What next for Pakistan?

[THX_1138]

They look broken, beaten, and absolutely disheartened. And if the past is any indicator, on most instances when India bats first and races to a sufficient score, Pakistan crumble like a deck of cards. Unless India capitulates (unlikely given this is Laxman's favorite hunting ground and how docile this pitch is), Pakistan is headed towards a considerable defeat. Shades of the 2004 tour, where Sehwag led a psychological attack on the Pakistanis. However, in the 2004 tour, there were many saving graces. Pakistan had the services of a one very promising Asim Kamal (who i expected to be a regular member of the squad, alas not quite!), and the usual suspects were amongst runs: Inzi, Yousuf and Younis; helping pakistan roar back to victory on the back of Umar Gul's first innings heroics. And In the third test, they were contenders till day 3's post lunch session (when a serene dravid had assumed control). This time around, the situation is quite dreary! No Shoaib, heck he ought not be on the field, if not on a flight for some recuperation center along the south californian coast. Kaneria is jumping out like a hobbit in possession of the ring, except this one carries the curse of spasmodic delusions causing him to appeal for long hops that ought to be in the manual of "how not to bowl to indian batsmen on indian pitches"... and sohail tanvir, well he is quite like a timid cow awaiting sacrifice. I wont even bother with Sami. He has a heart of a lion and the luck of a sea farer ship wreaked on an island of cannibals. What is the proverbial silver lining in this abysmal pakistani cricket team at the moment? and from a more selfish point of view, is there any particular motivation for a third test? if pakistan succumb to defeat here, wont a third test me a mere formality serving the singular purposes of ruining sami's career figures and boosting sachin's tally? heck, wont it give india an undeserving morale boost ahead of a much more challenging and engaging australian tour? watching this game makes me wonder if the domestic league might provide better preparation for our team...

[Dhondy]

Well written post, THX. I wouldn't rush to so many conclusions based on a day's play, though. It takes just one eventful session to turn a Test match, as Pakistan would testify from their experience at this very ground last time around. Younis and Yousef looked inexorable, Pakistan looked set for a 500+ tally. Then, of the first ball of the next day's play, Younis was stumped, and the rest is history. And who can forget how Australia lost at Adelaide to Agarkar's guiles after posting 553 in the first innings? Let us therefore not rush into rash pronouncements. Coming back to your rhetorical question, "What next for Pakistan?", my answer would be, "Frankly, I don't care." For long, this is a team that has condoned dishonest means, turned a blind eye to doping, selected blatant chuckers in their team, and smiled benignly as their players have conducted themselves disgracefully in and out of the dressing room. While they were winning, all was fine of course, for that's how they judge their intrinsic worth- whether they are winning, and in particular, against India. Read Salil's post on Akhtar for a similar perspective. It does not come as a surprise to me to see their world come crashing down. There is such a thing called divine retribution. Look at Marion Jones, Ben Johnson....they thought they had got away with it, didn't they? Alas, they were found out and hounded into infamy. I believe Shoaib and Asif are being served their just desserts for their dishonesty and their board's connivance in their misdemeanours. What do you make of Umar Gul's misfortune? So desperate were the Pakistani management to turn the tables on their old foe, that they risked ending their only honest world class paceman's career by forcing him to come back too early from a back injury. It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if it turns out that he has developed another stress fracture. The price for greed is seldom measured in pennies. India need not feel sorry about their opponents. They need only remind themselves of Adelaide'04 and Calcutta'05, the tariff that had to be paid for complacence then and then in the form of Test match defeats, and gird their loins to carry on and on and grind Pakistan into dust. If the roles were reversed, Pakistan, and its partisan fans would show no mercy for us, rest assured. Even here, they will try and denigrate every run scored, every wicket taken by India by citing mitigations such as absence, injury and misfortune. They will point out that Shoaib "owned" India in the first Test when fully fit, completely ignoring the fact that he was comprehensively outbowled by the Indian captain by any parameter that they'd care to apply. Don't spare a thought for these gentlemen. They don't deserve your sympathy.

[zubinpepsi]

well written THX n Dhondy... Show no mercy on them for they dont deserve one....

[Gambit]

Why should we care about them? We have been on the upswing in test cricket for a while now and are a much better team than them. You think Pak fans shed a tear for our team when we weren't that good in the 90s? Let's just thrash them in this series and then watch the fun as the Aussies get to work on them. Despite not being that good in the 90s, atleast we fought against them and held their Wasims and Waqars to a 0-0 draw in Pakistan in '89, a 1-1 draw in '99.

[Chaos]

Why should we care about them? We have been on the upswing in test cricket for a while now and are a much better team than them. You think Pak fans shed a tear for our team when we weren't that good in the 90s? Let's just thrash them in this series and then watch the fun as the Aussies get to work on them. Despite not being that good in the 90s, atleast we fought against them and held their Wasims and Waqars to a 0-0 draw in Pakistan in '89, a 1-1 draw in '99.

should have been 2-0 in 99 until our batsman got their brain farted in the end. Facked up sachin's great match winning innings.

[The Outsider]

Let's not count our chickens before the eggs hatch. We have the upper hand but there is a long way to go in this Test and the series. Cricket, specially the longer version, has the inherent ability to provide many twists an turns. But if we do manage a big first innings score here and do manage to take 20 Pakistan wickets, I would like the team to go in for the kill at Bangalore. Take no prisoners. Finish them off so badly, that the next time a tour to India comes along they ask their wives to hide their passports. Their cricket has been laden with dishonesty. I still get fuming when I think about a blatantly chucking Shabbir Ahmed was let loose on the West Indies in a bid to equal the series, only because the umpires don't call chucks on the field anymore. All commentators, experts, fans (some even Pakistanis) were amazed as he kept pelting in one after another, only to be banned immediately after the match. A cricket team with such pitiful morals deserves no sympathy.

[chamatkar]

If this is indeed such a docile pitch, then expect the two Yos to prosper. I don't see our bowling attack to have such an impact to get them cheaply twice. The only accepted result at this point can be "India can't lose" (disclaimers: barring disasters), but by no means is a draw an impossible result.

[Anakin]

Exactly, no mercy for cheaters

[zubinpepsi]

well wat can u say abt the team who claims for a catch when theres was no sound or watsoever... bloody cheatssssssssssss

[coffee_rules]

Until Pak bats, I feel this test is heading for a draw. The third test will then be a cracker of a contest, like last time in B;lore where India lost to a below-strength Pak side. Arshad Khan was among wkts...It was that bad. There is nothing that Abdur Rehman can't do that Arshad Khan can do.

[Anakin]

well wat can u say abt the team who claims for a catch when theres was no sound or watsoever... bloody cheatssssssssssss

That Akmal appeals for every damn thing, and karma bites back when he drops sitters after sitters.

[Guest dada_rocks]

Appeal karne ke liye cheat boliyega janaab tab to sara hamam nanga ho jayega

[Lurker]

What is the proverbial silve lining in this abyssmal pakistani cricket team at the moment?

Unfortunately there is none. Pakistani cricket thinktank will have to plan some drastic measures to improve on their team's stature. Here are Pakistan's last 5 Test series results Against India(away) - Ongoing. Against Saffers(at home) - Lost Against Saffers(aways) - Lost Against Windies(at home) - Won Against England(away) - Lost It is too early to say whats gonna happen in this series but most likely Pakistan is gonna lose again. So 4 out of 5 series lost with 1 series won against puny Windies. Hardly anything to be proud of. So what can Pakistan do? I say think hard if it is not correct to cut-down on the sheer number of games they are playing. It is astounding to see Pakistan playing series after series. What effectively happens due to this is - 1) Top players, specially bowlers or all-rounders, keep getting injured. Akhtar, Asif, Gul, Malik are all out currently. 2) Day in and day out hammering affects your confidence as a team. Maybe Pakistan should cut down on number of series by half and improve its domestic cricket. In fact the same holds true for most countries. This morning when I opened Cricinfo I had atleast 5 International matches ongoing. Ind-Pak, Zim-WI, SA-NZ, Jets-Lios and a preview of SL's game with England. For F sake 5 International games at one time! This is simply too much cricket and most of these games, if not all, are only going to be of stastitical interest. It is simply too much cricket these days. xxx

[Guest BossBhai]

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[Bumper]

Good thread. The numbers in Dhondy's "The Old Order Changeth..." article clearly indicate Pakistan's wane as a test playing nation (Pak's W/L ratio is barely better than WI & BD in its last 50 tests). Its amazingly poor esp, if you consider that Akhtar, Asif, Gul & Kaneria on paper make a good bowling attack, backed by YK, MoYo, Inzi in the middle order. PCB & Pakistani players are largely to blame for this mess. 1) Akhtar, Asif & Gul dont look after themselves well. They either resort to dope or dont work on their fitness too much or in other cases, rush back from injuries, prematurely declaring themselves fit. Akhtar & Gul are victims of their own poor judgement. Akhtar barely got off the bed yesterday & he declares himself fit for a test match. Gul has a history of doing this. He rushed back in 2004 for the Lahore test, bowled in one innings & then went back to the pavilion. He tried to rush back from injuries yet again for the Kolkatta test, only to reaggravate his injury & possibly go back home. Why this myopic rush to get back into the squad ? To beat India ? PCB carries this myopia to the next level. These goons bring players back from their bans, the moment the team starts losing. Such short sightedness coupled with their incompetence will only get them the results they are seeing right now. 2) What is Pakistan going to do about its openers ? I guarantee you one year later, Butt wont open with Yasir Hameed. Couple of years later, Butt wont be one of the openers. How much longer are they gonna take to solve this crisis (the same crisis that existed back in 2004) ? 3) What about the bits & pieces jokers ? When Afridi & Razzaq play, PCB & the Pakistani fans, want them dropped. When they are out (with the results being the same), everyone cries about how they miss Afridi & Razzaq. Hilarious to say the least! Pakistani cricket is a victim of the myopia, characteristic of its players and the board. PS: No one can accuse BCCI of myopia, it never had a vision in the first place.

[THX_1138]

I see emotions pouring out here with such vehemence that one might mistake this to be rather divisive issue where one side of the argument has often been suppressed until today when it finally comes up for air! However, i do feel some allegations and that is what they really are, must be addressed: Chucking: It is immoral, untruthful and delusional of us to claim that Shoaib Akhtar chucks. He has been given the clean chit by numerous authorities, the ones who are the final verdict on this matter, and it behooves us to surrender the final judgment on this matter to them. We can continue to be judgmental of players, it is after all, our prerogative given our status of spectators, but this hoodwinking in which we seem to collectively engage in is just incorrect. Suddenly the pitch forks are out and like a mob on a vigilante mission in the dead hours of the night, we are going about the proverbial village screaming in unison, "She's a Witch! Burn her!" I sincerely request everyone here to refrain from such accusations that are quite follow and unsubstantiated by few other than the personal opinions of the few iconoclasts such as Bishen Singh Bedi, and for the sake of full disclosure, Bedi is little but a loud mouth atop a tubby thorax that does not seem to have grown wise with age. There is however, the undeniable matter of steroids and not a sincere soul in the world can claim that Akhtar and Asif did not just rather conveniently circumvent the law and in particular the minimum required punishment that they were adjudicated to receive for this transgressions. Almost like the elite echelons of society for whom the laws are "modified", they have pulled off the notorious paris hilton of cricket: not a day behind bars for crimes that often terminate the careers of others. And yet, this makes me question some of the doping laws. It is rather obvious that in cricket the fitness level required for a fast bowler to function effectively is substantially higher than that of a batsman or a spinner. Being an aspiring fast bowler myself i would stand witness to such a statement for often after a long day of cricket where i have bowled more than 8 or 10 overs at full throttle, often on hard pavement or peculiar surfaces like turf, my body requires a day or two to recover, and when injured, like now, recovery times can stretch to well over two months. As fast bowlers, we suffer more cases of shin splints, torn menisci, back stress, groin injuries, ruptures hamstrings, hyper extended ankles etc etc (the list progressively sounds like a page out of a Quentin Tarantino script). Thus, does it seem fair that we be denied access to superior medicine and drugs that help our bodies recover? Does it seem fair that we must maintain superhuman fitness and durability especially now that obscene amounts of cricket is being played? Returning to the subject at hand: yeah, i agree Pakistan are a team astonishingly mismanaged, subject to internal wrangling, heck they are the first sports team to have their own communal controversies! And while i was not trying to question the posters if we must show mercy or not, but more poignantly, what is the possible advantage of this series? Club sides in Australia (the tour we must be single mindedly concentrating on, for if we conquer that fortress, the rest of the world is vulnerable!) would present a more challenging prospect than this current Pakistani side of bumbling misfits and idiots who cant be expected to even stop a rolling ball! So i ask again, what next for Pakistan and in particular, what next can we do to gain from the remaining, 9 days (if we do infact play 9 days of cricket henceforth) of cricket that we have left against them?

[Guest BossBhai]

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[THX_1138]

I dont think he (Bedi) ever commented about Shoaib .... but Michael Holding did .... and Mikey knows a thing or two about fast bowling . And FWIW he was also on the ICC technical committe that addresed the chucking issue. The thing is whatever certificate Shoaib got was not for keeps sake. Even if Akthar does not chuck and its all due to his hyper extension .... he gets undue advantage from his hyper-extension as compared to the normal folks that dont have hyper extension. Unfortunate ? yes but its only fair.

exactly, a personal deformity if you wish to call it such or some sort of physical anamoly that permits him superior performance ought not to have been held like a sword against his juggular! a number of exceptional individuals in history were able to exceed the norm thanks in parts to some extraorginary agency: einstein attributed his ability to visual complex phenomenon to his late speech development which helped grow his hippothalamus (shot in the dark here, it might be some other part of the brain) which is where most of the mathematical, and creative thinking occurs; sir stephen hawkings has been a torre de force in the field of theoretical physics in parts because of his neurological disorder that eventually deprived him the use of his limbs, forcing him to do complex mathematics in his mind, thus raising his consciousness to a plane where he was more receptive to understanding complex phenomenon as stellar inflation and relativity; lance armstrong was born with an abnormally large heart which permits larger volumes of blood to be transported to parts of his body, thus providing greater oxygen and thus giving him greater cardiovascular abilities; heck our very own Rudra Pratab Singh has a unique case of hyper extension.

[Mr. Wicket]

Actually, Akhtar's hyperextension has nothing to do with him chucking. RP Singh has hyperextension too and his action's clean. Moot point there, and just another red herring excuse to try and defend Akhtar's cheating.

[THX_1138]

Actually, Akhtar's hyperextension has nothing to do with him chucking. RP Singh has hyperextension too and his action's clean. Moot point there, and just another red herring excuse to try and defend Akhtar's cheating.

hardly mate... i could not care less for him. merely suggesting that since he has the clean chit from the authorities, are our accusations merited? p.s. someone mentioned you wrote a piece on this matter. care to share the link?