Thoughts on the IPL - Part 2

I know of one Australian batsman who just hates playing in India. Very simple - he just can't seem to make runs when he's here. No, that batsman isn't called Ricky Ponting.

During Australia's tour of India in 2007 where they played 7 ODIs and a Twenty20 game, Brad Hodge scored 61 runs from 7 innings.

Now he's kicked off his IPL career with 1 & 1. Is he looking forward to the rest of the series, or what?!

At least the Kolkata Knight Riders will be smiling, since they can now get Shoaib Akhar to play for them, after a committee ruled that his ban was only effective from June 4 2008.

One team that's not going to smile for a while, least of all their captain, is the Bangalore Royal Challengers side. Even if Geoffrey Boycott's moom and her friends bowled to them, they'd contrive to lose. The running between the wickets today against the Punjab Kings XI was downright pathetic. The side has just three major problems - nothing serious. They just can't bat, bowl or field in a manner that Twenty20 requires them to. Here's hoping that Dravid's team turn it around, in just the same manner as England had in the 1987 Ashes in Australia, on the back of Martin Johnson's write-up in 'The Independent' while covering that tour.

Labels: akhtar, australia, ban, hodge, india, indian premier league, ipl 2008, shoaib, shoaib akhtar, statistic, twenty20

Thus spake Jagadish @ 11:08 pm | Sledge/Read 1 sledge(s)
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Shoaib Akhtar banned for five years

In a dramatic decision, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced that Shoaib Akhtar had been banned for 5 years for violating the players' code of conduct, a document that I'm unable to locate on the PCB website.

As per the ICC code of conduct, a ban of 2-5 years is imposed on a player in the following situations:

• Betting on a game/series where the player/his team was a participant.
  
• Tried to sweet-talk someone else into betting.
  
• Gambled on a game/event.
  
• Tried to sweet-talk someone else into gambling.
  
• Received money/benefit/rewards for providing weather, team and pitch information.
  
• Received money/benefit/rewards and thus brought the game into disrepute.
  
• Provided money/benefit/rewards and thus brought the game into disrepute.
  
• Was approached to bet/gamble/provide information but didn't disclose the event to designated staff.
  
• Is aware of another player doing so but didn't report to the designated staff.

Was Shoaib's offense more severe than the above? Now, he cannot play for Pakistan or in Pakistan. Does this mean he will stick to the IPL? His fee is $425,000. Given the number of times he gets injured, he is unlikely to earn that full amount.

Perhaps the ICL is a better prospect, especially for a guaranteed income. In addition, the IPL is played in a very limited period of time (April-May). If Akhtar wants to play cricket for a longer duration, the ICL is a better place to display his wares.

Labels: akhtar, ban, indian cricket league, indian premier league, ipl 2008, pakistan, shoaib, shoaib akhtar, twenty20

Thus spake Jagadish @ 11:07 pm | Sledge/Read 2 sledge(s)
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Shoaib and Asif declared unfit for World Cup

Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif will join Brett Lee, and billions of others around the world, and watch the World Cup on television.

The Pakistan Cricket Board said that they had been ruled out since their injuries hadn't yet healed.

They're just being economical with the truth. The very likely reason, like a report in 'The News' around two weeks ago indicated, is that either they failed YAIDT or they still have traces of banned substances in their system and would have failed a drug test (internal or that conducted at the World Cup).

Labels: 2007 world cup, asif, drugs, mohammad, pakistan, shoaib, shoaib akhtar, world cup, world cup squads

Thus spake Jagadish @ 1:34 pm | Sledge/Read 1 sledge(s)
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Shut up, Bob

After Pakistan lost the test series against South Africa, Bob Woolmer's been whining about how the ridiculous cricket calendar has meant that Pakistan is unable to call upon the services of Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul and Shabbir Ahmed.

I have some news for you, Bob.

Firstly, the schedule has been known to you for a while. Did you approach the PCB about it? Did you chaps have to play two back-to-back series against West Indies and South Africa? Did the PCB tell you that their hands were tied? Would it have been tough to reschedule either of those series for an alternative time period? Would you have whined about the schedule if Pakistan had won, rather than lost?

Secondly, Akhtar, Gul and Shabbir weren't all missing because of injury caused by being made to bowl continuously. Shoaib was on the way back into the side after being reprieved by the PCB's appeals committee. He played one first-class game and a couple of Twenty20 games before he was rushed to South Africa. He hadn't been picked because he was apparently not fit. Then he was roped in because Umar Gul was unfit. Now, this Gul chap, he's competing with Shane Bond for the Rudyard Kipling award (If - geddit?!). Until he injured his ankle, he managed to string together 9 tests in a row! Now we get to Shabbir. Shabbir has missed international cricket for a year now after being banned in December 2005. He was cleared last month. He didn't turn up in South Africa because he "had a knee problem" and didn't clear a fitness test.

So let's analyze the three - Shoaib was clearly undercooked when he went to South Africa. So it'd have been tough for him to get away with being out of action for a long time. Gul has been injury-prone throughout his career. So we actually ought to be surprised if he plays! Shabbir, in my opinion, didn't tour South Africa because the PCB didn't want to risk him being called for chucking again.

There goes your bubble, Bob! POP!

Labels: bob woolmer, chucking, fitness, gul, pakistan, scheduling, shabbir, shoaib, shoaib akhtar

Thus spake Jagadish @ 7:09 pm | Sledge/Read 4 sledge(s)
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High farce in Pakistan

Yesterday, an 'Anti-Doping Appeals Committee' constitued (sic) by the Pakistan Cricket Board, ruled that Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammed Asif were not guilty of committing doping offences (timeline) since the administration never did anything to warn them against taking supplements.

Almost exactly a month ago, Shoaib and Asif had been banned for two years and one year respectively by the Pakistan Cricket Board's Anti-Doping Commission. On October 16th, Shoaib and Asif were sent home from the ICC Champions Trophy in India by the PCB after failing a PCB-organized pre-tournament doping test.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has not yet reacted to the judgement and are currently awaiting the ostrich's reaction to the decision. (Update: The ostrich has reacted.)

I find this decision highly farcical. Sportspersons who're caught in doping scandals almost always resort to the 'No-one told me about this' stand. Given that the PCB, and the ICC, are signatories to the WADA code, a generic application of the 'exceptional circumstances' clause could invite a further appeal from WADA.

This decision by the PCB's commission comes only a few days after Dick Pound, chairman of WADA, blasted Cricket Australia's 1-year ban on Shane Warne after he tested positive for using a diuretic before the 2003 World Cup, in his book with the shortest title ever, 'Inside Dope: How Drugs Are the Biggest Threat to Sports, Why You Should Care, and What Can Be Done About Them'.

The second farce that happened in Pakistan cricket was the news that Inzamam will return to international cricket tomorrow after the first ODI against West Indies was washed out without even the toss having taken place.

The ICC decided, quite stupidly in my opinion, in 2004 that a game was deemed to have started as long a the toss had taken place. So, in the light of there not having been a toss at Rawalpindi, that game doesn't count as a recorded one-day international.

Hence Inzamam should actually be sitting out for one more game to ensure that he completes his ban period of four one-day internationals.

Labels: akhtar, asif, drugs, mohammad, ostrich, pakistan, shoaib, shoaib akhtar

Thus spake Jagadish @ 5:17 pm | Sledge/Read 5 sledge(s)
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Mills & Bond, Shoaib & Asif

New Zealand screwed up in semi-final against Australia. They had Australia at 4/2 in the 3rd over. The support cast (Franklin, Oram & to some extent Vettori) didn't continue the job. Once Australia got past 200, I saw no chance of New Zealand winning. The top order then got ripped out by McGrath. Oram and Vettori did a superb job, but Oram getting out to Symonds, of all bowlers, when New Zealand would have reckoned that getting 100-odd in 15 overs was possible, meant the game was up.

What's it about New Zealand and having players whose names go in sync? Like I pointed out nearly an era ago while doing live ball-by-ball commentary for the India v New Zealand test at Mohali in 1999 (yes, the 83 all out one!), they had Horne and Bell - the acoustic openers. Now we have Mills & Bond, not too far away from a publisher of romantic novels.

Two other players whose names will now be in sync forever are Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif. The two have now been banned for two years and one year respectively by the PCB's Anti-Doping Commission.

Labels: akhtar, asif, drugs, mohammad, pakistan, shoaib, shoaib akhtar

Thus spake Jagadish @ 10:47 am | Sledge/Read 0 sledge(s)
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Pakistan significantly enhances chances of victory

Pakistan are now officially on track to win the ICC Champions Trophy for the first time. The team thrives under situations where there're controversies and infighting.

A little more than a week after Younis Khan re-accepted the captaincy, the Pakistan Cricket Board revealed that Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif have tested positive for drugs in an internal test.

Are they out to prove Tim May right? Given they've hardly played any international cricket in the last couple of months, over-work can surely not be the excuse?!

What is it about high profile ICC tournaments and drug intake revelations? Shane Warne before the 2003 World Cup, and now these two!

Given Pakistan's coach Bob Woolmer fervently argued for Law 42.3 to be scrapped after his team was accused of altering the condition of the ball, it may perhaps come as no surprise if he now argues that drug testing in sport needs to be scrapped as well.

Labels: 2006 champions trophy, akhtar, asif, champions trophy, drugs, mohammad, pakistan, shoaib, shoaib akhtar

Thus spake Jagadish @ 4:05 pm | Sledge/Read 5 sledge(s)
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