Pakistan: Cricket World Cup

A comedy TV program called 4 man show televised by the channel Aaj floated a news item about Rana Naveed ul Hasan in which the news caster toled the audience that Rana Naveed has been awarded with a star of Honour and that star will be stamped on his head with nails....lols

#23 by ijaz_gul

Did someone see the team performance today, and promotion of Kamran Akmal in the batting.

Indeed, the Paki cricket team is an enigma. Just the other day, Afridi clobbered the life out of the SA bowlers and now this!

Pakistan`s preparations for the World Cup are in shambles due to a variety of reasons.
One reason being this obsession with just preparing for or winning the World Cup. This is akin to asking Tiger Woods or Roger Federer to just win the Master`s or Wimbledon and forget about the rest of the tour! What is needed is a coherent strategy for the team to be consistently world class. I wrote a review on the chronic issues of unprofessionalism in the Pakistan team which is posted online here:

http://pakistaniat.com/2007/02/14/pakistan-cricket-team-world-cup-2007-professionalism-chances-west-indies/#more-571

Re: # 23
Pak team did not want to play new ball, they always want to see it off.
Akmal was promoted to see of new ball for great middle order.
today Pak won the toss and tried to get some confidence in batting otherwise they would bowl first.
Anyways SA is a real competitor so they are up on their soul and WI tracks may behave differently for different teams.

Did someone see the team performance today, and promotion of Kamran Akmal in the batting.

Harish,

My hobby is bird watching (feathered kind). Why do your posts remind me of the famous indian bird ``CUTIA CUTIA`` ?? Google for photo of the bird and check if there is any resemblance.

Re: # 18
but still I can laugh :D
Admit it man!

PS: I saw Afridi`s innings where he scored 77 off 35 balls against South Africa and boy did it warm my cockles!

#16 by okhla99

You can root for India but there is no need to forecast gloom for Pakistan. Our team is quite strong and, on its day, can easily demolish any other team.

Yaar Okhla, why do you Pakis go into the defensive mode almost as a reflex? Haven`t you read my earlier posts on this board? Let me repeat it again: I`ll be as glad if Pakistan wins the WC as I would be if India does.

#13 by goonga

Besides this its not YOU who could make Pak win.

Yaar Goonga, besides your speech, have you even lost the use of your brains? Where did I wish Pakistan ill?

I`m as much a fan of Paki team as I am of India`s. In fact, I wish one of the two to be the champions.

Pakistan didn`t win the 1992 world cup because of just two players. We won because we blended experience (Imran, Javed) with raw talent (Inzy, Wasim, Aqib, Mushy, Ramiz, Sohail). In 2003, Pakistan had too many seniors (Saeed, Inzy, Wasim, Waqar, Rashid) but few foot soldiers. There were 4 captains (or ex-captains) in this team looking over each other`s shoulders. And then there was internal politics and the shadow of match fixing.

In 2007, Pakistan has the right blend of experience and raw talent. Inzy commands respect and handles pressure exceptionally. Yousaf and Younis are excellent lieutenants. Asif, Umar Gul, Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and (a fit) Shoaib Akhtar can provide enormous firepower.

A laid-back captain & a superbly talented team can still win the World Cup. But even an Imran Khan can`t lead a team to victory, when 3 of its star players are injured. The fate of Pakistan`s 2007 campaign hangs on the physical fitness of Shoaib Akhtar, Asif and Umar Gul.

harish_hyd

This is w r t your #12.

Yes, as a cricket fan I would say, may the best team win the World Cup. But, at the same time, I would want MY team to win. Would I not???

You can root for India but there is no need to forecast gloom for Pakistan. Our team is quite strong and, on its day, can easily demolish any other team.

And afterall, the glorious uncertainties of cricket...

Dear Gul,

Irrespective of Inzi`s batting talent, his captiancy or leadership has left much to be desired. You have illustrated most of his mistakes, but one that speaks volumes of his shrewdness and lack of loyalty was the sacking of Rashed Lateef, the same person who literally dragged him out of oblivion. The moment Inzi realized Rashed was a liability, he had no qualms in having him dumped.

And yes, beard does matter for Inzi and his cohorts when making selection decisions. MiniMe (Mushtaq Ahmed) for Waqar Yunus is a most telling example, Shabbira the Jhatka was flown specially from Pakistan to bowl only two overs before he broke down. Why Him? Cause he now sports a flowing beard and has shared tablighee moments with team management ie Inzi.

Similarly, younger players who do not share Inzi`s religiouse reincarnation are systematically sidelined, Hasan Reza, Taufeeq Umer are just a few examples. Shoaib Akhter has on many a occassion suffered abject humiliation simply because he was the rebel, someone who chose to walk on the wild side, ofcourse that was not acceptable to the gang of beards.

In my book, Inzi`s lack of imagination or inability to take risk and responsibility has left Pakistan with limited options. Had we been testing new players in the English, WI or SA series, but Pakistan wud have found more than one player for the upcoming worldcup. Sadly, that was not to be and we (Pakis) are victims of narrow minded bigots who now have spread their tentacles into our cricketing world for that is the best forum to project their brand of Pakistan ie tablighee.

Re: # 11
BTW how well you have analyzed: 5 ommissions, 5 additions and 1x1 misplaced out of 15 team members?
I know it was ``your team`` and you are NOT forecaster but still you could include possible compbinations to lift the team which SHOULD BE main purpose of this article. I think this is the best team combination provided they could be able to execute plans.

On sports and especially cricket, chowk is just like PCB journal.

#12
thank u for your kind wishes!
Besides this its not YOU who could make Pak win.

Folks,

Forget about Akhtar and Asif playing the World Cup, they`ve tested postive....again!

Without either of them in the team, Pakistan`s chances of winning the WC appear pretty bleak.

Akhtar, Asif fail Pak`s secret dope test