Ijaz Butt urged by parliamentarians to punish Shahid Afridi

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Yes it’s Ijaz Butt, not the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), having been asked to take action against ‘Boom Boom Afridi’ for bringing the nation to shame with his ball-biting action in Australia recently.

There has been no such entity as the PCB ever since Ijaz Butt, a former Test cricketer, was nominated as its chairman in what has been the single greatest blunder committed by the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, during his term as President of the country.

Ijaz Butt has probably disgraced the nation more than any other person during the past one year and expecting him to take any ‘fair’ decision is more like living in a paradise of fools.

How can he punish any individual when he himself has remained engulfed in controversies of all sorts? He informed the parliamentary sports committee that the PCB could not punish Shahid Afridi further.

"The International Cricket Council (ICC) has told us clearly that you can't punish a player twice for one offence. Their lawyer has also suggested that if we handed more punishment to Afridi, and he challenges it in court, it will run the PCB into trouble," he was quoted as saying.

It was a rare straight-bat stroke by the PCB Chairman who is infamous for his agricultural shot selection not caring for anyone.

He certainly had no answer when Senator Tariq Azeem pointed out to the learned chairman that selecting a player was at the PCB's discretion.

"The ICC can't question you if you don't pick him up in the national team. You should not compromise the integrity of the nation. No player is indispensable. We should tell the world that we are not cheaters and we know how to deal with the indiscipline,” the Senator explained.

The parliamentary sports committee has desired Shahid Afridi to be punished further for tampering with the ball during the fifth One-day International against Australia in Perth last month.

The committee didn’t mince words in conveying to the PCB Chairman that Shahid Afridi had maligned the country's reputation and such an offence warranted a harsher penalty than just a ban of two Twenty20 Internationals.

"If he bites the ball like an apple, there are lots of problems behind it. If you don't take action this will happen again. The team lacks discipline and you got to rectify the problem,” Senator Haroon Akhtar felt.

It may be recalled that Shahid Afridi, leading the team in the absence of Mohammad Yousuf in the fifth and final One-day International against Australia, was caught by TV cameras biting the ball on a couple of occasions.

The matter, viewed by the global audience, was reported by the TV umpire to the on-field umpires who changed the ball. Shahid Afridi pleaded guilty to the charge at a hearing with the match referee Ranjan Madugalle immediately after the game. He did apologize and regretted his action.

He was banned for two Twenty20 Internationals that prevented him from taking the field in the one-off game against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in which he was due to lead the team.

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Gulzar, Sarfaraz shine Down Under

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Two of Pakistan’s top players, Gulzar Bilal and Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan, have returned home after having performed impressively in the recently concluded 2010 Canberra Summer Festival of Bridge staged in the Australia capital.

Their superb performance came around the same time when Pakistan’s cricket team was being blanked by the Aussies. Remember Pakistan were beaten in every Test match and One-day International besides the one-off Twenty20 International during their most unforgettable cricket tour ever.

It was very gladdening to find Gulzar and Sarfaraz, members of the reigning national champions in Pakistan, combining brilliantly with the Australians to make it to the semifinals of the team championship where they went down fighting to a spirited local outfit.

Teaming up with the Aussie trio of Seamus Browne, Khokhan Bagchi and Michael Smart, they finished fourth among 178 participating teams in the mega event held under the auspices of the Australian Bridge Federation (ABF).

The tournament, held at the Canberra’s National Convention Centre every year, is regarded as the biggest bridge event in the Australian calendar with many of the international bridge stars participating.

The 2010 edition brought the summer festival into the electronic age of bridge with the introduction of bridgemates in all events. The innovation allowed the players to see contracts, leads and results of boards from all other tables and matches. Each table was equipped with an electronic unit that was user-friendly for the participants as well.

De Livera, featuring Arjuna De Livera, Ian Robinson, Ian Thomson, Richard Brightling, Matthew McManus and Michael Ware, won the team contest by overpowering Milne, having Liam Milne, Michael Whibley, Nabil Edgtton, Andy Hung, Adam Edgtton and Alex Smirnov, 141-101 in the final with the segment wises scores being 28-32, 52-17, 30-36, 31-16.

In the semifinals the eventual champions De Livera had prevailed over Lilley, containing
D Lilley, Z Nagy, B Haughie, A Braithwaite, N Griffiths and J Williams, 142-116. De Livera took the first round 50-32 while their opponents grabbed the next one 44-25. They, however, ensured their passage into the final by winning the last two rounds 24-16, 43-24.

Milne outplayed Bilal, having Gulzal Bilal, Sarafraz Khan, Seamus Browne, Khokhan Bagchi and Michael Smart, in the other semfinal 145-77. Milne emerged triumphant in the first three rounds with the scores of 38-27, 64-11, 20-6 to gain an unassailable lead. Bilal had the consolation of winning the fourth round 33-23 that could only reduce the margin of their defeat.

Both Gulzar and Sarfaraz, two of the leading bridge players of the country, were very happy with their recent performance in Australia and they hoped to do even better in future.

“Yes it was very frightening to bear the agony of defeat after defeat of our cricketers at the same time when we were focusing hard on doing well on the table. Away from the bridge table as well the horrible performance of Pakistan’s cricket team was a much talked about subject in the social gatherings,” Sarfaraz recalled.

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Nation has a new hero in Naseem Hameed

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The Pakistan sports in general has been undergoing a lean patch for quite sometime and under the circumstances it’s not surprising to find the nation getting overjoyed with the rare moment of triumph.

Now it’s Naseem Hameed having become a folk hero after becoming South Asia’s fastest woman by winning the 100-metre race in the regional games held recently in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

She had clocked 11.81 seconds to clinch the gold medal in the race in the 11th South Asian Games to become Pakistan’s first female athlete to win the sprint in the history of the regional competition launched quarter of a century ago.

The 22-year-old Naseem was accorded hero’s welcome upon her return to hometown Karachi and there has been no dull moment for her since then. The life has changed completely for the youngster and she has been elevated to the status of celebrity as quickly as she had covered the distance of those 100 meters.

It’s quite remarkable how life could change within a matter of less than 12 seconds. She was just another athlete before starting the race totally unaware of the fame and fortune to come her way seconds later.

That’s the beauty of life. You can make it big more quickly that you could ever imagine. One can understand her feelings when she was mobbed by hundreds of fans and relatives at the Jinnah Internation Airport in Karachi before the provincial sports minister, Dr Syed Mohammad Ali Shah, drove her to the Governor’s House.

The Sindh Governor Ishraul Ibaad greeted the beaming Naseem with the announcement that she would receive Rupees one million from the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, and another half a million rupees from his own office.

“You have made the nation proud. We are very happy and honoured by your tremendous win and hope that you will not sit on this laurel and win more medals at higher level like Olympics,” the Governor complimented.

“I am on cloud nine. I had forgotten the world for six months and trained really very, very hard under my coach Maqsood Ahmed to achieve this. It is a great moment for me to have brought glory to the country in my event since our athletics standards have been poor of late. And I will do my best to compete and win at higher levels like the Commonwealth Games and Olympics,” Naseem Hameed told the media.

Though, I did expect a welcome on my arrival after extending a good performance in Dhaka but in reality what I saw here was something different and more than my expectations and for this I am very thankful to all, including media,” she added.

“I had left for Dhaka to perform better but what God bestowed on me is more than my aspirations and I am at a loss for words when it comes to express my happiness,” Naseem observed.

“It would be different now altogether. Before this no one knew me and even did not give me any lift but now it would be something different and I would feel proud of it,” she reckoned.

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Traditional sports come alive in Sindh

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

There has been a flurry of activities of late as far as the traditional sports are concerned in the province of Sindh. After having organized the spectacle of Donkey Cart Race in Karachi, the Sindh Sports Board (SSB), an organ of the Ministry of Sports, Government of Sindh, has held quite a few other events in the interior regions to bring smiles on the faces of the people who generally don’t have the access to healthy and recreational activities.

It’s indeed very heartening to note that besides patronizing the Olympic sports, SSB has also been laying emphasis on promoting traditional sports like kodi kodi, malakhro and wanjwatti.

The provincial government’s sports department, headed by their versatile and visionary Secretary, Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, has been doing a fantastic job by engaging the youth in healthy competitions. It has been the policy of the Sindh Sports Minister, Dr Mohammad Ali Shah, to ensure sports events throughout the year.

After all it was his brave decision to hold the last Sindh Games during the month of May in Larkana, a move that had pleasantly surprised even the Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, who was the guest of honour in the closing ceremony.

Not surprisingly the malhs from the interior of the province dominated the Inter-District Malakhro Championship 2010 organised by the SSB in the town of Hala recent where the contests were held in three weight categories, heavy, medium and light and cash awards of Rs 40,000 were disbursed in the prize distribution ceremony in which Mohammad Hanif Mirchiwala, Director Sports, Government of Sindh, was the chief guest.

Rahat Pahgon, Ali Nawaz Methlo, Muslim Solangi, Maula Bakhsh, Safdar Almani and Mantha Bugti turned out to be the outstanding performers in the latest Malh contest staged by the SSB as part of their efforts to promote traditional sports.

The malhs from Khairpur and Nawabshah stole the limelight in an Inter-District Malakhro Championship 2010 organized by the SSB in the town of Panno Aaqil the following day.

Mohammad Phalpoto of Khairpur stood first in the heavyweight category with Qurban Halepoto and Haji Haepoto, both of them from Nawabshah, grabbed second and third position respectively.

The contests were held in three weight categories, heavy, medium and light and cash awards of Rs 45,000 were disbursed among the top three performers in the prize distribution ceremony in which Syed Sumair Ahmed, EDO, CDD, Sukkur, was the chief guest.

It was revealed than more than 10,000 people turned up to witness the latest Malh contest staged by the SSB much to the delight of the enthusiasts of the traditional sports.

Then hosts Ghotki emerged triumphant in the Inter-Taluka Kodi Kodi Tournament 2010, organized by the SSB as part of their plans to revitalize the traditional sports.

Once more thousands of area people turned to witness the spectacle in which the team from Ghotki took the first position and Mir Mathelo stood second while the next two slots were shared by Sarkand and Dehri.

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Tendulkar should forget retirement

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

After watching the first Test of the ongoing series between India and South Africa there’s very little doubt in my mind that the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid have done greater service to their country than being thought of generally.

India owe their success in the recent past to their world class batsmen, having proven record against all teams. Their bowlers have also come up with improved performance particularly abroad but everyone knows that it were their own batsmen to have laid the strong foundation more often than not.

India started winning overseas games more frequently when they had the strongest-ever batting line-up in the world. That allowed their bowlers the luxury of attacking the opponents with purpose.

Take the example of Anil Kumble. Why did he have an ordinary record abroad by his own high standards at a time when he was considered only a match-winner at home in the 1990s? It was the time when the Indians didn’t possess a settled or consistent batting-order that could put huge totals on the board in the challenging conditions abroad. That meant Kumble and others didn’t get the opportunity to have a go at their opponents.

Things changed from the moment India found the most charismatic middle-order with Tendulkar and Dravid getting the support of Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman. The emergence of the master blaster Virender Sehwag at the top of the order made their batting the most formidable in the game.

While Sehwag and his opening partner Gautam Gambhir have fired in every format of the game the stalwarts like Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman have had far greater utility in Test matches where the occupation of crease remains paramount.

India, who won the inaugural ICC Twenty20 in South Africa in 2007, have produced quite a few outstanding dashers of late but the performance their raw youngsters in the Nagpur Test brought to light the fact that they lack in the backup talent for the longest version of the game.

The failure of the trio of Murali Vijay, Subramaniam Badrinath and Wriddhiman Saha, must have served as a warning bell for the Indian think tank. None of the three young batsmen could make it count.

Vijay had played in the past as well but he used to be drafted in a side packed with stars all around him. This time he himself was senior to two debutants in the playing eleven. It presented a golden opportunity of making a big impression to all of them but they just couldn’t deliver.

With the youngsters not showing the application needed to stay afloat against a high quality bowling attack it has become increasingly important for the seasoned campaigners to extend their career. They should forget about retirement for a long time.

Tendulkar and Dravid are still the backbone of the Indian batting in Test matches with Laxman not too far behind. These three batsmen need to take fresh guard and continue performing with the same passion that has been the hallmark of their illustrious careers.

Tendulkar obviously remains the most important component because of his versatility even in his 20th season in international cricket. Having 46 in his bag already the golden figure of 50 Test hundreds must have started crossing his mind.

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Dhoni’s boys whipped by Smith’s men

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Who would have believed after watching the first hour of the Test match that the hosts India were to lose it so decisively inside four days. That was the story of the Nagpur Test where South Africa overcame a nightmarish start on the opening day to record their most emphatic of victories in the recent times.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni would have dearly loved to bat first too, had he won the toss on a dry pitch that was to be full of runs on the first couple of days before breaking up gradually.

But Dhoni must have considered it a blessing in disguise when Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma bowled with fire to have the South Africans on the back foot from the outset. Zaheer in particular was truly outstanding to the extent of being unplayable at times. His opening spell accounted for the opening pair of Graeme Smith and Ashwell Prince in quick succession.

Prince was touch unlucky because the replays were not conclusive in determining any contact of the ball with bat or glove but what a delivery it was. Zaheer got it to lift from the good length spot and the left-handed opener was in all sorts of trouble in saving his skull.

The one that got through Smith was another beauty. Zaheer was moving the ball both ways and none of the South African batsmen were confident against him. Both Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis were not off the mark yet and the pressure was on the visitors to see off the new ball.

Not for the first though India surrendered the initiative far too quickly and the field had to be spread out to stem the flow of runs instead. Amla and Kallis were allowed to build a partnership that in fact was the highest for any wicket in the South African history.

Harbhajan Singh failed to provide the breakthrough that denied Amit Mishra the opportunity of attacking the batsmen. Neither of the two spinners bowled anywhere near to their best and Dhoni had a tough task up his sleeves.

The ineffectiveness of Ishant Sharma compounded India’s problems and they were forced to play the waiting game. Their bowlers were milked and the runs kept on coming almost effortlessly. They somehow prevented Kallis from reaching his career best score but they had no clue how to get rid of Amla who played the innings of his lifetime.

The inexperienced Indian batting line-up was to be put to more stern examination after South Africa, by posting a huge first innings score, had more or less ensured that they were not going to lose the match.

The fancied quartet of Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendukar and M S Dhoni, had greater responsibility to come good because they had to cover up for the lack of experience of as many as three newcomers in their side with two of them making their debut.

It could have been a different story to relate in the presence of Rahul Dravid, V V S Laxman and Yuvraj Singh but they were not there. Sehwag and Tendulkar did score a century each but that they needed to score many more under the circumstances.

As Dhoni admitted in the post-match ceremony, India were well and truly outplayed with Dale Steyn being the standout bowler, returning a haul of 10 wickets to power South Africa to an innings victory.

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Gul Hameed Bhatti’s death creates huge vacuum in sports journalism

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Death, we all know, is inevitable. In the case of Gul Hameed Bhatti, who expired at Karachi’s Liaquat National Hospital on the evening of February 4, it was not entirely unexpected because his health continued to deteriorate after the stroke suffered nearly a year ago.

He was a courageous man, having successfully fought a battle against the oft fatal disease of cancer about a decade or so ago. Although he was in his early 60s he couldn’t recover after being laid low by what had appeared to be a combination of heart attack and paralysis. The attack was so severe and it caused him considerable harm.

The physiotherapy and medication continued with his son (Kamil), daughter (Sara) and daughter-in-law (Samra) taking every possible measure to prevent the inevitable. Alas even their care and love could only delay it.

Gul Hameed Bhatti, who was Gul to friends and Bhatti Sahib to colleagues, associates and a large number of his followers, will be remembered for a very long time. His death has certainly created a huge vacuum in the arena of sports journalism in Pakistan in particular.

Having known and worked with him closely for no less than three decades, I have had no doubt in mind that his commitment to the profession was legendary. He distinguished himself by working with the missionary zeal without worrying for the monetary benefits or rewards.

He was a workaholic person to whom meeting and beating deadlines was a matter of life and death. He had his own style of doing things, the most notable being maintaining a register to update the records besides doing it to the computer. He was engaged in so much of paperwork because he was passionate about being absolutely sure about everything.

Gul Hameed Bhatti was a great all-rounder, using the sporting term. His forte was cricket statistics but he was equally versatile in writing reports and articles on all sports. The icing on the cake was his ability to produce those catchy headlines that made the sports pages of ‘The News’ most sought after ones.

He is credited to have revolutionized the sports journalism in Pakistan. He added a new dimension to the profession by bringing out three to four high quality sports pages day in and day out for close to two decades.

The Jang Group certainly provided him the machines and the infrastructure but he’s the man chiefly responsible for having turned it on. It was a master stroke on part of the Editor-in-Chief, Mir Shakil-ur-Rahman, to have appointed the Sports Editor right from the planning stage of the newspaper.

Gul Hameed Bhatti was a perfectionist in terms of his work. Quite a few of his write-ups are worthy to be recognized as masterpieces of Pakistan’s sports literature. His thoroughly researched articles often served as guidelines for the sports administrators who just wondered how this gentleman possessed so much depth in knowledge and insight about so many games. They used to turn to him for verifying records and seeking advice as well.

He was the most complete sports journalist of the country. Nobody could lay claim for coming a close second. He will be greatly missed in the sports circles.

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Ijaz Butt’s squad mauled Down Under

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Who said it was Pakistan’s outfit humbled in all three Tests, five One-day Internationals and the one-off Twenty20 International during the just concluded tour of Australia? In all fairness it was the Ijaz Butt squad that had to bite the dust.

Yes there has been no such entity as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) since October 2008 when the President of Pakistan, Asif Ali Zardari, being the Patron of the Board, had nominated Ijaz Butt for the post of its chairmanship.

Now the pressure is on the PCB Patron from all the concerned quarters to bring about the change that has become long overdue. Ijaz Butt has not only failed miserably on all fronts but he has set the worst example of dictatorship in cricket administration yet.

More than anything Ijaz Butt was preferred for the coveted job because of the muscles and the political clout of his brother-in-law, Chaudhary Ahmed Mukhtar, Federal Minister for Defence, believed to be enjoying the closest of terms with President Asif Ali Zardari as well as Prime Minister, Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Ijaz Butt’s nomination as the Chairman of the PCB was generally welcomed because besides being a former Test cricket, he also had the experience of cricket administration having served the Board as its Secretary in the 1980s.

But he has proved to be a complete failure, having adopted policies that are unethical, unprofessional, undemocratic and uncalled for. May be it’s the age factor or he has obtained a license to kill from his powerful brother-in-law he continues to harm the cricket affairs and his stay in office is likely to make things even more pathetic.

Ijaz Butt has gone from bad to worse and he continues to slide further. He has been guilty of making decisions arbitrarily, totally disregarding the fact that the PCB is a national sport body, not his proprietorship concern.

I don’t think he would have been playing around in this manner even if he considered the PCB his own company. Can anyone imagine his brothers-in-law tolerate such adventures in the Service Industries where he works for them? Certainly not!

Ijaz Butt is solely responsible for the mess the Pakistan cricket finds itself in at the moment. His dictatorship has ruined the game and it’s time to send him back the quicker the better in the national interest.

He doesn’t believe in delegating powers or may be he doesn’t trust anyone. He thinks ‘promises’ or ‘commitments’ as a piece of paper, not bothering to honour his own words. Neither does he care for anyone else except himself. Obviously he’s not sincere even to his masters otherwise he would not have put them in such awkward situation.

Now the ball is very much in the court of the Patron of the PCB once more. He has to make the final decision. Despite his preoccupations, hopefully he will not take more time now in order to spare the nation from further embarrassment.

Ijaz Butt should also be tried for having brought the country to shame and exemplary punishment be given to him, if found guilty, to set an example for future.

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