Wednesday, May 27, 2020

What has happened to Pakistani cricketers?


I was going through cricketing YouTube channels for updating myself off cricketing news amid COVID-19 threat.

I have not been impressed with the way our social media has been acting while refurnishing the old mid 90s fixing scams, I know it is a reality which is not going to be denied by any means, but why spoon-feeding? That too in the time period where majority of the cricketing masses are situated at homes, therefore I have been cynical on the contribution of the social media while unnecessarily hyping the age old allergy again and again, which for me is like a criminal offense.

Those who say it is not!

I just want to give an example of someone who has skin allergy for instance Eczema, once one had that instance of particular skin allergy, but now because of precautions and proper medications, one has got rid from the same, so would it be feasible for rub the same area again and again so that the particular allergy erupts again and subsequently involves other areas of the body. The best way to tackle with skin allergy is to contain the allergy at a limited area.

Fixing and Allergy

Same is the scenario with Fixing Allegations being criminally highlighted where instead of containing the same, our so called social media is glamorizing it as a pride. If I remember correctly (correct me if I am not) spanning from 2010 till 2019, we had seen Muhammad Amir, Muhammad Asif, Salman Butt, Wahab Riaz, Kamran Akmal, Danish Kaneria, Sharjeel Khan, Khalid Latif, and last but yet to be the least, Umar Akmal.

Shoaib Akhtar

What has happened to Shoaib Akhtar? If I recall myself back in time when Shoaib Akhtar was about to launch his book "Controversially Yours" in 2011, where he used to bash Indian Cricketers, even at that time I personally used to place my status's regarding why he has been so controversial, as at that time I didn't know the meaning of being an attention-seeker, but after some "software timely update" he has been psychoanalytically more closer to India than the Indians themselves.

As per the video above

Are Indians so vocal about Pakistani cricketers these days like Pakistani cricketers have been? Instead of being social media junkies, they should concentrate on continuous improvement cum upgrades, instead of degrading the stature of all Pakistanis all around the world by doing such cheap things. Just answer me this thing again, are Indians vocal about Pakistanis? Aren't they considering Indian interests more than anything else? It is the intent which matters.


Danish Kaneria playing the minority card

Danish Kaneria after spoiling his own case, has now gone all naked and like we say in Urdu بے شرم ہوجانا because he initially ruined his own case and now after crying over the spilled milk, has tried himself to be a drama queen to instead playing his cards with his judgement, which I am sorry he did not, the claims he has been portraying on his online interview with Vikrant Gupta of an Indian TV Sports Tak.

My say

My say is that he himself is responsible for the mess, either he was wrong the first time and later on he was right or change of hearts, but the way he shred the light on the minority card, is very humiliating because we as Pakistanis doesn't believe on such things, he himself has a right to earn a living, this is a definite physiological right of DK, but if I were at DK's place, I would had taken some other aspects of earning my living, as I personally feel since I am plagiarized now to represent the country, I would definitely had sidelined myself from cricketing activities. This would have been the case for DK instead of returning back to cricket. Respect is more important than money, this is what I personally feel.
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Monday, May 25, 2020

Life after COVID-19 for bowlers

Bowlers are going to be the victimized party


Getting back to the basics

Under the current scenarios, where shining the ball via Saliva is totally a crime under the conditions, so we'll have to get to the basics, as the time when reverse-swing was associated as open-secret to Pakistanis only, the time of Lillee's and Robert's are returning, like it is said "time is passing me by".

The reason I posted the video above because this is supposedly one of the ways of bowling under the current bowling scenarios for the cricketing fraternity, where the amount of variations a bowler possesses is going to succeed instead it is going to be otherwise for the majority of them.

Below is the clipping of Vincy Premier League being currently played at St. Vincent, where rustiness and lack of swing can be experienced accordingly, and furthermore it is high time for the back-end thinktank teams to work the problem and make way for newer innovations in Quid Pro Quo because most of the cricket fraternity depends on late swinging deliveries which are going to be the story of the past, therefore banging the balls hard off the pitch and varying your deliveries accordingly just like Shoaib Akhtar did during England tour to Pakistan in 2005, as the commentator also acknowledged he expected nothing off the pitch, therefore, used it as a secret weapon in conditions where it doesn't swing much.

Pace is going to be the key

The pace is the key to success for the current lot of bowlers as the only swinging they (the bowlers) are going to get is via the atmosphere, and atmosphere only supports swinging when there is pace behind, hence, the bowlers who utilize the atmosphere is going to succeed, unlike pre-COVID-19 period where after some overs bowlers used to get assist from the reverse swing.

What is up for Pakistan?

I personally feel (I hope I am wrong), that Pakistan is surely going to suffer because Pakistan possesses less number of pure pace bowlers and more of Medium-Fast bowlers who initially rely on Swinging Deliveries, read Muhammad Musa, etc. If swing is taken away from them, they are venomless, hence they are going to be like a faster-spin-bowlers. The only genuine pace bowlers currently Pakistan have are Muhammad Hasnain and Nasim Shah

Developing the bowlers with new skills under a new strategy

It is a well-known fact that just like I read the history of Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood who used to work hard on the nets and had the courage-and-willingness of developing a skill, which is sans in current lot of cricketers hence this is the period where if cricket requires to initiate after a break, it requires hard workout.

Relaxation Fatigueness 

This is the biggest threat, since March 15, all cricketers have been on idle state, therefore when there is going to be a stir on idleness with sudden impact, is going to breakdown the bowlers hence it is the case of muscle memory, as they have not regularly been practicing because it was not required given current scenarios, hence ICC has opted for 2 to 3 months practice period for bowlers to get into rhythm.


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Sunday, May 17, 2020

Post disease expected series'

Pakistan tour to England 2020 still on the cards

Being a cricket fan, it is something of advance Eidi for watching live cricket on the TV as England and Wales Cricket Board expects to convince the West Indian cricket board to tour the already locked down England. In the case of Pakistan, both the cricket boards have reached an agreement in principle after ECB assurances, as elite-level cricket plots a re-start after months of worldwide lockdown.

Conditions of post-COVID19 playing situations

The two boards had a meeting on Friday where the ECB talked the PCB through plans for keeping players in a strict bio-secure environment, from the moment they land in the country through the three Tests and three T20s they are scheduled to play.
  • Working plans include flying the Pakistan squad into the UK on a chartered flight in early July
  • Allocation of one venue as a base, where they can not only carry out their training and intra-squad practice games
  • Mandatory two-week quarantine period put in place by the United Kingdom government for all visitors from outside the country.

Vincy Premier T10 League to begin on May 22 in the Caribbean

This will be the inaugural season of the VPL, a six-team tournament, which will be played from May 22 to 31 at the Arnos Vale Sporting Complex in St Vincent. It is going to the first time since March, competitive cricket involving international players of a Full Member team is set to return after a long hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Vincy Premier League (VPL), a franchise-based T10 tournament, is scheduled to start from May 22 in the eastern Caribbean country of St Vincent and the Grenadines. It is going to be the first time the game will resume in a Full Member region comprising international players.

Playing conditions

  • The VPL will also become the first tournament where the players will not be allowed to use saliva on the ball,
  • a concept that the ICC and medical experts at various cricket boards have been discussing, as reported recently by ESPNcricinfo.
  • The tournament is set to be open for fans as there are no restrictions imposed by the government in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
  • The VPL comprises 30 matches,
  • Games are going to be streamed live, with three games scheduled per day.
  • A total of 72 players were picked by the six franchises via a draft held on May 11.
  • Among them are six marquee players, including three West Indies players - seamer Kesrick Williams, opening batsman Sunil Ambris and left-arm fast bowler Obed McCoy.
  • The VPL will be hosted by St Vincent and the Grenadines Cricket Association (SVGA), whose president, Kishore Shallow, is also the vice-president at Cricket West Indies (CWI).

  • Shallow said the VPL was put together in the last two weeks after he was approached by Dream 11, an India-based sports technology company.

  • He then alerted CWI and sent in a formal request via the Windward Island Cricket Association (of which the SVGA is a member) asking for the VPL to be sanctioned.

  • Shallow said he had spoken to both CWI chief executive Johnny Grave and CWI cricket operations manager Roland Holder about the VIPL.

  • "We have formally written to CWI. And I expect to get a positive response from them soon," Shallow told ESPNcricinfo.

  • According to Shallow, there were a total of 18 positive cases of Covid-19 in St Vincent and the Grenadines as of Wednesday, of which 10 had successfully recovered which means total active cases count to 8.

  • Keeping in mind the risk posed by the pandemic, Shallow said the tournament had the "endorsement" from the local government and the ministry of health.

  • He said the players would not be "exposed to the public" and all necessary precautions as advised by the government would be ensured including having additional short breaks at various points during the match where players would be asked to use hand sanitizers.

  • Shallow said that since there was no "formal limitations in terms of social gatherings" imposed by the local government the organizers had decided to not play behind closed doors, a mandatory policy issued by several other countries around the globe to sporting organizations.
  • "What we have been doing is managing the risk. So what we plan to do during the tournament is ask spectators to practice social and physical distancing. So they will be sitting at least a few seats apart. And because of the time the matches are taking place, we do not anticipate a massive crowd at the matches."
  • Shallow said all the league matches would start at an "unusual time", 8.30am local time and go on until 2pm only to "capture" the Indian audience where Dream 11 has its wide user base.
  • "We came up with this T10 franchise format because of the absence of sports content at this point, and thought that this brand of cricket would be enticing to cricket fans across the globe in a short duration," Shallow said at the launch of the draft on May 11.

Trivia

The last recognised match before Covid-19 halted games across the world was played on March 15 when the Karachi Kings hosted the Quetta Gladiators in the PSL which Quetta won following the heroics of Khurram Manzoor, the only game he played off the 2020 event.
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Sunday, May 10, 2020

Coaching rolling chair games

This is something of a shame that We in Pakistan have still deficiency in thinking, planning, staging strategy in cricket games, but the reality is we are watching lag in the thinking sector of Pakistan cricket because of International Cricket in Pakistan is on priority.

Shouldn't domestic cricket and its back-end management be given ample importance?

This is a problem, and a major problem where no strategy and program-flow incorporated in domestic cricket in Pakistan, otherwise internationally; domestic cricket directly supports their international cricket team, because their domestic cricket is placed in sync with their international cricket team.

Coaching

Credit: Wikipedia
This is my personal opinion, therefore I am not imposing my point-of-view on others but I felt the period of Mohsin Khan (although it was a brief one) but the major matter of fact is during that period, Pakistan cricket team was seen playing under a strategy, which is seldom associated with current Pakistan outfit, but sorry to say in Pakistan none wants to work behind the curtain and instead they are attention seekers who're hungry for seeking attention, which is totally natural but there should be a limit, and there should be roles assigned to particular individuals because not everyone could do the same thing with perfection, which is sans in current Pakistan outfit, because of which the graph of Pakistan cricket in recent times has been on the decline.
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Pakistani social media glamorizing Umar Akmal and other tainted players - Where is the country and its reputation?

This is a shame, because no doubt our religion has been empathetic on giving those a second chance who say they'd, but my objection is that we also have a saying from Hazrat Abu Huraira RA, that مومن ایک بل سے دو بار نہیں ڈستا, which has following description in Urdu,
حدیث کا مقصد اس حقیقت کی طرف اشارہ کرنا ہے کہ مومن دانا جو حق و انصاف کا علم بردار اور دین کا حامی و محافظ ہوتا ہے اس کی شان یہ ہے کہ وہ کسی عہد شکن اور سرکش سے، جو دین کا دشمن ہے درگزر نہ کرے اللہ کی راہ میں اور اللہ کی خاطر اس کو اپنے غضب و انتقام کا نشانہ بنانے سے نہ چوکے، بار بار حلم و بردباری اور چشم پوشی کا رویہ اختیار نہ کرے اور اس کے دھوکہ میں نہ آئے واضح رہے کہ کسی دنیاوی معاملہ میں فریب کھا جانا زیادہ اہمیت نہیں رکھتا مگر کسی دین کے معاملہ میں فریب نہ کھانا چاہیے۔علماء نے لکھا ہے کہ نبی صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے مذکورہ ارشاد گرامی میں جس حکیمانہ اصول کی طرف اشارہ کیا ہے حقیقت یہ ہے کہ وہ ایک عظیم الشان تعلیم ہے جس کی بنیاد دین کی رعایت و حمایت اور دشمنان دین کے شر و فساد کی بیخ کنی ہے۔ مذکوہ بالا ارشاد گرامی کا پس منظر یہ ہے کہ زمانہ رسالت میں عرب کا ایک مشہور شاعر ابوغرہ تھا اور اس کا تعلق کفار کے اس طبقہ سے تھا جو اسلام، ذات رسالت پناہ اور مسلمانوں کے خلاف نفرت و عداوت اور سب شتم کے پہاڑ تراشنے پر مامور تھے چنانچہ وہ اپنے اشعار کے ذریعہ مسلمانوں کی ہجو کیا کرتا تھا اور اپنی قوم کے شریر لوگوں کو مسلمانوں کی ایذاء و اہانت پر اکسایا کرتا تھا جب بدر کے میدان میں حق باطل کے درمیان پہلی معرکہ آرائی ہوئی اور اللہ نے اپنے مٹھی بھر بندوں کو دشمنان دین پر فتح عطا فرمائی اور مکہ کے بہت سارے کفار جس میں ان کے زعماء و اساطین بھی تھے قیدی بنا کر مدینہ منورہ لے گئے تو ان میں وہ بد بخت شاعر ابوغرہ بھی تھا اس نے بارگاہ رسالت میں اپنے پچھلے سیاہ ناموں پر اظہار ندامت کیا اور عفو خواہی کے ساتھ یہ عہد کیا کہ اب میں کبھی بھی ایسے افعال بد کے پاس نہیں پھٹکوں گا۔چنانچہ نبی کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم کو اس بد بخت پر رحم و کرم کرنے کا موقع مل گیا اور آپ نے اس کے عہد و پیمان کی بنیاد پر اس کو رہا کر دیا لیکن اس کی ازلی شفاعت و بد بختی نے اس کو چین سے نہیں بیٹھنے دیا اور وہ اپنی قوم میں پہنچ کر پہلی روش پر چلنے لگا یہاں تک کہ اللہ نے اس کو دوبارہ جنگ احد کے موقع پر قیدی کی حثییت سے بارگاہ رسالت میں پہنچا دیا اس نے اس مرتبہ بھی وہی عہد و پیمان کا حربہ استعمال کیا اور اظہار ندامت و عفو خواہی کے ساتھ امان چاہنے لگا اور آئندہ اپنی ان حرکتوں سے باز رہنے کا عہد و پیمان کیا لیکن نبی کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے اس کو معاف نہیں کیا اور اس کو جہنم رسید کر دینے کا حکم فرمایا۔چنانچہ اس کو قتل کر دیا گیا، اس وقت جب بعض لوگوں نے اس کی سفارش کی اور نبی کریم صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم سے درخواست کی کہ اس کو ایک مرتبہ اور معاف فرما دیا جائے تو حضور صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے فرمایا مومن ایک سوراخ سے دوبارہ نہیں ڈسا جاتا۔

Our social media 'activists'

This is stupidity of our so called social media 'activists' who're/have been busy and using their energy(s) in glorifying tainted players like Umar Akmal, Muhammad Asif who were a great talent but the fact is the chance which mother nature gave to them, they ruined it because of their greed, and even though when Pakistani bleak judiciary stepped up and took action against them, here our so called social 'activists' are/have been glorifying such players to have a complementary PR on the social media medium.

Where is the country and its pride?

One is for sure, there is a big difference and a thick line between forgiveness and forgiving to be inducted into representing the national side is the other direction. We have a very bad habit of using phrases from Holy Quran and احادیث for supporting our arguments, instead of checking our arguments with respect to the Holy Quran and Sunnah, but what I quoted initially, does it gives an idea of utilizing them again who betrayed? If we give chances and glorify the tainted players, what message are we conveying to the sincere players who play with their heart out? Isn't it unfair to them? Isn't Islam talks about their rights as well? Isn't country's pride secondary aspect? I am not saying ban them but don't allow them to wear Pakistani blazer and representing Pakistani colour on international arena is unfair to those players who are playing with sincerity.
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Saturday, May 09, 2020

Umar Akmal not apologetic on his misconduct

Original article marks here

Middle Akmal planning something for the long run

I might be acting as a devil's advocate but I am feeling, while Middle Akmal ain't going to file remorse and apology in front the tribunal which would keep him out of the competitive cricket till February 19, 2023, which is something raising my eyebrows because many of the former players indicted in fixing allegations claimed that cricket is their bread and butter therefore they should be allowed to participate in either playing or coaching cricket, therefore it is something mind wobbling for me.

Isn't it possible

Umar Akmal claiming

This is highly possible after some months time, we would be finding UA on National Television as analysts read Salman Butt where he is going to claim that He was honest and this 'n that because of which I didn't compete therefore now I should be given a chance either as a cricketer/coach/cricket analyst, because I stood firm, this is what I personally have seen recently on Pakistani National TV, where sorry to say Pakistani TV has been acting devil for Pakistan cricket where they have influenced so much on Pakistani Cricket team selection criterion's that it is something ruined the strata of Pakistan cricket.

Media on Umar Akmal

I am also not expecting goods from current lot of Pakistani media personnel who do not have the etiquette in selecting their RSVP for their debate shows on cricketing events, where they have been placing undue pressure on selecting players endorsed by them, so how come it could be assured that Pakistani media ain't going to imply this tactic on Umar Akmal?

Why we are so short sighted?

Why we forget player's misconduct and the act they did recently or long past? Why there have been posts on the social media platform that comparison between an Indian current cricket team skipper and Pakistani cover drive sensation and showing that the sensation is much greater than the Indian skipper! Is that thing is to be discussed on social media platform? Why we forget that stats doesn't reflect the scenario those runs were scored, economy of that Indian skipper ain't justify the situation he scored those runs, why we doesn't analyze things on logical way? This is the responsibility of the masses to compete with news media to keep them WITHIN limits, therefore this is not the fault of the news media but of the people who like sensation news instead of on being logical.
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Shoaib Akhtar - country comes first

Original link enclosed here
Shoaib Akhtar instead of beating around the bush
should go for something constructive for the country

One thing I am not able to understand, though Indian people are not like that how their media is portraying but the fact is in today's scenario where wars are being staged on News Media, than why in the world is Mr. Shoaib Akhtar trying so hard to emphasis on having friendship with India.

Because of people like him

Indians have started to treat Pakistanis as someone taken for granted, otherwise in the 1990s it was other way round where they still rate our cricketers and seniors on a higher level, but now they have downgraded and degraded the pride stature we once had, because of people like Shoaib Akhtar who have no shame in admitting that they are the sole agents of Indian diplomacy in Pakistan.

Country comes first

I am definitely assured that one or more posts like that won't hurt his cause (which is promoting Indian perspective in Pakistan without knowing the repercussions in the long run), I do not have a problem with it, but kindly take control of Pakistan's pride, we're not here to be treated as a 'washroom rug' on international grounds, because this is not rigidness but every country have this legislative on what to promote, how to promote, why to promote, when to promote and where to promote, because country's pride is a very sensitive issue which is as fragile as it gets, therefore these are the margins which one should not be allowed to breach so that no further international جگ ہنسائی be experienced and it should be eradicated to as much as possible.

My objection

My objection is very simple, facilitating Indians should be maintained on equality, because it should not be like that Intend to take all and give nothing, whether Indians allow Pakistani cricketers and other personnel in India? Than why are we being so اتاولا on facilitating them without taking account of country's stature?

Don't place lame excuses

We have examples like Rashid Latif and Moin Khan who're placing themselves behind the curtains although Rashid Latif has also been involved with a YouTube channel and PTV Sports analyst but the fact is both are contributing to Pakistan cricket by involving with Pakistan domestic and academy cricket which is much better aspect than being so vocal on the National Media resulting in mockery of Pakistan and Pakistan's cricket fraternity.

Shoaib Akhtar might go for a training academy just like them

This is a reality, instead of showing so much sycophantic affection towards India (no grudge to India) but give something to the country you got fame from, just answer us what he has given back to the country, without seeking attention for it? Like Rashid Latif runs Caught Behind Youtube channel but never I have listened him promoting his academy on social media medium, maybe once or twice but I have never seen him so, the same thing Shoaib Akhtar could also do the same thing so that he could brag that he has done something for the country after he has retired.

Why creating a non-issue as an issue?

Shoaib Akhtar came to trending amid 27th April 2020 when Umar Akmal was awarded 3 years cricket suspension means he can't play cricket of any sort because of the punishment, where Shoaib Akhtar was saying that the fault was not of Umar Akmal but Judiciary party of PCB, although later on in the video, he diplomatically changed the topic and also criticized Umar Akmal for the cover up but his main topic was not to making Umar Akmal realize what he has done, but to give him a cover in placing the whole blame on the judiciary team of PCB.

Umar Akmal case was...

When the people who spot fix the particular event in a cricket game, approached Umar Akmal; in reciprocate he didn't inform the PCB and relevant authorities which in the books of the law, means you were giving it a thought, so I personally feel the PCB did the right thing according to the circumstances.

Umar Akmal had previously been involved in such misconducts

So does Mr. Shoaib Akhtar going to say that players' are gods and they are nowhere to be touched? Are they مادر پدر آزاد? Are they allowed to do anything even if it is misconduct, or in Shoaib's case; yet another attention-seeking gesture, which he is advocating is nothing of higher importance but if we analyze on longer run, the misconduct with Umar Akmal did is not being allowed anywhere on the global world, or if even it is allowed, it is allowed on New-Age genre which is a non serious segment in their segments, therefore what Shoaib Akhtar did has nothing to do with recent times but in the generations to come, the misconduct which Shoaib Akhtar advocated will have a greater impact.
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Thursday, May 07, 2020

Shoaib Akhtar... why you do this all the time?

This is a shame on how a Pakistani great pacer of modern era, whom I grow up watching playing splendid games, a bowler who was havoc on the batters during his fiery spells, which used to increase tense and adrenaline rapidly for both his team mates, his fans both in Pakistan and abroad and his critics, for which we Pakistanis used to feel patronage on how our bowler used to take revenge and rapid reaction on subliminal reactions towards Pakistan team.

When Shoaib Akhtar made a mark... in style

This is the moment when I personally remember as a heroic effort from a Pakistani pacer which definitely made me like him as a superman of the Pakistan Cricket Team, for which I still remember and praise him for the effort he did, especially the fact he was having broken knees and whole respect for the lad performing so much with a deficiency.

After retirement - post 2011 era

Being attention seeker

If being under certain aspects, being attention seeking ain't a bad thing. We do the same while seeking appreciation from our ordinates and seniors, therefore it is totally natural, but the level of attention seeking SA has incorporated, is negative attention seeking.

Freedom of speech - with self imposed regulations

This is another aspect, because freedom of speech is something basic and common right of every individual, but Allah and other heavenly religions do emphasize on taking accounts of taking care of sentiments of fellow human being, like there is a saying in Urdu language that تیر کمان سے اور بات زبان سے نکلی ہوئی کبھی واپس نہیں آتی if I transliterate in English, think before you leap forward.

Self-respect

There is one thing known as self-respect, when Indians taunt us that we involve their material and content in order to get more views and viewership, instead we should remember that Indians created this aspect of Indian Nationalism within the masses, that they are proud of their brands and promote it as THEIR NATIONAL RESPONSIBILITY, the same instead if SA had done for Pakistan instead of licking (Indian) their butts, he would had got more respect globally, because it is Pakistan from where you got all this fame, therefore it was your national responsibility to promote Pakistan instead of showing the world that our patronage and proud nature not only against India but globally which is a natural aspect internationally.

Sorry to say

Shoaib Akhtar feels freedom of speech means speaking your heart out without acknowledging the outcome and/or repercussions of whatever he says, as he is a well-known celebrity, therefore it is a well known fact that whatever he utters makes a mockery of Pakistani perspective which destroyed the Pakistani pride on the whole.
Logistically, this seems improbable, even safety-wise for the cricketers. Akhtar’s proposal was shot down by former Indian cricket team captain Kapil Dev, who said that India doesn’t need money to fight the coronavirus crisis, but needs the authorities to work together. Dev said we don’t need to put the lives of cricketers at stake for raising money.
And this is not the end, he has been busy uttering rubbish and showing his affection (which is not actually a bad thing) towards India, it is to be make sure that country's pride is to be prioritized, just like Indians do with their country's pride on international arena, which we need to acknowledge and make sure when talking about Pakistan. 

Tuesday, May 05, 2020

ICC world championship - A failed exercise from ICC



This is to my personal feeling, that ICC has been treating World Test Championship as a formality to comply because of the format I am seeing, when I compare it with Asian Test Championship which was between Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka (1998-99 and 2001-02 season sans India due to political tensions with Pakistan) and Bangladesh (in the second edition viz 2001-02, due to test status granted by ICC in 2000s)

The Asian Test Championship

1998-99 season

India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka competed in the inaugural Asian Test Championship between February and March 1999. Bangladesh could not compete because the ICC had not granted them Test status.
Three round-robin matches were played by the three competing sides. A win was worth 12 points, a tie 6 points and no points were awarded for a draw or loss. In addition to this, bonus points were awarded to teams for bowling and batting performances.
The venues of the round robin matches were rotated between the three countries, with the final to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh as a neutral venue.
Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by an innings and 175 runs in the final to become the first Asian Test Champions.

2001-02 season

Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka competed in the second Asian Test Championship between August 2001 and March 2002. India pulled out of the tournament due to political tensions with Pakistan. Pakistan and Sri Lanka both played Bangladesh in the two round robin matches. A win was worth 16 points, a tie 8 points and no points were awarded for a draw or loss. In addition to this, bonus points were awarded to teams for bowling and batting performances. Pakistan and Sri Lanka qualified for the final after convincingly beating Bangladesh in Multan Cricket Stadium in Pakistan and Colombo in Sri Lanka.
The final was held at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 8 wickets to win the second Asian Test championship.

ICC World Test Championship

The ICC World Test Championship is a league competition for Test cricket run by the International Cricket Council (ICC), which started on 1 August 2019. It is intended to be the premier championship for Test cricket. It is in line with the ICC's goal of having one pinnacle tournament for each of the three formats of international cricket.
The original plans to hold the competition in 2013, replacing the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy, were abandoned. It was rescheduled for June 2017, with a second Test championship to take place in India in Feb-March 2021. The top four ranked teams on 31 December 2016 – the cut-off date set by the ICC – would play the three-match Test championship. There would have been two semi-finals and the winners play the final. However, in January 2014 the ICC World Test Championship was cancelled and the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy was reinstated.
In October 2017, the ICC announced that a Test league had been agreed by its members, which would involve the top nine teams playing series over two years with the top two teams qualifying for a World Test League Championship Final. The first ICC World Test Championship started after the 2019 Cricket World Cup from 1 August 2019, with the Ashes series. The second ICC World Test Championship will run from July 2021 to June 2023.

Difference between ICC WTC and ATC

Home & Away

Asian Test Championship

The Asian Test Championship (ATC) was on the concept of round robin where matches were played on home and away concept, though it was a short tournament, means 3 teams completing their games and playing final inside 2 months mark. The first tournament games were played at Kolkata, Colombo, Lahore and Dhaka respectively. In the second season, games were played at Multan, Colombo and Lahore respectively.

ICC World Test Championship

There is no clarity on home & away games, I am not saying this with respect to India-Pakistan games but if it is to be called as a championship, every team competing in the championship is supposed to be playing with each other.

Take example of Pakistan

These are the games, Pakistan have played 5 games against 3 opponents where 2/5 means 40% of the games were lost by heavy margins, and 2/5 means 40% of the margin were win games and remaining 1/5 means 20% margin was a draw game; hence how could it be called as a championship, when Pakistan isn't going to play game with rest of the competing sides, nor there is a competition like in a championship? The most obvious definition of a championship was defined in last year ICC 50 over Cricket World Cup event, where every team was to play with other team, so there was a competition aspect among the teams, and there Pakistan missed the Semi Final spot just by mere points because of the haunting first game of the CWC 2019 for Pakistan which was against WINDIES (previously known as the West Indies)

Definition of Championship

a competition at which a champion is chosen
Hence in which matter, does it look like a championship? Because in a championship, equal amount of games are given to each and every participating team so that a champion team is decided upon completion of minimum amount of games, so that a clear champion could be decided upon the designated points and performance(s).

According to ICC calendar for 2020, these are the games for Pakistan scheduled
Hence in coming fixtures in 2020 for Pakistan, there are only 3 scheduled games; hence my question is ambiguity in Home/Away games for competing teams!

Number of games per series

It is a good thing that winning a game is 60, as according to the laid down plan, ICC WTC games could at least be 2 games per series, but the problem is instead ICC intervene and have standardized number of games per series so that points could be allocated, as the points allocation distribution is as follows;
Matches in series  Points on a winPoints when tiedPoints in a draw gamePoints in case of a loss game
 2 60 30 20 0
 3 40 20 13 0
 430
 15 10 0
5 24 12 8 0
Hence my objection is ambiguity in distribution of points, otherwise the number of games per series was to be confirmed/implemented by ICC, here implementation aspect is being diluted and hence every participating team HAS BEEN allowed to negotiate with fellow country to arrange a series with number of games which defy uniformity, unlike a series distributed by ICC, which doesn't complies with a championships points table, hence a country can stage more 2 test match series and few 4 5 test match series, in order to gain more points, which is like injustice WITHIN a CHAMPIONSHIP for few teams and hence it is a predicted aspect that these two teams are going to be the finalists, which is going to erase the interest of test match cricket within the masses, because the concept of a championship is the unpredictability of the final outcome.
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Saturday, May 02, 2020

Pakistan and ICC rankings





 












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India slumped to number 3 position in ICC test rankings

This is something mind-wobbling for a person who tries to analyze the statistics and graphs with more comfort than written statements.

India slumped to number 3 position?

Since the CoronaVirus is termed is pandemic, as far as the cricket matches are concerned, all of the cricketing activities were frozen and put on waiting till further notice, hence all the statistics were put on freeze till the time last game was played.

Till that time?

All the statistics were put on freeze, the team on whatever position will be placed on the same position they played their game and scored the points. Till that time, India was the Numero-Uno position, then how come India slumped to 3rd position from the prime?

What the rule says?

The rule says that all test matches played from previous to current year from May 2019 to May 2020; 100 percent scores are given upon the performances, whereas the previous two years comprise of 50 percent each per year in weightage put into consideration.

In short, a weighted average method which we generally use at the fuel stations for marking the calculation for the amount of fuel available on the fuel station, as fuel rates vary from time to time, just like ICC test match ratings which are updated time to time, therefore it also means that the team, which is consistent in performing from time to time, is going to earn the majority of points because their deductions from the previous two years are also going to be taken consideration of.

If a particular team in patches performs like winning comprehensively and losing miserly and/or able to manage a draw into consideration, it is required to be continued on an average on regular basis with respect to winning series' ratio, the more series's you win, the more weighted average points you earn.

This is what cost India

Because as per the statistics till April 30th, 2020, India's statistics were on the high but as the clock turned and calendar showed May 1st, the new calendar started and India's current year performances were now marked in previous year tally which accounted for 50% of the weightage, and now in the current scenario where no other team is playing, India is currently marked at 3rd position whereas Australia on Numero-Uno, and it is expected that India is not going to face a test match opponent till December 2020, other teams might have resumed their test match cricket and hence this is surely looking a cemented statement that India is surely going to lose more points if competitive test match cricket starts before December 2020.

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