Pakistan cricket is such a farce that it is utter waste of time discussing it anymore. Pak cricket is like a bad Bollywood movie....which makes no sense...and leaves a bitter taste every time.
Players retire and then un-retire as and when it suits them.
Players are banned and then inevitably re-instated.
Too much ego, too much rustic posturing....everybody pulling down everybody else's chaddi in public....they are a ragtag bunch of talented individuals pretending to be a professional international team. (I say this with no sarcasm or malice towards my Pakistani friends here)
Why does the media still make headlines out of Pak cricket news? Cricinfo should create an ENTERTAINMENT section and put all Pak related cricket news in there.
Get this - first of all this Afridi guy is probably already 40 years old. But that aside - he retired from 'Test Cricket' to ostensibly focus on "ODIs" and now he is back to "serve his country" because "his country needs him".
Just a few months ago - half the team was banned amidst so much hoopla....and looks like every single one of them would soon be back in business.
I am an Indian but as a cricket lover I am accusing Pakistan's players and officials of insulting my intellect and wasting my time.
^ Pakistan is a very corrupt society - not just the politcians but the people as well and cricketers & board officials are no different - more so than India and a lot of what you are saying is basically down to lack of education (not just formal education but civic responsibility too) and professionalism/discipline/organization within most public departments and institutions in Pakistan....sad but true
This is what Zaheer Abbas had to say and it makes the most sense. Because the whole equation of the team will be altered. Technically, Afridi will either play at No. 6 or No. 7 right before Kamran Akmal I think. I dont think he should promote himself ahead of Kamran.
"It is a strange decision and one that could badly backfire because Afridi has not been a regular Test player and his last Test was in 2006. So how can the board give him the captaincy for two very tough series against Australia and England."
Former captain Zaheer Abbas is among the minority questioning the elevation of Afridi
Zaheer was one of the best batsmen Pakistan ever produced. He wasm’t a toolay baaz. Therefore what he says does matter and he is saying the right thing.
No hope in hell of beating Australia or England in test matches with this team esp. the lousy and inconsistent batting. You need solid batters to excel at test level and this team has none barring Younus Khan (if he is selected) and Umar Akmal.
Might win a t20 game
More likely we will again lose every single international game this summer
In his prime Zaheer Abbas was even better than Miandad never mind Inzi and Yousuf. Very elegant and easy on the eye. Yousuf was never a match winner like Miandad or Inzi and certainly not as mentally strong as the others. Don't just look at stats and career averages. Stats measure quantity rather than quality and class and they are only one determinant of greatness as a player.
Quoting Imran Khan's words from his book All Round View:
'When both Zaheer and Miandad were at the crease together and in form, Zaheer easily outscored Miandad because of his superior timing'
If one were to go purely by stats alone, Kamran Akmal is the best wicket-keeper ever to play for Pakistan!! Do we buy that??
His dismissals/test match ratio is better than all despite dropping and misfielding loads...
Two of Zaheer's four double hundreds (274 and 240) were in England, in seam and swing conditions. Let's see how many of the current pathetic batters even score half centuries in tests when they visit England soon.
OMG Waleedbhk!!! If there was blasphemy in cricket I think you just committed it. Zaheer Abbas was in a class of his own. One of the all time leading cricketers in the History of the game. Yes, he does not have the runs like Inzi and Yousuf, because back then they didn’t play as much cricket and there were fewer test playing nations and not so much money in cricket.
But he is in a league above Inzi & Yousuf. I guess this comment shows your age that perhaps you are in your 20's or less and didnt really see him play much so you are judging him by statistics alone.
Zaheer Abbas was in a class of his own. One of the all time leading cricketers in the History of the game. Yes, he does not have the runs like Inzi and Yousuf, because back then they didn’t play as much cricket and there were fewer test playing nations and not so much money in cricket.
But he is in a league above Inzi & Yousuf.
Ditto . I remember he was leading century maker in ODI for some times. thats y he was called asian bradman
And taking this concept of class/quality v quantity one step further, I have not the slightest doubt in my mind that Sir Viv Richards is the greatest batsman that I have seen in my life despite his test batting average being lower than Tendulkar, Lara, Ponting, Kallis and many other batters of this era. No one can bat like Viv…and I am sure even Tendu’s most ardent fans would agree with that. Bowlers were literally scared to bowl to him.
That's why I don't like to compare today's great players with the greats of the past. Cricket have change a lot in last 20 years. There's a lot more cricket and the laws have changed tests and ODIs drastically. Who is to say Don Bradman would've been able to score as much in today's cricket as he did in his times.
