Shahram Changezi seeks departmental support to boost snooker in Pakistan

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Shahram Changezi, a former national champion and one of the most accomplished cueists of the country, firmly believes that snooker can’t rise phenomenally in Pakistan until the departments lend the kind of support they do to other games.

““The departments hold the key to the future of snooker in Pakistan. The financial constraints would be overcome and the game will stand of its feet once they are on board. The Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) should get affiliated to the legitimate Pakistan Olympic Association (POA) which would pave the way for the key departments to help the game in a big way,” the winner of bronze medal in the 2010 Asian Games snooker team event remarked in an interview. 

“Another factor having hindered the growth of snooker has been the lack of representation of as many as three provinces in the governing body of cue sports which is supposed to be a national federation of all four provincial units,” the Islamabad-based Shahram pointed out. 

Arguably the most educated of all the cueists in the national circuit, he has had difference of opinion with the functionaries of the PBSA on several occasions but he has not been afraid to call a spade a spade.

He has repeatedly reiterated the demand of sending a manager-cum-coach, having technical expertise, to accompany the cueists on every foreign trip rather than promoting joyriders.

“The cueists must not be allowed to leave the shores of the country until they are being accompanied by a manager-cum-coach, who should be a former international player himself. It will be great support to the cueists on and off the table. We don’t need more than one official on any tour,” he stressed.

Shahram regretted that the best available snooker facilities of the country, housed in Islamabad, was not been adequately utilized.

“I have spoken to the PBSA officials about it on a quite a few occasions and they cited the unwillingness of the sponsors to support any event as the reason for not availing the facility available in the federal capital. With better planning and far-sighted approach we could have had more snooker tournaments here,” he believed.

He looked unaware of the issues having plagued the PBSA lately but he expressed his concern over the resignations of top office-bearers. 

“I have read in the newspapers about the resignations but don’t know the details. To be honest I have been out of touch with the PBSA for quite sometime but as a cueist I am sad to learn about all this. All I can say is that let’s think big and dream high irrespective of the existing realities,” Shahram opined. 

 He did not mince words in stating that Pakistan’s Mohammad Asif, the reigning world amateur champion, should have tried his luck in the professionals’ circuit. 

“Asif, after having received financial rewards from the various quarters, appeared to have enough resources besides the opportunity to enter the professional arena but I am not sure why he didn’t go there. I would have advised him to turn professional as there are no Pakistanis in the circuit. His presence there would have been a boost for the country,” Shahram concluded.

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Hosts Bangladesh to contest ICC World T20 2014 qualifiers

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Hosts Bangladesh will be needed to appear in the first round, serving as the qualifiers for the Super 10 stage, in the next year's ICC World Twenty20 to be staged there from March 16 and April 6.

According to the details announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on October 27, Bangladesh will be grouped with three other Associate and Affiliate nations who will come through the qualifying tournament due to be staged in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from November 15 to 30. 

The format for the World T20 2014 has been modified in order to accommodate 16 teams this time round as compared to 12 in the last edition. The top eight sides of the ICC's T20 team rankings as on October 8, 2012 have been given direct entry into the Super 10 stage. 

Unsurprisingly Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies are the eight teams having directly qualified for the Super 10 stage by virtue of being the top eight sides in the ICC rankings on the cut-off date. 

Bangladesh and Zimbabwe, who have finished outside the top eight, will now have compete with six other qualifying teams in the first round from March 16 to 21 for the remaining two places in the Super 10 groups.

The six qualifying teams to join the first round will be decided at the end of the World T20 qualifiers next month. If hosts Bangladesh do qualify they will play all Super 10 matches in Mirpur. 

Bangladesh will begin their campaign in the qualifying rounds, also in Mirpur, on March 16, against one of the Associate or Affiliate qualifiers. They will play the other two first-round matches, in Chittagong, on March 18 and 20. 

The Super 10 stage will kickoff with a Group 2 match between the arch rivals and former World T20 champions, Pakistan and India, in Mirpur, on March 21 while holders West Indies will get into action on March 23 against India in Mirpur and will play the rest of their group matches against Pakistan, Australia and a qualifying team. 

The Group 1 in the Super 10 stage will comprise of Sri Lanka, England, South Africa and New Zealand with one of the qualifiers.

Meanwhile Cox's Bazaar has been dropped as a venue for the 2014 World T20 to be held in Bangladesh between Sylhet, another venue considered doubtful due to ongoing work at the stadium, has been retained. 

The ICC has announced that Sylhet would host all first-round fixtures of the Women's World T20 and a few group matches of the World T20, along with Mirpur and Chittagong while all the six knockout matches will be played in Mirpur. 

Sylhet and Cox's Bazaar had been in doubt because of ongoing development works being carried out at the stadiums and were granted an extension until November 30 by the ICC upon a request by the Bangladesh Cricket Board as the original deadline for the completion of the stadiums was September 30.

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Pakistan make mockery of ICC rankings by routing South Africa in Abu Dhabi

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

A young cricket correspondent of a leading weekly newsmagazine had interviewed me soon after Pakistan’s defeat at the hands of Zimbabwe in a Test match barely a few months ago.

Maaz Ahmed of MAG Weekly was stunned to the extent that he switched on his tape-recorder to record my comments when I informed him that the result of Harare will have no impact whatsoever when Pakistan would be facing the top-ranked South Africa in their next assignment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

Obviously he was curious enough to know how it would be possible for Pakistan to challenge the mighty South Africa when they had struggled in both the Test matches against the lowly-rated Zimbabwe. 

The young journalist asked probing questions because he was finding it hard to swallow how in the world any team in obvious shambles will rise so dramatically in a few months to confront or even tame the toppers.

Like a trained professional he hadn’t argued, however, but the strong disbelief on his face indicated that he was not entirely satisfied with my assessment of the Pakistan-South Africa series becoming a close affair. 

What I had stated, on record, a couple of months ago, has now been proved correct in the very first Test match, from the very first day of the series to be precise. You can never write off Pakistan no matter whatever the circumstances. 

Don’t be misled by the ICC rankings. They do have their meaning and purpose but Pakistan can’t be covered by it. No matter where they may be placed or what kind of resources they may be possessing if the rub of the green starts going their way the word ‘logic’ takes a backseat. 

We have seen it happening in many parts of the world but it’s more frequent in the UAE where they have had every aspect to their liking. Be it the weather, the pitch or any other factor, controllable or uncontrollable.

The Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi has witnessed another huge upset. South Africa, having ruled the world, have been brought down to earth by Misbah-ul-Haq’s Pakistan team, which was forced to make changes following the tour of Zimbabwe. The unbeaten run of Graeme Smith’s men has ended after 15 Tests. 

Pakistan fielded a new pair of openers in Khurram Manzoor and Shan Masood and both of them came good beyond expectations. They scored far too many runs in the first innings than their most ardent supporters would have imagined. 

Shan Masood had a dream debut against the most formidable bowling attack of the world, having the likes of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel who can demolish any opposition within matter of minutes. He could have even got to a hundred in his maiden outing but it was not to be. 

Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar might also be considering international cricket much easier than domestic or even local cricket. He must be feeling at top of the world. That’s called charmed life.

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Indian batters cover up follies of bowlers

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The trio of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli came up with awesome batting performance at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on October 16 to script a historic ODI win over Australia.

Left-handed Dhawan batted in his usual dominating style, Sharma didn’t throw his wicket for a change and returned undefeated while Kohli came up with another standout cameo to prove the world is at his feet. 

They made a mockery of the huge Australian total of 359 and the impossible-looking target was achieved with nine wickets and 6.3 overs in the bag. 

Not surprisingly it was India’s highest-ever successful chase in ODI history, making up for quite a few near-misses in the past.

Kohli broke the record for the fastest ODI hundred by an Indian, which belonged previously to Virender Sehwag, who has not even been selected for this series due to emergence of the shining young stars and a dip in his own form.

Sharma, under fire despite performing well in the role of an opener, silenced his critics with a phenomenal knock that should also relieve the team management who have continued backing him all along. 

"It was very important for me to play the big innings. It took a long time coming, but I would like to say that the hardwork never stopped. I wanted to bat throughout the innings, I agree that I have played some stupid shots to get out, but this was much needed. Both Shikhar and I understood the pitch and managed the chase, and Virat came and played a strong innings and his innings needs a mention as much as any," Sharma remarked after receiving the Man of the Match award, ahead of Kohli, now the fastest Indian ODI centurion. 

"I think this is one of the best you can see, irrespective of the field restrictions and the pitch, it was still a tall chase. I told them not to look at the target and just go and play. Shikhar batted very well, Kohli was amazing, Rohit got a big knock. It was an ideal pitch, fast outfield, but you need to keep the shape as a batsman, that's what they did well," skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni summed up.

Our batting is looking good, but it's unfair to assume the batsmen are going to chase a 300-plus target every time. Most of our guys have played international cricket, but most of them don't have the experience of a Yuvraj Singh who has played over 250 matches, what you have to do is to be aggressive, but what is important is that you don't have to slog, you have to maintain good shape,”he added. 

The Indian captain, however, remained concerned with his bowlers, having leaked in the excess of 300 on both occasions so far. 

“Bowling, we need to improve. The reason is that if you attempt a yorker and it becomes a low full toss its fine, but if it becomes a waist-high full toss, then the margin is too much. It's one area we are looking to improve," he pointed out.

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Nadeem Omar launches presidential campaign with a bang

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Nadeee Omar, a veteran sports promoter and a cricket administrator, has begun his election campaign with a bang. He announced his programme in the presence of some of the influential and venerated cricketing personalities along with a large battery of covering media professionals at the Karachi Gymkhana on October 7.

The founder and patron of the successful cricket teams like Omar Associates, Omar Cricket Club and Capricorn Discount Cards has vowed to transform the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) into a bigger entity than the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), if elected as its President. 

With former Test cricketers, Salahuddin Ahmed, Sadiq Mohammad, Jalaluddin and Nadeem Khan sitting at the stage with him, lending obvious support to him, Nadeem Omar made a convincing presentation aimed at reviving the KCCA. His strategic plan, covering nearly aspect of the game, was lavishly praised. 

The development of a new structure of cricket for Karachi features prominently on his agenda as he plans to have the KCCA managed as professionally as any other modern cricket association anywhere in the world. 

The establishment of a multinational type of office where the KCCA could be headquartered with grace and dignity is on top in the list of his priorities as he also has the plans to take upon the task of building new infrastructures in each of the seven zones something on the lines of Recreation Centres which could house indoor cricket schools besides zonal offices. 

He spoke about revitalizing the club cricket on a war footing with the assistance of the sponsors. He has also looked eager to launch proper cricket tournaments for schools and colleges. 

Nadeem Omar’s plans included the development of complexes containing a full fledged cricket grounds where first-class matches could be played. He emphasized on quickly developing and uploading a state-of-the-art website of the KCCA, to be updated on a daily basis, which would have details about Coaches, Umpires, Scorers, Clubs, Departments, Grounds, Rules, Women’s Cricket and Tournaments besides other features of general interest. 

He also made a mention of setting up a central KCCA Academy besides launching the KCCA Annual Award function to recognize the various stakeholders besides the cricketers. 

Speaking on the Salahuddin Ahmed, while offering his support to Nadeem Omar, observed that the revival of school cricket was the key to discover the new talent. He recalled the 1950s and the 1960s when the cricketers were directly selected to the national team on the basis of Inter-School tournaments whose standard was highly competitive. 

The former KCCA chief selector reckoned that merit should not be compromised at any cost as he cited examples of the past when the teams picked up on the basis of open trials continued to perform well in the national tournaments. 

Sadiq Mohammad, a former Test left-handed opening batsman, was thoroughly appreciated of the plan presented by Nadeem Omar but he emphasized on the development of a top-class office for the KCCA in order to attract the sponsors. He also suggested for the improvement in the quality of pitches to produce fast bowlers. 

Jalaluddin, a former Test fast bowler and a highly qualified coach, felt that it’s high time to have the KCCA reformed and Nadeem Omar, in his opinion, was the right person, to take it to the next level. He urged the zonal officials to vote for him in order to bring about a change.

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Shahid Aftab set to become Pakistan’s 16th cueist to appear in World Championship

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Shahid Aftab, an accomplished cueist from Faisalabad, is set to become 16th Pakistani to participate in the World Snooker Championship which celebrates its golden jubilee this year. 

Latif Amir Bakhsh, Tanvir Dada, Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Amir Bakhsh, Naveen Perwani, Saleh Mohammad, Farhan Mirza, Imran Puri, Mohammad Shafiq, Khurram Agha, Imran Shahzad, Mohammad Sajjad, Mohammad Asif, Sohail Shahzad and Asjad Iqbal are the other cueists from Pakistan to have played in the World Championship, having been instituted in 1963. 

Mohammad Yousuf and Mohammad Asif are the only ones to have captured the world crown. Yousuf achieved this feat at Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1994 while Asif emulated him 18 years later at Bulgaria, Sofia. 

Asif will be defending his title in the 2013 IBSF World Snooker Championship to be staged in Daugavpils, Latvia, from September 27 to December 8. He will be accompanied by Shahid Aftab and Imran Shahzad as Pakistan will be fielding three entries this time round because of him being the holder. 

Shahid has made the cut by having emerged triumphant in the Jubilee Insurance 3rd Ranking Snooker Championship 2013 at the Karachi Sheraton Hotel on September 26. He has now become the top ranked cueist of the country.

Imran, who made his international debut at Korat, Thailand, in 2007, will be making his fourth appearance in the World Championship, having also participated at Damascus, Syria, in 2010 and at Bangalore, India, the following year. 

Asif, who won the National Championship in 2009, made his debut in the World Championship later the same year at Hyderabad, India. He missed the action in the global event in 2010 but returned to represent the country in 2011. He then rewrote history by winning the world crown at Sofia, Bulgaria, last year.

Yousuf had been participating in the World Championship every year since 1988. After winning the title in 1994, he appeared in the 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2000 editions of the premier amateur event. Still active in the national circuit, he has had the distinction of playing in exactly a dozen editions of the World Championship, which is the Pakistan record for the highest appearances. He also holds the record of winning the National Championship on the highest number of occasions. 

Saleh Mohammad, who has now emigrated to Afghanistan, represented Pakistan in as many as 11 editions of the World Championship from 1993 to 2004. He could have surpassed Yousuf’s record if the event was not scrapped in 2001 and 2005. He had come closest to claiming the world title in 2003 when, after winning the earlier 14 games on a trot, he was downed in the final by Pankaj Advani of India at Jiangmen, China. 

Naveen Kumar Perwani participated in the World Championships in 1992, 1993, 1995, and 2006 while Khurram Hussain Agha earned this honour in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008. Mohammad Sajjad has appeared in a couple of editions of the World Championship (2009 and 2010) while Sohail Shahzad and Asjad Iqbal represented Pakistan in the global event in 2010 and 2012 respectively.

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Shahid Aftab qualifies for World Championship by annexing Jubilee Ranking snooker

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Neither the world champion Mohammad Asif nor the defending champion Asjad Iqbal could force their way into the semifinals of the Jubilee Insurance 3rd Ranking Snooker Championship 2013. Top seeded Imran Shahzad also failed to make it to the final which was contested between fourth seed Shahid Aftab and sixth seed Abdul Sattar at the Karachi Sheraton Hotel on September 26.

Shahid Aftab prevailed over Abdul Sattar 7-4 in the best of 13-frame encounter with the scores of 56-76, 64-68, 73-51, 47-74, 114-3, 74-16, 40-66, 71-25, 58-46, 73-39, 61-59. The match was closer than the final scoreline suggested. Eventually the glory came in the way 

Shahid Aftab, a former national champion from Faisalabad. He was not only rewarded with the winner’s trophy alongwith a purse of Rs 70,000 but he also achieved the cherished goal of earning the right to represent Pakistan in the World Snooker Championship later this year by virtue of becoming the top ranked cueist of the country. He will be a part of the Pakistan’s World Championship squad, alongwith the reigning champion Mohammad Asif, also from Faisalabad, and Imran Shahzad, belonging to Lahore.

Abdul Sattar, one of the most accomplished cueists of Karachi, had his moments in the final but the additional pressure of vying for the World Championship slot took its toll and he reasons to feel heart-broken after being in such spectacular for throughout the seven-day event. 

Although making his maiden appearance in the final of a national ranking event, he had drawn the first blood and was looking good in the first half of the match. He was better poised to clinch the trophy when he led 4-3 but he couldn't put his acts together in the last few frames against an opponent, who had greater experience of big matches. 

The consolation for Sattar, however, was his elevation to third position in the national ranking chart, having been positioned sixth before the start of the tourney.

Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Commissioner Karachi, was to be the chief guest in the prize distribution ceremony, according to an official announcement by the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) only a day earlier. But it could be ascertained immediately what prompted the governing body of cue sports to invite a cricket celebrity like Shahid Afridi, a former Pakistan captain, to run away with the spotlight in the presentation ceremony. 

The PBSA President, Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, does have the reputation of springing surprises once in a while and it was probably one of those moves. It looked surprising to say the least because the snooker officials often complain, officially, about being overshadowed by cricket. If they themselves would provide the stage to the cricketers in their prized functions they would lose the right of making an anti-cricket statement in future. 

Tahir Ahmed, Managing Director, Jubilee General Insurance, representing the sponsors, was also present in the closing ceremony of the event in which cash prizes of Rs 165,000 were disbursed among the top performers.

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Arif Habib’s visionary leadership creates magnificent Naya Nazimabad Lawai Stadium

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

It’s the vision of Arif Habib, besides his passion for cricket, which has led to the creation of the magnificent Naya Nazimabad Lawai Stadium which has nearly all the ingredients of becoming a world-class venue in not too distant future.

One of the leading entrepreneurs of the country having a played a pivotal role in keeping the Pakistan economy afloat even in the toughest of times, Arif Habib, Chairman, Arif Habib Group, has played a master stroke by developing a cricket ground of international standard in his latest project, the Naya Nazimabad City, a 2,100-acre housing scheme in the northern area of Karachi. 

He is believed to have masterminded the development of the cricket stadium on a fast track which has earned huge goodwill to the mega project in many ways. The first thing one comes across after entering the main gate of the Naya Nazimabad city is the picturesque cricket stadium, which already has floodlights. You could not expect a better first impression of the project other than this one. 

With hills on one side and the Manghopir Lake on the other, the scheme is well guarded and gated. It’s just a few minutes drive from the Sakhi Hasan roundabout in North Nazimabad. The construction work in the housing scheme is in full flow, much to the delight and satisfaction of the allottees, and the developed cricket stadium has ensured plenty of life in the arena much before people start residing there upon the completion of the project by the end of 2015.

Cricket has been the first love for Arif Habib and he has made a point to play matches at the Naya Nazimabad Lawai Stadium on Sundays whenever he’s in town. 

He derives enormous pleasure in driving down from his DHA residence in the morning and takes the cricket game as seriously as any other assignment even today. 

“The principles of cricket are very effective in business. The goal is to stay at the wicket, hit the right balls, leave the balls that don’t quite work, and keep an eye on the scoreboard. I feel that my childhood association with cricket has contributed to my success,” Arif Habib was famously quoted as saying. 

The Naya Nazimabad Lawai Stadium has been named after Hussain Lawai, President, Summit Bank Limited, in recognition and honour of his support and passion for cricket. Indeed he has been a great promoter of sports over the years. The credit for turning Arif Habib’s dream of the Naya Nazimabad Lawai Stadium into reality goes to Mohammad Iqbal, Director, Javedan Corporation Limited, whose expertise and skills for sports administration are well known.

Iqbal, a former first-class cricketer, headed the sports division of the Muslim Commercial Bank, now MCB Bank, for a number of years. He had represented the organization in the various committees as well as the Council of the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP), now the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). 

It’s another far-sighted decision by the management of the Javedan Corporation Limited to have entrusted the responsibilities of managing the affairs of the cricket stadium in particular to Iqbal, who has a proven track record in this field. 

The Naya Nazimabad Lawai Stadium has already hosted a major tournament recently in which Omar Cricket Club emerged triumphant in the final of the Peace Cup Twenty20 Cricket Tournament 2013 at as they overpowered Qasmi Cricket Club in the final. 

Samad A Habib, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Javedan Corporation Limited, was the chief guest in the prize distribution ceremony held at the ground immediately after the conclusion of the final. Mohammad Iqbal, one of the Directors of the corporation, was also present on the occasion.

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