Hockey greats blast Asif Bajwa

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

As expected it was Asif Bajwa, Secretary, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), coming under the hammer when the hockey greats addressed the members of the Karachi Press Club on March 18. He was asked to accept the responsibility for the debacle and quit the scene.

The galaxy of hockey Olympians arrived at the club dot on time even though quite a few protest meetings were being held nearby and the roads were blocked. Akhtar-ul-Islam and Islahuddin Siddiqui led the squad that also featured the illustrious figures of Samiullah Khan, Shahnaz Shaikh, Rashid-ul-Hasan, Shahbaz Ahmed, Ayaz Mahmood and Saeed Khan.

The top officials of the Karachi Press Club, Imtiaz Faran (President) and A H Khanzada (Secretary) alongwith the members of the club’s sports committee received the distinguished guests at the main entrance and they were escorted to the terrace where the Meet the Press programme began at the designated time of 4 pm.

Quite a few other prominent hockey players of the past including Mansoor Ahmed, Moinuddin Khan, Qamar Zia, Qamar Ibrahim, Kamran Ashraf and Mohammad Irfan sat in the audience alongwith local club players and fans of the game.

All the speakers lamented Pakistan’s disgraceful performance in the recently concluded World Cup hockey tournament in New Delhi where the team finished at the bottom.

They unanimously attacked the PHF officials for the expected disaster. They attributed the debacle to the defensive approach of the team management as Pakistan could score only nine goals in the six matches they played during the tournament.

Shahnaz Shaikh presented a comprehensive report in which he blamed the PHF for having ignored the advice aimed at improving the performance of the team.

“I had warned the team management so many times to refrain from playing defensive hockey. It’s suicidal approach if you ask your boys to play defensively. It demoralizes the players and their mindset becomes negative,” Shahnaz asserted.

“Our players had to pay the price of getting engaged into defensive tactics. Our strength became our weakness when the boys were put into negative frame of mind. Our boys were drained out and they hardly could attack the rivals with the punch that was no desperately needed. You can’t win a game with out scoring. If you yourself cut down your scoring chances than how can you expect to win,” he argued.

“The management on the bench was mostly shouting in rage rather than design a timely substitution for the aging players. Subsequently most of the goals were conceded in the dying moments of the matches. Most of the goals against Pakistan were scored on counter attacks by the opponents showing a physical fitness problem. It required strength, endurance and circuit training was not planned during training camp,” he said.

Islahuddin, who spoke behalf of the Olympians, in the extended interactive session, dispelled the impression that the hockey greats were demonstrating the unity to seek any position in the PHF.

“All these luminaries of the Pakistan hockey have secured jobs with their respective organizations where they are employed and neither of us is running for any job in the PHF,” he clarified.

To a question, he said that the Olympians were ready to meet the government officials and discuss the issue with them as they were keen for the revival of hockey in the country.

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Legends unite for mutual objective of damage control

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

It’s not often that the Pakistan hockey greats have thought or functioned on a common goal after having quit the game that earned them name, fame, wealth, recognition and respect beyond imagination.

Lately, however, they appear to have become united in their stand for ousting the all-powerful Secretary of the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), Asif Bajwa, following the debacle in New Delhi where Pakistan finished last among the dozen participants.

It’s heartening to see the likes of Olympians Islahuddin Siddiqui, Samiullah Khan, Shahnaz Shaikh and Shahbaz Ahmed, all of them enjoying the status of a hockey legend, talking collectively for the cause of the national game.

Quite a few other Olympians and internationals are also on board expressing their disgust and displeasure out in the open. They have blasted Asif Bajwa for ruining the game with wrongdoings of every kind.

It’s going to be quite an occasion at the Karachi Press Club on March 18 where these luminaries have been invited by the Sports Committee in their prestigious Meet the Press programme. Special arrangements have been made as bigger media participation than usual is anticipated in view of the issue they will be talking on.

Well the Pakistan hockey has had its share of ups and downs over the years. Pakistan had made immediate impact in the international arena after independence. They had made it to the semifinals in their maiden appearance in Olympic Games at London in 1948. They also did it in the 1952 Olympic Games at Helsinki.

Things changed for the better in the 1956 Olympic Games at Melbourne when Pakistan made it to the final for the first time. After winning the gold medal in the 1958 Asian Games, Pakistan conquered the hockey world by winning the Olympic crown at Rome in 1960.

Gold medal in the 1962 Asian Games was followed by silvers in the 1964 Olympic Games and the 1966 Asian Games. It was back to gold in the 1968 Olympic Games and the 1970 Asian Games. Pakistan completed the Grand Slam by winning the inaugural World Cup in 1971.

The golden era continued in the 1970s with medals in every outing. The start to the 1980s was equally heartening and the gold medals in the 1982 Asian Games, the 1982 World Cup and the 1984 Olympics.

Then there was a sudden dip and Pakistan stunned everyone by dropping to 11th position in the 1986 World Cup. They fared comparatively better in the 1988 Olympic Games but it was for the first time that they had not reached the semifinals in 40 years.

Pakistan won the World Cup in 1994 against the heaviest of odds and not surprisingly it has remained their last major success at the international level. There has been very little to cheer about for the last 16 years.

Now the Pakistan hockey has suffered the biggest blow at New Delhi, having finished at the bottom after losing games against teams like South Africa and Canada who themselves had a forgettable tournament otherwise.

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Warne describes Yusuf’s whirlwind knock the best ever

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The third edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) came alight with a magnificent 37-ball century from Yusuf Pathan of Rajasthan Royals against the star-studded Mumbai Indians, featuring two of the most lethal fast bowlers of the world, at the Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, on March 13.

It went to the credit of Mumbai Indians, captained by Sachin Tendulkar, to have still managed to win the game despite the crack Yusuf had at their bowlers.

Yusuf’s superb knock was acknowledged by his skipper Shane Warne who described it as the best innings he's seen in his 21-year career.

"I have played cricket for 21 years and I have seen Sachin Tendulkar as the best batsman against whom I have played as he has murdered attacks and hit them all over the park. But today was the best innings I have ever seen," Warne, the greatest spin bowler of all-time, observed.

"From a situation of 37 for 3 in seven overs and chasing 213 and come so close thanks to a 37 ball-100. It's a special innings. We believe we can win from anywhere. We just have to sort out our batting in the first six overs. In the last two IPLs we have won more games than anyone and we have won more close finishes," the legendary Warne remarked.

Another genius, Tendulkar, who himself recently rewrote history by scoring the first-ever double century in One-day Internationals, also hailed Yusuf's knock as very special and said he was aware of his ability to spark such a turnaround.

"It was a special innings from him, but even the effort from Sathish to get him run out was special. Before he came in and played that knock, I thought we would win this match with ease, but that's the beauty of this great game. You can never take anything for granted. I knew Yusuf was in great form and if he connects the ball well, the target was achievable," the master complimented.

Yusuf was still disappointed for not having secured a win for his side but he was gladdened by the comeback staged from a precarious position.

"I made an error because of which we lost, else we would have won. We're sad right now but we are also very happy that we played good cricket apart from the extras we conceded. When such flat wickets get made, records get broken and runs get scored. We will learn a lot from this loss and there is not a lot to worry as this is a long tourney," he said.

Yusuf, with his lusty hitting, was chiefly responsible for bringing his team back into the game after they had looked dead and buried while chasing a formidable total of 213 in 20 overs. When they needed something around 150 from the final 10 overs the odds heavily favoured the fielding side.

By having blasted nine fours and eight sixes he turned the tide and his team held the upper hand when the target was down to 19 off 12 balls. But his run out in the closing stages proved decisive and Mumbai won the dramatic encounter by four runs.

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Third time lucky for Australia

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Australia finally managed to down Germany in a World Cup final. Having failed to do it on the past couple of occasions it was the turn of the Aussies to come out smiling after yet another enthralling final.

It was the third successive World Cup final between the two powerful hockey nations. Germany had succeeded in crossing the last hurdle in the last two finals but Australia emerged triumphant in the final of the Hero Honda FIH World Cup 2010 at Delhi’s Major Dhayan Chand Stadium.

Australia’s Ric Charlesworth earned the distinction of winning the World Cup both as a player and as a coach. He was a member of the Australia that captured the crown for the first time. Now he was the coach of the team when it has done it for the second time, after a gap of 24 years.

Germany came very close to completing a hat-trick of title wins. After having snatched the trophy in 2002 and 2006 they were at a striking distance of retaining it but the Australians dashed their hopes in the final.

As expected the final turned out to be very exciting and not surprisingly only one goal separated the two evenly matches outfits. Australia won the game 2-1 after having led 1-0 at halftime.

It was in the fitness of things that the two best teams of the tournament had made it to the final. Germany were the only undefeated team in the competition going into the final while Australia had staged a magnificent comeback after losing their opening game against England.

Australia’s worst match in the tournament was probably the one against Pakistan which they won and not the one against England which they lost. It was amazing to find the Australians struggling against a Pakistan side that was itself short of confidence.

The Aussies did secure a 2-1 win over Pakistan but it wasn’t the kind of performance that would have made them proud. May be it was the psychological pressure of playing against Pakistan that prevented them from playing to their potential in a game they were expected to dominate all the way.

The match for the bronze medal, featuring the Netherlands and England, was a high scoring affair. The Netherlands were the winners by an odd goal in seven. England had to pay the price for wasting far too many opportunities, particularly penalty-corners.

England had become the first team to qualify for the semifinals, having made there with four successive wins but they crashed in both the knockout games to be denied of a medal.

None of the Asian teams could make it to the semifinals with Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and England sharing the top four positions. The fifth slot was also claimed by a European nation, Spain.

South Korea with sixth position proved to be the best Asian outfit with Argentina pushing hosts India down top eighth place. New Zealand, South Africa and Canada shared the next three positions with Pakistan finishing as the disappointing last among the 12 participants.

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Ijaz Butt on lookout for a new captain

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Ijaz Butt has now started having parleys with the prospective captains. The only positive aspect in this whole exercise is the fact that the chairman of the so-called Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has openly declared having met the candidates he had in mind as the future leader of the team.

He has also come out in the open that being the chairman of the PCB he held the prerogative of choosing the captain and he was going to make the decision himself. Will he care to explain did he ever consult anyone before taking the decisions that were not meant to be taken by him all alone?

Well sky is the limit for Ijaz Butt as far as bringing the Pakistan cricket to repute is concerned. He is not afraid to commit blunders after blunders, oblivious of the fact that he was dealing with the affairs of a national body not his own proprietary concern.

Ijaz Butt has used the vehicle of a selection committee to have the squad announced that would represent Pakistan in the ICC Twenty20 Championship due to start in the Caribbean in about six months time.

There was hardly any sense in having the squad finalized well before the deadline. Neither was there any logic in delaying the appointment of the captain for such an important assignment.

Wouldn’t have it looked proper to have the captain on board while selecting the team. Obviously the majority of the players are automatic choices and the fringe cases are the ones deliberated. The input of the skipper who will have the responsibility of leading the team in the field would have been so crucial.

Ijaz Butt is not tired of experimentation yet. By delaying the appointment of the captain he has passed the impression that he desires taking time before arriving at the decision that indeed holds the key to the immediate future of Pakistan cricket.

Shoaib Malik was the captain and former Australian fast bowler Geoff Lawson was the coach when Ijaz Butt had taken over as the chairman of the PCB in the autumn of 2008. Since both these appointments were made by his predecessor, Dr Nasim Ashraf, there was not much element of surprise when he terminated the contract of Lawson rather controversially first up.

Shoaib, as expected, was the first choice as captain when Sri Lanka, not India, came to tour Pakistan in early 2009. With mismanagement at the top beginning to resurface it was a matter of time for the indiscipline to rattle the team. There was so much chaos after defeats in just a couple of One-day Internationals that Ijaz Butt had to move it to install Younis Khan as the captain for the Test series.

The temperamental Younis wasn’t extended the desired support by Ijaz Butt when he needed it most and he obliged Mohammad Yousuf with captaincy for the tour of New Zealand and Australia with Shahid Afridi getting the nod for Twenty20 Internationals. Yousuf was sacked before tour was over.

Younis, Yousuf and Shoaib are out of the equation now with Ijaz Butt having banned them for offences yet to be made public. Shahid has also been fined. But he is still in the run for the honour. Misbah-ul-Haq and Abdul Razzaq are other front runners to lead the side. Ijaz Butt can also nominate Salman Butt for the job.

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Ijaz Butt creates unprecedented mess by banning, fining cricketers

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Ijaz Butt has been getting away with it all the time. He takes pride in declaring it more and more emphatically through his actions that he’s above board. While the others are accountable and punishable there seems no force on earth at the moment that could even contain the might of the chairman of an organization called the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Controversies have remained part and parcel of the Pakistan cricket all along but never before the law has been taken in the hands in this manner by the person who is supposed to be the torch-bearer.

There used to be odd incidents even in the days of Abdul Hafeez Kardar and Air Marshal Nur Khan but very rarely one found them getting into the act unnecessarily. They were the people for whom the national interest was paramount.

Unfortunately the national interest has been compromised by the people with the vested interests in the recent past but Ijaz Butt has exceeded all limits and only God knows how much greater damage he will cause before someone realizes his follies and fixes him.

May be, during his tenure, he would like to push Pakistan to the bottom among the Test playing nations in the manner not too dissimilar to the national hockey team that crashed in the recently concluded World Cup in India.

Ijaz Butt’s action of banning and fining cricketers has come as a shocker. More than anything else he appears to have settled scores with the players whom he considered a threat to his authority.

It’s not the issue that some of the celebrated cricketers have been banned or fined. Indeed nobody is above the law and anyone engaged in indiscipline needs to be tried and heard. The law has to take its course and the offenders have to be punished if found guilty.

Doesn’t the same apply to the team management, who were meant to control these guys? Doesn’t Ijaz Butt or his committee that recommended the severe punishment be also tried for having made a mess at the top?

The initial announcement implied that former captains Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf were banned for life. It was clarified later that the period was ‘indefinite’ and that it was not a life ban.

Shoaib Malik, another former captain, and all-rounder Naved-ul-Hasan have been banned for a year. Fines have been imposed on Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal.
Ijaz Butt is not prepared to reveal why these cricketers have been penalized so heavily. They are national assets, not the personal servants of the PCB Chairman whom he could take for a ride whenever he pleases.

If the cricketers have committed sins that were indeed ‘unpardonable’ then they must be made public. Ijaz Butt doesn’t have the right to play around with the emotions of the masses who simply love the game.

The Pakistan cricket is in the middle of another crisis and this seems most serious of them all. It’s another horrible example of bad management by a dictator.

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Cosmetic changes unlikely to revive Pakistan hockey

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Pakistan have fared worse than the worst. Their poorest record in the World Cup was having finished 11th among the dozen participants in 1986. Now they have hit the rock bottom after losing to Canada on March 11 in New Delhi that condemned to the last slot in the competition.

Yes the four times champions have ended at the last position now. The country having clinched the title in 1971, 1978, 1982 and 1994 has found itself pushed down to the 12th place. They couldn’t have performed more miserably because there were only 12 teams competing.

Pakistan’s hockey team was never expected to dominate in the 2010 World Cup despite the tall claims made by the likes of Qasim Zia, Asif Bajwa and Shahid Ali Khan. But nobody expected them to finish last either.

The pressure was more on Asif Bajwa to accept the responsibility for the catastrophe and quit the job. He was being blamed for wrongdoings and the critics demanded an enquiry to be conducted against him and he must be penalized if found guilty.

By the look of things Qasim Zia, President, Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), is now playing another kind of politics. Instead of removing Asif Bajwa from the position of Secretary PHF he is actually protecting and shielding him. His decision to sack the team management and the selection committee but to retain the Secretary didn’t reflect honesty of purpose.

In fact Qasim Zia made his intentions quite clear by claiming that the present PHF set-up was looking forward to the Asian Games to be held later this year. Does the PHF chief wants to ensure that the Pakistan team also finishes last in the Asian Games?

“This is a big debacle for Pakistan hockey as they lost to India after 35 years in World Cup and suffered first defeat against South Africa in 63 years. It couldn’t have been worse as they also crashed in their game against Canada,” the soft spoken Islahuddin, one of the most respected hockey figures of the country, observed.

Quite a few other former Olympians including Shahnaz Shaikh, Ayaz Mahmood, Mansoor Ahmed, Muhammad Saqlain and Naveed Alam have also held Asif Bajwa chiefly responsible for the worst-ever performance by a Pakistan team.

“If the team management took the credit for fine performances in the Asia Cup, the World Cup qualifiers and the Champions Trophy qualifiers they should take the whole blame for the World Cup flop and face the music,” Islahuddin remarked.

The formers Olympians, for reasons beyond comprehension, have refrained from lashing at PHF chief Qazim Zia and complimented him instead for bringing in huge sums of money for the national game.

“Asif Bajwa worked under me during my tenure as chief coach of Pakistan junior hockey team. He had a defensive approach and we developed differences on the same because I believed in attacking hockey philosophy,” Ayaz Mahmood, a gold-medalist of the 1984 Olympics, noted.

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Immediate sacking of Asif Bajwa demanded

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Pakistan’s not entirely unexpected downslide in the ongoing 11th World Cup Hockey Tournament 2010 in New Delhi has prompted the concerned quarters to demand the immediate sacking of the key officials of the national body.

Asif Bajwa, who was running the show with the blessings of Qasim Zia, has been declared the ‘chief’ culprit of the debacle and his head is being demanded to be put on the chopping block right away.

Asif Bajwa has not only been ‘ruling’ the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) as its Secretary but he has also remained a part and parcel of the team management on literally every tour undertaken by the national team. He has been the virtual manager-cum-coach of the squad in nearly every outing including the World Cup in which Pakistan finished last in the group.

It’s an open secret that Qasim Zia, a former Olympian-turned-politician, has preferred to remain the ceremonial head of the PHF. Being an influential leader of the ruling party, he has been successful in bringing huge sums of money for the game.

Qasim Zia should be credited for having brought in the much needed sponsorship for the national game but now he should also shoulder the blame for having allowed Asif Bajwa to run the affairs of the PHF according to his own whims.

Greater pressure is being exerted on Asif Bajwa to resign whereas Qasim Zia is not found in the firing line yet. But there are clear enough indications that the PHF President will be needed to get rid of his controversial Secretary in order to save his own skin from accountability.

Asif Bajwa has not given up yet despite being at the centre of the criticism for having taken the Pakistan hockey to its lowest ebb. He is still believed to be proactive in his game of manipulation to avoid getting the stick and extend his tenure by hook or by crook.

It will, however, come as little surprise if Asif Bajwa is asked to resign. Obviously he will be the last person to do it voluntarily.

Meanwhile Pakistan are now preparing to take on Canada in the eleventh position match. If my memory serves me right the Canadians had overpowered Pakistan in their classification match during the 1986 World Cup in London.

Pakistan, unfortunately, have fared even worse in the 2010 World Cup in New Delhi because they suffered defeats in four of their five league match with the upset win over Spain being their only consolation in the high profile event.

Under the circumstances one cannot predict the outcome of the Pakistan-Canada match scheduled to be held on March 11. The Canadians have lost all their league fixtures but mind you their best performance in the tournament came in their last game that was against Argentina.

If Canada reproduce the kind of hockey they did against their South American rivals Pakistan, having claimed the trophy a record four times, could well finish at the rock bottom for the first time in the 39-year old history of the competition.

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