Kamran Abbasi

Gul deserves praise not suspicion

Umar Gul's outstanding performance against New Zealand was notable for his mastery of line and length

Kamran Abbasi
Kamran Abbasi
25-Feb-2013
AFP

AFP

Umar Gul's outstanding performance against New Zealand was notable for his mastery of line and length. It wasn't notable for its extravagant reverse swing. Gul has every right to claim that he has become the leading exponent of Twenty20 fast bowling. He was formidable in South Africa two years ago and he is so again.
Gul's brilliance is his ability to bowl his chosen length at will, either yorker, back of a length, or on a good length. He rarely errs by bowling a half volley. At the death, this predominantly yorker attack has become almost impossible to plunder runs off. This is the result of years of hard work and battle against injury. Gul is an intelligent bowler with absolute control over his armoury.
Hence, the whiff of suspicion created by Daniel Vettori and some journalists is a disgrace. Why is it that when a man in green produces something special the immediate reaction is to cast doubt on that achievement? If it had been another country then the issue would not even have been raised.
Grow up boys, we've had twenty years of this nonsense and we're sick and tired of it. Your sour grapes have become rancid.

Kamran Abbasi is an editor, writer and broadcaster. He tweets here