It was first Ganguly vs Chappell and Now it's Ash vs Whatmore

[cricman]

http://www.thedailystar.net/2006/11/21/d61121040139.htm

Dav at odds with Ashraful?
Bishwajit Roy

There is hardly any doubt that Mohammad Ashraful has yet to justify his rare breed of talent though he had glinted the cricket world quite sometimes but his exclusion from the team for the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe left a thousand questions unanswered chief of which was whether the young man was alone to be blamed.

The inconsistency seemed to be a chronic syndrome in his batting that's why anybody can justify the selection panel's decision of brining back his form by keeping him away from the team but the question was raised whether it was the only reason behind the 'chopping'.

Nobody could mind if only cricketing affairs played a role behind the important decision but it was now already published in different newspapers that the stubborn stance of coach Dav Whatmore forced other selectors to take the tough decision. The events revolving the latest selection drama also led the cynics to believe that the Sri Lankan-born Australian has taken the 'Ashraful' case as a personal mission.

There were allegations that Whatmore was not even on talking terms with the country's most talented batsman for eight months after Bangladesh's last tour of Sri Lanka.

Although the high-profile coach kept everyone guessing by not appearing at Sunday's press conference citing illness, the tendency of both chief selector Faruque Ahmed and captain Habibul Bashar to bypass the 'Ashraful' issue was quite evident during the hostile briefing.

It was learnt that both the chief selector and the Bangladesh captain had to give up the fight after Whatmore even proposed to take a rookie (Nadif Chowdhury) in place of Ashraful during the selection committee meeting.

It seems that Whatmore himself has confused Ashraful most by promoting him to the opening slot now and again, especially his decision to send Ashraful to open batting against Kenya in the last game surprised many in the team as he had played an unbeaten 67 against the same opponents in the first match batting at number five.

Although there was much talk about his recent form the fact however portrays that it was not as bad if compared to his last year's performance (he scored one historic hundred against Australia and made two fifties in 14 ODI innings in 2005).

Ashraful had a great start in the year when he smashed one Test hundred and two back-to-back ODI half centuries against Sri Lanka during a home series in February but he suddenly lost his way although he got starts sometimes in both versions of the game.

The team think-tank even saw his 18-run knock against Sri Lanka in the ICC Champions Trophy as an indication of a return to form.

So it was mysterious why the selection panel suddenly came so hard on the batsman with the next World Cup around the corner.

Faruque Ahmed's confirmation about Ashraful inclusion in the World Cup simply strengthen the whispering as it is difficult to find a reason to deny the cricketer a chance to play in the only international commitment before the biggest cricket show on the earth.

"He (Whatmore) had once branded Al Shahriar, Hannan (Sarker) and Alok (Kapali) as the best batsmen in the country but without any explanation he simply threw them away. Is it the turn for Ashraful?" questioned a very influential member of the team on condition of anonymity.

Captain Habibul Bashar looked disturbed by the decision but understandably declined to make any comment and rather wanted to focus on the coming series.
But the premier Bangladesh batsman said that he would desperately want Ashraful in the World Cup team.

"Everybody should understand that he is a rare talent. I think the selection panel took the best decision for the betterment of Ashraful. But it is my personal view that we can try him at number six position in the future. The numbers four to six are flexible for any batsman but it is not the case for opening slot," said Bashar.
"I am desperately looking for his return to the team," he added.

DW is going to kill the kids carrer, I'm telling you I think it's good that Ash has Bashar's support and I think BD needs a South Asian Coach or get McIness out of Australia and bring him back to ASAP. I know it's all speculation but can you imagine getting ignored by you boss for 8 months? I'd like to thank DW for everything he's done and like to show him the door after WC 2007.

[Tigers_eye]

lol, when one becomes a reporter does he hold a license to write whatever [edit] he wants to write? Mr. Biswajit Roy says, "Although there was much talk about his recent form the fact however portrays that it was not as bad if compared to his last year's performance (he scored one historic hundred against Australia and made two fifties in 14 ODI innings in 2005)." What is he trying to say???

Ash do not have free membership in BD team. Matter of fact no one does except only the captain selected for a series does. Ash is not above the team. If we have to go to the WC without so be it. let him prove himself in Domestic cricket. He has plenty of time to show that he is the best BD player. But he can't cause he isn't. There are others who can be consistant and perform day in day out.

This biased reporters only knows how to create a distraction for the the team. Go video tape "oborodh" or something.

[view360]

Let us see how the cricinfo statsguru compares between them in realtime statistics , Saurav in black and asraf in red. It will be a crime against sanity and truth to compare our paperback tiger Ash with one of the greatest cricketers in the world
http://stats.cricinfo.com/guru?sdb=c...ds=comparetype

[cricman]

I'm not comparing as some of our BC members like to say Ashra-fool to Danguly (BC nick for Ganguly). But if you think of it ignoring stats, Ash has meant just as much to Bangladesh as Ganguly has meant to India. It's compring apples and oranges but if you kinda of think of it, i think theres some merit in the argument.

I know a player cements him self on a team w/ his perfromance but DW did kill Rokon lucky 13 and Kapali is now in and out. How unfair is it to Ash to prove him self in 2 and let Tushar take his place? Also according to Roy if the Chief Selector and The Captain wanted Ash on the team and the coach didn't there is a rift.

I think it's ridiculous for Ash not to play in the 3 ODI's( But that a disscussion for another thread). Before the WC he may not even play in the final 2 ODI's and then will miss out vs Scotland.

[shujan]

Bring Ash back to the team! Enough morons are on his back!

[thebest]

There are many similarities.
1. A non-performing player
2. A foreign coach
3. Divided fan opinion
4. Media fuming the war

But the bottom line is Ash is never be Saurav. At least Saurav is not a slogger and would return by performing (if) not by past deeds or tag of a 'rare talent'. And DW is 100 times better coach than GS.
From Today's Prothom Alo, I learned that he was againest inclusion of TI. But our fool selectors did not agree. Though I am not with his choice of Nadif. Shejan or Nazimuddin may be other options

[nsd3]

I'd say -

Go without Ashraful for now.
Give your support on selectors' decision.
Forget comparing debate Ashraful vs Ganguli - it's useless in current situation.
Win the series vs Zimbos & Scots.
Let face reality and let Ashraful face reality - as selectors said rightly his place is not inevitable, it has to be earned. I support with 100% confidence in it.

[Stumped]

What is with the media?! I just spoke to him and it seems there are peop tho think all this is a personal matter, which it is not... at the end of the day it was a committee decision of which Dav is not part of.

[Tokyobreeze]

Ash-Fool will always be a controvertial issue...Anything related to him will create unrest..Threads will start popping up like Mashrooms...

If you ask me, I thing this is a justified decision of keeping him out for sometime.The thing which disturbs me most about Ash-Fool is his sheer irresponsibility and lack of commitment for team.He (very) rarely values his wicket.That's straightway dengerous for a team like us where we need players who value their wickets more than the players of opponent.

Ash-Fool need to learn the hard truth that consistent performance and commitment are what necessary to be in the team.And, we, the fans, need to learn the hard truth too.

Last of All, I don't see any point in conjuring a story of DW-ASH fight.They are coach-Player, not boxing opponents, dammit!!

[kalpurush]

Originally Posted by Tigers_eye
lol, when one becomes a reporter does he hold a license to write whatever [edit] he wants to write? Mr. Biswajit Roy says, "Although there was much talk about his recent form the fact however portrays that it was not as bad if compared to his last year's performance (he scored one historic hundred against Australia and made two fifties in 14 ODI innings in 2005)." What is he trying to say???

Ash do not have free membership in BD team. Matter of fact no one does except only the captain selected for a series does. Ash is not above the team. If we have to go to the WC without so be it. let him prove himself in Domestic cricket. He has plenty of time to show that he is the best BD player. But he can't cause he isn't. There are others who can be consistant and perform day in day out.

This biased reporters only knows how to create a distraction for the the team. Go video tape "oborodh" or something.

They have experties in one thing for sure- creating stories! Chomokprodo ebong ros-a bhorpur!!

[AsifTheManRahman]

Biswajit's just pulling stuff out of his arse...for God's sake, the guy hasn't been performing in years and needed to be dropped!

[sadi]

He needed to be dropped. Some people want him in the squad but not in the lineup. Whats the point? I rather have him play the domestic cricket and realize its a privilage to play for the country and not his birthright.

[kaisermatin]

good decision. but the way he played in natwest will never be erased from my memory.

[Bancan]

this is pathetic. some ppl want tushar or rajin out of the team after 1 bad performance and when it comes to ashrafool they dont think. ash is history. ash scores 5-10 runs. it wont make much difrence without him.

[bharat]

I am not sure if I should be commenting on a BD player ..but nevertheless this is an opnion of an EEndian (as some of you would call ..) following BD cricket for sometime.

I have seen Ashraful's century against Aus and some othe match which I dont remember ..This kid has an uncanny resembelence (in terms of gamer etc )to Yuvraj Singh.Yuvi too was very incosistent in the beginning (probably more than Ash is now ..) but the Indian selectors stuck on to him ...and made sure he was in almost all the matches until he blossomed to what he is now ....And remember there was a huge competition for his place then ( Laxman etc ...)

I feel Ash is in the same class of Yuvi if given the right chance ..(consitent batting order and a defined role in the team ..)And frankly (please dont get me wrong here..) are the other batsmen playing so wonderfully that you "had" to drop Ash.I feel that the BD fans ( we do the same but ..) have different parameters for judjing different players ....Much is expected of Ash but that does not mean that you got to measuere his performance with a different scale !.

Just my thoughts ...

[Kabir]

It's understandable that the article has some bias in it, but whoever's for the decision of chopping Ashraful doesn't seem to understand something. The article mentions facts about friction b/w Ashraful and Whatmore. Exactly as cricman mentioned, if your boss ignores you for 8 months, what would you do? I went through a tough time once for 4 months. I ended up quitting...so personal experience tells me what's going on with Ashraful.

The article further mentions about other facts, such as moving Ashraful around too much...which everybody should recognize. In fact, doing that to ANY member of the team is wrong...as one of us has mentioned about Rajin and others. That's the problem with our management...they need to learn some management theories. And then again, enough of this discussion...we always seem to be divided on this topic. So no point arguing anymore...ghumai giya

[Kabir]

Originally Posted by bharat
Just my thoughts ...

Bharat: I think you've commented at the right moment...just when we needed some neutral opinion. And to me (not sure about Yuvraj Singh), some of your arguments (such as differeng scale of measuring his performance) seem to be valid.

[nobody]

Dear Bharat,
I think it is a crime to compare Yovi with Ash. At best Ash is not comapareable with worst of Yovi. Talking about inconsistency, even in your worst nightmare Yovi is not as inconsistent as Ash. For you here is the comparative cumulative score of these two

[shujan]

Moronic!

[shujan]

I can bet all you that you will beg to bring him back after you wait till infinity to see an inning like Australia. Only Ash can have this kind of inning.

Banglali will never see an inning like 158 not out without Ash. Seat Ash! Why don't talkative no goods suhtup and sitdown? Bangali dat thakte dater morzada buzhe na.


If Ash make 20 o's and then have an inning like australia ODI then bangali should kiss his feet. Which other no good can do it like that. People are talking here like gavaskar and lara waiting to feel in the roster after Ash.

[Shafin]

Originally Posted by shujan
I can bet all you that you will beg to bring him back after you wait till infinity to see an inning like Australia. Only Ash can have this kind of inning.

Banglali will never see an inning like 158 not out without Ash. Seat Ash! Why don't talkative no goods suhtup and sitdown? Bangali dat thakte dater morzada buzhe na.


If Ash make 20 o's and then have an inning like australia ODI then bangali should kiss his feet. Which other no good can do it like that. People are talking here like gavaskar and lara waiting to feel in the roster after Ash.

Ashraful is a talent,OK.But to make statements like "Banglali will never see an inning like 158 not out without Ash" is not right.We have many talented players in the pipeline

[sunny747]

the guy was not performing well and hence kicked out for a while.....what is there to discuss about? Ash has to know that he is no different than other players and all players will be treated equally. His past record is horrible and he needs some time to prove back. One century in local league doesn't say anything. He can't take things as granted. He needs to perform. Good job whatmore...

[mhferdaus]

if this is true then it is truly unfortunate

[nsd3]

Yeah....go Whatmore, go selectors....
Damn journalists (only those who sell the profession cheap)

For now Ashraful - go get your place back through what you are meant for BD cricket.

[thebest]

Originally Posted by shujan
I can bet all you that you will beg to bring him back after you wait till infinity to see an inning like Australia. Only Ash can have this kind of inning.

Banglali will never see an inning like 158 not out without Ash. Seat Ash! Why don't talkative no goods suhtup and sitdown? Bangali dat thakte dater morzada buzhe na.


If Ash make 20 o's and then have an inning like australia ODI then bangali should kiss his feet. Which other no good can do it like that. People are talking here like gavaskar and lara waiting to feel in the roster after Ash.

R u Ashraful by any chance?
Or you are his best friend. What is his next score after 158?
I would not comment on others made by you. Those are simple gibberish.