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- Oct 2, 2004
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PakPassion.net: Where do you draw the line between blind patriotism and supporting one's side through thick or thin?
gazza619: Patriotism is very important. It is an emotion and sport is pointless without it. I always support my team no matter what. We have to be realistic though, I feel the fans have too much expectations from our rather average team. We don’t have enough match winners in the current Pakistan team. There is no such thing as blind patriotism in my opinion. Either you are patriotic, or you are not. And when you are patriotic you would argue at extreme lengths to support your country.
PakPassion.net: Your top 5 favourite cricketers all time?
gazza619: My all-time favourite players are Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. Sorry I am biased in favour of Asian players as I feel more connected to them. Started properly following cricket in the early ‘90s so naturally most of my favourite cricketers are from that era. And you would be insane as a Pakistani not to have Imran Khan in your list. Wasim Akram was the second real superstar of Pakistan after Imran. ODIs used to be so much fun when Wasim and Waqar would come back for a second spell after the 30th over and almost every time kill the opposition with their reverse swing. Saqlain was the spinner with the aggression of a fast bowler. I so much miss the doosra days. Sachin was so fearless specially in his early days. There was never a dull moment when he was batting or bowling. Sehwag was the first player who would always scare me when Pakistan played India. He would murder the best of bowlers and was a true legend.
PakPassion.net: Who are the top 5 current cricketers in the world? (Not batsmen, not bowlers just as cricketers)?
gazza619: It is a rather difficult question as now there are so many specialists for different formats. Rohit Sharma is an ODI giant, Jimmy Anderson is Test World Class. In my opinion the top cricketers based on all-round ability are Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Ben Stokes, Joe Root and David Warner. These guys are red hot for all formats. Kohli is simply out of this world and India are damn lucky to have him. I don’t think that India will ever produce anyone better than Kohli so their fans should enjoy this era. Kane Williamson is Mr. reliable and will always bring out his A game in tough situations. Ben Stokes is the only world class all-rounder in the world and can win matches with bat or ball. Root is very similar to Kane, he always surprises me with his consistent scores. Warner is in the same category as Sehwag, if is such a shame that he got banned. The world of cricket needs guys like Warner.
PakPassion.net: How has your perspective on cricket, cricket forums and PakPassion changed before and after becoming a moderator?
gazza619: I have become more patient now and have almost stopped trolling in different threads. My love of cricket is still the same. I have a lot more responsibilities now in life so don’t follow games as I used to. Also, I don’t come on the forum as often as I used to. May be the fact that Pakistan are such an average team now and the lack of star players has slightly taken some of the charm away.
PakPassion.net: Pakistan's chances in the 2019 World Cup? Planning on going to any of the matches?
gazza619: We have a high chance to qualify for semis and then from there it is anybody’s game. May go to Edgbaston as it is 15 minutes’ drive from me. For me Mohammad Abbas has definitely got to be picked to bowl with the new ball in England. The other key players will be Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan. Our team has always done well in England and I would rate our chances. We need more runs from our top-order, but our bowling is doing fine and should do well in England.
PakPassion.net: Sarfaraz Ahmed's future as captain?
gazza619: Like it or not but Sarfaraz is here to stay. We just don’t have good options to replace him. The team also respects him. He should look to quit at least one format though. I feel he has far too many responsibilities. He does not switch off which is not a good thing. The only player in the team who is an automatic selection is Babar Azam but I am not sure if he is mature enough to captain the side.
PakPassion.net: Who are your current top 3 test batsman in the right order (barring Steve Smith)?
gazza619: David Warner, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson. These are fearless players who can score double hundreds against good bowling attacks. I have already spoken about them in previous answers above.
PakPassion.net: What is the future of Pakistan cricket team?
gazza619:It depends on how quickly we can revive cricket at home. The future is fine, and we shall continue to produce random raw talent. We really need to win a World Cup though which will hopefully fast track the process. I am hopeful that by 2020 we shall bring back international cricket to Pakistan.
PakPassion.net: What are your thoughts on Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq's Test careers so far?
gazza619: Azhar Ali is the most selfless cricketer I have seen. He is not a natural but works very hard on his game. He is starting to get back his touch at number 3 and that is where he should continue to bat. I am really disappointed with Asad Shafiq, though and for me his time is up. You cannot continue with a batting average of 40 as a specialist batsman. It is just not good enough in this era.
PakPassion.net: Future of Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal in the Pakistan team?
gazza619: This is Pakistan we are talking about so chances are that they will comeback to limited overs cricket, only to fail again. I really used to admire them in their early days. Shehzad was never the same after getting the blow on the head. Akmal has been on self-destruct mode for a while. He was one of the few Pakistani batsmen who have the game for bouncy tracks, it’s such a shame that we lost him. I think we need to look beyond Shehzad and Akmal and do that very quickly.
gazza619: Patriotism is very important. It is an emotion and sport is pointless without it. I always support my team no matter what. We have to be realistic though, I feel the fans have too much expectations from our rather average team. We don’t have enough match winners in the current Pakistan team. There is no such thing as blind patriotism in my opinion. Either you are patriotic, or you are not. And when you are patriotic you would argue at extreme lengths to support your country.
PakPassion.net: Your top 5 favourite cricketers all time?
gazza619: My all-time favourite players are Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag. Sorry I am biased in favour of Asian players as I feel more connected to them. Started properly following cricket in the early ‘90s so naturally most of my favourite cricketers are from that era. And you would be insane as a Pakistani not to have Imran Khan in your list. Wasim Akram was the second real superstar of Pakistan after Imran. ODIs used to be so much fun when Wasim and Waqar would come back for a second spell after the 30th over and almost every time kill the opposition with their reverse swing. Saqlain was the spinner with the aggression of a fast bowler. I so much miss the doosra days. Sachin was so fearless specially in his early days. There was never a dull moment when he was batting or bowling. Sehwag was the first player who would always scare me when Pakistan played India. He would murder the best of bowlers and was a true legend.
PakPassion.net: Who are the top 5 current cricketers in the world? (Not batsmen, not bowlers just as cricketers)?
gazza619: It is a rather difficult question as now there are so many specialists for different formats. Rohit Sharma is an ODI giant, Jimmy Anderson is Test World Class. In my opinion the top cricketers based on all-round ability are Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Ben Stokes, Joe Root and David Warner. These guys are red hot for all formats. Kohli is simply out of this world and India are damn lucky to have him. I don’t think that India will ever produce anyone better than Kohli so their fans should enjoy this era. Kane Williamson is Mr. reliable and will always bring out his A game in tough situations. Ben Stokes is the only world class all-rounder in the world and can win matches with bat or ball. Root is very similar to Kane, he always surprises me with his consistent scores. Warner is in the same category as Sehwag, if is such a shame that he got banned. The world of cricket needs guys like Warner.
PakPassion.net: How has your perspective on cricket, cricket forums and PakPassion changed before and after becoming a moderator?
gazza619: I have become more patient now and have almost stopped trolling in different threads. My love of cricket is still the same. I have a lot more responsibilities now in life so don’t follow games as I used to. Also, I don’t come on the forum as often as I used to. May be the fact that Pakistan are such an average team now and the lack of star players has slightly taken some of the charm away.
PakPassion.net: Pakistan's chances in the 2019 World Cup? Planning on going to any of the matches?
gazza619: We have a high chance to qualify for semis and then from there it is anybody’s game. May go to Edgbaston as it is 15 minutes’ drive from me. For me Mohammad Abbas has definitely got to be picked to bowl with the new ball in England. The other key players will be Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan. Our team has always done well in England and I would rate our chances. We need more runs from our top-order, but our bowling is doing fine and should do well in England.
PakPassion.net: Sarfaraz Ahmed's future as captain?
gazza619: Like it or not but Sarfaraz is here to stay. We just don’t have good options to replace him. The team also respects him. He should look to quit at least one format though. I feel he has far too many responsibilities. He does not switch off which is not a good thing. The only player in the team who is an automatic selection is Babar Azam but I am not sure if he is mature enough to captain the side.
PakPassion.net: Who are your current top 3 test batsman in the right order (barring Steve Smith)?
gazza619: David Warner, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson. These are fearless players who can score double hundreds against good bowling attacks. I have already spoken about them in previous answers above.
PakPassion.net: What is the future of Pakistan cricket team?
gazza619:It depends on how quickly we can revive cricket at home. The future is fine, and we shall continue to produce random raw talent. We really need to win a World Cup though which will hopefully fast track the process. I am hopeful that by 2020 we shall bring back international cricket to Pakistan.
PakPassion.net: What are your thoughts on Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq's Test careers so far?
gazza619: Azhar Ali is the most selfless cricketer I have seen. He is not a natural but works very hard on his game. He is starting to get back his touch at number 3 and that is where he should continue to bat. I am really disappointed with Asad Shafiq, though and for me his time is up. You cannot continue with a batting average of 40 as a specialist batsman. It is just not good enough in this era.
PakPassion.net: Future of Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal in the Pakistan team?
gazza619: This is Pakistan we are talking about so chances are that they will comeback to limited overs cricket, only to fail again. I really used to admire them in their early days. Shehzad was never the same after getting the blow on the head. Akmal has been on self-destruct mode for a while. He was one of the few Pakistani batsmen who have the game for bouncy tracks, it’s such a shame that we lost him. I think we need to look beyond Shehzad and Akmal and do that very quickly.
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