Malik questions Shoaib's commitment

[EnterTheVoid]

^^ Its all a conspiracy I tell ya! Nowadays, in pakistan cricket, dropping unfit / out a form players for some younger players is a scandalous / masala affair I suppose there wouldn't be such a fuss had pakistan been giving more opportunities and the youngsters actually capitalizing on those opportunities, as india did in the cb series

[Lord]

Malik is wrong. u cant question something which doesnt exist at all

[beetle]

Very inyeristing. But why the drama in front of the media. The captain could have and should have discussed this with the board and the selectors. Blaming and criticizing a team member in the open in the middle of a series is not a great idea for a captain. In fact he should be defending his team. Thats a part of his job as a leader.

The drama...because they have a duty to entertain the rest of the world.:hysterical:

[EnterTheVoid]

Is it true that he once described himself as a rough diamond plucked from a mine?

[diegovegaz]

there is hardly any commitment, what's there to question??

[cochise]

How can you say that? He is very commited to his snow leopard stuffed toy.

[EnterTheVoid]

I think it may be all over for this joker. Rawalpindi Express comes to a grinding halt ‘Shoaib is finished. He is history,’ says a Pakistan team official Friday, January 23, 2009 By Khalid Hussain KARACHI: It’s game over for Shoaib Akhtar, finally! After surviving career-threatening injuries, doping controversies, illegal bowling action, bans and hefty fines imposed on him by the cricket authorities over repeated breaches of discipline during a happening 12-year international career, the ‘Rawalpindi Express’ has once again come to a grinding halt. This time, according to insiders in the Pakistan team and the PCB think-tank, Shoaib will be axed from the national squad for good. “Shoaib Akhtar is finished. He is history,” a team official, who requested anonymity, told ‘The News’ on Thursday. According to the official, the current ODI series against Sri Lanka was Shoaib’s last chance to prove his form and fitness. “He (Shoaib) promised a lot but failed to deliver. It’s quite obvious that he is past his prime and it’s time that we should overlook him to blood some youngsters in the side.” (I have been hearing this since the 2007 wc) Information gathered by this correspondent revealed that when skipper Shoaib Malik launched a scathing attack on his under-performing fast bowler on Wednesday night at a post-match press conference at the National Stadium, there wasn’t anything whimsical about it. Malik had the complete backing of the team officials as well as a few senior players and came with a lot of ammunition against Shoaib following an embarrassing 129-run defeat against Sri Lanka in the second One-day International. Shoaib, 33, has not been in Malik’s good books for quite some time because of several reasons and the young captain made full use of what was a perfect opportunity to blast Shoaib. “The commitment which I need from him (Shoaib) in the field is not there,” Malik told reporters. “You need 11 players to lift a team,” Malik said. “He (Shoaib) needs to bowl 10 overs with the same speed and then I also want him to field for 50 overs.” Shoaib provided Malik with all the reasons for the deadly assault. He returned to the one-day squad after almost 14 months, having last played in an ODI in Gwalior in November 2007 against India. Shoaib had claimed time and against that he is fully fit for national duty after playing in a series of domestic games this season. Spearheading a four-man pace attack, Shoaib bagged just one wicket in the two one-dayers against Sri Lanka, giving away 88 runs from 13 overs — bowling seven overs in the first match and six in the second. His reflexes seemed slow while on the field, something that really irked Malik. Shoaib, who has played only 46 Tests since making his debut in 1997, is currently one of the most senior players in the Pakistan team but has sat out of most matches in recent seasons because of one problem or the other. He was sidelined after Pakistan’s last Test in Bangalore in December 2007 because of a recurring back injury. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) excluded him from the central contracts in 2008, a move that propmpted Shoaib to publicly criticise the Board. Already on probation for hitting fellow pacer Mohammad Asif ahead of the inaugural 2007 Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, Shoaib was banned for five years for repeated breaches of discipline on April 1, 2008. The ban was reduced to 18 months by a court on Shoaib’s appeal but it also slapped him with a Rs7 million fine. A final decision is still pending but on an appeal the court suspended the ban, clearing the bowler to play for Pakistan. Shoaib, who has 178 Test and 220 one-day wickets, returned to the Pakistan squad for a Twenty20 quadrangular in Canada last October but looked quite rusty in the brief assignment. He was then retained for a three-match ODI series against the West Indies last November in Abu Dhabi but missed all three games after injuring himself during a training session. “Shoaib was placed under the magnifying glass since making his return last year,” said a senior PCB official. “He was given ample opportunity to prove his form and fitness because most people believe that when at his best he is an asset for Pakistan. Unfortunately, it’s quite clear now that he isn’t.” http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=158594 Another place reporting the same story: http://cricketnext.in.com/news/pakistan-set-to-drop-offcolour-akhtar/37645-13.html

[The Outsider]

Expect moash vhinaaaa to come out with some spicy stuff after this drubbing.

[kumble_rocks]

Both Akhtar and Afridi are finished . They were always acting like Prima donna's .. at least they used to back it up with decent performance before. But now, they suck . Afridi used to stake claim to the team on the strength of being all-rounder who can bowl his quota of 10 overs as a fifth bowler. His bowling has become distinctly pedastrian and the less said about his batting, the better it is .His highest score in his last 10 one day innings is 28 with an average of nearly 12. He is finished !