Loud Thinking

Author Archive

Younis Khan, we have had it

Noman Ansari Updated about 5 hours ago Dawn

Dear Younis Khan,

Let me start by saying I am a vocal fan of yours. Many would agree that you are one of the greatest test match batsmen to play for Pakistan and you are certainly our greatest test match batsmen at the moment.

But as good as you are at test match cricket, you are not a limited overs’ cricketer.

After you were last dropped from the ODI squad, you threw a very public tantrum.

This wasn’t unexpected; after all you’ve thrown many such tantrums before.

Here, the test match series followed against the Aussies and you scored heavily. While I cheered for you, I was weary.

I was weary of the smirk on your face that said: ‘See? Try dropping me now.’

I was also weary of those who used your test match performances as proof of your class as a limited overs cricketer.

Explore: Age of the Playerzilla

Of course, this makes as much sense as someone claiming a truck can drive on the 60-minute race track because it was so good at carrying a heavy load on a day-long journey from Karachi to Peshawar.

Younis, you sir are not a sports car. You are a truck.

A beautiful truck that is as good as any truck we’ve had in our history of cricket. But you are a truck nonetheless.

Here are the cold hard facts:

You’ve only scored one century and two fifties in recent times. The century you scored was painful to watch and wasn’t quick enough to win us the game.

Your overall strike rate stands at 75.31 when batsmen playing at number three from other nations are close to 100.

Meanwhile, your batting average is a poor 31.65. With all due respect to Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, and the West Indies, with your record, you’d be unable to automatically walk into their ODI teams either.

Fawad Alam is a much better accumulator
Perhaps what is worse is that by emotionally blackmailing your way into the World Cup team, you are keeping Fawad Alam, a more deserved player, out of the side.

Fawad Alam was dropped when you forced yourself in, and Moin Khan hinted at this in an interview with PakPassion.com

“As for Fawad Alam, look, he’s a good player but at the same time, you have to understand that this is a difficult decision for us. We have to make sure we have the right composition of players in the team. We cannot have too many similar players in the team.”

Like yourself, Fawad Alam is an accumulator of runs. But unlike you, he is a better accumulator.

What’s more, he can bowl and is an excellent fielder. Compared to your awful numbers, Fawad Alam seems like the Don Bradman of Pakistani ODI cricket.

Fawad’s batting average stands at 45.14 and he’s been Pakistan’s top scorer in the format for some time.

His exclusion also perplexed the intelligent former Indian skipper, Rahul Dravid, who said:

“He seems to have a fantastic record, but for some reason they don’t seem to pick him. I read somewhere, that they think that his game wasn’t going to be good enough in Australian conditions. That’s a presumption and they’re playing a lot of games in New Zealand.”

Also read: Why are we carrying this baggage to the World Cup?

Moin Khan’s reasoning that we can’t have too many players anchoring the innings bears logic. But in you Younis, we have the wrong anchor.

While Fawad keeps the boat steady, your chain is broken.

Even in the current squad, Sohaib Maqsood, a young aggressive batsmen has missed out on vital practice, while you’ve flopped in the four matches played in New Zealand so far.

Younis, what if everyone starts acting like you?
There could be many reasons why you can’t perform in the shorter format. Perhaps the white ball used in ODIs swings too much and exposes your technique. Perhaps the faster pace of the game is unsuitable to your style.

Frankly, it doesn’t matter, because you’ve been given enough chances, and have failed time and time again, especially at World Cups.

Also see: Younis deserves to play at the World Cup: Zaheer Abbas

At this time, I urge you to lose your ego and withdraw from the team, so someone like Fawad can take your place. Otherwise, this vicious cycle will continue. Four or even eight years from now, when Fawad Alam passes his prime, with this injustice still lingering in his mind, he too will refuse to leave the squad in favour of younger talent.

Younis, I can’t quite fathom why you insist at earning more chances. At the age of 37, perhaps you feel ashamed to admit that this format is beyond you. But there is no shame in accepting your limitations.

The only shame is in having yet another disastrous World Cup campaign.

“We need to find the courage to say no to the things and people that are not serving us if we want to rediscover ourselves and live our lives with authenticity.”

— Barbara de Angelis

THE MANAGEMENT TIP OF THE DAY: Harvard Business Review

February 3, 2015

Assign New Challenges to Keep Your Employees Satisfied

Employees don’t just want their skills used, they want them stretched. If your team members are spending a lot of time fixing other peoples’ problems or have become increasingly, but inexplicably, negative, it might be time to make them feel challenged again. Just remember, the goal is to stretch them, not break them, so offer guidance along the way.
Increase the difficulty. Try giving them higher-stakes work that addresses more complex problems and a more diverse set of stakeholders.
Turn them into rookies. Invite people to tackle projects in which they don’t have the full knowledge and skills required. Their comfort zones will expand, and they’ll take pride in mastering new things.
Pivot them to a new problem. Have people point their existing expertise at new problems.

Adapted from “An Easy Way to Make Your Employees Happier” by Liz Wiseman.

My proposal to the PM discussed in Dunyanews Program video of 40 seconds from 28.8 -28.48 minutes. Link:- http://www.livemedia24.com/videos/4029-nuqta-e-nazar-2nd-february-2015

We must forget about the outcome of the match and enjoy the glorious batting of Ahmad Shahzad..!

Hafeez is playing as if he was a hockey player, sent in to bat for the first time, for killing the flies..!

Last night I gave this advice to the board and the team management:

Some tips for the Pakistani team management to at least put up a semblance of a fight in 2nd ODI Vs NZ:

1. Shunt out Younis Khan from the playing eleven.

2. Must play with 5 repeat 5 regular bowlers.

3. If an early wicket falls in the 1st ten overs send Sarfraz as one down batsman.

Pakistan has a target of 370 runs.
However, I will be satisfied if they score anything above 170 runs..!

NZ’s batsmen are in a murderous mood..!

The 10 overs of the fifth bowler bowled by Younis, Harris and Ahmad Shahzad cost 79 runs for 1 wicket.