Pakistan Cricket Overhaul: Hit out at Selection Board & Old Monoply Players

[Asian.Century]

Pakistan Cricket needs a overhaul, after not too good performances in the recent ICC champions trophy.

Its time Pakistan Cricket needs a change - The year's Old Selection Committee, Board Members, PCB Officials and Players need a complete change for the new dedicated, non-politicized, hardworking, smart and incorruptible people.

If somebody reckons that our cricket, especially our batting has lost its foothold and has become hopeless, they better take a look at the records of the young domestic players, yet oldie failures like , Imran Farhat, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal & Shoaib Malik selected again & again since 9/11. Shoaib Malik is 76th in the ODI batting rankings. Imran Farhat is 77th. Kamran Akmal is 79th. It is not the players but the 'Management' that is playing cricket for our nation.

Stop wasting the Money and Time of Pakistan Fans who do so much for its team.

Pakistanis know the brave Pakistan Team has been also a serious victim of propaganda and anti-Pakistani polices, who suffered from the negative English Press, The Oval Fiasco (Amir, Salman, & Asif), Umpires of ICC and the Indian infested ICC propaganda machine. Pakistan has also faced from the Indian sponsored terrorist attacks on the SriLankan Cricket Team leaving Pakistan from any Cricket played in its own country.

Despite these troubles, Pakistan and Pakistanis need to face truth, be honest, think positive, have strong faith in Allah(swt) and move forward.

I potentially think Pakistanis are the Greatest Race on Earth on many regards. As time progresses, they definitely have proven to be the God's Chosen ppl. Pakistanis have the grace, revenge feeling to win and large heartedness to achieve what no other can do.

 

[Asian.Century]

PCB Central Contracts: When seniority takes precedence over skill
May 17, 2013

Why does a brilliant player like Raza Hasan not deserve an international career, while Shahid Afridi does?

Welcome to the peculiar world of Pakistan cricket; a world where players like Shahid Afridi and Younis Khan are rewarded Category A contracts, shortly after being snubbed from the team announced for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy tournament.

Another “dropout” Umar Akmal nabbed a Category B contract.

Can anyone check with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about their criteria of bestowing these contracts?

For those who do not know, here is a brief summary of the three categories as reported by The Express Tribune:

The increases gives “A” category players a monthly salary of 359,375 rupees ($3,600) and a Test match fee of 440,000 rupees ($4,400).

“B” category players will get a monthly salary of 251,562 rupees and players in the “C” category, 143,750 rupees.

Let’s take the example of Afridi:

Personally, I have been an ardent supporter and fan of Shahid Afridi over the years; not because of his exploits, but due to his charismatic persona.

However, his recent bowling and batting form in last 12 months, in ODIs (12 matches, 4 wickets @ 113.75 apiece and 161 runs @ 17.88 per innings) has deteriorated significantly.

Consequently, Afridi was snubbed from the Champions Trophy, and rightly so.

Amazingly, he still retained his central contract with the PCB in the top category and will be paid higher than many other player on the team!

A catch-22 situation for the PCB?

Now, here is a catch-22 situation for the PCB: If Shahid Afridi deserves a category A contract, why was he not included in the team for the Champions Trophy?

If he is not in the team due to his consistent poor performances, then why he is awarded such a contract?

One can argue that the PCB is investing in both Afridi and Younis, due to their credentials in T20 and Test cricket, respectively. But in this case, they can be paid on per match basis, right? In my opinion, a central contract should be granted to those players who qualify to play in more than one format and/or travel with the team in most part of its cricketing schedule.

This is certainly not the case with both Afridi and Younis; they are not getting any younger either. A central contact makes sense for a young player like Umar Akmal – the PCB can still invest time and money despite his failures in him.

What is beyond me is why they are adamant on keeping senior and under-performing players happy.

Are contracts based on performance?

Let’s closely look at these contracts, now.

How do Faisal Iqbal and Imran Farhat qualify to get a central contract after a zillion failures, and why are several consistent performers in domestic cricket, such as Usman Salahuddin, Sadaf Hussain, Fawad Alam and a few more overlooked?

Why is a bright and young player like Hammad Azam not being given a chance despite his reasonable international performances, especially when Pakistan cricket desperately needs an all-rounder after Afridi and Abdul Razzaq?

Moreover, where is the impressive left-arm spin bowler, Raza Hassan who showed a more than decent performance in his brief international career?

Similarly, I can point out at least 15 players who have better statistics in domestic cricket than those who have been favoured for these contracts.

A bigger dilemma/Players are underpaid

The PCB should realise a larger issue that can lead to a complete debacle of cricket in Pakistan; most of our domestic players are grossly underpaid. They do not have any exposure to international cricket. As a result, they are never invited to play lucrative cricket leagues around the globe.

For the sake of longevity of our phenomenal cricketing traditions, the PCB must institutionalise the game whereby players are not kept waiting to earn their livelihood. At the moment, only 30 players are getting some sort of remuneration from the boardthrough these contracts. The PCB should increase this number to at least 50, if not more. In the recent central contract, the salaries have been bumped by 15%, which is, indeed, a positive move. Please note that Pakistani players get one of the lowest salaries in world cricket. They are not invited to IPL, whereas, the PCB is always on a collision course with most of the leagues around the world for some reason or the other. Mostly, they have to rely on their salaries from the PCB or match fees in order to earn a living.

For a comparison, Shoaib Akhtar revealed in his recent interview that the total amount he has earned in his entire career is still less than that of an average IPL player.

The PCB exists only because of these players , not the other way around. According to a report from 2011, many officials in PCB earn staggering salaries, far higher than the earnings of our top players. Additionally, they enjoy numerous perks and privileges from the exchequer of PCB. Sadly, when they are asked to improve the condition of players, they always moan about the budget constraints and speak of a financial crunch.

It is high time the PCB remunerates well those who are its best asset – the great players who truly deserve to be well paid.

PCB Central Contracts: When seniority takes precedence over skill – The Express Tribune Blog

 

[Asian.Century]

Pakistan Cricket Team harassed after Oval, London & Edgbaston, Birmingham Losses: (Pakistan Team deserve this)

 

[Asian.Century]

Former Pakistan Cricket Players criticise team's dismal show

KARACHI: A can of worms has been opened up following Pakistan's near exit situation from the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy with former players gunning for the heads of the members of the team, head coach Dav Whatmore, selectors and board officials.
Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar minced no words in stating that the country's cricket structure needed a complete overhaul.
"We shouldn't be surprised by these results because we neither have quality batsmen nor bowlers and the reason for this is, we are not producing quality talents because of an inapt and mismanaged cricket structure," he said.

Akhtar said since the time he started playing domestic cricket he had seen a lot of mismanagement.
"I came up because of my will to achieve something and not because of this system," he said.

"Our cricket system is about compromises. Be it selection or other matters. The best don't get chance properly. What was the logic in dropping experienced players like Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq for such an important event," he asked.

Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram also called for changes in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)."Someone has to be answerable for this debacle. I would like to see those faces changed who have been around in Pakistan cricket and board for years now and done nothing. The board must bear the responsibility for this debacle," he said.

Akram said that the Pakistani batsmen had laid to waste the good work of the bowlers by playing senseless and defensive cricket, which was hard to comprehend.

"Our batsmen played without a plan. There were no singles or twos at all. No rotation of strike. Things must change now in Pakistan cricket if we are to do well at the top level consistently," said Akram.

Akram also criticised Whatmore for failing to influence the team.

Another former skipper Zaheer Abbas said that batting had remained a problem for Pakistan for a long time now and the board had done nothing to resolve it.

"The board now needs to act urgently and do something to resolve this problem. Long term measures are needed to resolve our batting woes," he said.

Abbas said the way batsmen were playing against the West Indies and South Africa, it was as if they were batting in a Test match.

"Our problem is we play Tests like ODIs and One-day matches like Tests. It is a very disappointing performance and I blame the team management for this, including the coach."
Former Test player and ex-coach of the national team, Mohsin Khan said Pakistan had badly missed the services of seniors Razzaq, Afridi and even Younis Khan.
"I had been saying all along it was a mistake to drop them for this tournament. It has been proved correct. Our batsmen just played very poor cricket and I feel sorry for the bowlers who were outstanding."

Mohsin said there was a clear lack of objective and planning, and people at the helm of affairs in the team now needed to be held accountable.
"Ask them what improvement they have brought about in the team in more than a year," he asked in apparent reference to Whatmore.Former wicketkeeper-captain Rashid Latif said he was shocked by the performance of the batsmen.

"This team or the batsmen are just showing no improvement. And it doesn't help that there is no consistency in selection of players. Which is why we are facing these problems today. I ask what is this foreign coach been doing for so long? What is his achievement?," asked Latif.

He said not only the national selectors but the coach also needed to be sacked.
"What has this coaching staff done...spoilt talented players like Umar Akmal. The board must do its own soul searching and rectify things," he insisted.

 

[Asian.Century]

‘Scrutiny of clubs conducted in unfair manner’

Wednesday, June 12, 2013 - Lahore—Former President, Lahore City Cricket Association, Khawaja Nadim Ahmed said on Tuesday that the scrutiny of the cricket clubs conducted in all the three affiliated zones was unfair as it declared a number of genuine clubs ‘inactive’.

“It is shocking to know that a number of clubs have been deprived of their democratic and legal right as they were declared inactive by the scrutiny carried out by Pakistan Cricket Board,”he said.

He said the grave irregularities were committed in the scrutiny on the behest of the PCB which is bent upon on accommodating its favourites in the set of regional bodies with their election by mustering the support of those clubs which have been declared active.

To strengthen his claim, Kh Nadim said out of 51 clubs of west zone 22 were judged as inactive , from a total of 35 clubs of North Zone 11 were declared inactive besides ten inactive associate clubs whereas seven clubs out of total of 46 of East zone were declared inactive. “All the clubs which were declared inactive have approached asked us to chalk out a line of action to address the issue,” he said.—APP


Pakistan Observer - Sports News Latest News, Breaking News, Pakistan, Online News, News, Pakistan Newspaper,

 

[Jango]

Why the f do we still have Imran Farhat and Shoaib Malik playing?

We are playing 4 openers in a ODI!!! With only Misbah and Umar Amin anchoring the batting.

This was a complete debacle as far as batting is concerned.

A overhaul was needed a long time ago.

 

[livingdead]

Pakistan Cricket Team harassed after Oval, London & Edgbaston, Birmingham Losses: (Pakistan Team deserve this)

disgraceful behaviour of pakistani fans..

 

[Asian.Century]

Kashif Abbassi Programme analysis, Safraz Nawaz, Amir Sohail and Mohsin Hassan Khan:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=fA-OdVNy7V8#t=629s

Watch from @10:30 onwards:

I know youtube is bannned in Pakistan longtime ago, due a dirty movie against Mohammed(pbuh) and Muslims...But those who can watch the programme please do.

 

[Asian.Century]

Pakistan Cricket: Where is the Talent?

The poor show of Pakistani batsmen in Champions Trophy has raised some serious questions about the so-called talent, as we always claim to have, in Pakistan. The PCB selection committee itself is old horse steering old people into the team due to personal contacts.

Besides Nasir Jamshed and skipper Misbah ul Haq, it seems Pakistan was served by the worst ever batting which was badly exposed in conditions unsuitable for them.

Imran Farhat, Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi were the other batsmen on which Pakistan’s campaign was relying and the trio miserably failed to perform. In fact, I really don’t remember the last time when they did win a match for the country.

It wasn’t actually surprising to see batsmen struggling in conditions outside Asia but it was, indeed, frustrating to see them surrendering like school children and throwing away wickets.

Even Misbah ul Haq couldn’t resist his frustration on the failure of Pakistani batsmen.

“You definitely need to think about this after the tournament once the series is over. But I think at the moment, nobody is justifying their places in the team and nobody is getting runs for Pakistan,” Misbah said following Pakistan’s defeat to South Africa.

With all three in their 30s, and seems-the-only man in crisis Misbah ul Haq is inching towards 40, there is a serious question about future of Pakistan’s batting line.

Are we lacking talent at home? “No” will be the answer if the question was put to the people sitting in power corridors of Pakistan Cricket Board.
As PCB and selectors have always claimed that Pakistan has got enough talent, one would ask where is that talent hiding? Why are they not picked for Pakistan Cricket team? When are we going to get rid of the old horses?

If players like Hammad Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Muhammad Rizwan, Ahmed Shahzad, Akbar ur Rehman, Sohaib Maqsood are not good enough to be selected in the team, and the same tried-and-tested players are considered then, unfortunately, we are heading nowhere.
With no international Cricket at home and not enough tours for Under 19 and “A” Cricket team, Domestic Cricket is the only platform to judge a player’s talent. Although there are serious questions about the level of competition there, but yet, it is the only available parameter.

It is high time that PCB should replace all old horses and bring young blood in the team and start preparing a quality unit for the World Cup 2015.

But, this should not be the only post Champions’ Trophy action for Pakistan Cricket Board, they must realize the seriousness of Pakistan’s batting woes which was never reliable in conditions outside Asia.

PCB should frequently organize tours to Australia, England and South Africa for Under 19, Academy and “A” teams, also patronize School and College Cricket along with Club Cricket to spot and pick the talent at grass root level and prepare it to serve the nation.

Hopefully, PCB would now open its eyes and take some drastic steps for the sake of Pakistan Cricket’s betterment

 

[Asian.Century]

 

[Super Falcon]

are you mad asian union younis khan proove his selsction he is ace batsman tons of test and odi runs and if you want to compare and talk against than players like ferhta malik and kamran who never performed for last ten years they are 50 runs players

 

[Asian.Century]

Players revolt against manager in London

ASHER BUTT

LAHORE - Some of the members of the Pakistan team have revolted against the team manager Naveed Akram Cheema for supporting a group of players while applying harsh rules of the code of conduct on other members of the team and giving free hand to his close allied players.

Reports attributing from the team sources say that it has also developed infighting in the team and promoting groupings that has also cost Pakistan early exit from the ICC Champions Trophy. Sources said that some of the senior members were kept in constant vigilance while the juniors were kept under pressure and the players who are close to the manager were getting lenient hand.

The revolt within the team ranks has developed at a time when Pakistan is about to take on India in its final league match of the Champions Trophy. Although the bearing of the result has no bearing in the trophy but fans around the globe consider Pakistan’s win against India as the team winning the trophy.

Sources also revealed that the players have also lodged a formal complaint with the PCB high ups but with the chairman under suspension on the court’s direction the whole lot changes are expected in the PCB with the likely intervention of the government particularly the chief patron, who is the president of Pakistan.

Cheema, who is on deportation from Wapda, has been away from the duty for more than a year now and as the sources say the federal government has also asked for his services back in the federation.

The team sources said that he (Cheema) has applied martial law for certain players and if someone comes to see any of the players, he is snubbed in a very bad manner while he himself and his close players were allowed to see anybody coming to meet them freely.

“Such an attitude of the team official with the players was visible on the field with some of the seniors failing to put up a fight in the previous two matches. There should also be code of conduct for a manager and team management also, demanded a player on condition of anonymity.

“If contract obligations are for us, then the conditions should also be applied to all the people traveling with the team on equality basis,” he added.

When contacted, an official of the PCB denied to have received any complaint against the manager from the players and stated that restrictions on the players was the need of the hour in the back drop of the fact that happened during the team’s previous visit to London when three of the players were caught in spot-fixing.

“The PCB did not afford another such fixing scandal to plague the Pakistan cricket,” he said and added “The code of conduct is for all the players on the tour and the contracted lot and no one is an exception. We would surely take action if there will be any reports of biased attitude,” he said.

- See more at: Players revolt against manager in London | Pakistan Today | Latest news | Breaking news | Pakistan News | World news | Business | Sport and Multimedia

 

[Asian.Century]

Selector blames coaches for poor show

By Fawad HussainPublished: June 13, 2013

KARACHI: At a time when the Pakistan team is being severely criticised for its performance at the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy in the UK, vultures began circling the country’s cricket board as well.

Calls for the resignation of the entire team management and selection committee accompanied by demands to overhaul the squad have gained momentum.

However, Zaka Ashraf, suspended as PCB chairman, distanced himself from the team’s pathetic show. The 60-year-old, in response to a query that he was still the PCB chairman when the Pakistan team was preparing for the Champions Trophy, said that the individuals on the field were responsible for their show in the ongoing tournament.

“I have nothing to do with the team’s performance,” Ashraf told The Express Tribune. “It depends on the individual players’ performance.

“Moreover, I’m restrained by the court and as such I am not involved in such affairs. [But] the court hasn’t given its final ruling yet.”

‘Selectors not responsible’

Despite the poor show, it seems as if no one wants to take responsibility as a selector said there were hardly any flaws in team selection.

“Imran Farhat won his place by performing well in South Africa and in domestic cricket,” said the selector. “Shoaib Malik’s experience was required in the absence of seasoned campaigners including Younus Khan and Shahid Afridi, who were dropped after demands from the captain.

“Misbah had faith in Malik and we had to accept it because Younus and Afridi struggled in South Africa.”

On Kamran Akmal, he said, “Sadly, there is no better wicket-keeper option. Akmal’s batting credentials are better.”

On Abdul Razzaq’s snub, the selector said the all-rounder did not give any proof of his form and fitness as he stayed away from domestic cricket despite repeated calls for participation.

“The selectors have no obsession in occupying their seats but they are not responsible for the failure.. Even chief selector [Iqbal Qasim] wanted to quit after completing his year in March but he was stopped by the PCB chairman.”

“The team management – captain and coaches should be blamed as their wrong decisions cost the team.”

‘Coaches main culprit’

Meanwhile, former PCB chief Khalid Mehmood agreed that coaches need to be questioned on the team’s show.

“Selectors did not have many options. What difference could Afridi and Younus make.

“Secondly, nobody applauds the chairman when the team wins. Similarly, the board chief shouldn’t be answerable for the team’s bad performance.

“The coaches are entirely responsible for the failure and they should be questioned for their conduct.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 14th, 2013.

 

[Asian.Century]

New race for PCB hot slot starts

one thing was confirmed that fresh elections would be held for the post of PCB chairman and amendments would be made and the PCB constitution would be streamlined on purely democratic ways.

As a cricketer himself, Nawaz Sharif is monitoring the situation and has a very close eye on all the happenings and it is very much likely he will act sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, sources in UK also confirmed that PCB media manager Nadeem Sarwar, who is accompanying the national cricket team in United Kingdom, reportedly is in close touch with the suspended PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf and advising him how to deal with the media in this critical situation.

 

[Asian.Century]

Pakistan batting averages from the three matches at CT13 Imran Farhat 2.00, Kamran Akmal 7.66, Shoaib Malik 8.33, & Hafeez 12.66.