What is going on in Zulqarnain Haider's mind?

In our last post in regards to Zulqarnain Haider’s actions, we raised some concerns about the manner in which he was behaving and argued that he needed to reveal more about the incident which caused him to flee Dubai in order to remove suspicion that he had conjured up this whole scenario for personal gain. Three days on and his pubic comments have done nothing to allay fears that Haider is taking everyone for a ride. After being interviewed by the ICC’s Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU), Haider was unable to give them any information about the person that had approached him in Dubai.

We are not close enough to the man to know if lying is any part of his character, but there is one trait in particular displayed by him which one would see in a compulsive liar, and that is wanting to be seen as a good-doer, a hero. This was obvious in an interview which he gave to the BBC, in which he came across as wanting to be the whistle-blower who cleaned up the game of cricket, and was willing to give up his career and a lot of money to do so. Surprisingly, for a 20 minute interview, it was remarkably lacking in any detail of his meeting with the fixer or his experience of others involved in fixing in the game, despite being repeatedly asked probing questions by the reporter.

It’s also been the case that in two separate interviews, whenever he is asked about the meeting, his mentioning of the death threat is almost an afterthought, as if it didn’t really happen but must be added on to the end as if to bring weight to what he is saying, with Haider putting the threat to fix games and comply with the fixers before it. Surely when asked ‘What did he say?’ when going through an experience like that, ones first response would be to mention the threat to yours and your family’s lives first? Unless of course it didn’t happen and you have to make it up.

Haider says he received the threat after the 3rd ODI, but he only chose to flee after the 4th match, four days later. His reaction in running was one that someone would make instinctively, yet the threat was four days before. Therefore there must have been some sort of planning and calculating going on by him. Why did he wait so long? And to run away and not tell anyone? Was this the Haider we saw in England when he made a courageous 88 on debut in the 2nd Test and stood up to the English bowlers getting under their skin? Is this a man whose instinct is to run?

Whilst his actions were suspicious from the outset, deep down I really had hoped that here was a man who had made an honest decision to stand up against corruption in the game even if it was going to cost him his career. And that was the strongest argument in Haider’s favour, that he was willing to give up his international career.

Yet recent reports have emerged that Haider was on the verge of being dropped for the 4th and 5th ODI in Dubai against South Africa.  Was Haider’s international career on the verge of ending anyway? Did he realise this? Did he jump before he was pushed? He has had previous experience of being shunned so may have seen this as the end. He was upset at being sent home early after the tour of England after injuring his finger, and may have taken this latest exclusion as signalling the end to his career as the selectors, captains and coaches, clearly did not prefer him. If this was the case, all that was left for Haider was a return to Pakistan to continue his career, forgotten, languishing in a poor domestic league.

Or, was there an alternative? Had someone got into Haider’s head on the recent tour to England? Did they tell him about how the likes of Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqulain Mushtaq, Mohammad Akram, Azhar Mahmood and Yasir Arafat had all made a successful career and stable life for themselves and their families, plying their trade in the English counties? Was this temptation too much for Haider to resist? Was it time to put a plan in to motion?

I’m not sure about the ins and outs of asylum law, or whether Haider could have played over here in the U.K anyway for any significant period of time, but certainly, eventually gaining citizenship and playing in a top class county set-up would have been appealing to him.

Haider has been complimentary to the British authorities from the outset of this saga. He should remember though that the British authorities are no soft touch either. If there are any holes in his story, these same authorities he has complimented will pick them out and his intentions will soon be exposed before everyone. So is Zulqarnain Haider a lying opportunist or is he a brave man, willing to sacrifice all for the sake of not just the game in Pakistan, but the game everywhere? You decide.

Last chance for a talent unfulfilled

So why Sami and not anyone from our contracted players? We have Rana Naved, though not an out and out pace bowler, he has many strings to his bow. Rana is quite expensive though and this is probably the reason why he has never been favoured in Tests. Then there’s Sohail Tanvir and Yasir Arafat, both of whom can bat a bit and would have added strength to an already fragile batting line up. We also have Sohail Khan, a young raw talent who’s played just the one Test, against Sri Lanka earlier this year in which he failed to take any wickets and went for more than 6 runs per over. Also, there have been better performing fast bowlers on the domestic circuit, yet because of the poor quality of our domestic league, we cannot really use those performances as the be all and end all argument, whether it’s for or against the selection of any player.

I do not want to be too critical of Sami’s inclusion as I just have the sneaky feeling that if he does play, he will do quite well. After all, if Sami ever wanted an incentive to succeed, here it is. Having been in the wilderness since 2007 and now almost 29 years of age, with the emergence of the likes of Mohammad Aamer, even Sami would not have imagined he’d get an opportunity like this.

What seems to have worked in Sami’s favour is his experience at the top level and the fact that he has played in Australia before. In December 2004, Sami took 5 wickets in two Tests, having bowled 68 overs at almost 4.5 runs an over. Another advantage is the fact that Waqar Younis, who Sami has played and worked with before, will be with the team as bowling coach. Considering the above, his inclusion does seem to be a reasonable decision. Looking at it from Sami’s point of view, it is a great chance for him to get back in the team and go some way to fulfilling his obvious potential.

In the past, we’ve had to keep on going back to Shoaib because there was no one else fast or good enough to partner Umar Gul as the other of the two Pakistan pace spearheads. Maybe part of the reason for his bad behaviour was that he felt he brought something unique to the Pakistan attack so was thus indispensable and could do pretty much what he liked. His recent comment, “I am the fastest bowler in history and it’s not possible for everyone to bowl at 150 (kph)”, does give some indication of such a mindset. Yet now that we have Aamer, and due the reasons which we will now examine, I think Shoaib would find it very difficult to get a place in any of our sides.

His reverse swing and slower ball skills will not be missed as Gul has demonstrated that he is one of the very best exploiters of these qualities. His pace will not also be a miss as both Gul and Aamer are adequately fast enough. In most of our sides, barring injury, we will probably go with three main fast bowlers due to the strength of our all rounders and spinners. With Gul and Aamer a certainty, this leaves one place. That place will no doubt be taken by Mohammad Asif who will return from his ban on September the 22nd. He will be the perfect new ball partner for Aamer, with his ability to seam the ball early on.

If we need to make up overs in a match, our world class spinners can easily do this to give the above three pacers a break. Added to that, an all rounder such as Razzaq, Rana or even Arafat can contribute should more pace be required. Shoaib loses out here because of the fact that he is just a bowler.

Shoaib failed to turn up for a fitness test for the one day series which follows the Sri lankan Tests, citing the illness of his mother. The fact that he is a disruptive influence and hardly fit, it will be better to pick reliable players in order to have a steady team selection. It looks as if Shoaib’s fate is sealed

Shoaib still feels he’s got “three-four good years left” in him. Looking at the reasons discussed, Bollywood awaits, time for Shoaib Akhtar to become Shoaib the Actor. What a waste.

It’s obvious that Pakistan are neither sure of their best team nor how to use many of their players in the line up. They need to quickly address the opening bowlers with Yasir Arafat once again opening and going for runs. The fielding was bad as usual with Salman Butt having a particularly bad time not only in the field but also with his style of batting. Butt, though a good player, is not someone who should be in the Twebty20 side. It was obvious today that he caused problems up top by hogging the strike and putting pressure on the other batsmen. One thing which he never fails to do is to consistently find thefielder with his shots; it’s uncanny.

Another thing they need to address is the position in the line up of their best Twenty20 batsmen, Misbah Ul-Haq. Today he came in in the 16th over when the contest was over. The batting also showed a lack of game plan and intent shown in the beginning and middle of the innings and left the charge far too late.

Pakistan really should be expected to beat the Dutch but as England found out, it’s easier said then done. I suppose one good thing is that the Dutch did rely on a lot of luck against England so for it to go their way twice in a row would not be very likely.

Pakistan will now be praying that the game is not rained off.