When it comes to Pakistan cricket, there’s no shortage of things to talk about.
For the past few weeks we’ve been swamped with reader comments and reactions about the performance of the Pakistani team and state of the game in the country.
Over the weekend, Dawn.com hosted Pakistan captain, Younus Khan in Dubai as he answered fan queries.
We would like to thank Younus Khan as he took out some time, hours before his departure to Karachi, to chat with us and interact with our readers.
We also appreciate and thank all our readers for joining in. Unfortunately, due to high traffic we could not accommodate also questions and comments but look forward to having another star on the same forum pretty soon.
Dawn Sports Team
I think Afridi should be sent up the order like 4th or 5th specially when we have some score on the board. Beecause if he gets going he will win the
match for us and if he gets out early like he often does, then there would be batsmen following him who could salvage the inning. Besides he will have some time to settle in.
That is really surprising because four years back, when England were visiting Pakistan after having won the 2005 Ashes, people used to say, ‘are you prepared to face Pietersen and Flintoff?’ or ‘do you think you can handle the Ashes winning side?’
So I am not sure what the people want. Do they want us to forget opposing sides’ reputation or build our strategy based on their reputation?
When you play against other teams you shouldn’t be too concerned about their reputation. Your batsmen and bowlers have a bat and a ball in their hands respectively, when they go out to play. So just go and play your game. If the reputation of the Aussies is always on your mind, then you have already lost the game even before it begins.
The PCB has hired Javed Miandad to look after the domestic cricket of the country and I don’t think we could have a better person for improving domestic cricket. The kind of experience and knowledge that Javed bhai has about cricket is unmatched. I am a nobody compared to him, however, if he does ask my for any input and if he thinks I can help him in any way, I will be more than willing to do it.
What are the three things you would like to see changed in the way we groom young local talent?
Firstly, we have to see that the players who play in the ICL are mostly retired cricketers or cricketers who have not been selected by their national sides for lack of performance. So performing well against them (in the ICL) is not as big a thing as say, performing in the IPL, because the world’s best players play in the IPL. As far as their future is concerned, it is up to the PCB to make a decision on that.
If the ban on ICL players is lifted, you can have Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Abdul Razaq, Saqlain Mushtaq and Naved back. Any hopes on them coming back? All the best and all the luck for your dreams to come true.
Ahmed Shahzad has just started his international career so it is too early to make a judgement on his style of play. Besides, he played well against the world champions and true, he didn’t have to face Shane Warne or Glenn McGrath but he still did very well for a youngster. He will have to build on this good start and we will see how he goes from here. If you recall, when I started my career people used to say Younus Khan is not a one-day player, he should only play Test matches but now I am the captain of the national side in all three formats. It is too early to make a judgement like that.
Is Ahmed Shahzad fit to play limited-over cricket? Look at his pace of play; he is in the category of Geoff Boycott, Chris Tavare and Sunil Gavaakar (all famous for run crawls). His selection is a mystery to me…?
I have always said that for big players like Shoaib Akhtar or Shahid Afridi or Umar Gul, the board has spent a lot of time and money and you cannot just leave them out of the team like that. Having said that, Shoaib did play in five of the six matches in this series, which shows he is quite fit. Obviously, he is not as young as he used to be and he is a fast bowler so he sustains more injuries than other players.
I am from Inidia and as a well wisher of Pak cricket (a great fan of legends Imran & Wasim Akram), i would be delighted to get your answers
I can’t make out as to why Shoaib Akhtar is playing? He is not cut out for today’s fast paced cricket.
The coach is the main boss. He devises the plan that the captain needs to implement on the field.
What role is Mr. Initikhab Alam playing in formulating a strategy for any contest?
There is a big difference between the two. Playing as a batsman is much easier than playing as a captain. As a player, you are mainly worried about your own performance and that is the only area you have to look after but things are very different for a captain. Not only do you have to concentrate on your performance and justify your place in the team, you have to look after each player and help them with their performance. Then you have to manage the team, take time out for lots of things.
How’s it the responsibility of playing for one’s country as a regular player and captaining the team any different?