‘Tiger’ Pataudi also bids farewell to IPL

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi has become the latest casualty of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which has witnessed monumental shift in policies following the unceremonious exit of its Commissioner, Lalit Modi.

There were three former Indian captains, all of them enjoying legendary status for their exploits in the cricket field, on board with the charismatic yet controversial Modi, who had proved himself a go-getter of the highest order.

Two of the former Indian greats, Sunil Gavaskar and now ’Tiger’ Pataudi have withdrawn from the IPL Governing Council and the only one left is Ravi Shastri, who has somehow agreed to work voluntarily.

Interestingly Gavaskar had played under the captaincy of Pataudi in the 1970s and Shastri arrived on the international scene when Gavaskar was leading the Indian team at the start of the 1980s.

Modi, whose organizational capabilities were awesome, must have considered many factors before inducting the trio of Pataudi, Gavaskar and Shastri in his team to kickstart the IPL. The council obviously became heavyweight with the inclusion of these former greats and there was no harm in remunerating them for their services.

At least it appeared a transparent deal with no hidden benefits or anything of that nature. Paying these former cricketers in lieu of their services was a fair deal for all practical purposes. Even the figure of Rs one crore for each of them didn’t look astronomical in context of the status they enjoyed in cricket and the value they added to the council.

With Modi out of the equation, in controversial circumstances, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is now pushing for total control of the IPL which is more likely to have as much red-tape as the Board itself.

The BCCI has had its own ways of operating. The IPL, under Modi, looked an independent entity, even though it was working under the umbrella of the BCCI. The situation has become different now and the IPL by the look of things would be governed at the whims of the influential office-bearers of the Board.

The one decision which has caused them to lose Gavaskar and now Pataudi is the recent BCCI decision that the council members would not be paid henceforth. Gavaskar was first to refuse a post on the IPL's governing council with Pataudi following suit just a few days later.

"I have written a letter to the BCCI which states that I do not wish to continue with the governing council. Earlier I was on a contract with the IPL, but the new changes are unacceptable for me. So, I have decided to move on," Pataudi was quoted as saying.

Gavaskar had immmediately turned down the BCCI's offer to be part of the governing council clearly stating that the IPL was a commercial enterprise and those working for it should be remunerated.

Pataudi and Gavaskar have walked out. Let us when Shastri decides to part ways with the IPL or may be he’s not much concerned about the financial matters.

readmore »»

Intikhab's reappointment another nail in coffin of Pakistan cricket

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The appointment of Intikhab Alam as manager of the national cricket team for the upcoming series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is another step in the backward direction.

While the other nations remain on the lookout for better personnel who could add value to the team the story seems completely different altogether in Pakistan cricket where nepotism and favoritism are the deciding factors.

By the look if things Intikhab has been brought back as manager to maintain status quo as Ijaz Butt, the man calling the shots, has blind faith in him. They needed someone to protect their interests and replacing Yawar Saeed was just an eyewash.

Ijaz Butt, the older he gets, probably feels uncomfortable with the idea of opening up things. He rather prefers to have men of his choice at the key posts who provide him all the inside information to satisfy his ego.

Be it Yawar Saeed or Intikhab Alam their duties will be the same. Disciplining the team or working on the improvement of performance in the field will hardly ever be in their agenda. After all they get paid hefty sums basically for ‘spying’ for Ijaz Butt and there’s no point in thinking toward the welfare of the team.

What Yawar Saeed did as manager Intikhab Alam could probably do better. Ijaz Butt could get comprehensive report about the activities of all the members of the squad in order to enable him to form his opinion which of the team members speak in his favour and who are opposed to his policies.

It goes to the credit of Yawar Saeed to have paved the exit of Younis Khan. The most prolific Pakistan batsman of the recent years, who was also the captain of the team, became a victim of the intrigues of the manager during the tour of Sri Lanka last year leading to the revolt against him just a few weeks later.

Let us see who’s going to be trapped by Intikhab whose record as captain was far from satisfactory with his teammates accusing him of over bowling himself against the interests of the team.

Intikhab, despite his poor record as a leader, has been a part of the management primarily because of his standout quality of being a yes-man to the establishment. His role as manager and coach in the past was as disgusting as his tenure as captain.

Intikhab has remained acceptable to all kinds of Board’s helmsmen because he never dared compromising on their interests. Be it Arif Ali Khan Abbasi or Ijaz Butt,they are fond of the ever-smiling ‘Inti’ who will never disobey his masters come what may.

Ijaz Butt has caused irreparable damage to the Pakistan cricket already and the reappointment of Intikhab as manager can be described as another nail in their coffin. It’s a hugely controversial decision because there were innumerable better candidates, having the desired administrative and managerial capacity, who could have proved asset at a stage when each and every move of the Pakistan cricketer is monitored.

readmore »»

Yet another feather in Tendulkar’s cap

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Sachin Tendulkar was adjudged the Cricketer of the Year, receiving the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy during the 2010 ICC Award ceremony in Bangalore on October 6. He also received the People's Choice Award.

The kind of form Tendulkar has been in during the last season in particular he was tipped to clinch every award on offer. During the period under consideration for the award (August 24, 2009 to August 10, 2010) he Tendulkar scored 1064 runs at an average of 81.84 in ten Tests.

He made 914 runs in 17 ODIs at 65.28, and also scored the format's first double-century against South Africa in Gwalior. Tendulkar is presently third on the ICC's rankings for Test batsmen, and tenth in ODIs.

He faced stiff competition from Virender Sehwag, Hashim Amla and Graeme Swann, the other nominees in the Cricketer of the Year Award. Tendulkar joined the elite club of the Cricketer of the Year winners having Rahul Dravid, Andrew Flintoff, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Mitchell Johnson.

He, however, lost out in the other major categories he was nominated in. Virender Sehwag won the Test Cricketer of the Year award while AB de Villiers was declared the ODI Cricketer of the Year.

"This last season has been really special for the entire team. I think right from the start of the season, when we won in Sri Lanka and I scored a hundred in the finals, and from there on the season took off for us. We became No. 1 in the Test rankings, something we all wanted to achieve, and we've been able to maintain our performances in the last ten months," Tendulkar remarked on the occasion.

He recognized Gary Kirsten, the Indian coach, for played an important role in the success of all the batsmen.

"He has been instrumental in making all the batters play plenty of deliveries in practice sessions, he himself throws thousands of deliveries. Gary has been able to keep us in the right frame of mind, whatever areas we needed to work on, he is making sure we are addressing that," Tendulkar reflected.

India’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named captain of the Test team of the year, which featured Sehwag, Kumar Sangakkara, Swann, Tendulkar, Amla, Simon Katich, Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis, James Anderson and Doug Bollinger.

Australia’s Ponting earned the honour of captaining the ODI team of the year, having Tendulkar, Shane Watson, Michael Hussey, de Villiers, Paul Collingwood, Dhoni, Daniel Vettori, Stuart Broad, Bollinger and Ryan Harris.

New Zealand’s explosive wicketkeeper-opener Brendon McCullum won the award for the best Twenty20 Performance of the Year, edging out Hussey, Mahela Jayawardene and Ryan McLaren, the others nominated for the Twenty20 award.

The Netherlands all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate won the Associate Player of the Year Award. While Steven Finn, the England fast bowler, won the award for Emerging Player of the Year.

New Zealand won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award for the second year running as did Aleem Dar, the Pakistani umpire, who won the Umpire of the Year Award for the second time in a row.

readmore »»

Spectacular opening ceremony proves critics wrong

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Contrary to what was being anticipated worldwide the opening ceremony of the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. on October 3 turned out to be a magnificent earning appreciation from the international media.

The newspapers having been critical of the Games preparations earlier carried headlines like 'An ancient land opens its heart to the world', 'India opens doors to the world at opening ceremony' to describe the two-hour cultural extravaganza catching the imagination of the spectators as well as the millions watching it live on their television sets.

The respected British newspaper The Guardian described it was a moment of national pride for India.' India has arrived: spectacular ceremony opens Commonwealth Games,' read the newspaper's headline.

"This was the moment that 1.2 billion people – there are few in India who were still unaware of the event – had been waiting for," it added.

The Daily Mail was also lavish in its praise of the ceremony which showcased the centuries-old Indian culture to a packed crowd..

"The XIX Commonwealth Games crawled up off the canvas last night with a display of pageantry and technical wizardry that, finally, projected the image India craved on to two billion television sets around the world.” the newspaper said.

"India put on its best face on Sunday night and pulled off a brilliant opening ceremony that was extraordinary in its ambition and execution. It was everything the organisers had promised and more - an energetic celebration of all India has been and all it intends to be," wrote The Daily Telegraph.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported the ceremony as "A vibrant celebration of 5,000 years of Indian culture with just a hint of Bollywood showcased in a performance involving more than 6,000 artists.

"India has won the first unofficial gold medal of the Games - for best team uniform, The Indian athletes looked like royalty in their smart traditional maroon tops with gold braided scarves. Slick and sensational," it added

The President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, who witnessed the Opening Ceremony of the XIX Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi, hailed the arrangements for the Games and dismissed the criticism that preceded it as creation of 'old and established' media which failed to judge 'new' India.

"It is difficult for some of the people specially media, old and established, to judge India...I think it is their difficulty to understand how India has evolved," he said, adding some people have to "certainly understand that new India is different,” he remarked.

"The opening ceremony was very spectacular and very beautiful. I am sure the Games are going to as perfect as any games," he thought.

Meanwhile the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Jacques Rogge, reckoned that a successful Commonwealth Games will provide India the foundation to think about a future Olympic bid.

“I think everything will be fine. Of course you can only judge the organisation at the moment of the closing ceremony but I think it’s going well. There is still a difference between Olympic Games and Commonwealth Games. The size of the Olympic Games is bigger, there are more athletes and more sports,” he explained to the media after attending the glittering opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

readmore »»

Zaheer, Laxman script another fabulous Test win

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Man of the Match, Zaheer Khan, and Man of the Moment, VVS Laxman, played the pivotal role in guiding India to their narrowest win in Test cricket at the PCA Stadium, Mohali, on October 5.

The match, lasting four and a half days, went to the wire and it lived to the reputation of being another grueling battle between Australia and India. In fact as Ricky Ponting acknowledged in the presentation ceremony it was the closest of all Test match he had played in over the last many years.

Who says Test cricket is dead? I hope the functionaries of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) would feel proud of their belated decision to include a two-Test series instead of having just limited-overs games during Australia’s visit to India.

The cricket enthusiasts could not have desired a closer Test match. Both the teams came up with wonderful performance to stay afloat and there was plenty to cheer about for the spectators throughout the game.

India did well to stage a comeback after shocking fielding display on the first day. Skipper Mahandra Singh Dhoni was the chief culprit, having floored as many as three catches. No matter what he might say the experts believed that the disease of continuous cricket was taking its toll and Dhoni’s poor wicket-keeping was a result of the very little time he got to spend in Mohali because of his preoccupations in the Champions League Twenty20 tournament.

Zaheer, who reversed the ball brilliantly, was chiefly responsible for not allowing Australia to build an imposing total despite the generosity of the Indian fielders. Bowling the visitors out for 428 after spilling half a dozen catches wasn’t a bad effort. Mind you they had to pay heavy price for dropping those sitters.

India, with Sachin Tendulkar and Suresh Raina in full control, appeared poised for a decisive first innings lead on the third afternoon but an amazing collapse found them 23 run short of Australia’s total.

Many people thought that the match was heading towards a draw as the first innings of the two teams had consumed full three days. But I always thought that the game was on because the Australian batting lacked the strength to compile runs on the wearing track.

Ishant Sharma bowled his heart out on the fourth morning, despite carrying an injury, to rock the Australians. Then the spinners also did their job and Zaheer’s fiery spell cleaned the tail to set the home a rather comfortable target of 216.

As they say no fourth innings target is small the Indians made a mess of it in the final session and the loss of four key wickets tilted the balance towards Australia. India were still 161 away from victory when the stumps were drawn after a dramatic fourth day’s play.

India’s hopes rested on the shoulders of Tendulkar on the fifth day. But not surprisingly he fell short of expectations again. Dhoni was as miserable with the bat as he was behind the stumps.

Laxman changed the complexion of the game with his elegant stroke-play and the Australian bowlers ran short of ideas. He found an able partner in number 10 Sharma who was not afraid to watch the ball till the last moment.

With tension mounting as India inched closer, the game opened up with Sharma’s dismissal. But Laxman drove India home in what must have been one of his greatest knocks yet.

readmore »»

Imran Shahzad lifts Del Monte Snooker Cup

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Imran Shahzad finally accomplished his mission of winning a national ranking tournament when he edged out Sohail Shahzad in the final of the Del Monte Snooker Cup at the Karachi Club on October 3.

Just like a few of his illustrious contemporaries he needed over a decade to pocket a title after having come close on numerous occasions. Khurram Hussain Agha and Naveen Kumar Perwani had endured similar fate for a number of years before finally laying their hands on a trophy.

The Chairman of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports, Iqbal Mohammad Ali, was the chief guest in the presentation ceremony, presided over by Anjum Nisar, a former President of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), and Managing Director, Del Monte.

The chief guest presented a cheque of Rs 50,000 to Imran along with the glittering trophy while runner-up Sohail collected a purse of Rs 30,000. There was another cash award of Rs 5,000 for Imran for having recorded the highest break of the tournament.

There was more reward for Imran as Anjum Nisar offered him a one-year contract of Rs 8,000 per month Another good news for both the finalists was their qualification in the IBSF World Snooker Championship 2010 to be held at Damascus, Syria, in December.

The Lahore-based Imran has remained one of the top cueists of the country for a while but a tournament win was eluding him until he finally produced the kind of performance that was being expected of him for a long time.

The 35-year-old Imran had to work extremely hard to earn the title and it needed a special effort to overcome Karachi’s Sohail Shahzad 8-6 in the best of 15 frame final that lasted close to six hours.

He compiled a couple of century breaks, including the highest of the tournament, while overpowering Sohail with the frame scores of 23-75, 94-15, 16-86, 68-21, 34-86, 127-1, 72-58, 50-60, 56-27, 54-81, 78-44, 49-68, 69-44, 103-0.

It was a final to remember as the fortunes kept fluctuating dramatically and the outcome was in doubt until the very end. It was one of those very few contests that remained locked at 4-4, 5-5 and 6-6 before Imran finally pressed home the advantage.

After having chalked up a break of 123 in the sixth frame he sealed the fate of the tournament with another classy break of 103 in what turned out to be the last frame of the marathon duel.

It was the first outing in the final for the 28-year-old Sohail who also has improved in leaps and bounds during the last couple of years to be ranked among the top cueists all along.

Earlier in the semifinals Imran had edged out Shahram Changezi 6-5 in three-and-a-half hour battle with the frame scores of 50-55, 57-17, 78-33, 72-46, 68-49, 63-75, 46-60, 35-78, 57-60, 59-24, 75-16.

Sohail had created a minor upset by toppling third seed Mohammad Asif Toba 6-4 with the frame scores of i47-55, 60-45, 30-64, 43-77, 69-33, 45-54, 103-0, 57-44, 116-0, 74-5 in the other semifinal.

readmore »»

PBSA denied foreign coach for Asian Games

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Obviously the officials of the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA) are feeling bitterly disappointed at being denied the permission to acquire the services of Sanjay Sawant as Pakistan coach for the next month’s Asian Games in Guangzhou, China.

The PBSA President, Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, considered the non-issuance of NOC for Sanjay Sawant of India as a major setback to their plans adding that it’s also a big blow to their medal hopes in the Asiad.

Alamgir Shaikh informed the media in Karachi that the PBSA had received a communication in this regard from the Islamabad-based Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) explaining that the hiring of a foreign coach was examined in consultation with the Interior Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The PBSA President stated that they have been informed by the PSB that the Ministry of Interior has regretted issuance of NOC in this case.

Alamgir Shaikh didn’t mince words in stating the the PBSA desperately needed a foreign coach in preparations for the Asian Games camp starting in Islamabad from October 15.

“The PBSA is due to name a five-member Pakistan squad next week. We were hoping that the PSB and the Interior Ministry would issue NOC to the PBSA for hiring the services of Sanjay Sawant as coach but all our efforts went in vain,” he said.

The PBSA had been under fire in the past for not having engaged a qualified coach in order to prepare and fine tune the promising youngsters in particular for the various regional and international competitions.

When the PBSA finally made up their mind to acquire the services of a coach now they have been denied the permission by the concerned authorities.

The PBSA authorities have repeatedly spoken about their shrinking resources following the ban on cigarette sponsorship, prompting them to seek governmental support besides knocking the doors of the corporate sector.

Since Pakistan’s cueists had bagged medals in the Asian Games in 1998 as well as in 2002 their case was stronger case to urge the government to financially support the PBSA.

Alamgir Shaikh has been running from pillar to post to let the end meet but the support from the government side has declined after the departure of Pir Syed Aftab Shah Jilani as Federal Minister of Sports.

Pir Aftab was himself a sportsman and he was more than willing to promote the bodies having the potential to earn glories and medals for the country. The PBSA also benefited greatly during his tenure as the Federal Sports Minister.

Things have changed since then and the PBSA has not been able to secure grants from the Federal Ministry of Sports or the Pakistan Sports Board despite continued correspondence and follow-up.

The Federal Sports Ministry had committed to foot the bill for the foreign coach the PBSA was planning to hire as the basic objective was to train the cueists for the Asian Games. With the non-issuance of NOC to Sanjay Sawant the PBSA functionaries have very little time to get hold of a coach from any other country.

readmore »»

Ijaz Butt should also apologize to whole nation

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The man having played around with the sentiments of the whole nation for nearly two years, Ijaz Butt, owes a public apology for his haughty attitude and irresponsible behaviour in running the affairs of the Pakistan cricket.

He has issued an apology for the comments he made during the recently concluded one-day series between England and Pakistan when he charged that the hosts' players had taken "enormous amounts of money" to lose the third One-day International at The Oval.

The England players have reportedly accepted his apology and withdrawn the threat of legal action which had loomed since the outburst.

Ijaz Butt, known for talking senselessly, admitted that he had no evidence to back up his claims and that he regretted the "misunderstanding" that followed even though he initially refused to back down from his comments. Well he had not only leveled the allegations just one time but did it repeatedly.

"I wish personally and on behalf of the Pakistan Cricket Board to withdraw the comments I made concerning the England and Wales Cricket Board and each of the England players who played in the one-day International at The Oval on Friday 17 September. It is regrettable that there was a misunderstanding arising from my comments,” he observed in the letter of apology.

"I would like to make it quite clear that in the statements which I made that I never intended to question the behaviour and integrity of the England players nor the ECB nor to suggest that any of them were involved in any corrupt practices or in a conspiracy against Pakistan cricket,” Ijaz Butt added.


"In particular, I wish to make it clear that I have never seen any evidence of any wrongdoing by any England player or the ECB at any time," he added.

"I deeply and sincerely regret that my statements have been interpreted to cast doubt upon the good names of the England players and the ECB and hope that this public withdrawal will draw a line under the matter," the PCB Chairman stated.

So far so good. Ijaz Butt has set the record straight by issuing the apology that had always seemed on the cards for mending fences with the ECB.

Shouldn’t the PCB Chairman now be asked to apologize to the people of Pakistan for his continuous misdeeds and mischief. He has been guilty of ruining the image of the Pakistan cricket and it may take many years to clear the mess he has created in two years time.

Ijaz Butt has had the knack of losing his cool during conversations with the media. He gets offended whenever a probing question is hurled at him and instead of giving an answer he tries to take on the interviewer.

Doesn’t the PCB Chairman know that he’s holding a public office and cricket is the game of the masses in Pakistan. People only wish that some accountability system was in place and Ijaz Butt should be tried for having caused irreparable harm to the national interest.

readmore »»