Pakistan cricket is dying: Shoaib Akhtar

February 27, 2015

Lahore, Feb 27: Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar has said that he has been saying for the last four years that Pakistan cricket is dying and there is need to revive it with proper and planning and sincere efforts.

Talking about the poor structure of Pakistan domestic cricket, Shoaib said: “It’s not stagnation but it’s the collapse of cricketing culture.

It’s a failure of Pakistan’s first-class cricket, of its grassroots.

Shoaib Akhtar

It’s a failure of living legends who failed to inspire, including myself.

I also blame myself as we failed to inspire youngsters.

He said that after 1995, the Pakistan team was troubled a lot because of match-fixing allegations.

“Pakistan continued to lose in the wrong manner in the 1999 World Cup finals, despite having a great team, but lacking in leaders.

The team has been leaderless for over a decade which is because of failure of the structure of Pakistan cricket.

He added: “All of this has nothing to do with Misbah.

When I say Misbah can do it, it’s because I have faith in him.

I know he’s a brave guy, who can pull it off.

Having said that, this is the weakest Pakistan team we have ever seen and it reflects a failure of the administration and the first-class structure.

After Pakistan lost to India first and then to West Indies badly, Shoaib said: “After Pakistan lost badly against India, I got a lot of criticism which really boiled up my blood.

What I really wanted was Misbah to take a lead.

I really think Misbah can manage if he comes in a one-down position and takes charge of the batting, because I know this is an immature Pakistan batting line-up, which only Misbah can lead.

If he takes charge, comes in after the openers and bats till the 30-35th over, when Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi can come in and play the only game they know.

“Pakistan has three batsmen who don’t know how to defend.

I have always maintained that Umar Akmal and Sohaib Maqsood are modern day Shahid Afridis.

They don’t know how to build the game, but they know how to hit the ball.

That was what my criticism was all about.

If Misbah doesn’t do that, I can assure you that Pakistan team will not go through to the quarter-finals,” the ex-pacer added.

About selection of Pakistan team, Shoaib said: “I think losing Saeed Ajmal and Hafeez as an opener and a leading off-spin bowler, I really think Misbah doesn’t have the bowling attack, neither does have a mature batting line-up which can take him through to quarter-finals.

When asked which team was favorite to lift the cup, Shoaib replied: “I think South Africa has a chance; they had an off day, but they are contenders.

New Zealand and Australia are favourites for sure.

The team with all the belief and faith is India.

When asked if he was offered a coach or selector job by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), what would be his response, the Rawalpindi Express said: “I have always voluntarily tried to help the national team.

The reason why I said these harsh statements are because I want people to know that Pakistan cricket is dying.

Someone has to speak the truth.

In order to become better you have to admit that you are wrong.

It’s a failure of the PCB, but at least, it is trying.

Najam Sethi is a brave man, but he needs to get rid of the clutter within the governing board and first-class cricket, and we need to open up cricket at the grassroots level.

“Pakistan cricket needs to improve to generate revenue.

They players need to think out of the box in order to make money, since they have been isolated for a number of years now, and will continue to be like this.

Since players are not getting enough pay in first-class cricket, and don’t have inspiring heroes, and losing like this, you’re eventually losing the interest of your fan base,” he added.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

London, Jan 11: Former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar's famous lap around the Wankhede Stadium after the World Cup 2011 win has been nominated in Laureas's list for the most inspiring sporting event in the last twenty years.

The moment featuring Tendulkar has been described as "Carried on the shoulders by a nation".

On his sixth attempt at the World Cup and with India not having won the competition since 1983, Tendulkar finally became a part of the team that lifted the coveted trophy. Carried on the shoulders of the Indian team, he made a lap of honour, shedding tears of joy after the victory was sealed in his home city.

The 2011 World Cup was also the first time, in which a host nation ended up winning the trophy.

Apart from Tendulkar, England's Andrew Flintoff is the only other cricketer to feature in the list. In 2005, England managed to defeat Australia in an Ashes Test, but Flintoff chose to first shake hands with Brett Lee rather than celebrate with his side.

Matthias Steiner (weightlifting), Natalie du Toit (swimming), Sky Brown (skateboarding), Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (triathlon), Xia Boyu (mountaineering) have been nominated in the list.

Female tennis stars also feature in the list for coming up with an equal play, equal pay campaign. After pressure from Venus Williams and others, Wimbledon announced that female tennis players would receive prize money equal to the men's.

German international footballer Miroslav Klose was playing for Lazio in Italy's Serie A in 2012 against Napoli when he rose for a ball in the early moments of the game.

The ball came spiraling off his hand and skirted into the back of the net and a goal was awarded. While most players would carry on as if nothing had happened, Klose was honest with the referee and admitted that he handled the ball.

As a result, he also finds a place on the list.

The Laureus Sporting Moment Award celebrates the moments where the sport has unified people in the most extraordinary way.

This campaign has shortlisted 20 sporting stories from the last 20 years that have left their mark on the world.

The winner will be decided on the basis of public voting. It has already started, and the final date to cast the vote is February 16.

Finally, the result will be declared on February 17.
With three knock-out rounds, the top-20 moments will be whittled down to ten then five, with the top-five moments going head-to-head.

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News Network
January 28,2020

Hamilton, Jan 28: No one sits on the seat that Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his own in the team bus, revealed India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, saying that the talismanic former skipper is missed by the side.

In a video shot inside the team bus while it was on its way to Hamilton for the third T20 International against New Zealand, Chahal is seen talking to several members of the squad including Jasprit Bumrah, Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul.

Towards the end of the video, he moved to the rear of the bus and pointed to an empty seat which, he said, was the former captain's preferred spot before he went on a sabbatical last year.

"Yeh woh seat hai jahan ek legend baithate the. Mahi bhai. Abhi bhi yaha koi nahi baithata. Hum unhe bohot miss karte hai (This is the seat that used to be occupied a legend. MS Dhoni. No one sits here now. We miss him a lot)," Chahal said in the video posted on 'bcci.tv'.

The-38-year-old Dhoni has not played a competitive game since the World Cup semifinal loss to New Zealand on July 9. Earlier this month, Dhoni was dropped from the BCCI's list of centrally contracted players, raising fresh doubts on his future.

However, on the same day, Dhoni returned to training, batting fluently in the Jharkhand team nets.

Head coach Ravi Shastri has hinted that the celebrated wicketkeeper-batsman might retire from ODIs soon but will be in contention for a T20 World Cup berth provided he does well for Chennai Super Kings in the IPL.

The Indian team lead the five-match T20 series against New Zealand 2-0.

Virat Kohli's men will take on the hosts in the third T20 here on Wednesday.

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News Network
June 2,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 2: Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal has said that he was ashamed on seeing the training regime of Indian skipper Virat Kohli.

Iqbal said that the incident happened two-three years back as he thought to himself that why he cannot do the same even when he is the same age as Kohli.

"I must say this, it is not because I am talking to an Indian commentator, India is our neighbour so whatever things they do, it affects Bangladesh as well. We follow what is happening in India, when India changed its approach towards fitness, it impacted Bangladesh the most," Iqbal told Sanjay Manjrekar in a videocast hosted by ESPNCricinfo.

"I have no shame in admitting this, when I saw Virat Kohli running around two-three years ago, I was ashamed of myself, I thought this is a guy who is probably my age, but he is training so much and I have not doing even half of it. We have a great example in our team as well, Mushfiqur Rahim manages himself well regarding fitness," he added.

During his initial days of international cricket, Kohli was fond of chicken which he has admitted several times during media interaction.

But in 2013, the 31-year-old batsman intentionally shifted his focus to fitness, diet, and training.

Now he has become punctual about his diet which has given him a different character on and off the field.

The comparisons between Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar have also kept on growing and many have picked the current Indian skipper to break the records set by Tendulkar.

Tendulkar managed to call time on his career after registering 100 international centuries, while Kohli currently has 70 centuries across all formats.

Currently, Kohli is ranked at the top spot in the ICC ODI rankings while he is in the second place in Tests rankings.

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