PCB at it again – this time it’s Younus Khan

24197-bfcbea-1411645161-8.jpgPakistan has announced its squad for the ODI and T20 series against Australia and it has disappointed a lot of cricket fans. Though there are many questionable selections, the most surprising one is Younus Khan being dropped from the ODI team. While announcing the decision, chief selector Moin Khan said, “Our experiment with Younus in the ODI series in Sri Lanka backfired. Now all have unanimously decided to look ahead to our future with youngsters. His services for Pakistan are commendable but now we have to take a step forward and he is also out of contention for the 2015 World Cup.” It is true that Younus didn’t perform well in the only ODI match he played against Sri Lanka and was out on just three runs. However, it should also be mentioned here that the only ODI match Pakistan did win in this series was the one in which Younus played. He had to leave the tour because of the illness of his nephew and Pakistan lost the other two ODI matches. One can’t help but imagine how the decision of including him in the team backfired when the only match he played in was the only one Pakistan won. Our selectors want to take “a step forward” when the World Cup is just four months away and the Pakistani team is just a couple of series away from the mega event. How is this supposed to be a prudent decision? If they really were so focused on the future, then why didn’t they start training younger players beforehand? Most of the other teams have their squads decided and finalised by now and, with almost no time left in the World Cup, they are banking on experience. Sri Lanka is the perfect example of this; Mahela Jayawardene was not in form for almost about three months but he was given an extended chance to get back into the game. Why? Because he is one of the most experienced players in the Sri Lankan team. On the other hand, Younus Khan came back to the team after a gap of almost two years and was dropped after justone match – if you don’t call this injustice then I don’t know what is. Umar Amin has been included in the team in place of Younus. Moin Khan believes that his fitness and current form are good enough for the team to use him. Just for the record, this “fitness” that Moin talks about was gauged in the current domestic competitions, which were all T20 tournaments by the way, and where Amin played only six matches scoring 139 runs. How can Moin decide his fitness level in just six matches? Amin is an energetic player, no doubt about that. However, PCB selectors need to stop playing with words and making a fool out of the public. Cricket fans know a good player when they see one, and Younus is a very good player. If the basic criterion for the team selection was fitness, then it should not be forgotten that during the recently concluded training sessions, Younus was seen amongst the fittest playersin the team. If current form was the criterion for selection, then one should keep in mind that in the last five series that Younus has played, he has scored four centuries (including a century against South Africa on their home ground). Also, just a month ago, he played a marathon inning of177 runs against Sri Lanka. I think this is proof enough that he is very much in form. Why, then, was he not selected? Yes, it is needed to look forward and build a team for the future but teams are built keeping the World Cup in mind. You send your strongest and most experienced team in the tournament and then, after the team has shown its charm in the competition, you groom those players even further. You don’t send youngsters who are inexperienced to perform in perhaps the biggest cricketing tournament ever. The result will be catastrophic. Not only will they not be able to perform well, any future chances of them becoming part of the team will be snatched away from them under the pretence that they didn’t perform well at the World Cup. Australia is not an easy place for batsmen; there is pace and bounce in their pitches that only experienced players can handle and Younus, being a strong backfoot player, would have been very beneficial for the team on such a pitch. On a side note, it is really interesting to see how almost all senior players have been sidelined one by one by the management. Abdul Razzaq, who in his days was a match winner, was let go because he spoke against Muhammad Hafeez; Taufeeq Umar, who had performed so well for over a year, was never recalled after he got injured; Shahid Afridi is dropped on and off and usually comes back because of public (and sometimes political) pressures, and Younus was degraded to B category for two years before the management got him back in the A category after getting pressurised by the public. It won’t be a surprise if Pakistan loses the series against Australia and selectors call Younus back in the team as a last resort. It is such a shame that a senior player like Younus, one whom we should be utilising for the benefit of Pakistan cricket, is being sidelined when we desperately need him for the 2015 ICC World Cup. Comments (0) • RSS Submit your own sports article Posted by Tahir naqash September 24 2014 If you have anything about sports then you can say it on TNN Sports it very simple after certification your article should be post so submit your article by Email our email address is Mr.tahirnaqash@gmail.com Comments (0) • RSS Catalonian independence equals Spanish football without Barcelona Posted by Tahir naqash September 24 2014 24162-barcelonajerseylogo.jpgDespite Scotland’s ‘No’ vote on independence, the Catalans are adamant to break away from Spain as they push ahead defiantly for their own ballot on self-rule. Just hours after the Scottish referendum results were announced, Catalonian parliament passed a law authorising them to hold a non-binding consultation on independence from Spain. However, Spain has refuted that it is unconstitutional for Catalonia to break away from them. Politics and sports are often intertwined; so the question is, what if it does break away? Furthermore, under the assumption that Catalonia breaks away from Spain, what impact will it have on the Spanish football, since several players of the Spanish team come from Catalonia? Will they be still allowed to play in the Spanish League or will they form their own national league? Spain breeds quality football, constituting the game’s two fiercest prowesses – Real Madrid CFand FC Barcelona. The Catalonian region, asking independence for years now, has been the chief architect of Spanish football, producing some of the finest players for Spain, with the core of the team coming primarily from Barcelona, which is the regions’ most famous and proud emblem. Plenty of hue and cry has surrounded this debate that if the law applies, then what will happen to the fate of FC Barca. Barcelona’s president has stated, numerous times, that even if Catalonia becomes independent, it would make no difference, as their club would continue playing in the Spanish League regardless of the political differences. However, under current rules, only those teams that are part of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) are allowed to compete in domestic competitions. So how will Barca even play after Catalonia becomes independent? And Barcelona is not the only club that will face eviction; another well known side, RCD Espanyol, also contributes to the Catalonian region. This question is yet to be answered. However, we should also consider what options Barca has if Catalonia does come about. They might form their own Catalan league? Catalonia already has a national team; however, it is not registered with FIFA or UEFA and is therefore not allowed to participate in international tournaments. An angry split from Spanish football could force Barcelona to play in an independent Catalan league with no real competition from any rivals. The next highest performing clubs in Catalonia are Barcelona B teams, Girona and Sabadell, none of which attract a crowd higher than 5,000, as opposed to Barcelona’s mammoth fan following that can fill a stadium capacity of 90,000 people. There’s no shortage of talent or experience with Barcelona players such as Gerard Pique and midfield maestros Cesc Fabregas, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez, who are all eligible and currently play for the Catalan regional team. If they register themselves with FIFA and UEFA, then the Catalan regional team will definitely become the fiercest prowess in world football, decimating Spain. Barcelona and Real Madrid have been the two dominant clubs for over a decade in the Spanish League, though another club, Atlético Madrid, is coming in par with them by winning the 2013 Spanish League. However, in terms of revenue, fan following, and television rights, Athletico is nowhere even close to these clubs. The El-Clasico played between Real Madrid and Barcelona is one of the most interesting and highly watched games in football. And if Barcelona bows out of the Spanish League, their arch-rivals, Real Madrid, would also be left with no major opposition – this will leave a huge impact on Spanish football. Another possible outcome might be that the Catalonian side could register themselves with FIFA and UEFA to play in top football tournaments while allowing Barcelona to continue playing in the Spanish League. This seems like the least sought option, as Barcelona is the backbone of football – revenue and stardom attached with it, and Catalonia might not want to let go of that. There are varying demands for change from increased autonomy to absolute independence. While there might still be a long way to go for the Catalans to finally get their wish for independence, this major debate of Spanish football will flare up with every news bite. Though independence and separation might be the best option for the Catalonian state, separation on the football field should not be the considered as an agenda because no one can ever imagine an El-Clasico in the near future without two of the world’s best athletes – Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Comments (0) • RSS Lahore Lions' Adnan Rasool reported for suspect bowling action Posted by Tahir naqash September 23 2014 765877-adnanrasoollahorel.jpgHYDERABAD: While the national team reels from the suspension of Saeed Ajmal owing to his illegal bowling action, Pakistan Cricket Board’s scant attention to this subject in domestic cricket has come to haunt domestic side Lahore Lions in the midst of their Champions League T20 stint. On Monday, Lions’ bowler Adnan Rasool was reported for a suspected illegal bowling action. During the Oppo CLT20 match against Kolkata Knight Riders in Hyderabad on Sunday evening, on-field umpires found Rasool’s action as suspect. After the match ended, on-field umpires Kumar Dharamsena and C. Shamshuddin along with third umpire Anil Chaudhary, reported the bowler. “Under the CLT20 Suspected Illegal Bowling Action policy, Rasool may request an Official Assessment from the BCCI Suspect Bowling Action Committee,” a release said on Monday. “Rasool has been placed on the warning list and may continue to be selected to play and bowl for his team in a match.” Under the CLT20 Suspected Illegal Bowling Action policy, if a player receives a report while on the warning list, the player shall be suspended from bowling for the remainder of the tournament and from bowling in any matches organised by the BCCI until such date as he is cleared. A player suspended from bowling may continue to be selected to play in matches, however he will not be entitled to bowl. Lions were beaten by Kolkata Knigh Riders by four wickets as they overhauled the Pakistani outfit’s total of 151 runs.