PCB’s decision to hand over the responsibility to Shahid Afridi to lead his side in the World Cup has been receiving praises from all corners. Just a couple of days before Afridi scored 65 off just 25 balls that might have confirmed the decision in the minds of the selectors in advance. He is the right man for the job. An aggressive fielder, a tormentor with the bat and a very tricky medium pace bowler who wisely adjusts the pace of his deliveries - can prove to be very effective on sub-continental tracks. Along with all these USP’s he possesses a body language which apart from wooing his female fan following, connects the team very well. But the skipper has a very tough job ahead. The fans of Pakistan went through a major shock after ICC decided to ban Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif for ten, seven and five years respectively. Therefore Afridi and his teammates will have to perform at their best to gain back some respect for the country. And no doubt, they are capable of doing so. Every now and then, they have to deal with such a situation. They are a team, which is at the moment full of in-form players. The advantage which they have is presence of players like Hafeez, Afridi and Razzak who are established batsmen and can also bowl their quota of 10 over each, which clearly means they will have a lot of depth in their batting line up. Sohail Tanvir and Wahab Riaz are pace bowlers who have recently shown that they are clean hitters of the ball as well and considering them as tail-enders could prove to be a disaster for the opponents. The selectors might have excluded the experienced Mohammad Yousuf from the team, yet the way the team is playing at the moment, he hardly fits in. The youngsters Ahmed Shahzad and Asad Afiq have been in sublime form in the recent series against the Proteas and Umar Akmal is someone who is expected to play a major role in the team’s performance throughout the tournament. Not to forget, the team has a very strong foundation in form of experience of Younis Khan. The teammates and the fans would be expecting a lot from him being one of the most experienced players in the team. With such a balanced team, all Afridi needs to do, is a more responsible approach towards his own batting. He needs to adopt the kind of approach he did when Pakistan won the T20 finals against Sri Lanka where he played an unbeaten knock of 54 runs off 40 balls that also earned him the man of the match award. It was an innings where he adopted a cautious approach. Everybody including the Sri Lankans were amazed to see him giving priority to singles. Then too Pakistan was under trouble where cricket was attacked by terrorism and now too the fans wouldn't be that happy after ICC's decision. No doubt he has shown a lot of commitment as a skipper, but if only, he is a bit more responsible towards his batting approach, Pakistan can for sure repeat the honours after 1992. Pakistan will face Kenya in their first match to be played on February 23. Cricket writer: Suyash srivastava (New Delhi) … [Read more...]
Fallen stars from sub-continent in 2007 cricket world cup
2007 cricket world cup changed the fortunes of many super stars along with their teams. Some of these stars faced the wrath from fans in their countries. Cricket Gods from India and Pakistan became the most hated persons in their countries. TV channels stopped airing commercials of these stars. That is the power of failure. 1. Sachin Tendulkar: This is the first failure of Indian God in a world cup tournament. He is the highest scorer in 1996 and 2003 editions. For the first time, he faced charges on his attitude from an Indian coach. He became a pawn in the hands of seniors’ mafia. BCCI issued show-cause notice to this fallen star. If he will play in his natural style, we will again see the “Sharjah” Sachin. It’s all in the mind. 2. Injamam-Ul-Haq: He repeated his worst performance in 2007 world cup as in 2003 edition. After his superb performance in 1992 debut world cup, he failed to replicate his performance. These are inerasable black spots in the wonderful career of this Pakistan legend. 3. Sourav Ganguly: His low strike rate in the initial power play overs is another reason for India’s debacle in this world cup. He is never a team man and a selfish cricketer who always form a coterie of his favourites. As per media, he is the force behind the seniors’ mafia and leaked dressing room news to his favourite Kolkata journalists. His attitude is always a big problem.4. Younis Khan:It is the most unexpected failure in 2007 world cup. He went to the event on the back of stunning performances. He failed even against weak teams. No excuses please.5. Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh: They played spoil sport with their attitude along with their play. Selectors should not even consider them for at least 2 years. Along with Harbhajan and Ganguly, they are trying to form a coterie in the team. Sack them and save cricket.Dravid’s biggest mistake is his belief in Virender Sehwag. Inclusion of Sehwag and Ganguly changed the batting line up and team spirit. Indian selectors decided to send a youth team under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid. Youth should grab these opportunities and replace those ageing stars. … [Read more...]
Are captains are crucial in winning the World Cup?
There is a perennial debate about the captain’s role in winning cricket matches. Are captains are really important in changing the fortunes of the team? If you analyse the previous world cups, it is difficult to under estimate the captain’s role. 1. Who can forget Imran Khan’s inspiring captaincy in 1992 cricket world cup? 2. Who can forget Steve Waugh’s never dyeing spirit in 1999 world cup? 3. Who can forget Kapildev’s words before the West Indies Batting in 1983 world cup finals? 4. Who can forget Arjun Ranatunga’s imaginative captaincy in 1996 cricket world cup? 5. Who can forget Clive Lloyd’s wonderful batting in the finals of the 1975 world cup? 6. Who can forget the Martin Crowe’s tactics in the 1992 world cup? 7. Who can forget Allan Border’s role in winning the 1987 world cup? 8. Who can forget Ricky Ponting century in the finals of the 2003 world cup? If you recall above scenes, no one can under estimate the Captian’s role in winning world cup.An inspiring captain can able to achieve superlative performances from team members. Some captains like Ranatunga and Ponting may be proactive while Lloyd and Border may be diminutive in their style of functioning; they all successfully extracted wonderful performances from their team members. One common quality in all successful captains is they protected team members in crisis situations. 1. Ranatunga protected Muralitharan in crucial times while Imran Khan stood behind Inzamam in 1992 world cup. In 2007 cricket world cup, we already saw the inspiring captaincy from West Indies captain Brian Lara. He encouraged youngsters and stood by them even in failures. They repaid the captian’s faith by showing superb performance against Pakistan. We have to wait and see the performances from other captains before giving judgement. … [Read more...]
5 Wicketkeepers are crucial in 2007 world cup
5 Wicketkeepers are going to play a crucial role for their team’s fortunes in 2007 Cricket world cup. When wicketkeeper is a batting all rounder, it adds depth to batting lineup. Those 5 wicket keepers are: 1. Adam Gilchrist. 2. Mahendrasingh Dhoni. 3. Kumara Sangakkara. 4. Brendon McCullum 5. Mark Boucher 1. Adam Gilchrist: He is the most destructive batsman in the world cricket today. Gilchrist can single handily change a match course. He is the all time great wicket keeping all rounder. If Adam Gilchrist will play in his style, it is difficult to contain the rampant Australian cricket team. 2. Mahendrasingh Dhoni: He is the rising Indian star who can play according to the situation of the match. His batting ability added depth to the already strong Indian lineup. He played crucial role in the recent Indian success story. 3. Kumara Sangakkara: He is the most consistent player in the inconsistent batting lineup of Sri Lankan cricket. His experience and ability to play well in crisis situations will be very useful in the tense world cup matches. In my opinion, he will be among the top 10 batsmen in 2007 cricket world cup. 4. Brendon McCullum: He is the most in form batsman in the New Zealand cricket team. If he failed to play up to his potential, New Zealand may not even reach quarterfinals. Along with Jacob Oram, he played crucial knocks in the recent New Zealand success story. 5. Mark Boucher: His experience and all round ability may be crucial for South Africa to win 2007 Cricket world cup. Along with Shaun Pollock, Jacques Kallis and Adrian Prince, he should play well for South Africa to lift its maiden trophy. These 5 wicketkeepers should play crucial knocks for their countries to lift 2007 cricket world cup. … [Read more...]
Cricket stars we miss in 2007 world cup
In 2007 cricket world cup, we are going to watch splendid performances from great cricketers like Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting, Glen Mcgrath, Shane Bond, Sanath Jayasurya and Injamam-Ul-Haq. But, we miss the performances of some great batsmen and bowlers who entertained us in the recent years. Some are missed due to retirements while some may miss due to non-selection and fitness problems. Missing stars in 2007 cricket world cup: Retirements: 1. Shane Warne: Australian spin legend who missed the 2003 cricket world cup (due to drugs controversy) will not be in action in the 2007 edition due to retirement. Who can forget his performances in the semi finals of the 1996 and 1999 world cups? He was the man of the match in the both matches. At least we can watch Mcgrath in action upto this world cup. 2. Damien Martin: Cool customer in the Australian middle order retired from International cricket. Still, Australia can boast of likes of Michael hussey, Michael Clark and Andrew Symonds to over come top order failures. 3. Nathan Astle: This dynamic New Zealand batsman retired from international cricket just before the world cup. This leaves a big hole in the already brittle New Zealand batting line up. Injuries and Non-Selection: 1. Marcus Trescothick: Dynamic England opener failed to get a place even in the World cup probables list. This virtually demolished the little winning chances (if any) of England. 2. Virender Sehwag: He may miss the selection due to the arrival of Sourav Ganguly and Gautham Gambhir. He was a star of Indian batting line up just 6 months back. It happens only in India. Irfan Pathan, Indian All rounder, is on the brink of selection. Injuries may pose a problem for selecting stars like Shoaib Akhtar. We may miss some other stars due to injuries and lack of form. More details will be known after the announcement of final teams on February 13. … [Read more...]
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