Pakistan has sent two former captains packing, while in a surprise decision Bangladesh batsman Raqibul Hasan has retired from international cricket just a couple of days out from his country’s Test series against England.
The only Tigers batsman to hit a Test triple century, 22-year-old Raqibul had been included in the 14-man squad to face England but reportedly handed a letter to Bangladesh manager Shafiqul Haque stating that he’d retired from international cricket as the team was preparing to fly to Chittagong for the first Test.
It’s a puzzling decision from the middle-order batsman, who missed the ODI series against England but earned a Bangladesh recall for the Test series on the back of a strong batting performance for Bangladesh A in a three-day warm-up match against England.
Reports are that Raqibul’s resignation hasn’t been accepted yet, and is the most understandable element of this strange turn of events. What could possibly prompt a young, talented batsman to call stumps on his career while still winning selection for his national team?
Sure, Raqibul wasn’t a walk-up start and wasn’t included in the ODI squad that played England this month, and was reportedly upset at being left out of the Bangladesh World Twenty20 squad, but every cricketer at some point in their career fights for a spot in the side. It’s the nature of the beast.
Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons probably summed up the situation best when he told reporters that “he’s [Raqibul] obviously an upset kid at the moment, and probably a bit confused. He's decided to call it quits for the moment and hopefully in the near future he has a change of heart and everyone accepts him back, which is what I hope happens”.
Back in Pakistan, and the Pakistan Cricket Board has allotted the blame for the team’s winless summer in Australia and the biggest casualties are former captains Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan, who the Inquiry Committee into the tour of Australia recommended should not be included in Pakistan’s international team.
“Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan keeping in view their infighting which resulted in bringing down the whole team, their attitude has a trickledown effect which is a bad influence for the whole team should not be part of national team in any format,” the committee’s report stated.
The indefinite bans might spell the end of both careers, but since releasing the initial report the PCB has clarified the ramifications of their decision on both Yousuf and Younis, stating the decision is not a life ban on the cricketers and that: “As and when the PCB deems appropriate, these players will be considered for selection for the national team”.
So the door remains ajar for the pair, and it will now be interesting to see just how an indefinite ban stacks up against the so far unexplained one-year bans that have been slapped on Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Malik as a result of the inquiry.
Would a dismal showing by the reigning champions at the World Twenty20 in May be enough for the PCB to welcome Yousuf and Younis back into the fold for the team’s tour of England?
Shahid Afridi was another to feel the wrath of the PCB, and for his “shameful act” that “has brought the game and country into disrepute” – namely chomping on a cricket ball in an ODI against Australia in Perth – he’s been handed a hefty fine and placed on six months probation.
Brothers Kamran Akamal and Umar Akmal have also been heavily fined and placed on six months probation as a result of the inquiry’s findings.
The committee’s recommendations were made with the view that they “will go a long way to arrest the continuing decline Pakistan cricket and improve the state of cricket in Pakistan”.
The questions now are whether, should that improvement not be immediately evident, the indefinite bans will be considered served and Yousuf and Younis might earn their recalls. Or whether an appeals process will expedite the pair’s return to selection eligibility for the Pakistan team.
Big decisions have certainly been taken both by the Pakistan cricket authorities and a young Bangladesh batsman. The ultimate impact of those resolutions on a number of cricket careers now remains to be seen.
Tags: