Sword of Damocles Hanging over Waqar Younis

Pakistani cricket fans don't need to know rocket science to see that Waqar Younis is being put under undue pressure whether he is bowling in a test match or a one day match. Starting from the 2nd test in Australia, to the Sharjah Cup and now the recently concluded Cable and Wireless One Day series, one could see that he was kept out of the team last year for reasons other than his performance or fitness. Every bowler is hit out for 4's or 6's and Waqar is no exception. But for his ex-skipper Wasim and now for Moin, Waqar being hit for a 4 or 6 means he should be taken off the bowling and then from the team.

Moin looks to be a cool and sane person as a captain of Pakistani cricket team but when it comes to Waqar he looks like he is taking cues from Wasim Akram. In the first Cable and Wireless final against the West Indies Waqar took two wickets but did not complete his quota of 10 overs. Infact Moin asked Afridi to bowl the last over instead of Waqar when 18 runs were needed. This was a gamble which need not have been taken. Same thing happened in the second final which again baffled one's mind. Waqar was then dropped from the team for the third final for the half fit and the much talked about about Shoiab Akhtar. Again this was an undue risk for Pakistan would have been in trouble had Shoaib walked off with his goin injury. Now again in the first test match against the West Indies Waqar was put under too much pressure and made to sweat by setting defensive field whenever he came on to bowl.

Waqar is a world class bowler and he should not be working so hard and made to sweat to keep his place in the team. Moin needs to improve his own wicket keeping instead of harrassing Waqar. If Inzamam can still be in the team after scoring 97 runs in ten one day matches in the Carlton and United Matches, Wasim can still bowl despite taking just 6 wickets in three tests against Australia, and seven wickets in Carlton and United Matches, then no one should point a finger at Waqar. The so called experts like Ramiz Raja, who scored just two hundreds in forty test matches as an opener should stop projecting Shoaib as the Messiah of Pakistani cricket. He has to prove a lot specially his fitness. It is time Waqar is given peace of mind to concentrate on his cricket rather than petty politics.