Pakistan: Balanced blend is the answer

We must accept at the face-value Wasim Akram's decision to voluntarily step down as captain though I would have tried to persuade him that the team needed him not only as a player but as the skipper particularly since Pakistan is re-building its team. The impression being given is that there has been a general purge and the old guard has been shown the bowler hat and a whole crop of youngsters has been brought in.

This makes good headlines but is not strictly the case. Aamir Sohail is no spring chicken and Shahid Nazir has been around for some time. Against that Wajahatullah Wasti, Shahid Afridi and Mohammad Wasim have been given the axe. By no stretch of the imagination can these three be described as a part of the old guard. They are just out of their teens. That leaves Inzamamul Haq and Ijaz Ahmed. Neither of them are geriatrics though it was not a bad idea to have rested them. I am all for inducting young players but they should be phased in, one at a time and not as a crop.

Pakistan is already a young team and needs some seniors for their experience. I am all for investing in the future but we should not bankrupt the present. If the selectors want consistency from the players, the cricket public want consistency from the selectors. By what logic was Wasti dropped considering he got only one chance? What did Shahid Afridi do wrong on the bouncy Australian wickets? He didn't make runs but neither did the others. On the plus side, he emerged as a more than useful bowler and was an outstanding fielder. Mohammad Wasim has never known whether he's coming or going ever since he made a hundred on test debut. He's been in and out, more out and though he's middle order batsman, he found himself opening the innings. One hopes that the youngsters who have been inducted will be given a long run provided they have been carefully selected keeping in mind both talent and temperament. We could do well to learn from the Australians. They went along with Mark Waugh knowing that form is temporary but class is permanent.

Having appointed Saeed Anwar as captain, he should be made to feel that he is not a stop-gap arrangement and will be there for some time though it is problematic whether he will be around in 2003 when the next World cup will be played. Still, one agrees that the best time to blood young players is in a home series provided we don't come to the wrong conclusions. I recall that a young opening batsman called Naqvi made a century on test debut but I have no idea what happened to him nor would I imagine do the selectors. And a final word to the selectors: they must not hurry the future. To be picked to play for the country should be made as difficult as possible. It is the highest accolade and should be earned in the hard way. But once earned, a player should be given security and not be treated as a daily wages worker.

I am not at all surprised that the ICC has passed the buck back to the cricket boards to determine whether a bowling action is legal or not. This means that a bowler with a suspect action will be at the mercy of the umpires. I think that before taking such a decision, they should have cleared Shoaib Akhtar. It was the ICC through its committee on illegal deliveries that banned Shoaib Akhtar. There will always remain some doubt in the minds of the umpires, particularly the ICC nominated umpires and the likes of Darrel Hair are quite capable of no-balling him and we will be back to square one. It happened with Muralitharan and helluva row ensued. Shoaib Akhtar is going to be Pakistan's key bowler not only for the next World Cup but for coming test series and there should be no ambiguity. What the ICC has not done is to clearly spell out, in simple language, what constitutes an illegal delivery. I am all for empowering the umpires provided that law is perfectly clear and understood by them. Shoaib has a contract with Nottinghamshire and even if he is passed by the PCB, will this be good enough for the country who will be investing a lot of money in him? The umpires will not be obliged to honour the judgement of the PCB. And since the ICC has opted out, where will the appeal lie?

Having created a mess, it was up to the ICC to have cleared it first. It smacks of abdication by the ICC of its responsibilities or put in common parlance, it has decided to drop the hot potato. In the meantime the ICC will organise a Cricket Week, the highlight of which will be a day-night match between an Asia XI and the Rest of the World to be played at Dhaka. This seems to be a good idea but mine was better, a series of such matches be played in Lahore, Calcutta and Colombo with all the revenue going to charities in the three countries or a common international charity. It would not only have created a greater interest but the charities would have received publicity to say nothing of a financial shot in the arm. Since the United Nations has shown an interest in the Cricket Week, the matches could have been played to raise funds for UNICEF. The time has come for cricket to become a community-citizen.

Cricket is earning a lot of money. It should start returning some of it in the form of human development, Imran Khan and Ian Botham set outstanding examples but cricket now has several millionaires. A little show of charity from them would set an example. It would do more for the image of cricket than the masala-matches that are played in the name of globalisation. And I notice that there is no further action about taking cricket to Disneyland. Mickey Mouse will remain the star attraction for the time being.