Misbah-ul-Haq: admirable sportsman on April 7, 2017It is good to learn that Misbah-ul-Haq has finally begun ruminating over his retirement plans. Hardly a bolt from the blue. Cricketers in the Subcontinent seem to hate the word ‘retirement’, and continue to test their ageing loins until the bones go completely off the boil. We are teemed with such examples: Javed Miandad is […]
Dipping My Pen in the Gall on March 31, 2017 I have once again thrust myself into the dirty end of the stick. Commenting on our economy can be a little nerve straining. I say this for two reasons; Pakistan’s macro and socioeconomic prospects have always been off colour, while the house of Sharifs seems ever ready to spread canards about how a terribly […]
The Volkswagen of cricket on March 26, 2017From clogs to clogs in three generations is how I would synopsize Pakistan’s cricket. The blots on the landscape are aplenty, but one that draws me into writing today is particularly telling. Pakistan has lacked a mechanically flawless, the chin-up type opening batsman since Saeed Anwar retreated into retirement well over a decade ago. If, […]
Are we out of the woods yet? on March 23, 2017There is plenty of compulsive chatter about how the fate changing China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) promises to be. That the mills will yarn once again, the cattle will be fragrant with fresh milk and the poor shall have their fortunes revived permanently. However, hold your horses, we are not out of the woods yet. Sharifs’ […]
Where has the pace gone? on March 17, 2017‘Mind your toes, jam the head, crack his nose and ram the jaw,’ are just few of the anecdotes tied to genuine pace bowling. To some, fast bowling is all about accuracy and generating sharp angles. To others, it’s a test of patience. To still others it’s a violent pursuit, an agreeable tool of intimidation, […]