Kamran Abbasi
A win to relish
The encounter between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was as emotionally charged as any match Pakistan have ever played
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
Some commentators have dismissed the Champions Trophy as a meaningless jamboree but the encounter between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was as emotionally charged as any match Pakistan have ever played. The heat was on Younis Khan but he didn't fry thanks to a stunning batting display from Abdul Razzaq and a catching blunder by Sri Lanka's Dilshan.
Razzaq, the ex vice-captain, put in a captain's performance with bat and ball and Younis, the ex dummy captain, put in a yummy performance that showcased his natural leadership skills, obvious in his enthusiasm, energy, and positivity.
It was always going to take an outstanding perfromance to cool Sri Lanka's red-hot streak and Pakistan managed that with a composed chase under lights. The Razzler razzle-dazzled but the pursuit was steered by sensible knocks from Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik, and given an early thrust by Mohammad Hafeez and Imran Farhat.
In the absence of their two best bowlers Pakistan will still struggle to win this tournament but more of this positive approach and India's batsman-friendly wickets could still carry Younis Khan's team a long way.
Full postA bad board blames its players
The PCB's game of passing the buck is deplorable
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
A PCB official has told Cricinfo that the players are responsible for this situation and were given a booklet explaining what is legal and what is illegal. This game of passing the buck is deplorable and offers a wonderful insight into why the PCB stumbles from one disaster to another.
Even the most highly educated individuals fail to absorb the majority of information delivered to them in seminars and booklets. Few people could tell you every ingredient in what they have eaten. Few patients have a good idea of the drugs they are being administered.
Asif and Shoaib might be utterly to blame but then again they might not and Shoaib has already protested his innocence.
This premature damnation from the PCB is embarrassing and it contrasts sharply with the message that Younis Khan and Bob Woolmer are sending out that the players, management, and administration must accept collective responsibility. The PCB should hold its tongue until it has got to the bottom of this sorry affair, an affair that has done much more damage to Pakistan cricket and the team's chances of winning the World Cup than the previous two disasters.
Full postA drugs ban might end Shoaib's career
To lose your elite opening attack to injury is one thing, to lose it to suspicions of illegal drug use is quite another
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
It's official: This is the worst time in the history of Pakistan cricket. To lose your elite opening attack to injury is one thing, to lose it to suspicions of illegal drug use is quite another. The natural reaction is to hope that there was something wrong with the samples or the analysis. Shoaib's and Asif's lawyers will inevitably try that one. The next reaction is to come up with an extraordinary excuse for an humiliating finding. Expect them both to try that as well. Whether or not those lines of defence will achieve anything is yet to be seen but what this incredible turn of events has achieved is the demolition of Pakistan's prospects of winning the Champions Trophy. A win from here will be a miracle.
I have little sympathy for players who take performance enhancing drugs. The rules are clear. But I do have a little sympathy for the players, blissful ignorance is no excuse but it is partly understandable. It is their doctors, advisers, and cricket board that I have no sympathy for. It is these people who destroy careers through their arrogance and their negligence. It seems incredible to me--if true--that this is the first drug test performed by the PCB.
Full postRules of the blog 1
Your feedback has been tremendous, so tremendous that I thought it might be useful to explain which comments will or will not be posted
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
Your feedback has been tremendous, so tremendous that I thought it might be useful to explain which comments will or will not be posted.
I want to encourage comment, debate, and conversation on Pak Spin—the people must be heard—but some rules are required to ensure that the blog is respectable, reactive, relevant, and rip-roaring fun.
1 Abusive or discourteous comments will not be posted
2 Libellous comments will not be posted
3 Off-topic comments will not be posted (this might include comments that start a side debate about a post by another commenter)
4 Comments longer than 150-175 words will not be posted (that’s the size of the window that I can see to moderate the comments)
5 Comments that do not include a name for the commenter will not be posted
6 Comments that do not include an email address will be not be posted
7 If I discover the email address is a fake, the comment will not be posted/will be deleted
8 Suggestions for playing elevens will not be posted (on the grounds that they become tedious reading after the hundredth batting order)
9 I reserve the right to edit the comment as I see fit before posting (without consultation with the commenter)
10 The blogger’s decision (ie mine) is final
Full postWho can replace Inzy the batsman?
The best call from the PCB over the past few days was to confirm Inzamam as captain for the West Indies series, simply because it helped settle any uncertainty about what would happen after the Champions Trophy.
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
The best call from the PCB over the past few days was to confirm Inzamam as captain for the West Indies series, simply because it helped settle any uncertainty about what would happen after the Champions Trophy.
But it only served to remind us of the crater Inzy’s absence creates in the middle order, which was Pakistan’s strongest suit over a troubled summer. Indeed, Inzy appeared in the finest touch particularly in helping to save the Lord’s Test but also in the dismissive way he batted in the one-day series.
As with each adversity there is an opportunity. Who will seize it?
Full postThe great Younis Khan debate
This has been a great debate on Younis Khan’s volte face, and it is clear that people on all sides of the debate are genuinely concerned about the future of Pakistan cricket and unwilling for the cricket board to be anything less than professional.
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
This has been a great debate on Younis Khan’s volte face, and it is clear that people on all sides of the debate are genuinely concerned about the future of Pakistan cricket and unwilling for the cricket board to be anything less than professional.
It is also clear that Younis had tremendous support to become Inzamam’s successor and he has created serious doubts among many of his supporters about his fitness to lead Pakistan. But there remains much good will towards Younis and I share that.
He has always lead Pakistan well and usually struck me as a composed, brave, and jovial character. Let’s hope his hasty resignation—which I still maintain was a dumb way to register his protest—is a moment of madness that will not be repeated. But as I learned when I worked as a psychiatrist, “nothing predicts behaviour like behaviour.”
As for the PCB, it’s hard to harbour any conviction about its fitness for purpose. We will have to judge the new leadership by its deeds and already the decision-making has polarised opinion. Talat Ali has added to concerns by getting off to a bad start—at least Zaheer Abbas knew which player was which. And Younis not knowing that Inzamam would not be available for the final, if Pakistan makes it, was another managerial gaffe.
Full postThe heat is on for Younis Khan
The last week has been a bizarre one for Pakistan cricket
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
Last week was climactic even for Pakistan.
We now have a board chairman (Nasim Ashraf—I'm humble enough to drop the title Dr, why isn't he?) who is a pal of General Musharaf. Anything else going for him?
Full postWelcome to Pak Spin
Pakistan cricket is an administrative basket case but a voyeur's eye candy
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
A ball-tampering controversy followed by a captaincy shambles might spell disaster for most cricket teams, but when it comes to Pakistan cricket it might just mean that all is well with the world.
There was a time when I sulked in desperation at the latest incredible twist in events. The shenanigans and skulduggery were unimaginable. But then I grew to love it. Pakistan cricket is an administrative basket case but a voyeur's eye candy. And the result is that you never quite know what to expect on the field, a flash of genius or a flood of incompetence. Pakistan is the world's most capable team at being either very very good or very very bad within the same tour, the same match, the same session, or the same over. Throw in some of the world's fastest bowlers, most exciting batsmen, laziest fielders, and hottest hotheads and you have created an irresistible mix.
Pak Spin will celebrate all that is wonderful and miserable about Pakistan cricket. It will share the joy and the pain of following the world's most unfathomable cricket team. It might even make a difference, but then again who would want Pakistan cricket to be any different?
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