Who is Asif Khan? - He writes in vivacricket

[fwullah]

Is Asif Khan a former player like Pat Symcox?

I read today in one article of his where he mentioned 'Bangladesh team' as 'we'.

Asif's Corner

[Mahmood]

He is from Pakistan.

Asif Khan

[Pundit]

....and he is a 22 year old writer, as well ?

[Mahmood]

Ops... Wrong one. There are 4 Asif Khan in Pakistan Cricket. None seem to have played test. Unless its Asif Iqbal.

Look them up in CricInfo.

[Nazim Shirazi]

We had a teammate called Asif Khan who had played for Azad Boys in 1983. He was a very compact batsman.


Asif Khan was a solid right hand bat and a great guy. He had also played some cricket in England in the summer those days. I think most likely he is the writer for Vivacricket.

[tpusltn]

Nazem Bhai,
You should read the report, Coach kala Imran complaining about our batsman are intimidated by the fast ball by Nitni & others in the first test. Batsman are very scared of the fast ball, afer getting hit on their chest, rib and on their helmet.

I don't know what to say, but these incident reminds me about the Woodley Cricket and the West Indian fast bowling intimidation. Nazem bhai do you remember, fast bowler Hopton Barette (Jamaica Natl), Benzi (barbados Natl) and their intemidation?

Nazem Bhai, you single handedly destroyed the Carribean domination & earned their respect. Remember those Pasadena & Corianthian games. Why don't you make some comment on this subject and elaborate on it.

The way Bangladesh team is playing; And there is a vacum for leadership in the test team as well in the O.I, you should go and play for the team. I saw your captaincy against A. Aijas team, You must go and claim your position. You can out run any young player by your fitness. This is the begining of the season; And your shots are excellent and it will get deadly as season goes on.

Please make some comment on this. With your captaincy wit, you can beat our national team with or ex-player like Yousuf Babu, Kala Imran.

[fwullah]

I disagree with tpsltn. With due respect to Nazim bhai's abilities and credentials, I think that the present generation of players are far more superior to the past generation.

In fact, that is why we see Akram Khan fearing for short balls from Ntini whereas Habibul Bashar has been successful in hitting those short balls to the boundary or for a single at least. And the likes of Mohammad Ashraful and ALok Kapali are far more superior to Habibul Bashar - so far they didn't get the chance to get past Habibul Bashar yet, may be due to their age and lack of experience than Bashar.

But having said that, one thing hasn't changed since the times of Nazim bhai had played and that is the practice facilities, the domestic cricket level standard.

Whatever improvement has been made since those days is only the inclusion of foreign players into the domestic cricket - and that's it.

[tpusltn]

Fahmida, you got see to believe it. There are lotta players but very few Cricketer and Nazim is cricketer. It is not my opinion ask Pakistani, Indian, WI, NZ and Ausi's here.
His mental toughness is equal to nothing. Look, our team is becoming a loughing stock. Clive Loyed is suuggesting injecting foreign players........

BCB is run & planned by the people who has nothing to do with cricket. may be those guys are good fighting in Iraq become Col, Brig.......bla bla... but not in cricket business.
Cricket need to be run by the cricketers. I can't believe that our batsmans are intemidated by the bouncer ?? ......can't play fast bowl ? What the ......

Entire country has only one bowling machine ? that is even outta work. That is pathetic. They need to aquire anything that improve their performances.

We do not have genuine fast bowler or pitch; and our playres are not exposed to 'em either in the local league. So, we need to have bouncy practice wicket. And at least five (5) outdoor bowling machine.

When Mike Gatting busted his nose in WI those days, he flew back to England and immediately suggested ECB to bring bowling machine if they were to confront M. Holding, Garner and Roberts. We need the same medicine here.

Domestic league needs to imports foreign strike bowlers for regular game instead of batsman. Get those bowlers in the early season. Not only for one or two important matches.

BCB will get those bowling machine, when Bangladesh will be stripped from Test Status.

[Sham]

I think Nazim bhai was right when he said that we should leave the playing up to the younger guys. However, Nazim bhai can definitely contribute to our cricket in other ways.

[fwullah]

I must agree with Sham that Nazim bhai and former players like him has to get in touch with cricket in Bangladesh.

[Nazim Shirazi]

I did read Imran Sarwar's report and understand his frustration in reference to our players being unable to handle short pitch deliveries. What I do not understand is how can a coach let the players choose what kind of bowling they face in the nets? Isn’t the couch responsible to train the players to rectify their flaws?

Here is my personal experience as I was never coached properly and how I managed/couched myself to handle hostile bowling.

Hopton Barrett, a genuine fast bowler who did not get to play for the West Indies due to the fact he had to compete with the likes of Holding, Marshall, Patterson, Clark, Garner and Croft. Roberts was on his way out. Barrett left his country in frustration and stayed back in Los Angeles when he had come to play with the Jamaican team to Los Angeles. Barrett was regarded by Sobers as the most talented fast bowler in W.I., when he had come to LA. Most of the players were scared to play against him and his partner Reggie Benjamin, who was not far behind him.

How did I handle them when we never had a world-class fast bowler in BD, playing weekend cricket.

Here is how.

Courage is required, but you need a solid technique, quick footwork, good reflexes, great eyesight and a lot of practice against short pitched bowling in the nets to be able to handle world class fast bowlers and implement the hours of practice into the matches.

I would always let these West Indian fast bowlers have a go at me in the nets with new balls, practicing on cement/concrete pitches. They would even intentionally bowl no balls in order to intimidate me and perhaps hurt me to prove a point to others out of frustration, as I would always stand up to them in the practice and more importantly in the matches. That never happened (the intimidation). In fact, I became sharp and got used to playing hostile bowling thanks to these guys.

Yes, I do have a lot of pride as a former BD National player and play with dignity even today. These reasons fueled my desire to risk being hurt in the nets so I could intimidate the fast bowlers whenever I had a chance in the matches.

Mental toughness comes with confidence and confidence comes from your inner belief that you are ready and able to handle any situation. You really have to believe in yourself without a doubt. At any rate, some of our players lack confidence, not only due to the fact they lack what is required to play at that level but also because they fear being dropped if they don’t perform. Dropping players every now and then is not a solution. It will only shatter any confidence they may have and also destroy the team spirit.

I played many matches against these fast bowlers and won all the finals so far in the last 12 years against them, that is true. I am sure Tipu Sultan will remember the Williamson Final when we were 68 for 8 in 32 overs and went on to win chasing 148. In the final 8 overs, we needed 81 to win and I managed to attack them by hitting 7 straight sixes over the bowler’s head, proper shorts, as I am not a slogger. I did not let the tail ender face a single delivery (not a single delivery) against the fast bowlers as per his own request. All this without a helmet, not a good idea to play fast bowlers without a helmet. After that match I started to wear a helmet every time I went in to bat.

According to Imran Sarwar, our players avoid playing against short bowling in the nets. That may be one reason why they struggle against fast bowler, besides having dead wickets and not having enough experience. How will they cope in the match situation when they have to face short balls, tell the bowler not to bowl short? Bowling machine is badly required at all levels of the game.

Dear Fahmida, you are an intelligent person and your observation about our cricket is quite accurate. Your articles are encouraging and informative. They should also be on Daily Star as more people can read about the facts of our cricket.

I do agree that the present generation of players are far more superior to the past generation on the whole. However, I am not sure if you have seen the likes of Jahangir Shah Badshah, late Daulat bhai, Raquibul Hasan, Rafiqual Alam, Yousuf Rahman Babu to name a few, in their prime.

They may not have great numbers (averages) as in those days we hardly played any International matches. At best we would have one or two foreign sides visit BD every year. Had these guys been in their prime today with the money and exposure involved in cricket, they would have definitely done well in the present day cricket and not get butchered, embarrass the country and become a laughing stock.

Then, there were only a few high quality players, but they were fighters, mentally tough, played with a lot of pride and dignity, which is lacking in our present day players. Most of the players were ordinary in the 70’s and 80’s. I do agree that the average player today is definitely better. Some of the young players are capable and quality players. They have to be groomed and supported by the officials, coaches and the people of BD, as they are our future.

There is no short cut to success. It will take a few years before we start to win matches against good teams. It will happen. The question is when? I don’t think anybody can predict that. Give it time and it will happen. We have to have patience. Meanwhile, keep up the good work and support your team. Time to time I visit the Tiger’s board and read your comments. I actually enjoy them. Some interesting thoughts and subjects.

It is not practical for someone like me to even think about playing for BD. The future lies with the younger players. Even today I may be fit and able to hold my own at any level that has nothing to do with the improvement of BD cricket. In order to improve the standard of BD cricket, we need to look forward, towards the future and not look back in the past. We must move on and be aggressive in our goal of being a successful test-playing nation.

If I was living in BD, I would have definitely been deeply involved in doing whatever necessary to help our cricket. I do have a lot of passion and actually care about cricket with all my heart. To be honest, since I am living is Los Angeles; there is not much I can do. My best wishes are always for our team. Always remember, in order to succeed, we must first believe that we can.

Sincerely,
Nazim Shirazi.

[rafiq]

Nazim, I know you have to run the business, but why don't you take a couple of these fast bowlers and go back to the Dhaka League for 2-3 months next winter, just for the kicks? They will probably pay good money, and your fighting qualities, talent and attitude will rub off, even if for a short time.

It's not going to solve any of BD cricket's problems overnight, but then again you may be able to do more on the ground over there. Your LA league may be more competitive than domestic cricket in Bangladesh (!), but if you ever wanted to scratch this itch, do it while you still have some cricket left in you, man! As for playing for Bangladesh, don't tell me you don't want to go out there and face the best! If you do well in the league (which you will) and they recall you, then who knows? Ok, now I am getting carried away, back to reality....like the drubbing that will start in an hour.

[fwullah]

No Nazim bhai, I haven't seen neither you nor Badshah, Doulutuzzaman, Rafiqul Alam, Raquibul Hasan, Yousuf Babu.

I have only started watching cricket and start to understand the game only in around 1996/1997.

But I have seen scorecards of all the ICC trophy matches that you and the rest of the former players in your last messege have played. And since I know the present players, so I can guess how they were and how you were in your times in Bangladesh.

And I have seen how Saiful Islam played - whom I guess to be similar to Jahangir Shah Badshah - in terms of allrounder ability - the only difference being Saiful Islam is still our best fast bowler in One Day Cricket whereas Badshah has a few good batting and bowling performances against ICC associate teams of his time.

I have also seen how our openers have succeeded, but I have also seen how our openers have failed before success, so I can guess how somebody like Raquibul Hassan or Yousuf Babu used to play.

I know how our middle order batsman plays - so I can guess how Rafiqul Alam used to play.

I have a suggestion to make to you. Whether you can take this suggestion is upto you.

Either you can come to Bangladesh and have a chat with the youngsters - maybe those who are playing at the under-age gropus - you do not necessarily have to be coach or something to do this. Or at least start something in Bangladesh where former players can meet with the present players as well as the future players on a regular basis.

Or, you can start up a website where different former players - firstly ofcourse you can come forward and express their experiences - like the Zimbabwe Cricket Online magazine that is existing in Zimbabwe. Ofcourse, Tehsin can come in and help you, that is, if both you and Tehsin can manage the time to set up such a site or may be even modify this site.