Specials about Qalandar Night

Like always, I was greeted with open arms by Lahore, when landed at Allama Iqbal International Airport yesterday. I am here to do hosting and related media coverage for the Lahore Qalandars, the second most expensive franchise of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). Though, my employer Geo TV is the media partner of the Qalandars, however the franchise owner Fawad Rana has never enforced any employer-partner or employee- employer relationship. His friendly nature is no secret and is the reason to make the Lahore Qalandars one of the most talkative brands across the country.

I still remember my last two visits to Lahore and other cities of Punjab to cover the trials of “Jazz Rising Stars”  and I witnessed Fawad Rana and his staff’ determination and hard work to pick the selected youngsters out of thousands of young talents.  

This time the special event is the Lahore Qalandars’ send off before the second edition of the PSL and the Kit Launch of the Lahore-based Twenty-20 outfit.  However, the both formalities have been incorporated into a special Musical night where top singing performers will charge up the occasion.

This year again the kit colour of the Lahore Qalandars is red and black which are prominently depicted in their logo. Owned by Qatar-based oil giant the Qatar Lubricants the “Q” in Qalandars represent both Qatar and QALCO, while according to Fawad Rana the word Qalandar was chosen because of the significance of Sufi culture in Lahore. In the logo a mystic man performing the famous Sufi whirling with three stumps to its right and a cricket ball in the bottom, revealing the essence of spiritualism and also the passion for cricket of people of Lahore.  

In the 2017 PSL draft, Lahore Qalandars picked a number of new players specially Jason Roy, James Franklin, Chris Green and new skipper Brendon McCullum. But to me among the 2017 signings, the pairing of two great spinners of the contemporary cricket world Yasir Shah and Sunil Narine would be pivotal for Lahore in the Twenty-20 format, specially in the conditions of the UAE.

By Naseem Rajput

naseemrajput@hotmail.com

Humane Build-up of PSL

"Allah recover his back pain and give him (Nadeem Omer) good life to raise (and make the) PSL more colourful." These comments of a cricket fan just the exhibit the affection and rising momentum built up for the second edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL). They were posted by one of my facebook friends when I shared my pictures together with franchise owners of Lahore Qalendars' CEO Atif Rana, it's Manager Sameen Rana and Quetta Gladiators' CEO Nadeem Omer. The two Qalendars from Lahore along with me called on Nadeem Omer who was on bed rest and unable to perform his routine work because of untimely illness.

The above emotions reveal the enthusiasm and care of people towards the national cricket league at one hand while also show a healthy and sporting gesture on behalf of one franchise owner to the rival franchise owner on the other. That just exhibits the positivity and humanity of sports in our society. The magic of cricket is on and that gesture was a perfect build-up for the PSL.

Although the gathering was mostly revolved around Nadeem Omer' health conditions and his quick recovery, as a participant and witness of the gathering I specially noticed the humbleness and humaneness on both sides and specially the sincere desires, prayers and suggestions of Atif Rana and Sameen Rana to Nadeem Omer to get well soon. Both were firmed that without Nadeem Omer' presence the event would not get spark and I am fully agreed with them.

After the meeting I was so touched that I was speechless to say anything therefore I just only shared the pictures with relevant details, but the above comments from my friend posted on my facebook wall did work well and spoke my passion. Really, Nadeem Bahi may Allah get well you soon "to make the PSL more colurfull".

By 

Nassem Rajput

naseemrajput@gmail.com

In Reply to Ian Chappell

Ian Chappell is belonged to that cricket era, when Australia was not considered any favorite amongst cricket playing nations. After retirement from the game he chose a commentating career at Channel 9, which is still continued. However, it is always his gawky and derogatory comments that have been letting him down and for that reasons he was banned twice by his parent broadcast organisation.

After the Pakistan 3-0 whitewash in Australia his remarks to ask the Cricket Australia not to invite Pakistan any further until  the Asian side raise their standards significantly and offer some sort of challenge to the Kangaroos were again "uncalled for and unbecoming." I am not going to justify the national team performance against Australia in Test series, but what distastes me is share arrogance and inelegance on behalf of a publicity-starving commentator, rather any graceful and dignified criticism of a former sportsman.  

He also expects from Pakistan to "play decent cricket in Australia." Surprisingly that expectation comes from such a person who is responsible for not to let cricket remained decent and gentlemen' game anymore. As the Australians are globally blamed for institutionalising sledging in the game and Ian Chappell is called the pioneer of this indecency. He admits that in his writings, "As a captain my philosophy is simple between 11:00 am to 6:00 pm there was no time to be a nice guy."  Keeping aside that he is belonged to a family which is notoriously famed for stigma of “Under-arm” bowling in cricket, sledging alone has made the book of ICC Code of Ethics even thicker and more liable.

He was also critical of captain Misbah ul Haq by saying, “A lot of their (Pakistan cricket team) problems was because they had no leadership. There was no inspiration from Misbah, so things have got to change in Pakistan”. Forget if he is ignorant about Misbah ul Haq’ record as a captain of Pakistan, but he should acknowledge that Misbah is leading a team, which is forced to play their international cricket on foreign soil. Cricketers of Pakistan are not aware of home advantage, home crowd and home conditions, while contemporary statistics show that in the cricket history winning probability while playing at home has never ever been as strong as it is in recent times; and that is the truth of modern cricket.

If Chappell looked at the away records of most teams including in last 10 years he would find more defeats than wins. He should have been aware that his team managed to win just one series in 10 years, which was against South Africa in 2014. While in their away tour Australian team faced the humiliation of whitewash in Test series against Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan in UAE and also 5-Oneday series against South Africa only in the last couple of years.

Misbah ul Haq is right in his column where he writes “If we apply Chappell comments to Australia, does that mean if they continue to get whitewashed on the subcontinent on a regular basis then they should not travel there.”     

Interestingly Ian Chappell never played any match in the subcontinent. And, his record against the subcontinent teams is also not impressive. In 6 innings of four Test, he played against Pakistan he scored 352 runs including a 196 runs inning. While in 15 innings of 9 Test against India he scored just 356 runs, which shows his vulnerability against spin bowling.

Australians always avoid play cricket out of their comfort zone. They were the first team in the late 1900s that refused to travel Pakistan for security reasons and played an avid role in making Pakistan a “Sporting Pariah”. While on the other hand despite terrorism threats from ISIS in Melbourne during the 2016 Boxing Day Test, Pakistan cricket team never gave any dam concern to enter into the field. In 1996 Australia cricket team also refused to play World Cup Group match in Sri Lanka citing the same security reasons, but for knock-out encounter it had to travel in Lahore only to lose the final against the same Sri Lanka.

He should be careful and humble in his remarks and not ignore the values of sports while speaks. 

By

Naseem Rajput

naseemrajput@hotmail.com

Signifying all Younus Khan' 34 centuries

The easiest and the best introduction of Younus Khan would simply be he is the all time most successful batsman of Pakistan national cricket team in terms of runs and centuries he scored in Test cricket. But an in-depth analysis of his career and contribution to Pakistan cricket reveals that his grit and significance is going to leave a far reaching and long lasting legacy for the world of cricket.

Younus Khan has played so far 115 Test and he is just 23 runs short of attaining 10,000 runs in Test cricket. With 34 centuries he is currently at number six of all time leading century makers in Test cricket. He is the leading cricketer in Pakistan to have taken most number of infield catches in Test and One day cricket format, i.e. 129 and 130 respectively.

In the 3^rd Test against Australia at Sydney, he has become the first and only cricketer to have scored a century in all eleven countries to have hosted Test matches.  I have compiled a table of all his centuries against whom and where he scored for my beloved readers’ interest.

 Most interesting in all 33 Test matches in which he scored his 34 centuries, Pakistan emerged as victor in 18 times. That just tells his significance and substance in the success of Pakistan cricket team. 

By Naseem Rajput

naseemrajput@hotmail.com

Why Najam Sethi is so sure ..

Very few people have know-how about the inside of Najam Sethi. But almost every one is sure two things about him. First he never says, at his end, anything unnecessarily and prematurely unless that's also confirmed on the other end. Second what he once says he then leaves no stone unturned to turn it into reality.  It is largely because of him the dream of Pakistan Super League has seen the daylight. And, when he said a year ago the final of the PSL 2017 would be host in Lahore, we have seen it is scheduled in PSL calendar and preparations are being finalised for that. Just hope no more unfortunate incident takes place in the country.

He has proved himself as man of words.  That's why when he said last week in my TV show "Yeh hay Cricket Pakistan" that bilateral cricketing ties between India and Pakistan would be resumed in the mid of 2017, we all take his words seriously. The chairman of PSL was my guest last week along with Shakeel Sheikh, where he revealed a lot of things on the record as well as off the record.    

He was initially focused on bringing back international cricket activities in Pakistan. No Test playing nation has visited the country ever since the attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in 2009. The Zimbabwe  cricket team short tour was exception. Pakistan team and national cricketers are forced to play their home series and PSL league matches at abroad because of poor law and order situation and international cricketers are also reluctant to play in Pakistan citing security concerns. But he was hopeful that once the final of the PSL 2017 stage and conclude safely in Lahore, the doors for international cricket in Pakistan will be opened.

According to him, international teams are ready and intending to tour Pakistan. Though, he was not in mood to share the name of the team but when I guessed naming West Indies he just replied in affirmation without saying anything and changed the topic.

On cricket relationship with India I found him very vocal, tentative and shrewd. He foresee the melting of ice at diplomatic front in 2017. Besides analyzing the political and economic factors that are now in the benefit of the arch rival, he intelligently linked that with sports business, specially the cricketing income generated when both India and Pakistan enter in the field against each other. He also shared his political perspective in my sports show that due to the ongoing developments and growing interest of super powers like China and Russia in the South Asian region, it will be very hard for any country to carry on with enmity and hostile relationship. That's why he is so sure about India-Pakistan political as well as cricket relationship.  

In the end he really left me convinced that days are going to be numbered to boycott Pakistan cricket team and the 2017 is the year of international cricket activities in Pakistan. And, I really wish and pray to the God that  no more unfortunate incident takes place in the country.

By Naseem Rajput

naseemrajput@hotmail.com

Just fan, not enemy within

The 21 year old Ripon Chowdhury of India and Umer Daraz age 22 of Pakistan surely never met each other and I doubt if they even hear names of each other in 2016. They are still living apart but the only common thing between them is both are cricket fans. Then what makes them so important to write on it is again their cricket’ fan following but strangely in opposite direction. As the Indian Ripon Chowdhury loves Shahid Afridi and Pakistani Umer Daraz is a hardcore fan of Virat Kohli. Both the fans hardly know each other but for liking opponent teams’ cricketers of the subcontinent they have been penalized in the irrespective  countries, which is very uncommon and unfortunate for the game.

Cricketing rivalry between India and Pakistan is one of the leading sports rivalries of the planet. Despite that, the two teams do only play against each other in ICC’ multiple teams events and any bilateral series between both have been on hold since Pakistan made a short tour in 2012. In the absence of cricketing ties, gulf between both has only widened further. Now with the police arrests of both Ripon Chowdhury and Umer Daraz, it seems the animosity between the top authorities of the two nations have gone far ahead.

Ripon Chowdhury, a student from Assam was arrested this month while watching a local cricket tournament wearing Pakistan team jersey and that shirt angered a Hindu nationalist group. Therefore a FIR was also filed against him under section 120 (B), 294 of the Indian Penal Code by a local right-wing outfit.  He was arrested based on the subsequent complaint for indulged in an anti-national act. Later, it was revealed that Ripon is a Shahid Afridi fan and he supports Pakistan cricket team only because of him. So he was released later on after a bail was granted to him.

Umer Daraz, a young tailor by profession, was arrested from his house for hoisting Indian flag on January 25 this year in a village about 200 km from Lahore. The police registered an FIR against him under section 123-A of Pakistan Penal Code and 16 Maintenance of Public Order. He said he had no idea that he committed a crime, urging the authorities to pardon him as he should be seen as "an Indian cricketer's fan and not as a spy.""I am a big fan of Virat Kohli. I support the Indian team because of Kohli. Hoisting of Indian flag on the rooftop of my house only shows my love for the Indian cricketer," Daraz said on his arrest. His room was full of posters of Virat Kohli pasted on walls, served as an evidence of his innocence. Therefore, in spite of charged with sedition, Umer Daraz was later quietly released by officials in the central town of Okara.

The stories of both fans offer food for thought for the authorities of both countries that they shouldn’t be leading their people to a dead end. As fans in both India and Pakistan put the sport above the often-fraught relations between their countries and admired each others' players.

By Naseem Rajput

naseemrajput@hotmail.com

Top 10 Sports Persons of 2016

Cristiano Ronaldo      Football

Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portugal and Real Madrid winger accumulated nearly everything this year, a footballer can get in individual capacity. As captain he lifted the trophy of EURO 2016 for Portugal defeating the host France in the final. Earlier he had guided a month ago his club Real Madrid to win the 2015-16 UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup Super and finally the FIFA Club World Cup all in 2016. That deserved him the prestigious Ballon d'Or by French Magazine and he is also expected to win the FIFA Best Player of the year award 2016, the most coveted trophy for a footballer.

Ravichandran Ashwin        Cricket

Ravichandran Ashwin, the right-arm off break Indian bowler has been adjudged the ICC Player of the Year 2016. One can questions the quality of his talent, he but when it comes to performance this year it is head and shoulder above the rest. In 12 Test he has taken 72 wickets at 23.90 with the help of 8 times 5-wicket haul. That helped India to get Top ICC ranking and win 9 out of 12 Test this year so far, the most by any team this year.  In Twenty-20 this year he is second leading wicket taker with 23 wickets in 17 matches.

Usian Bolt               Athletics

Usian Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter is globally known as Lightening Bolt and he justified this tag this year by attaining the "Triple-Triple" in the Rio Olympics. As he won the Gold in 100 m, 200 m and 4x100 m relay, and more importantly he repeated that feat at Rio for the third time after Beijing 2008 and London 2012, capping his Olympic career with 100% winning record.

Michael Phelps         Swimming

The American swimming great enjoyed again a great year of his great career. Leading the US Olympic Team, Michael Phelps won 5 Gold and single Silver medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics held at Rio de Jenario.  He won Gold in 200 m Medley, 200 m Butterfly, 4x100 Butterfly, 4x100 Medley, 4x200 Medley and Silver in 100 m Butterfly. These five medal in 2016 made him the most decorated Olympian of all time with 28 Olympic medals, including the record 23 Gold. Phelps reportedly has retired form sports in 2016 but he ends this year winning the awards of American Swimmer of the Year, World Swimmer of the Year and FINA Swimmer of the Year.

Simone Biles           Gymnastics

Simone Biles, the US Artistic Gymnast secured four medals the most numbers of medals in Olympics 2016. Making her debut in Olympics, she won  record 4 Gold medals in Gymnastic team events, Women' Vault, Women' Floor Exercises and Balance Beam categories. Although at Rio, Biles made her debut in Olympics but because of her outstanding performance in the event she was chosen by Team USA in the end to be the flag bearer for the closing ceremonies, becoming the first American female gymnast to be given the honor . Which is the reason BBC includes her in  the Top 100 Women in 2016 and she was the finalists of the TIMES Magazine' Person of the Year award for 2016.  

Andy Murray           Tennis

Throughout  2016 Andy Murray had a nick to nick competition with Novak Djokovic in Tennis circuit. The British Tennis star this year lost his battles to Novak Djokovic in the finals of the Australian Open, Madrid Open, Roland Garros and again in the French Open.  However, in the final of the Italian Open he took the revenge and defeated Djokovic in straight sets. Thereafter he went to win the Queen' Club Championship and the biggest Tennis title Wimbledon, defeating Milos Raonic  in the final each time. Then in Rio 2016 he won the Gold medal  and thereafter his back to back title victories in China Open Shinghai Open, Vienna Open and the Paris Masters won him $10,000,000 prize money in a single season for the first time in his career. And, finally in the World Tour Finals Andy Murray had to face the four-time defending champion Djokovic again in the final. where he defeated the Serbian in straight sets. This awarded Murray his first ATP World Tour Finals title, his ninth title of 2016, and ensured that he would hold the year-end No. 1 ranking for the first time.   

Nico Rosberg          Formula 1

Like Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic in Tennis, there remained throughout the year an intense battle in Formula One Car Racing between Mercedes AMG Petronas drivers Luis Hamilton and the Nico Rosberg, which the later won eventually after winning the Abu Dhabi  Grand Prix. It was the first time when the German win the Formula One World Championship in his 18 years career. Although, Rosberg took the lead during the initial quarter of this year by consecutively winning Australian Gran Prix, Bahrain Grand Prix, China Grand Prix and Russian Grand Prix in a series but because of tough fight from Luis Hamilton the World Championship remained undecided till on November 27 when Rosberg won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. A week after the winning the Championship he  announced his retirement.

Jason Day             Golf

Jason Day attained the number one position in the official World Golf Championship in 2016 with 445.69 points in 40 events ahead of Rory Mcllroy who earned  421.02 points in 42 events. The Australian won one of the most coveted Players Championship in 2016 to amass 10th PGA Tour victory of his overall career and earned over $33 million in prize money on the PGA Tour. Earlier before that triumph he had also won the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the WGC- Dell Match Play to authenticate his claim on top position.  Capping this year Jason Day also won the Greg Norman Medal awarded annually to the best golfer of Australia.

Roman Reigns          WWE   

You may call the WWE a drama set for fixed results, but the event is one of the world most popularly- watched sports with exorbitant telecast rights. Professional wrestler Roman Reigns is therefore gets an automatic place in the world' top 10 athletes in 2016. Presently, he is not the World Heavyweight Champion but retained the title most number of days this year for total 77 days. More dominant thing of this popular wrestling brand is his exposure and charisma in the event, which kept the viewers captivated on screens this year. Besides, that he is the current WWE United States Champion and Pro Wrestling Illustrated ranked him number one among the Top 500 wrestlers in 2016.  

Bahman Golbarnezhad           Para Olympics

Bahman Golbarnezhad, a veteran of Iran-Iraq war where he lost his left leg and thereafter he started his career as Para Olympian cannot be gone unnoticed in 2016 because of his unfortunate demise during the 2016 Summer Para Olympics. In sports he started his professional career first as a wrestler, then he turned to weightlifting and won twelve gold medals and one silver medal before stop weightlifting due to a shoulder injury. He then started cycling in 2006. He was the only Iranian cyclist at the 2016 Paralympics, where he died in an accident while competing in men's C4-5 road cycling event. Since 1960, it was the first time when an athlete lost his life during competition in Olympic and Para Olympic Games. Lots of condolence messages were delivered on his fortunate demise including of Presidents of Rio 2016 and Iran while the Iranian Sitting Volleyball team dedicated their Gold to Bahman Golbarnezhad

By Naseem Rajput

naseemrajput@hotmail.com