Key players for India- not just in bowling but also in batting

India is ranked no 3 in ODI cricket compared to Sri Lanka and Pakistan’s unimpressive rankings (6 and 7 respectively) but they are without two star players, Tendulkar and Yuvraj. Also, India’s bowling has only two consistent performers- Harbhajan and Zaheer. As expected India is carrying a strong spin attack- they have Ojha, Ashwin, Jadeja and of course the reliable Harbhajan. It seems the bowling attack could comprise of Zaheer, Nehra, Praveen, Harbhajan, Jadeja/Ojha and of course Sehwag can assist with a few overs. India is going ahead with a balanced line up- they have a decent amount of all rounders, their wicketkeeper is one of their best batsmen and they have a young, athletic side. What I consider to be a huge advantage from India’s point of view is that, Zaheer and Harbhajan can contribute with batting whereas Sehwag’s bowling form has been impressive over the past 2 years. So, unless the key players fail to perform it does not appear India will miss Tendulkar or Yuvraj.

India’s problems would be too much reliance on young players and lack of mental strength in

8 out the 15 players in the Indian squad are below the age of 25. Tiwary is a promising batsman who gets a chance to make a name in this Asia Cup

pressure situations. India still lacks reliable finishers, and one of the reasons for this has been the mastery of India’s top order with players like Gambhir, Sehwag, Dravid and Tendulkar- because these players have almost always been in decent form, the lower middle order has remained relatively underexposed to pressure situations. It is interesting to see that the average age of this Indian squad is only 25, which shows the emphasis of the BCCI on grooming youngsters and getting them ready for World Cup 2011.

Sri Lanka has proven to be an unpredictable side, much like Pakistan. Sri Lanka has often been accused of carrying players who have talent, but do not have the propensity to develop this talent into consistent match winning performances. Sri Lanka is going into this Cup with mostly experienced players; certainly the only 2 players who have played less than 15 matches are Welegedara and Randiv. However experience is a big advantage that Sri Lanka have, and it remains to be seen whether the batting prowess and experience of Sangakkara, Dilshan and Jayawerdene

Murali has not been in top bowling form, but will the Asia Cup revive his status as a leading bowler?

can dominate the Indians and Pakistanis? However, India can argue that Sehwag, Dhoni and Gambhir are no less than the Sri Lankan batting stalwarts.

In bowling, Sri Lanka appears to be the weakest of the 3 main sides. They have the experienced Murali, but everyone knows he is beyond his best. Maharoof, Samaraweera, Malinga, Kulasekara can all be effective on their day, but are prone to inconsistency. The Sri Lankan team, as always, will have to rely on a team effort as they always do when they want to win. Provided their bowlers maintain discipline and their key batsmen contribute with runs, they can win this Cup. They are probably the best fielding side in the tournament. The average age of the Sri Lankan squad is 29.

Pakistan is the most mercurial side in this Cup and they have a new captain who does not have immense captaincy experience in ODI’s. Pakistan is also without its star batsmen Yousuf and

Captain Afridi has begged his team to remain united

Younis but has been bolstered to an extent by the return of Shoaib Akhtar. I say, to an extent because if Akhtar gets injured or does not show form he can prove to be a big liability and affect the team morale badly. In fact the egregious error of selecting Akhtar and Malik has

The PCB has not been able to justify Fawad's exclusion

saddened many fans, many who were looking to the future and hoping that underperformers would be sidelined from the team. There have also been question marks over the omission of promising batsmen Fawad Alam and Hammad Azam. Politics has clearly played its part and Pakistan is not going ahead with its premier squad.

Batting wise Pakistan remain as unstable as ever. Umar Akmal, Salman Butt and Malik are going ahead has Pakistan’s main batsmen in this Cup. Whereas Malik and Butt have still not been able to convince the fans that they deserve selection to play international cricket, U Akmal is

Umar Akmal is one of the best young batsmen in the world

some cause for optimism. He is aggressive, reads the situation well and is very good at playing cross batted shots, which is often a rarity in international cricket. However, already U Akmal has been involved in controversy and this Cup will test his demeanour as to whether he can focus on his game and detract from dressing room politics. The biggest advantage that is held by Pakistan is that that their main batsmen- Malik, Butt and U Akmal have stellar records against Asian teams, particularly India.

In bowling, Pakistan is going ahead with the strongest line up on paper. Asif, Akhtar, Aamer and Ajmal are considered to be amongst the best in the world. However if one considers Akhtar’s normal fitness problems and Asif’s mediocre form over the past few months, then the Pakistani bowling appears vulnerable. Since Pakistan rarely ever plays as a team unit, they will be looking up to their potentially match winning bowlers and players like Afridi, Razzaq and U Akmal to swing matches in their favour.

In conlusion, the Asia Cup ought to be an exciting tournament with balanced teams. India can be beaten if their top order is dismissed cheaply, Sri Lanka can be beaten by performing basic tasks right, and Pakistan can be beaten by any means, by anyone at any time. Now it remains to be seen who exploits the other’s weakness best and who utilises their strengths in the best possible manner.

Critising Butt has become boring now, but what else can concerned journalists do?

boring.

The latest stupid shocker to have emerged from the PCB is the return of the 2 Shoaibs.Shoaib Akhtar is 34 on paper and not getting any younger. The last that was heard of Akhtar before he got selected for the Asia Cup was that he had participated in a domestic tournament and had apparently impressed the selectors. This is no big deal as Akhtar has a good record in domestic tournaments but somehow cannot remain fit during international matches.

One wonders if some strategy should be devised to handle the controversial Akhtar, perhaps one where he is not utilised for more than 3 overs in one spell. However this is easier said than done. Firstly, the Pakistani team management is not known for inventing effective strategies. Secondly, the whole bowling strategy would have to be centred around Akhtar and other

Watching Akhtar survive a series without fitness issues would be a miracle

bowlers may be disadvantaged as a result. Asif, Aamer, Afridi and Ajmal are good bowlers in their own right and their strengths and abilities must not be compromised insofar that Akhtar is being facilitated.

There is a saying, “If it aint broke, don’t fix it.” One fails to understand why the Pakistani management takes so much liberties with bowling, when bowling is the least of Pakistan’s worries. When Akhtar gets unfit, the team morale suffers. Plus, Akhtar has issues with teammates like Asif and Afridi. Is it worth playing Akhtar? The Pakistan management keeps playing at least one of Malik and Misbah which weakens the batting, but they are not concerned with the batting! They want to fiddle with the already capable bolwing attack but they do not want to play deserving youngsters in the places of Malik and Misbah. All cricket commentators say that there are many bolwers like Mohammad Aamer in the domestic circuit, yet the PCB wants to play Akhtar instead of giving someone else a chance.

The allegations against the other Shoaib (Malik) are grave and longstanding. Malik is accused of creating factions in the

Lao barati! Bajao band baaja! Aaye Malak saab dulhey raaja.....

team ever since the departure of Inzamam. He is also accused of selfish batting and playing only for himself, not for the team. Despite countless newspaper reports and opinions of cricketers like Abdul Qadir, Sarfraz Nawaz, Afridi and Younis Khan, most people in Pakistan favour Malik’s inclusion in the team. Not only has Malik been blamed for regional bias in the selection of players when he was captain, he also admitted fixing a high profile domestic semi final match. It has been revealed that he refused to bat in a difficult position in a match when it was realised that the pitch was supporting bowlers. Yet, the PCB has excused Malik and he is well and truly back. What kind of justice is this?

Malik’s reinclusion in the team is conclusive evidence of that fact that, in Pakistan if you have connections you can be the biggest criminal, most incompetent, useless person but you will still be able to benefit from a depraved system.

Perhaps the reason why deserving players like Fawad Alam and Hammad Azam are ignored is that the selectors do not want to take risks for fear of losing their credibility. If players like Malik and Misbah fail then the selectors have this

The talented Hammad Azam will have to wait before he gets his chance

excuse that they selected experienced players and hence the fingers get pointed towards the players more than the selectors. This has to be the reason for this inexplicable selection of at least one of Malik and Misbah in every series?

Afridi claims he has remedied his problems with Malik and Akhtar and his team is united. Even if Malik and Akhtar perform in this series this cannot wash away their misdemeanours of yesteryears. The passionate Pakistani cricket fans deserve better than to see these 2 players back in action again.

IMRAN KHAN

There is too much of Imranism in Pakistan cricket. I have a lot of respect for Imran Khan, but sometimes he disappoints me with his bigmouth loud thinking. Apart from sponsoring, praising and ruining the career of Mohammad Sami, and then by saying that Younus Khan is the logical choice to captain Pakistan side and now this recent statement that, Shoaib Akhtar deserves one final chance to prove his worth are a few examples of his bad judgment about players and imo these are big bloopers. I think he speaks loud without thinking and then he goes on supporting his own view even when he is proved wrong.

During his captaincy days, he supported Mansoor Akhtar who failed miserably and not just once but many times and Imran Khan not only selected him over others but, gave his total support to the extent that people started calling Mansoor Akhtar as his blue eyed boy.  As a captain and as a player Imran Khan had many good qualities but, it doesn’t mean whatever he says is always right.

Giving Shoaib Akhtar one last chance is like killing one more young potential fast bowler’s career. I don’t agree with his notion that the Actor deserve one last chance. Its all over, he is done and dusted and finished. He should not even think of playing cricket anymore at any level. Therefore, it is not right for Imran Khan to poke his nose in the team selection and influence the senile, demented, daft and impotent selectors who are already ruining the career of so many young cricketers.

Pakistan should seriously bring in fresh, new, young fast bowlers in the team like Mohammad Aamir, Sohail Khan etc. And forget about Shoaib Akhtar, Rao, Arafat, Rana they are all spent force. They cannot justify their presence in the team purely on the merit of bowling alone. Abdul Razzaq is in again because of his batting and a little bit of bowling left in him and because of the fact there aren’t any fast bowlers who have some experience. The ban on Asif shall be removed but, there is no guarantee that he will get back into his rhythm and take wickets.

In this thread, I want khansahab and others to identify and highlight the names of a few young talented fast bowlers who are performing well in the domestic circuit and they are either ignored or sidelined by the selectors.

Younus Khan’s blaming the domestic cricket structure of Pakistan is definitely like a bad carpenter blaming his tools and I think he is simply echoing the words of his mentor, supporter Imran Khan who has been talking about it since the last 2 decades. In order to set that structure right one needs to identify and recognize the fallacies and set the priorities in order and determine which came first, the egg or the chicken? In this context i.e., to change the domestic cricket structure, whether the wholesale change in the team is needed first or, the whole of the PCB regime needs to be revamped and restructured first?

The reaction to the 15 man squad for ODI’s against Australia has generally been positive with most fans approving the selection of Nasir Jamshed, Shoaib Akhtar, Ahmed Shahzad and Saeed Ajmal. However, this thread argues that the some players should not have been selected.

Is it Younis who is running the show?

There were reports that Younis was against the selection of Ahmed Shahzad in the Sri

Why was Ahmed Shahzad chosen over Khalid Latif?

Lanka series earlier this year. It is very strange hence that Ahmed has now been selected for this series, and that too against one of the best sides in the world. For those who are not aware, Ahmed Shahzad is a 17 year old aggressive opener from Lahore who has only played 12 List A matches at domestic level. With such inexperience, why was he selected over the likes of Khalid Latif and Khurram Manzoor?

Khalid Latif is a 23 year old opener from Karachi who has played 34 List A matches and averages 54 whereas Shahzad averages 45. In the recently concluded RBS One Day Cup, Latif averaged 114 with a highest score of 204 not out. Latif has a phenomenal conversion rate too, with 8 hundreds and 2 fifties which shows that when he gets going, he tends to score big.
It is accepted that Latif had a poor debut against Zimbabwe last year when he made 19 runs. However, many players have had lacklustre debuts. Surely Abdul Qadir or Younis Khan could not have made their decision based on one sole innings?

After his aggressive 50 against Sri Lanka at Lahore in Pakistan's last Test, Manzoor should have been selected for this series

Since Younis is known to prefer experience over youth, it is just mindboggling why he

Khalid Latif had an outstanding domestic one-day tournament but has been overlooked in favour of Ahmed Shahzad

would prefer to play Shahzad over Latif or Manzoor. Manzoor has so far shown inconsistent batting technique. His debut was impressive, but in his next few matches he struggled with shot selection. However, largely he impressed and in the 2nd Test vs Sri Lanka at Lahore, he played more confidently than Salman Butt. Is this how PCB wants to reward performance?

One could argue that recent domestic tournaments have little bearing, or should have little bearing, for international selection but it would be wrong for someone to say that. Abdul Qadir stated at the start of the RBS Cup that players who perform will be considered for the series against Australia. Selectors around the world use domestic tournaments to decide who should feature in a given forthcoming international assignment. It is not that case that Nasir Jamshed or Ahmed Shahzad are established players, if one wanted to argue that one poor domestic tournament should not affect their chances of playing against a top team.

Speaking of Nasir Jamshed, we have always spoken in support of him on LS. However, as a matter of principle he should also have not been selected and his place should have gone to Khurram Manzoor who as stated earlier, has so far performed adequately (this is on the basis that Shahzad’s place should have gone to Khalid Latif). Nasir was out of form in the RBS Cup and only scored 153 runs in 7 matches, whereas Manzoor had a much better tournament, scoring 246 runs in 6 matches.

The reason why is it submitted this selection is diabolical is because the opposition team is Australia, not Zimbabwe or Sri Lanka. There are reports that a second string team will be sent to play Pakistan, but even a third string team will be tough for Pakistan to handle. It seems as though there is a conspiracy to favour Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shahzad, whilst depriving Latif and Manzoor. This is because you only need to score 1 fifty in 5 matches against Australia to build a reputation as a formidable international-level opener. Salman Butt went through his worst form after his century against Australia in one of his earlier Tests, but he was constantly picked on the pretext of being the batsman who “scored a century against Australia”. So this series is a tremendous confidence booster and a golden chance in all respects for Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shahzad. The only problem is that there were other players who deserved this golden chance more than them.

Saeed Ajmal seems to be a useless selection

Saeed Ajmal has been satisfactory so far, but is he really useful to the team? Shoaib Malik has recently improved his bowling and seems to be bowling just as effectively as Ajmal. Ajmal is a pretty mediocre fielder and further, he failed to impress in the RBS Cup. Qadir had suggested selecting Yasir Shah, a young legspinner from NWFP who has been in good form over the past year or so. It is strange Qadir chose the ostensibly useless spinner Ajmal and ignored Shah, who is an attacking legspinner and shows considerable promise. With Malik and Afridi containing the batsmen and attacking them too occasionally, it would have been much more useful playing the attacking Yasir Shah, his inexperience notwithstanding.

Shoaib Akhtar and Kamran Akmal are other controversial selections. Whereas Akhtar is likely to be injured or unfit, Akmal’s batting performance is the RBS Cup was average. We have discussed both Akhtar and Akmal many times previously. One has to wonder that if Younis Khan is supporting the constant selection of Akmal, can he guarantee Akmal will stop dropping catches? Whoever has been responsible for the unfair selection of this squad should come forward and explain his choices. This series is all-important because the opposition is Australia and hence it was very crucial that the most in-form players should have been selected.

Malik was pathetic as captain as usual

Malik in the post-match ceremoy again tried to blame other factors for the defeat instead of his captaincy, citing that it is difficult if the team has not played much cricket, but if that was the case why did the team even bother practising before the commencement of this series? And what was the point playing in the Q&A Trophy if it would have been difficult beating Sri Lanka? Malik might as well have stayed at home flying kites in Sialkot, or spent time with Sayali Bhagat in India.

Why is it that only inside Pakistan Malik gets bundles of support,

Pathetic Akmal needs to go- should have been sacked 3 years ago

but outside Pakistan people consider him to be an idiot? Malik commands no respect from any cricketer outside Pakistan, whether that is Dhoni, Jayawardene or Greame Smith. Further, all foreign commentators have been extremely critical of Malik and just cannot understand why Malik keeps making ridiculous decisions. Dominic Cork is the latest addition to Malik’s critics, asking why Malik is so defensive and why he keeps making silly mistakes like not using Gul for his total quota of 10 overs and sending Akmal to bat at no 4? Malik’s captaincy was laughable in this series; in particular, he made some very basic errors in field placing to the benefit of the likes of Dilshan, Kandamby and Sangakkara.

Sarfraz is batting like a proper batsman in domestic cricket and he averages more than Akmal in first class

Akmal was again a major disappointment. He dropped about 4-5 catches and missed a very crucial stumping chance off Malik today. What is it about Akmal that Malik finds so attractive? For 3 years Akmal has been a major liability in the keeping department. He has played a major part in ruining careers of Kaneria and Sami, and now he is playing a major part in destroying Afridi’s career. He dropped 3 catches off Afridi this series. Again, most international commentators, from Robin Jackman, to Tony Creig to Dominic Cork have been highly critical of Akmal’s keeping and puzzled as to why Sarfraz Ahmed is not being encouraged, yet we keep seeing Akmal again and again. I remember how Jackman and Ian Bishop in some series kept asking  Waqar Younis and Ramiz Raja, “Why is Sarfraz not being played?” and “What is he doing sitting on the bench?” but

Ramiz- along with Waqar, very biased in commentary

Ramiz and Waqar provided no answers.

Speaking of Ramiz and Waqar, what is their problem anyway? They have been silent on criticising Malik and giving Akmal his due. Isn’t the job of a commentator to be neutral and call a spade, a spade? Ramiz Raja on his TV show frequently supports Malik and Akmal when discussing cricket with his friends. Ramiz is usually Pakistan’s only saving grace in the commentary box with his suave appearance, reasonably good command of English and wit, yet observing his bias is an unpleasant experience.

Any reason left now to offer any more support to Akhtar?

It will be unfair to square the blame only on Malik and Akmal, but these two players have definitely tried their best to demoralise the team owing to their constant failures in their respective roles. Shahid Afridi risks being dropped permanently after failing to shine with both ball and bat, although Akmal’s lack of support behind the stumps has dented Afridi’s confidence completely. Yet, most fans expected better from Afridi this series. Shoaib Akhtar was thought to make a difference in this series, but he was the worst bowler and let the team down completely. For over a year Javed A Khan and myself have asked for Shoaib to be sacked from the team, yet Shoaib has many admirers who have lived in denial and accused myself and Javed A Khan for making these statements for controversial reasons. Yet, Javed A Khan and myself have always been on the dot with Shoaib’s performance and attitude. He is history.

The team needs someone like Fawad Alam, who is mature, left

Seriously, what more does he have to do to get into the team?

handed and can provide some stability in the middle order. Ever since the ABN AMRO T20 Cup in 2006, Fawad has been imperious in domestic cricket.  He is unique in the sense that apart from Misbah he is the only player averaging more than 40 in all forms of domestic cricket in Pakistan. Nothing is guaranteed in life except death and taxes, and there is no guarantee Fawad will become the next Brian Lara. But, as far as deserving chances to perform goes, no player deserves it more than Fawad Alam.

Fawad Alam’s stats compared with other batsmen:

Name                    Format                               Average

Shoaib Malik      First Class (4 day)             29

Shoaib Malik        List A    (one day)            39

Shoaib Malik         T20                                      42

Younis Khan        First class                           51

Younis Khan        List A                                   35

Younis Khan        T20                                       25

Misbah ul Haq     First class                           51

Misbah ul Haq      List A                                  46

Misbah ul Haq       T20                                     43

Mohd Yousuf         first class                           51

Mohd Yousuf        List A                                   41

Mohd Yousuf         T20                                      17

Fawad Alam First class                         57

Fawad Alam List A                                 44

Fawad Alam T20                                  41

Hence, you can see Fawad Alam generally has better stats than everyone except Misbah ul Haq,

Future captain of Pakistan?

and compared to Misbah he has a higher first class average.

In conlusion, enough is enough and a revamp is definitely needed. PCB needs to stop destroying cricket and use the right players. Akmal needs to be replaced by Sarfraz Ahmed, Malik needs to be replaced by Fawad Alam and Shahid Afridi needs to be kept on his toes. The PCB will not make Afridi the captain, so perhaps it is in Afridi’s best interests to resign from international cricket rather than face the humiliation of being sacked permanently. With Younis still confused about captaincy and Misbah suffering from finding his role in the team and inconsistency, Umar Gul is perhaps the best option for captaincy, as he is the only player with a defined role, proven track record and required aggression and commitment. So, my vote for Pakistan’s future captain is Umar Gul. He should hope, however, that Akmal doesn’t start dropping catches off his bowling too!

The cool, calm and composed captain

Mendis The Magician

The reluctance of international teams visiting Pakistan, mainly Australia’s refusal followed by India’s withdrawal after the Mumbai attack left Pakistan in a situation where they can only hope of playing domestic tournaments or inviting Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

Arjuna Ranatunga was bold, loud and clear in making a decision that Sri Lanka will play 3 tests, 5 ODI’s and a T20.  But, India came in like a dog in the manger and steal a test match and a couple of ODI’s from the schedule by inviting Sri Lanka to visit India. Much worst was Ranatunga was sacked and the new administration is sold out to India for 10 years for a price tag of 45 million US dollars.

This is the first time in the history of cricket that a cricket board has been sold to another cricket board, this is not the institutionalization of the game but, “prostitutionalization” of cricket at its highest form. In any case the PCB not only wants to make some money from this hasty deal, but they also want to show to the people of Pakistan that the Butt Administration is gyrating and making some moves. The height of desperation can be measured from the way the PCB chief Ijaz Butt went to Karachi Airport to receive the Sri Lankan Cricket Team upon arrival. There is nothing wrong in it, but as a matter of protocol it was not needed.

The back to back ODI’s in Karachi has not created much interest among the general public as they have been very slow in purchasing tickets; either it is due to working days or lack of interest in team selection. It could be both as some of the local boys are not even in the squad of 15 selected. Fawad Alam is the man who is not selected for whatever reasons, although his track record against Sri Lanka is good and he was instrumental in winning one of the ODI’s in which he slammed 3 sixes in a row and made the target look so easy and Malik by virtue of being there like an observer then finally hit the winning shot to get the MoM award.

The Pathani Circus

Sri Lanka are favourites to win this series 3-0 and they have been playing international cricket more than Pakistan and some of their not so famous players have been scoring runs which is a good and ominous sign for them. Their spin bowling deadly duo of Murali and Mendis would be hard for the Pakistanis to play against and not to mention Chaminda Vaas who always plays well against Pakistan. Apart from the Captain and the wicketkeeper, i.e., Jayawardene and Sangakara, the legendary Jayasuriya along with Uppal Tharanga is in the team and their confidence is sky high.

Pakistan included Shoaib Aktar only to create a drama and he may not be able to play because he is and he was never fit to play cricket for the last so many years. The Rawalpindi Express is now being called as the Raw-Bhindi Express because of his fitnress problems and his attitude. If Pakistan can rely on any player at the moment to score runs for them, there is none other than Younis Khan. But, one person alone cannot win 3 matches. Afridi, Malik and Saeed Ajmal are not wicket takers like Murali and Mendis on a consistent basis. Therefore, my prediction is 2-1 in favour of Sri Lanka.

The Karachi pitch is dry and can produce a lot of runs, so whoever wins toss must bat first.

The Winner is on the LEFT

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INDIA VS AUSTRALIA

Indian fans will have high expectations with this one. India fought back well against Sri Lanka after the Test series loss and won the ODI series. This series is crucial for many different reasons but the obvious ones are as follows:

1) India rise in world cricket and Australia’s newly discovered vulnerability means that both teams are on a level playing field, almost

2) Australia face a threat against genuine spin and Indian spinners particularly Harbhajan, have performed well against the Aussies of late

3) Ganguly has announced that he will retire after this series. Hence all eyes will be on Ganguly and his fans will hope he bows out gracefully

4) There is tremendous rivalry between the Indians and the Australians. Both teams have not been friendly to each other in recent memory. Sreesanth and Harbhajan have had trouble with the Aussies, Ponting was severely criticised by Gavasker for claiming a catch, and both teams have complained about the behaviour of the other. Perhaps the triggering incident of this animosity was when the Australian players rudely pushed the BCCI chief when they were having a photograph taken in a past series.

Indians and Australians have not exactly been the best of buddies

In terms of the pitches and climate, October is generally warm in India and the pitches are expected to play as standard- conducive to swing in the early overs but then favouring spin generally as the days progress. India’s biggest advantage will definitely be its spinners. Whereas Kumble has not been in prime touch recently, he has a great record inside India and Harbhajan has benefited from a resurgence of form.

Harbhajan is always competitive against Australia and pumps up the atmosphere

There must be a mention of the Fab Four of the Indian batting line up. As stated earlier Ganguly has announced his decision to retire after this Test series. There have been reports from the BCCI circles that this is the last straw for the Indian Fab Four. Tendulkar has been granted an opportunity to break Lara’s record (he is just 76 runs behind) whereas the recent Wall built in Bangalore in Dravid’s honour seems like a subtle message to the legendary batsman to consider his retirement and exit from the game with some grace.

The end is not far for the greats of the Indian batting line up

To conclude then, this is a very important series for various reasons and is being considered as a marathon battle between two cricketing giants. It will be great to see the Indian batting legends pile up runs and retire on a good note.

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T20 TOURNAMENT IN CANADA

Although most cricket fans will consider this to be a meaningless tournament, it has gained some interest from Pakistan fans simply because of the absence of cricket in the country. A decent performance in this competition can provide some relief to the depressed Pakistan cricket fan.

The squad has been announced and is as follows: Shoiab Malik (c), Misbah ul Haq (vc), Shahid Afridi,Salman Butt,Shoiab Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Younis Khan,Kamran Akmal,Khalid Latif,Umer Gul,Anwar Ali,Abdul Rauf, Saeed Ajmal,Fawad Alam,Sohail Khan

Nasir Jamshed’s exclusion has been queried who has been replaced by Khalid Latif. Although Latif has been a prolific scorer in domestic cricket, he appeared out of form in the RBS domestic T20 Cup. Nasir was out of form too, but deserved a chance in this tournament. Disappointingly Malik is still captain.

A surprising name in the squad is that of Shoaib Akhtar who performed poorly against Surrey and then did not pick many wickets in the RBS Cup, although he was economical.

Shoaib is still suffering from fitness issues and hopefully he will be fit for the shortest format, T20

There have been many calls to drop Shahid Afridi although he was brilliant with the ball and effective with the bat in the RBS Cup. Afridi is in form and there will be enormous expectations from him.

Afridi deservs to be the captain, and by performing consistently in this T20 Cup he will make a strong case

This T20 Cup will not do much to alleviate the Pakistan team’s hapless standing in world cricket, but it will provide some entertainment to the cricket starved Pakistan cricket fans.