The vital 'WHY?'

[Ahmed_B]

Over the past few days... before and during the ZIM series, lots of 'why's have been raised. Why is JO not killed yet, why is Kapali still aound the dressing room, Why is Rassel not playing,Why Sakib or Mushfiq are not getting chances, Why we are hanging up with Rejects like Tushar.. Why is the old haggard Pilot still wearing gloves, why is turtle-pace Rajin even in the 15-man squad... and so many more questions. Even why is the 'loser' Dav still our coach is also an enigma to some fans.

But right now... I hav a 'why?' of my own... and that is:
'Why are the selectors scared to seriously drop Ashraful from the sqaud?'

To be honest, the innings that he played in Natwest were full of so many crazy shots and he really pushed his luck very hard and it worked for some matches. He really could have been out atleast 10 times within the 3 good innings that he played in the ODI's. But even if i take them to be full-proof... those innings are over 1 year old now. Since then... he has been simply pathetic. Why the selectors are not confident to drop him?

Because they are scared to be criticized by the fans?
Because they are scared to be criticized by the world-media?
Because the selectors believe in miracles?
Because none of the selectors are great players themselves.. so they are scared to touch a celibrity like Ash?
Because they want to play it safe and not take the blame of losing matches because they dropped someone like ash?

What is the psychology behind it? I am clueless!

IMO... dropping him for some matches consistantly will put a lot of sense into his rubbish head and make him think seriously towards the game...which he definitely needs. He needs to learn that the team is far more important than his 'celibrity status' and needs to change his playing method to whatever is necessary for the team... and the team doesn't need to change for him!

[akabir77]

ash and aftab r the two can change the game. thats why if I think if the 10 can play there game I don't mind keeping him for his 1 and 2s. cause I think he might juct click again and give us a big win...
And keeping him in the team also make sense. other players know he will score zero so they have to play better

[Ahmed_B]

And keeping him in the team also make sense. other players know he will score zero so they have to play better
Interesting Logic! :-/

IMO... it's pretty unprofessional on the selector's part to handle Ash like the way they are doing it. Ash is clearly out of form.. lets admit the fact. His sole problem is his lack of self confidence in the form of 'overconfidence'. To be honest... he is a patient of 'supiriority complex' at the moment and it's quite unrealistic to expect the he will find himself back if he is just left there and allowed to put 1's and 2's and 10's on the scoreboard for the next who knows how many innings.

[Spitfire_x86]

To be honest, the innings that he played in Natwest were full of so many crazy shots and he really pushed his luck very hard and it worked for some matches. He really could have been out atleast 10 times within the 3 good innings that he played in the ODI's. But even if i take them to be full-proof... those innings are over 1 year old now. Since then... he has been simply pathetic.
How could you miss his contribution in our ODI victory against Srilanka? He also scored 136 against Srilanka in test.

BTW, I think the selectors should sideline him and play Mushfiq Rahim in his place in the ODI series against Kenya. This way he can get what he deserves and we can give Mushfiq few more chances to play as batsman.

[layperson]

Interesting Logic! :-/

IMO... it's pretty unprofessional on the selector's part to handle Ash like the way they are doing it. Ash is clearly out of form.. lets admit the fact. His sole problem is his lack of self confidence in the form of 'overconfidence'. To be honest... he is a patient of 'supiriority complex' at the moment and it's quite unrealistic to expect the he will find himself back if he is just left there and allowed to put 1's and 2's and 10's on the scoreboard for the next who knows how many innings.

How can you conlcude that the reason for his failures is overconfidence ? On the contrary I think it is because of lack of confidence that he is failing and the very fear of failure is what is his undoing. From what I have seen and from what I have heard him talk I can safely conlcude that he is a very down to earth person. He is the last Bangladeshi player who would be wasting hid career because of his "celebrity" status. I dont think he even thinks about such thinks. Yes he knows he has a huge fan following and that we all have high expectations from him but I dont think this affects him negatively. I dont think he lets his status get to his head. HOwever I am all for droping ashraful for several months if he fails in the three match series with Kenya. Then we should let him play domestic cricket not cricket at rainhill for several months and if he scores heavily then will justify a recall otherwise he should be kept there untill he proves his consistency. Scoring heavily in domestic matches should also give him the confidence he lack now though many may argue about his success at rainhill giving him confidence but I feel he too knows that rainhill was nothing but "sunday cricket" level. Scoring in that level cant do anything for your confidence.

[baisab]

I think they should drop Him for a whole college season and let him get an education, coz lets face it, the only thing that is letting him down is his childlike mentality and frail temperament. He would also get a chance to brush up on his english. The main thing the man needs to learn is the sense of responsibilty and composure under pressure.

[al Furqaan]

I think they should drop Him for a whole college season and let him get an education, coz lets face it, the only thing that is letting him down is his childlike mentality and frail temperament. He would also get a chance to brush up on his english. The main thing the man needs to learn is the sense of responsibilty and composure under pressure.

i don't think he's finished high school yet...or whatever you have in bangladesh. hes been playing non stop since he was 16-17.

i have to admit, i was an unflinching ashraful fan, for the reasons outlined above: that he is a game-breaker, like aftab. but the real reason, was because i was his biggest fan. but now, i realize that as painful as it will be to not see ashraful, it will be in his best interest and the team's for him to be dropped if he doesn't perform this series.

he needs to average at least 30 to warrant a place...that means he needs 90 runs at least. if he gets a duck...he needs a 70+ score to make up for it.

if he would average 25 even by alternating ducks and 50s...i would still keep him, because every other match could be a match-winning effort.

but i finally, agree (and i am if not the last, one of last remaining ash fans) that ash should be dropped for a full series if he does not get his act together.

[Tendulkar_Mcgrath]

how much time i wil hear that" ashraful is genius?"...i donno actually............but if u tell me what we need most..i will say consistent performer...when the team contains 3/4 consistent players..they u can take a genius..but u have not..then u should pay attention to different so called non-genius but promising people...

[mac]

England er zilla league kheila international match to ektu kothin lagbei. So, drop him atleast for two matches. I don't think Ash miracle will be needed to beat Kenya as SN, Aftab, Saqib will be there to do so.

[Tokyobreeze]

BTW, I think the selectors should sideline him and play Mushfiq Rahim in his place in the ODI series against Kenya. This way he can get what he deserves and we can give Mushfiq few more chances to play as batsman.

How about trying Mehrab Jr. instead of Ash-Fool for sometime?Mushfique Rahim should play instead of Pilot as he is a wicket-keeper..If wicket-keeping becomes his major responsibility later, I would put him as wicket-keeping batsman and would try my luck with Mehrab Jr.

[Tokyobreeze]

how much time i wil hear that" ashraful is genius?"...i donno actually............but if u tell me what we need most..i will say consistent performer...when the team contains 3/4 consistent players..they u can take a genius..but u have not..then u should pay attention to different so called non-genius but promising people...

I second.We don't reallly need a so-callled genius who performs once in every year with a match-winning innings and for other times put other batsman in deep trouble with frail performances.BD needs to get into more winning habit than one spectacular win in every year.And, to win regularly we need more consistent (even if not having spectacular blasting ability) player, who can provide us with regular runs and can create the platform for regular wins.If a genius can't put consistency together with skill for long time, we better search for alternatives who can give us consistency.We have quite a stack of fresh players available.We better give them chance...Who knows, they might come up as lot better a star than Ash-Fool.

[kalpurush]

Let him give another chance for the 1st ODI against Kenya. If he fails again...he should be sent to the high performence squad for basic training.

[tutul]

Very appropriate thread in time! I have seen critics about Jo, Kapali, Pilot, Rajin, and also Bashar, but nobody actually spoken up about this idiot before. His so called ‘talent’ we have seen in past, were nothing but some whims. Soon our selectors stop fantasizing about his big innings and drop him, is better for both him and our team.

[ammark]

I was watching Ashraful's 2 consecutive ODI innings from last summer on google videos. While vs Aus his innings was very well composed, the 2nd one vs England (he scored 94) was such a marked contrast. He played many unconvincing, unnecessarily risky shots and got away with thosein that game. It was more Shahid Afridi batting than Saeed Anwar. Thats where it goes wrong, we've been enthralled by his fireworks way too long, but havent really attended to his irresponsibility with the bat. I know the 94 vs England is a bad example seeing his string of low scores since SL this year, but it really shows: must we always have to hang on to him for sentimentality's sake?? He really should be dropped for his own good, for him to reflect, improve and mature. He's only dragging the team and our hopes down every time with his "eid'er chand" innings!

ps: it isnt the first time I've criticised him! :P

[Tendulkar_Mcgrath]

actually i think some people of board r scaring about the fact that...if ashra-fool is out , and then if team loses...people will blame them for not taking him in team.......but selectors sir...i wanna assure u that....we r not such fool like u

[Rabz]

i think the selectors r still looking for "miracle" wins..not a clinical one...
they, along with lot of us, hoping for that "amazing" knock from Ashraful which wud lead us to another great win. but there is a limit for everything... and its time to put up an end to it..

but even the biggest problem is when someone like Ashrafool scores even a 50, he secures his position in the team for the next foreseeable future. and that shouldnt happen. everyone should fight for thier place.

now that we hv some good youngsters coming up, i reckon we might see that urgency from the so called superstars to play better in order to retain thier position in the team...

well...atleast..hope so

[Ahmed_B]

How could you miss his contribution in our ODI victory against Srilanka? He also scored 136 against Srilanka in test.
No... I havn't forgotten any of them. But those two scores alone are not at all enough to prove that he is 'in-form'.

He is practically out of form for the last 1 year. In the last 1 year or so... after the Natwest series, BD has played a good number of Test & ODI matches and Ash has been consistantly under-performing.

#BD has played 6 test matches against SL & Aus and apart from that 136, Ash's other 11 scores are : 17,0,42,26,1,24,13,29,4,6,29
#BD has played 16 ODI matches against SL,AUS, ZIM & KEN since the Natwest.. Ash batted in 15 of them and his scores are: 4,31,0,4,51,64,18,3,11,5,13,25,4,46,6
#The match against SL which BD won... I am not really prepared to accept that Ashraful Alone(51) won the match for BD. It was a good inning.. but even the MOM went to Aftab. Ash was not the only contributor.

His form is clearly in danger and not doing anything about it and leaving him hanging there is not the solution at all.

[salin]

so his last 12 test innings are 136,17,0,42,26,1,24,13,29,4,6,29 that is 27+ avarage

Then where is the point for your extream frastration?

[Tigers_eye]

No need to drop him from the team. That way the selectors can save their face and hold on to their dreams. He can still bring in the drinks to the field. Just give the official contract to another deserved player after the year is over. I would love to see Reza, Sakib, Mehrab Jr. added to the payroll instead of the current non-performing, good-for-nothing over-rated below 20+ averaged top order. Money talks and will automatically fix him the way the coach, we all want to him to play on the field.

Salin bhai,
His last 11 test innings only averages 17+ with no half century. That is a concern and a testiment that he is out of form for over a year.

[Ahmed_B]

so his last 12 test innings are 136,17,0,42,26,1,24,13,29,4,6,29 that is 27+ avarage

Then where is the point for your extream frastration?
Interestingly..you picked his test performance alone (which consists of his 136).. but left his ODI performance away.. donno why. The average of our 'superstar's 27 batting innings(Test+ODI) in last 1 year is 22.6... any better then our popularly known flops?

What makes it worse is his high number of below-10 scores.. and definitely the position in batting order that he occupies ... and most often the match situations when he comes in to play (usually 2/3 early wickets down with BD struggling to survive)

No reason to be frustrated yet?

[Andy-Flower]

Ash should be droped..he is a joy to watch if you are an opponent i tell you.cuz you know any second he's gunna throw away his wicket..they should just sideline him for about six months or so, when they call him back i tell you he will not want to go back..

[MarufH]

I totally agree that Mehrab jnr, Saqib and reza would be more consistence.. but then again.. Ash still has the ability.. I know he plays silly shots.. well... there are so many players around the world who simply became superstars playing like this.... for example Jaya.. ok now I'm not comparing him with great Jaya.. but that how he became star and thats how sri lanka was the most dangerous team in 96, 97. Just imagine Aftab and Ash on a song the same day...

[sadi]

We are imagining it for last one year and its not happening... He plays way too many loose shots and unless he is really lucky, its hard for him to score... I am not sure when he will get lucky again so he needs to sit... lately I am seeing some change though... he is trying to be more careful and maybe its a start... lets see what he does against kenya

[MarufH]

you and i all know that if he goes flop in kenya he might not even get a call in next series so lets see what happens... what I'm worried about is Aftab.. I'vee been looking at him from under 19 wc in Dhaka.. if he doesn't core for couple of matches.. and go after him the same way.. we will loose a big talent... he is simply a tresure!

[Fazal]

Why ask Why these kind of questions involving Ashraful and the faith in Ashraful by selectors and some of the fans.

Its kind of "if you get it...you get it.... if you don't ...you will never get it" like "why people like Dr. Pepper", or , "Why some people like the taste of Corolla Bhaza"?

[Tigers_eye]

Why as Why these kind of questions involving Ashraful and the faith in Ashraful by selectors and some of the fans.

Its kind of "if you get it...you get it.... if you don't ...you will never get it" like "why people like Dr. Pepper", or , "Why some people like the taste of Corolla Bhaza"?
Usta bazha without bichi with Alo in it, umm! umm! good. 30 more minutes to lunch.
By the way, Dr. Pepper is like medicine. Yet it is I think has the most loyal followers.

[al Furqaan]

I was watching Ashraful's 2 consecutive ODI innings from last summer on google videos. While vs Aus his innings was very well composed, the 2nd one vs England (he scored 94) was such a marked contrast. He played many unconvincing, unnecessarily risky shots and got away with thosein that game. It was more Shahid Afridi batting than Saeed Anwar. Thats where it goes wrong, we've been enthralled by his fireworks way too long, but havent really attended to his irresponsibility with the bat. I know the 94 vs England is a bad example seeing his string of low scores since SL this year, but it really shows: must we always have to hang on to him for sentimentality's sake?? He really should be dropped for his own good, for him to reflect, improve and mature. He's only dragging the team and our hopes down every time with his "eid'er chand" innings!

ps: it isnt the first time I've criticised him! :P

when chasing 390 from 50 overs...you need a team full of afridis...not one full of dravids. so i won't blame him for that. was he lucky? perhaps...but even tresco said he "middled everything and put the ball right where he wanted to". if that was mere diplomacy, he would have just said something like "90 from 50 explains it all". he wouldn't have raved about its brilliance.

yes, i will always praise ash for what he has done...because very few batsman can achieve such brilliance.

but the kid still needs to dropped for a series, if he fails in kenya.

[ammark]

but even tresco said he "middled everything and put the ball right where he wanted to". if that was mere diplomacy, he would have just said something like "90 from 50 explains it all". he wouldn't have raved about its brilliance.

I think it was Harmy or Flintoff or someone who said later that Ashraful was just riding his luck with those sort of shots. didnt quite catch Tresco's comments at the time. My point was that on his day he is a masterful batsman (centuries vs Aus & SL), but for far too long Ashraful has been very shaky, inconsistent and irresponsible with his batting in most of the other innings'. Furthermore during the April series vs Aus we all saw how out of sorts Ashraful's confidence and batting was.

[Miraz]

Ashraful is a kind of player who win matches. It is unfortunate for BD cricket that he is not performing up to his potential. Just a match before he scored a very well composed 49, but we are not happy with that as all of us know he has the ability to deliver a lot more.

This kid is technically correct, can play all shots in the book and that's why it is more frustrating that he is becoming an ordinary performer. IMO, the problem is with his mindset and we share a major role (BD media, fan) for this. He always goes in the field with high expectation and succumbs under pressure. Now, its very important to get his mindset ready. I don't think dropping him before WC is a very good idea to get his confidence back. We need his performance in the world cup. If he just comes back after an interval, it will create more pressure on him. We may argue that, he should be able to handle such pressure but we all know, he is not fully capable yet.

Let's give him a break ( I mean, he should not be the centre of discussion). He will be back and will win matches for us.

Have some patience.

[akabir77]

when chasing 390 from 50 overs...you need a team full of afridis...not one full of dravids. so i won't blame him for that. was he lucky? perhaps...but even tresco said he "middled everything and put the ball right where he wanted to". if that was mere diplomacy, he would have just said something like "90 from 50 explains it all". he wouldn't have raved about its brilliance.

yes, i will always praise ash for what he has done...because very few batsman can achieve such brilliance.

but the kid still needs to dropped for a series, if he fails in kenya.

how many afridis did england had?? all of them played proper cricket...:confused:

[sadi]

Ash is just like A-Rod. We have a love-hate relationship with him. He has so much talent that we are not easily satisfied by him and put so much more pressure on him.

[sar2005]

Ashraful is one of those very few match winners in the BD team. On his day, he can definitely win the game for BD and that is well known to everyone. I don't think it is time yet to even talk about dropping this kid. This will not do any good to him as well as BD. Do you think he does not perform willingly? Don't you think he was aiming at least one century in last serries against zim? Of course he does. But things are not happening for him as expected. And dropping him can simply create pressure on him.

Now when can you drop him? I would say, talk about this when you have a consistant 3 pairs of batsman half of whom perform regularly for BD. If you have a batsman performing continiously better than him in all level, of course we can start thinking about it. You need a proper substitution for him. Next question automatically comes who do you think is better than Ashraful in the side and should have a chance instead of him? Can Javed, Saleh, Kapali, Tushar, Pilot replace him? If not, than talk about dropping them first. If you are talking about the young guns like Sakib, Reza, Mehrab, Mushfiq to replace Ashraful, they should actually first replace others who are already proven burden and non-performer in the team. So, it is not yet time to drop this amazing kid - Ashraful (although he is so far just Eider Chad. At least we can get two Eid through him which other can't present us).

[israr]

Ashraful, please silence the critics!!!!!!

[Fazal]

Please do Ash Please Do !!!! I want my mouth to be shut down for good. Please help me Ash .... do me a favour!!!! Its not one time a year shut down, I want you to shut down my mouth in a daily basis: day in day out... year in year out...

[israr]

Please do Ash Please Do !!!! I want my mouth to be shut down for good. Please help me Ash .... do me a favour!!!! Its not one time a year shut down, I want you to shut down my mouth in a daily basis: day in day out... year in year out...

Good one, Fazal! :)
Yes Ash, we plead. Don't dissappoint us this time or else...........:mad: :mad: :mad:

[shovon13]

shoot me.

i dont think ashraful would've been hated on this much if he was a jew in palestine.

[ammark]

Its kind of a tough call.... vs Kenya and Zim is the perfect proving ground for Ash to come out and perform CONSISTENTLY. I'm not sure if its a great idea to drop him for this series, but he needs to be dropped in one series sooner rather than later for a Rajin type lesson! He has to be aware that place in BD team isnt cheap.

[bengal_tiger2006]

i think mortaza i responsible for BD losing the series with zimbabwe........first of all he iz totally out of form n how can the selectors still keep him in the team...zimbabwe needed 17 runs of the last over n mortaza gave 2 silly fulltoss which he iz hit for sixes.How can a experienced bowler make these silly mistakes.The selectors should kick him out and give chances to the new bowlers.::E

[cricketboy]

Probably Ash will be out of the squad if he fails to perform in the coming series. Then, our "little master" may find it hard to come back before the World Cup.:rolleyes:

[thebest]

Probably Ash will be out of the squad if he fails to perform in the coming series. Then, our "little master" may find it hard to come back before the World Cup.:rolleyes:
That would be a dream situation. He would be dropped for Champions trophy and Zimbo in dec. Then we have our two 'eid' in WC.:p
Joking aside, is he becoming bigger disappointment than Rokon?

[bengal_tiger2006]

ash shud definetly be kicked from the bd team if he does not perform well.He shud know that to be in bd team it iz not so easy.He can not think of him as a good player jus becoz he played well against aus.I think that was jus a fluke but nothin else.He shud really be kicked out if he does not play well in the upcoming series.

[zia]

:( Mushfiq is a failure. Beside U-19 team what was his contribution in the test and ODI that he has played. Terrible. Don't forget the contribution of Pilot. He is one of the best behind the wicket not in Bangladesh but in the whole sub-continent. Ash's performance is not good. I see logic for Saqib:lol: but not Mushfiq.

[zia]

Well done Saqib. Fianlly, Ash fired us to victory. Thanks guys.