Thoughts On The Game & Final XI

It was undoubtedly a lacklusture display of cricket by Pakistan today, but we must also understand what exactly was the purpose of a warm-up game. The fans of the green camp were expecting the team to go all out and probably come close to winning the game. The expectations were very high and the team should have displayed some will to play.

From the word go, there was lack of seriousness, perhaps the very fact that it wasn’t a competitive game was playing on their minds. Also, there was clear evidence of the lack of match practice. To be fair to the captain, he doesn’t have a lot of opportunities to have a look at his players under match conditions and that is why the bowlers were given the ball in a weird manner despite getting hit all over the park. I’m not a fan of YK’s captaincy, but obviously there is no one else suited to do the job, and now that he IS the captain, there is no point in asking for a change.

Another point to note is that there was no plan to conduct the match, against the opposition. If at all there was any plan, it was to give exposure to all men and if the performance is bad, let them continue so that they may improve in time for the real games.

If anything was disappointing, it was the fielding. The extreme lethergy and repulsion from the ball is a worrying sign because the warm-up game should have been used to improve agility in the field too.

The final playing XI to step on the ground to play against the hosts is almost clear. Ahmed Shehzad seemed very confident and will probably open Salman Butt. Kamran Akmal can also be used to open the innings. Younis Khan, Misbah ul Haq and Shoaib Malik will be the sensible batsmen who will try to stabilise the innings when things go wrong. Shahid Afridi will feature in all games but his batting will be nothing to count on. So we have seven confirmed players here. Saeed Ajmal, the spinner, is also likely to be guaranteed a place, given the fact that slow bowlers are very useful in this format of the game. The trio of Ajmal, Afridi and Malik will do the spin job. The inclusion of Fawad Alam is unlikely in the main XI. The problem area is three seamers – Gul and Tanvir will make it for their experience while Arafat may have an edge against Mohammed Amir due to his allround abilities and experience too. The final problem to deal with is the batting order and the bowling order too.

Tanvir must open the bowling but who shall be his newball partner? Arafat? A big NO! Gul can do the job, but as a captain I’d love to use Gul’s 4 overs at the end. If they go with the latter option then maybe Amir will be used instead to open the attack with Tanvir. Again, two left armers isn’t a great option.

The batting is also complicated. Who shall open with Ahmed Shehzad? Akmal, Butt? I’d love to use Afridi there, but I really don’t know why he doesn’t open the innings (as if he scores lots of runs down the order).

My playing XI in order will be:

Ahmed Shehzad
Salmab Butt
Kamran Akmal
Younis Khan
Shoaib Malik
Misbah ul Haq
Shahid Afridi
Yasir Arafat
Sohail Tanvir
Umar Gul
Saeed Ajmal

But given a situation the batting order should be flexible enough to move around the players to suit the requirement.

The final point to note for the game today is that Team India is coming out of IPL, and have a lot of match experience in their bag. The team Pakistan as facing today was much stronger and experienced than the one they faced 2 years ago in the finals. So despite the fact that Pakistan performed badly, credit must be given to the Indians for making a mockery out of Pakistan’s bowling attack.

With that, lets hope the Greens will learn the lesson and make us proud in the coming days!

Another Bomb, Another Failure: When Will This End?

I walked in to my department building today, entered the door and glanced at the huge television screen on my left as I always do. Out of the four screens, one is always tuned to BBC News. That particular screen was flashing images of wreckage, and a red label of breaking news bearing the words Pakistan. I stood there gawking at the screen for a few minutes when a stranger asked me, worriedly:

“Are you from Pakistan?” I replied in affirmative.

He went on to offer some words of condolences for what happened earlier today and that has been happening for quite some time.

This was not the first time I’ve seen such an image. In fact, most Pakistanis have seen much worse. But perhaps having such news early morning, half-awake, is a bit difficult to digest. I couldn’t stop thinking about it for a long time. The confusion is immense, actions unclear and destination undefined.

The whole incident will, again, be blamed on some faction of governance and lapse in security. There may be a few blame games too followed by a vow to crush out the militants by the impotent minister of interior affairs. I’m not blaming the government for the myriad attacks in Pakistan. True that it has become almost impossible to curtail the widespread militancy in the country. What perturbs me most is the lack of action on the government’s side. Shouldn’t the authorities have been prepared after the start of operation in Swat? And what the hell is an intelligence agency for? The people of this country need assurances, not by words but by actions.

It is saddening to see that one politician attempted to lay this on the government by calling it a reaction to Swat operation. If it is a reaction (which it probably is) the need for operation is even more important.

Another aspect of governance (or the lack of it) is that the interior minister should resign not because of this attack in Lahore, but because of his inability to stop anything and the increase in terrorism since his taking over. I do understand that there is no culture of taking responsibility and resigning in Pakistan, but an utter failure of certain minister cannot be overlooked.

Let us hope and pray that the operation in Swat ends soon, successfully and that the IDPs can return to their homeland and save themselves from the disgrace which certain provinces have shown.

Islamabad's Policy Shift?

The international media is beating the drums on the newly acquired confidence of Pakistan’s Foreign Minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, that he flaunted at the joint press conference with Admiral Mullen and Richard Holbrooke. Some analysts are cautiously claiming it to be the end of US-Pak marriage and that the relations are likely to sour further.

The BBC, in an article titled ‘Tensions emerge in Pakistan-US relations’ began with the following lines.

The body language said it all.

The normally urbane and mild-mannered Pakistani Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was firm and spoke in categorical terms.

Meanwhile, Richard Holbrooke chatted quietly with Admiral Mike Mullen – an act that, whatever the intention, was perceived as rude and contemptuous by those present.

Whereas, despite ISPR’s denials of ISI chief’s refusal to meet the American guests, the US think-tank Stratfor has called it a “carefully stage-managed snub..” There are also reports that Pakistan has made it clear that drone attacks must stop, while the US administration rebuked that demand.

The visit by Admiral Mullen and Richard Holbrooke was expected to be a crucial one where Pakistan was expected to be asked to, yet again, “do more.” Instead, it turned out to be complete shock for the Americans.

Pakistan has also demanded to be given the drone technology in order to do more. Meanwhile, according to BBC’s sources “Americans had been given a sharp message to back off” on the issue of maligning the ISI.

Now where has this sudden change of tone come from? Is it just symbolic or does it really have weight? Also it is interesting to note the timing of the recommendations made by the Parliamentary Committee regarding national security. Apparently, the government, Parliament and the army are finally thinking on the same lines. It may be the case that they have decided to shun the differences in order to present a united, brave face to the US.

While commending the government and the army, lets hope that this little hope of policy change doesn’t blow up in the air.

In The Aftermath Of Lahore Shootout

I couldn’t muster the strength to express my feelings yesterday following the Lahore attacks. I felt absolutely terrible after looking at the images of the bodies of poor policemen who sacrificed their lives to save the Sri Lankan cricketers. I was disappointed, angered and terrified. I still am. These policemen and the driver deserve to be saluted for showing the derring-do at a time of chaos and terror.

Now that almost 2 days have passed since the incident the people of Pakistan deserve to know who are responsible for killing the sport of cricket in Pakistan. Immediately after absorbing the news I expected the two mainstream political parties to try and win points over this incident. The Lanka-Pak match was called off, but another new match had already started. I will talk about the political side later but first I’d like to commend the Sri Lankan team for their cool response to such an enormous attack of terror. They remained calm with Sangakkara going to the extent of saying he had no regrets coming to Pakistan. While the Sri Lankan players demonstrated a magnanimous response, some other cricketing captains who were not even involved in the incident chipped in with disappointing comments. No surprises as the FM of the neighbouring country came out in the media, and instead of expressing grief, used the opportunity to blast Pakistan. Again, I don’t blame him, but it was disappointing.

There were some hints of foreign hand expressed in non-official statements. But what exactly is the official statement? Assume, for a minute, it was India who was behind the attacks, or any other country/organization for that matter. Where was the law-enforcing agency? What is the job of Interior Ministry? Wasn’t the SL team promised presidential-level security? Does the president travel like this? Obviously, if there is an impending attack, it is our country’s job to stop it. If the relevant department fails, it should accept the responsibility? And how many times will this department fail? In September, the same department failed to prevent Marriott attacks, and no one was tried or brought to justice. I did plead for the resignation of Interior Minister at that time, and I do so again. Isn’t it time to accept the responsibility now and step aside? If not now, then when? (more…)

So What If Sharif Brothers Are Disqualified?

I fail to understand why a ‘popular’ person cannot be disqualified in Pakistan. Why can’t a two-time Chief Minister and a two-time Prime Minister, elected with two-third majority, be disqualified? What is the fuss about the recent decision of the Supreme Court? So, what if Nawaz Sharif has been disqualified? People should know that he was already ineligible and the court has just witheld the previous verdict. Any why not? A sitting PM, who conspired against the army chief and tries to sack him in-air, doesn’t even deserve to taste power again.

A goon from this very party stated on TV that a politician cannot be disqualified by court. He can only be rejected by the awam. Yeah, and that will never happen in feudal politics! How conveniently he managed to score a point! If the courts cannot disqualify a politician, cannot try an armyman so what the heck is it for?!

Obviously, the current decision is politically motivated but I feel this should have happened long ago. Indeed, it did. There is no place for such a man in the politics of Pakistan.

We should all thank the Almighty that the crooked court has made a landmark decision to get rid of the second most corrupt man in Pakistan (after Zardari). The only thing to lament about here is that the two stooges (Sharifs) will now get lots of media attention and will continue to speak in the emotional, cry-baby style.

I, however, believe that Shahbaz Sharif may still make a comeback in the power politics. As for the elder Sharif, the doors are closed. He will remain as the head of his party, but hold no official post.

Now, coming to the political side of it, I believe this is a very risky move by the man who inherited the country from his wife’s will. Contrary to what others think, I’ve a feeling that this move has worked nicely so far. I saw Saad Rafique saying that the Long March of lawyers will now be transformed in to Pakistan Bachao Movement. This effectively will bring PML-N in to the limelight and the lawyers will take the backseat. There may be a ‘race condition’ as to who leads the movement and what is the objective of it putting everyone in confusion. This decision is also an attempt to restrict the support from Pubjab for the Long March.

PML-N have also called for mid-term elections, again which is something not required. Any sort of election at this point in time will result in a similar result as before. PML-N will not win anything in Sindh and Baluchistan, while PPP may lose ground in Punjab.

In conclusion, my view is that Shahbaz Sharif has become a victim of political vandetta while Nawaz Sharif got what he deserved.