Looks like our peoples don’t learn from the ( recent ) past.
Imran Khan has earnestly agreed at the request of the PCB to give a 1 hour talk to the Pak. team prior to their departure to India.The guys words would be worth their weight in gold, but i’m not too sure how far it would go to help our “paltoon”..I wish he could be hired to coach them on a irregular basis..say, b4 and after each series so that each players progress could be monitored/followed up…there needs to be a clear structure to these coaching methods rather than just an hour long motivational speech..
The same was done prior to pak/indai series in Pak. last year..did it bear any fruition?
Re: Imrans pep talk.
have some faith in Bob Woolmer... Imran is interested in politics so let him become the prime minister of Pakistan not the coach of Pakistan...
Also, please keep your personal emotions in control.. i admire Imran too but i think he will NOT be a good coach...
Woolmer has done an excellent job and i think he can make Pakistan win against India .. so lets wait and see :)
Re: Imrans pep talk.
Ansonji..just like your post, my post was based on an personal opinion , not a personal emotion.
Imran Khan Saheb is unique indeed
Khan Sahib is so right yet again!
Hits the nail on the head.
Pakistan doesn’t have the ‘launching pad’ for its ‘genuine’ pace attack. It never did
And it doesn’t have it now.
Mind you. The Pace attack and the talent is there, its ‘the launching pad’ thats an issue. 
Fast bowlers win matches. 1st 4-6 over is important for wicket taking spells
And if that don’t work then the strategically 6-4 overs are used for ‘tail demolition’
Ok! This is a common ploy used by many teams, but it doesn’t work the same for all.
Think about it. Pakistan had has one of the best pace attack to do the job right, yet Waqar / Wasim / Aqib / Sami / Shoaib all had minor lucks in their 1st spells.
It was the 'tail demolition’, which won us many matches of importance. Including the WC92. :love:
Shoaib and other bowlers lacked the following ‘tools’ to maximize their roles but seldom complained about them.
Special bowlers need specialist players around them to work alongside to ‘Kill’ the stubborn beast carrying a bat. 
Bowlers never had following;
1-Good and ‘extra ordinary’ wicketkeepers, which Pakistan never had apart from Bari.
Moin and Akmal never were perfect nor are of any specialist standard - Rashid was ok and almost at the brink of ‘hall of fame’ desi style.
2-Good slip cordon specialist catchers and fielders. Pakistan used ‘Slips’ as ‘time-out’ and ‘chill zone’. We have Alloo’s and thick heads in this area and almost rendered ‘Slips’ as wasteland of manpower if deployed.
3-3rd man sweeper seldom attempts for a miscued/timed pull shot of a fast bowler his reflexes and anticipation is never on full alert. Well most of the time,
4 - Point and gully positions are supposed to be areas of ‘flying wickets’ it should be dedicated to specialist fielders only, Let them ‘man’ these areas as signature zones of danger.
We see odd-man lingering in these areas for odd attempts to catch or dive for a ball like schools kids jumping after flying bubbles.
On a lucky day when the attempts are made they cause a major collision and thus one of your own ‘friendly’ bites the bullet. 
,Salay ko bola tha,hut jaa,woh samjha, kai mai hut jaoun,As the Indians say - Salay ko c*t de ,woh bhujia samajh ker khaa gaya
The over all fielding was and will remain lethargic. PCB even tried Pybus to create few Jonty Rowdes for Pakistan, but failed because the the approach was wrong and meant for a band-aid for WC preparations only.
(They thought on other occasions its not needed and may be ‘paan chewing’ coach is sufficient to show the boyZ how to dive in the swimming pool) and thus on the real field. 
haari haari sojhti hai sab ko,
Asif Iqbal was the natural stroke playwer and the best fielder Pakistan ever had.
For him the exposure to the county cricket was good enough and the rest followed with sincere attempts and will power to learn from your surrounding alone.
I can see glimpses of Asif-Iqbal in Imran Nazir,awe but to no avail,
Imagine the missed opportunities of ALL THOSE OCCASIONS When these projectile shooters’ and pride of Pakistan Cricket Wasim / Waqar / Aqib / Zahid / Fazal / Sami / Shoaib and now Khalil / Shabir / Gul could have gotton “those wickets”,
They ^ can bowl their hearts out and yet a simple ‘spill’ by the make shift or the regular mediocre keeper or the un-experienced slip fielder, can throw a bowler backwards into tiredness and disappointment.
Disappointment for not being able to ‘Curse’ the SOB at least.
Imran / Sarfraz / Akram would ‘curse’ the daylight out of the ‘guilty’ SOB.
Baira gharaq ho ‘Live TV’ ka , took all the fun away from the ‘cursing cricket’
Well, some one got it wrong in saying ‘Cricket is a Maulvi saheb ka khail’ you know I wondered so many times, why this sudden ‘surge’ of Noorani Chehra ‘bearded looks’ are an ‘In’ thing in Cricket. Yet it don’t matter realy. Cursing is bad.
I endorse that.
Thanks to some inspiring etiquettes of Australians and 'The jolly-Good English men in white having their ‘After noon tea’ , ‘Blimme mate! Get your freak’in mooind out’a your pants’, they would shout in half cockney and half ‘Gentlemen’ lingo. 
I have not seen that in Shoaib or Sami nor others to even try to express them selves at least. Aweee, may be they’re too shy in the end to talk to the reporters in angrezi in case a scandal breaks out of ‘Team camp’ having ripples and spell disaster in ‘Fines’ and match banned.
Medically I think its bad, in a sense that a ‘pressure cooker’ can engorge that much steam within, as much it can handle. Easy math eh,?
The bottom line is ‘Catches bring the new target in’ & ’ Sound of wickets rattling’ for any batsman is worse than the ‘rattler’ in the pit.
And it’s very well known to the batsmen and its known to be contagious most of the time. Thus One wicket walks behind the other,sorry no animation here,
The term ‘On Fire’ is very rare now in Pakistan’s arsenal.
The last time I genuinely saw a player ‘On Fire’ was the 92WC - Wasim Akram on a hatrick WWOWOO.
So the phenomenal term of being ‘On Fire’ is true and real then.
And now it has become and ‘Archived Legend’ and you don’t see legends so often stupid!
Well ! That’s why they’re called ‘legends’ silly.. They are supposed to be rare, and rare they are becoming as the time passes. 
God bless Rana and his gallant efforts to take Indians, then Australian and yet Indians again, to single handedly play a mouse-fox game with the opponents.
I think the curse factor with him is non existent and instead he does this ‘unique’ stuff ,"Hey ma maan,whatzup,Ohh acha acha,koi baat nahi,arraayy yaar mind kiya kerna,chor bhi naa ab,shaam ko chaye pilana bas meray ko,laoo,Ball doo,kitnay run chaye ‘en’ Ch00’**youn ko, jeetnay kay leye,?
He would ask , while walking to his runup mark.
“Come on BOOOYZ, COME onnn,koi baat nahi,” , howls the keeper.
The bowler turns quickly and gives him a smiley wink and continues back to his run-up mark rubbing the ball into the unknown, his heart pumping louder and ‘cursing’ in the best of the best Punjab has to offer.
Aweee well! There is always a Yorker or a Beamer, I wonder what is the state penalty of a tough Batter getting killed through Yorkers & Beamers?
In case of “Razak” bhaijaan,I think he can get away with it via an “Honor killing ” law loophole. But unfortunatley there is no ‘Women’ factor in the team and ‘Honor’ comes in the feminine dressage. Ask a talibaan, they’l tell you.
Cricket is a ‘team’ game
Batsman scores a 100 and yet his team loses the match, because the team played in patches only rather than as a TEAM.
Bowlers fires and spun the bowl to the best of their ability and yet he stays ‘wicket’ less and becomes the talk of the town.
Captain has the ‘right’ idea in mind, but the plan ‘back fires’ on his face like a ‘$hit splash’ Thus the ‘Steam’ factor and ‘Curse’ factor are withdrawn in support of religious bonds and that leaves Only one ‘Bond’ in the end. The Prize Bond
Laga laga, nai laga nai laga,sala tukka, (Please Do not Copy tks)
Re: Imran Khan Saheb is unique indeed/Imran's Pep Talk (Merged)
Thanx for that lenghty explanation raindance..unfortunanely, my ignorance failed to catch your drift & i am none the wiser.
Re: Imran Khan Saheb is unique indeed/Imran's Pep Talk (Merged)
Pakistan search for harmony
By Scott Heinrich
The PCB hands down its decision at Shoaib's disciplinary hearing
When Shoaib Akhtar was summoned before a Pakistan medical commission last year to prove he wasn't faking injury, his response was predictably indignant.
"I felt like I was betrayed by my own people. There were some people that just didn't understand me," the fast bowler said.
"If I say I'm injured then I am. No-one can judge me and tell me that I'm not."
Such disharmony has become typical in Pakistan cricket.
Since the glory days of the 1992 World Cup, and Imran Khan's spell as captain, the national team have grappled with the reputation of failing to fulfil their considerable potential.
So what is standing in Pakistan's way?
There is a view that a penchant for over-reaction and in-fighting explains Pakistan's inability to translate potential into performance.
"If people make mistakes they deserve punishment, but making big issues out of things doesn't help," former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed told BBC Sport.
Asian cricketers get too much freedom and sometimes we can cross the line
Mushtaq Ahmed
"Pakistan shouldn't discuss outside of their house what happens in their bedroom."
Perhaps two match-fixing inquiries have imposed a sense of transparency on Pakistan, but they seem quite prepared to air dirty laundry in the public eye.
The tenures of former coaches Richard Pybus and Javed Miandad were played out like soap operas.
Throughout his three spells in charge, Miandad complained of fractured relations with Pakistan Cricket Board members and a lack of communication.
Former captain Asif Iqbal said the PCB became "dictatorial".
Wasim unhappy with inquiry
The 2003 World Cup failure saw Pakistan axe Pybus and eight senior players and appoint Miandad, who announced his return to the fold for another term by accusing team officials of mismanagment.
Then came the Shoaib affair following last year's painful home defeat to India, the consequences of which included Miandad's sacking and a parliamentary inquiry.
Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq publicly accused Shoaib of faking injury in his home Test at Rawalpindi, while the then PCB chief Rameez Raja vowed any player would be "taken to task" if the medical commission discovered anything untoward.
You never feel settled in the Pakistan team; there's always uncertainties there
Mohammad Akram
A clutch of high-ranking former players thought the move excessive and spoke out against the PCB, and Pakistani cricket was again in the spotlight for the wrong reasons.
Now Shoaib is back in hot water over disciplinary breaches in Australia he categorically denies.
He pulled out of the forthcoming Tests in India the day after he was fined by a disciplinary panel, although he insists his decision was solely prompted by a hamstring injury.
"You never feel settled in the Pakistan team. There's always uncertainties there," former Pakistan paceman Mohammad Akram says.
"Pakistan should try to settle the team down and get them together before India, but unrest in the team does affect the confidence of the players.
Woolmer has not had an easy introduction as coach of Pakistan
"What the PCB is doing to Shoaib is not very nice. They should either just tell him that they don't want him, or play him.
"It is not fair to give the players these sort of messages ahead of maybe the biggest tour of their careers."
Mushtaq, however, says Pakistan can only improve by keeping big egos in check.
"No player is bigger than the game," he asserts.
"What is happening there can be good for Pakistani cricket. Asian cricketers get too much freedom and sometimes we can cross the line."
In a rare show of solidarity, the PCB stood behind coach Bob Woolmer in Australia recently after he had taken the dangerous step of criticising umpires.
It was something not afforded to either Pybus or Miandad, suggesting the PCB is serious about change.
But one senses it will only matter to Pakistan fans when performances on the field lead to the team earning a new reputation - as consistent winners.
Source; bbc.co.uk sports / 25Feb05