Over 50,000 people came to watch Afridi in action for his home team, millions remained glued to their Tv’s till late night hoping that their hero will not only entertain them but will also take his team into the finals, when he came into bat all 50,000 spectators chanted his name, they celebrated every shot he played, every ball he bowled and every wicket he took. Millions have supported him relentlessly in his quest for the leadership of Pakistan team.
But what do they get in return? Nothing but despair and heart breaks.
His supporters regard him as the only player energetic and aggressive enough to lead the team.
But is mindless aggression which has been the hallmark of Afridi’s game is the only quality required in a leader? What about match awareness? What about shot selection? What about implementing the team strategy? What about improvising your game according to the situation and showing some resilience while facing pressure ?and above all what about playing selflessly for the team?
No doubt Afridi is highly energetic and aggressive but can anybody honestly claim that he possesses any of the other essential qualities which a Captain should possess.
He could have won the match easily for Karachi today if he had stayed on the wicket for two more overs. I am not willing to accept that a player with 14 years of experience wasn’t aware of the state of the match and didn’t knew the consequences of losing his wicket at that stage.
Afridi’s behavior pattern reflects that he will only act responsibly if he is given the leadership otherwise he will play his own game for his own self interest.
Dolphins were the most impressive team in this tournament and I was greatly impressed by their preperation the whole team was super fit, they built a great combination, their batting line up had depth and experience, their bowling was fiery, their fielding was electric and I was almost certain that they will win this tournament, in past Karachi matched the talent of Stallions but they could never match the professionalism of Stallions as a result Stallions always won. But this was the first time they had every thing they were looking more professional than the Stallions until Shahid Afridi decided to play for himself.
Afridi always behave like the arrogant Hare who thinks he is too fast and nobody can beat him, but today Malik behaved like a Tortoise and slowly but surely pulled his team out of a precarious situation and ensured that his team makes use of every single ball and puts as many runs on the board as possible, he was fully aware of the state the match when he came into bat, kept himself calm and never tried to hit big risky shots (of which he is fully capable of) , led his team with a lot of calm and composure in front of an extremely hostile crowd, playing against a very aggressive team and under the supervision of two highly biased umpires.
Against all odds his team won, thanks to the mindless brand of cricket from Shahid Afridi.
This was a lesson for those who think that mindless aggression will win us matches, absolutely not. We need a leader who is calm and composed and has the intelligence to implement and devise strategy instead of a man who is just a big show off and always plays for his own agendas, be it to please the crowd or to pull the leg of his team mates.
Afridi’s statement in the post match interview again showed how mature he is, he showed his vindictive Pathan nature by blaming the loss on the Coach the same coach who was against handing him over the leadership of the team. Everybody knows that he was upset at KCCA for not giving him the leadership of Dolphins and this was the sole reason he didn’t played responsibly. Did the coach told him to go berserk and keep on playing risky shots when the required run rate was under 7?
Sami did a great job for Karachi and was visibly heart broken when he got run out and lost the match by just 7 runs with 9 balls remaining. I hope KCCA takes Afridi to task and grill him for letting his team down and issuing such a moronic statement in his post match interview.
man wat is ur myspace page?
Wes
I am starting a new thread on the topic you will get my detailed opinion in two hours.
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More shocking news, both Shahzaib and Nazir are not being selected. Butt and Hammad Azam will get selected.
Wasim, about Nazir, I meant that in all matches in which I have seen him play he was utterly useless.
Concerning the news I am absolutely shocked but also filled with rage at the moment.
It would be nice to read your opinion.
Wes’ last blog:
Yousuf banned from “play for country” o_O
Here would be my team without Malik and Rana:
1. Imran Nazir
2. Shahzaib Hasan
3. Mohammad Hafeez
4. Kamran Akmal (wkt)
5. Shahid Afridi (cpt)
6. Umar Akmal
7. Misbah-ul-Haq
8. Abdul Razzaq
9. Umar Gul/Mohammad Aamer/Mohammad Asif
10. Umar Gul/Mohammad Aamer/Mohammad Asif
11. Saeed Ajmal
Fawad Alam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Yasir Arafat
KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) may face legal and technical problems in imposing bans and fines against members of the national cricket team.
Legal experts suggest the board may find itself in trouble if it takes action against the senior players as per the recommendations of the Australian tour inquiry committee.
“The PCB can not impose penalties against the players as their central contracts expired on December 31,” a legal expert said, according to APP.
Pakistan suffered a 3-0 Test whitewash, a 5-0 ODI whitewash and also lost the solitary Twenty20 match against Australia in their recent tour Down Under.
An inquiry committee – headed by PCB Chief Operating Officer Wasim Bari, which also included Yawar Saeed, Zakir Khan, PCB legal Advisor Tafazzul Hussain Rizvi – recommended lengthy bans and heavy fines on players involved in the series.
—————————————————————————————————————————————
It means that Akmal brothers and Afridi will escape punishment.
Qamar
In the playing eleven Ajmal will be a must. However the selection of Hafeez will provide an extra flexibility the team can select an extra bowler or batsman depending upon the conditions and the opposition.
You only gave 12 names, Pakistan’s squad will consist of 15-16 players.
I am almost certain they won’t select Nazir. Salman Butt will get selected I don’t know if he will play or not Misbah is almost certain to replace Malik. I hope they don’t select Farhat now when Malik and Rana are out his father in law will definitely figure out a way to squeeze him in the Squad.
Umar Amin(RWP), Naveed Yasin(Multan) Naveed Malik (RWP)and there was one guy from Multan these guys were quite impressive I think the selectors should pick one from these guys as a reserve player.
Shahzaib
Kamran Akmal
Hafeez
Umar Akmal
Misbah
Afridi
Fawad Alam
Razzaq
Aamer
Sami
Ajmal
Reserves
Gul
Asif
Abdur Rahman
Khalid Lateef
This will be my team if Nazir, Malik and Rana are not selected.
For me the team should be imran nazIr, salman butt, mo hafeez, umar akmal, kamran akmal, shahid afridi, abdul razzaq, fawad alam, mo aamer, umar gul, mo asif maybe ajmal instead of asiF
I was wondering how come Malik and Afridi all of a sudden became so close during the T20 series against England, apparently both joined forces after they realized that they were in the same boat and were anticipating serious disciplinary action against themselves from PCB.
I strongly believe that PCB has already made the decision to make Razzaq the T20 captain because Butt seemed to be very happy with Razzaq he announced a Rs 500,000 prize for Razzaq for his match winning performance against England which even surprised Razzaq.
Furthermore since the inquiry committee has strongly reccommended that Afridi should never in future be given a position of responsibility clearly shows that Razzaq will be named the new captain.
Stani
I hope PCB for once takes some serious action, they shouldn”t consider Misbah at all for captaincy. He was on the verge of getting dropped and nothing has changed since then to indicate that he has returned to form. To make him captain will be injustice.
As regards Razzaq he is too injury prone, it would be a risk and certainly not a long-term decision so I think they should pick Afridi.
Wasim,
I would still go with Gul because of his record in the tournament. I just feel he will step it up when the time comes. I would keep Sami as back-up, definitely.
I hope they do make Razzaq the captain but I have the feeling that they will only fine Afridi. The reason they will not ban him is because they want him to be captain and they make him captain and not have him there.
There are rumours that they’re going to give it to Misbah. Whilst I don’t mind that, he will have to improve his personal performances and score runs to keep us happy.
123
123 for PCB Chairman.
I completely agree with you, if Malik and Rana didn’t co-operated or deliberately underperformed which in my opinion they did on couple of occassions then they should get banned or heavily fined, I think banning them is more suitable as they are not indispensable.
As regards Afridi I think his ball tampering case although was a serious offence but was not of much importance, I think he needs to be punished or snubbed for only one reason and that is openly campaigning for captaincy while another player is doing the job and trying to underminning the authority of an existing captain both on field and off the field.
I think the punishments are fair – Umar and Kamran thought they were bigger than the team and this offence is very serious and so Rs 2-3 million fine is appropriate. The same fine is also appropriate for Shahid Afridi ball tampering – although the actual offence is more serious.
I would ban Rana for 6 months – the specifics are unknown, but I think this is harsh enough for the offence. I would fine Shoaib Malik Rs 7+ million. Although his offence is the same as Rana, he is a more important player in all 3 formats and so I would not ban him.
In addition, I would fine Mohammad Yousuf. Whatever Malik did, Yousuf should not have made it all public and started the slanging match.
http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/content/current/story/451196.html
Why most of us are not considering seriously? What has he done wrong in the RBS tournament? I think he was more impressive than Gul, Aamer, Asif and Rana.
Latest News
The PCB inquiry committee, probing into Pakistan’s poor performance in Australia, has recommended disciplinary action against five players including former captain Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi.
According to reliable sources, PCB Chairman Ejaz Butt has discussed the report with the national selection committee.
“The inquiry committee has recommended that the board should suspend former captain Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved and fine Shahid Afridi, Kamran and Umar Akmal for various violations of the code of conduct,” one source said.
The source said the captain, coach and the manager on the Australian tour had reported Malik and Rana for misbehavior and not cooperating with the management.
“The committee has recommended fines on Afridi for his ball tampering act and on Kamran and Umar Akmal for giving press statements against the will of the management,” the source disclosed.
He said the inquiry committee had also advised the Board to make no compromise on discipline and not select any player who was found guilty of violating the code of conduct.
The Chairman of the Board, the source said now had the final authority to accept the recommendations of the committee or dismiss them.
“But by the looks of it, the report of the committee will have far reaching effect on the selection process and appointment of captain for the T20 World Cup,” the source stated.
Indications are that with Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Malik all recommended for disciplinary action, the Board is likely to pick either Misbah-ul-Haq or Abdul Razzaq as the captain for the coming World T20.
The board has said it would announce the captain and team after releasing the report of the inquiry committee later this week.
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I think I selected 16, you probably didn’t noticed that I wrote that either Nazir or Shazaib should get selected I couldn’t make a choice between the two.
Last year Pakistan’s contingent was of 17 players and several teams had 16 players.
And thanks for the link.
Wes
The roof top was made of sheet iron but was completely rusted and I was also very nervous as it could have been very dangerous. You are right they should not have let them climb up there in the first place, the Karachi crowd was very inhospitable for other teams and was extremely rowdy something which we have never witnessed in the past.
There is a certain cockiness about Nazir’s overall attitude which is ticking almost everybody. Shahzaib has a very good chance of getting selected.
Stani
The last statement of Ejaz Butt regarding the captaincy issue indicated that Afridi won’t be leading Pakistan team, I think they will make Razzaq the new captain.
Afridi is himself to be blamed if he is not selected as the new Captain.
I also want Gul but he is in such a poor form that we can’t take a risk, I have seen all the matches Sami and Shahid Nazir were quiet impressive.
This is the first time in the history of Pakistan cricket that I saw people climbing up on a roof top of a stadium and pelting stones and other objects at other Pakistani players on the ground, the security acted very late and the way the commentator Mirza Iqbal Baig was praising the crowd for discipline was laughable.
http://cricket.ndtv.com/storypage/ndtv/id/spoen20100134169/story08032010_214900.html
Unfortunately the focus shifted from the match to the circumstances. Cameras showed the roof most of the time, and the people up there were more excited about being on the roof than seeing the final. When the camera showed the roof from below and you could actually see that it was a wooden(?) construction with beams of light breaking through and the boards flexing under the weight of the people I seriously expected to witness a catastrophe. How were they actually allowed to climb up there? Well I didn’t understand much but obviously things were thrown onto the field, too, and Shoaib Malik appealed to the audience? The broadcaster unfortunately decided to show a commercial instead.
Out of a gut feeling I would say Asif, Aamer, Razzaq, Ajmal. Nazir out, I find him unbearable.
Wasim,
You have picked 17. Only 15 are allowed. Mine is below.
1. Imran Nazir
2. Shahzaib Hassan
3. Mohammad Hafeez
4. Kamran Akmal (wkt)
5. Shahid Afridi (cpt)
6. Shoaib Malik
7. Umar Akmal
8. Abdul Razzaq
9. Umar Gul/Mohammad Aamer/Mohammad Asif
10. Umar Gul/Mohammad Aamer/Mohammad Asif
11. Saeed Ajmal
Misbah-ul-Haq. Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Sarfraz Ahmed
Wasim
Having seen Malik on the other side, surely he must of seen this as a chance to show who could lead the Pakistan team; him or Malik. May be, by the way he played he thinks he’s already captain.
Certainly Malik’s team taking the tournament would have done him no harm when it comes to vying for the Pakistan captaincy role.
As for the crowd; are they stupid or something? If they want cricket to return to Pakistan, behaving like this wont help.
I pretty much agree with your team but would have Gul ahead of Sami as he has many more strings to his bow. Obviously in the hope that he finds form, but you don’t go from being the best t20 bowler to the worst and stay there.
Now when the RBS T20 tournament is over we have seen the performance of all the players, so we can easily pick the team for T20 WC.
1- Kamran Akmal
2- Shaziab Hassan/ Nazir (just one of the two)
3- Hafeez
4-Umar Akmal
5-Shahid Afridi
6-Malik
7-Fawad Alam
8-Razzaq
9-Sami
10-Aamer
11-Saeed Ajmal
Reserves
Khalid Latif
Abdur Rahman
Umar Gul
Asif
Rana
I don’t think Rana will be able to score aggressively against teams having faster bowlers therefore to send him at #3 will be a risk. Abdur Rahman can bat and is a good spinner and is quiet experienced in this format so he can be a good back up spinner. I didn’t wanted to select Gul because of his poor form but then again if he can regain his form he will be the frontline bowler. To play Asif, Razzaq and Rana together will be a huge risk as they all are gentle medium pacers. We need at least two pacers who are extra fast Aamer and Sami are the best options. The biggest mistake Pakistan can make is by selecting too many pinch hitters in the squad, we need at least three pure batsmen in the line up to absorb pressure to play the role of an anchor and tackle the spinners, Malik, Hafeez, Fawad and Khalid Latif should form the middle order.
Both Shahzaib and Imran are of the same breed they are going to score a quick 20 and then get out, Shahzaib looked as good as Nazir in the tournament may be better, only one of them should be picked.
Through out the tournament Shahid Nazir bowled better than Rana, he is a very under rated bowler I think he should have been in the squad instead of Rana who on his day can perform but mostly he can’t bat and can’t bowl.
As regards captain I don’t think that Afridi deserves to be the kind of irresponsible innings in the semi finals but to keep the unity of the team and to give him one more chance he should lead Pakistan in the World cup.
A true champion side
Sialkot Stallions have won the 2010 RBS T20 tournament. Congratulations to Shoaib Malik and the Stallions for winning the tournament for the fifth time in a row.
It was almost a one sided match, the Wolves four or five early losses in the first six overs, Asif and Razzaq demolished their batting line up, the hero of semi finals Hafeez showed some defiance but got run out in a very unfortunate way, Mishah scored a run a ball 28 in the end the Wolves got out for just 110.
It was never a challenging score for Stallions but the Wolves made the Stallions to sweat achieveing it, with the exception of Mohammad Talha all of their bowlers performed brilliantly, Shahid Nazir, Saeed Ajmal and Asad Ali took wickets at regular intervals, if the Wolves had scored 30 more runs the situation could have been completely different.
Misbah should have batted higher today but he came in to bat too late, if he had promoted himself he could have stopped the collapse by some sensible batting. Lack of planning was visible in the Wolves preformance.
Congrats to the Stallions on winning the Annual Pakistan Domestic T20 Comp for the 5th consecutive time !! Invincible unit !! WOW ..
The final between Stallions and Wolves have been interrupted multiple times today due to extremely rowdy and uncivilized behavior by the Karachi crowd, they have been hitting the fielders with bottles and other objects through out the day, it’s extremely shameful for Karachites the players in the ground are also Pakistani. Repeated interruptions can destroy the concentration of players. While the play is interrupted due to nuisance from the crowd the commentators Shoaib Mohammad and Mirza Iqbal baig are lauding how disciplined the crowd has been in Karachi.