Chowrangi

Few hours after the controversial and shocking decision of life time ban on former Pakistani CaptainsYounus and Yousuf, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt has backtracked saying no such action has been taken. PCB also issued a clarification on the issue saying that the two players can be selected for Pakistan as and when the PCB deems it appropriate.

On the website of PCB the inquiry committee recommends that;

Pakistan cricket team was whitewashed in all three formats of the game in recent Australian tour and it is turning into a suicidal tour for Players. Everything from ball tampering incident to dropped catches happens on the tour. PCB had set up an inquiry committee headed by Wasim Bari to probe the reasons for the disaster.

After Afridi’s recent ball-biting misdemeanor, a number of current and former players and commentators have talked about the possibility of legalizing ball tampering to a certain extent. Their prime argument in favor of ball-tampering is that cricket, by and large, is a batsman-friendly sport. But is it?

In the battle of bat and ball, the bowler chooses what type of ball is he going to bowl. The batsman has no idea of what speed the ball is going to be hurled at him with, where is it going to pitch, how much will it bounce, will it be a yorker, will it be slower ball, will it be bouncer, will it swing, will it spin etc. And then he has fractions of a second to react. For all he knows, the bowler might not release the ball at all, leaving him to go through the plethora of assumptions all over again.

I have always admired Sachin Tendukar, but one thing I have noticed with him, and other Indian batsmen, is that whenever they are about to approach a hundred they slow down. Even if it may be a crucial part of the game or even if they may be playing part time bowlers. It seems as though they forget they are playing for a team. The individual records of Indian batsmen are fabulous but as a team they fail to perform. Is it all due to selfishness?

Just last month, James Anderson and Stuart Broad were caught ball tampering in a test match in Cape Town. Let alone any action taken against them, even an inquiry wasn’t held. The ICC, which is very quick to hand out bans to Pakistani cricketers actually said, “With play on day four of the match having resumed, the deadline for submission of such notification has now passed.” Talk about double standards! However, former Captain Michael Vaughan was spot on, having said, “England have been caught and we have to hold our hands up. They were thinking they were smart but they’ve been very silly… What would we say if it was Pakistan?” Sunday Times’ Simon Wilde was equally honest, having said, “There was enough in the footage to suggest that an inquiry was worth making and if the bowlers in question had been Pakistani you could bet that most opponents would have been asking directions to the referee’s room.”

What on earth will be more embarrassing for the cricket loving nation than this? Shahid Afridi has been caught by TV camera suspect as tampering the ball by biting it with his teeth in the dramatic fifth and final ODI at the WACA Ground in Perth. Television cameras caught the captain taking two vigorous bites along the seam of the ball at the end of the 40th over. The ball was immediately examined by the umpires and replaced. One of the more bizarre incidents to have been witnessed in international cricket which no one wants to watch again.

It has been said many times that Politics and Sports should never be mixed, but when it comes to India and Pakistan it’s sometimes hard to keep the two apart. None of the eleven shortlisted players from T20 World Champion Team - Pakistan were picked up by any of the eight franchises at the DLF IPL auction for season 3. Can this be genuine? Why were Pakistani players put through the imitation of entering the auction when they were to be boycotted by the franchises?

I really don’t know why born-again Muslims (those who have recently joined the Tableeeghi Jamat) are so keen on converting other people to their version of Islam.

I once had to interview an accountant who desperately needed a job in the locality where my office is situated. The minute he walked in, I knew he had recently re-discovered Islam. The first thing I told him was that while I had no objection to him belonging to the Tableeghi Jamat, I would expect him not to convince others to go with him for long periods lasting from three days to a year asking people to join their organization. He assured me he wouldn’t do it. Fifteen minutes later, as he rose to go, he asked me to go with him for three days to a nearby town to convert people to the true faith, as he called it. Of course, he didn’t get the job.

Master blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who is a few weeks away from completing 20 years as an Indian player, is one of the senior-most players on the international circuit. Over the last couple of years, he opted out of Twenty20 internationals to focus on the game’s longer formats. He has, however, participated in both seasons of the IPL, as captain of the Mumbai Indians franchise.

The 36-year-old, rated as the world’s best batsman after Australian legend Sir Donald Bradman, scored the requisite seven runs to put another feather in his cap by reaching landmark of 17000 runs in one day internationals playing against Australia in the 5th ODI of seven matches Hero Honda Cup 2009 at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium.The Indian batting legend has 44 One-day hundreds and 91 ODI fifties under his belt.

Morning never felt pleasant after hearing that the wife of Legendary cricketer Wasim Akram, Huma has passed away. Through decades Wasim has been one of the greatest ambassador for Cricket Pakistan after Imran Khan. The untimely death is a great set back for the family and the children.

Wasim’s iconic personality is known around the world. For decades the “sultan of swing” has amazed everyone with his performance. He was part of the World Cup winning team in 1992. He has been hit by scandals many time in his career and as reports suggest Huma has been a great source of inspiration.