Curious case of Mohammad Yousuf return
Mohammad Yousuf: It is not easy to take it on the face!
Got you!! I was just kidding it not curious at all. It was a very simple and straightforward thing which was only made complicated due to management nonsense and team politics and it is Pakistan which can only produce such things.
There has been lot of heated debate around Yousuf’s inclusion to Pakistan team which turned little bit sweat yesterday after his assured fifty on comeback and its effect on Pakistan batting line up.
There are always two parts of that debate out of which one is astonishing and cricketing and other is equally disgraceful. But we should keep them separate and treat the debate as well as the Man Muhammad Yousuf accordingly to avoid any bullshit going around.
Here is my take on them:
- Yousuf batting class, skill, status and his importance for Pakistan current batting line up.
- No body will in his right mind disagree with this that he is a class and will ever be till his actual retirement, and team absolutely needs him to be around.
- Results are already abvios not only statistically but also logically and there has been a lot said about it already,
- Yousuf as a character in dressing room or around the team, there is too much mess which is around almost every Pakistan senior player who had played some matches for Pakistan in last two years. There is a very thin line between lies , blames, realities and bullshit and we can’t trust any of them so I think it useless to discuss it until some one in real sense of the word inquire it and brings out the real facts, which is very less likely to happen.
- Currently, It all depends on how current management, including clowns like Yawar Saeed and Ijaz Butt plus more importantly team, captain Butt and coach accepts him between them.
- As far as Yousuf is concerned I think he clearly know he doesn’t have a chance of another captaincy stint so he will not bother with it until a captain will deliberately tried to boot him from team as it happened couple of time in Younis era due to his pathetic rotation policy.
- There has been some positive signs as Salman Butt finally accepted Yousuf in team after initial reluctance and Waqar and co didn’t make much fuss about the consultancy issue with PCB of sending Yousuf or not
- Yousuf was looking at ease with most of the team and specially captain as I have seen him discussing plan in the ground between overs and guiding youngsters during batting, but these are all only signs you can never know whats going on beneath it.
Younis Khan - Mohammad Yousuf, Pakistan need forces combined!!
Now Yousuf need to realize his role, which is to steer Pakistan batting and guide those wobbling young batsmen around him so that when he will left there must be at least two or more ready products instead of hit and trial for Pakistan test team. Environment and base is all set up it is just that they need to persist with that and keep the politics away as much as possible.
As cricket fan, readers, writers and intruders we should decide which part of this debate we are going to discuss and what is in it? We should keep a line between above two and respect Yousuf accordingly, if you have problem with him in team politics keep it to that don’t disgrace him or in fact yourself, trying to deny his status and class in Pakistan batting line not only current but All Time. Be warned!!
A perfect platform is set for a cracking series decider at Lords. There are two or three more days between the start of fourth test and now and as a cricket fan and a Pakistani fan as well I hope no more drama folds out of the team otherwise I don’t see any possible change in 3rd test team for Pakistan. Let cricket win at the end!!
younus kaka v ayeee ga
It’s a no brainer for me. Even the non-partisan commentators were relieved to see Yousuf back. Crazy decision to ban him.
Yawar Saeed and Ijaz Butt are he heart of the problem. Both of them take sides so create divisions.
I think your second from last paragraph would be good advice for the writers on cricinfo who showed no class in regards to Yousuf. They had to eat a lot of humble pie over the last few days I bet.
Have always said that Yousaf is a class act as a batsman and even with his poor fielding deserve to play almost in all formats. But as a person he is a despicable character, very greedy show him the money and he will be ready to do anything, created a lot of problems in the dressing room, never accepted the fact that he was bypassed and not considered as captaincy material by PCB. Also kept a grudge for getting sidelined for the T20′s.
There is a lot which goes behind the scenes just to blame every thing on Ijaz Butt and Yawar Saeed is not correct these players are no saints when Yousaf left for ICL twice Ijaz Butt was not around at that time.
Don’t like Ijaz Butt at all and by no means trying to defend him he has done too many things wrong, but think the way these players were fighting and pulling each others legs was there any other way to discipline them, both Yousaf and Younis still have not accepted their faults and you never no in the coming matches how Yousaf performs only time will tell.
We have short term memory, and always forget that there are always two sides of a picture. I think we should give margin to the decision makers especially when we don’t know all the facts.
My prediction is that if not this series may be next Yousaf will start creating trouble for Salman and Afridi. Chor chori se jaye hera pheri se na jaye.
.-= Wasim´s last blog ..Afridi and Ejaz Butt again ignore Younis Khan =-.
@Stani, well again the same thing. What I am trying to say there are writers/people who were trying to prove that Yousuf is no good for the team purely as a batsman which is ridiculous.
Yousuf double standard or his politics is another thing and obviously not good. And it is yet to be seen if he cause any further problems or not.
Ban was no good only bcoz they just look like dummy thing, if these guys are guilty give them some proper sensible punishments and persist with it don’t make a joke of it dear PCB.
@wasim, we have made a system of seniority all over the fields of life. senior gets even if he is not capable of and every senior consider it his birth right. they are not willing to accept it that they don’t deserve a job which they are not capable of. This is also a side effect of PARCHI and SIFARISH system.
Similarly every senior cricketer in Pakistan team considers captaincy his right and PCB policies and knee jerk reactions of changing captains after every series has given each them a hope and now they are competing with each other. Once a player know one or two series bad result will create a possibility of captaincy change and another opportunity he will be inclined to play his cards.
Only vision and solid policies can bring a change to this behavior. England is good looking team now only bcoz of their consistent policies and selection in last couple of years. It takes time but it brings benefit which can last long.
Absolutely agree with you Muddassar, one bad series and they start calling for the head of the captain, senior players have their lobbies and they take full advantage of the situation when PCB is under pressure. We will have to learn to lower our expectations.
PCB will have to formulate a system where they have to set certain performance targets for every player and also they will have to formulate a proper system to prepare youngsters and then a smooth system of induction into the national team, you can’t just throw in youngsters into test team at key positions on difficult tours it will destroy their careers. I feel sorry for Umar Amin.
We might never know what his real potential was.
.-= Wasim´s last blog ..Afridi and Ejaz Butt again ignore Younis Khan =-.
@wasim, formulating a system sounds like a joke with current PCB admins
Yeah I second you, Umar Amin looks like a batsman who can develop his game his drives were very good and pleasing to watch even they were very few. I hope he will get at least one series in some better conditions and with some good batting line up lower down the order rather than 3 or 4.