Loud Thinking

Archive for April, 2015

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

— Mark Twain

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”

— Mark Twain

An Open Letter to the President of Pakistan (written after SA tour on 27 March, 2013).

Mr. Asif Ali Zardari,

Dear Sir,

As, it may well be in your knowledge, that the game of cricket, is the biggest passion of the masses of Pakistan.
Any victory of our cricket team boosts the morale of the people. At the same time defeats of our team, demoralises the entire nation.

However, since our people are very knowledgable about the game of cricket, they back our team even when it’s defeated, if the players have gone down fighting. But, in any case, tame surrender is never digested and the anger is often vented with slogans, processions and violence against the players and the PCB. People also curse the government, because, every body knows that PCB chairman is appointed only, as a favour by the President.

Mr. President, you appointed Mr. Ijaz Butt, as the chairman PCB; and the whole world knows, how much damage was caused, due to his sheer incompetence, to the name and image of the country and the game of cricket, due to his sheer incompetence.

Again, you appointed Ch. Zaka Ashraf (who is your known buddy), but the way our team has suffered and its performance has gone down from bad to worse (mainly due to highest degree of management failures at the PCB level), is not hidden from anybody.

The latest debacle in South African tour, is an eye opener.

In Test matches, we were white washed 3-0; and we also created our lowest innings score record, by being all out at 49 runs.

We won the only T20 match played in the 2 matches series, just because South Africa didn’t field their B team, but they selected their C level team, as an experiment to give a chance to their youngsters.

In the ODI series, Pakistan lost 3-2 in a very comprehensive manner.

In Pakistan, there is no dearth of talent of the young and upcoming players, but the PCB went to such an extent that it recalled Younis Khan, from the retirement and inducted him into the ODI team.

The whole tenure of Ch. Zaka Ashraf bespeaks of inertia and of not adopting the policy of investing in future. Mostly, the man management policies of the PCB has been retrogressive, which has resulted in an immense damage, to the future of cricket in Pakistan.

Mr. Iqbal Qasim, who was made chief selector, made such huge blunders like dropping Abdur Rehman, Junaid Khan and Ahmad Shahzad from the T20 World Cup team. This man Iqbal Qasim, was such a HUGE failure in his last tenure as chief selector, that he had to resign from the post, after the team lost 14 consecutive matches in a trot.

This fact can be gauged from the ground reality, that the 11 players which played Sunday’s ODI, included 6 oldies namely, Misbah, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Imran Farhat & Shahid Afridi, who are known spent cartridges and past their prime. While very talented youngster, Ahmad Shahzad was sent back to Pakistan, after the only T20 match he played in South Africa. Moreover, two more youngsters Omar Akmal and Abdur Rehman, where not given a chance to play even a single ODI, during the 5 matches series.

Besides, the cases mentioned above, there is a long list of other failures of the present chairman PCB. It looks the English language idiom “Everyone rises to their level of incompetence” exactly fits on your close buddy, whom you made the chairman PCB.

Now, the stage has come that even Ijaz Butt, is looking genius, in comparison with Ch. Zaka Ashraf.

The failures of PCB are bringing a very bad name to you and your party.

As such, it is suggested that some very competent and high calibre person of international repute and stature like Mr. Raza Rabbani, Mr. Aitzaz Ahsan, Ms Asma Jahangir, Mr. Razzaq Dawood, Mr. Mian Mansha, Syed Baber Ali, Mr. Zafar Hilali, Mr. Shamshad Ahmad or Vice Admiral (R) Mahmood Ahmad Khan may be appointed the chairman PCB, with specific task of re-vamping the structure of the domestic cricket of Pakistan, to bring it at a level, where foreign players will be attracted, to play our domestic cricket; and secondly, Pakistani cricket teams of all the three versions of the game, must attain world # 1 ranking, in a given time period.

Best regards,

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

All the Kings men..!
Published by the daily “Pakistan Observer” dated 23 April, 2015.

Link:- http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=262536

Risk too high and unmanageable for any team to tour Pakistan, says FICA chief

Link:-http://www.lhrtimes.com/2015/04/25/risk-too-high-and-unmanageable-for-any-team-to-tour-pakistan-says-fica-chief-245172/

Please note the date of 20 February, 2013 (tenure of Zaka Ashraf) when this email was written.

If an inquiry was held at that time in 2013, probably Mr. Ejaz Butt would not have been levelling charges of match fixing (in a recent live TV program) during the World Cup 2015, matches of Pakistani team.

That is the very specific reason I have been crying hoarse to all in the government and the PCB to let us not keep mum over the World Cup match fixing allegations of Mr. Ejaz Butt, so that to make the future of the Pakistan’s cricket bright and clean:

Email of 20 February, 2013.

Subject: Need for an Anti-Corruption Inquiry in PCB

The way our cricket team surrendered both the Test matches in South Africa, without giving a semblance of fight and creating a new record of lowest Test innings score of 49 runs, has created many doubts about the matter, which needs immediate high level inquiry, to clear the image and good name of PCB from any wrong doing, before ICC steps in, to create any unpleasant situation.

As such, this proposal should be taken in a positive manner to clear the name of the country, PCB and all persons connected with it. PCB, which is headed by a very hard working dedicated Pakistani, has no cause to hide any wrong doings of any unscrupulous persons within its folds.

PCB must initiate an anti-corruption inquiry (as it did in the case of Salman Butt, M. Asif & M.Aamir) to probe Misbah ul Haq’s hands & his motives in surrendering series against South Africa, without a fight.

Here, we must remember everybody is innocent till proved guilty. However, although, corrupt people never give receipt of their corruption yet, circumstantial evidences speaks loud and clear about the wrong doings.

Just for a comparison, Aamir bowled a big no ball and was caught. However, Suhail Tanvir (not even military medium in pace) bowled even a bigger no ball. So eye brows are obviously raised, about what the hell all this TAMASHA is going on, in South Africa.

This inquiry should also probe and dig in deep, to bring out the facts, by including all those responsible persons, sitting on the fat salaries of PCB; who in clear violation of the PCB rules, supported Misbah ul Haq, in sending two very ordinary run of the mill bowlers, even before START of the first Test, without any need for the replacement, due to the injury to any of the fast bowlers.

This anti-corruption inquest should also probe the way captain selected his playing eleven and marshalled his team during the currency of both the Tests; reasons & manner in which our batsmen (captain included) got out in casual manner; and the silent spectators role of team management, during this whole drama.

It is also proposed that this inquiry team should include former Test cricketers with impeccable honesty reputation like Mohsin Hassan Khan, Aamir Suhail, Sarfraz Nawaz and Abdul Qadir, the director vigilance & security PCB; and be headed by the Federal Tax Ombudsman Dr. Shoaib Suddle.

Last but not the least, Misbah ul Haq needs immediate sacking along with the entire team management for this inquiry to be fair, free and impartial; and innocents to be fully protected from involvement because of any wrong influence.

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

My letter published today by the daily “The News”.
Link:-http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-11-314674-Cricket-plan

Cricket plan

Saturday, April 25, 2015
From Print Edition

New 0 0 0

The biggest positive outcome that emerged from our complete rout at the hands of Bangladesh is that our captain Azhar Ali proved to be a lion-hearted batsman who not only led from the front but also led by example. Unfortunately, he fell into the trap of the head coach in the selection of the final eleven and opted to go on the defensive by playing with only four regular bowlers. The strategy of playing with seven batsmen backfired badly.

Now, Azhar Ali will have to learn that offence is the best defence. In Test matches you can bat for a draw but in ODIs or T20s you live and die for a victory that only comes through a plan and intents of attack and nothing else. To strengthen our batting as per the modern-day requirements of the hard-hitting game where even non-Test playing nations are easily scoring over 300 runs, we need to induct players having potential to tear apart the bowling line of our opponents in the first ten power-play overs when except for two all other fielders are inside the 30-meter circle. Moreover, lack of positive thinking, correct planning (plans never fail, we fail to plan) and a defensive mental demand immediate recall of our head coach to avoid total disaster of the ongoing tour; he should be replaced by either of the two reputed successful coaches: Mohsin Hassan Khan or Kabir Khan.

Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad

Lahore