PCB told to omit Kamran, Kaneria from 2011 World Cup squad: Sources

KARACHI: Pakistan selectors are unlikely to pick experienced wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and leg-spinner Danish Kaneria in their provisional squad of 30 for the 2011 World Cup in the sub-continent.
Sources said that Pakistan Cricket Board has been told in clear terms by the ICC to ensure the two players don't feature in any national team until the ongoing investigations into the spot-fixing allegations against Salman Butt, Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif are completed.
The ICC had given a list of players to the PCB making it clear they should not be playing for Pakistan till the investigations are completed, one well-placed source said.
"There are clear directives from the ICC that Kamran should not be in the team until further notice," the source said.
"Butt and Aamer will also not play in the World Cup," the source added.
Pakistan will have to announce its 30-member provisional World Cup squad by November 30.
The selectors today also ignored Kamran while picking his younger brother Adnan Akmal to join the Pakistan squad in Dubai for the forthcoming two-Test series against South Africa. The snub to Kamran came after he scored a half century in his last match for National Bank.
The selectors had also ignored him for the full series against South Africa although his performance in the one-day series against England was satisfactory.
The initial reason given for ignoring Kamran while announcing the one-day and Test squads against South Africa was that was he not 100 per cent fit.
But surprisingly the seasoned wicketkeeper-batsman was back in action in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy but ignored for the Tests against South Africa.
His replacement Zulqarnain Haider left PCB embarrassed when he fled from the team hotel in Dubai to land in London claiming he had got threats after refusing to cooperate with fixers during the one-day series against South Africa.
Kaneria, the most experienced Test bowler, was named in the squad for the two Tests against South Africa but stopped from boarding the flight to Dubai last week by the PCB.
"I have still not been given any reason for why they didn't allow me to go to Dubai," said Kaneria who is also active in domestic cricket.
There are also speculation that Mohammad Asif decided to withdraw his appeal against his provisional suspension imposed by the ICC last month because he was made aware of the evidence the ICC ACU has collected against the three suspended players including Butt and Aamer.
Sources said that it was because of the spot-fixing allegations against the players in the national team that PCB had been forced to accept terms and conditions of the ICC and agreed to take measures to improve its administration and anti-corruption measures.
His replacement Zulqarnain Haider left PCB embarrassed when he fled from the team hotel in Dubai to land in London claiming he had got threats after refusing to cooperate with fixers during the one-day series against South Africa.
Kaneria, the most experienced Test bowler, was named in the squad for the two Tests against South Africa but stopped from boarding the flight to Dubai last week by the PCB.
"I have still not been given any reason for why they didn't allow me to go to Dubai," said Kaneria who is also active in domestic cricket.
There are also speculation that Mohammad Asif decided to withdraw his appeal against his provisional suspension imposed by the ICC last month because he was made aware of the evidence the ICC ACU has collected against the three suspended players including Butt and Aamer.
Sources said that it was because of the spot-fixing allegations against the players in the national team that PCB had been forced to accept terms and conditions of the ICC and agreed to take measures to improve its administration and anti-corruption measures

Pakistan cricketer Zulqarnain Haider: latest updates

4.55pm: Heider has been granted a temporary stay in Britain, reports Geo Television, and has told the Asian network that he IS willing to play cricket for Pakistan again.

Geo reports:

"British interior ministry has issued a temporary identity card to Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Zulqarnain Haider after getting his finger prints here on Tuesday. The card will be valid until final decision in his case."

Now, given that there is no interior ministry but there is a Home Office and that there aren't identity cards but there are visas, I may need to do some checking to ascertain exactly what his status is.

Geo adds:

Sources said that any decision regarding Zulqarnain will now be made by the British interior ministry...Haider said on Tuesday he was not seeking political asylum.

Zulqarnain told Geo News that he had been interviwed by British police, the border control agency and the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption and Security
Unit.

"The border agency has taken my fingerprints and isued me a temporary stay," he said.

"I had no intentions of applying for political asylum at this stage and, if the Pakistan government is ready to give me assurance of security for me and my family, I am ready to return to Pakistan.

"I have no issues playing for Pakistan again provided the Pakistan Cricket Board wants me to play."

4.16pm: Police officers and immigration officials have entered the hotel where Pakistan wicket-keeper Zulqarnain Haider is hiding after alleged threats from match-fixers, reports Sky News.

Sky News' Tom Parmenter added: "They have now left and drove off at speed in a police van. It's impossible to tell whether Haider was inside the vehicle."

3.10pm: Somewhat confusingly Reuters is now reporting that Zulqarnain Haider is NOT seeking asylum. The news agency quotes Haider saying:

The border agency has taken my fingerprints and isued me a temporary stay.

I had no intentions of applying for political asylum at this stage and, if the Pakistan government is ready to give me assurance of security for me and my family, I am ready to return to Pakistan.

I have no issues playing for Pakistan again rovidhttp://teamafridi.blogspot.com/2010/11/pakistan-cricketer-zulqarnain-haider.htmled the Pakistan Cricket Board wants me to play.

2.35pm: Following on from all of these statements, emailer Imran Abbas asks some pertinent questions: "Why did Zulqarnain flee rather than inform team/security manager? If someone asked him to lose the match, does it mean that other players in the same dressing room were approached? Why did he not inform the law authorities in the UAE?"

2.21pm: Zakir Khan - the director of cricket operations for the PCB hastold CNN that they are keen to speak to Zulqarnain Haider. Khan said:

We are waiting for [confirmation] to come through to us, we have not heard anything from him in person [regarding his retirement] though there is a lot of media-related statements.

We have been trying to get through to him, to get hold of his family but nobody can give us satisfactory information about his whereabouts. It's a complete surprise what he has done at the moment.

Khan also comments upon Haider's decision not to take his problem to the PCB.

He is a contracted player and recently we went through with him the anti-corruption measures and what needs to be done if he was approached like this, but he has not followed any of these procedures.

We want to hear from him about what has happened, because there is a big process to go through. We are all shocked [about the allegations] and want to listen to him.

2.11pm: Channel 4 News's Alex Thomson blogs on a similar theme:

The mystifying aspect to all this is that cricket's Watchdog, the ICC, is based in Dubai, where the Pakistan team have been playing.

They all had a big briefing from the ICC about what to do if you get any kind of threat. I will lay good money that the ICC protocol does not include: "Scarper to the UK if you are under pressure to throw two matches".

2.00pm: Cricinfo has also spoken to the ICC, quoting chief executive Haroon Lorgat: "It is a team management issue in the first instance. We would of course be interested in speaking to him but nobody knows where he is. So we won't make any comments until we are able to establish the facts."

It adds that Lorgat said that Haider should have spoken to the Anti Corruption and Security Unit. "I think we have to build the confidence amongst the players that the right thing to do is to speak to the ACSU officials if they have got anything that they want to declare. I don't think it was wise of him to have done what he did, because it doesn't solve the problems for him as well and the right thing would have been to speak to the ACSU."

1.57pm: Andy Bull has just spoken to the International Cricket Councilwho declined to comment saying that they are waiting for "the big picture" to emerge before speaking.

1.35pm: Pakistan cricket team manager Intikhab Alam said Haider did not inform the management about the threats he claimed to have received, The Times of India reports.

"No he didn't inform me or anyone in the management about what was going on. He didn't come to us for help," Intikhab said from Dubai. "I am not a magician to know what is going on in the mind and heart of a person. We had no idea what he was up to or thinking."

12.55pm: In today's Spin, Andy Bull gives Haider a warming character reference:

There is no doubt that Haider is a decent man. His gutsy innings of 88 in the second innings of the second Test against England earlier this summer showed a fighting spirit that shamed some of his team-mates. He then donated half his match fee for that Test to the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, honouring a vow he had made when his mother died of cancer in 1998. When he was sent home from the tour of England because he had fractured a finger, he did volunteer work serving food and distributing medicine to victims of the Pakistan floods. After he hit the final runs in Friday's ODI he dedicated the win to those same victims.

Player safety is, we are told, the paramount concern of the ICC and the national cricket boards. Now it seems that the PCB was unable to protect a principled man who felt that his life was in danger because he refused to bend to the will of the match-fixers.

12.44pm: Former Pakistan test players have criticised Haider, although their comments make interesting reading:

Basit Ali, who led the allegations against Salim Malik in a previous match-fixing scandal, said:

It is strange the way he acted. I think being a new player maybe he got scared by the threats, but this is nothing new for professional players. Most of us have got threats at some time to do this and that but you just ignore them.

Sarfraz Nawaz, one of Pakistan's greatest fast bowlers who has made previous allegations over match-fixing, added:

Why choose to go to the UK if you are getting threats? He should have instead returned to Pakistan.

12.34pm: Haider also told Geo News about the events leading up to his decision:

I was told to cooperate or I would face lot of problems.

This person approached me while I had gone out of the hotel for dinner. He told me cooperate with us and you can make a lot of money.

He said, 'If you don't cooperate you will no longer be part of the team and we can make life very difficult for you'.

12.19pm: Haider told the Geo News channel:

I have decided it is best for me to retire from international cricket since my family and I are constantly getting threats. It is best I leave international cricket.

I received death threats to lose the fourth and fifth one-day internationals against South Africa, but I could not compromise the dignity of my country.

I would rather flee away than sell out the dignity and respect of my motherland.

I can assure you that I am safe and sound. I'm not arrested but I cannot tell where I am hiding for the sake of protection of my life.

Immigration officials in the UK were kind to me and proposed me to hire the services of a counsellor but I am yet to reach a decision.

I understand there is a rule in Britain that if you are right and if you are not a criminal, then they always protect you.

12.08pm: There is much debate as to the current whereabouts of Haider. Channel 4 News's Alex Thomson has published a string of tweets on the subject: "Am currently trying to meet Mr Zulqarnain Haider the Pakistani wicketkeeper who has fled from Dubai...Heading to Heathrow to politely inquire of hotels where Mr Haider might be...Meanwhile it's cold. It's wet. It's Heathrow Oh the glamour."

Is Haider in more danger because the media, including me, here, are reporting on his possible location? One hopes that he is not in immediate danger. Further down the line, however, may well depend upon what he says to the ICC and Scotland Yard.

Thomson also tweets: "Pakistan friends and sources saying 'why would anyone intimidate a compete nonentity - a nobody.'"

This is surely wide of the mark. In a team game, if you wanted to fix events, surely you wouldn't choose the highest profile players to pressurise? Lesser lights have less money, less public standing, more job insecurity.

11.45am: Pakistan cricketer Zulqarnain Haider has retired from international cricket. Given the events of the past few days, this is perhaps not that surprising.

On Friday Haider scored the winning runs in a one-day international against South Africa.

By Sunday night Haider was preparing to flee after facing alleged death threats. He left a Facebook message saying: "leaving pakistan cricket because get bad msg fr 1 man fr lose the match in last game." Haider went missing from the Pakistan team hotel in Dubai yesterday and later arrived in England.

Haider plans to seek political asylum in England and has now announced his retirement from international cricket.

Andy Wilson reports that "the 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman is considered one of the good guys in a sport troubled by match-fixing".

While Mike Selvey argues: "Zulqarnain Haider reveals vortex which traps Pakistan's young blades."

We should be surprised our cricket team ever wins

I’ve written previously aboutthe importance of having reasonable expectationswhen it comes to Pakistan cricket, but for some reason many fans can’t keep their hopes in check.

Of course, when you have Popeye in your ranks, swatting 10 sixes with rude nonchalance, it kind of makes sense. But most Pakistani cricket lovers have been stung so sharply on so many occasions that it takes something truly spectacular to cut through the heavy protective layer of cynicism that they wrap themselves in. Reactions to Pakistani defeat inevitably revolve around the ‘I told you so’ refrain – everyone could see it coming, paise khaye hain, and so on.

If the team somehow wins, the players cease to be mortals and become demigods in the eyes of the public. Worryingly, the fans seem to expect that the men in green will repeat their exploits.

This polarisation, this all-or-nothing mentality, is a huge problem. While most truly dedicated followers do have a nuanced view of the problems in Pakistan cricket, for the vast majority there are only two possible states for the team – the top or the bottom (usually the latter). As a result, these fans are usually full of vitriol and criticism for the cricketers, proving that Erica Jong was right when she said that anger is really disappointed hope. I have argued before, and I will argue again – it’s just about perspective.

Earlier today, a friend (presumably frustrated by the sense of impending loss) posted this comment on Facebook, before Zulqarnain Haider finally hit the winning runs:

“In almost every match we see dropped catches, miss-fields, too many extras, run outs, & Afridi throwing away his wicket. Ineffective batting power-play utilisation yet again. School boy stuff from the ‘professionals’ since god knows how long.” Miss the days when we had class openers, dependable middle order and lethal bowling attack.

My response – why expect them to do well? Indeed, how anyone can expect much from this group of cricketers is beyond me. First, some reminders.

Pakistan last had an established opening partnership over a decade ago; since then the closest we’ve come to that is the unholy (or is it holy now?) alliance between Imran Farhat and Salman Butt. Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Yasir Hameed, Imran Nazir, and far too many others are constantly in the periphery, waiting to be given a chance. Some, like Shoaib Malik previously and Asad Shafiq now, have opening responsibilities thrust upon them despite clearly preferring the middle order.

Nothing has ever been dependable about Pakistan’s batting, except for a propensity to collapse against left-arm spin, a propensity to collapse within sight of unlikely victory, and a propensity to collapse just because they can do so spectacularly. Inzamam, Younis, and Yousuf, the closest we’ve come to a strong middle order in recent memory, last played together against Zimbabwe in the 2007 World Cup. For reference, back then Obama was just one month into his presidency campaign, Musharraf had approval ratings of well over 50% and Facebook had just begun to replace Orkut as the social network of choice for Pakistani netizens.

The lethal bowling attack has been Pakistan’s one dependable ace, but it has been decimated by a mixture of player politics, poor administration, individual weakness, and – if you wish to believe – an international conspiracy to undermine Pakistan cricket. That line would probably fit the captaincy too. The less said about Mohammad Aamer and Asif, the better.

As we all know, there are more bad apples than good in the barrel of Pakistan cricket. Yet, we still expect them to behave professionally; we still expect them to make us proud. It is far better to accept that they are not the best in the world – then we might realize that Pakistani cricketers actually deserve to be applauded for winning far more often than they should. Given the hopeless shambles that is the PCB, the team has absolutely no right to be giving Australia, England, and South Africa a hard time, much less pushing those teams to the limits of their ability and winning the odd game or two. The West Indies must be so jealous of Pakistan – their management problems are just as deep, but the only teams they have been able to beat in ODIs this year are Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Canada. In fact, the West Indians failed to win a single game at home against South Africa earlier this year.

Pakistan, by contrast, head into a bilateral series decider for the second time in months, through sheer guts and effort. Indeed, Pakistan has consistently played well in Tests this year against two of the best sides in the world, only to be undone by batting collapses. Most of their wins and losses in both ODIs and T20s have been close, hard-fought ones. A look at the statistics for the ODIs against South Africa shows that Pakistani players have, man for man, worked harder than South African ones to achieve victory. The Pakistanis have relied on lots of running and a few sixes for their runs, with 64 fours and 15 sixes (10 of them from that Razzaq innings, and three more from Afridi himself.) South Africa, by contrast, have hit 77 fours and 4 sixes. While Pakistan has used 8 bowlers in the last four games, averaging more than 23 overs per bowler (taking 23 wickets), South Africa has been able to call upon 11 bowlers who have needed to bowl, on average, only 19 overs (taking 28 wickets). On this evidence, it is difficult to accuse Pakistani players of being lazy.

The fielding statistics, while predictable, also reinforce the argument that our cricketers simply lack ability, not passion. While Pakistan has taken 10 catches, South Africans have taken 20 – while our men have effected two run outs, they have been run out nine times in four games. The travails of our wicketkeeper illustrates the gap most clearly – Zulqarnain Haider has taken only one catch in four games, while AB de Villiers has taken seven. Either he can’t catch, or our bowlers can’t induce an edge. In short, it’s pretty far fetched to expect a Pakistan win on Monday.

However, everyone knows that Pakistan cannot be taken lightly and that anything can happen when a team (led by Shahid Afridi, that predictable, boring Rahul Dravid acolyte) takes the field. Forget that they are paid almost nothing in comparison to other international sportsmen. Forget that they insist upon an I in TEAM. Just remember that Pakistan cricket has powers that may never been completely understood. Remember that the team can pull both defeat from the jaws of victory and victory from the jaws of defeat.

Let us say a little prayer, and maybe, just maybe, there will be another unlikely victory to savour. Meanwhile, why not cheer for them?

Yawar Saeed likely to replace Bari as COO

As the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has axed the services of its staff aging over 60 years, some of the key positions have fallen vacant.

One of the sacked employees told TSE that the PCB has tell them in the letter that they can re-apply for a contract-based job.

Under the government rules, an organisation can only employ retired persons on contractual basis. Interestingly, the move has given the PCB chief, Ejaz Butt, the real chance of taking along his old friend Yawar Saeed, who is over 70 years of age and stepped down after a turbulent tour to England earlier this year, in the PCB.

Sources questioned the goodwill of the PCB chief behind the move and said that the sacked employees including Wasim Bari (62), Shafiq Ahmed (61) and Khizar Hayat (71) had been working for a long period of time and why only they have been sacked.

The answer is not that difficult.

Sources told The Sports Encounter on Monday that former manager of Pakistan cricket team, Yawar Saeed, is likely to fill in the boots of Wasim Bari, who was also axed as Chief Operating Officer.

The PCB had axed the overage group under a service rule act that does not allow the board to give regular employment to persons over the age of 60 years.

The Board terminated the services of at least 15 of its employees on Saturday when these workers received letters apprising them of their termination.

The decision has come as a surprise for many as Wasim Bari and others have been working with the cricket board for a long time and this sudden termination has created problems for the others.

Sources further told TSE that those PCB employees who fetch salaries under Rs.100,000/- have also been offered fresh contracts while the axed ones were told in the letter that they can re-apply for the posts

Pakistan-South Africa teams attend ICC CWC 2011 Trophy ceremony

South African pace duo of Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn to mark the 100-day countdown to the opening ceremony of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 performed shark dive in Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo located at Dubai Mall with the ICC Cricket World Cup trophy on Tuesday.Pakistan’s one-day captain Shahid Afridi described the ceremony as historic and said its going to be great event and he was looking forward to it.

“Its definitely a unique ceremony. Its nice to see Dale and Morne performing the shark dive,” SA skipper Graeme Smith told reporters.
He said his team was looking to the event. He refused to predict any favorite team for the World Cup but they know the past and fully ready for the coming event, reports APP Sports Correspondent Ehsan Qureshi.
Graeme Smith said they are heading in a right direction in preparing a combination for the global event.
Pakistan Manager Intikhab Alam said the ceremony impressed with ceremony. “It was different and my players enjoyed to the part of the ceremony.” 
ICC Chief Executive Haroon Lorgat and Emaar Retail LLC Chief Executive Officer Arif Amiri were also part of the ceremony.
Members of Pakistan’s Test squad Muhammad Yousuf, Taufiq Umer, Muhammad Sami and Azhar Ali did not attended the ceremony.
Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel equipped in diving attire with oxygen-cylinders attracted a large crowd when they dipped at Dubai Aquarium which is one of the largest indoor aquariums of its kind in the world at 51m x 20m x 11m in size and holds the Guinness World Record for “The Single Largest Acrylic Panel” at 32.88m long x 8.3m high. A 48-metre walk-through tunnel provides 270-degree views from 11 metres below the surface of the tank. 
Both Pakistan and South African team members and officials clapped when Messrs Steyn and Morkel unveiled the trophy underwater.
Group photographs of the both teams and captains of Pakistan and South African were taken on the occasion.
The opening ceremony of the 10th ICC Cricket World Cup will be staged in Dhaka on February 17, 2011.

Zulqarnain can identify the person who threatened him

Nov 9 (APP): Former Pakistan cricket teammate Zulqarnain Haider on Tuesday informed that he can identify the face of the person who threatened him of severe consequences on Pakistan’s win in the fourth one day international match over South Africa.In his first ever interview to a private television channel after his disappearance the young cricketer said that a person approached him out side the hotel where he was staying and asked him to play a role for Pakistan’s defeat in the fourth ODI against South Africa.

Haider said while offering fortunes in case of cooperation they posed life threat to him and his family members if he fails to comply with.
After brief conversation the person slipped away and joined 2-3 fellows at some distance, the cricketer said.
He said the man was speaking in urdu but his pronunciation was not like that of Pakistani urdu speakers.
He however avoided to link the person with a specific country saying it would be dishonesty as he do not know his nationality.
To a question Zulqarnain said that there was no pressure whatsoever from the Pakistan Cricket Board Management on him and they were rather supportive to him after joining the team in recent past.
He also levelled no charge against his team fellows and showed ignorance when asked that whether the rest of players were also approached by same persons to whom he met.
Answering a question that why he failed to bring the incident into the notice of team management or his team fellows, Haider said, he was afraid that on making the incident public he would endanger the lives of his family members, team fellows and his own as well.
“I deem it fit to slip away from that particular conditions silently”, he said and hoped that he will have better security cover in the UK.
Responding to a question, the Lahore based cricketer said, there existed unique harmony among the players and there was no confrontation between them and the team management.
Answering a question that can he rethink over his retirement from international cricket if he is assured by the authorities that there would be no threat to him and his family members, Zulqarnain said he will decide about it when the time comes.
Zulqarnain said that alongwith other threats the man also threatened him that on refusing the offer he would be expelled from the team.

Adnan Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez added to Test side

Wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal, brother of Kamran and Umar, has been added to the Pakistan squad for the two-Test series against South Africa, along with allrounder Mohammad Hafeez. Adnan comes in as a replacement for Zulqarnain Haider, who left the team ahead of the final ODI in Dubai in mysterious circumstances and resurfaced in London. Hafeez has been retained from the limited-overs leg of the tour following the Pakistan Cricket Board's decision to refuse Danish Kaneria clearance to join the team.