Our Inzee Bhai

Inzamam Ul Haq is not a very consistent player. He is also been cited in several ``incidents`` during team practises. It`s high time for selection board to give other (more deserving) players a chance.

Inzamam Ul Haq is not a very consistent player. He is also been cited in several ``incidents`` during team practises. It`s high time for selection board to give other (more deserving) players a chance.

I think the article is a tad harsh. Inzamam has been one of the few Pakistani batsmen to perform repeatedly in England, South Africa and Australia. In fact, the claim that he is our best batsman against pace is perhaps not wholly unwarranted. Advocating a move to replace him with one of the ``other (more deserving players)`` leads to the obvious question of a suitable replacement. Taufeeq Umar ? Faisal Iqbal ? Misbah-ul-Haq ? Imran Nazir ? Hasan Raza ? Imran Farhat ? Saleem Elahi ?

Take your pick.

It was the same philosophy of blooding youth that led to Saeed Anwar`s premature retirement.

While on the topic of pakistani cricket...I recently picked up India-Pakistan world cup video from the local India grocery.

That was the first time I watched shoaib bowl and I must give my official verdict here (at the risk of being half-boiled by his fans ;)

Shoaib chucks.

No bull about hyperextensive elbow please.

Look, if cricket is all about entertainment, then In-za-Man has all the ingredients in position, providing viewers with full paisa vasool.

All right?

Now, aage vaala baith jao, peeche vaalaa taalee bajao.

Three chairs and a duck. Hip Hip Zero!!

#2 by edgeNRidge

Inzamam has only been inconsistent in the last year or so. His average of 40+ in both ODIs and tests suggests that he is in fact a very consistent and dependable batsman.

Form is temporary, class is permanent. I think Pakistan should continue to play him in every match. He just needs one big innings to regain that Master Blaster touch. It would be atrocious to drop a player of such calibre from the team especially when he is the only senior player left in this young team.

#6 by HisExcellency

`` Form is temporary, class is permanent. I think Pakistan should continue to play him in every match. ``

Spot on the team should be earned. Poor performance over a year warrants a departure from the team.

``He just needs one big innings to regain that Master Blaster touch.``

How long will that take? Do you know? Another year? Maybe two? The team`s future shouldn`t be made a hostage to blaster`s recovery.

`Master Blaster` blows. It`s time to jettison the dud.

#7 by edgeNRidge

Mark Taylor had a poor run of form from 1996 to 1997. He failed to score even a half century in more than 21 Test innings. But the selectors persevered with him until he came back into form with a swashbuckling 334* against Pakistan in Peshawar. His batting proved crucial in Australia`s first series win against Pakistan in 32 years!

Before Javed Miandad went into the 1992 World Cup, his form was pathetic. He had severe backache and often fell LBW while shuffling across the stumps. However, during the World Cup he struck form and scored the most runs in that rubber.

Inzy will definitely spring back into form as this season progresses. There is still 1 more test and 5 one-dayers against Bangladesh. And then there will be another 3 tests and 3 ODIs against South Africa next month.

#7 by edgeNRidge

I agree completely. A place in the team should be earned on merit. Australia, for one, is arguably a better team after having dropped the Waugh brothers. Having said that, it must also be pointed out that the ACB (the cricket board with the best results to show in recent years) has more often than not opted to retain out-of-form players like Mark Taylor, Shane Warne etc. with excellent results.

Also, despite everything, Inzamam is still amongst the best batsmen in the country (at the expense of further debate, he`s our highest ranked batsman in the PWC ratings at the moment). Misbah has rarely ever performed. Still, he`s in the squad and no one seems to be complaining. Taufeeq Umar has fundamental flaws in his technique. Yet that goes unnoticed. The less said about the others, the better.

If we can find another few Youhannas or Anwars, then I`m all for replacing an out of form Inzamam. The crop of new players does not however seem to be of that quality.

Coming to the point about poor performance for a year, actually, Inzamam hasn`t done that badly. If you look at his record, in the last 11 test matches, he`s scored 2 centures and two fifties at a shade over 55. One of those, mind you, was a mammoth 300+ knock. Moreover, those innings were against opposition better than Bangladesh. Compared to the rest of our top order, I think that`s not too bad.

And yes. Inzamam`s average in the current series is 39.00... not bad given he was out of the team for a long period.

Incidentally, Tendulkar averages only 18 against the same opposition.

I admit he has extraordinary test and one day averages but I can remember any of his match winning innings ? except the 92 world cup. He has never played under pressure !!

#10,

The innings that he played against Australia during the infamous Home Test Series springs to mind. When Healy missed a simple stumping, off the bowling of Warney, handing Pakistan four byes, and the match. The series in which Saleem ``thecorrupt`` Malik scored 237. I`ll allow the Aaloo fans to shred that statement to smithereens.

Cheers.

Fitaa Ji
I think you have forgotten Karachi Test against Australia where He alongwith Mushtaq Ahmed (last man at crease) survived the test match for Pakistan to maintain NOT BEING A LOSER at Natianal Stadium.. and not only they saved the match, they actually won it at the end by the grace of Allah Almighty.
And there are numerous innings to mention... Innings that he had played on Sharjah, England and of course on Australian pitches.

I admit that he is not playing well but you remember what Dave Watmore has said previous day that there team has some psycological problem... I think this problem exist in Pakistani players too and this dillemma is not in cricket but also in Hockey too (remember 4-7 defeat against India in recent Champoins trophy).

Above All
``records are like mini skirts... What they reveals does not have much value but what they hide worths most``

Fitaa Ji
I think you have forgotten Karachi Test against Australia where He alongwith Mushtaq Ahmed (last man at crease) survived the test match for Pakistan to maintain NOT BEING A LOSER at Natianal Stadium.. and not only they saved the match, they actually won it at the end by the grace of Allah Almighty.
And there are numerous innings to mention... Innings that he had played on Sharjah, England and of course on Australian pitches.

I admit that he is not playing well but you remember what Dave Watmore has said previous day that there team has some psycological problem... I think this problem exist in Pakistani players too and this dillemma is not in cricket but also in Hockey too (remember 4-7 defeat against India in recent Champoins trophy).

Above All
``records are like mini skirts... What they reveals does not have much value but what they hide worths most``

Aaah ! Finally someone who agrees with me. Or i think does agree with me. Inzi for all his merits really does throw the balance of the team off in the batting department with his inability to run. Youhanna is bad at running between the wickets too, but Inzi is a disaster and just hitting boundaries is not really what it is all about. Two non-runners are much too many for one team. Anwar when he was there was rather lame too.

As for Inzi, there used to be a time when he was great in slips; now that is not the case too. He might have class still, but if it does not really help out the team then i do not really see the point. Mark Taylor btw was carried because he was a great captain and he soon enough clued in to the fact that he had to make way and left himself.

I also agree with dali re: the mental weakness of the team. There really is no real will to win among the seniors (at least most of them). It be there only among the Juniors as they are invariably too young to be jaded or politicised.

Just my 2 cents.

i think inzi is still better then many other players commanly found in our side and also throughout the world. One duck cannot decide a fate of the player. some time ago we all thought that Brian Lara is gone for all money but now he ranks no 1 in test rating. So what does it say? Inzi`s recent form is not as bad scoring 35 and 43. So he just need time in the middle. But i think people like u just know to critisize a person who is highly respected in cricketing community all around the world.

...after the world cup debacle, i`ve been too heartbroken to watch any cricket...as for inzi, he needs to wake the hell up when he`s at the crease...the last time i can really remember him performing was the series in sri lanka a couple of years back...