Good to see you after a long time. You are right about talent hunt, but the problem is the selectors and the PCB administrators don’t see it like that. Pakistan’s fast bowling department has deteriorated. After Sarfaraz and Imran, at least they had Waqar and Wasim but, the Actor is so lousy that his followers and successors are mere mediocre bowlers. And, those who can bowl fast like Sohail Khan has been sidelined and only those who are girayeens and bandhees are in the team. Don’t you see how pathetic the middle order batting is now with Malik and Misbah?

There is a player called Saeed Bin Nasir and he is from Karachi, he wasn’t getting a chance in the Karachi team so he played for Baluchistan and scored centuries and piled up hundreds of runs against the best bowling attack of the likes of Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir and even against the slow motion Rawalpindi Maal gaari. But, he is not selected even in the squad of 30.

You are right that players like Mohammad Hafiz should not be considered even in a squad of 100. He got his chances and failed so many times. Its a waste of time, money and effort and because of him a youngster is not considered. When are these selectors going to be fair? A question that has been asked so many times and no one has the answer.

Instead, players like Ahmed Shehzad and Sohail Khan are missing from the list.

What Pakistan needs at the moment is as many new ball bowlers as they can unearth and as many specialist opening batsmen as they can develope who can play and negotiate swinging, swerving and moving extra-fast balls.

This is the time to start preparing for it and not to give in to oft-tried mediocre players and their supporters.

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Director Cricket Operations Zakir Khan has served a notice on Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for violating central contract.

The notice says that Shoaib Akhtar has criticized the team management in a TV interview.

In a TV interview, some time ago, the Rawalpindi Express had termed the decision of dropping him out of the Twenty20 World Cup team as flawed. He also said that he reserved a right to file a case of defamation against the Team Manager and Coach, who, he said, made his disease public.

In the notice, Zakir Khan stated that the speed super star had committed violation of three clauses of the central contract. The notice directed Shoaib Akhtar to explain his position by July 31.

Former Pakistan Cricket Board chief Shaharyar Khan has supported Shoaib Akhtar’s omission from the 30-member Champions Trophy squad, saying that the mercurial pacer is not fit to even make it to a list of 50.

“In his present condition leave alone making the preliminary list of 30 players, Shoaib can’t even make a list of 50 players for the tournament,” Shaharyar told ‘Geo News’ in London .

“Look he is overweight. He can’t bowl more than three overs at a stretch and he gets tired quickly so how could he be considered for a major event like the Champions Trophy,” Khan said.

Shaharyar had several run-ins with Shoaib when he was manager of the Pakistan team on the tour of India in 1999 and in the 2003 World Cup.

Shoaib has struggled with fitness and disciplinary issues for the last three years and was withdrawn from the Twenty20 World Cup squad in late May because of a skin infection.

Shaharyar said that the selectors should concentrate on new talent in the pace bowling department.

“I think no player is bigger than the game and Pakistan cricket does not need unfit players. Shoaib is at present unfit and not ready for international cricket,” he said.

The public of Pakistan did not want this type of democracy where someone like Zardari is President. The public was fooled by these politicians who projected this idea that Pakistan was going to turn into paradise after the exit of the dictator Musharraf.

Actually, the public does not want Nawaz Sharif either if you look outside Punjab. The demographics are so strange that if you explain this to a non-Pakistani, he will not understand it: despite being unpopular in 3 provinces out of 4, Nawaz Sharif is the most loved politician in the country.

The public of Pakistan is uneducated and biased, which is why they are being fooled in the name of democracy. Neither the public nor these politicians who preach democracy, are actually democratically-minded.

As I was reading your comment, I kept feeling and asking to myself, why is it so familiar? In the end after reading the bottom line, the suspense was over. Thanks for rekindling the happy moments of the past.

I have something to say about this article and the test match.

1. First of all it was not a violent innings by Shahid Afridi but, a very controlled aggression and the credit goes to Afridi first because, he was the player and Javed Miandad second. Miandad was the coach at that time and he was the first and the only person who went inside the Akhroat brain to control it.

2. Tendulkar played a very good innings but, he did not deserve to get the man of the match award, it was Afridi, his strike rate was better than Tendulkar and it was a rare treat to watch him play like that, and more than that Afridi also took wickets in that match. But, that was a diplomatic decision to give the MOM award to Tendulkar, which is not fair.

3. Yes, the Indian crowd gave a standing ovation after the match and, whether it was for Tendulkar’s century or Pakistan’s win we don’t know but, it was a standing ovation and it is very rare to see that happening in India especially after India losing and that too against Pakistan. It wouldn’t have happened if it was in Delhi, Mumbai or Kolkata but, the Chennai crowd is different.

More than 99% of the people in Pakistan are not happy with the performance of the PCB under Ijaz Butt’s chairmanship, and his statement to the media that he will resign if Zardari is not happy is ridiculous because, Zardari himself is disliked by a huge majority of the people and they are not happy with him. And, it is not the people of Pakistan who voted for Zardari as President, but he came to power through backdoor by using his party power, which got elected on sympathy vote of Benazir Bhutto. Therefore, Butt should resign ASAP to save his butt, before he is kicked out.

Abdul Qadir, in his whole statement to the media talked about under performing seniors and in the end he excluded Mohammad Yousuf from the under performers list but, he did not mention the names of Malik and Misbah. Why can’t he say that openly and why is he being so diplomatic and beating around the bush? Or, does he feel threatened? And by whom?

Miandad also did the same thing by dodging a direct question and he replied like a diplomat. The other day Osman Samiuddin and Ramiz Raja were denying rumours of factionalism in the team and Raja was cheeky enough to criticize Fawad Alam and Khurram Manzoor’s technique and even worst, he included the name of Mohammad Yousuf along with Malik and Misbah as underachievers by saying, “IF” Younus Khan thinks………Malik, Misbah and Mohammad Yousuf are not performing then he should drop them.

And, I have strongly protested by asking, why talk insult Mohammad Yousuf by comparing him with Malik and Misbah and by saying he is an under performer? He came into the international side after 2 years and scored a century. So, what lack of test cricket are these people talking about? And, why are they comparing Mohammad Yousuf with nothing players?

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ejaj Butt said he is ready to resign if President Asif Zardari is not happy with his performance, as media reports claim.

Before leaving for Dubai, Butt told a newspaper that he was doing his best to fulfill his duties as Chairman of the board and if Zardari was still not happy, he would not mind quitting.

“I am trying to bring about improvement in Pakistan cricket with honesty and dedication but if the President is not satisfied with my performance I will hand in my resignation and go home,” Butt said.

“I have no concerns on this issue. I was given a responsibility and I am doing my best to discharge my duties,” he added.

Butt left for Dubai to meet International Cricket Council chief David Morgan and also attend an ICC meeting next week.

The meeting with Morgan is expected to end Pakistan’s resistance to the ICC moving its share of the 2011 World Cup matches to the other joint host countries — India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Pakistan had threatened to legally challenge the ICC decision to move the matches but insiders in the board have disclosed that the meeting with Morgan had been specifically scheduled to reach a compromise over the issue.

Butt, however denied that Pakistan had taken a decision not to pursue its legal action against the ICC.

Media reports have said that the English law firm hired by the PCB for the case had advised them to drop the idea of filing a legal case although Butt denied this.

He also denied that Pakistan had dropped the idea of pursuing its case with the disputes resolution tribunal of the ICC.

“We will decide on our future course of action after my meeting with Morgan. All this talk about we deciding to drop our legal challenge is premature,” Butt said.

Butt, a former Test player, has been under fire recently for his administrative abilities and the resignation of former captain Aamer Sohail last week as Director of the National Cricket Academy has given credence to rumors that Butt does not get along with anyone in the board.

Media reports said President Zardari, who is chief patron of the board, is not happy with the performance of the board and he would soon review a full report on Butt’s tenure.

Karachi (PTI): Pakistan’s former chief selector Abdul Qadir feels senior players of the team should be sacked after the humiliating 0-2 Test series loss to Sri Lanka.

“I strongly believe that players who are not performing should be replaced by other players who have done well for the second string side or in domestic cricket,” he said in an interview to a TV channel.

“During my tenure as chief selector I tried such a system of selection but unfortunately the biggest problem is that the cricket board is weak against the senior players,” the former Test leg-spinner said.

Qadir resigned in acrimonious circumstances in June because of differences with the Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman and team management.

Qadir said the senior players must take the blame for the Test series defeat and not the youngsters.

“I say replace players who are not performing irrespective of seniority or past reputation,” he stated.

“I have heard too many excuses from some players about the lack of test cricket and that we are rusty when it comes to Test cricket.

“But think about it, Mohammad Yousuf did remarkably well in the first test and he hasn’t played any Test cricket of late and Fawad Alam did very well on test debut,” he said.