Akhtar and Asif: Chapter closed
Posted by Prof on March 2nd, 2007
Pakistan cricket and controversy are synonymous with each other. Be it the ball tampering, match fixing scandals, internal feuds for the captaincy, the recent Oval debacle, there seems to be as much action off the field in Pakistani cricket as there is on it. And the Shoaib episode is another case in point.
The players were banned and then had it overturned through some legal maneuvering. But justice has caught up with them and knowing they faced life bans if they tested positive again, they have taken refuge under the cover of fake injuries. Now, all this is pure speculation but I don’t think any of the readers will doubt it for a second. I think it is commendable that the PCB has decided to impose these tests on its players in a effort to clean the sport up. We did not need another “Warne episode” to put the sport to shame.
It is a pity that Asif had to be taken under the wings of Akhtar. Since his exciting entry into the sport, Akhtar has been more trouble and tantrum than the excitement he brought. The complete lack of discipline reflects in the slew of troubles he has got himself into. Shoaib is all about the glam and glitter, the running in with thecrowd behind him but very little about the training that will extend the career and protect a fast bowler, the discipline that will make a regular matchwinner out of a talent of his kind (dubious as that itself may be). He did not deserve to play in the World Cup and I think the game is better off without him.
Shoaib, you belong in Bollywood not on a cricket ground.
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March 2nd, 2007 at 11:36 pm
This is actually really bad. Pakistan is already weak from Balling perspective, and has also lost unity from a series of events. After the Akhtar and Asif issue, I think that chances of Pakistan doing something, has almost finished !