KheloPakistan

Wolves to Play Champions League 2013

Analyst Maaz — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 02:23:28 -0500

Most Titles

Sialkot = 7

Lahore = 2

Faisalabad = 2

Rawalpindi = 1

Younis Khan Dropped From 30 Man Probables For CT13

Analyst Maaz — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 02:15:25 -0500

Younis Khan averages lower than 30 in World Cups and Champions Trophies

His last ODI 100 was in 2008

He has scored 2 half centuries in his last 17 ODI innings

Pakistan Due To Succeed At CT Under Misbah

Analyst Maaz — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 01:49:23 -0500

Has there been a finer and greater comeback in the history of the game at the age of 36

than Misbah ul Haq's when he was recalled into the side as test captain captain in

November 2010. I don't think there has. Certainly, in Pakistan there hasn't. Fitness,

self belief and determination. The skipper has the lot.

Misbah vs Afridi domestic T20 in December = Misbah wins
Misbah vs Younis domestic 4 day final January = Misbah wins
Misbah vs Hafeez domestic T20 semi yesterday = Misbah wins
Misbah vs Malik T20 final today = Misbah wins

All times, Misbah had a weaker side than the other current or ex Pakistan Captain

and has come out victorious

Making a weaker side play above themselves, sign of a special captain

Support the captain that:

Beat England 3-0 in a test series
Beat Sri Lanka in all 3 formats 2011
Won the Asia Cup
Beat India in India ODIs
Won a test series outside Asia in New Zealand

Drew a test series vs number 2 ranked SA side in UAE
Has been clinical against associates and minnows
Won Presidents Trophy as captain
Led a weak Faisalabad side to final of domestic T20
Led a weak Faisalabd side to triumph at domestic T20 super 8
Support Captain Misbah
+
Had to revive a broken side after spot fixing scandal
Had to cope with 3 different coaches
Had to cope with 2 different chairman
Had to cope with 3 different chief selectors
Has not captained in a proper series at home
Had to start with a completely fresh team in the test arena
Had to take a side forward that hadn’t won a test series in 4 years
Had to turn the tables after the shambolic year of 2010
Had to cope with many former captains in the one day side

Had to re-instate Afridi as a player after months of dispute @PCB

ICC Champions Trophy Warm Up Match At Edgbaston

Analyst Maaz — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:43:42 -0500

County season is in full swing by the time the warm up matches are in progress so the match will be against

an international opposition.

Misbah to Lead at Champions Trophy

Analyst Maaz — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:40:58 -0500

My XI For Champions Trophy

Azhar Ali

Nasir Jamshed

Mohammad Hafeez

Misbah ul Haq (C)

Asad Shafiq

Umar Akmal (WK)

Umar Amin

Abdur Rehman

Saeed Ajmal

Junaid Khan

Mohammad Irfan

Reserves: Raza Hasan, Umar Gul, Anwar Ali, Adnan Akmal or proper WK not Kamran

Existence of Rank Removes Concept of Team

Imran Asghar — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 09:24:41 -0500

By: Naveed Khan

Put aside the grave political unrest in Pakistan and you see a society by and large based on morals. Among these, respect for elders is prevalent and regardless of the social changes occurring in a developing country, it is a moral that society should strive to sustain.

It is with that mentality; existence of rank and respect for those of greater experience, that makes society function. Servants, a concept foreign to most in the West, with their ‘master’, employee with their employer and cricket players with older cricket players.

Izzat, which is honour (or respect), permeates Pakistani society and is a concept which dictates the actions of most individuals. While on a social level, izzat and respect of elders is vital to Pakistan’s functioning society, its drip down into sport is detrimental to team spirit.

For ‘elders’ read ‘seniors’. We often read and hear Pakistani players refer to ‘seniors’ in the side. It’s like an elder brother relationship; a reverence when it goes well, dependence when it doesn’t.

The purpose of a team in any industry is that the components of the team work together to achieve a desired result. It is particularly important in sport; you win together, you lose together. To do this, you go in as equals and this is where the concept of seniority is holding the Pakistan team back.

Fundamentally, younger players coming in to the side or squad – Umar Akmal, Umar Amin, Nasir Jamshed and the like, enter with an air of inferiority even if based on ability, they are at least the equal of more experienced pros.

This has a two-fold detrimental impact. Firstly, a younger player will not be themselves either in squad comradery or in their performances. They will defer to their seniors meaning they are not expressing their obvious natural talent.

Secondly, it leads to these younger players not taking their chances or responsibility. They will naturally look to senior players to get the team out of a hole. The prevalent attitude of deferring to elders manifests itself in ways which hinder the maturing and development of younger players coming into the side.

For Pakistani cricket to move forward, this structure needs to be demolished and a meritocratic selection and retention policy should be the dominating philosophy. Whether Messers Misbah, Younus and Malik are called “bhai” should be neither here nor there.

Younger players need to be treated as equals and quid pro quo they need to act as equals as well. The preferential treatment given to ‘seniors’ by both the selectors and other players must be arrested.

None of this is to say the team must lose respect for teammates; that is vital though the road must be made two ways and newer players be given their due respect.

Pakistan Continue to Build Without Foundations

Imran Asghar — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:32:01 -0500

By: Naveed Khan

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
Henry David Thoreau
It seems Thoreau could have been talking about Pakistani cricket. With much said about thepotential of young players, the system continues to deprive them of the foundations they need to beable to carry the team forward.

Pakistan have sneaked home against South Africa to level the series 2-2 with one game to play. The victory should not, however, paper over any cracks that persist in the team.

Whatever the result of the fourth ODI, in the big picture, is a moot point. The batting line-up chosenby Pakistan for this format has raised a lot of eye-brows. Team selections answer questions; thisPakistan mix is begging more questions.

200. That is the overall age of Pakistan’s top six batsmen (at the time of writing; at the time ofreading it has obviously increased). I am not one who thinks youngsters should be played for thesake of it. Nor am I one who thinks “seniors” should be selected based on reputation. The balance iskey and Pakistan’s selectors are increasingly getting that balance wrong.

One-Day internationals are approached differently across the globe. For the Asian countries, theyare the commercial key. For Australia, England and South Africa, they are the breeding ground forplayers of the future. To see if a player can establish himself at international level, they tread waterin ODIs.

Mohammed Hafeez as vice-captain and with a useful bowling arm and Misbah Ul-Haq as skipper arecertain starters. The questions over the top six come from the selection of Farhat, Kamran Akmal,Younus Khan and Shoaib Malik.

Finishing Limited Over Matches

Analyst Maaz — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 13:10:45 -0500

Can Pakistan Get Revenge in UAE vs South Africa?

Analyst Maaz — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:13:23 -0500

They have only been beaten in 3 out of 21 tests against Pakistan & are unbeaten in their last 8 against them.

This will be the next test series South Africa play whereas Pakistan are due to tour West Indies before this in

a rare test matches only tour for them. Looking down at Pakistan’s Future Tours Programme one doesn’t expect

them to lose any of the next 9 test series between now and their next tour of England in 2016 as all of the series

are either in Asia or against lower ranked opponents; expecting several series wins along the way. Pakistan will then

host Sri Lanka and Australia to follow.

Mr Pakistan Cricket to Attend Pakistan's UK Matches 2013

Analyst Maaz — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 07:57:26 -0500

Mr Pakistan Cricket will be in attendance during the Champions Trophy and Pakistan’s matches in Scotland

this summer. Mr Pakistan Cricket is an iconic Pakistan supporter who is now widely recognised in his costume

in the stands. He has attended the 2011 World Cup, matches in Pakistan’s 2011 tour of the West Indies

and travelled to watch the team at the 2012 World T20 in Sri Lanka most recently.