International ban for Younis and Yousuf; One year ban for Malik and Rana

In what can be termed as a decimation of Pakistan cricket, the country’s national cricket board PCB has gone on a banning spree following the inquiry committee reports on the team’s dismal tour of Australia. Seven members of the squad were banned and fined for disciplinary issues which PCB believes is the root cause of team’s poor performance in Australia.

Former captains and senior members of the side Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf were told that they can no longer be a part of Pakistan team in any format and it leaves them with only option of playing domestic and county cricket. In a statement issued by the board, “Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan, keeping in view their infighting which resulted in bringing down the whole team, their attitude has a trickledown effect which is a bad influence for the whole team should not be part of national team in any format.”

Taffazul Rizvi, legal advisor to PCB said, “They will not be part of any Pakistan team in any format from here on. A life ban means they cannot play domestic cricket or any other similar cricket, but we are not stopping them from that. They can play domestic cricket or county cricket here and abroad.”

Another former captain Shoaib Malik and fast bowler Rana Naveed ul Hassan has been banned for one year for indiscipline. The duo have also been fined Rupees Two million. Others to face the ire was Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi who was pulled up for ball-biting in an ODI during the Australia tour is fined Rupees three million. Akmal brothers were the other two in the list of seven where Kamran was fined Rupees three million for claiming his place was safe for the third Test despite PCB report that the keeper being dropped after poor show behind the stumps during the second Test. Younger brother Umar Akmal was fined Rupees two million for faking injury to skip the third Test in protest of excluding Kamran for the third Test. However, Umar played that Test. All these players were issued final warning by the PCB and put on a probation period of six months.

PCB revokes players’ NOC for IPL 3

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has shut the door of its players from participating in the 2010 Indian Premier League (IPL) by revoking the No Objection Certificates (NOC) it issued a few months back. The decision by the national board was a no brainer as they feel hurt and insulted by the outcome of IPL auction held in Mumbai on January 19. No Pakistan players among the 11 were bid for by any of the franchises, thereby generating an outrage across the border among current and former players and the politicians.

PCB chairman Ijaz Butt said, “No Pakistani player will go to the IPL this time. Why should we allow them to go? They didn’t pick any of the players and it was an insult to us. Why should we let one or two players go? We will not take this lying down.” However a PCB statement released later gave some hope for the likes of Abdul Razzaq to feature in the IPL in March. “All NOCs issued to Pakistani players for their participation in IPL 3 stand revoked. In the future if any player receives an invitation for participation in IPL events, PCB will decide the matter on a case-to-case basis after consulting the relevant government authorities,” as stated in the release.

All-rounder Abdul Razzaq is the only player linked to the Kolkata Knight Riders, however the report is yet to be confirmed by the franchise management. The participation of the Pakistan players remained in doubt since November 2009 as initially PCB faced road block in issuing NOC to its players from the sport’s and foreign ministry. Later they missed the first deadline set by the IPL over visa assurance from the government. The outcome of the auction is believed to be the result of franchises’ doubt over the participation of Pakistan players.

The controversy attracted comments from various quarters including Indian home minister P Chidambaram who said it is a “disservice to cricket” and also rejected government’s involvement in the decision making.

Pakistani players will return – Lalit Modi

Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi has said he is sure about Pakistan players returning back in the future editions. Modi also pointed out that they still can play in IPL this year in case of any teams looking for replacements for their injured or unavailable players. Outrage by Pakistan senior officials and players have resulted in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt and the country’s sports minister Aijaz Hussain Jahkrani saying that they will boycott the champions league this year and IPL 2011.

“We will discuss this with the Pakistan board officials when we meet them and I am sure the Pakistani players will return,” Modi told a leading Indian English news channel. “Some teams have still not finished their quota of players and some players can still drop out. In that case, franchises can choose Pakistani players as replacements.”

Modi also denied reports of mishandling and stressed that the decisions were purely of the franchises. “I don’t think that there’s any mishandling, the franchisees decide on their own. We never said in the first place that the government in any which way nudged up in that direction so it was a decision that was taken by the franchisees and let’s leave it at that. There was no pre-decision. They were all worried about the availability and that’s why the Australians weren’t picked up along with many other players and all that we keep hearing now is one story – about not bidding for Pakistani cricketers.”

Meanwhile, Jahkrani has demanded an inquiry from the Indian government as to why no Pakistani players were bided for. “We want the government of India to intervene in this issue and let us know who was responsible in keeping Pakistan cricketers away from the IPL. From day one our stance is that the IPL decision was an influenced one.”

Home minister Chidambaram batting for Pak players in IPL

The exclusion of Pakistan cricketers by Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises has attracted criticism from various quarters. Indian home minister P Chidambaram has criticized IPL for the snub saying it’s a “disservice to cricket.” Chidambaram also said that the report of government intervention in the decision is untrue.

“I think it is disservice to cricket that some of these players were not picked. I don’t know why the IPL teams acted in the manner they acted. But certainly to suggest that there was a hint or nudge from the government is completely untrue.” Eleven Pakistan players were on the auction list but none of them attracted any bid from any of the franchises despite some of them tipped to be the favorites. This resulted in an uproar across the border which even prompted senior Pakistani officials Ijaz Butt, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman and Aijaz Hussain Jahkrani, the sports minister to think of boycotting the Champions League T20 and IPL 2011 to be held in India.

Reacting to Chidambaram’s comments IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi said that the Pakistan cricketers still have an opportunity of playing in IPL 3 as some of the slots are yet to be filled and also as a replacement for injured players. This sudden development has however received appreciation by the home minister who said, “I am speaking as a cricket lover. Even if three, four or five Pakistani cricketers eventually play in some matches of IPL, I, and several million cricket lovers would be happy.”

Darren Berry who is part of the Rajasthan Royals coaching staff in his column for an Australian daily wrote that Pakistan’s new batting sensation Umar Akmal was in the team’s priority list before the auctions. “I do know, due to my coaching role with the Rajasthan Royals, that a few weeks ago Umar Akmal was No. 1 priority on the Royals’ shopping list. All of a sudden he was not available. As the auction unfolded live on TV in India, it became evident that it wasn’t just Umar Akmal who was in the no-go zone, but all of the Pakistan players.”

Pakistan may boycott IPL 2011 and CLT20

According to reports, Pakistan sports minister Aijaz Hussain Jahkrani and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt have ruled out the participation of Pakistan players in this year’s Champions League Twenty20 and Indian Premier Leahue (IPL) in 2011. The reaction is a result of the IPL auctions held recently in Mumbai where all the franchises decided not to bid for a Pakistan player.

Ijaz Butt told an Australian daily, “We are the World Twenty20 champions, there is a Twenty20 World Cup this year, and they don’t want us to win again. We will definitely not send any players for the IPL next time. Would you after this treatment? This is a conspiracy. They probably don’t want our players from playing in these competitions.”

However one of the biggest stars of Twenty20 cricket Shahid Afridi expressed his interest to play in the Champions League for his Australian side South Australia Redbacks who lost to Victoria Bushrangers in the Big Bash T20 finals last week. Afridi said, “I think (boycott) is a fact, it is not my decision. I will speak to the Sports Minister and see what he is saying, and then I will make a decision. I want to play in the Champions League.”

The sports minister though preferred to stay tight lipped on Afridi’s comments saying “At the moment, I cannot say. We’re looking at this matter.” Jahkrani also clarified that the boycott would be restricted to IPL and Champions League whereas the Pakistan team would travel to India to play international matches. “All of this has been designed to isolate us, that is what India wants. We will not be isolated. There is a World Cup in the subcontinent in 2011 to be played in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. What if we make the final against India? We cannot quit, we will play. I think we should continue playing sports with each other.”

Morgan hopeful of easing cricket ties between India and Pakistan

International Cricket Council (ICC) President David Morgan is hopeful that the cricketing ties between India and Pakistan resumes at the earliest for the benefit of the game. As quoted by a cricket website Morgan said, “One of the things I am working on is trying to persuade the BCCI that they should play bilaterally as opposed to in ICC events with Pakistan. India versus Pakistan, Pakistan versus India is the equivalent of the Ashes in Test match cricket parlance. It is very important for both countries that they renew their rivalries on the field in the five-day game. I am very hopeful they will.”

Morgan’s comment came in just a few days before the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises decided to close the doors for Pakistan cricketers during the IPL auction held in Mumbai. One of the major reasons behind the move seems to be the doubt over the availability of players as franchises are unsure about the visa approval for Pakistan cricketers. The relationship between the two countries hit a road block after the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai in 2008 as Indian government blamed elements in Pakistan being responsible for it.

Since then the two teams have played only one international match, the group match in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2009. The bilateral series scheduled in January 2009 was cancelled as the Indian government refused permission for Indian team to travel across the border. The cancellation resulted in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) losing US$ 40 million and the overall loss for PCB in 2009 is estimated at US$ 125 million as teams refused to travel to the terror hit country.

The situation got worsened when terrorist targeted the touring Sri Lankan team in Lahore where six Sri Lankan players and one match official got injured. This resulted in Pakistan losing to host Champions Trophy and now its share of 2011 World Cup matches. The decision to drop Pakistan from staging World Cup matches saw PCB taking the legal battle against ICC however it was later settled out of court.

Morgan said, “There was an uneasiness, but never was it a difficult situation. Mr Butt and I maintained good and decent relationships throughout. It was a very difficult time for them.”

“The ICC is determined that Pakistan should not be isolated. Pakistan is an extremely important cricketing nation, a very important part of the ICC. If you look back at the last two decades, Pakistan has produced some of the most stylish, some of the most achieving cricketers. It’s important from world cricket’s point of view that Pakistan is not isolated and that cricket continues to thrive there. It’s obviously particularly difficult when cricketers cannot play on their home turf.”

Pak players ignored; Owners say availability was a concern

The third auction of the Indian Premier League (IPL) held in Mumbai on January 19 saw Caribbean flair knockout Pakistan’s star power as West Indians fetched high prices while no bidders showed interest in players from Pakistan. This snub has hurt and attracted anger from many Pakistan cricketers.

The first player to be auctioned was Shahid Afridi, a big Twenty20 all-rounder surprisingly attracted no bidder. Immediately the message was loud and clear. The owners were not ready to invest in Pakistanis due to the volatile relationships between India and Pakistan that may affect their visa process.

Shahid Afridi, Pakistan’s T20 captain and one of the big draw in the auction said, “The way I see it, the IPL and India have made fun of us and our country. We are the Twenty20 world champions and for me the attitude of the franchises was disappointing. I feel bad for the Indian people who, I am sure, wanted to see us play in the IPL this year.”

Countering the agitation among Pakistan players was IPL Chairman and Commissioner Lalit Modi, who after auctions said, “Franchises are no more ready to spend USD seven or eight million for someone who would not be available for the tournament. It not only exhausted their purse but also wasted slots. They want only those players who would be available for the tournament. They are spending money and they want to get the results.”

Another highly valued all-rounder Abdul Razzaq said “They have basically tried to hurt our cricket and image and this is most disappointing because I believe there should be no politics in sports. In the end it is the IPL which has lost out because the fact is our players have star value and are the best in T20 cricket.” Shoail Tanvir, the man who won the final for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in the inaugural IPL said, “They mean to say none of our players are good enough to be in the IPL. I am sorry to say the franchises have taken a decision not based on cricketing sense but on political grounds which is a shame and has hurt the image of the sport.”

However Modi’s views were supported by Rajasthan Royals co-owner Shilpa Shetty who said, “We were not convinced about their availability and that’s why we did not want to take any risk. If someone is not going to be available, why bid for him.” Similarly Ness Wadia, Kings XI Punjab co-owner pointed out that even Australians whose availability was in question didn’t attract any bid. “I do not think that the Pakistan players were ignored purposely. Many Australian players were too not auctioned. In fact, last year we suffered because of Australia.”

Australian players’ IPL participation in doubt

Though retired Australians Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden have overlooked the threat from Shiv Sena, many Australian cricketers are expected to skip this year’s IPL due to general terror threat in the sub-continent after three players of the Togo’s soccer team were killed in the terror attack last week. Cricket Australia has however has said that the final decision will rest on the players themselves.

Peter Young, Cricket Australia’s spokesman said, “At the end of the day those players make their own decision about whether or not they go. But we want them to be able to make informed decisions and we’d like to work with the ACA (Australian Cricketers’ Association) to ensure they can make informed decisions.”

Many current Australians players are willing to take the advice from ACA, however the player’s body has not been briefed by the Indian Premier League (IPL) management over the security arrangement. This has prompted the ACA to advice players against touring India. ACA’s chief executive Paul Marsh said, “The players rely on us to ensure that security is properly assessed and a recommendation is provided to them. If the IPL won’t allow us to review arrangements for this year’s event, how can we recommend to our players that they play in the event?”

Player security has been an issue for Australia since 1998 when they refused to tour Pakistan. Since then Cricket Australia has the habit of sending its own security expert team to review the security arrangements before giving a go ahead for the tour. “Our policy, as demonstrated over the years, is to only travel if dispassionate, expert, independent advice suggests that it is safe. On those occasions when advice has suggested otherwise, we have not travelled, including when the ICC said Pakistan was safe and our advice was that it was not,” Young said.

Earlier last year Sri Lankan cricket team was targeted by terrorists when the toured Pakistan. The doubt over Australian cricketers’ availability had also reflected in today’s auction where no Australian player caught the franchise’s interest except retired Damien Martyn who was sold to Rajasthan Royals.

Pakistani cricketers apply for IPL 3 auction

Some of Pakistan cricketers have approached Indian Premier League (IPL) and expressed their desire to participate in the third season of IPL. It is believed that most of the members are from the current touring squad in Australia. The exact number of players who have expressed their availability for the auction is unknown but is expected to be at least 12.

“All the players here have sent emails to Lalit Modi expressing their interest for next season,” one of the players said. “We haven’t yet applied for visas to India but we have the NOC’s in place from the board.”

Earlier, Lalit Modi had said that the Pakistan Cricket Board had missed the deadline for sending NOC’s and getting Indian visas for the players and hence Pakistani players could not be signed on directly by franchisees and could not play in IPL 3. Then, the IPL set a deadline of December 31, 2009 for the Pakistani players to put themselves directly into the auction pool for IPL 3.

Earlier this month, the PCB managed to get an NOC from their government allowing the players to participate in the tournament. “None of the players have contacted the IPL through the PCB. They have done this directly themselves,” said Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ejaz Butt. “We had told these players to contact Lalit Modi the Chairman of the IPL directly instead of going through us or agents. As far as we are concerned we have issued a general NOC from the government and ourselves to the players to play in the IPL if they manage to get contracts,” he said.

An IPL official when contacted confirmed that “over 12 players” from Pakistan had applied and made themselves available for the auction which is to be held on January 17, 2010. He too was unsure of the exact number of players.

The Pakistani players could not participate in the last IPL season held in South Africa because their government did not clear them to play feeling their security would be at threat following the Mumbai terror attacks. Following their availability for IPL 3, most franchises are expected to favor the return of Pakistani players into their squads after Pakistan’s show in the World Twenty20 championship in June this year. IPL 3 is scheduled to start on March 12, 2010 and will be played in India.

Mohamed Yousuf concerned over influence of Twenty20

Pakistan captain Mohamed Yousuf expressed deep concerns about the influence of an overdose of Twenty20 cricket on the current state and future of Pakistan cricket. He is worried so much so that he feels over-exposure to the Twenty20 format will “finish Pakistan’s cricket.”

Pakistan just suffered a 170-run defeat at the hands of the Aussies in the Boxing Day Test played in Melbourne. The Aussies having declared on both their innings dismissed Pakistan for 258 in the first innings and 251 in the second. This follows a series of low scores by the Pakistani batting line-up in Tests in recent times. In the last 14 innings, Pakistan has managed to cross 350 only twice.

In Melbourne Test, Yousuf believe that the batsmen just gave away their wickets after having settled in because of the influence Twenty20 cricket has had on his players. “It used to happen before but now because of Twenty20 cricket no player knows how to stay at the wicket anymore,” Yousuf said. “Batsmen are finding it very difficult. I know the format has money, players get it and boards do but if Pakistan hypes up Twenty20 too much, Test and ODI cricket will really go down”.

Pakistan is the current Twenty20 world champions and has the best win-loss ratio in international Twenty20 cricket. The format has been immensely popular in the country at domestic and club levels. However Yousuf feels over-exposure to the format doesn’t do any good to a player’s ability to apply himself at the crease which is what is required to do well in Tests as well as ODI’s. “Both in Tests and ODIs we have problems,” Yousuf said. “We struggle to bat 50 overs. Against New Zealand (in Abu Dhabi) we couldn’t make 212 in 50 overs. Everyone played shots and got out. Twenty is easy for Pakistanis because they know how to hit, nobody knows how to defend. Until players do not play with discipline and play ball to ball and leave balls they are supposed to we will struggle in ODIs, let alone Tests. If you see a ball, hit it because you have to score. But if you are going to slog all the time what is the point? I could have hit jumping out but unless you get a ball to hit what is the point? That is the point of Test cricket. It is necessary that Pakistanis, the media, the board, the fans realize that we play as little Twenty20 as possible.”

“One domestic tournament is enough and a World Cup apart from that, but my belief is that you have to reduce Twenty20 heavily. They shouldn’t play it in club cricket – even there you play 20 overs, not 40-over matches. I only have 2-3 years left in my career but I worry Twenty20 will finish Pakistan’s cricket.”

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