Sami faking injury?

What is going on in and with Pakistani cricket? With the Shoaib Akhtar/Shahid Afridi/Mohammad Asif fiasco going full speed, the ICL debacle still a threat to all Pakistani endeavours on the international circuit, it now appears that while the PCB was trying to give Sami a chance to redeem himself in a series against Australia A, Sami may have been faking injury. According to this report in The News, Sami thought that he was too good to play for an "A" team and so decided to fake injury and a viral illness.

Now, I must say, that such chickens always come too roost, and so with the Shoaib Akhtar debacle, and the selectors looking for another pacer, well Sami, fake injury or not, is no longer eligible to represent Pakistan at the Twenty20 cup. Some kid named Sohail Tanvir is being packaged off to South Africa to represent Pakistan. Anyone know anything about him?

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The Pakistan A selection drama

As I had mentioned before, the Pakistan A selection process for the Australia A tour has been full of usual Pakistani cricket ridiculousness. I usually don't talk about A tours etc, but this time the situation has been so hilarious that I just couldn't resist.

After having only 12 players actually show up for the camp in Lahore, the PCB went ahead and announced a 16 member squad for the one day matches against the Australians. Very surprisingly, but perhaps in a weird sort of way, predictably for the PCB, they left out centrally contracted players Hasan Raza and Mohammad Sami, and also Asim Kamal who has been flirting with international selection for the past four years. Interestingly, Asim Kamal was one of the players who actually was at the camp, so this makes one wonder what kind of example the PCB is setting, specially as it relates to the importance of training camps. What I would love to know, is how many of the 12 players who showed up to camp were actually selected for the Australia A squad!

Sami & Woolmer

Woolmer is obviously happy to see Sami back in the squad!

Pakistan pick squad for South Africa

As expected and reported, Shoaib Akhtar and Shabbir Ahmed have been left out of the squad, as has been Shahid Afridi. One hopes that the Pakistani team will not have to suffer due to the absences of Shoaib Akhtar and Shahid Afridi, the only two real match winners in the squad. Perhaps rightfully so, Shahid Nazir has been retained, but the come back for Mohammad Sami really does bother me. His form has not been substantial in any way, and in fact he has struggledeven in the first class realm. Taking Asim Kamal, Faisal Iqbal and Yasir Hameed along in a squad of 17, really doesn't give any confidence to the current squad, and gives no certainty to any of the players.



My Starting XI:



Mohammad Hafeez

Shoaib Malik

Younis Khan

Mohammad Yousuf

Inzamam

Faisal Iqbal

Kamran Akmal

Umar Gul

Shahid Nazir

Rana Naved

Danish Kaneria

Technorati Tags: pakistan, cricket, pakistan cricket board, selectors, shahid nazir, shoaib akhtar, shabbir ahmed, mohammad sami

Afridi out, Nazir out; Sami and Kaneria in.

Have the PCB's selectors lost their minds? For the upcoming ODI series with the WI, not only have they left out Shahid Afridi, they have also dropped Shahid Nazir, Faisal Iqbal and Samiullah Niazi. Mohammad Sami and Danish Kaneria have been retained, while Rana Naved, Rao Iftikhar and Abdul Rehman have been retained.

I find this selection policy inexplicable. Faisal Iqbal and Samiullah Niazi have been kept on the fringe of the squad for months now, as has been Abdul Rehman. I can understand any of them being left aside, yet what about Shahid Nazir? He has bowled consistently, with control and has made the ball dance on many occasions. 11 wickets at 29 a pop, and only at around 3.3 an over, any one would think would be enough to be retained for the squad. I recognize the need to give Rana Naved another try, specially given his prior form, but Mohammad Sami? Rao Iftikhar? This is hardly rewarding and consistent of the PCB. And truly, when does the PCB intend to give Iqbal, Niazi and Rehman a try? When will the youngsters be blooded? When will they be given a chance?

This space and I have always been a big fan of Shahid Afridi, and many a time have been almost too forgiving of his many lapses. Yet, he is perhaps the only player on the Pakistani side, outside of Inzamam who in ODI cricket is a proven match winner and a difference maker. Yes, his form has been poor. Yes, he has not made a difference for some time. Yet, I would contend that a drop during the Test series with the WI was enough of a wake up call. He cannot be left to languish, he is too good for that. Kamran Abbasi does agree with me. I find some solace in the thought that the squad is only named for the first ODI, and can be changed for the latter matches. Shahid Afridi must play.

Sami comeback in the cards?

It appears Sami may be brought back into the squad. Young left arm spinner Abdul Rehman, who has been at the fringe of the squad for about six months now, has been dropped and Sami has been given his position. Its hard to say where Sami will fit into the current squad. Umar Gul and Shahid Nazir have performed reasonably well over the past two tests, and Abdul Razzaq has played well enough in the second test to make sure he can't be dropped. So even though Sami is on the fringe of the squad, I don't think he can start.

Sami vehement about desire to make a comback.

Well, its good to hear that Sami is still excited about international cricket. I hope he is able to make a comeback, as neither one of Naved, Umar Gul nor Iftikhar Anjum have been able to cement the role of a new ball threat for the Pakistani squad. Good luck.

Sami back for trials

Looks like Mohammad Sami is being given an opportunity to win his spot back in the lineup, after a fine domestic season. It should be an interesting camp. I'm not sure how keen I am that he be welcomed back, but neither Umar Gul nor Rana Naved have burned up the ptches and really cemented their position in the lineup, or shown themselves to be quality new ball bowlers.

Another chance for Sami

Mohammad Sami has been recalled into the squad in Shoaib Akhtar's place. After being excluded from the last two tests, and the first three ODIs, Mohammad Sami now has another chance.

After disappointing performances over the last two years, Sami was finally let go for a few matches, and may have another shot to earn his cap back in this situation. Best of luck to him.

Will Sami play in the third test?

After Mohammad Sami was left out of the second test, it wasn't an unexpected drop. However, the Pakistani squad was quick to point out that he was being left out due to high fever and flu, rather than his less than impressive bowling over the past year. While the flu thing may have been true, Sami was seen fielding and quiet well at that, starting from the second day of the test.

Was he really ill, or did that become an easy excuse to leave him out of the squad? The Karachi test will most likely answer that question.

Sami dropped or ill?

Mohammad Sami's exclusion from the second test squad, may not have been because of a run of abysmal form, but perhaps because of a fever, and a flu-like illness. What this bodes for his inclusion or exclusion from the third test, and Mohammad Asif's long-term future with the squad, only time will tell.

Interesting News/Gossip about Younis/Yousuf/Sami

In a Qatari newspaper, there is some interesting information about Younis' argument with Afridi. Younis confirmed that the argument did take place and centered around his decision to have Afridi open. He also frankly admits that the argument affected the youngsters in the team and may have contributed to indifferent performances.

The paper, in the same article, talks about how Yousuf Youhana's car was ransacked/vandalized in Lahore. A brand new Mercedes, not even registered yet, had its windows shattered. This is the second incident with a cricketer in a couple of months, as a few months ago Mohammed Sami's home in Karachi was also robbed.