At this precise moment in the world cup no one is doubting the fact that the dark horse of the tournament team Pakistan has more than demonstrated their ability and prowess to win in their match against Srilanka. They have beaten one of the hosts of this world cup in front of a packed crowd of their own fans on their own turf.
Now since our captain has made it clear post-match that this is everyone’s team I feel that we as a nation need to give him a few suggestions and who knows perhaps he will hear the call of us rabid green fans.
First of all, to anyone who watched the Pak vs. Sl match it was more than abundantly clear that one person was involved in most of  the mishaps that team Pakistan went through on the field that day. From the run out from a comic strip to the missed stamping’s to the dropped catch one akmal was always in the mix and it wasn’t the guy called umar. See its quite simple, with the Sri-lankan top order removed at 96/4  in a 277 run chase they should not have gotten as close as they did to the target in the end. They could have done what England did to India yesterday (had to mention it) For that to happen our team needs to bungle less in the field and finish off opponents quicker. Yes Akthar was brilliant in bursts, yes you our captain rocked the ground with your bowling but it was not totally our effort in the end when Srilanka lost but more a combination of chance and circumstance. Thus we need to remove the chief bungler, trust me he isn’t doing nothing for us lala!!
Secondly in this match Abdul Razzak who has the ability to knock any team out of the match with his straight batted cudgel of the norse gods faced four balls at the death. Now I do understand that this was due to the fact that Misbah and Younis had to play a Miandadesque effort to repair our innings and they did that to perfection I might add, but Razzaq should have come sooner than later after one of them departed. In fact here is an idea, since Misbah has picked up a hamstring strain (yes I have chewed all my nails off at this) why don’t we rest him for the next match which is against Canada and play Razzaq in his position. Imagine what he will do to the team from urbania? Who knows if he fires he can carry over his form to the next match?
Thirdly there is this guy in our dressing room called Junaid Khan, obviously the match against big gun srilanka demanded all the old heads at the table, however Gul is not firing at all. So why don’t we give Junaid a chance with Akthar? See if the phoenix to be can pass on some tips (cricketing one’s please) to the young talent as they bowl side by side? We will need someone for the future to spear head us too, a guy wearing a marijuana leaf T shirt at an ICC tribunal hearing deciding on his career has ensured us of that.
Last but not the least Lala we call you boom boom for a reason, and if you were wondering why the crowd goes nuts when you walk out, its in expectancy of what is to happen. So can it happen please, preferably in the semi final & the Final? Pretty please?
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A version of this post has appeared on the Dawn blog on 28/2/2011
Good article however please consider this a plea for calm amongst the green attired masses of heart broken and cynical Pakistan cricket fans who despite all odds return with illogical fervour at any sign of hope and sparkle from their ever unpredictable, mercurial and now to add to the list criminal cricket side.
The team is in the best shape / balance it has been in for some time. Kamran, allegations of his status as the lord of the match fixing underworld aside, is an effective weapon to have at the top of the order. Not a Sehwag but lets say a Sehwag (light). Yes he drops catches behind the stumps and his mentality is such that one drop often leads to another. However he is a capable keeper and anyone watching the New Zealand game the other day will agree there are worse keepers at international level.
We should keep in mind that Afridi has made a healthy contribution to the fielding mishaps and so had Abdul Rehman.
The Razzak factor is intriguing as is the Ajmal factor. Ultimately though i think Pakistan as a country would feel more at ease when Razzak is in the team rather than out (whihc is why we have the ridiculous situation of him opening the bowling with Akhtar) – Shoaib has to play even if they have to strap him up like a mummy and inject him full of some kind of legal hallucinogen that makes him believe he is still 18 – Jayawardene’s dismissal is proof enough.
Junaid should definitely be played vs Canada giving Akhtar a rest. Gul needs as much time in game situations as possible to regain his confidence and his status as our main strike bowler.
So all in all the team is well balanced, gelling well and apart from a few areas of fine tuning seems to be perfectly poised to make an assault into the later stages of the tournament.
Oh and one more thing – lets break out of this cornered tiger thing – this current team is more akin to a Tiger let loose from a zoo into the urban population. Let chaos and mayhem ensue……
Good one, Faisal! Here’s hoping Lala is listening to you, and is not in lala land… 🙂 I’m so cheesy, no?
Nice suggestions buddy !!!!! hopefull, team Pak will learn from their previous mistakes…. coz with such fielding, they never gonna win big matches !!!!
All the best wishes for Pakistani team !!!!!
Lala has changed preferences to being a bowler…. and it seems our top bowler…..
@Naveen: LOL at Lala Land!
faisal u have good knowledge on cricket…i wont underestimate u anymore asfar as this game is concerned….good job specially on kamran akmal
Faisal K gimme a break… we need kamran akmal for his batting and he was playing really well and mark my words he will compensate with the bat for his inefficiency in fielding.. plus all the alternates suck… psycho zulqarnain was there and so was some other bloke and all sucked so kamran akmal is our best bet
and no need to rest gul.. instead rest akhtar and play him only in important matches….
abdur razak agreed but he can come after misbah and younis instead of being relegated to a lower spot….he can come where umer akmal came
so basiclaly play junaid khan and saeed ajmal against canada and rest akhtar.. gul should keep bowling to get hsi rhythm back as he is your best bet at the moment as shoaib akhtars fitness is unreliable and abdur razak isnt really fulla horespower as far bowling is concenrned.. so u need gul back in rhythm so he can reverse swing and throw in those yorkers
anyways regret to inform u that your favoriet two teams england and india wont win the cup…
meantime u can choose whoever u want as the 4th semi finalist as first 3 are pakistan, australia and srilanka… do not underestimate the dominant aussies and dark horse pakistan…
ideal combo would be pakistan, south africa, australia and srilanka in semis
time will tell
ciao!!… and trust me akmal is your best bet right now.. no replacement available unless u wanna call back moin khan who wud be better off playing than those nonsensical comments on geo super he gives along with mr idealist imran khan sahab!!
Kamran Akmal Tayyab is a match fixer…wake up
you are telling me there is not a keeper in the whole of this country who can replace akmal??
My favorite teams are Pakistan and England… I hate India man lol
On Gul..i think you are right, but Junaid khan has more of a chanc of success than gul..who is jaded
FK.. where is the proof against akmal.. icc absolved him he is a clean man just like the supreme court absolved our sadar sahab 🙂
I have just bookmarked this blog. Keep up the good work.