CrIcKeT((the ball biting heroes))

                                                  THE BALL BITING HEROES  

“Afridi’s ball biting instincts have given the cricket world lots to talk and think about in recent times. That is exactly what you want from a Pakistan captain. His predecessors had their own way of grabbing attention but he came up with this unique thing no one could have ever wondered about.

He certainly is a strong candidate for Pakistan captaincy since he beats both Shoaib and Younis in creating controversy. Controversy is the hall mark of Pakistan cricket. Once cannot really blame the Pakistanis. They have been deprived of international cricket; IPL franchises don’t want their cricketers. Their domestic is a mess with all guns blazing at the cricket board. Someone needed to do something different and Afridi perhaps did it in his very own way.”

These were the remarks of one of our fans on the recent Afridi debacle. However, I feel we need to look at the bigger picture since the issue really is the future of Pakistan Cricket team. There have been so many views from all corners including past players, politicians, general public regarding what needs to be done to change the course of cricket in Pakistan. The solutions ranging from changing of captain to dropping players to changing the cricket board chairman. Some would go as far as saying that cricket shall be banned from Pakistan. Frankly speaking, every such thing has been tried. The results are always on the negative side. It is also notable that every former cricketer believes there is lot of talent in Pakistan; only the problem that the system needs better organizers. I believe there is one aspect that everyone is missing out in all this discussion. There seems to be a wide spread lack of discipline amongst the current cricketing lot. To me, this lack of discipline is something that needs to be taken seriously and dealt with.  
                 
                                                  THE AMIR AND AJMAL MAGIC!

It was a usual, mild November evening. I had gone to my maternal aunt’s house for a dinner with my mother. Me and a couple of my cousins were eagerly watching the final between Pakistan and New Zealand. Confident that Pakistan will easily chase the 212 target, we set about discussing who will be the man-of-the-match, how much will Boom Boom Afridi score, and bla bla bla. Less did we know, our cricket team had a terrible surprise up its sleeve. One after another, like a pack of cards or a like a falling Domino puzzle, our batsmen started losing their wickets by playing totally wild and rash strokes.

It seemed as if they wanted to score stylishly rather than winning the match. It was totally unprecedented to witness world-class batsmen playing like a gang of 13 year-olds out to impress their friends. Suddenly, the small score of 212 on a good batting track was not looking that small and achievable anymore. After being 86-8, I thought Pakistan is going to lose it by a huge margin. Sensing a defeat, we decided to answer my aunt’s call for dinner. We didn’t even talk about the match during the dinner as we were totally disgusted. Moreover, we didn’t want to spoil the taste of the deliciously cooked food that we were having. Finishing our dinner, we went back to our cousin’s room and switched on TV only to find Umer gul get out on the next ball. At this stage, we were sure it would be Pakistan’s lowest total against the Kiwis. Again, we shouldn’t have been so sure about our cricket team. The Pakistani cricketers once again proved why they are termed as the most unpredictable team in the history of World cricket...           

                             
                                       I AM PROUD TO BE PAKISTANI