Kohli makes selection committee proud

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Well it’s an established fact that the selection committee gets all the flak when their team fails to deliver but they seldom get praised or even recognized when the boys picked by them succeed beyond expectations.

The chairman and the members of the selection committee are in the firing line for the slightest of mistakes but they are hardly mentioned when their tactical moves pay rich dividends.

India’s national selection committee, headed by Kris Srikkanth, deserve to be complimented for have reposed confidence in Virat Kohli who made them proud by a match-winning century in the second One-day International against Australia in Visakhapatnam.

Srikkanth, who was a rare attacking batsman in the Indian line-up of the 1980s, described the victory as a confidence-booster ahead of the World Cup. India's highest successful chase against Australia in the absence of five first-choice players, Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Harbhajan Singh, certainly gladdened the hearts of the selectors.

"It was an important win in the context of the World Cup because it creates confidence in the team. When you win against the number one one-day team in the world chasing a record total, it is all the more satisfying,” he remarked in an interview.

“The way we approached the game was fantastic. The good sign is that the youngsters are putting up their hands and taking up responsibility. It has proved that we have strong bench strength. It's always heartening to see youngsters winning matches for you. It is a good sign for any country," Srikkanth said.

“We have held meetings with the captain, coach, team management and the BCCI. We know what they are doing with the board. We have drawn up a beautiful plan in coordination with all sides concerned. We're on track," he reckoned.

Kohli, in particularly, batted exceptionally well to guide India to a resounding five-wicket victory with plenty of deliveries remaining.

“Honestly I was struggling to get runs. I had not scored in last six-seven matches. I was under pressure. I was not hitting in the gaps. It was very satisfying and it gives you a lot of confidence when you score chasing under pressure. I will not say my place is cemented. I have to keep performing well in few more chases,” Kohli conceded.

“You try to learn from the mistakes. You tend to fail sometimes. This is part and parcel of the game. You do the basics right and train hard, it pays back. I didn't perform well in last two series. I could not convert my scores into big knocks. There was a struggle for a place," the youngster felt.

Well Kohli has to keep performing in order to stay in the team. With so much competition for the batting slots he needs to score prolifically in whatever opportunities that come his way. He also has to prove his worth on the livelier pitches that greet the Indians away from the comfort of home.

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India’s rare triumph in battle of young brigade

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

It didn’t look like a true Australia-India game with both the countries packing their sides with an eye on the future rather on present. I don’t agree to the theory of both the nations having fielded a second eleven with the World Cup 2011, to be played in the sub-continent, in just a few months time.

The Indians have had this habit of obliging the visitors by not picking their strongest available side but the Australians have not been known for giving away caps cheaply. Therefore I was little surprised when they chose to enter the second ODI in Visakhapatnam with three inexperienced fast bowlers.

That seemed one of the reasons why the Indians got away with it this time round. Otherwise their young sides have often fared miserably with the disaster in Zimbabwe having taken place just a few months ago.

The Aussies proved too fragile themselves to contain the flamboyant duo of Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina while defending a total of 289. Stand-in captain Michael Clarke didn’t have the ammunition to come good on the flattest of tracks.

I was under the impression that the match had gone Australia’s way once they had plundered 84 runs in the last five overs of the innings. Cameroon White continued to be India’s nemesis and the experienced Clarke had no problems in milking the bowling.

Australia, having been jolted at the start of the innings by the seasoned left-arm quickie, Ashish Nehra, seemed to have done a great job by setting target of 290 in the end because at no point one foresaw them crossing the barrier of 250.

As we have become accustomed to watching over the years the Indian bowlers were taken for far too many runs in the final overs after having exercised control in the earlier part of the innings.

But there was an unusual story when India began the chase. Having depended heavily on the tried and trusted trio of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar and Gautam Gambhir for kickstarting their innings they had three new faces with two of them, Murali Vijay and Shikar Dawan, failing not unexpectedly.

The third one, Kohli, turned it around with the knock of his life yet. His magnificent century lifted the home side and his productive partnerships with Yuvraj Singh and Raina settled the issue decisively.

It was one of the rare occasions when the youngsters had done it on their own for the home side who were prone to crashing in the absence of their star performers. Kohli proved many critics wrong with his technique and temperament.

There was not much element of surprise in the half-century of Yuvraj, having had to struggle for form and fitness for the past many months, but the knock of Kohli was something of a sensation.

Raina’s onslaught took the pressure off the limping Kohli, who celebrated his ton with a series of boundaries to seal the fate of the game. Ideally he would have liked to stay until the end but he was caught in the deep once more while attempting to clear the fence. We have seen him so many times getting dismissed in such a manner.

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ICC warning should serve as wake-up call for Ijaz Butt and protagonists

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Ijaz Butt has strong connections in the corridors of power and he has appeared least bothered about managing the affairs of Pakistan cricket in a professional career throughout his two-year tenure.

New records of nepotism and corruption have been created in his era and yet he has the burning desire to seek extension. He has brought the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) at the brink of disaster. If he’s allowed to rule a little longer it will come as little surprise to find Pakistan touching new lows.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has issued a strict warning to the PCB to implement a series of measures to solve problems faced by the country’s cricket or risk sanctions.

“The PCB must act and be seen to be acting to uphold the zero-tolerance attitude to corruption in sport and conduct a thorough review of players’ integrity, educate them, implement a process and introduce an anti-corruption code in their domestic cricket,” the ICC said in a statement after their recent two-day board meeting in Dubai.

“If the PCB fails to carry out the above to the satisfaction of the board within the next 30 days, the board will consider what further action (including, if appropriate, sanctions) is required in the circumstances,” it said.

The Pakistan cricket was rocked by allegations of spot-fixing in during the recently concluded tour of England, resulting in two separate inquiries. The ICC has ruled there was no evidence of spot-fixing in the third one-day international between Pakistan and England last month but another inquiry, relating to the Lord’s Test against England in August, is pending.

The trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohamnmad Amir was provisionally suspended by the ICC after alleged to have taken money from a book-maker to deliberately bowl no-balls in a Test match.

A couple of the top former Pakistan cricket administrators were critical of the ICC for having warned the PCB to take extraordinary measures to avoid sanctions over alleged corruption.

“It is damning. It means that the ICC has publicly called that PCB has to regain confidence of the ICC, and put them under pressure to take serious steps,” Ehsan Mani, a former ICC President, was quoted as saying.

Khalid Mahmood, who headed the PCB for a brief period in 1999 when the organization had as many as five different chiefs, described the ICC warning was an insult to Pakistan.

“The ICC warning is an insult to the whole nation. This step of the ICC is an evidence of inability and incompetence of the PCB officials and they have clearly mishandled the whole situation,” he remarked in an interview.

“ICC has cleared Pakistan of any corruption in the Oval one-day, Scotland Yard has yet to level any charges on the Lord’s Test inquiry, under these circumstances the ICC warning is biased and unjustified,” he felt.

Both these gentlemen appeared justified in defending the integrity of the nation but they should also have publicly condemned Ijaz Butt to have brought Pakistan to this stage where anything could happen.

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Tendulkar’s magic earns emphatic series win

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Sachin Tendulkar seems to be in the form of his lifetime and more importantly he desires to make it count. He has the same hunger for runs as he had 21 seasons ago while breaking into the international arena at the age of 16.

His brilliant knocks earned India a convincing seven-wicket win over Australia in the second Test at Bangalore. If India’s victory in the first Test at Mohali was a narrow one in what had remained anybody‘s game until the very end, they confirmed their superiority over the visitors by whacking them in the following game to be deserved winners of the series.

Tendulkar starred in both the innings. His double-century allowed India to surpass the huge Australian first innings total of 478 while his unbeaten half-century in the second outing ensured a hassle-free triumph for the hosts.

With the hero of the first Test, VVS Laxman, ruled out of the game due to injury and the prolific left-handed opener, Gautam Gambhir, also missing from the line-up, there was greater pressure on the shoulders of the tried and trusted trio of Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and Tendulkar to take up the responsibility of piling up the runs.

Remember India are the only team in the world who register victories at the strength of their batters. It are primarily their top batsmen having been instrumental in taking them to the number one position in the ICC rankings.

Sehwag threatened briefly before disappointing the big crowd and Dravid lived to the reputation of failing on his home turf. The Indians were in a spot of bother and Ricky Ponting exerted pressure in a bid to square the series.

The one man who upset Ponting’s plan was none other than Tendulkar. He outthought the Australian skipper with his brilliant batting and none of the Australian bowlers could contain him. His total control inspired Murali Vijay and together they added more than 300 for the third wicket after the early departure of Sehwag and Dravid.

Another collapse followed after the fall of Tendulkar’s wicket on the fourth morning but not before he had completed a wonderful double-century to take his team ahead. India squandered the opportunity of registering a big lead as all the four bowlers failing miserably with the bat.

The Indian bowlers, however, made amends by dismissing Australia cheaply in the second innings and the home side had all the time in the world on the fifth and final day to chase down the target of 207.

Sehwag disappointed once again and Dravid was demoted in the batting order in order to let the young debutant Cheteshwar Pujara at number three. Vijay played another superb knock but the match was far from over when Tendulkar arrived at the wicket.

It was the third wicket partnership between Pujara and Tendulkar that brought India at the threshold of victory. Dravid had very little pressure when he walked in at number five with Tendulkar in full cry. They completed the job in a clinical fashion.

Tendulkar was very rightly adjudged Man of the Match as well as Man of the Series. He would have also collected Man of the Moment award if it was on offer. He will remember the Bangalore Test for a long time during which he also completed 14,000 runs.

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Lady luck now smiles on Misbah

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Everybody knows that the strangest of things happen in Pakistan. Be it national politics or the most talked about game of cricket one is never tired of watching the most unlikeliest of events taking place.

I mentioned politics and cricket in particular because these are the prime areas of interest for the common man in Pakistan. Every newspaper and television channel covers the minutest of details of cricket because that’s the sport having a massive following in the urban as well as the rural areas of the country.

Yet the game of cricket is governed most controversially. In other words it are the emotions of the people being played with. But who cares here. The present Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Ijaz Butt, has broken all records of indecency and his adventures continue unabated despite the consistent and loud media criticism.

The latest from Ijaz Butt is the appointment of Misbah-ul-Haq, who was not even a member of the national team for quite sometime because of the loss of batting form, has suddenly been elevated to the rank of the captain.

Misbah should not be believing his luck. He hardly deserved to be there in the team and now he would be leading it during the upcoming Test series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

There are rumours that Misbah won the nod upon the recommendation of an influential politician, who is also believed to have facilitated the return of Mohammad Yousuf during the Test series against England a few months ago. The stories were also doing rounds that Shoaib Akhtar’s comeback in the team was also made possible by another high-profile political figure.

Such possibilities could not be ruled out because Ijaz Butt has been ‘ruling’ Pakistan cricket for the past couple of years primarily with the support of the politicians who get their work done with the blink of an eye.

Former captain Wasim Akram didn’t take time in having expressed shock at the appointment of Misbah as Test captain.

"I was surprised when I heard that Misbah has been named the Pakistan captain. He has been out of the team since the beginning of the year and to bring him back as a captain was a bit shocking," he remarked.

"They did not have too many choices. Kamran Akmal is there but he is inexperienced. They have also tried Shoaib Malik. Mohammad Yousuf is making a comeback after a long time and he should just concentrate on his batting at the moment. If they have named him the captain for one series, it's okay. He is already 36 and the PCB needs to find a long-term solution to this problem. I do not know the vision of the selectors," he added.

Wasim reckoned that Misbah will have a key role as a leader in the South Africa series, “He will be under pressure. He will have to improve the image of Pakistan cricket. For Misbah handling the media and getting runs himself could be demanding. The wickets in Dubai might suit his style of batting, but you cannot take the South Africans lightly. They are a very tough opposition under any conditions. Misbah needs to work hard and make sure he earns the faith of the team. If he gets runs, everything else will take care of itself," the former captain felt.

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‘Tiger’ Pataudi also bids farewell to IPL

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi has become the latest casualty of the Indian Premier League (IPL) which has witnessed monumental shift in policies following the unceremonious exit of its Commissioner, Lalit Modi.

There were three former Indian captains, all of them enjoying legendary status for their exploits in the cricket field, on board with the charismatic yet controversial Modi, who had proved himself a go-getter of the highest order.

Two of the former Indian greats, Sunil Gavaskar and now ’Tiger’ Pataudi have withdrawn from the IPL Governing Council and the only one left is Ravi Shastri, who has somehow agreed to work voluntarily.

Interestingly Gavaskar had played under the captaincy of Pataudi in the 1970s and Shastri arrived on the international scene when Gavaskar was leading the Indian team at the start of the 1980s.

Modi, whose organizational capabilities were awesome, must have considered many factors before inducting the trio of Pataudi, Gavaskar and Shastri in his team to kickstart the IPL. The council obviously became heavyweight with the inclusion of these former greats and there was no harm in remunerating them for their services.

At least it appeared a transparent deal with no hidden benefits or anything of that nature. Paying these former cricketers in lieu of their services was a fair deal for all practical purposes. Even the figure of Rs one crore for each of them didn’t look astronomical in context of the status they enjoyed in cricket and the value they added to the council.

With Modi out of the equation, in controversial circumstances, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is now pushing for total control of the IPL which is more likely to have as much red-tape as the Board itself.

The BCCI has had its own ways of operating. The IPL, under Modi, looked an independent entity, even though it was working under the umbrella of the BCCI. The situation has become different now and the IPL by the look of things would be governed at the whims of the influential office-bearers of the Board.

The one decision which has caused them to lose Gavaskar and now Pataudi is the recent BCCI decision that the council members would not be paid henceforth. Gavaskar was first to refuse a post on the IPL's governing council with Pataudi following suit just a few days later.

"I have written a letter to the BCCI which states that I do not wish to continue with the governing council. Earlier I was on a contract with the IPL, but the new changes are unacceptable for me. So, I have decided to move on," Pataudi was quoted as saying.

Gavaskar had immmediately turned down the BCCI's offer to be part of the governing council clearly stating that the IPL was a commercial enterprise and those working for it should be remunerated.

Pataudi and Gavaskar have walked out. Let us when Shastri decides to part ways with the IPL or may be he’s not much concerned about the financial matters.

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Intikhab's reappointment another nail in coffin of Pakistan cricket

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

The appointment of Intikhab Alam as manager of the national cricket team for the upcoming series against South Africa in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is another step in the backward direction.

While the other nations remain on the lookout for better personnel who could add value to the team the story seems completely different altogether in Pakistan cricket where nepotism and favoritism are the deciding factors.

By the look if things Intikhab has been brought back as manager to maintain status quo as Ijaz Butt, the man calling the shots, has blind faith in him. They needed someone to protect their interests and replacing Yawar Saeed was just an eyewash.

Ijaz Butt, the older he gets, probably feels uncomfortable with the idea of opening up things. He rather prefers to have men of his choice at the key posts who provide him all the inside information to satisfy his ego.

Be it Yawar Saeed or Intikhab Alam their duties will be the same. Disciplining the team or working on the improvement of performance in the field will hardly ever be in their agenda. After all they get paid hefty sums basically for ‘spying’ for Ijaz Butt and there’s no point in thinking toward the welfare of the team.

What Yawar Saeed did as manager Intikhab Alam could probably do better. Ijaz Butt could get comprehensive report about the activities of all the members of the squad in order to enable him to form his opinion which of the team members speak in his favour and who are opposed to his policies.

It goes to the credit of Yawar Saeed to have paved the exit of Younis Khan. The most prolific Pakistan batsman of the recent years, who was also the captain of the team, became a victim of the intrigues of the manager during the tour of Sri Lanka last year leading to the revolt against him just a few weeks later.

Let us see who’s going to be trapped by Intikhab whose record as captain was far from satisfactory with his teammates accusing him of over bowling himself against the interests of the team.

Intikhab, despite his poor record as a leader, has been a part of the management primarily because of his standout quality of being a yes-man to the establishment. His role as manager and coach in the past was as disgusting as his tenure as captain.

Intikhab has remained acceptable to all kinds of Board’s helmsmen because he never dared compromising on their interests. Be it Arif Ali Khan Abbasi or Ijaz Butt,they are fond of the ever-smiling ‘Inti’ who will never disobey his masters come what may.

Ijaz Butt has caused irreparable damage to the Pakistan cricket already and the reappointment of Intikhab as manager can be described as another nail in their coffin. It’s a hugely controversial decision because there were innumerable better candidates, having the desired administrative and managerial capacity, who could have proved asset at a stage when each and every move of the Pakistan cricketer is monitored.

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Yet another feather in Tendulkar’s cap

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

Sachin Tendulkar was adjudged the Cricketer of the Year, receiving the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy during the 2010 ICC Award ceremony in Bangalore on October 6. He also received the People's Choice Award.

The kind of form Tendulkar has been in during the last season in particular he was tipped to clinch every award on offer. During the period under consideration for the award (August 24, 2009 to August 10, 2010) he Tendulkar scored 1064 runs at an average of 81.84 in ten Tests.

He made 914 runs in 17 ODIs at 65.28, and also scored the format's first double-century against South Africa in Gwalior. Tendulkar is presently third on the ICC's rankings for Test batsmen, and tenth in ODIs.

He faced stiff competition from Virender Sehwag, Hashim Amla and Graeme Swann, the other nominees in the Cricketer of the Year Award. Tendulkar joined the elite club of the Cricketer of the Year winners having Rahul Dravid, Andrew Flintoff, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Mitchell Johnson.

He, however, lost out in the other major categories he was nominated in. Virender Sehwag won the Test Cricketer of the Year award while AB de Villiers was declared the ODI Cricketer of the Year.

"This last season has been really special for the entire team. I think right from the start of the season, when we won in Sri Lanka and I scored a hundred in the finals, and from there on the season took off for us. We became No. 1 in the Test rankings, something we all wanted to achieve, and we've been able to maintain our performances in the last ten months," Tendulkar remarked on the occasion.

He recognized Gary Kirsten, the Indian coach, for played an important role in the success of all the batsmen.

"He has been instrumental in making all the batters play plenty of deliveries in practice sessions, he himself throws thousands of deliveries. Gary has been able to keep us in the right frame of mind, whatever areas we needed to work on, he is making sure we are addressing that," Tendulkar reflected.

India’s Mahendra Singh Dhoni was named captain of the Test team of the year, which featured Sehwag, Kumar Sangakkara, Swann, Tendulkar, Amla, Simon Katich, Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis, James Anderson and Doug Bollinger.

Australia’s Ponting earned the honour of captaining the ODI team of the year, having Tendulkar, Shane Watson, Michael Hussey, de Villiers, Paul Collingwood, Dhoni, Daniel Vettori, Stuart Broad, Bollinger and Ryan Harris.

New Zealand’s explosive wicketkeeper-opener Brendon McCullum won the award for the best Twenty20 Performance of the Year, edging out Hussey, Mahela Jayawardene and Ryan McLaren, the others nominated for the Twenty20 award.

The Netherlands all-rounder Ryan ten Doeschate won the Associate Player of the Year Award. While Steven Finn, the England fast bowler, won the award for Emerging Player of the Year.

New Zealand won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award for the second year running as did Aleem Dar, the Pakistani umpire, who won the Umpire of the Year Award for the second time in a row.

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