Wasim Akram speaks out

Former Pakistan captain and one of the most celebrated cricketers of the modern generation, Wasim Akram, has flayed Pakistan Cricket Board and the national selection committee for not taking the input of team captain and coach in the selection of the team for the series against South Africa.

Pakistan’s squad for the Test and ODI series was announced earlier this month and there was, as always, a hint of another controversy when the PCB declined to name the captain of either the ODI or the Test team at the time they announced the squad.

There was no press briefing either and the announcement was made without explaining the selections to the media, which is a norm all over the cricketing world.

The delay in naming the captain led to speculations that PCB was not keen on holding onto Shahid Afridi as the captain of the ODI and T20 team and was in fact searching for an alternate.

A day later they announced Afridi the captain for the limited overs part of the series, and named Misbah Ul Haq the skipper in the Test format of the game.

It effectively meant that both captains were not consulted in selection of the team, and a few days later it appeared in the media that the coach of the team, Wasim Akram’s former pace bowling partner, Waqar Younis was also not made a part of the decision making process.

Wasim feels that the entire process has turned into a joke and the PCB needs to rethink its policies if they are to seek an improvement in Pakistan’s rapidly declining performances in the international arena.

“It's a joke to select the team without consulting the coach and the captain”, Akram told a local newspaper. “The duo has to marshal the team in the series and tournaments and it is not the selection committee which will have to bring the best out of the players on the field”.

“If I was a chief selector, I would've definitely taken feedback from the coach and the captain before naming any squads. With the World Cup just a few months away, we're still mulling over captains while other teams have their formations ready for the event. This shows poor leadership qualities in the current PCB setup”.

The former Test captain also encountered trouble with the administration of PCB when he was the captain of the national team. Yet at times he succeeded in forcing his opinion and generally did wonders for Pakistan cricket.

Yet his critics feel that he should have delivered much more than he did considering the talent available at his disposal and his own leadership qualities.

Wasim Akram has been a strong supporter of Shahid Afridi but has raised his doubts about the appointment of Misbah Ul Haq as Test captain.

Wasim feels that the appointment is set to backfire as the middle order batsman is not a guaranteed selection in the Test team, and would struggle to hold onto his place hence he was anything but a good choice to lead Pakistan.

The series against South Africa is set to start on the 26^th of this month. The opening match between the two teams is a T20 encounter at Abu Dhabi. The second T20 match would be played the next day, followed by the first ODI in Abu Dhabi on the 29^th.

The second ODI would also be played at Abu Dhabi, the second game would be followed by the Dubai leg of the tour which includes the third, fourth and fifth ODI followed by the first Test match.

The tour would be rounded off with the second and final Test at Abu Dhabi

Younis Khan likely to replace injured Yousuf

Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan’s return from obscurity became a reality on Wednesday, after reports emerged that he may replace injured batsman Mohammad Yousuf in the national squad.
Younis has been out of the Pakistan squad since last year, after he was indefinitely banned as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took disciplinary action against seven players following the team’s disastrous tour of Australia. The ban was later lifted but Younis has not been able to play international cricket due to PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt’s alleged stern stance against the former captain.
Butt, however, invited Younis to meet him in a bid to sort out their differences after former cricketers and politicians openly slammed the board chief’s handling of the situation. The meeting between the two is currently underway and reports emerging from the PCB headquarters at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore say that Younis is likely to make his return in the team at the expense of Yousuf.
Yousuf, part of Pakistan’s squad for the nine-match series against South Africa, reportedly pulled out of the on-going training camp in Lahore after sustaining an injury on the first day.
PCB chief selector Mohsin Hassan Khan is due to hold a press conference shortly after the Butt-Younis meeting and the World Twenty20 winning captain’s inclusion in the squad is said to be the main agenda of the presser

Pakistan trio barred from academy

Three Pakistani cricketers suspended over allegations of spot-fixing have been barred from practising at the national academy until investigations are complete, an official said on Wednesday.
Former Test captain Salman Butt and bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer, suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) last month during Pakistan's tour of England, were turned away from the academy late on Tuesday.
"A written decision is given to the players that they cannot practise at the national cricket academy while their case is on," Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) spokesman Nadeem Sarwar told AFP.

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The three players have been practising at the academy since being allowed to return to Pakistan by British police on the condition they fly back to London whenever required.
They were twice interrogated over the allegations they took money to bowl no-balls during Pakistan's Test against England at Lord's in August.
Salman last week told media he was eager to return to the national team.
"I am practising regularly so that if I am cleared I am readily available to play for the team," said Salman.
The ICC is to hear the three players' appeals in Qatar on October 30 and 31.
Wahab Riaz, who is also under investigation, has been included in the national team for the limited overs and Test series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates starting next week

Time to forget England tour and prepare for World Cup’

Pakistan’s limited-overs captain Shahid Afridi believes Pakistan can improve their World Cup chances by winning as many limited-over matches as possible before next year’s tournament. “It’s all about confidence…we can improve our World Cup chances by boosting our confidence and should do that by winning matches against South Africa and later against New Zealand,” Afridi was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
Pakistan will play two Twenty20 internationals against South Africa in Dubai next week, before taking on the Proteas in a five-match one-day international series in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The limited-overs matches will be followed by two Tests before the team’s departure to New Zealand for a multi-format series.
Afridi is confident that his team will make the most of the twin assignments but asked his team-mates to put aside the bitter memories of their summer tour of England.
“We have to forget what happened during the tour of England. What the team desperately needs is some good results and I’m sure that if we play to our potential we can do that against South Africa,” the limited-over captain said.
Pakistan lost to England in all three formats (3-1 in Tests, 3-2 in ODIs and 2-0 in T20s) during a marathon tour of England that also included a series against Australia. The tour was marred by the ‘spot-fixing’ allegations that resulted in the ICC suspending Test captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.
Pakistan will be without the trio in the UAE and Afridi believes his team will miss them.
“We are going to miss the three because they are our key players,” he said.
“But we can’t just sit back and cry over it. We have to focus on the upcoming assignments and, thankfully, we still have several match-winners in our side.”
Afridi said Pakistan’s spin attack will give them an edge against their rivals on slow and turning wickets of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
“Spinners will certainly be playing the major role in UAE,” he said

Waqar wants improved fielding

Waqar Younis,the Pakistan coach, has said the team will focus on fielding ahead of the upcoming series against South Africa in the UAE, which starts on October 26. The Pakistan squad will have a week-long preparatory camp ahead of the series.

"We have set up a six-day camp from October 17 before departing for the UAE on October 23," Waqar told the Express Tribune newspaper. "Although I am placing emphasis on the three departments of batting, bowling and fielding - fielding, once again is our highest priority as it has never been good."

Pakistan's catching during the recent tour of England was abysmal, with plenty of simple chances being put down. Waqar was also unhappy with the level of fielding in the Faysal Bank T-20 competition in Lahore this week. "I see weak fielding in the ongoing domestic Twenty20 championship as well, even though it is a vital aspect of the game, and if you start working on it at the lower levels it can help you at the top at the international level."

Already reeling from the spot-fixing crisis that has deprived them of three key players, Pakistan's build-up to the series had further trouble after Waqar and Shahid Afridi, the limited-overs captain, complained that the selection committee hadn't consulted them before picking the squad.

Pakistan's chief selector, Mohsin Khan, defended the decision by saying it was not in the PCB's constitution that the captain and coach needed to be consulted for the selection of the squad

ICC anti-corruption move could feature undercover agents

Undercover agents posing as illegal bookmakers could be used to approach cricketers to see if they report the encounters, under a radical proposal by the ICC to fight corruption.

Players who fail to report the approaches from the agents would be penalised under the anti-corruption code, and will face punishments ranging from warnings to fines and suspensions. The plan is still under consideration and will be discussed at length by the ICC in later meetings but is a reflection of the governing body's intention to be seen to be proactive in its anti-corruption drive.

The idea was put to ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat and he told The Age that it's just one of a number of plans the ICC is considering. ''We are thinking of setting up our own approaches to players, to see if they report it, we will think out of the box."

''It is only a tentative plan at this stage, we are working on a number of measures to combat corruption. We are not sitting on our hands on this issue, we are being as proactive as we can in ensuring the integrity of the game is maintained.''

At the moment the ICC can only record the number of approaches reported to them by players, but in order to get a firmer grasp of the scale of corruption in the game they need a sense of how many approaches go unreported.

The feeling within the game's governing body is that if players were aware that a suspicious approach could be from an undercover agent, they would be more likely to report it. If the plan is approved at the ICC's next meeting, it could come into being as soon as next month's Ashes and be in place for the World Cup in February.

Umpire of the year’ Dar accorded warm welcome

 Aleem Dar, the winner of the ICC’s ‘Umpire of the year’ award for the year 2010, was accorded warm welcome upon his arrival from Dubai at Allama Iqbal airport, Lahore, Geo News reported late Monday.
He named his ‘Winning Title’ for flood-ravaged people.
Cricket lovers showered rose petals on Aleem Dar as he came out of airport lounge with huge round of applauses coupled with sky-high slogans ‘Aleem Dar Zindabad’, ‘Pakistan Zaindabad’.
Aleem Dar, who has represented Pakistan in 60 Test matches, 127 ODIs and 17 international T20 matches,

succeeded to achieve ICC’s best Umpire of the year award for second successive time for the year 2010.
Talking to media at airport, Aleem appeared hopeful of return of international cricket in Pakistan soon.
Favouring newly introduced system for the betterment of umpiring standards – the Umpire Referral System – he said: “Even one wrong decision can change result of a match therefore I am in support of this system.”
Talking about his achievement, Daar said he was thankful of Pakistani nation on praying for his success.
On the occasion, he announced to name the ‘Winning Title’ for flood affectee

Ijaz Butt to be grilled by ICC on Saturday

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ijaz Butt will be grilled by the special task force of the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Saturday in a teleconference, a PCB source said on Tuesday.

Reliable sources said that the teleconference was due to be held on Saturday basically to discuss and review the measures taken by the PCB to improve its governance and implement recommendations of the ICC made to the PCB at the last executive board meeting held early this month in Dubai.

"Butt will be asked about the steps taken by the PCB to enforce the recommendations made by the ICC board which is not willing to give much leeway to the Chairman now," according to a source.

He said that at the last ICC board meeting, Butt had been clearly told that either he needed to put his house in order and seriously pursue implementing the anti-corruption measures recommended by the ICC or face possible sanctions.

"The ICC board means business and during the teleconference the task committee formed to look into Pakistan cricket affairs will find out from Butt about the steps being taken by him to improve governance plus the recent successful holding of the national T20 championship in Lahore that attracted big crowds," the source added.

The source also disclosed the PCB was already under pressure because of the spot fixing allegations against Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir.

"The problem now facing the PCB is that the England, Australian, New Zealand and South African boards have told the ICC that there should be no leniency shown towards the suspended trio.

"The Presidents of the three boards have pressed on the ICC that it needs to take action against the trio because they had brought a bad name to the image of cricket on a whole," the source said.

He said so far India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and West Indies had not shown support for the strong stance taken by the four other boards on the spot fixing issue but the PCB was worried about future developments.

Pakistan can improve World Cup chances, says Afridi

Skipper Shahid Afridi wants Pakistan to put its preparations for World Cup 2011 back on track by winning the forthcoming one-day series against South Africa in United Arab Emirates (UAE) in November. The 1992 champions find their cricket in a mess just five months before the World Cup gets under

way in Dhaka and will need to really work hard in the lead up to the quadrennial spectacle if they are to be counted among the leading title contenders.

Three of their key players are under suspension because of their alleged role in a match-fixing scandal while the country's cricket chiefs have been told by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to put their house in order within 30 days or face sanctions.
To say that Pakistan cricket is going through a difficult phase would be an understatement. However, Afridi, the man who will lead them in the World Cup, believes that his team can still go on to win the world crown in the final in Mumbai next April.
His mantra is simple.
Afridi wants his boys to gel together and pick up as many wins as possible ahead of the World Cup to boost their confidence.
"It's all about confidence," he said Tuesday. "We can improve our World Cup chances by boosting our confidence and should do that by winning matches against South Africa and later against New Zealand," he said.
Pakistan will play two twenty20 Internationals against South Africa in Dubai later this month before taking on the Proteas in a five-match One-day International series in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
The limited-overs matches will be followed by two Tests before the Pakistanis fly for New Zealand to play a full series, including T20 games, ODIs and Tests.
Afridi is hoping that his team will make the most of the twin assignments in the UAE and New Zealand.
He wants Pakistan to put aside the bitter memories of an acrimonious tour of England and give their best against South Africa.
"We have to forget what happened during the tour of England," said Afridi. "What the team desperately needs is some good results and I'm sure that if we play to our potential we can do that against South Africa."
Pakistan lost to England in all three formats (3-1 in Tests, 3-2 in ODIs and 2-0 in T20s) during a marathon tour of England that also included a series against Australia.
Much more damaging for them was a 'match-fixing' scandal that resulted in the ICC suspending Test captain Salman Butt and pace spearheads Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir following allegations that they accepted bribes from match-fixers.
Pakistan will be without the tainted trio in the UAE and Afridi said that he and his team will certainly miss them.
"We are going to miss the three because they are our key players," he stressed. "But we can't just sit back and cry over it. We have to focus on the upcoming assignments and, thankfully, we still have several match-winners in our side."
Afridi is confident that Pakistan's spin attack will give the 'hosts' an edge on slow and turning wickets in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
"Spinners will certainly be playing the major role in UAE," said Afridi, himself an accomplished leg-spinner. "The wickets there should give them a lot of assistance."