bit "committee" who were part of the set up before and during the World Cup should place all blame at the door of arguably the best Pakistani batsman and one of the all time greats.

This is nothing but a complete disgrace,if Inzi was to blame then why didn't they say anything or act at the time.

This is the thanks Inzy gets for carrying the side for most of his playing career as a player and captian and explains why Younis turned the job down.

Please get rid of these self presrvists and put people on charge who have actually played the game.We are the only country in the world no matter what the sport,where those in charge have never played the game but lead us to believe that they know best.The committee should go and never come within 100 miles of a cricket pitch as they are clueless,despite which they are paid thousands of rupees for their incompetence.

They say "success has many fathers and failure is always an orphan".The P.C.B. backed by the "Brown Sahibs" in the media has decided to find an easy scape goat.

Strangely Saleem Altaf the chief architect of Pakistans demise is the one issueing this 'Fatwa' against Inzimam.

As for the big guy himself full respect,he has taken reponsibility for his part in the world cup fiasco. He has also come back at his detractors with spirit.With all the vitriol and vilification directed against him over the last few months it would have been easy for him to have disappeared in to oblivion.The brother is gonna go down fighting big respect for that.

The true character of a man is judged in adversity.Inzi has shown character whilst these punk ass Brown Sahibs in the p.c.b.have shown nothing but bufoonery,which is second only to their cowardice.Saleem Altaf, Nasim Ashraf, and all the rest can go jack themselves.

To My 'Brudda' Javed in Montreal what can I say, Haraay Yaar aisay chakar mein nahin aana, Ashiqi aur Mashhoqi key kamm tumare bass mein nahin hain.Tum jo aapni Philosophy kitabein paro.Leave this sort of thing to the Brothers who have the "Rhythm and the Rhyme".I think you should be grateful for the respite you have received from The Warrior Queen, she just might return to wage her campaign against "Lunatic Ramblers from Montreal":-)

Inzi wasn't a great captain but a decent one and he did lead from the front for the most part of his tenure. As for dictatorship, does anyone remember Imran Khan - by all accounts the greatest captain Pakistan has ever produced - ordering the then BCCP secretary out of the team dressing room, dropping Majid Khan, first resisting and then insisting on Shoaib Mohammed's inclusion, persisting with Mansoor Akhtar for longer than most believe he should have etc. etc. Ditatorship isn't the issue, it is the results that matter and this is where Inzi didn't deliver during the past year or so. He should probably go, especially in view of his back, but the committee had no business making that recommendation and the language it has used in its report is very disappointing. Inzi deserves better.

Absolutely rediculous findings...
What Mr Ijaz Butt's committee did till 30 days was interviewing people & travelling from Islamabad to Lahore to Karachi..and this is what they have come up with!!!!..only to find Inzi dictator??
What about selection committee's failure to find a stable opening pair, spending more than 3 years in the office??
What about the adhocism at PCB for the last 7 years or so??
We, as a nation has a history of disgracing our heroes, & now its been done again. The only difference is that this time it is official & documented!!!
They call Inzi dictator..but what do they call Wasim Bari who calls Azhar Mahmood & Imran Nazir out of the blues for the WC...who drops Kaneria for the ODIs in SA & then select him again for the WC? and the list of his blunders is never ending...
What do you call Dr. Naseem Ashraf when he sends Shoiab Akhtar to SA only after seeing him bowl couple of overs in a domestic match & likes to live with the national team (even in the dressing room) wherever it goes?? What do you call Dr. Ashraf when he posed with team for the official photograph in the opening ceremony (please note that no other Cricket Board's head was there)..
Even a novice can come up with better findings without interviewing anybody or travelling anywhere..
The reasons are all known to us, & all that is required to take corrective measures by the persons responsible, rather than playing the blame game & disgracing our heroes..
Inzi is not innocent & he has already accepted the responsibility for the dismal show at Carribean....for God's sake..enough is enough..but Wasim Bari & Naseem Ashraf are equally responsible & they should also be held accountable..
About Naseem Ashraf...all the adhoc chiefs of PCB did not resign unless they are made to bite the dust...I think that his case would be no different...
And about Wasim Bari...we all respect him as a cricketer & one of the greatest wicket keepers Pakistan has produced..but that is it...he should not be let-off this easily...

It’s quite shameful that probe committee put all the blame only on one individual. So they say Inzi is a dictator and that’s why Pakistan lost the world cup. If being a dictator is a bad thing the why Imran Khan won the 92 world cup, I can bet Imran was a big dictator than Inzi. Why the dictator Inzamam is the most successful ever odi captain? And why the team was winning every other odi series before the world cup?

Was inzi directing batsmen not to make runs and asking rana naveed to throw no balls? Was he advicing kamran akmal to drop catches and get first balls duck? Did he advice Asif and Shoaib to take in steroids? Or he directed Naseem ashraf to fire Waqar younis and hire Mushy while having 5 fast bowlers in the squad? Or he broke the razzaq ankle?

If he was a dictator why naseem asharaf , sheryaar khan , saleem altaf or wasim bari raises this before or resigned. The question raises here that why the probe committee didn’t point the finger on PCB predident Gen Pervez Musharaf who is also a dictator? Any other question comes into my mind that India,Eng, Ban and host Westindies had a horrible world cup too, is Lara, Vaughn and Dravid are also dictator? Did any of that nation disgraced their players or captain?

Here are my open questions if any body from PCB can reply?

1) Why probe committee didn’t ask from Wasim bari who selected the openers having averaging only 18 and 22? And opting out salman butt and yasir hameed whose averages and batting record is way better?

2) Why Naseem Ashraf fired Waqar younis just before the world cup and South African tour and hired Mushtaq Ahmed while having 5 fast bowlers and only one spinner in team?

3) Was probe committee asked to decide the Inzamam career or world cup loss?

4) PCB president is also a “Dictator” why probe committee didn’t highlight his name along with inzamam?

Shame on you PCB. You always make fun of us in cricket world.

Thanks for reading my emotions
Saqib
airway75@yahoo.com

bull**it kamran !!! as usual u seem to have written only half of the fact and half rot !!! the inquiry not only blamed inzy alone but it also blamed the management for bringing the players morale down by not handling the shoaib and asif issue well and also not sending delegations like the sri lankans and other teams in the west-indies to get a feel of the conditions and pitches before the World Cup. As far as the talk of inzamam's attitude, well it was the bloody rotten attitudes of akhtar, afridi and some other players who spoilt the dressing room atmosphere for their ego.
check the facts completely and then post as it is brother. >:{

What a load of rubbish and what a waste of time and money.

The report into Pakistan’s failure is released and guess what they blame it all on the captain and if the late Bob Woolmer was alive then make no mistake he would have been targeted too.

Cricket is a team game…actually more of a squad game and winning and losing should be taken as such and not by blaming the leader or coach.

Whatever people say about Inzamam’s captaincy there should be no doubt that he did his best for Pakistan. I am not a fan of his captaincy but even his harshest criticisers will have to agree that he brought stability and team spirit that has lacked since the days of Imran Khan.

If we go by stats then we can see that Inzamam has been a successful captain compared to some of his predecessors. Most of the players enjoyed playing under him and appreciated his guidance, so to label him a dictator and one whose fault it was that Pakistan stumbled out of the world cup is complete rubbish.

He is a champion batsman that often led from the front through his performances and won Pakistan many matches when others in his place would have folded. He is nearing the end of his great career and instead of being honoured for his services to Pakistan, he is being made a scapegoat.

Inzamam has re-iterated his desire to continue playing for Pakistan in test cricket, I sincerely hope he does do that and the selectors have the brains and intelligence not to ignore him as he still has a lot to offer Pakistan.
Other than Yousuf, Pakistan still do not have a consistent enough batsman to replace Inzamam, so even on a merit based selection Inzamam deserves a place.

The PCB has strengthened its status as the worst national sporting body anywhere. It is no coincidence that every former or current player has nothing favourable to say of the PCB as it is run by Muppets!

Inzy is not to blame, its the pakistani cricket board...if bob was alive, they would have blamed him, now his not here...second in line is Inzy..thats why he is getting the blame.

PAKISITANI CRICKET BOARD STICKS OF SHIT

Subcontinent cricket administrators are a shame to their nations. Most of them atleast!

80% of these cricket administrators have no experience in cricket and have made it to their posts based on political influence. What does Sharad Powar know of cricket? How about Pervez Musharaaf?
I think Inzy deserves a rap on the knuckles for the team's performance but this is like executing him for all the team's mistakes.
1. How was he responsible for Afridi not being available for the first 2 ODIs
2. How is he responsible for the Shoaib Akthar-Asif debacle?
3. How is he responsible for Razzaq's injury?
That's four of your core team missing. After this, if the mgmt thought they had a chance to lift the WC, they have proved the fact that they are not fit to manage the game.

Indian and Pakistani cricket is doomed to mediocrity at best because of the irrational fans and unintelligent cricket officials.

You cant expect any better from this Board whose chairman has no criterion to get selected other than the fact that he is a close friend of General Musharraf. If Inzy behaved as a dictator, his boss(Dr Ashraf) must resign & apologise to the public. Secondly, all those who sat at Inzy's place to get his orders for holidays etc should never get a post of responsibility in PCB(or elsewhere for that matter).

Are we not forgetting where was this team when Inzi took over? Are we not forgetting what have been his contributions? (all the stats are there to see!)

A dictator and Inzi? One day he was being blamed for being just the opposite, and the next....

Inzi, being the captain of team, had the responsibility, and he has accepted it as well. But, lets give him a break!

We all remember how Saeed Anwar, Waqar, and Waseem were treated. Lets not do this with Inzi, and not make it our tradition!

I have always admired Inzy as a cricketer. He surely has been one of the most feared batsmen of his generation. Whether Inzy retires from cricket or not, let us make every effort to remember him as what he most was - a batsman second to none; not for that fleeting moment of ignominy during the world cup

Kamaran Bhai nothing new history is going to repeat itself and will keep on repeating in this corrupt organization called PCB why blame poor Inzy it is buck passing business when this buck passing business will stop only God knows, not in our liftime. Yes Inzy is to be blame to certain extent but 90 percent is PCB management fault were they sleeping for the last four years. I agree Inzy should get a decent farewell for services he did for the country. This President appointed PCB chairman so called Dr. Nasim Ashraf got the position 5 months before the world cup which according to him not enough time to get everthing straight believe me given the oppertunity in 5 weeks I would have done 100 times better job then him guranteed. May Allah bless Pakistan cricket. It is a sad saga.

When has a modern day Pakistani cricketer departed the game respectfully, with the relative exception on Imran Khan. Javed, Wasim, waqar, all of them sticked with the team way after their prime. I have utmost repect for all these players and even Inzi for the great game they have played, but they should all leave when the moment is right. I mean look at McGrath... He retired after being named player of the series in the world cup and after shattering the most wickets record at the world cup. This is the way to go. Had he been in Pakistan team, he would've argued "I still have a few years of creicket left". Inzi... Step down with whatever dignity you've left, instead of being thrown out

how can it be all inzys fault if the whole team played rubbish? i agree with inzy, the review commitee dont know what theyre talking about. how is it that before the world cup they all said inzy was to lenient and know that he is a dictator? that is just typical pcb rubbish! its time someone reviewd the pcb itself!

If we are not accountable to ourselves then just forget about accountability in general.
Its all about culture. And when we look back at our own blog whatever is happening in Pakistan cricket is just a reflection of us.
To all Proud Brown Saabs on this blog: Pakistan is one of the most liberal countries in the world, where you can do whatever you want, no one will stop you. Now its up to the people to make it good or bad.
I live in Sialkot. In length & breadth Sialkot might even be smaller than Korangi. See the progress the people of Sialkot had made. If I am wrong do corrct me, Sialkot is the only city in Pakistan where its community is investing in all the major projects, namely, Airport, roads & highways, education, sports, health.
So be carefull when you are cursing me & my homeland. I proud to be a Sialkoti, because as a community we are doing something good for ourselves & for our homeland. So think thousand times before cursing someone.

Well said!

Excellent: A well written article because it had just the right anount of poignancy and tongue in cheek jest to lighten the mood.

The way the Greats of the Game are either voluntarily or Involuntarily shunting themselves out it's really sad.

As you say, Inzy deserves a really grand farewell because he is truly a great of the game.

Regards,
Nirbhay Singh

I am unable to understand how low this PCB management will go to save their dignity(which isn't there at all). They are trying to put all the blame on Inzi so that their Tenures dont get affected.

Its the tradition of Pakistan cricket that Heroes never get the appreciation at the time of departure that they thoroughly deserve, there are dozens of examples that can be quoted except Imran Khan who was and is appreciated.

No one is perfect in this world, everyone makes mistakes but putting all the blames on one person is shameful, i am not saying Inzi is a saint but i know for sure he is not the only one responsible for Pakistan's exit from world cup.

Afridi is known for playing reckless shorts and throwing his wicket away, but i think the PCB management didn't see the way Younis Khan Played in world cup and still our PCB Chairman was begging him to become the captain, WHY? What has he done for Pakistan? except couple of good test innings, Inzi's performances are countless.

Inzi was everyone's hero right since 1992 and how come all of sudden he becomes a criminal and recieves bashing from everyone? right now if i put myself in his place it makes me restless that i have done so much for Pakistan and when its time for me to go then i am getting blame after blame, ridiculous!!!!!
I hope Inzi doesn't step away quietly. Only Inzi shouldn't be held accountable infact whole management should be scanned thoroughly.

Who allowed Inzi to become so powerful? If it was the PCB, it automatically convicts them of being incompetent. If it was the players, more than half of them are still in the team. Although I am not a big fan of inzi as a captian, I am convinced that the PCB was just looking for a scapegoat and inzi by retiring provided them with a sitting duck.

I have no faith in the new management and I will not be fooled by their superficial inquiries. Reminds me of a Bon Jovi song " Its all the same, only the names will change".

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

The article is very well written. It is a custom in Indian and Pakistan to find a scapegoat everytime the team loses. Inzamam may not be a good captain but I think he was excellent player. One thing may be he should have done was to give up captaincy before the worldcup. Sachin did the same for India when he realised that his captaincy is not working. People have very weird memories. All they remember is how Sachin or Inzamam got out but will not remember how they setup a win. There is a lot of money involved in this game especially in India and Pakistan which has led to politicising the game. These people who are in it just for money should be driven out and the money be used to build the real and better infrastructure.

I agree Inzamam was a colossus figure in the team but being labelled a 'dictator' is unfair. However, I am not his captaincy fan by any means. I feel he took the team backwards and did not lead from front. It's high time team moved forward to winning ways and anyone causing further problems should be flagellated.

Pakistan's cricket world cup planning was in shambles form the time they toured South Africa.In RSA they never played like a team that was hungry to win the World Cup.
To blame all this on Inzimam is unfair although he should take 60% of the blame.I dont know what happens in the changing room but on field Pakistan is as disjointed as they come.This I feel points to captain and to a less extent the coach.
Inzamam should immediately retire and not play any more tests.He has had his time and its time for a fresh new era in Pakistan cricket.
I observed Inzimam in SA.Not once did he chase the ball to the rope.He set fields is such a way that there was always cover and he wouldnt have to run.He is a liability when he has failed with the bat and the team is guarding a low score where every run counts.
ITS TIME TO GO INZI.Thanks for the memories..
Menaz,Harare,Zimbabwe

Well I think the whole of PCB should take the blame, why is Inzi being targeted? Just cuz he is retiring so put it on him so that people later on forget it. What a shame this inquiry has been. As Afridi said openly on a tv interview that people who blame Inzi for this debacle should come up and stand up to him and compare thier achievements with him, Inzi has done so much for Pak cricket it cannot be repaid. The best batsman i believe Pakistan has ever produced. Please let him retire peacefully!!

that is wat happens to straight farward people in pakistan,i donot know why somebody donot ask from ijaz butt, the person who held this inqury,why inzamam was that much a powerful caption, was he a successful caption that is the resons for this powers or something else.we want to know the resons

To me inquiry was a joke.

If it is true that Inzy is a dictator then inzy is not at fault at all. I would blame Dr. Ashraf and Chairman selector for allowing him to be dictator.

aaaah one can say inzy was too strong to handle. In that case Mr. Ashraf and Mr. Bari should have resigned.

oooh pls dont say that they realised Inzy was dictator after the world cup.

If the board is accepting the report of the committee then Pakistan board should apologize people of Pakistan for NOT DOING THIER JOB BY ALLOWING INZY DICTATORSHIP

Thank you Inzy for serving the nation for so long we all respect you for what you have acheived for Pakistan.

Well said Mr. Kamran! The saving grace of this sham inquiry affair is that the current Pakistani team can concentrate on their cricket rather than mulling over who would the committee blame for the loss. However they must be knowing in their hearts that they were also at fault. If they had a problem with Inzi or anybody, why didn't they discuss it with the higher-ups of PCB? If they did discuss this, then why didn't the PCB do anything to stem the rot! If normal cricket fans like us could see that things were very wrong even before the start of the WC, why couldn't these PCB guys who were much closer to the action (or are theoretically expected to be!!!!) see clearly what was going on?
This brings us to the crux of the plight of PCB. Either the board officials didn't have the mental acumen to judge the situation and take necessary action or they simply ignored the rot, due to their "chalta hai" attitudes. Both are not good signs for officials of any organization. That is the bane of Indian and Pakistani cricket!
And now these very same officials have conveniently absolved themselves of all blame and put the whole load of the loss on one man! So, the man naturally has to go and they are still there, congratulating themselves for saving their own a**es after the debacle!
Well, now that I have let off some literary steam, my life can go back to normalcy but any hope that things will change in the future has been quashed by this farce!
Regards, Mandar.

there is no doubt that inzamam was one of the best batsman pakistan ever produced but his captaincy skills were always questionable, the problem with pakistan cricket is that nobody takes the blame on himself , after the world cup it was very clear that it happened because of poor planning , preparation and bad selection but inzamam has never accepted that nor did PCB.
i dont know when we will learn to speak truth, a very basic mistake like not picking Danish kaneria for Ireland match even Mr.inzamam now say i picked the team rite.we can all just pray for Pakistan cricket PCB will never change its attitude to loose professional people like Waqar Younis they dont even regret.pakistan cricket will go a long way if curruption and favourism will go out of the system.

haha ive been saying this for years now.. it was because of inzi i stopped rooting for pakistan. his religious antics destroyed pakistan cricket.. we can tendulker selfish but inzi is also in that same boat.

i just pray to allah that rest of the team doesnt become overly religious and grow 19 inch beards and gain 20 pounds like yousuf youhana and inzi did.. even afridi is fat now..

this is the downfall of pakistan cricket.. and until religious preaching is rooted out of our game.. pakistan will not go anywhere..

may allah be with them

inshallah by year 2012 we will succeed.

What a sad tale, Pakistan cricket seems to run in a state of perpetual confusion and crisis. Alongside the Windies, they are an embaressment to cricket in their current state.

Terrible and Pathetic way of treating your legendary cricketer. Yes, Inzamam was responsible partly for the failure for Pakistan's WC debacle but blaming him completely for defeat is totally ridiculous. I'm sorry to say but if this is the way the subcontinent boards treat their circketers and that too legendary ones, then there wouldn't be any youngsters coming forward and taking this game. It would be a total loss for Pakistan cricket in particular and cricket as a whole. Shame on you spineless board members....SPINELESS !!!

Yes, agreed. Inzi should name a date of his retirement and should be given a chance in one test series as a goodwill gesture from the board. However, The power of Inzis dictatorship also translates into failure of PCB's management and that hasn't been acknowledged by this "fact finding committee". This guy Saleem Altaf makes me sick at my stomach for being rude and a pathetic fella at the helm of board affairs.
The findings of the committee aren't 100% as they ahve laid all blame on Inzi. Is sad and bad but as you said - heroes become villains, and villains become scapegoats. Thats waht Inzi is rigth now. I strongly vote against finding Inzi solely responsible for the wordcup debacle while PCB management share no responsibility !

If Inzi was "let" being a dictator than its a failure on PCB's part. Laying blame is one thing and ridiculing is another. Pakistan does very well in the latter. I am not sure if any sane person would want to give this much to cricket knowing that one world cup failure will result in such heartless results from PCB and the fans. No wonder YK doesn't want a piece of the cursed stardom. I think all captains aspire to be "dictators" i.e. wanting power so that they could operate their plan. Imran and Wasim were dictators, may be more so than Inzi. Its just that Inzi failed and now they just want him to take all the blame so the rest can live in peace. There is something called conscience, which some people lack, if they have any. Inzi was well respected by his team mates and that speaks highly of a captain. I have atleast seen in countless times in interviews and such where players go out of their way to mention Inzi, especially the way he comforts players when they are struggling. We achieved one of our highest one day and test ratings under Inzi, yet some people always look at the other end of the picture. Failure is bad enough, but when you don't know how to handle it , it only makes it worse. Come on ppl, there were 11 guys on the field and many more people working for PCB at the time. If Inzi did everything, then what the heck were the others getting paid for?

The inquiry is a shame. How can Salim Altaf acn sit on the inqury in frist place. he was the part of worldcup preparations . He should have been inqiured but due to some reasons he was put into the inquiry on other side. Now this shows how corrupt PCB has become. Dr.Naseem is not capable of running PCB and whith him as a chairmen pakistan will suffer more. It is totally unfair to put all the blame on Inzi. All the PCB management is responsible and Dr.Naseem and Salim Altaf are worst offenders. There is no justice in Pakistan. people like Salim Altaf are Moving freely after destroying pakistan cricket. Hopeless

It doesn't matter what we read these days, it seems like PCB is making a mockery out of the country's image day in and day out. A negative view, humiliation, or is it the embarassing pictures that are created in ours' and others' minds about the Pakistani reputation. I wonder when a cessation will interject itself to this nonsensical farce.

It has been a tradition to insult every cricketer of the Pakistani descent when they are approaching the end of their career. whether it was Wasim Akram, Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Zaheer Abbas, Javed Miandad and many more. To sum it, you name it, everyone with the exception of Imran Khan experienced a deplorable exit. Cricket combined with an unforgiving subcontinent crowd and a puppet of a PCB demolishes every chance of a respectable retirement. A reasonable mind would definitely question PCB's attitude towards a person who has served their country as a cricketer. If they want respect, they have to offer that initially for they are at a much higher responsibility than the players. They are the management of an entity, and we all know that people at superior positions of any organization either pave a way to success or dig a hole to a disaster. With the PCB it is the latter.

The same Inzi was a hero back in 1992, everyone was chanting his slogans from the cricket board to the public. Lets take a look at this man now, as a matter of fact I don't even see the need to because it is "crystal clear". Very sad, very sad indeed.

Maybe its not more or so about cricket that hurts me, its really about the reputation of my country which is at stake and has been jolted to a point where it will find it hard to rejuvenate in the near or maybe the far future too. I hope one day this episode would end and the people actively involved in destroying the Pakistani reputation in the world cricket would wake up. People from a different country don't really consider what is happening internally, whatever the media presents to them is the image they will have formed their minds and the image that we give out through cricket is nothing but a laughingstock.