Gatecrashing the party

[Faisal1985]

Gatecrashing the party

Many critics and fans alike may term Pakistan’s backdoor route into the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup as a travesty of justice, a lucky break, a gross coincidence of errors, maybe even a cardinal sin. I wouldn’t begrudge anyone who is of that opinion. In fact, I’d nod my head in solemn agreement if an incensed non-Pakistani cricket follower got in my face and spluttered his discontent about how we hadn’t even earned our place in the second round, let alone the semis.

Pakistan’s ascension to the semifinal has been a story of failure, desperation, kismet, and fortuitousness. In getting this far, we have defied the bookmakers’ odds, as well as our own meagre form, and confounded most analysts. By refusing to go away despite several attempts to slam the door in our faces we have probably irritated and upset a lot of people.

And you know what? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Let me tell you something: merit is way overrated. “You get what you deserve,” “you reap what you sow.” Whatever. We won the last Twenty20 World Cup on merit and where did that get us? I’ll tell you where.

For one thing, we were publicly humiliated by being excluded from the Indian Premier League. I mean, couldn’t the franchises have just told us that we were too much of a security and political risk to invest in? Why make us go through a farcical auction process. They had to embarrass the Twenty20 champs by laughing them out of the auction house and telling them that none of their franchises had a place in their squad for the men who mastered the format.

“No Shahid bhai, Rajasthan would rather bank on the explosive talent of Aaron Finch.” “Sorry Razzaq, Delhi feel that Andrew McDonald is the next Richard Hadlee.” “Can’t help you, Umar Gul. Kolkata would rather spend its vast reserves of cash on keeping the redoubtable talent of Ajit Agarkar in the team.” By the way, how did the season turn out for you guys, then?

So if you’re looking for a travesty of justice, look no further than our snubbing at the hands of Lalit Modi’s circus. Which is why I’m quite pleased at the manner we’ve stumbled into the semi-finals. It’s like our team collectively slapped the rest of the cricketing world in their faces. Earn ICC silverware? Not on your life. We’ll play club cricket and still manage to outlast the better teams.

Secondly, you know another problem with success based on merit? Once you achieve it, you start to expect more of it. You begin to think that the momentum earned through hard work is going to pay off in this future. You’re on cloud nine and brimming with confidence. And then Australia happens and you get smacked back down to the bowels of the earth. It still hurts to reflect on what the country expected from the team in that series in Australia and what we ended up getting. Our massacre down under will leave a scar on the national psyche so deep it will take years to erase.

Or perhaps just a potential final or semi-final victory.

Does anyone still believe that to be unlikely? Unlikely is our middle name, apparently. And now that fate has conspired to put us in a position we don’t deserve to be in, it is only fair that we return the favour by eliminating a team that is rightfully entitled to be in a similar position. It’s not like we haven’t done it before.

You’ll hear a lot of 1992 World Cup references over the next few days, a tournament in which we weren’t the masters of our own destiny and were counting on various permutations to progress to the semi-finals. We also weren’t a good team by any stretch of the imagination over the first three quarters of that tournament, but managed to pull it all together when it really mattered.

Things have come full circle since then. Now, we’re coming off a string of three successive losses and our most recent victory was against a puzzlingly uninspired South African side. Umar Akmal and Afridi may have impressed with the bat, but 140 odd wasn’t a competitive total by any means. Yet, against all reason, it proved adequate. There was a point when AB DeVilliers threatened to make a game out of it in the space of one over and the Pakistan team’s hearts were in their mouths. However, AB played a needlessly cute ramp shot into Kamran’s flimsy hands and suddenly we had toppled a giant.

Then came the waiting and praying game. The freedom fighters who gave their lives for liberation from British imperialist hegemony in 1947 must have turned over in their graves upon feeling the aura of pro-English sentiment emanating from Pakistan. Luckily for us, our prayers were answered and we managed to sneak into the semi-finals like a bunch of thieves.

So I say merit, justice, and logic can go to hell. Been there, done that, don’t want to go through the repercussions again. It’s time we turned back the clocks and attempted to win a tournament like the good old days of 1992. Back in those days, no one had high expectations and yet we ended up winning the whole tournament. Face it, unpredictability is in our blood. We have madness down to a science. If our players are going to be accused of being ‘retards‘, might as well win the trophy in as retarded a fashion as possible. Here’s to a Duckworth-Lewis technicality taking us to the final.

Farooq Nomani is a Karachi-based lawyer who is willing to represent the PCB for free. He blogs at whatastupidity.blogspot.com.

Love this guy....

[Sir Alex]

Stopped at the moaning on IPL to be honest. Started out quite good though.

Still bitter over not being considered for a corporate tournament in India. Ha ha.

The victim mentality of some Pakistanis is just unbearable.

'how did the season go for us?'

Well for starters, we pummelled 4th ranked Sri Lanka, and then retained our No.1 rank by staving off an inspired challenge by the no.2 team. We then smashed them in ODIs to retain our No.2 rank.

Of course we lost in the ICC t20 but atleast we went out knowing that we beat exactly the same number of opponents, the non minnow being common one.

[Faisal1985]

Originally Posted by Sir Alex

Stopped at the moaning on IPL to be honest. Started out quite good though.

Still bitter over not being considered for a corporate tournament in India. Ha ha.

The victim mentality of some Pakistanis is just unbearable.

'how did the season go for us?'

Well for starters, we pummelled 4th ranked Sri Lanka, and then retained our No.1 rank by staving off an inspired challenge by the no.2 team. We then smashed them in ODIs to retain our No.2 rank.

Of course we lost in the ICC t20 but atleast we went out knowing that we beat exactly the same number of opponents, the non minnow being common one.

by the way he was referring to the season in IPL for those particular teams....

[Kensashi]

If i remember correctly, the cheater was in Deccan Chargers and not Rajasthan.

[Sir Alex]

Originally Posted by Faisal1985

by the way he was referring to the season in IPL for those particular teams....

IIRC, nobody bid for Pakistani players. Then why blame 3 teams who didn't finish in top 4?

Why the convenient blind eye to DC finishing last In IPL 1 with same Afridi bhai, or KKR with Aktar and Gul being dire?

The whole article is a massive Quoxitic charge at the windmills stuff.

[AaronK]

Originally Posted by Kensashi

If i remember correctly, the cheater was in Deccan Chargers and not Rajasthan.

I have more respect for that "cheater" than for Modi and his IPL business buddies. At least that cheater plays with full commitment for his team instead of playing for money.... IPL is ruining your cricketers yet.. you are soo proud of supporting them and braging about them..if i were u i would boycott any IPL and make sure it never happens again..

Did you read the report from Gary Kristen.. the indian young cricketers don't care about winning or playing for the national team for that matter.. they are making enough money to care about playing for your country..

[Sir Alex]

Originally Posted by AaronK

I have more respect for that "cheater" than for Modi and his IPL business buddies. At least that cheater plays with full commitment for his team instead of playing for money.... IPL is ruining your cricketers yet.. you are soo proud of supporting them and braging about them..if i were u i would boycott any IPL and make sure it never happens again..

Did you read the report from Gary Kristen.. the indian young cricketers don't care about winning or playing for the national team for that matter.. they are making enough money to care about playing for your country..

Surely your teammembers have a diff point of view as well as many fans. Otherwise why should they have applied for visa to play in IPL? Why many Pakistani fans took it as a snub when none of them got selected?

So Afridi plays for Pakistan without taking any money? What a man!!

Kirsten's report was on player indiscipline as regards to their fitness. Atleast it didn't mention the playerss as 'retarded' unlike a coach of another team.

He actually said they give more importance to tests and onedays than t20is. I am thrilled to hear that as a fan.

[Xuhaib]

Originally Posted by Sir Alex

Stopped at the moaning on IPL to be honest. Started out quite good though.

Still bitter over not being considered for a corporate tournament in India. Ha ha.

The victim mentality of some Pakistanis is just unbearable.

'how did the season go for us?'

Well for starters, we pummelled 4th ranked Sri Lanka, and then retained our No.1 rank by staving off an inspired challenge by the no.2 team. We then smashed them in ODIs to retain our No.2 rank.

Of course we lost in the ICC t20 but atleast we went out knowing that we beat exactly the same number of opponents, the non minnow being common one.

bit rich coming from a guy who for the past few been bitchin about the tournament structure,Pakistan's flukey play and every god damnn green thing on this planet.

[AaronK]

Originally Posted by Sir Alex

Surely your teammembers have a diff point of view as well as many fans. Otherwise why should they have applied for visa to play in IPL? Why many Pakistani fans took it as a snub when none of them got selected?

So Afridi plays for Pakistan without taking any money? What a man!!

Kirsten's report was on player indiscipline as regards to their fitness. Atleast it didn't mention the playerss as 'retarded' unlike a coach of another team.

He actually said they give more importance to tests and onedays than t20is. I am thrilled to hear that as a fan.

I could care less about what they think of IPL.. personal opinion i hope they never play.. I haven't watch an IPL match since 2008.. it was then when i felt that the way they are showering players with money.. it is going to hurt the game one way or another..

i didn't say that.. I said whenever afridi plays.. he gave his 110% in every game and every format.. if that means cheating.. yess he will cheat to win a game for his team.. i know that is not a honerable way to do it but.. he will do it just to show his commitment for his country..

Kirsten won't say that the indian players don't care about international cricket simply because he is employed under the same BCCI who controls and run IPL.. but he will hint it out and to me it seems like indian players were to busy partying and celebrating their IPL win than to pay attention to international cricket..I have even read news of Dhoni admiting this..

[Sir Alex]

Originally Posted by Xuhaib

bit rich coming from a guy who for the past few been bitchin about the tournament structure,Pakistan's flukey play and every god damnn green thing on this planet.

The 'bitching' had nothing to do with India getting out, they rightly deserved to, but had everything to do with the possibility of a team with more losses than wins making the semis of a world cup. It happened to be Pakistan. I'd have done the same had it been SA, or Aus or even India.

Victim mentality is when you start blaming some one else for your poor performances. I can't recollect I ever defending India's performance here. Victim mentality and complex is evident when you gloat you overcame non existent obstacles set up by other nations with the sole intention of seeing you suffer, which is hardly the case with Pakistan's recent issues.

[Sir Alex]

Originally Posted by AaronK

I could care less about what they think of IPL.. personal opinion i hope they never play.. I haven't watch an IPL match since 2008.. it was then when i felt that the way they are showering players with money.. it is going to hurt the game one way or another..

i didn't say that.. I said whenever afridi plays.. he gave his 110% in every game and every format.. if that means cheating.. yess he will cheat to win a game for his team.. i know that is not a honerable way to do it but.. he will do it just to show his commitment for his country..

Kirsten won't say that the indian players don't care about international cricket simply because he is employed under the same BCCI who controls and run IPL.. but he will hint it out and to me it seems like indian players were to busy partying and celebrating their IPL win than to pay attention to international cricket..I have even read news of Dhoni admiting this..

Please don't occupy the holier-than-thou chair in matters relating to indiscipline and cricket. Because at least we haven't reached the situation where 3 our players are banned lifetime for creating indiscipline within team ranks, not yet, not likely.

IIRC, only Raina and Dhoni can celebrate IPL success because only they featured in the winning team. And both did reasonably well with the bat in this tournament also.

The points believed to have been raised are 1. Players commitment to shortest version of the game, with specific mention of their commitment to the longer version being much better.
2. Some players not giving care to fitness.

There is nothing so damning in those which suggests the team is falling apart like Pakistan's did after tour to Australia.

[nightprowler10]

Originally Posted by Sir Alex

Stopped at the moaning on IPL to be honest. Started out quite good though.

Why not read the whole piece before calling it victim mentality? That is not the tone of the article at all.

[AaronK]

Originally Posted by Sir Alex

Please don't occupy the holier-than-thou chair in matters relating to indiscipline and cricket. Because at least we haven't reached the situation where 3 our players are banned lifetime for creating indiscipline within team ranks, not yet, not likely.

IIRC, only Raina and Dhoni can celebrate IPL success because only they featured in the winning team. And both did reasonably well with the bat in this tournament also.

The points believed to have been raised are 1. Players commitment to shortest version of the game, with specific mention of their commitment to the longer version being much better.
2. Some players not giving care to fitness.

There is nothing so damning in those which suggests the team is falling apart like Pakistan's did after tour to Australia.

ur problem mate is that u think i am bashing indian team while i am bashing IPL and some youth indian cricketers.. but primarly i am blaming IPL.. and it is a shame that people like urself support tournments like IPL..

the news report that i read was that the indian players specially those who performed well in IPL were out partying and celebrating.. I am not presenting any source for this simply i dont want to be seen as someone who is bashing indian team.. in fact, all i am saying is that..IPL is bad.. it should be boycotted and instead of some of the players being blamed for the loss why not just look at the root of the problem..

Kristen stated that players lack commitment and fitness but again..the way i see it..if those players wanted to play for national side and cared about playing for natiional side they wouldn't let themselves be that way..we all forgot about the good old 90s and 80s when players would kill themselves and work their ass off to get selected to play an international match or two..it seems to me that that honar has become so meaningless that some players don't even bother to be fit and ready for it..

I am not saying that Pakistani players are angels and they don't have any commitment issues.. i am saying that indian team may turn that way if IPL will continue to exist..

[Sir Alex]

Sorry Aaron if my comments sounded rude in the first place. I somehow thought you were having a go at Indian cricket without looking at state of affairs of Pak cricket.

I don't agree with you that IPL has been completely evil for Indian cricket. Yes, there are negatives like the partying through night, which tired players etc.

If you see these were applicable equally to senior players like Sachin, Kumble etc, but they knew how to prioritise. Our youngsters need to look upto these legends and learn from them.

But I won't blame the IPL wholly for our shoddy performance. If you notice all our players who did well in IPL did well in world cup also and vice versa. So I think our selectors didn't give proper attention to players form in IPL before selecting them. Such players include Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambir, Pathan, Zak etc. Jadeja was prefered over likes of Ojha and Mishra despite having played nothing in the IPL.

If you see there were players from other countries who played in IPL and performed in world cup as well. Examples are Warner, Jayawardene, White, KP, Lumb, Mathews etc. These guys also partied etc but successfully balanced between that and cricket.

We erred in scheduling IPL as it finished just a week before world cup. But two wins in our opening two games nullify that we didn't get enough practise games.

Our batsmen had no clue against the short ball in bouncy pitches, and that is indeed worrying but again not attributable to IPL alone, because that's something inherent in subcontinental batsmen. It is a known weakness and despite crashing out due to same reason last year, we didn't take efforts to correct it. It also indicates a problem with our youngster's preparation and am not sure IPL could've done anything with that. After all technical deficiencies can be corrected only by constant practise over a period of time and not overnight over a t20 tournament.

[Sir Alex]

Originally Posted by nightprowler10

Why not read the whole piece before calling it victim mentality? That is not the tone of the article at all.

Those 3 paragraphs are full of anti IPL sentiment, and as if Pakistan has shown the middle finger at them by reaching semi of world Cup. It clearly mentions non inclusion of Pakistani players as a snub and injustice.