What next for Pakistan cricket?

What next for Pakistan cricket?

The Pakistan Cricket Board has dropped a bombshell: Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Shoaib Malik, and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan have been banned. While Yousuf and Younis have been banned indefinitely for causing in-fighting, Malik and Naved will only be eligible to play for Pakistan after a year.

Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi’s ball-biting antics have landed him a six-month probation and a three-million-rupee fine. Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal have also been fined three million and two million rupees, respectively, for their tantrum-throwing and injury-feigning episodes during the Australia tour.

These punitive measures have been taken right before Pakistan is set to defend its World Twenty20 title in the West Indies in April and May.

Do you think the bans and fines are too harsh or too lenient? Will Pakistan be able to defend its title successfully without players like Rana Naved and Shoaib Malik on the field? And who will take on the troubled side’s captaincy? Salman Butt? Abdur Razzaq? Or dare we say, Shoaib Akhtar?

The following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

 

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220 Responses to “What next for Pakistan cricket?”

  1. Imtiaz Hussain says:

    To my pakistani brothers and sisters, Why do we get so paranoid whenever pakistan team loose a game, don’t forget that the other teams they play are also professional, and win or loose is part of every sports. Why do we immediately start blaming the players or the coaches, after every lost game. Common be muture know !!! Stop this childish behavior, Pakistan has one of the best players in the team. In three t20 world cup events we have played two finals and inshallah we will most probably will play the third one also. If not it does’nt matter. We as a nation should always love our team, support them and above all respect them. Pakistan is a great nation and we should behave like a great nation. We had great father of the nation who has given us a great gift in the form of Pakistan, We should love pakistan, and we should love each other as great pakistani nation. Love pakistan Cricket team and wish them good luck.
    Thank You . Imtiaz From toronto Canada

  2. Imtiaz Hussain says:

    We should love pakistani cricket team, does’nt matter if they win or loose.
    Only request to pakistan team is that they should also give a chance to hammad in semi final.
    Thank you Imtiaz from Toronto

  3. SHAHID HUSSEIN QABOOLPURIA says:

    Pakistan still stands very good chances to make a come back in cricket. It still has bunch of players that can do miracles like they did in 20/20. Pakistan has always been unpredictable in cricket. In world cup 1992, which it championed successfully, it had reached on the brink of being ousted from the tournament. Pakistani players pulled themselves back just when they were about to fall down-may be for good and succeeded.

    True at the moment there are deep division in the team and players are divided into groups but that does not mean they can not form a winning combination. Pakistan has most formidable players and most dangerous bowling squad. Only thing that is missing is someone at the top who could somehow bring them under discipline and inject a new spirit to put up a joint fight against the opponents.

    SHAHID HUSSEIN QABOOLPURIA,
    LAHORE, PAKISTAN

  4. Muhammad numan faruki says:

    Chairman Cricket Board:Imran Khan/Wasim Akram
    Coach:Wasim Akram/Waqar Younis
    Captain:Shahid Afridi/Shoaib Akhtar

  5. Javed says:

    This is sad for cricket lovers to see premature departure of Mohammad Yousaf. Mohammad Yousaf is world class player and represented Pakistan and we are proud of his achievements. Cricket board is just like chicken without head and our leadership is exactly same and corrupt .We being Pakistani ashamed when every we discuss our leadership moral values with our foreign friend .Pakistan cricket is being run by in experience and corrupt leadership .They have no right to ban any player unless they are given equal opportunity to defend themselves . PCB should be sacked and new board shall be elected on merit .

    • Iftekhar says:

      I agree 100% with you Javed. World class player like Yousuf shouldn’t go because of these PCB guys. I am really surprised what the Pakistan cricket fans are doing, why not protest until these corrupt PCB members pushed down. PCB whole affair should be handed over to Wasim or Inzamam.

    • Ghulam says:

      It is a sad day when Mohammed Yousaf, one of our cricketing greats is forced to retire due to the incompetence of the PCB and the interference of Pakistani politicians. They are trying to blame Yousaf for the downward spiral of Pakistani cricket esp in test and 50 overs for the last 3-4 years on one cricketer. He is a convenient escape goat for the PCB management and probably too religious for them too. No doubt there has been collusion from Shoaib Malik at all and the partisanship has existed within Pakistani cricket for over 25 years.

      Just like the country itself, we are looking for quick fixes and are involved in personal ego clashes, and reactionary games to conceal the real issues which need to be resolved to move Pakistan forward. Cricket should be independent of daily political life, and non-politicians should be appointed to run its affairs, otherwise we will continue to disgrace ourselves, our nation, our honour, our integrity and degrade our cricketing greats.

      Lets put an end to this disgraceful behaviour once and for all, and end the petty drama within the PCB management infrastructure and restore some pride within the nation.

  6. sajjad ansari says:

    To see the current situation and performance of the player, the cricket board patron in chief president Zardari should to remove the whole management of board. Beside this govt should to explore the new talent from whole country strictly on merit, by a commission included the senior former player like Waqar and Miandad.

  7. senthil says:

    that shouls be decided by TALIBAN s

  8. Burdenof proof says:

    If you want Pakistani cricket to survive then get Politics out of Pakistani Cricket. By Banning the cream of the crop players you are sending a team without leaders. Mind you that is what the Country is facing right now, So it does not surprise me. Might as well start a Gulli Danda League because that is all the Country’s best can offer. What a shame.

  9. Khan says:

    poor performance in 50 overs world cup resulted in a very unacceptable decision and that was the departure of Inzi. I think this started a string of wrong decisions. I jave never understood one thing. Where teams like SouthAfrica, Austrailia or even England loosing series…. We never see thing like changing the captain or coaches. But in Pak team this seems to be a normal thing.
    Some idiot choose a player like Shoib Malik to captain the side which is not only senior in age but also more talented than Shoib. Or lets put it this way…. Shoib Malik was a 12th man before he was even chosen to be a captain. A player who is part time bowler and even a part time batsman was leading the side…… you can only expect chaos because like this every minor will dream of captaining the side.

  10. Adib Khan says:

    I want to leave aside the emotive issues about corruption, bureaucracy and regional infighting in Pakistan cricket and focus on the game itself. There is a myth that there is a lot of cricketing talent in Pakistan. If there is, why is that talent not on display in cricketing results? A part of the problem could be with the coaching system. I have no difficulty with the appointment of Waqar Younis as the fast bowling coach of Pakistani cricket, but I have reservations about his qualifications as a batting or a fielding coach. The fundamental problem with Pakistani batsmen is their lack of patience in test cricket. A little advice from the old master, Hanif Mohammad, could be helpful. The footwork is poor and they seem to have little idea where their off stump is. On the off-side, there is a tendency to play away from their bodies and often they flail at the ball as hard as they can. Feet movement is minimal and they don’t make the bowlers bowl to them. A cricket captain must be an astute observer of the game and he must be groomed for the job in terms of tactics, field placing and the ability to get the best out of his players All too often ther selection of the captain is arbitrary and given to a senior player. There is no guarantee that such a player is also suitable to be a captain. For all his antics and silliness, the Board should call in Shahid Afridi, lay down the law about physical fitness and appoint him as a captain for all three forms of the game. He the the only one, among the current crop of players, who is aggressive and mercurial. The appointment may not be successful, but it is worth a try. And for goodness sake, teach the young kids about the qualities for the longer version of the game rather than its dwarfish siblings. There is far too much bash and dash about Pakistani batsmen. But then, it is difficult for the Board not to look gleefully at the money the cricketing carnival of T20 generates.

  11. Iftekhar says:

    I always see Pakistan as the most dangerous team, they have capability, guts & talent to beat any team in the world. Unfortunately they do not play as a team & for this players have not to be blamed, this is the responsibility of the PCB. PCB should be run only by modern day cricketers who recently retired without any involvement of any political leaders. The selection process should involve Captain & Coach too with their vote. Regarding the Captaincy Misbahul Haq OR Razzak until Afridi comes out of his ban or whatever. Salman Butt is not good at all as a Captain nor as a player in limited over or 20Twenty. He is lazy, too much selfish never tries to rotate the strike.
    I wish good luck for Pak cricket.

    • (Dr.) B.N.Anand (From India) says:

      Yes, I totally agree with you. It is sad that one of the very strong competitors in world cricket is simply cooling heels and has become a butt of jokes all round the world, especially when every one saw Mr. Afridi chewing a cricket ball to the full view of the cameras. It was made worse when he himself admitted later that his act was simply meant to score at least one victory on the Australian tour through hook or crook. But Pakistan has a strong bench strength and hopefully they will come back strongly especially when they have the legacy of such renowned cricketers as Hanif Mohammed, Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Javed Miandad and the great Inzy.

  12. varun says:

    pakistan is good team,,,but not a good country

  13. Awais says:

    Well! for starters PCB shouldn’t let politics and politicans to get involve in cricket. politicans should stop been stuck-up first and should run the country only where they are failing.
    When your team lose due to poor setup of cricket in the country, its either match fixing, internal issues and consistent non-sense that is surrounding it.
    For cricketers, first of all PCB have to give them sensitivity training, and induce some character building, maturity and self belief into them. when you have prayers who are not even high school passed in the team, they never really develop self belief or confindance level which they are capable off. they get petronize on the cricket field, and they fail in execution of plans while causing mesery to their fans. you shouldn’t be a professional cricketer if you go out and play ODIs on 5 consective times and you get out the same way most of the time; this means you didn’t learn from the last time, and you are not taking any pride in work, and you are not working on your mistakes but rather causing team a misery while becoming an easy target for opposition. Lastly, cricketers should be honest, when they are not mentally and physically ready, they shouldn’t be forced to play and secondly they should have enough guts to say no to the game for teams sake!!!
    The idea of doing more than saying more should be strictly enforced! because pakistani players just become ego-centric while country’s reputation is freaking on the line.

    Cricketers should put the team and more importantly country first than the internal issues among them. They are adults and if their is some anamosity b/w players they should reslove it immediately rather develop it further to provoke an issue and make mess out of small freaking thing, which is far less important than your country. We need team players not just cricketers who play for the team while reading the sisuation of the match. thats only possible when you have people who are educated, mature and who can read the sisuation while remain selfless for team and country’s Sake.

    Allah-o-Alam knows best and rest indeed!

  14. Aahmed says:

    I just saw the T20 team put together by the new ‘chief” Selector. A lot of the same faces. What if we fired that whole lot of them, beginning with the Chief of Chiefs and send in the whole under 19 team instead. Would these youngster do any worse than the so called Pakistan Cricket Team ?. I would wager that they would do better.

  15. scare says:

    Look at the indian team they are going strenth from strenth.They have hired psych for motivation,they also kick someone when needed as they have done in case of Harbhajan or Srisanth,They won’t hesitate in punish any player when needed.

  16. Sunil Mishra says:

    My parents used to bar us when me and my brother were involved in a brawl or quarrel while playing cricket in front of our house. I seriously think PCB can/should do better then my Mum.

  17. Iqbal Qasim says:

    Ban the selectors..

  18. Aamer Aziz says:

    Cricket needs a complete overhaul. I don’t believe that the depth of talent is so shallow that we cant put up a decent team without the “stars” .. and what have stars got us any way ? Since tour of New Zealand, Australia and a stint in Dubai – Pakistan only won ONE match (the T-20 against England in Dubai) .. do these boys deserve a second chance ? I think not.

    Lets go back to basics. Scratch the slate clean (both the team and PCB) and remake the whole cricket infrastructure. Have camps, go out on talent hunt, get players on merit, and form a team. Let it play locally (test, ODI and T-20) locally with other teams, then internationally small tours to test the mantle. We will loose a few games and seasons – but then we would have depth of talent where we can dig out and produce good players.

    We don’t need tested failures, lets take a chance on new blood.

  19. Saad Usmani says:

    Key players have been fined & dropped for T20 World Cup, I think Pakistan will lose the T20 World Champion title. Ejaz Butt, Wasim Bari and some others should be removed from PCB for betterment of Cricket in Pakistan.

  20. Changez MUstikhan says:

    Yousuf is one of the finest player for Pakistan and specially from the last decade. You made him captain and in the middle of the series you said he is not the permanent captain and he will be replaced and then you just ban him
    I would like to suggest Yousuf please don’t come back to play for Pakistan as they do not give respect and they don’t deserve a player of your stature.

  21. Changez MUstikhan says:

    I think v r in more trouble now. Pakistan cricket board banned all the senior players, they think this was the solution of the problem. But unfortunately they r totally wrong.And if politics, fighting was going on among the players then this means that the board failed to control them and for that Ijaz butt and company should be responsible. Players should be fined but they always been given a hint that they can be the next captain, so it was not their fault. They were always dreaming of being the captain. I really personally suggest Ijaz Butt and company to resign from their own post.Chairman changed 3 captains and coaches and still team was loosing so he through the last dice to save his own place. he took this decision and now he will say we are in rebuilding process.This is not the way to run the cricket board. he made the mockery of our cricket and this struggle will go a long way now to rebuild the cricket team in Pakistan
    I think a better chairman should come according to the constitution. There should be one captain and he should be assigned for atleast 4 to 5 years. Even if v r lossing v should back him and force the player to back him to stay in the team. V should bring unity in the team. and Chairman and directors should be more responsible with their work as well. selectors should give chances to the best player of the country and they should keep them selecting until they come up to the level of international cricket. because we don’t have a domestic level in the country.
    Now its the time to take Uturn. Because v r in rebuilding process since 1999 worldcup. I still prefer Younis Khan as the captain. And v need a batting coach. But these board people keep on selecting balling coach for the national side. 1st they selected jeff lawson ,intekhab alam, waqar younis, aqib javed. Y dont they understand v need a batting coach????
    I hope some one will go n tell them that v need a batting coach

    • kzz says:

      Afridi is the most suitable person for captaincy.

      • Changez Mustikhan says:

        He may be the suitable captain for T20 but whats next??? In one day I don’t think so he have the ability or you can say temperament to play 50 overs. so you need a captain for other 2 forms of cricket. And basically I don’t think T20 is cricket.

  22. Anup says:

    20-20 WC and 2011 ODI WC are important future tournaments. Keeping these things in mind PCB should at least lift ban on seniors YK and MY. I don’t see any mistake as well from them. Both are victims of circumstances created by fellow players. Also Pakistan needs them not only as players but role models for young generation as well. In long term they can try to do whatever they can for improving next batch to behave properly, but for immediate future for sure they need these two guys.

  23. A.Bajwa says:

    Sports management is now a sophisticated branch of business administration. Pakistan should get a manager with that qualification. Also a coach from England or Australia.

    Cracking on the players is no solution, in any case.

  24. L Ahmad says:

    A dysfunctional team has been put together by the board, nothing will come out of it.

  25. Shazia Ahmed says:

    Referring to the current mess in Pakistan cricket, I have a suggestion : DISBAND the whole team.

    • Asif Bhatti says:

      No, I think running away from the problem will not solve the probelm. Its high time we face it.

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