Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

Entertainment Cricket and Other Sports
161

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

Miandad says Pakistan must forget about Shoaib and Asif](http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=sportsNews&storyID=2007-02-28T191609Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-289535-1.xml)
**Wed Feb 28, 2007 7:27 PM IST

http://i.today.reuters.com/images/spacer.gif

**](http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=sportsNews&storyID=2007-02-28T191609Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-289535-1.xml)

By Waheed Khan
KARACHI (Reuters) - Former captain Javed Miandad has told Pakistan to stop waiting for Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif and go into next month’s World Cup without the two pace bowlers.
“With so much uncertainty over their availability, I think it is best Pakistan forgot about them and devised a new strategy with more spinners,” Miandad told Reuters on Wednesday.
“Why waste time on something which is not available?”.
Shoaib and Asif are receiving treatment in London for their knee and elbow injuries and will not be leaving for the Caribbean on Thursday with the rest of the squad.
The pair have also yet to take the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) official doping tests, said media manager Pervez Mir.
Shoaib and Asif tested positive last October for the banned substance nandrolone but a PCB appeals panel cleared them of a doping offence and set aside their bans in December.
Pakistan have also yet to receive permission from the World Cup technical committee to replace injured all rounder Abdul Razzaq with Azhar Mahmood.
A veteran of six World Cups, Miandad said Pakistan would fare better in the competition with two specialist spinners.
“They have leg spinner Danish Kaneria in the side and they should also include left-armer Abdul Rehman,” he said.
“They can be threatening on slow West Indian pitches.”
Rehman played recently in South Africa but has not been picked in the 15-man World Cup squad.
Pakistan will be in Group D with hosts West Indies, Zimbabwe and Ireland.

162

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

^ mai tu pelay hee tai la thaa in ko thilana nai taiye.

~**~ Tussi Baray ----- Ho ~~~~ ~**~
~**~ Tussi Baray ----- Ho ~~~~ ~**~
163

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

yep...

164

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

[quote=Antumul alona]
Miandad says Pakistan must forget about Shoaib and Asif](http://in.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=sportsNews&storyID=2007-02-28T191609Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-289535-1.xml) **Wed Feb 28, 2007 7:27 PM [

Finally Miandad started speaking some good sense. Very good advice. Pakistan should finalize the 15, forget of these two and include Abdul Rehman, but will suggest playing Rehman and Afridi in tandem as off and leg spin attack, supported by Malik/Hafeez. Kaneria may take a wicket but he could easily be denied a wicket in 10 overs and could be expensive as a bowler and could make life hard for other team mates by leaking runs as a fielder.

So focus on playing Afridi as legspinner and rehman as off spinner, supported by three seamers in Azhar, Rana and Gul. Pakistan could try playing Hafeez/Akmal as opener, this way they will have four spin options to share 20 overs among them, and if any seamer is going expensive these 4 could bowl more than 20 overs.](“http://i.today.reuters.com/images/spacer.gif”)

165

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

I doubt they'll include Rehman. Possibly Sami (hai hai) and Shahid Nazir as replacements. Perhaps its the curse of Sami that got these two in the predicament they find themselves in???

PCB better hurry up cuz they have till March 2nd to replace players otherwise they need to go through some ICC committee to get players replaced. 200 Million Pakistani fans world wide are anxious to know who will be our 15 at the WC... Isnt the PCB? Hmmm.

If there is at least a 50% chance that Asif & Shoaib will have the Nandrolone washed out of their system before March 13th - then we should gamble on them. Otherwise have them replaced now...Get the team ready for the 2 warm up matches and play your first choice 11 in those 2 games to get ready for the big games against WI.

166

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

^ kisee nay tau kissee pir sahab say kala jadoo karwaya heay...

167

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

yar wesey dekhaa jaey tu yeah hey humari halat …we are 6 days away from playing our first warmup match and this is our planning..we are short on 2 players :grumpy:

168

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

Well like it or not, Miandad has said a sensible thing here, In regards to having A. Rehman in the squad. As for Asif and Shoaib; well Pakistan team should work alternative plans, I am sure they would have already. different combo of Gul, Rana and Azhar(provided he gets the green from ICC tech committee), and maybe Rao here and there :rolleyes:

Oh yea we have world class off-spinners in the team: Malik and Hafeez, Grrrr I wish only if they had groomed Tahir Khan :o

169

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

Shoaib, Asif pulled out of WC squad: Yasir, Sami to replace them

Written by pub Thursday, 01 March 2007 ISLAMABAD, Mar 1 (APP):

Fast bowlers Shoaib Akhter and Muhammad Asif pulled out of Pakistan’s World Cup squad of their own accord Thursday with Muhammad Sami and Yasir Arafat immediately named as their replacements. Strike bowlers Shoaib Akhter and Muhammad Asif announced their withdrawal from the upcoming World Cup in a phone call from London to Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board, Dr.
Nasim Ashraf.
“Shoaib and Asif phoned us from London and declared their unavailability on fitness grounds”, the Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board, Dr. Nasim Ashraf, told reporters here.
“They will be replaced by Muhammad Sami and Yasir Arafat”, Nasim said while announcing the decision of Shoaib and Asif to give up their almost month-long race against time to get fit for the prestigious event starting in the West Indies with a match between Pakistan and West Indies on March 13.
“I also had discussions with team management in the morning before reaching the decision to make changes in our 15 players for the World Cup”, said the PCB Chairman.
The Technical Committee of International Cricket Council has been informed of the replacements and it will formally grant permission in this regard in a few days, Dr. Nasim said.
He, however, categorically said that no fresh dope tests had been conducted on the two bowlers. “Neither did we apprehend any positive dope results of the two bowlers in the
World Cup”,
To a question, he also denied PCB had received any letter from World Anti Doping Agency (WADA)”. “There is no such letter”, he said, adding that PCB fully supported the policy of International Cricket Council regarding the random dope tests in the World Cup.
“We didn’t want to ruin the careers of Shoaib and Asif by forcing them to play in the World Cup”, he said.
Shoaib and Asif were in London to assess their knee and elbow injuries respectively. “On their return, we will discuss with these bowlers the process of their rehabilitation from injuries and thus resuscitate their careers”, he said.
The Rawalpindi Express Shoaib Akhter and his new-ball partner Muhammad Asif were inducted in the squad subject to fitness when Pakistan announced their 15 players for the World Cup on February 13.
The decision now to leave behind Shoaib and Asif, though widely anticipated, was yet another setback for Inzamamul Haq-led Pakistan squad after it was revealed a couple of days back that a knee injury will keep allrounder Abdur Razzaq out of the World Cup.
“I am confident our team will put up a fight even after the replacement of three key players”, Nasim said. Azher Mehmood replaced Abdur Razzaq.
“Inzamam will have to bear the brunt of the team’s World Cup campaign now”, h said. “As a skipper, he will have to inspire the players and he will also have to shoulder much responsibility as the team’s leading batsman”, Nasim said.
He said the team may now depend on batting, alongside fielding, to make an impression in the World Cup. “If our batsmen post 300-odd runs in a match, then we will have a chance of winning that particular game”, he said.
He emphasised the replacement bowlers were also capable of giving a good account of themselves in the Caribbean. “Pakistan bowling may not prove that weak in the World Cup”, he said.
To a question, he said Australia and South Africa may be the favorites inthe March 13-April 28 World Cup, adding that some other teams, includingPakistan, also had a real chance of lifting the title.
“Inzamam can inspire the team like Imran Khan did in 1992” when Pakistan wontheir lone World Cup, he said, emphasizing that he had never seen Inzie so”charged up” before the start of a tournament.
Nasim asked the entire nation to pray for and support the team as itembarked on the World Cup journey on Thursday with Rawalpindi-born Yasir Arafatand Karachi-based Muhammad Sami to join the squad within the next fewdays.
The final Pakistan 15 for the World Cup:–Inzamamul Haq (captain), YounisKhan (vice captain), Muhammad Yousuf, Kamran Akmal, Danish Kaneria, Shoaib Malik,Shahid Afridi, Azher Mehmood, Muhammad Hafeez, Imran Nazir, Umer Gul, Muhammad Sami, Yasir Arafat, Rao Iftikhar Anjum and Rana Naveedul Hassan.

170

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

^ although it was always on the cards, but we were all wishing/praying so it is really devastating news.

171

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

What a ***** gora …

Why Shoaib Akhtar should never again set foot on a cricket pitch](Why Shoaib Akhtar should never again set foot on a cricket pitch)

  • Peter Roebuck
    March 2, 2007
    THANK goodness Shoaib Akhtar has been ruled out of the World Cup. He will not be missed. He does not belong on a cricket field anywhere, let alone representing his country in the game’s most prestigious event. An impostor whose reputation relies on a handful of bursts spread over a career lasting a decade, he has been more trouble than he is worth.
    No captain, no team, has ever been able to rely on him. Throughout, Akhtar has been more interested in the glamour than the graft. His image as a charming rogue conceals an outlook that has damaged the reputation of every team he has represented. Far from sustaining a great tradition of fast bowling in his country, he has undermined it. Worse, he has taken emerging players with him. Now he has been exposed as a drug cheat. The game is up.
    It’s always worth looking at a player’s history. Hansie Cronje’s decline began well before the bookies. Akhtar’s failed drugs test was merely the latest episode in a career notable for its want of scruple.
    Over the years he has also been suspected of throwing, and worse. His devastating burst against the Australians in Colombo a few years ago was as illegal as it was theatrical. Repeatedly the speedster moved wide of the crease to unleash inswinging thunderbolts with an open chest. Admittedly, Akhtar has an unusually flexible elbow that bends well beyond the straight. Suffice it to say that he took full advantage of his attribute. This was merely one instance. Whereas Brett Lee worked hard to correct flaws detected in his action, Akhtar refused to change.
    Akhtar’s willingness to mess with the ball was evident in the same contest. Although they were loath to admit it, the umpires repeatedly scrutinised the ball and were clearly unhappy with its condition. Subsequently Akhtar’s county colleagues talked openly about the methods he used to disrupt the ball. No wonder umpires keep a wary eye on his comrades. Darrell Hair might have overstepped the mark at The Oval but his concerns were well founded.
    Akhtar’s doomed attempt to take part in the forthcoming World Cup was the last straw. Everyone has been blaming the ICC and Pakistani authorities for the debacle that followed the failed drug tests, especially the overturning of the bans by a dimwitted court of appeal. Although it seems to have escaped the attention of our discredited government and especially its senior law officers, democracies are committed to due process. Akhtar was entitled to his day in court and those responsible were bound to accept the verdict. Clearly, stronger international structures are needed. At least the Pakistanis tested for drugs, a duty not yet undertaken by several other Test-playing nations. And at least the ICC found a way to scare Akhtar enough to convince him to withdraw.

Thank goodness ass*** like you are not PCB selectors. What ever Shoaib is, you can’t talk about him like that.

172

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

^ Yup what a sh*t head this arrogant Aussie is? Although there's some truth in some of the accusations he makes, that's arrogance and intolerance at it's best.

173

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

That’s within the laws of the game. What’s wrong with that? Peter fuc**n gora Roebuck is surely as ignorant as he’s intolerant and arrogant :mad:

174

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

Where is "Some1" Ehsan buddy to cash on this article.

175

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

Now..now...now ....this article deserves a separate thread.
Peter Roebuck says it all.
But my main problem with Akhtar is not the dope or his casanova life style but that he is a Chucker. I have said this many times before - so many of his OOMPH deliveries have been javelin-throws - pure and simple. But my Pak friends here refuse to see it and that is sad considering that this has nothing to do with Pak. I hate Muralitharan and our own Harbhajan in equal measure.

176

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT INDIAN LEGEND "MANOJ PARBARKAR"

177

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

Pakistan sends medical reports of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif to ICC

**RIZWAN ALI **

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Pakistan has asked the International Cricket Council to allow it to add two players to its World Cup squad after fast bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif were ruled out with injury.
The request came as the Pakistan Cricket Board sent the medical report of Akhtar and Asif to the ICC. The PCB asked the game’s governing body to allow them to replace Akhtar and Asif with pace bowlers Mohammad Sami and Yasir Arafat to represent Pakistan in the World Cup.
Pakistan has suffered a twin blow ahead of the World Cup. Along with the injured Akhtar and Asif, all-rounder Abdul Razzaq was also ruled out after sustaining an injury to a knee during the training camp in Lahore.
In the medical report, medical experts said that Akhtar “complained of significant pain in the left knee and in the left hamstring muscles after bowling few overs late last month.”
An MRI of Akhtar “revealed evidence of loose bodies with several pieces of cartilage within the joint … there was some fluid within the joint as well.”
In view of above findings the medical commission advised Akhtar not to bowl unless he is re-examined by the commission in three weeks time.
According to the report, Asif had first complained of pain in his right elbow during Pakistan’s tour of England in July 2006, but after getting treatment back home he recovered.
“He started feeling the same pain again during the third test against South Africa and the pain was very severe,” the report said.
“Asif had repeated oral and injectable pain killers but continued playing the remaining matches of the (South African) tour. He was rehabilitated on coming back from South Africa … but developed the same pain while bowling during this (World Cup) camp.”
Asif has been advised to rest his right elbow for three weeks and also wear an elbow support.
Pakistan is placed in Group D along with host the West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe. It will play its first game against the West Indies on March 13 at Jamaica.

© The Canadian Press, 2007

Education? What's the point?
178

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

Inzimam has the “flu” bug…

179

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

I don't understand why the PCB did not send the replacements (Arafat and Sami) to SA straight away. They should have got their visas well in advance. The players could have stayed near the team hotel and could have joined the team later after getting clearance from ICC. The medical report was always just going to be a formality. PCB officials seem to be clueless about everything :)

180

Re: Pakistan Team - developments and news (merged)

But bro, we don't understand most of what they do...
so this is consistent with their MO atleast
:D