Daily Times

Lifting of the ICC Champions Trophy in England after a sensational victory in the final against India, Pakistan Super League spot-fixing sandal, the PSL final in Lahore, visits by World XI and Sri Lanka to Lahore, retirements of Misbahul Haq and Younus Khan and appointment of Najam Sethi as Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Chairman dominated Pakistan cricket in the year 2017. Perhaps the biggest delight and surprise for Pakistan cricket was what happened in the United Kingdom in June. Unpredictable Pakistan concluded their Mini World Cup campaign in a magnificent style at the Oval, which they had begun very poorly at Edgbaston. After suffering a humiliating defeat in their opener, many had written Pakistan off. Just when even their most loyal supporters were beginning to lose faith, Pakistan bounced back with commitment, belief and desire. Their performance and wins against South Africa, Sri Lanka and England were unbelievable.

Underdogs Pakistan stunned all and sundry by making the Champions Trophy final for the very first time. Under captaincy of Sarfraz Ahmad, Pakistan not only defied logic but also broke the Indian hoodoo in the International Cricket Council events after a long time. Pakistan thrashed India by 180 runs to lift the coveted 2017 trophy at London’s Kennington Oval. Pakistan amassed a daunting 339-run target for the Men in Blue, whose batting line-up suffered an uncharacteristic collapse, thanks to a calculated bowling attack, with the Indian unit mustering up just 158 runs and losing all their wickets by the 31st over. The score was Pakistan’s second-highest against India. This was Pakistan’s first ICC title since winning the 2009 World Twenty20 in similarly incomprehensible manner, and first in the 50-over format since Imran Khan lifted the World Cup on a starry Melbourne night 25 years ago. The title had come after more than eight years of defeat to India at ICC events, dating back to the 2009 edition of this tournament.

The much-anticipated bilateral series between the two South Asian rivals – Pakistan and India – remained a distant dream. The PCB tried its best, even threatened many a time to initiate legal proceedings, throughout the year to convince India for a series but it hit a dead end. While the PCB played the waiting game, the Indian cricket board throughout maintained that the decision to play rested with the government. Due to adamant behaviour of the BCCI, the PCB officially sent a notice of dispute to the ICC. In short, that triggered the start of a process whereby an independent ICC committee would sit on Pakistan’s claims that the BCCI had failed to fulfill a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2014 to play bilateral series. The PCB claimed losses of up to $70 million from the failure of the BCCI to play two series in November 2014 and December 2015.

One of the greatest Test partnerships ended with the retirements of Misbah and Younus, who carried Pakistan through their darkest years. Younus was one of the finest players Pakistan have had, the first to score 10,000 Test runs, the first to score more than 30 Test centuries, his batting characterised by his bloody minded determination to be “the last man standing”. Misbah won more Tests than any other Pakistan captain, who never lost a home series, who became the only captain in history whose team whitewashed England and Australia and who took his team to number one ICC Test Rankings. If it had not been for Younus, Misbah would not have become captain. And if it had not been for Misbah, Younus would not have become Pakistan’s greatest batsman. They started late, because Misbah became a regular member of the team only in 2009 when he was 34 but still scored more runs together than any other pair of Pakistan batsmen. For all their records, their achievements are not of the kind best expressed in numbers or on lists. Between them they carried Pakistan through the hardest, darkest years and in doing so they did not just serve their country but the sport and all of us who love it. The exits of Younus and Misbah cost the Pakistan team more than 190 matches worth of experience.

Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi also announced his retirement from international cricket, ending an illustrious 21-year career. The 36-year-old star had already quit Tests in 2010 and ODI cricket after the 2015 World Cup but still skippered the Pakistan Twenty20 team at the 2016 world championships in India. He stepped down as captain after the tournament although he retained slender hopes of continuing his career in the sport’s shortest format as a player. Nicknamed ‘Boom Boom’, Afridi had been a fan favourite since he burst onto the scene in 1996, striking a 37-ball one-day century against Sri Lanka in only his second match to set a world record that was unbeaten for 18 years. He became known as a leg-spin bowling all-rounder in the second half of his career and was instrumental in Pakistan’s early successes in Twenty20, including their 2009 victory. His blistering breakthrough century in Nairobi in 1996 was only surpassed by New Zealand’s Corey Anderson’s 36-ball hundred against West Indies at Queenstown in 2014. South African AB de Villiers then bettered the record further with a 31-ball century, also against the West Indies, at Johannesburg in 2015. Afridi finished his international career having played just 27 Test matches which yielded 1,176 runs with a highest score of 156 and 48 wickets. He played 398 one-day internationals with 8,064 runs, a highest score of 124 while taking 395 wickets with his leg spin. His Twenty20 international CV saw him play 98 matches with 1,405 runs and a career-leading 97 wickets.

The much-anticipated bilateral series between the two South Asian rivals – Pakistan and
India – remained a distant dream. The PCB tried its best, even threatened many a time to initiate legal proceedings, throughout the year to convince India for a series but it hit a dead end. While the PCB played the waiting game, the Indian cricket board throughout maintained that the decision to play rested with the government. Due to adamant behaviour of the BCCI, the PCB officially sent a notice of dispute to the ICC

Things changed for Pakistan cricket in March this year when the PCB hosted the final of the PSL II featuring high-profile international players. The PSL final in Lahore proved pivotal in changing the global cricket community’s opinion of Pakistan’s ability to host international matches and garnered support from cricket’s governing body, the International Cricket Council. The highly successful completion of the World XI tour in September was, no doubt, a big leap towards revival of international cricket in the country, which had suffered a dearth of opportunities on home ground since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, save a limited-over series against Zimbabwe in 2015.

Even before the 2009 attack, tours to the country had become infrequent with many teams refusing to visit due to security concerns. It was regrettable that political instability and possible security threats had kept cricket suspended for a long period. It was a long and tough journey as the PCB, Pakistan players and fans had been starved of the opportunity to stage, play and watch international cricket in their own country.

For the first time in eight years Pakistan hosted an international series of high eminence which in itself was a notable feat. For Pakistani fans, the significance of the World XI series extended beyond the realms of winning or losing. It was a historic coming together of the global cricket community in support of a nation that has contributed mountains to the game. The visiting team came with an exciting variety of Twenty20 specialists. Led by Faf du Plessis, the team were loaded with star names like Hashim Amla, George Bailey, Darren Sammy, Imran Tahir, Tamim Iqbal, Paul Collingwood, Ben Cutting, Grant Elliott, Samuel Badree, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Thisara Perera and Tim Paine. The staging of this three-match Twenty20 International series had also helped in building confidence of other Test playing nations and this resulted Sri Lanka playing a T20I in Lahore.

Star players banned for PSL spot-fixing

In August-September, star players Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif were banned from all forms of cricket for five years for their role in the spot-fixing scandal that marred the PSL in February. Khalid was also fined one million Pakistan Rupees. Sharjeel and Khalid, playing for Islamabad United, were charged with five major breaches of the PCB’s anti-corruption code and were found guilty on all five counts by a three-man tribunal. Sharjeel’s two-and-a-half years out of the five-year sentence was suspended, meaning the opener, 28, cannot plot a return to cricket before the second half of 2019 at the earliest. Sharjeel’s ban took effect from when he was first suspended, on February 10, 2017. Unlike Sharjeel, none of Khalid’s sentence was suspended, meaning the 31-year old cannot return to cricket till at least 2022. It was the harshest punishment meted out so far to a player involved in the PSL spot-fixing saga. Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Nawaz were also banned for the relatively lesser indiscretions of failure to report corrupt approaches. Both had since returned to cricket.

The decision of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to send their team to Lahore, the same venue where the terrorists attacked their team in 2009, to play the third and final Twenty20 International of a three-match series in October, no doubt, was brave, historic and inspiring. Only Sri Lanka had the guts to agree to visit Lahore once again after what they had faced eight years ago. Had it been any other major cricket playing nation, it would have been impossible for the PCB to convince them to visit Pakistan. With the highly successful hosting of three international events in 2017 in Lahore, Pakistan cricket made a substantial stride.

Year 2017 begins with humiliation Down Under

Pakistan toured Australia in December-January to play three Test matches and five ODIs. The first Test at The Gabba in Brisbane was a day-night match played with a pink ball. This was Pakistan’s 17th tour of Australia, with their previous tour occurring in 2009-10. Australia won the Test series 3-0: first Test by 39 runs, second by an innings and 18 runs and third by 220 runs. Australia’s victory in the third Test was their 12th consecutive win against Pakistan in Tests in Australia. Australia also won the ODI series 4-1. Pakistan won the second ODI by six wickets.

Test, ODI and T20I series victories in Caribbean

In March-April, Pakistan toured West Indies. The tour consisted of a series of three Test matches, three ODIs and four Twenty20 internationals. Pakistan won the Test series 2-1 to clinch their first series victory in the West Indies and give a fitting farewell to the retiring captain Misbah and veteran Younus. It was Pakistan’s eighth Test series in the Caribbean and marked the end of skipper Misbah and record run-scorer Younus’ Test careers. Pakistan also won the ODI series 2-1 and T20I series 3-1.

PCB calls off Bangladesh tour

Pakistan refused to tour Bangladesh in July-August as per schedule; the PCB said the series had been postponed indefinitely by mutual consent. Pakistan were to play two Tests, three ODIs and a T20I series in Bangladesh. “We had spoken about the possibility of hosting them Bangladesh in Pakistan this year,” PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan said. “Pakistan have now toured Bangladesh twice without them reciprocating, and we feel we cannot tour Bangladesh for the third straight time. Therefore, we have decided to postpone the tour, and will explore another window in the next year or so.” Bangladesh last toured Pakistan in 2007-08, for a five-ODI series. Since then, Pakistan had toured Bangladesh twice, in 2011-12 and 2015. The PCB had invited Bangladesh for a two-match T20I series in 2017, only for the BCB to rebuff the invitation. On Pakistan’s last visit to Bangladesh in 2015, the PCB had reportedly taken $325,000 and justified it by saying the series had “technically” been Pakistan’s home series. In 2017, the BCB rejected all such proposals to share revenue, though it was open to playing at a neutral venue if necessary.

Sethi becomes 30th PCB chief

The PCB elected Sethi as its 30th chairman in August. Sethi replaced Shaharyar for the position. Sethi had also previously served as PCB chairman intermittently in 2013 and 2014 when former chairman Zaka Ashraf and the government were involved in a litigation regarding the position. He was then selected to serve as PCB’s executive committee chief while Shaharyar was elected as the chairman in August 2014.

Pakistan lose Test series against Sri Lanka in UAE

Pakistan lost two-match Test series to Sri Lanka in UAE in October. This was Pakistan’s first series defeat at their adopted home of United Arab Emirates in seven years. They had won five of the previous nine, with four drawn. This was also Pakistan’s first home defeat since losing to South Africa 1-0 in 2007, a series held on their grounds, and only the second whitewash in their history. They previously suffered a 3-0 defeat against Australia, a series also played at neutral venues in Colombo and UAE in 2002.

For the first time in eight years Pakistan hosted an international series of high eminence which in itself was a notable feat. For Pakistani fans, the significance of the World XI series extended beyond the realms of winning or losing. It was a historic coming together of the global cricket community in support of a nation that has contributed mountains to the game

Spin wizard Ajmal calls time on his international career

With tears in his eyes, a slight tremble in his voice but with nothing to regret, Saeed Ajmal officially brought the curtains down on his international and domestic career in last week of November, after his team Faisalabad crashed out of the National Twenty20 Cup following their semi-final loss to Lahore Whites in Rawalpindi. The farewell was not too extravagant: he walked off the field after the match, waving to a nearly empty Rawalpindi Stadium. However, players from both Lahore Whites and Faisalabad gave him a final guard of honour as he left the ground. The PCB, too, arranged for a press conference, which had “Thank you Saeed Ajmal” across its backdrop. Ajmal’s retirement from all forms of cricket brought down the curtain on a career that saw the highest of highs before ending in relative doldrums due to problems with his bowling actions.

Ajmal will go down as one of Pakistan cricket’s most intriguing characters. A beguiling off-spinner who seemed to be at or near the top of the rankings for much of the relatively short time he played international cricket, his variations flummoxed batsmen of all calibres across the cricketing landscape. Ajmal, while formally announcing his retirement, complained that the PCB had not fought his case well enough with the International Cricket Council after he was suspended for having a questionable bowling action. Unlike most others, Ajmal was a notable late bloomer, starting his career in 1991 but making his Pakistan debut at the ripe old age of 31 against India – a career route he had never even envisaged himself. The highest point of Ajmal’s career came in 2011 when he became the number one ODI bowler in ICC rankings. In 35 Tests played for Pakistan, Ajmal claimed 178 wickets at an average of 28.10, with ten 5-fors in innings and four 10-wickets hauls. Ajmal was equally effective in the shorter format and took 184 wickets in 113 ODIs and 85 wickets in 63 T20Is for the country. Having been banned in 2014 from bowling in international cricket, Ajmal tried mounting several comebacks but said the PCB’s lukewarm interest in him left him with no option but to end his playing career and embark on a new journey.

(The writer is Editor Sports at Daily Times)

Published in Daily Times, January 1^st 2018.