Pakistan are the current T20 world champions. Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Mohammed Aamer, Saeed Ajmal and company played some enthralling cricket to claim the trophy last year. Since then, Pakistan have seen another exciting batsman emerge on the horizon: Umar Akmal. Therefore, it defies logic that nobody wanted to buy the 11 Pakistani players in the IPL 3 auction on Tuesday.
 
What's the reason? Let us go through what has been proffered by the men and women involved with IPL. Some team owners have said that the Pakistani players had a problem of availability during the period. That's nonsense. Unlike the top Aussie players, they are available for the entire duration. In fact, West Indian Kemar Roach, a Deccan Chargers buy, will miss the first two games. That's because the Zimbabwe tour of West Indies gets over on March 14 while IPL 3 begins on March 12.  The second Deccan Chargers game will be held on March 14.
 
Another gentleman was heard mouthing that the Pakistanis were not chosen because this was a short auction. There were too few players to be bought, he said. This logic doesn't hold either. The truth is that the owners spent sums as high as $720,000 and $610,000 for the likes of Parnell and Roach, while ignoring Aamer and Gul. Are we saying that the former two are better bowlers than Aamer (who is also emerging as a handy bat) and Gul? Or that the Pakistanis are not even worth $100,000? And have we forgotten that Afridi was the man of the series in the T20 World Cup 2009.
 
One logic being offered is that franchisees were not keen to have Pakistani players because there is an element of uncertainty involving them. Simply put, the relationship between the two countries is already edgy and could always get worse. In that case, the Pakistani players might go back. So why take the trouble?
 
Even this argument is specious. Sure, nobody would want to invest a huge amount in a 'risky' player. But then isn't investing over $750,000 in Keiron Pollard any less risky? What's the guarantee he will succeed? What about investing $750,000-plus in Bond, once a great bowler, now extremely injury prone. Let us not forget he's currently injured too. Besides, he Read more...

Avijit Ghosh IPL, Pakistan Blogs.CMDN.com, Bond, Cricket Blogs, Deccan Chargers, IPL, Keiron Pollard, Kemar Roach, Mohammed Aamer, Pakistan, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, T20, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul

As fate would have it, on the day Ireland announced they would formally apply to the ICC for full-member status, New Zealand gave them every reason to feel confident. They couldn’t do any worse, could they?

You can almost see the Irish delegation compiling a DVD nasty of New Zealand’s 138-run rout at the hands of Pakistan in the Abu Dhabi desert as evidence for inclusion.

It was Ireland, after all, who sent the Pakistanis packing from the 2007 World Cup.

New Zealand’s loss yesterday has little relevance in the grand scheme of things - just another one-day international in a crowded calendar - but it has rubbed out much of the goodwill accrued from their run to the final of the Champions Trophy in South Africa last month.

Fingers have predictably pointed in the direction of the coach, or lack thereof. New Zealand comfortably accounted for the same opposition one month ago with Andy Moles at the helm, although that argument conveniently ignores the fact that Vettori was effectively running the cutter at that point, Moles having lost the confidence of the dressing room.

In fact, the whole dressing room strife as a hurdle to success argument was kneecapped by Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder who put the shake into Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

This is the same Afridi who had recently dominated headlines in Pakistan because of his supposed rift with captain Younis Khan over (if you believe the desert telegraph) his desire to be one-day captain.

Yesterday he smote 70 from 50 deliveries, then came within an inch of a hat-trick when befuddling New Zealand’s lower middle order. All that controversy must have really played havoc with his “head space”.

No, the coaching debacle is too convenient a scapegoat. The real reason for the calamitous performance was that when the blowtorch was applied NZ’s batsmen again melted Read more…

Administrator PAK vs NZ Aaron Redmond, Abu Dhabi, Andy Moles, Brendon McCullum, Champions Trophy, ICC, Jesse Ryder, Mohammad Aamer, New Zealand, Pakistan, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Sheikh Zayed Stadium, South Africa, Twenty20, Umar Gul, Younis Khan

The most astonishing match of the Champions Trophy, with all results possible till the last ball, saw India knocked out of the tournament and Australia confirmed as toppers of Group A, from which Pakistan also qualified.

While India were busy skittling West Indies out at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, their fate was sealed when Australia held their nerve to win a last-ball thriller against Pakistan. Indian fans at the Wanderers used every possible means — television, radio, mobile phones — to keep track of the action at Centurion.

Even India’s players, out on the dressing-room balcony, while the openers began the chase of 130, were glued to the television and cheered as Rana Naved-ul-Hasan bowled a 47th over maiden.

When the last over began, with Nathan Hauritz and Brett Lee at the crease, and four runs needed, the game was slipping out of Pakistan’s grasp, and the exit door beckoned India.

When Lee drove Umar Gul past mid-on for a penultimate ball single, the scores were tied and India were out. With the pressure of qualifying off them, Australia scampered a leg-bye off the last ball, winning by two wickets.

Until Australia began their chase on what was a tricky pitch to bat on, several questions were raised about why Pakistan batted as they did, with abundant caution, to reach 205/6 from 50 overs.

Despite having wickets, Pakistan’s batsmen barely accelerated, even failing to make use of the powerplay. When Australia batted, and themselves struggled, as Pakistan put Read more…

Administrator Champions Trophy Australia, Blogs.CMDN.com, Brett Lee, Centurion, Champions Trophy, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, India, Johannesburg, Pakistan, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Ricky Ponting, Umar Gul, Wanderers

A cricketer with a modest record suddenly touches greatness or at least becomes a most talked about player, thanks to a change in approach or style. This is verily the story of Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Seen more as a limited overs cricketer thanks to his utility qualities he was not exactly a regular in the Test squad. Now, suddenly, he has turned out to be one of those cricketers who are cynosures.

Even in a Sri Lankan side choc-a-bloc with stroke players and fast scorers, Dilshan stands out and these days his batting style is being compared with Virender Sehwag’s. For once, this is not an uncalled for comparison. Dilshan is matching the Indiana Jones of Indian cricket in thrilling strokes and run production.

So much so that New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori singled out Dilshan’s ruthless performance with the bat as the key factor behind his team’s 202-run defeat in the first Test at Galle.

Dilshan, promoted to open the innings for the first time in Tests, raced to 92 off 72 balls in the first innings. Then, in the second innings when runs were needed quickly so that Kumar Sangakkara could set New Zealand a challenging target Dilshan again was to the fore hitting an unbeaten 123 off just 131 balls - just the kind of batting that the Lankans required.

The manner in which Dilshan flayed the bowling, it became an uneven contest something that Vettori admitted while handing out plaudits to Dilshan. “See how well Dilshan Read more…

Administrator Sri Lanka Blogs.CMDN.com, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Daniel Vettori, Danish Kaneria, Galle, Kumar Sangakkara, New Zealand, Shoaib Malik, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Umar Gul

I am off this week to commentate on the highly anticipated series in Sri Lanka where Pakistan will lock horns with the hosts. It should be a fascinating encounter following the elevated status both teams have enjoyed after their recent success in the ICC World Twenty20.

That success aside, most poignantly it is the resumption of rivalry between these two teams following that despicable day on the third of March when the visiting Sri Lankans were subjected to the unthinkable and were astonishingly attacked by gunmen outside the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. That resumption in itself is reason for celebration.

An air of expectancy will permeate throughout the series as both teams strive to claim the ascendency but another aspect will be grabbing my attention. Those of you who have read my missives over the past years know that I am a firm believer that cricket is a game best played when played instinctively. Read more…

Administrator PAK vs SL Ajantha Mendis, Blogs.CMDN.com, Cricket, Cricket Blogs, Danish Kaneria, Gaddafi Stadium, ICC World Twenty20, Lahore, Lasith Malinga, Muttiah Muralitharan, Mystery spinners, Pakistan, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Sri Lanka, Umar Gul

Shahid Afridi has been guilty of blowing up his talent like a millionaire on a gambling spree. At times one wondered whether he had filed for bankruptcy. It now seems he has reformed.

It was not the maverick Pathan with a propensity to take risks that turned up against South Africa and Sri Lanka. Neither was it the heart-break kid whose indiscretion left his ardent fans frustrated.

Last week, Afridi didn’t throw it all away in a flash. With three wickets and 105 runs in the semifinal and final, Afridi delivered. Skipper Younus Khan was surprised that he took singles in the final. It was a performance that brackets him alongside the best. It begs the question if he is the best T20 player in the world? 

Yuvraj Singh, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Umar Gul, Lasith Malinga, AB de Villiers, Ajantha Mendis, Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen may take objection to Afridi’s elevation into the pantheon of T20 greats but they will find it difficult to build a strong case against him. Rameez Raja believes Afridi’s desire to… Read more…

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About a fortnight ago when I wrote the blog, Why Pakistan must win Twenty20 World Cup, I was flooded with colourful abuses. An overwhelming majority of respondents labelled me "unpatriotic."  Many appeared convinced that India was going to win the World Cup and that Pakistan will be knocked out in the first round.

They had their reasons, I guess. Some were political and had little to do with cricket. But for a variety of reasons, many genuinely believed that Pakistan wasn't going to put up a good show. To begin with, Younis Khan and company hadn't seen much of international cricket in recent times. That apart, none of them had played in IPL2. Even in the practice games, the team hardly inspired confidence.

So how come Pakistan is playing Sunday's final while MS Dhoni's million dollar boys nurse their wounds. Let us try to analyse:

1. Unlike us, Pakistan improved with every game: Younis Khan and his men looked rusty in the warm-up matches. But rather than being dismissive or cocky, they worked on their shortcomings... Read more...

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1. Potpourri of T20 information
Given below are some interesting facts.

1. McCullum is the leading run-scorer with 582 runs.
2. Symonds has the highest strike rate amongst batsman who have scored 100 runs. He has a strike rate of 169.35 while scoring 337 runs.
3. Jayasuriya has secured 5 MOM awards. Read more…

Admin T20 Internationals Analytical review, Andrew Symonds, Cricket Blogs, Gayle, McCullum, Sanath Jayasuriya, T20 information, Twenty20, Umar Gul, Yuvraj