One of the things I have come to appreciate most about cricket is that it is a huge force in bringing about cultural change and democracy in the social setting.  Cricket is the forerunner, and works in the same way that art and philosophy work to pave the way for a huge shift in social thinking.  Politicians and governments lag behind when it comes to these societal changes , and governmental reforms  are reactive, not proactive when it comes to equal rights for all.  Social changes, and women’s liberation in particular, usually come with a hefty price tag including violent protests, governmental resistance, and at times, total revolution, anarchy and chaos.

Sports however, can be and are a part of the arsenal of a Quiet Revolution for women in countries where females are actively discouraged from participating in public life. Cricket, for women in Afghanistan and the rather conservative areas of Pakistan, is a non-violent, inoffensive and religiously acceptable way for women to fight for their God-given equal rights. Slowly but surely these women who are on the frontlines of the women’s liberation movement are changing the archaic, outdated modes of thought on women’s role in present day society.

KheloPakistan.com are proud to present an exclusive interview with young Pakistani pacer Bilawal Bhatti. Bilawal, born in Muridke, is still 20 years of age. A Fast bowler by nature, Bilawal is also a handy batsman. He has picked up a handy 180 wickets in 39 first class games, and also recently was apart of the Sialkot Stallions squad that won the Faysal Bank Super eight T20.

We at KheloPakistan, recently conducted an interview with the captain of British University Charity XI: Kemal Alam - the British university team which toured Pakistan earlier this month to play a one day as well as a T20 game against Pakistan under 19 team. 
British university team lost both those games, but Kemal thinks of it as an opportunity to excel at (almost) the top level. Find out what else he had to say:

Since the BPL what has followed is a complete shambles. Appealing the Asia Cup final result was a laughable act, if that was not enough to tell the PCB that they will not now tour was the next step. When Zaka stepped his foot down about the election vote, Kamal changed his mind yet again. 

You announced that you will tour Pakistan but now for only one ODI and one T20. Pakistan like usual was very happy that a 'Brother' has stepped forward to help. How wrong they were with a court ruling delaying the tour by at least 4 weeks. This followed by you telling the Pakistani's the tour was off.

The way you have treated Pakistan is like they are mugs. A more dignified yes or no would have been more appropriate. Having a man in-charge that changes his colour more than an Chameleon does, definitely doesn't help.

The Pakistan players are still owed between 25-75% of the fees that were agreed with the BPL. India have never given you the opportunity to tour them, let alone help out by sending players in the BPL; but again Pakistan are the culprits. 

Imran introduced a left armer in 1984, his name was Wasim Akram. Wasim is regarded by most as the best left handed Fast bowler in history. Wasim had magic in his left arm. He literally made the ball talk at will. The out-swinger, the in-swinger, yorker,  bouncer he had it all both from over or around the wicket. Wasim was the dream bowler for any captain to have, a man that can win a game from the jaws of defeat, and who turned out to be one half of the greatest opening bowling partnership I have ever seen. 

Waqar Younis was the other one in this dream act. Waqar was express pace. Quicker than Wasim, and the man that possessed a yorker that only Joel Garner could ever get near. Waqar tore many batsman apart, quite literally. Waqar was a prime example of why fast bowlers can be made but are a natural breed. You just can't coach natural pace, skill and aggression into a person. 

As the dream of PPL is in the process of becoming a reality and Pakistani fans are eagerly waiting to hear good news and PCB still being vague in details about the event and social media is abuzz with unconfirmed news. I thought I may go ahead and share with the entire cricket mad Pakistanis of what the event should look like from a fan’s perspective.

Name of the Event:

To be really honest, I would like a unique name for our tournament which defines the T20 tournament of Pakistan. Case in point Spain’s La Liga & Australia’s Big Bash, two unique names which almost every sports fan knows. And frankly there are too many Premier Leagues in our region.  Why not something in Urdu?

Total number of Teams: 8

There are speculations that 16 teams would feature in the event, which is a bit too many for my liking. Having B-Teams would mean less competitive matches and dwindling viewership. I think 8 is the magic number. Less teams means less diluted pool of talented players which can lead to stronger teams and good competitive matches. With very less chance of foreign player showing up we need to keep the players pool tight to get exciting matches. In the end, the product has to be appealing to the customer. Easy wins by strong teams over B-teams would weaken the tournament.

Number of matches:

Divide the teams into two groups of 4. Each team plays each other twice in group stages on home and away basis. Top two teams advance into next stage “Super 4” where they also play each other twice on home and away basis and best two teams meet in the “3 match finals”.

So it means a team will play 6 matches in group stage and 6 in Super 4 stage.

Those who thought that after the strict punishment given to the three Pakistani cricketers because of their involvement in Spot Fixing, the Pakistani Cricket setup is free and clean from any kind of fixing, they should think again. The Karachi City Cricket Association is interrogating two key players and team manager Saeed Jabbar about their team Karachi Zebras suspect loss against Peshawar Panthers in the recently concluded Super 8 T20 Cup which is the premier T20 event in the country. The two players that are also interrogated along with the manager are Captain Hassan Raza and Test Cricketer Danish Kaneria.

Both the Peshawar Panthers and the Karachi Zebras were placed in Group A of the tournament and played an important match of the group on the 29^th of March 2012 as it was a do or die game for both the teams and none of the team could have afford to lose the game, however while Karachi was bowling first, their premier bowler Danish Kaneria bowled just 4 deliveries and without even completing his first over He went off the field indicating an injury, there were speculations that Kaneria was unfit before the game as well but was played considering the importance of the match for the team. Absence of Kaneria prompted Captain Hassan Raza to opt for a part time bowler Rameez Aziz to complete Kaneria’s quota of overs. Rameez who is an opening batsman gave away 24 runs in the 3.2 overs He bowled. The Panthers batters made full use of an incomplete bowling attack of the Karachi team and scored 158 runs in 20 overs.

The Pakistani Domestic season for 2011-2012 came to an end with the Faysal Bank T20 Super Eights. The players, team management and the coaching staff are not worried about Bangladesh touring Pakistan or not, instead they have better plans. Yes the recently appointed foreign coach Mr. David Whatmore along with another foreigner Julian Fountain who is the fielding coach is working on the physical fitness of the national cricketers. The players undergo several physical tests and prove their fitness levels, and also to impress the foreign coaching think tank. Mr. David Whatmore and his fielding assistant have shown great dedication and sincerity towards coaching Pakistani cricketers, not only they mingled with the Pakistani national team, but they were also present on every single day at the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Tournament recently held in Rawalpindi. Their presence and keen observation on the proceedings certainly proved a great motivational factor for some of the Young as well as discarded players that played brilliantly in the tournament and showed that they are still hungry to play for Pakistan or to represent the country at the highest level. Among these players, top of the list was Ex Pakistan Captain and the controversial all rounder Shoaib Malik, who not only led his side Sialkot Stallions to another T20 title but was also influential in his team’s successful campaign. His all round show was a huge factor in Sialkot’s triumphant tournament. Malik scored 101 runs in 3 innings at an average of 50, and played a crucial innings of 62 in the final against Karachi Dolphins that took the game away for the Dolphins at just the half way stage. With the ball in his hand Malik was impressive too as He was the second highest wicket taker of the tournament grabbing 7 wickets at an impressive economy of fewer than 7.

KheloPakistan.com has the upmost pleasure of bringing to you a conversation with Mr Pakistan. Many of you may know Mr Pakistan, but those that don’t; Mr Pakistan follows Pakistan cricket around the World. Apart from being a dedicated follower of the Pakistan cricket team; he takes part in charity work for causes like Shaukat Khanum Cancer Research. He is also working with KheloPakistan.com as a motivator and Ambassador.  Here is what happened when I had a breif talk with him.

By Kairene Khan 

We all follow men’s sports, cricket in particular, with baited breath and some of us lie awake at night in mourning when our favourite team of lads loses a match or two.  Men’s sports are exciting, and we all enjoy watching athletes perform in peak condition; it’s entertainment, and it is also vicarious living.   Through them, we can see and almost feel what life is like as a sportsman in his top level of fitness, performing tasks we mere mortals could never do in our regular, everyday lives.  However, whenever women’s sports are mentioned, with cricket in particular, the response, devastatingly, is usually a sneer.  

Why do we do this to our female athletes who deserve to be celebrated rather than mocked, or worse, ignored?  One can suspect that even though we in modern times like to think of ourselves as being egalitarian, we still harbour shameful 19th century prejudices about women.  Because of this thinking, most of us do not take women or women’s sports seriously.  Many of us think that women only play sports for a bit of fun and are not professional in their attitude; that women are physically weaker and not athletic therefore not entertaining.  Some of us even think that women do not belong in sport at all, as exercise goes against some religious ideals and that women have more important work to do around the home, such as raising children and keeping house and should not focus on physical fitness in any way.