The Man they Called Mum&Dad

Where have you gone Javed Miandad

Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you

Khawar:

A good tribute to the Little Maestro. Once Viv Richards was asked what one player he`d like to have in his team if he had to choose just one from the world, he didn`t have to think when he responded ``Miandad.``

Question: ``One wonders why always Miandad has to go like this, isn`t there any better way to say goodbye to the master.?``

Answer: Yes. But he`d have to denounce his Karachi background for that. In addition, learning to speak Punjabi would be a plus.

BTW rumour has it that he was mad at the players for losing the easy match against England, after Pakistan had qualified for the final. There was talk of match-fixing and most ``star`` players had united against him and hence the invitation to Richard Pybus from Wasim Akram. Miandad, after learning about Pybus AND Sarfaraz, simply had enough of these ungrateful bunch (including PCB) and so he got up and left.

There was also a rumour that players were complaining that he had not shared the gift money he had recieved from a friend. He denied that and said that he actually had one of his wealthy friends give the team a cash award as an ecouragement.

Finally, it has also been said that during his last days for him as a coach, the players, since most of them hail from Punjab, (surprise, surprise!) deliberately spoke in Pujabi with each other in front of Miandad.

I can hardly guess what motivates the Pakistan players when they do what they do, both on and off the field. I don`t know what to do with them as I have this love-hate relationship with the team. I did not miss a single match Pakistan played in this world cup. And yet, when it comes to their attitude, I can hardly forgive them for their erratic and irresponsible, not to mention greedy, arrogant, unethical and ungrateful behavior.

Rehan.