PIA revive colts cricket scheme

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), having pioneered the idea of launching the colts scheme in cricket, have now joined hands with a few other corporations in reviving the programme that had helped in discovering a number of promising youngsters who went on to become big names in the following years.

Former Test opening batsman and now head of PIA Sports Division, Shoaib Mohammad, himself a product of the colts progamme, has revealed that National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and State Life Insurance Corporation (SLIC) have also been taken on board while reviving the colts scheme.

“We have recently re-launched the PIA Cricket Colts Programme that envisions hunting, selecting, growing and developing talent for professionalism in cricketing world. We have also taken the initiative of joining hands with NBP and SLIC, asking them to take up similar programmes in their respective organizations and contribute towards the progress of sports in Pakistan,” Shoaib disclosed.

As many as 267 teenagers appeared in the recent PIA colts trials from which 50 players were shortlisted. Later a high profile selection committee comprising of Hanif Mohammad, Saleem Jaffer, Iqbal Qasim and Shoaib Mohammad, assessed the candidates for their teamwork, skills, agility, attitude and potential for future growth. The panel finalized selection of 13 colts.

The 13 youngsters selected for the PIA Colts for their two-year programme are Faraz Ali, Shayan Jahangir, Abdullah Shah, Ammad Alam Khan, Amit Ravi, Imam-ul-Haq, Mir Hamza, Zia-ul-Haq, Fawad Khan, Akhtar Kayani, Jazib Mohammad, Bilal Manzoor and Bilal Nisar.

“The programme aims to ensure getting these colts to qualify for selection at PIA and national team levels, by encouraging them to demonstrating professionalism in their skills and behaviours,” Shoaib remarked.

“It intends to achieve this aim through a four pronged strategy firstly by providing academic, communication, grooming, etiquettes and computer literacy needs of these selected colts. Then for two years train and develop them, on-the-campus, in cricketing skills, thirdly introducing a mentoring program under which legends like Hanif Mohammad, Zaheer Abbas, Wasim Akram, Shoaib Malik, Shoaib Akhtar will be invited to mentor them,” he added.

“We would assess the trainees for improvement through a PIA Cricket Colts Selection and Monitoring Committee who will identify the promising players having consistent outstanding performances. Lastly, these colts would be provided with travelling opportunities by participating in matches across the country and on foreign soils,” Shoaib said.

The initiative of PIA augers well for the future of Pakistan cricket at a time when the majority of the departments, who were so enthusiastic in the promotion and development of sports from the grassroots level, have slowly withdrawn their proactive support due to various reasons.

PIA have had the history of promoting sports in a big way over the years. Their sports department may be shrinking but their recent decision to revive the colts scheme suggests that they are still interested in associating their name with sports. The PIA Cricket Academy in Karachi is another reflection of their desire not to part ways from social service.

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Ganguly enthralls at Eden Gardens once more

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Sourav Ganguly, the Prince of Kolkata as he has been usually referred to, produced yet another magnificent knock at his home ground, the Eden Gardens, much to the delight of his so many fans.

His scintillating knock of 88 from only 54 balls guided Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing victory over Deccan Chargers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on April 1, bringing smiles on the face of Shah Rukh Khan finally.

The crowd at the Eden Gardens was given another treat by Ganguly, having starred in many famous wins for India in his successful stint as captain. But life for him in the IPL has not been far from spectacular so far.

"It was a good wicket, the ball came on well. I have been batting well for the last four-five games - 30s, 30s, 50s - it was good that I carried on today," a relieved Ganguly observed after his match-winning knock against Deccan Chargers.

"We started off well but then dropped a bit, we were in a spot where we needed to get some wins, the tournament's still wide open but it was good to get a win," he added.

Ganguly led from the front, playing a similar kind dominating role he used to do at the peak of his career while captaining India.

He took the attack to the opposition on a pitch where stroke-play wasn’t as simple as on other grounds. He paced his innings superbly without making an effort to go after every ball.

With the pitching purchase even to the part-time spinners like Andrew Symonds and Rohit Sharma, Ganguly, the master tactician that he is, chose to punish only those balls that fell in his radar.

After having played out some quiet overs from the T20 standards, he took on Pragyan Ojha, the most accomplished spinner in the Deccan Chargers line-up, hitting him powerfully over the ropes on a quite a few occasions.

Australia’s David Hussey helped Ganguly lead the Kolkata revival. Hussey, many years junior to the now retired Indian captain, played a perfect second fiddle to build a partnership that eventually turned the tide. They added 78 for the fourth wicket in a matter of 7.3 overs after Kolkata had crashed to 68 for three.

Hussey resisted the temptation of having a go at the bowling until Ganguly was at the crease. Kolkata were not very well placed at the halfway stage of their innings having scored just 80 for the loss of three wickets.

There was not much gain in the next five overs either but the momentum picked up in the five overs yielding no less than 65 that took the total to 181 in the allotted 20 overs.

Ganguly was chiefly responsible for breaking the shackles as he went after the West Indian quickie Kemar Roach lofting him for a six over mid-on and then dabbing to a four fine.

He was in complete control of the situation and a century for him was there for the taking. But he plucked in the deep when just a couple of strikes away from the landmark.

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Pakistan’s cricket star set to marry India’s tennis queen

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The announcement of retirement from international cricket by former captain and a batting great, Mohammad Yousuf, was not the ‘only’ headline news to be broadcast by the Pakistani television channels on March 29.

I don’t think Yousuf even had left the premises of the Karachi Press Club (KPC), where he had formally announced his retirement during Meet the Press programme, when the news about the wedding of Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza broke out.

So there were two former Pakistan cricket captains, not one, having hit the headlines on the same day. Yousuf and Shoaib may not be enjoying the most cordial of relations of late but I am sure they would have followed each other’s developments during the day with considerable interest.

While there was not much element of surprise in Yousuf’s decision of calling it a day, for it had become all too obvious by the time he announced his retirement formally, but the ‘news’ of Shoaib planning to tie the knot with Sania came as a surprise.

As the television channels started ‘hunting’ for the ‘credible’ sources to verify the ‘breaking news’ the sports communities in both the countries across the border became more engrossed in this unexpected and unlikely event.

The news was finally confirmed to the media by Sania’s father Imran Mirza later in the evening. A formal wedding reception has been scheduled within a month but there were no plans for an engagement function.

“The couple will be based in Dubai, where Shoaib is a resident, and Sania will continue to play tennis once she recovers fully from the wrist injury that has marred her career in the recent past,” Imran was quoted as saying.

“My wedding is, Insha Allah, going to be the biggest day of my life. I have been under constant glare of the public for too long and would appreciate more privacy at this very personal moment in my life,” Sania said.

“I hope to be fully fit to represent India in the Commonwealth and Asian Games that are scheduled for later this year,” she added.

Sania plans to continue playing tennis for India while Shoaib will obviously be representing Pakistan and this indeed could be a unique case where the husband and wife will represent their respective countries in sport.

Shoaib is understood to be fully supportive of Sania’s tennis career. “I fully understand what it takes to be an international sportsperson and I will support Sania in her career as long as she wishes to play,” he was reported to have said.

“Representing India, at the 2012 Olympics is very important for her and I will be the proudest husband if she can win a medal for her country,” the former Pakistan captain added.

Shoaib had formerly been engaged to another Indian, Ayesha Siddiqui, who claims to be married to the charismatic Pakistani all-rounder. According to reports Ayesha’s father has tried to threaten Shoaib to give Ayesha divorce before proceeding any further.

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Yousuf calls it a day in KPC’s Meet the Press show

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

It was around 4.30 pm on March 29 when Mohammad Yousuf, one of the greatest-ever batsmen to be produced by the country, announced his decision to retire from all forms of international cricket.

The Sports Committee of the Karachi Press Club (KPC) had invited the world record-holder for the highest number of Test runs as well as centuries in a calendar year at the Meet the Press Programme upon learning that he was going to make an ‘important’ decision of his career.

Thanks to the media it had become an ‘open secret’ and it was no more going to be a ‘breaking news’ by the time the programme was held that Yousuf would be announcing his retirement. A large number of KPC members, particular those covering cricket, had reached the venue much before the designated time.

The popularity of Yousuf and the significance of the event of the members had also attracted quite a few cricket scribes who are not privileged to be the members of the KPC yet for different reasons.

Yousuf himself arrived at the KPC about 20 minutes before the start of the programme and he had to spend sometime with his media friends in the Ibrahim Jalees Hall before being escorted to the terrace.

The seats were full and everyone was waiting for the moment eagerly when the master batsman was going to make the ‘declaration’ in public. With the members of the electronic media requiring time to get their microphones in order we had to start the programme a few minutes past four.

Being the Secretary of the KPC Sports Committee as well as the host of the programme I did have the option of delivering a long opening speech to pay tribute to the accomplished middle-order batsman and also reflect on the controversies related to him.

But I chose to be precise as I normally prefer to do on all occasions because I know how restless one feels if the speaker goes anywhere close to ‘dragging’ or loses the focus even a bit.

The KPC Secretary, A H Khanzada, talked in detail about the recent failures of the Pakistan cricket team having made the whole country sad and depressed.

The KPC President, Imtiaz Faran, explained the national flavour of the club. He urged Yousuf to change his retirement plans in the larger national interest.

The clock had ticked half pas four when Yousuf, after a brief presentation ceremony, finally came to speak. The cameras became more attentive. The photojournalists started clicking his every move.

The stage was set for Yousuf to explode and play a breezy knock. But he preferred dead batting. He just read out a carefully drafted speech in which he thanked all his former captains and colleagues for the support they had extended to him over the years. Then he announced retirement from international cricket.

Yousuf was reluctant to take the questions from the media but he stood there for a while as it’s a tradition to have an interactive session with the KPC members in Meet the Press programme.

A number of critical questions were hurled at him but he evaded them. He was not prepared to speak his mind. He looked indecisive and unprepared as well for the volley of questions. He, however, registered his appreciation for the KPC.

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Yousuf persuaded to reconsider retirement before announcing it

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Pakistan cricket has its own peculiar ways. Shahid Afridi, who has been handed over the captaincy of the upcoming ICC World Twenty20 to be staged in the Caribbean, is now suggesting Mohammad Yousuf to reconsider his decision to retire from the international arena.

It’s really very strange but not totally unbelievable because Yousuf, only a couple of weeks ago, was believed to have gone to the residence of Shahid to muster his support in his quest to retain captaincy.

It was very clear even then that the flamboyant all-rounder had no sympathy with the beleaguered skipper although he may not have been communicated it in simple words. But Yousuf must have felt the negative signals and Shahid’s non-cooperation could have been one of the key factors in his decision to quit the game altogether.

The meeting between the two, however, appeared to have taken place before the decision of Ijaz Butt to appoint Shahid as the skipper for the ICC World Twenty20 rather reluctantly.

If the decision to hand over the reigns to Shahid been all that straight forward he would have been named the captain at the time of the announcement of the squad for the tournament. It’s very rare that the team was finalized prior to the selection of the captain. But that’s how life goes on here in this part of the world and nothing could be taken for granted.

Obviously nobody is bothered about the fact that how vital it would have been to take the captain on board while finalizing the line-up for the global event. Now the skipper will have a team at his disposal that didn’t have a seal of his approval. Can’t it affect the performance of the unit? But who cares for thing as petty as performance. To them it’s just a matter beside the point.

Now Shahid considers the decision of Yousuf to quit the scene as an emotional one. Interestingly the request to hold back retirement plans has come before the formal announcement that’s due to made in the Karachi Press Club’s Meet the Press programme on March 29.

"I think Yousuf is taking an emotional decision, but I think he must reconsider his decision because he still has a lot to give to Pakistan cricket. Yousuf I think has been affected by the recent happenings and is upset with the ban on him, but he is a senior player and he must handle the situation. He must not take an emotional decision,” Shahid was quoted as saying.

"We have a lot of Test matches coming up in next 10 to 12 months and we need his experience against the top teams like Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand," he added.

Not sure what Shahid really meant because if he was really so concerned about Pakistan cricket he should have conveyed this message to Yousuf when the champion batsman had called on him in not too distant past.

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Yousuf chooses to announce retirement decision at KPC

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Cricket is most widely played and followed sport in Pakistan and the prolific cricketers enjoy iconic status hence all their movements are monitored and watched with great interest.

It was only the other day when I had come to know from the most reliable of sources that Yousuf was desirous of announcing one of the most important decisions of his career at the Karachi Press Club (KPC), an institution he is believed to be holding in high esteem.

What I was not told beforehand was about the contents of the disclosure. To be honest it didn’t matter to me what exactly were his plans. Whether you like him or not, Yousuf remains one of the biggest names in Pakistan cricket, a position he cannot be denied.

I considered it as an opportunity and, after completing the formal process in the quickest possible time, extended the invitation to the celebrated cricketer who returned the compliments by accepting it very promptly.

Within a matter of minutes of our decision to invite Yousuf in the KPC Meet the Press programme on March 29, the news broke out that the former Pakistan captain was all set to announce his retirement from all forms of international cricket and he was going to make the decision public at our club.

"I have decided to quit cricket. This is not an emotional decision. I consulted my family, friends and elders before taking it," Yousuf was quoted as saying.

Well it’s not going to be first time, though, when Yousuf would be bidding farewell to Pakistan cricket, having already done it two times in the past. Initially he did so after being upset over his treatment from the selectors as well as the management and then he was provoked after being overlooked for Pakistan's World Twenty20 squad in 2007.

By the look of things, he had signed up with the Indian Cricket League (ICL) in protest but the controversies kept chasing him and he remained in the news for the wrong reasons on a number of occasions.

With the Pakistan batting flopping more often than not in the limited opportunities coming their way in the international arena there was added pressure on Ijaz Butt to expedite Yousuf’s return into the side.

That Ijaz Butt held a soft corner for Yousuf in particular or he was doing it as an exercise of damage control there was a feeling of a personal favour involved the manner in which the accomplished middle-order batsman was drafted in the team after distancing from the ICL finally.

Ijaz Butt also obliged Yousuf by elevating him to the post of captain for the important tours of New Zealand and Australia earlier this season and there was not much element of surprise in the final results.

Yousuf saw the other side of Ijaz Butt when he was among seven players penalised for various reasons after the disastrous tour. Yousuf was banned indefinitely, a decision that was equally debatable as the one of having made him the captain.

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More than satisfying debut at Karachi Press Club

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The ‘Meet the Press’ programme at the Karachi Press Club on March 18 was my first as Secretary of the Sports Committee. Not surprisingly there was not enough time at our end to make the necessary arrangements because the outstation hockey Olympians were in town for a brief period and we had very few options.

With the hockey controversy brewing up and all the national newspapers flashing stories under banner headlines day in and day out we had the opportunity of inviting the legendary characters to speak on the burning topic.

Let me give the credit to the KPC Secretary, A H Khanzada, for not having taken even a minute in granting the approval in principle when I discussed with him the idea of holding a programme on hockey. The KPC President, Imtiaz Faran, was also on board right away and so were the rest of the committee members.

Both the top office-bearers of the KPC were there with me to receive the distinguished guests upon their arrival. The members of our Sports Committee were also enthusiastic in welcoming the battalion of Olympians.

We do seldom come across the luminaries of different eras sitting together on the stage. It was a rare occasion when the legends of Pakistan’s national sport had assembled in one terrace. I have intentionally not used the proverbial under one roof because we entertained our worthy guests in the spacious lawn covered by tents.

A normal ‘Meet the Press’ programme is usually held in the centrally air-conditioned Ibrahim Jalees Hall of the KPC. We had to make the tricky decision whether to hold it there or shift it to the terrace where we could accommodate larger number of persons. Because of the sweltering heat having gripped the city of Karachi we had to think twice before finally going for the second option.

We were proved correct because the heat of the subject was going to overshadow the dry weather and it did. Even the old fashioned fans were more than enough to do the business. Nobody cared for the furniture or the settings. The occasion was a momentous one and everybody was absorbed in it, seeing off the blazing sun with a smile.

It was more of a privilege to have also conducted the proceedings of the ceremony that was not only a historic one only for me personally but it was an honour for our beloved institution to have hosted these hockey greats.

These were the moments of lifetime. Sharing the stage with the likes of Akhtar-ul-Islam, Islahuddin Siddiqui, Samiullah Khan, Shahnaz Shaikh, Rasheed-ul-Hasan, Ayaz Mahmood, Shahbaz Ahmed, Qamar Ibrahim and Saeed Khan was something to cherish for the rest of life.

It was one of those rare occasions when the number of chairs fell short on the stage. Quite a few Olympians like Qamar Zia, Moinuddin Khan, Naeem Akhtar, Mohammad Irfan and Kamran Ashraf had to be seated among the audience but they were recognized and acknowledged.

The ceremony, as anticipated, was widely reported by the electronic and print media whose representatives were in attendance in good number to cover the event. It may have been ‘another story’ for many but to me it was something special.

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Sindh Government to help in building snooker academy

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Pakistan Billiards & Snooker Association (PBSA) has been advised to by the provincial government to search and identify an amenity where they could build their proposed snooker academy.

Sindh Sports Minister, Dr Syed Mohammed Ali Shah, has disclosed having asked the office-bearers of the PBSA to carry out a survey of localities where they are desirous of building their academy.

“The PBSA officials had approached me with a request to arrange for them an amenity plot as they have offered to build the complex themselves for the purpose of centralizing their activities. I have promised them a plot of land for this purpose hopefully in the area of their choice,” Dr Shah revealed.

“The PBSA functionaries have taken the responsibility of visiting the areas where they are interested in building the academy. Once they are done with the process of selecting a vacant amenity plot then they will be required to submit a petition for its possession. Since our government has a sports friendly policy I am confident that their request will be entertained,” he hoped.

The Sindh Minister, who was the chief guest in the prize distribution of the NJI 35th National Snooker Championship 2010 at the Karachi Gymkhana recently, reckoned that the development of a snooker academy will go a long way in boosting cue sports.

“Snooker has tremendous potential. It can be helpful in bringing the much needed medals for Pakistan in the Asian Games. Steps must be taken to promote the game from the grassroots level as the youngsters are very keen to play it,” Dr Shah added.

Dr Shah, who is also the President of the Sindh Olympic Association (SOA), urged the local organizers and administrators to take the necessary corrective measures when questioned about the declining standards in snooker in Karachi where as the cueists from Punjab were improving in leaps and bounds of late.

It has been an ambition of the PBSA to have an academy of their own. Their office-bearers have made a mention of it on a number of occasions in the past well.

But it’s really a matter of surprise that they were unable to do it even when the cueists had earned glories for the country and they had a willing sponsor in Lakson Tobacco Company whose brand of Red & White had become synonymous with snooker for a long time.

One gets the impression now that the PBSA functionaries were not too serious in pursuing the proposed academy project as it demanded continuous hard work besides consistent policies.

There was a time when snooker had become the most popular sport of the country, after cricket of course. But the odd movers and shakers in the PBSA were not all that keen in legwork or making extra efforts for implementing long-term plans.

The present leadership in the PBSA has the eagerness to move around but their priorities have come under fire more often than not. Will they succeed in doing the work on their side to make the most of the offer made by Dr Shah remains to be seen.

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