Sajjad regains national crown in style

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

There was no stopping Mohammad Sajjad from recapturing the national crown. Easily the most talented of all the young cueists to have arrived on the scene in the recent past he was in complete control while routing Asjad Iqbal in the all-Sargodha final of the NJI 35th National Snooker Championship 2010 at the Karachi Gymkhana on March 8.

Top seeded Sajjad, a former champion, lived up to the billing by whacking the unseeded Asjad, making his maiden appearance in the final of the National Championship, 8-2 with the frame scores of 72-55, 100-6, 79-41, 122-8, 80-57, 67-43, 62-58, 8-72, 7-70, 85-7.

The presentation ceremony was held soon after the final in which Tahir Ahmed, Managing Director, New Jubilee Insurance (NJI), was the chief guest. Quite a few office-bearers of the Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA), including their President, Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, were also present on the occasion.

Tahir Ahmed, having become a familiar personality in the snooker circles, presented the glittering trophy alongwith a purse of Rs50,000 to Muhammad Sajjad while Asjad Iqbal collected the runner-up trophy with a reward of Rs30,000. Sajjad also got special cash awards for registering the tournament’s solitary century break in the final.

The 26-year-old Sajjad, who had created a sensation by winning the National Championship on his debut a couple of years ago, was in complete control in the final against Asjad, five years his junior.

Unlike the last year’s final in which Sajjad was overshadowed by Mohammad Asif, he went about his business in leisurely fashion against his young opponent who he had also coached for a while in their hometown.

Sajjad’s dominance could be gauged from the fact that he registered one big break after another. He recorded breaks of 47 and 53 in the second frame before hammering one of 43 in the third.

He chalked up the first century break (117) of the competition in the fourth frame. His thirst for breaks didn’t end there as he blasted ones of 76 and 41 in sixth and seventh frames respectively to seal the fate of the match.

The young Asjad, having represented the country in last year’s Asian and World Under-21 Snooker Championships could not reproduce the form that had taken to the final against the heaviest of odds.

The only consolation for Asjad was preventing a whitewash that had earlier seemed imminent when he was trailing 0-7 in the best of 15 frame encounter. He snatched two frames in a row to make it 2-7 but Sajjad didn’t allow any more liberties to him.

The NJI 35th National Snooker Championship 2010 lasted about a week. A total of 34 cueists took part in the event who were divided in eight groups for the first round of league matches. The knockout stage began with the round of 16.

Quite a few promising youngsters grabbed the opportunity of demonstrating their growing stature with Asjad turning out to be the standout package.

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Mohsin Khan’s appointment as chief selector another body blow to ailing Pakistan cricket

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Ijaz Butt continues to be on a rampage. Chiefly if not solely responsible for pushing the Pakistan cricket to the wall of late he has dealt yet another body blow by appointing Mohsin Hasan Khan as the chairman of the national selection committee.

Mohsin Khan was a dashing opening batsman of his time, having played a few memorable knocks with the double-century in the Lord’s Test of 1982 being the standout performance, but he’s not considered an appropriate choice for the position of chief selector.

Ijaz Butt, who took over as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in 2008, has been guilty of committing blunders after blunders and his insistence to call the shots without taking the trouble of consulting people who matter has caused irreparable damage to the game in the country.

Ijaz Butt has already done enough disservice to the cause of the Pakistan and he’s not prepared to listen to anyone because of the support he enjoys of his brother-in-law Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar, one of the most influential of politicians in the country at the moment.

He has been fearlessly taking the decisions arbitrarily showing total disrespect to the members of the Governing Board of the PCB. Neither has he been bothered by the declining performance of the team.

The appointment of Mohsin Khan as the chief selector once again brought to light the fact that Ijaz Butt doesn’t care for anyone or anything and he is not afraid to make the moves that are more likely to backfire than not.

Ijaz Butt appeared to have made up his mind after his differences with Abdul Qadir last year that he will be having a Karachi-based chief selector. The names of Saleem Yousuf, Mohsin Khan and Iqbal Qasim were believed to have been considered when the slot became vacant with the exit of the magician leg-spinner.

Iqbal Qasim was preferred and the assignment was given to him. The great left-arm spinner of his era that he was, he also held the advantage of being the chief of the sports department of a leading bank that provided him the opportunity of interacting with the cricketers active on the scene.

The marriage of convenience between Ijaz Butt and Iqbal Qasim, not surprisingly didn’t last long, and the post became vacant once more in a matter of months.
Ijaz Butt has now chosen Mohsin Khan as the replacement of Iqbal Qasim as he desired, by the look of things, to let the position of chairman selection committee be retained by someone from Karachi.

Mohsin Khan will be facing multiple problems in discharging his duties as he’s had the reputation of working out his own timetable. He had worked for the PCB in the past as well but, unlike his enterprising Test career, didn’t do anything to be proud of.

Let us see how Mohsin Khan, who also tried his luck as an actor in the Bollywood, brings his diplomatic skills into play because the chances of him enduring the Ijaz Butt factor appear very remote indeed.

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Another pioneering effort from Bashir Khan

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

As Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, a former Prime Minister of Pakistan, has noted in the introduction of the recently published book, Play Better Golf, its author Bashir Ahmed Khan, more famous in the golfing circles as BAK, has been a pioneer in many fields.

Play Better Golf, not surprisingly, happens to be the first book of international standard to be authored and produced in Pakistan and it’s another feather in the cap of BAK, who had an outstanding career in quite a few other fields besides golf.

The 140-page book has been written with a cause. It’s domestic price of Rs 3,000 as well as the international price of US$ 40 per copy appears on the higher side but since the entire proceeds of the sale of the book will go for the education of the deserving children on merit one has the opportunity of making a valuable contribution to the society.

In the promotional literature it has been explained that the sale of every copy of the book will be facilitating in sending one deserving student to school for at least a period of one year.

I am confident that by now a large number of copies of the book would already have been sold out because of two reasons in particular. The book itself is quite a worthy effort, a collector’s delight to be precise. Then the noble cause for which it has been brought out should also encourage many to purchase multiple copies of the book.

Certainly every golfer in particular should own a copy for reference purposes. Such a high quality book on the sport of golf had never been published in Pakistan in the past. It should help in the promotion of golf in the country.

The contents in Play Better Golf are authentic, informative and interesting. It’s a complete package for the golf lovers. It should also be of considerable interest to the non-golfers as well because it has the quotes from the some of the greatest-ever personalities like Sir Winston Churchill.

The versatility and greatness of BAK is reflected in this book as well in which he has showcased some of the most memorable moments of his illustrious career. One standout occasion was the meeting he had the honour of presiding at the White House on October 1, 2003, in the presence of the US President, George W Bush, and the Pakistan Prime Minister, Mir Zafaraullah Khan Jamali.

The accomplishments of BAK are a source of inspiration for all of us. I have had the privilege of working alongside him for over a couple of decades now and it has always been enlightening being with him.
Professionally we had the opportunity of covering numerous international cricket matches. He remained an integral part of the Radio commentary team for a number of years, being the first one to describe the action live in Urdu, the national language of the country.

We have been a part and parcel of the executive committee of the Delhi Anglo-Arabic College & Schools Association for quite sometime now. He was elected to the post of the President of the Association four years ago and he has been leading by example all along.

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Shouldn’t BCCI be tried for treason?

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Isn’t it a shame that a depleted outfit was fielded to take on the mighty South Africans in the third and final One-day International at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 27.

The Indians had definitely entered the game with the series already clinched with the triumphs in Jaipur and Gwalior. But did it mean it was compulsory on part of the hosts to gift at least one match to the visitors.

Haven’t the Indians been whitewashed by the various opponents in the past whenever they were found wanting? Wasn’t it their turn to return the compliment to South Africa who had blanked them in the ODI series at home just a few seasons ago?

What was the purpose of resting the seasoned campaigners at a time when they had the South Africans on the mat and another win would have enabled them to finish off the international season at home in style.

Instead of going for the kill, the Indian selectors withdrew their top performers and blooded the inexperienced youngsters in their place for reasons beyond comprehension. Obviously the selectors could not have done this kind of adventure without the consent of the top officials of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan, three of their most consistent players over the past many years, were unavailable due to injuries. What was the point in resting Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag at this point of time when Gambhir and Yuvraj were unavailable?

Was Saeed Anwar rested for the following game after he had amassed the highest ODI score of 194? For that matter was Brian Lara offered a break after scoring 400? When somebody is in the form of his lifetime he likes to go on and on. Only the BCCI people could know the wisdom behind depriving Tendulkar the chance of playing another majestic knock.

Talking about deprivation, was it fair on part of the BCCI to have withdrawn Tendulkar and Sehwag just a couple of days before the game where as the tickets for the Ahmedabad game must have been sold out well in advance?

Didn’t the people of Ahmedabad deserve to have the sight of the great Indian openers having taken the world by storm?

Even worse to the extent of suicidal was the withdrawal of the experienced bowlers. What was the sense to have a three-man pace attack lacking in confidence, abilities and experience when they had the likes of Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, RP Singh, Ishant Sharma, Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel to name a few to choose from.

Shantikumaran Sreesanth, who had struggled in the earlier two matches, was made the spearhead of the attack and those having showed greater control under pressure, Nehra and Kumar, were sidelined and replaced by two raw youngsters, Sudeep Tyagi and Abhi Mithun.

Needless to say the Indians conceded a record score to South Africa and then got bowled out for a low score in conditions when gripping the ball in wet conditions was quite an issue.

Do the officials of the BCCI have the right to field any outfit of their choice under the banner of ‘Team India’ or do they also have to follow any code of ethics? Isn’t it a crime to play around with the emotions of the people by not letting the best lot do it for their country?

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India outplay Pakistan in battle of former champions

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

It was amazing to find the Indians dominate their arch-rivals, Pakistan, so decisively and more importantly translating their supremacy into a resounding 4-1 victory. It’s not often when they have succeeded in recording such an emphatic win over their fiercest opponents.

India’s Spanish coach, Jose Brasa, very rightly downplayed the win because after all it was an opening match not the final of the tournament. But they certainly warmed the hearts of their supporters during their opening World Cup 2010 match at the Major Dhyan Chand Stadium in New Delhi on February 28.

"It's just a normal win and three points for us we must keep our feet on the ground. We dominated the first half, but we were not up to mark in second half and still managed to score two lucky goals," he summed up the situation perfectly.

India do need a cool head to carry the form they displayed in the opening game into the remaining matches because of being placed in the group of death. Whether they will be able to sustain the momentum against Australia, Spain, England and South Africa remains to be seen.

The Indians have seldom performed consistently in the hockey field for decades now and I don’t think there’s much to celebrate with an odd win over Pakistan. They have to come up with much improved performance in the upcoming matches to bring about any kind of revival.

Well begun is believed to be half done. So India can draw inspiration from the big win over Pakistan in the first game and they can make it count. Realistically they are not in the run for a place in the semifinals but a couple of more victories can bring them in contention.

Sandeep Singh was their hero in the opening game scoring from two penalty corners. Shivendra Singh had given India the lead in the 25th minute after capitalizing on a penalty corner rebound and Sandeep made it 2-0 just before halftime.

Soon after resumption Prabhjot Singh made the most of a pass from Arjun Halappa and then Sandeep Singh scored with a drag-flick to make it 4-0 in the 56th minute. The Indians kept on attacking and they were not deterred even after Pakistan’s penalty-corner specialist Sohail Abbas had narrowed the deficit.

Talking of Sohail it was rare to find cursing himself out in the open when he found the crossbar two times. He, however, turned out to be the solitary scorer for Pakistan on a day when they could not launch their trademark offensives.

Pakistan’s coach Shahid Ali Khan conceded that India were the better team on the day. "After falling behind by three goals, it was always going to be difficult to bounce back but this isn't the end of the tournament," he remarked.

Well theoretically Pakistan do stand a chance of forcing their way in the semifinals but the ground realities might be far too harsh to their liking. They have to tackle the powerful trio of Australia, Spain and England besides South Africa.

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Will Waqar be able to deliver in chaotic environment?

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

There is no doubt about the abilities of Waqar Younis whose toe-crushing yorkers are still remembered with awe. He was one of the greatest fast bowlers of his generation, having engineered innumerable triumphs for Pakistan.

He has also been blessed with communication skills that have enabled him to be in the game even after retirement. He has done commentary of international matches for various television networks. In fact he remains one of the very few former Pakistan cricketers who can express themselves comfortably in the English language.

Waqar was in the news of late as the front-runner for the job of the national coach. Now it has finally been confirmed that the mercurial fast bowlers of the 1990s has indeed been offered the assignment.

It’s quite extraordinary how things work in this part of the world. It’s all down to one person calling the shots in the organizations as huge as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) that has rather been under the proprietorship of Ijaz Butt for nearly year and a half now.

Earlier there were reports, confirmed by the former Australian captain himself, that Greg Chappell was approached for having a coaching stint with the Pakistan team. Yet the PCB denied having contacted Chappell.

Well to an extent the clarification made sense as well because in all those reports it was mentioned that Wasim Bari, the so-called Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the PCB, had spoken to Chappell in this regard.

Obviously Wasim Bari is nobody when it comes to making decisions irrespective of the big portfolio he’s holding or the huge salary he is drawing. It’s Ijaz Butt holds the key in all matters.

Now since Ijaz Butt has confirmed about Waqar Younis being offered the contract one has to take it as official.

Reportedly has been offered a contract by Ijaz Butt to coach the Pakistan side until December 2011. Waqar, currently in Australia, has confirmed having received the contract.

"I would like Waqar to join the Pakistan team. We are awaiting a reply as we have offered him to take over as our head coach," Ijaz Butt was quoted as saying.

I think it’s a matter of time for the former fast bowler to sign it. He must have held negotiations with Ijaz Butt before agreeing to become Pakistan's fourth coach in the last three years.

Waqar faces a very tough challenge because working in the present chaotic environment would be quite a task. Coaching a national team is something else. Becoming a personal servant to the boss is an entirely different proposition.

I am not sure if Waqar does possess the diplomatic skills of Wasim Bari, whom his critics also call as Wasim ‘Darbari’ a clear indication of the latter’s proficiency in blindly toeing the line of the boss.

Coming to terms with Ijaz Butt, notorious for unpredictability, might be a bigger issue for Waqar than coaching the boys.

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NJI offers to sponsor international snooker tournament in Pakistan

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The New Jubilee Insurance (NJI), having become the major sponsors of the national cue sports tournaments, have offered to take care of an international snooker event later this year.

Tahir Ahmed, Managing Director, NJI, made the offer to the cash-starved Pakistan Billiards Snooker Association (PBSA), during the launching ceremony of the NJI 35th National Snooker Championship 2010 held at the Karachi Gymkhana Banquet Hall on February 25.

“It’s very heartening to note that NJI and snooker have become synonymous and we are encouraged to extend greater support to cue sports. We are prepared to sponsor an international snooker tournament in the second half of the current year whenever the PBSA is ready,” he offered.

The generous offer of Tahir Ahmed was certainly music to the ears of the officials of the PBSA and it was promptly acknowledged by their President, Alamgir Anwar Shaikh, who briefed the media about the Nationals 2010 to be staged here at the Karachi Gymkhana from March 2 to 8.

He announced the return of Mohammad Yousuf and Shehram Changezi to the national circuit. “Shehram, a former Pakistan number one, has qualified for the National Championship by winning the recently concluded Punjab Cup in Lahore while Yousuf, a former world champion, has made it through the Sindh Cup quota,” the PBSA President disclosed.

Alamgir Shaikh, however, could not come up with a convincing answer when asked if the decision of the Sindh Billiards & Snooker Association (SBSA), an affiliated unit of the PBSA, to allow direct entry to the veteran Yousuf without asking him to play in the Sindh Cup was in accordance with their constitution.

Yousuf, having won the National Championship on the highest number of occasions, was eliminated from the circuit following his inconsistent performance in successive ranking tournaments. He had to miss all the four national ranking tournaments last year after being denied wild card entry by the PBSA.

Alamgir Shaikh, having succeeded Ali Asghar Valika as the chief of the Association in 2008, regretted the recent decline in the governmental support to the game of snooker as he showed a comparison in which the lesser known games received much higher grants than the PBSA.

On the positive note the PBSA President disclosed that they have facilitated the participation of the finalists of the National Junior Championship, Muhammad Ahsan Javed of Punjab and Muhammad Ishtiaq of Sindh, in order to let compete with the top cueists of the country in the National Championship

“They will make it to the main draw automatically if there were two dropouts. They will still be included in the line-up if all the cueists do turn up in which case the number of participants in the National Championship will rise to 34,” Alamgir Shaikh explained.

Top four cueists from each of the four provinces, Punjab, Sindh, NWFP and Balochistan, earned the right to appear in the National Championship besides the top 16 cueists in the last national ranking chart.

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Tendulkar seals series

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Yet another magnificent knock from Sachin Tendulkar powered India to a series triumph over South Africa, one of the best teams in the business at the moment in every format of the game.

India could not win the two-Test series, managing to square it after losing the first one by the heaviest of margins, but they have come up with better performance in the One-day Internationals closing the three-match series at the Captain Roop Singh Stadium in Gwalior that has remained their happy hunting ground.

Unlike the first ODI in which the South African tail-enders frustrated India against all odds there was no such drama in the second game where the hosts were able to dictate terms until the very end.

There was no guarantee for success for India even after they had posted a total of 401 for three in the allotted 50 overs. They had to come out hard against the South Africans and they did exactly that to prevent anything unusual close to one in the previous game.

In the end 153 runs separated the two sides that looked a fair reflection of the dominance of the home side. With their tidy bowling, the Indians didn’t let the visitors come up with anything extravagant to upstage them.

The limelight was very much on Tendulkar for having set up the monumental triumph but overall it was the team effort that allowed the hosts to remain in the driving seat all along on a day they might not forget for a very long time indeed.

It was one of those days when they were able to bulldoze their fancied rivals in every department of the game. Tendulkar stood out with his magnificent double century but the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Yousuf Pathan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni also made significant contribution with the bat to ensure a massive total.

The trio of Karthik, Pathan and Dhoni kept the score moving at brisk pace to let Tendulkar play his natural game. It could have been a different story to relate if the runs had choked at the other end that would have definitely brought pressure even on the Master Blaster in full cry.

Dhoni’s captaincy, as usual, was spot it. His decision to promote Pathan and opt for the batting powerplay soon after his arrival turned out to be masterstrokes. Then the skipper himself fired on all cylinders in the death overs to let Tendulkar relax a bit in the 190s.

The disappointment of losing Virender Sehwag, who was caught at third man, early in the innings was not allowed to be felt because Karthik built a marathon partnership with Tendulkar and then the stage was set for Pathan and Dhoni to push the score past 400.

India had reasons not to feel complacent even while defending the monumental score because South Africa had successfully chased down 434 against Australia at the Wanderers not very long ago.

The Indians removed the danger man Herschelle Gibbs cheaply and then wickets kept on tumbling at regular internals. AB de Villiers scored a century without threatening to change the complexion of the game.

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