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[OldPal]

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/story/309867.html


Pakistan's preparations for the Twenty20 World Cup have been rocked by an "incident" between Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif in Johannesburg which has led to the latter injuring his leg.

According to sources, the two were involved in a dressing room spat which resulted in Asif being struck by a bat on his left thigh. The injury is not thought to be anything more serious than a bruise but a team investigation into the matter is now pending and an announcement is expected tomorrow.

Ahsan Malik, the board spokesman currently traveling with the team, confirmed to Cricinfo that an incident had taken place though refused to expand on the details. "There was an incident between Shoaib and Asif in the dressing room soon after practice today. I cannot give any details on the matter. Asif has a bruise on his left thigh but he has had X-rays and has been cleared. He is fine as far as I am aware.

"The team management is carrying out an investigation into the matter and the results are expected tomorrow. We cannot say anything right now about sending players back or replacements," Malik added.

Whatever the actual detail of the matter, it is likely to have serious repercussions for Shoaib, who is already on probation for a disciplinary breach last month. He was fined for leaving a training camp in Karachi without seeking permission last month, but after two hearings the penalty was suspended and the bowler placed on a six-week probationary period.

More significant than the immediate future of the two players, however, are the effect this is likely to have on Pakistan's preparations. The side had arrived in Johannesburg earlier today after an impressive performance in a four-nation warm-up tournament in Nairobi, Kenya. They arrived with some confidence, their optimism about prospects in the tournament based on some part on the strength of a formidable first-choice pace attack. If all had gone to plan, this would have been the first time Shoaib, Asif and Umar Gul played in the same line-up in any international.

Instead, the development now bears an eerie resemblance to the doping scandal which saw Shoaib and Asif return to Pakistan on the eve of their opening ICC Champions Trophy match last year. It also continues a catastrophic spiral into chaos that began with the fiasco at the Oval Test last year and has continued unabated since, taking in captaincy and administrative changes, the doping scandal, an early World Cup exit and Bob Woolmer's death at the same event.

Pakistan play their first match of the tournament on September 12 against Scotland

[Libran]

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/story/309867.html


Pakistan's preparations for the Twenty20 World Cup have been rocked by an "incident" between Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif in Johannesburg which has led to the latter injuring his leg.

According to sources, the two were involved in a dressing room spat which resulted in Asif being struck by a bat on his left thigh. The injury is not thought to be anything more serious than a bruise but a team investigation into the matter is now pending and an announcement is expected tomorrow.

Ahsan Malik, the board spokesman currently traveling with the team, confirmed to Cricinfo that an incident had taken place though refused to expand on the details. "There was an incident between Shoaib and Asif in the dressing room soon after practice today. I cannot give any details on the matter. Asif has a bruise on his left thigh but he has had X-rays and has been cleared. He is fine as far as I am aware.

"The team management is carrying out an investigation into the matter and the results are expected tomorrow. We cannot say anything right now about sending players back or replacements," Malik added.

Whatever the actual detail of the matter, it is likely to have serious repercussions for Shoaib, who is already on probation for a disciplinary breach last month. He was fined for leaving a training camp in Karachi without seeking permission last month, but after two hearings the penalty was suspended and the bowler placed on a six-week probationary period.

More significant than the immediate future of the two players, however, are the effect this is likely to have on Pakistan's preparations. The side had arrived in Johannesburg earlier today after an impressive performance in a four-nation warm-up tournament in Nairobi, Kenya. They arrived with some confidence, their optimism about prospects in the tournament based on some part on the strength of a formidable first-choice pace attack. If all had gone to plan, this would have been the first time Shoaib, Asif and Umar Gul played in the same line-up in any international.

Instead, the development now bears an eerie resemblance to the doping scandal which saw Shoaib and Asif return to Pakistan on the eve of their opening ICC Champions Trophy match last year. It also continues a catastrophic spiral into chaos that began with the fiasco at the Oval Test last year and has continued unabated since, taking in captaincy and administrative changes, the doping scandal, an early World Cup exit and Bob Woolmer's death at the same event.

Pakistan play their first match of the tournament on September 12 against Scotland

Yatha Raja Thatha Praja...

Pakistan is a rogue state and it is being reflected in every walk of life for them...
Only ZEE TV and the Bollywood coterie keep harping on Indo-Pak friendship blah..blah...blah...

A Country that cannot tolerate the growth of its neighbour and spends all its time plotting our destruction will destroy itself

[Libran]

New Delhi: Shoaib Akhtar will be sent back from the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa after he was involved in a dressing room spat with Mohammad Asif.


"A decision has been taken to call back Shoaib on the basis of an initial inquiry by the touring team management in South Africa," Shafqat Nagmi, Chief Executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said on Friday.


According to reports, Shoaib and Asif were involved in a dressing-room brawl in which the latter was struck by a bat on his left thigh on Thursday, after a verbal duel. According to some reports Asif was hit on his left thigh.


A team source said a heated argument between the two led to Shoaib striking Asif on the thigh with a bat.


Meanwhile, Ehsan Malik, media manager of the Pakistan team, said Asif had escaped any serious injury and his x-ray reports showed no internal damage.


Malik also added that the team management held several meetings since last night to investigate the incident.


The Pakistani team arrived in South Africa on Thursday to begin preparations for their first match of the tournament against Scotland.


Shoaib is already on probation for a disciplinary breach last month.


Bad boy of Pakistan cricket is at it again. What do you feel?


Shoaib has been in trouble in the past on several occasions and is already on probation for a disciplinary breach last month when he left the training camp in Karachi without informing the management.


The brawl at Johannesburg isn't the first time Shoaib has found himself in trouble.


In fact over a rocky career Shoaib has been in trouble on more than a few occasions. He got into a verbal spat with his then skipper Waqar Younis after Pakistan performed badly at the 2003 World Cup.



Later in the year he was caught tampering with the ball in Sri Lanka that led to a ban and he wasn't done yet. A one Test and two One-Day International ban followed for abusing South African spinner Paul Adams


After that he was accused of faking injury in the 2004 home series against India and was sent home from the 2005 tour of Australia again for indiscipline and lack of commitment and was also fined.


A year later came the biggest controversy of his career when he and Asif were banned for doping.


The Pakistan Cricket Board banned him for two years but it was subsequently withdrawn after a series of enquiries. The liason officer of the Pakistan team Colonel Anil Kaul also accused him of slapping ex-coach Bob Woolmer on the team bus in Chandigarh.


The latest of course came when a fine of Rs 3 lakh was imposed on Shoaib for indiscipline at the national camp. However, the fine was withdrawn because some sources suggested he threatened to join the Indian Crciekt League.


After the latest brawl involving Shoaib there has been calls for taking the strictest possible action against him.


"It seems Shoaib Akhtar can't keep himself away from trouble. It is getting sadder and sorry by the day for Pakistan and for Shoaib in particular. He is 32 now and spat after spat, controversy after controversy follow him," Osman Samiuddin, Editor of Cricinfo Pakistan, said.


"He has been in international cricket for nearly 10 years and played under many different captains. So many boards and players have tried to deal with him and failed time and again. Everyone now knows that the problem lies with him and only he can do anything about it. No players no board can do anything for him. If he wants to come back and play cricket he must reform himself. He can't come back on his own terms," Samiuddin said.


Samiuddin also added that both Shoaib and Asif held different views on what a pace bowler should do and that might have led to the brawl.



"Asif is a very confident young man and is confident about his bowling. He knows a lot about bowling and he looks down upon people who just try to bowl fast. He thinks pace bowling is not about pace only. You need to do certain things. Just bowling means nothing to him. So maybe you can draw your own conclusions about how he might view Shoaib. They have played domestic cricket together with Shoaib as captain and Asif was a little intimidated as he was playing with him," Samiuddin added.


Former Pakistan skipper Waqar Younis said that the time has come to show Shoaib that his shenagians cannot be tolerated anymore.


"It is very sad to hear what has happened because cricket doesn't really need people like him. It is a Gentleman's Game and if you do something like this and ruin the entire discipline and atmosphere of the dressing room then you don't deserve to be in the team. The Board should take a bigger action than what they did the last time.. Discipline is more important than anything else in the team and if somebody is ruining it then they deserve to go back and must not be in the team. Cricket board has been very lenient with him in the past and it will be very bad if Shoaib Akhtar stays or any disciplinary action is not taken. You can't have somebody who is a match winner walk all over the team. You cannot afford that. You can afford losing but not somebody like him in the team ruining the reputation of the entire country," Waqar, under whose captaincy Shoaib played, said


Samiuddin seconded Waqar's views.


"In a word yes," Samiuddin said when asked if he agreed with Waqar.

http://www.cricketnext.com/news/shoaib-gets-the-boot-after-brawl-with-asif/26769-13-single.html

[Libran]

September 7, 2007

Posted by Kamran Abbasi at 7:23 AM in Twenty20 World Cup 2007
Asif's thigh, Shoaib's end?
 
 
Shoaib Akhtar hit Mohammad Asif in the thigh but he shot himself in the foot. There can be no excuse for striking anybody let alone with a cricket bat. That you would attack a colleague under the glare of the international media is an extreme misjudgment, the behaviour of an individual who is incapable of self-control, unwilling to accept the bounds of common decency, and delusional about his own importance.

One reason why Shoaib continues to transgress, of course, is that he keeps getting away with it. He has rescued his career repeatedly. Hyperextension, unprofessional behaviour, dismal fitness, and performance enhancing drugs have failed to halt him. Whenever he returns it is with a surprising arrogance, blind to any of his weaknesses and the blame placed on others.

Shoaib has always mustered support. His extreme speed and attacking approach is an exhilarating spectacle. Like many others I have believed his madness could be harnessed into a valuable role for Pakistan cricket. But perhaps I and many others must now accept that we got it wrong. Shoaib has become uncontrollable and there is no success in sport without discipline, not even for wild men.

Shoaib will grovel, apologise, make some feeble excuses for his behaviour--and there may have been some diabolical provocation--but nothing predicts behaviour like behaviour, and when it comes to Shoaib we all must have run out of patience at the ongoing damage to Pakistan cricket.

http://blogs.cricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2007/09/asifs_thigh_shoaibs_end.php

[gouravk]

and pakistan will still go for this guy

[arjun]

So will ICL now, I guess.

[OldPal]

ICL should not rope in Shoaib.. There have been more then few instances that have confirmed he is a trouble maker..

[arjun]

But that's what ICL would be looking for! Anything for the league to get into the headlines!

[keep-it-cool]

ICL is gradually becoming a place for all disgruntled elements.

I am not selected for 20-20? ok, let me join the ICL.

I was not picked for the ODIs .. ok, let me join the ICL.

You plan to punish me? ok, I'll join the ICL.

[OldPal]

But that's what ICL would be looking for! Anything for the league to get into the headlines!

It has been forced to do that as the boards won't allow players.
It does need few big names to attract people in the begning.
Once afew new kids make their name ... may be then it can stand on its own feet.

I am surprised BCCI once so whemently opposed to the 20-20 .. is acting at war path now ..
It takes an ICL to wake these guys.

[Blwe_torch]

ICL is gradually becoming a place for all disgruntled elements.

I am not selected for 20-20? ok, let me join the ICL.

I was not picked for the ODIs .. ok, let me join the ICL.

You plan to punish me? ok, I'll join the ICL.

Atleast ICL will have interesting people to be with.......not the likes of Sharad Pawar, Niranjan Shah, and the other one( I am forgeting his name)...known more for the Nagpur-green wicket infame...Murali Manohar?...whatever ............not to forget the boozing RSD.

[dextrous]

Shamed Shoaib pleads for leniency 
 
Shoaib Akhtar has begged for leniency after the Pakistan Cricket Board threw him out of the national squad for hitting a team-mate with a bat.

The paceman, who struck Mohammad Asif during practice on Thursday ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa, fears a life ban from the PCB.

He said: "I am sorry and it should not have happened. I ask the authorities not to ban me for a lengthy period."

Pakistan have replaced Shoaib with 22-year-old all-rounder Sohail Tanvir.

Shoaib, speaking to reporters on Saturday after arriving at Lahore airport from South Africa, said the incident in the nets in Johannesburg had begun when the all-rounder Shahid Afridi had insulted his family.

He said: "I got agitated when Afridi used bad words about my family, and Asif was accidentally struck on the thigh.

"I can't tolerate it if someone uses bad words about my family, even if it's in a lighter vein."

Asif suffered a bruised thigh but will be fit in time for Pakistan's first game, against Scotland, on 12 September.

"Please don't portray me as a villain. I am not a villain," said Shoaib.

He insisted he would not now join the rebel Indian Cricket League, despite having previously rejected a high-figure offer.

A PCB official said Shoaib was suspended indefinitely until a disciplinary meeting.

The paceman will also have to explain his comments against a PCB doping tribunal.

Shoaib last week criticised the tribunal that banned him for two years and Asif for one after they tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone in October last year.

 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/6985230.stm

[kban1]

It should have stayed in the dressing room - Shoaib

--Shoaib blames Afridi, Afridi denies

Cricinfo staff

September 8, 2007

Shoaib Akhtar has blamed Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi for the spat that led to him hitting fast bowler Mohammad Asif with a bat during Pakistan's build-up to the ICC World Twenty20 in South Africa. On his return home today after being thrown out of the squad, Shoaib apologised for his actions and said the matter should have stayed in the dressing room.

Shoaib, who has been handed an indefinite ban for the scuffle two days ago, said he didn't mean to hit Asif, whom he described as a younger brother. "I apologised to Asif and he forgave me but another team-mate, Afridi, took the matter further and it forced the management to send me back," Akhtar said.

"The incident began with a verbal spat between me and Afridi, who used foul language," Akhtar said, "and Asif intervened and in anger I hit Asif with a bat."

"Afridi said things about my family which I could not tolerate. He made comments that cannot be called jokes. I am sorry for what happened and it should not have happened. I request the authorities not to ban me for a lengthy period. I want to play for my country and talk of a life ban or lengthy ban is worrying."

Afridi, however, denied that he had provoked Shoaib and was surprised at the accusations.


"I can't say much because I am bound by the central contract," Afridi told PTI. "But it is fact that Shoaib has been facing one problem or the other in the last two years and he is frustrated. I have had a good relationship with him so I don't know why he has targeted me. But he is lying and it would be better if everyone asked Asif what happened. I know Asif could have suffered more injuries if I had not stepped in."

Akhtar also criticised the media for blowing the incident out of proportion and making him a "villain". "The matter got blown up. The media has contributed to the whole controversy. There is a lobby which has always been trying to malign me by selling negative news about me. I request you all to stop doing that. Stop spreading false propa*a against me, stop selling my name in the name of news."

The main theme, though, was contrition. "If Pakistan lose [in the ICC World Twenty20] because of bowling, I will never be able to forgive myself." Shoaib also reiterated his commitment for the Pakistan team and said, "I have played with passion for Pakistan. It means something to me. I have turned down a lucrative contract with the ICL [Indian Cricket League]."

However, Pakistan board official Shafqat Naghmi said Akhtar would face a disciplinary committee hearing very soon. "Akhtar is suspended indefinitely until a disciplinary committee meeting. He is also issued a notice to explain his comments against a doping tribunal."

Pakistan's president, General Pervez Musharraf, who is also the PCB's patron-in-chief, reportedly directed the board to take strict action against Akhtar. "President Musharraf directed PCB chairman Nasim Ashraf to take strict action against Akhtar as the quarrel between him and Asif gave a bad name to Pakistan," private channel Geo reported.

Pakistan have asked the ICC to approve the uncapped allrounder Sohail Tanveer as the replacement for Akhtar. Their first game of the ICC World Twenty20 is against Scotland on Wednesday.

© Cricinfo

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/ci/content/current/story/310040.html

[dextrous]

ICL is gradually becoming a place for all disgruntled elements.

I am not selected for 20-20? ok, let me join the ICL.

I was not picked for the ODIs .. ok, let me join the ICL.

You plan to punish me? ok, I'll join the ICL.

cricketers  are angry at their boards...join ICL...so what?

[keep-it-cool]

ICL is gradually becoming a place for all disgruntled elements.

I am not selected for 20-20? ok, let me join the ICL.

I was not picked for the ODIs .. ok, let me join the ICL.

You plan to punish me? ok, I'll join the ICL.

cricketers  are angry at their boards...join ICL...so what?

So, ICL gets all the riff-raff .. anyone who is out of form and hence not picked .. feel free, just ring up the ICL and get set for the next 3 years.

Is this the way to get a quality league going?

I know it is difficult, but I would hope that these guys have some quality checks in place rather than become merely a bargaining tool in the hands of disgruntled players.

[dextrous]

ICL is gradually becoming a place for all disgruntled elements.

I am not selected for 20-20? ok, let me join the ICL.

I was not picked for the ODIs .. ok, let me join the ICL.

You plan to punish me? ok, I'll join the ICL.

cricketers  are angry at their boards...join ICL...so what?

So, ICL gets all the riff-raff .. anyone who is out of form and hence not picked .. feel free, just ring up the ICL and get set for the next 3 years.

Is this the way to get a quality league going?

I know it is difficult, but I would hope that these guys have some quality checks in place rather than become merely a bargaining tool in the hands of disgruntled players.

What would your strategy be? They have done a pretty good job of getting a lot of test discards who while you may not consider to be great talents, are good enough FC cricketers to give the Indian team a run for their money.

[keep-it-cool]

ICL is gradually becoming a place for all disgruntled elements.

I am not selected for 20-20? ok, let me join the ICL.

I was not picked for the ODIs .. ok, let me join the ICL.

You plan to punish me? ok, I'll join the ICL.

cricketers  are angry at their boards...join ICL...so what?

So, ICL gets all the riff-raff .. anyone who is out of form and hence not picked .. feel free, just ring up the ICL and get set for the next 3 years.

Is this the way to get a quality league going?

I know it is difficult, but I would hope that these guys have some quality checks in place rather than become merely a bargaining tool in the hands of disgruntled players.

What would your strategy be? They have done a pretty good job of getting a lot of test discards who while you may not consider to be great talents, are good enough FC cricketers to give the Indian team a run for their money.

Wow .. one one hand we talk about there being no one to replace the Big 3 in the team .. and on the other hand we are talking about the guys who are not even good enough to be in the reserves as being capable of giving the Indian team a run for their money.

[kban1]

Attack not accidental - Asif

Another twist to the latest Shoaib Akhtar saga

Cricinfo staff

September 10, 2007

Shoaib Akhtar seems to have slipped into further trouble with the Pakistan Cricket Board after Mohammad Asif, who was injured in a dressing room altercation involving Shoaib, rejected his version of the story about the event being accidental. Shoaib, who was sent back from South Africa following the spat which left Asif with an injured thigh, had accused Shahid Afridi for provoking him.

"Afridi had nothing to do with the fight. The fact is that Shoaib did strike me with the bat over a little issue and got enraged for no valid reason," Asif told the Express, an Urdu daily. "He [Shoaib] has not apologised to me. In fact he should apologise first to the entire nation for what he has done."

Narrating his version of the events, Asif said: "Afridi was trying to make Shoaib understand that he needs to change his attitude towards junior players and communicate more with them. He told Shoaib that juniors were wary of him. At this point I also came out of the washroom and Shahid asked to me to tell Shoaib what the junior players feel about him. I just smiled and he then hit me with the bat. It was Shahid who intervened and separated us."

Shoaib, in a press conference organised after his arrival in Lahore, had apologised for his actions after claiming that Afridi's use of foul language against his family had led to him hitting Asif by accident. Afridi had denied Shoaib's claims.

The PCB, in its initial inquiry, held Shoaib responsible and decided to send him back to Pakistan as well as placing an indefinite ban on him until the team returned from South Africa and a proper inquiry took place.

http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/current/story/310281.html

[dextrous]

ICL is gradually becoming a place for all disgruntled elements.

I am not selected for 20-20? ok, let me join the ICL.

I was not picked for the ODIs .. ok, let me join the ICL.

You plan to punish me? ok, I'll join the ICL.

cricketers  are angry at their boards...join ICL...so what?

So, ICL gets all the riff-raff .. anyone who is out of form and hence not picked .. feel free, just ring up the ICL and get set for the next 3 years.

Is this the way to get a quality league going?

I know it is difficult, but I would hope that these guys have some quality checks in place rather than become merely a bargaining tool in the hands of disgruntled players.

What would your strategy be? They have done a pretty good job of getting a lot of test discards who while you may not consider to be great talents, are good enough FC cricketers to give the Indian team a run for their money.

Wow .. one one hand we talk about there being no one to replace the Big 3 in the team .. and on the other hand we are talking about the guys who are not even good enough to be in the reserves as being capable of giving the Indian team a run for their money.

Who says they are not good enough to be reserves? Fact of the matter is that once a player is past 28, he's usually not considered for the national team in India--but guys like Manhas, Bangar, Sodhi, Rayadu, Mongia, Badani, Deep Dasgupta are still pretty good FC cricketers. So what's so wrong about them competing in ICL? Why do you have a problem with good FC cricketers competing for something? I mean, what more can you possibly want from a new league? Raina? Tiwary? Why would they join at this stage of their career? And if they aren't going to join then aren't the guys lsited above some of the best FC players in the country?

I just don't understand your hate for something novel.

[keep-it-cool]

ICL is gradually becoming a place for all disgruntled elements.

I am not selected for 20-20? ok, let me join the ICL.

I was not picked for the ODIs .. ok, let me join the ICL.

You plan to punish me? ok, I'll join the ICL.

cricketers  are angry at their boards...join ICL...so what?

So, ICL gets all the riff-raff .. anyone who is out of form and hence not picked .. feel free, just ring up the ICL and get set for the next 3 years.

Is this the way to get a quality league going?

I know it is difficult, but I would hope that these guys have some quality checks in place rather than become merely a bargaining tool in the hands of disgruntled players.

What would your strategy be? They have done a pretty good job of getting a lot of test discards who while you may not consider to be great talents, are good enough FC cricketers to give the Indian team a run for their money.

Wow .. one one hand we talk about there being no one to replace the Big 3 in the team .. and on the other hand we are talking about the guys who are not even good enough to be in the reserves as being capable of giving the Indian team a run for their money.

Who says they are not good enough to be reserves? Fact of the matter is that once a player is past 28, he's usually not considered for the national team in India--but guys like Manhas, Bangar, Sodhi, Rayadu, Mongia, Badani, Deep Dasgupta are still pretty good FC cricketers. So what's so wrong about them competing in ICL? Why do you have a problem with good FC cricketers competing for something? I mean, what more can you possibly want from a new league? Raina? Tiwary? Why would they join at this stage of their career? And if they aren't going to join then aren't the guys lsited above some of the best FC players in the country?

I just don't understand your hate for something novel.

I dont hate the ICL. I am all for it. However, I think the standard is very very poor.

Look at the names in your post:

Bangar - 20-20??
Manhas - may have been talent gone by
Sodhi, Mongia, Badani - again, failures at the international level
Rayudu - finally, someone who apparently has class
Deep Dasgupta - the last time I saw him, he made Matt Prior look good

And, then you have Upul Chandana, Boje, Hall, Farhat - all players not considered to be good enough for their country.

Yousuf and Razzaq - I agree. Martyn ok.

But, overall, what you have got is a vastly inferior bunch of players attempting to play the game. And, that fact remains irrespective of whether there are many valid reasons why they cant get a better player profile.

[gouravk]

They would go for the better players if they could. Fact is the best players wont come. Not as yet, anyway.

[keep-it-cool]

They would go for the better players if they could. Fact is the best players wont come. Not as yet, anyway.

Granted. But that is a problem, isnt it? Bottomline is, there is no real quality.

[gouravk]

Yes, it is a problem. But you are forgetting the presence of one Sir Brian Charles Lara who can do singlehandedly what millions together can't.

[keep-it-cool]

Yes, it is a problem. But you are forgetting the presence of one Sir Brian Charles Lara who can do singlehandedly what millions together can't.

how many overs will he bat? and what will his motivation be while facing some xyz or abc?? brian lara taking on school kids or ex-discards does not make for compelling cricket .. brian lara taking on shoaib / mcgrath could ... my worry is that at this point in time, the scope for many such confrontations looks quite limited in the ICL.

[gouravk]

true .. which is why they tried so hard to get asif and shane bond ... im not really worried tho ... im no sympathizer of ICL

[pipsqueak]

Yes, it is a problem. But you are forgetting the presence of one Sir Brian Charles Lara who can do singlehandedly what millions together can't.

how many overs will he bat? and what will his motivation be while facing some xyz or abc?? brian lara taking on school kids or ex-discards does not make for compelling cricket. brian lara taking on shoaib / mcgrath could ... my worry is that at this point in time, the scope for many such confrontations looks quite limited in the ICL.

well, crybaby, as he is called on this DG, would meet his match there, wd he not?   

[justforkix]

It seems to me that ICL will pretty much be a flop - what with no sign of any games in the near horizon......

[gouravk]

if they are going to focus on 2020 they deserve to be a flop