[article review] A chance to move forward (cricket.org)

The article

At first I thought it was an attempt at humor but later I realised that the guy was serious. Now i admired Osman Samiuddin for his previous articles but this one is a piece of crap. What was he thinking when writing this piece?

He has basically discussed two main points in this article. The first one is the Shoaib Akhtar issue and the second one is promotion of Younus Khan as the vice captain. I disagree with his comments on both the issues.

He says that if the Indian tour is successful without Shoaib it would mean the team doesn't need him or the other way round. Is he serious? Shoaib IS the ace bowler Pakistan has, whether u like it or not. The problem the board faces with his attitude/discipline/fitness is all their self-created. They never handled Shoaib Akhtar properly and I think this is their fault. Every team has had rougue (ok spoiled brats) players and every team has had such problems. But they were better in dealing with those. England had Graham Thorpe, Darren Gough; Australia had Darren Lehmann/(a bit of) Brett Lee. As far as Shoaib Akhtar is concerned, its the board which has taken him to the high skies and then is now pulling the ladder from under him? He is similar to the Afridi case but since he is more precious/valuable for the team we feel it more. The fact that we dont have a back up for Shoaib Akhtar is also the board's fault. In fact throughout Pakistan's history the board has never contributed significantly to the team's well-being. It was always the players who fought for themselves out there. In fact the discovery/grooming of the force of Wasim/Waqar/Aqib (by Imran Khan etc.) and the tremendous talent Pakistan team has had was all due to individual efforts rather than the outcome of a system.

As far as Younus Khan's promotion is concerned, well I am not too sure if thats a good idea (contrary to the opinion in the article). I wish him all the luck on this tour but I dont think he is a permanent fixture in the side so as to deserve the deputy's hat. The first thing for a vice captain is that he should be part of the team. AbdurRazzaq is a more permanent player. Also why not Shoaib Akhtar, if not for his fitness/discipline problems. The writer is all praise on his recent form, well one or two 50's is not enough to prove anything. Anyways time will tell... maybe i am wrong/short-sighted.

(well ok.. i never really liked him as a player :P)