After Bangladesh cancelled their tour earlier this year, over security fears, this will be the second attempt to bring fans back to the stadiums to watch international cricketers. While all of the names making up the International World XI may not be stars of their era, they have done enough to become recognizable among cricket aficionados. The make up of the Pakistan Stars XI, in comparison, does include some big names, including captain Shahid Afridi, former captains Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik, as well as younger members of the national team Umar Akmal, Nasir Jamshed, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Shahzaib Hasan and bowlers Umar Gul and Wahab Riaz.

The format picked by the organizers for the event is a crowd favourite and ticket prices have been kept within an affordable range to ensure a capacity crowd. If things go according to plan, we could have two thrilling (albeit meaningless on official records) T20 matches and have the crowds roaring again.

However, having a team comprising players of yesteryear face off against local stars in a off-the-record series is not exactly the same as hosting an international ICC-recognised Test team for an official series. How, then, can the return of international cricket be turned into a reality?

Should the Pakistan Cricket Board organize similar matches and series?

Can the tours of women’s, ‘A’ and Under-19 teams help the cause?

How long will it take for Pakistani fans to be able to cheer on their side against a Test nation at home grounds?

Dawn.com invites its readers to share their opinions and views…

The 2009 champions play their first match of the Super Eights against a strong South African team before taking on neighbours and 2007 champions India on Sunday and then finally, they play Australia, whom they recently defeated in a T20 series in Dubai.

While Pakistan have been undefeated so far and have managed to win with relative ease, this may change in the lead up to the semi-finals.

In their opening match of the tournament, Pakistan overcame New Zealand by 13 runs despite poor bowling by the pace attack. Saeed Ajmal’s heroics saved Pakistan from losing against a fighting New Zealand side. While against Bangladesh, the Pakistani bowling was taken apart in emphatic manner, only for the batting to respond strongly and take the team through to the next stage.

Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez has said the pace department is a worry but has backed them to come good in the Super Eights.

Pakistan face a tough challenge in order to book a semi-final berth but have been touted as favourites by some experts of the game.

Will they be able to overcome their weakness in the pace bowling and fielding departments to beat the likes of South Africa, India and Australia?

How will Pakistani batsmen fare against the strong pace attack of South Africa and Australia and the Indian spinners?

Will Pakistan win all three of their Super Eight matches?

Do you think Pakistan can qualify for the semi-finals?

Dawn.com invites its readers to share their opinions and predictions….

ICC has ruled out a chance for Ajmal’s late inclusion in the list, saying it does not have any authority over the final list, which is decided by an independent jury, who decided to leave out Ajmal. In return, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has indicated that it may boycott the awards all together to show its displeasure with the decision.

Much has been written and debated about Ajmal’s stand-out performance during the period considered by the ICC for award nominations. Here’s what Dawn.com contributor Shoaib Naveed said in his blog last week: “Ajmal is the highest wicket taker in Test matches during the time frame (August 5, 2011 to August 4, 2012) which the ICC considered while making its picks. And by some distance, which should alone be enough to warrant him a slot in the Test Player’s short-list, as is the case is with his counterpart, Lasith Malinga, in One Day Internationals (ODIs). The Sri Lankan pacer finds himself in the ODI list just because of the number of wickets he has taken (read matches taken part in) in the format. His average of 28, and an economy of 5.4 is nothing astounding, and dwarfs in comparison to Ajmal’s (third on the list) average of 22, and economy of 4.1.”

Pakistani cricket fans have been holding protests and taking to social media forums to criticize the ICC decision. It remains to be seen whether the PCB’s decision makers will actually boycott the ceremony and what, if any, result it will bear.

Should the PCB go ahead and boycott the awards and register a strong protest to the ICC’s decision?

Can you think of a logical, facts-based reason which could be behind this decision?

Will this bring a change to the way nominations and short-lists are made for such awards?

Should the ICC make the decision-making process more transparent?

Dawn.com invites its readers to share their views and suggestions…

Besides the change at the helm of the T20 squad, a few surprise recalls were handed out to players previously discarded from the national side. These included Mohammad Sami, Imran Farhat, Tanvir Ahmed, Faisal Iqbal, Sohail Tanvir, Khalid Latif and Yasir Arafat.

Some uncapped players have also been selected for the different parts of the tour, including Haris Sohail, Raza Hasan, Shakeel Ansar, Rahat Ali, Ayub Dogar and Afaq Raheem.

The selection has been met with a varying reaction from the cricket fans. While some have hailed the replacement of Misbah by Hafeez, others have said Shahid Afridi should have been given the reins. The opportunities provided to domestic performers have been welcomed, especially in the Twenty20 squad where players like Shakeel Ansar and Haris Sohail stood out in recent tournaments.

The most controversial decision, however, has been that of the recalls.

Which players deserved another chance to perform for the national side?

Who should have been dropped?

Which of the new faces are the best prospects for Pakistan?

Is Mohammad Hafeez the right choice to lead Pakistan in the future?

Dawn.com invites its readers to express their views and debate the team selection…

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been trying to convince its international counterparts that the country is ready to host international matches again. One such attempt led to inviting Bangladesh for a short series this month (April) before Pakistan leave for their tour of Sri Lanka at the end of May. While officials, including the chief, of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) visited Pakistan for assessment of the security situation, there has been no confirmation from the BCB about the tour.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, sent their one-day team for a series against the Pakistan ‘A’ (reserves) team late last year. The three-match tour was completed without any problems but failed to attract large crowds at the stadiums.

The T20 Super Eights, however, were a great hit with the crowds. The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium was a full house through out the eight-day tournament, as fans poured in to watch there national heroes from up close. The broadcasters and the organisers reiterated the PCB’s aim of bringing international cricket back all through the tournament, with vox pops with officials of the board, sponsors and fans. The final word came from the winning captain Shoaib Malik, who has said that Pakistan is ready to host international teams again.

While all the signs in Rawalpindi were heartening and PCB seems very serious about its mission, the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team remains a gory reminder of how bad things had gone back then.

Based on the success of the domestic tournament, passion of the local fans and reassurances given by the PCB, is it right to say that Pakistan is safe for international cricket?

Will cricket boards feel safe sending their teams to Pakistan?

If not, what additional measures should the PCB take to convince the international cricket community?

Much of Pakistan’s recent success has been (rightly) credited to the captaincy of Misbah-ul-Haq and his team’s newfound work ethic. Pakistan have now won all of their last four Test series, three of which have been played under the former chief selector, Khan, who took over the coaching reigns after the departure of Waqar Younis.

While Khan has been acting as the national team’s coach, the Pakistan Cricket Board has been looking to hire a permanent replacement for Younis. In former Sri Lanka and Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore, the board seems to have found the replacement but no official announcement has been made so far.

All this while, Khan has made no secret of his desire to continue with the job and has made a serious case for himself with the team’s recent success. However, with Whatmore being reportedly given the nod, Khan’s days as coach seem counted.

The PCB faces the dilemma of removing a coach who has not lost a series since he took charge, with a man who last coached a national side without much success.

Should the board go ahead and hire Whatmore as the permanent coach? Or should Khan’s tenure be extended?

If the coach is, indeed, changed, will it affect the team’s performance?

Dawn.com invites its readers to give their views and suggestions.

“The answer is clear isn’t it? They are bending their elbows.”

While Ajmal, in his post-play press conference yesterday, said the comments do not effect him, an air of negativity has been created around the off-spinner’s career-best performance.

This, despite the ICC’s clearance over the legality of Ajmal’s action, which was tested at the University of Western Australia.

So far, no official statements have been made regarding the comments by either team or the ICC. However, being the game’s governing body, should the ICC come out and defend Ajmal?

Should there be no further discussion over these negative comments?

What should be the role of the ICC in this scenario?

Dawn.com invites its readers to give their views and suggestions.

Salman Butt is to get 30 months of prison time as the judge holds him responsible for ‘corrupting Amir’ while Mohammad Asif has been handed a one-year sentence and Amir will be detained for six months at the Young Offenders Institution.

In your opinion, is this a fair verdict?

More importantly, will this discourage players from indulging in corrupt practices in cricket?

Dawn.com invites its readers to give their views and suggestions.

Amir’s situation in the scandal might beg leniency as he was only 18 when the incident occurred and admitted to the charges early on but the position of his two team mates, who are both in their late 20s, fails to get much sympathy.

The trial also saw Pakistani players Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal and Wahab Riaz named in relation with match-fixing and may face investigation from the ICC.

Rashid Latif, a former captain, was quoted as saying by The Guardian that the fault lies within the structure of the domestic game in Pakistan. The players usually hail from lower class backgrounds and only get the chance to make big money once they are in the international spotlight.

While it is true that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) needs to inject more financial security into the domestic game and that

Pakistan’s players are not very well-paid, is it fair to justify the actions of the players by blaming it on their circumstances? Will the punishments given to these cricketers help put a stop to corruption in the game in the future? Should these players be ever allowed to play for Pakistan again?

How much of the blame lies with ICC’s much vaunted Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) and what more does it need to do?

The head of the anti-corruption unit, former Indian policeman Ravi Sawani, told the trial in England betting syndicates were run by “mafia and underworld dons” in Mumbai and Dubai who make millions from India’s illegal betting industry.

The ICC is now set to launch a new investigation based on the police evidence which begs the question: is it too big a war for the cricket body to handle?

Dawn.com invites its readers to give their views and suggestions.

This is the introduction to Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) new chairman Zaka Ashraf, at least according to a petition filed against him in the Supreme Court by a senior officer of the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd (ZTBL) of which Ashraf is the serving chairman.

Quite an enviable track record (details here), one of Ijaz Butt proportions perhaps.

To Butt’s credit though, he has not been accused of corruption and violation of law just yet, only bad administration.

Ashraf is reputed to be a close friend of the President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari, the Patron of the PCB, so the appointment might not come as a surprise to some, but the decision seems to be an unwise one considering the new International Cricket Council ruling which states:

“The ICC Annual Conference unanimously supported a proposal to amend the ICC Articles of Association to provide for the important principle of free elections and the independence of member boards.

“It was agreed that all member boards must implement the provisions before annual conference in June 2012 and a further 12 months (to June 2013) would be allowed before any sanctions would be considered. It was noted that it was a well-established principle of modern sporting governance that national federations should be autonomous and free from interference from government in the administration of their affairs.”

So at best, Ashraf is a stop-gap appointment, and that too with a lot of alleged baggage.

Hours after his appointment, the new PCB chairman claimed that he would cleanse the game of corruption and scandals.

But can an individual who has apparently failed to deliver in one position of power, be inspirational in another?

With no cricketing background and administration the only criteria to judge by, is Ashraf a logical choice?

Dawn.com invites its readers to give their views and suggestions.