Azlan Khan
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2010
- Runs
- 7,220
Member Interview returns, and this week we have none other than SOSami!
PakPassion.net: Tell us about yourself?
SOSami: I was born, and have always lived in England. I'm an auditor and qualified as a Chartered Accountant a few years ago, which does mean long hours but it has also allowed me to travel around the world. I had a baby daughter a few months ago so PP has helped me a lot when I'm up at 3am!
PakPassion.net: Your favourite place in Pakistan?
SOSami: My family is from Kashmir and there can be few most beautiful places on earth. In terms of cities, I love walking around old Rawalpindi. 'pindi is an ancient city which has been home to different civilizations for literally thousands of years and that no doubt contributes to its unique character and atmosphere. Claustrophobic, hot and the complete opposite of the open air greenery of the mountains of Kashmir but equally alluring. They're two places I'd definitely recommend to anyone visiting Pakistan.
PakPassion.net: Would you rather fight a horse sized duck or 50 duck sized horses?
SOSami: Horse sized duck. If you got behind it you could stab it in the abdomen before it turned around.
PakPassion.net: Sami, talk us through your illustrious cricketing career.
SOSami: No.
PakPassion.net: What is the most fun and least fun part of your job "behind the scenes" at PakPassion? How difficult a job is moderation of PP? Why are you posting less these days?
SOSami: For me, the most fun is moderating the forum. PakPassion is the gold standard in cricket forums and keeping it that way is not easy with the number of posters we have.
It is hard work though. I think most would be surprised at the sheer effort the PP team puts in on a daily basis. Operations have increased significantly since I first got involved two years go – we now have a homepage we can be proud of, very active Facebook and Twitter pages, Google+, mailing lists, forums which have increased in membership significantly, and each one absorbs our time.
All this means I cannot post on the forums as much as I would like, but it's an inevitable consequence; there are only so many hours in a day!
PakPassion.net: Where will Sami stand in the annals of Pakistan pace legacy by the time he is finally retired?
SOSami: One of the fastest.
PakPassion.net: What draws you to Mohammad Sami, when even his most ardent of fans seem to have deserted him?
SOSami: Sport is like that. You like who you like and sometimes (most of the time) it's not rational.
Mohammad Sami epitomizes the glorious fragility but enduring strength of Pakistani cricket. Everyone writes him off, but he comes back. He was one of the most talented bowlers I've seen and yet his skill was wasted by a combination of mismanagement, both self and coaching. He was told to slow his pace when he should have been encouraged to bowl even quicker. He was used as a stock bowler when he should have been used as a strike bowler. He was picked when he should have been dropped, and was dropped when he should have been picked. He wasn't selected for ODIs when he should have been, and was picked for Tests when he shouldn't have been. It was a real mess. He also suffered more from poor umpiring and dropped catches than any player I've seen.
He has no cricketing nous, but there are plenty of bowlers over the years who haven't. There is a reason why Imran Khan coached him personally – it hurts to waste such a talent and the failure of Pakistan to not unlock the secret has resulted in the loss of a potential match-winner for the best part of a decade.
Sami is the same age as Mitchell Johnson, who took 32 years to learn to bowl properly. It's not over.
PakPassion.net: In your opinion, what is the greatest ball Mohammed Sami has ever delivered in International cricket?
SOSami: During England's 2005/2006 tour of Pakistan, England were set to 198 to win the first Test. Sami bowled a lovely spell in England's second innings where he got the ball to reverse swing and he trapped Paul Collingwood with one that tailed in. It was quick too – the batsmen didn't move his foot and I remember the commentator saying he thought the batsman had gotten his studs caught in the pitch.
PakPassion.net: How did you come to know about PakPassion.net?
SOSami: I used to post on the old PakPassion, before it was closed down. For those of you who don't remember, all of the major teams used to have message boards on one forum website – one log-in to access the Indian, Sri Lankan, English, Pakistani forums. As you can imagine, it was mayhem with a lot of cross-(message)border excursions. Remembering those days makes me value PP the way more, giving people from all countries a voice without being hounded for their nationality.
PakPassion.net: What is the origin of your forum name?
SOSami: SOSami = Save our Sami, rather than SOS ami (I'm not looking for my Ami). I remember I tried about ten user-names but they were all taken. I'm glad they were though; it subconsciously helped me to carry the Sami fight in every post I made.
PakPassion.net: Is Test cricket 'the realest' form of cricket and do you think Test cricket will survive, particularly in the subcontinent? Is T20 the devil's own work?
SOSami: Whatever cricket is being contested at the time is the most real for any fan. Imagine a scenario where T20 was the sport contested by the likes of Imran Khan, Malcolm Marshall, Viv Richards, Kapil Dev all those years ago, and Test cricket has been introduced in the last decade. What would we all think? Would we extol the virtues of five day cricket and write off all of the achievements of the old legends? I enjoy Test cricket more than any other format, but I wouldn't say every Test is inherently better than every T20.
T20 cricket is a test of players' skills too – it's not all hacks and trundlers. Much like when you see footballers showing their true range of skills in training, T20 allows us to see what players can do in the absence of potentially having to field for three days before being able to bat again - something that shackles batsmen in Test cricket. Dil Scoop, slower-ball bouncer, being able to bowl six yorkers in a row, extracting reverse swing, a spinner having the courage to toss the ball up when he knows the batsmen is throwing the bat are all amazing skills which we don't often see in the longer formats.
Test cricket will survive in the sub-continent as long as the players continue to value it. The current crop of players' role models are still Test legends – Sachin, Imran, Waqar, Wasim, Gavaskar and Murali. However, it's often the weaker suit that first exhibits any symptoms and we're already seeing most of the current generation of Pakistani batsmen finding it difficult to play long innings and India now play the likes of Jadeja and Kumar – essentially limited-overs bowlers - in Test matches. Bangladesh and Afghanistan have a clear strategies to focus on limited overs cricket and Sri Lanka after Sangakkara and Jayawardene are essentially a limited overs team. The prospects are not great.
PakPassion.net: If you could pick one current player from another country to play for Pakistan, who would it be and why?
SOSami: AB de Villiers. A brilliant wicket-keeper, outstanding in all three formats and his attacking style of batting could help the young batsmen in the Pakistan side understand that backing your natural game rather than the cagey, limited brand of cricket that the current leadership team seem to be advocating is the only way to succeed in the long run.
PakPassion.net: Who is the best batsman in your opinion that you have seen in your life?
SOSami: The best batsman I have seen live is Kevin Pietersen. When on song, he plays some utterly outrageous shots and that too in Test cricket.
One of the best shot's I've ever seen is a straight drive he played off Yasir Arafat in the World T20 2009. If ever there was a shot that said “thanks for coming,” it was that one.
That's not to say I think he's the best batsman, mind you. Just the best I've seen.
PakPassion.net: Your favourite match of all time?
SOSami: Toss-up between Pakistan vs. India in Karachi in 2006 and Pakistan vs England at Multan in 2005, which Pakistan won by 22 runs. My two best friends are die-hard India fans and one rang me at about 5am to tell me Irfan Pathan had taken a hat-trick and Pakistan were 39/6.
PakPassion.net: Your favorite batsman of all time?
SOSami: Inzamam-ul-Haq. He was a one-man batting line-up for so long. I once heard Wasim say that whatever the position, if Inzi still had to go out to bat the dressing room was relaxed. If he got out cheaply, the whole team would be disheartened.
PakPassion.net: Your favorite bowler of all time?
SOSami: Waqar Younis. I started watching cricket because of Waqar Younis touring England in 1992. There wasn't much worldwide TV coverage of cricket back then and that was the only way I got to see Pakistan play. Tremendous bowler and still one of the top two bowlers of all time for me. Fearless.
Also have a soft spot for Darren Gough, who played the game the right way.
PakPassion.net: Your favourite captain of all time?
SOSami: Paul Nixon at Leicestershire. Not captain for any significant period of time and completely mad, but played with a passion that infected his side. He set a brilliant example for youngsters and never gave up. In another era would have been England wicket-keeper for a decade.
Saurav Ganguly too – he was an intelligent captain and one who sacrificed everything for his team, including his own batting. It's no surprise the Indian team flourished under him – he was fiercely protective of his players, which allowed them to focus on the cricket rather than the media.
Imran was before my time, but I wouldn't be a Pakistan fan if I didn't include him!
PakPassion.net: Would be pick a player alone on his talent even if his stats aren't impressive?
SOSami: Bowler yes, batsman no. A bowler only needs to get it right five times the 120-odd balls he bowls in day of Test cricket and he'll get a five-fer. A batsmen gets it wrong five times in a row and he's out of the side.
PakPassion.net: Most memorable cricketing moment?
SOSami: Standing at Lords as Afridi hit the winning runs in the 2009 ICC World T20 in England is my best cricketing moment. There were five of us friend who went to every match and none of us had purchased any tickets as they went on general sale, so we'd be rushing around buying tickets and trying to get time off work, working weekends to make up the time.
The semi-final at Trent Bridge was the best atmosphere I've experienced at any sporting event. We sat through the early losses, the rain and cold, but for some reason we had no doubt Pakistan were going to win it at any point. The banter with the players and even umpires during the matches was brilliant too – if the weather holds up, there is no better place to watch cricket than England.
Winning was the end of a long journey and the reason why I'll always support Pakistan; for all the rubbish we have to put up with, they gave us that summer and that win.
PakPassion.net: Let's suppose that you are MS Dhoni's batting coach, what exactly would be your advice to him as far as his batting is concerned in Test cricket?
SOSami: I wouldn't tell him to change anything. Sometimes a player is so good in one format that it would be a travesty to risk ruining that by changing his technique or approach.
PakPassion.net: What are your thoughts on Misbah-ul-Haq?
SOSami: Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez show how dangerous lack of succession planning can be. As Misbah himself said, there is a reason why he never got a chance when Inzi, Yousuf and Younis Khan were in the team. When you put severely limited players in charge, those who do not have the will nor the wherewithal to counter-attack the opposition, only knowing the art of defence and graft, this attitude permeates the mindset of all those in the team and the modern game does not allow for such an approach, just ask Alistair Cook. If you keep the scoreboard moving, you put the opposition under pressure as to whether to stick or twist.
Neither of the the Pakistani captains are equipped to face the leadership challenges set by international cricket. Hafeez has batted at number three in Misbah's Test team against Sri Lanka. He batted three in South Africa, in the limited overs team. What's the thought process behind that? Will it enhance Pakistan's chances of victory? The question I would like to ask them both - the decision-makers - is: “What did you think is going to happen?” Did they think Hafeez would suddenly turn into a world-class number three who could potentially his place in the Pakistan Test side for the next five years?
The answer would be as weak as the people making the decision and epitomizes the vacuum of logical or constructive thought in the Pakistan “leadership” team.
PakPassion.net: Who do you think will win the upcoming World T20 2014 and why? Which teams do you think have the most chance of lifting the trophy this time?
SOSami: Sri Lanka are always in the mix. India's bowling issues can be masked on such pitches, as can Pakistan's batting woes. Hard to look beyond those three teams.
PakPassion.net: What kind of pitches do you think will Australia offer up at the next World Cup?
SOSami: Same as every other ICC tournament – pitches which look and play like they've been flown straight from Karachi or Mumbai.
PakPassion.net: What is your preview or what are your expectations on performances of Pakistan cricket team in 2014?
SOSami: I'm always hopeful of Pakistan's chances. It requires a change in leadership through. Unfortunately, it looks like Moin Khan, a man who was captain makes Misbah look dynamic, may well take over management of the side. If that does happen then we can only expect much of the same from Pakistan, which is a number of poor results permeated with some outstanding victories; for every first-Asian-team-to-win-a-series-in-South-Africa there will be a Zimbabwe!
If we get the likes of Umar Akmal, Haris Sohail and Mohammad Rizwan in the side then Pakistan can have a very successful 2014.
PakPassion.net: Finally few words for cricket fans?
SOSami: Cricket is entertainment!
PakPassion.net: Tell us about yourself?
SOSami: I was born, and have always lived in England. I'm an auditor and qualified as a Chartered Accountant a few years ago, which does mean long hours but it has also allowed me to travel around the world. I had a baby daughter a few months ago so PP has helped me a lot when I'm up at 3am!
PakPassion.net: Your favourite place in Pakistan?
SOSami: My family is from Kashmir and there can be few most beautiful places on earth. In terms of cities, I love walking around old Rawalpindi. 'pindi is an ancient city which has been home to different civilizations for literally thousands of years and that no doubt contributes to its unique character and atmosphere. Claustrophobic, hot and the complete opposite of the open air greenery of the mountains of Kashmir but equally alluring. They're two places I'd definitely recommend to anyone visiting Pakistan.
PakPassion.net: Would you rather fight a horse sized duck or 50 duck sized horses?
SOSami: Horse sized duck. If you got behind it you could stab it in the abdomen before it turned around.
PakPassion.net: Sami, talk us through your illustrious cricketing career.
SOSami: No.
PakPassion.net: What is the most fun and least fun part of your job "behind the scenes" at PakPassion? How difficult a job is moderation of PP? Why are you posting less these days?
SOSami: For me, the most fun is moderating the forum. PakPassion is the gold standard in cricket forums and keeping it that way is not easy with the number of posters we have.
It is hard work though. I think most would be surprised at the sheer effort the PP team puts in on a daily basis. Operations have increased significantly since I first got involved two years go – we now have a homepage we can be proud of, very active Facebook and Twitter pages, Google+, mailing lists, forums which have increased in membership significantly, and each one absorbs our time.
All this means I cannot post on the forums as much as I would like, but it's an inevitable consequence; there are only so many hours in a day!
PakPassion.net: Where will Sami stand in the annals of Pakistan pace legacy by the time he is finally retired?
SOSami: One of the fastest.
PakPassion.net: What draws you to Mohammad Sami, when even his most ardent of fans seem to have deserted him?
SOSami: Sport is like that. You like who you like and sometimes (most of the time) it's not rational.
Mohammad Sami epitomizes the glorious fragility but enduring strength of Pakistani cricket. Everyone writes him off, but he comes back. He was one of the most talented bowlers I've seen and yet his skill was wasted by a combination of mismanagement, both self and coaching. He was told to slow his pace when he should have been encouraged to bowl even quicker. He was used as a stock bowler when he should have been used as a strike bowler. He was picked when he should have been dropped, and was dropped when he should have been picked. He wasn't selected for ODIs when he should have been, and was picked for Tests when he shouldn't have been. It was a real mess. He also suffered more from poor umpiring and dropped catches than any player I've seen.
He has no cricketing nous, but there are plenty of bowlers over the years who haven't. There is a reason why Imran Khan coached him personally – it hurts to waste such a talent and the failure of Pakistan to not unlock the secret has resulted in the loss of a potential match-winner for the best part of a decade.
Sami is the same age as Mitchell Johnson, who took 32 years to learn to bowl properly. It's not over.
PakPassion.net: In your opinion, what is the greatest ball Mohammed Sami has ever delivered in International cricket?
SOSami: During England's 2005/2006 tour of Pakistan, England were set to 198 to win the first Test. Sami bowled a lovely spell in England's second innings where he got the ball to reverse swing and he trapped Paul Collingwood with one that tailed in. It was quick too – the batsmen didn't move his foot and I remember the commentator saying he thought the batsman had gotten his studs caught in the pitch.
PakPassion.net: How did you come to know about PakPassion.net?
SOSami: I used to post on the old PakPassion, before it was closed down. For those of you who don't remember, all of the major teams used to have message boards on one forum website – one log-in to access the Indian, Sri Lankan, English, Pakistani forums. As you can imagine, it was mayhem with a lot of cross-(message)border excursions. Remembering those days makes me value PP the way more, giving people from all countries a voice without being hounded for their nationality.
PakPassion.net: What is the origin of your forum name?
SOSami: SOSami = Save our Sami, rather than SOS ami (I'm not looking for my Ami). I remember I tried about ten user-names but they were all taken. I'm glad they were though; it subconsciously helped me to carry the Sami fight in every post I made.
PakPassion.net: Is Test cricket 'the realest' form of cricket and do you think Test cricket will survive, particularly in the subcontinent? Is T20 the devil's own work?
SOSami: Whatever cricket is being contested at the time is the most real for any fan. Imagine a scenario where T20 was the sport contested by the likes of Imran Khan, Malcolm Marshall, Viv Richards, Kapil Dev all those years ago, and Test cricket has been introduced in the last decade. What would we all think? Would we extol the virtues of five day cricket and write off all of the achievements of the old legends? I enjoy Test cricket more than any other format, but I wouldn't say every Test is inherently better than every T20.
T20 cricket is a test of players' skills too – it's not all hacks and trundlers. Much like when you see footballers showing their true range of skills in training, T20 allows us to see what players can do in the absence of potentially having to field for three days before being able to bat again - something that shackles batsmen in Test cricket. Dil Scoop, slower-ball bouncer, being able to bowl six yorkers in a row, extracting reverse swing, a spinner having the courage to toss the ball up when he knows the batsmen is throwing the bat are all amazing skills which we don't often see in the longer formats.
Test cricket will survive in the sub-continent as long as the players continue to value it. The current crop of players' role models are still Test legends – Sachin, Imran, Waqar, Wasim, Gavaskar and Murali. However, it's often the weaker suit that first exhibits any symptoms and we're already seeing most of the current generation of Pakistani batsmen finding it difficult to play long innings and India now play the likes of Jadeja and Kumar – essentially limited-overs bowlers - in Test matches. Bangladesh and Afghanistan have a clear strategies to focus on limited overs cricket and Sri Lanka after Sangakkara and Jayawardene are essentially a limited overs team. The prospects are not great.
PakPassion.net: If you could pick one current player from another country to play for Pakistan, who would it be and why?
SOSami: AB de Villiers. A brilliant wicket-keeper, outstanding in all three formats and his attacking style of batting could help the young batsmen in the Pakistan side understand that backing your natural game rather than the cagey, limited brand of cricket that the current leadership team seem to be advocating is the only way to succeed in the long run.
PakPassion.net: Who is the best batsman in your opinion that you have seen in your life?
SOSami: The best batsman I have seen live is Kevin Pietersen. When on song, he plays some utterly outrageous shots and that too in Test cricket.
One of the best shot's I've ever seen is a straight drive he played off Yasir Arafat in the World T20 2009. If ever there was a shot that said “thanks for coming,” it was that one.
That's not to say I think he's the best batsman, mind you. Just the best I've seen.
PakPassion.net: Your favourite match of all time?
SOSami: Toss-up between Pakistan vs. India in Karachi in 2006 and Pakistan vs England at Multan in 2005, which Pakistan won by 22 runs. My two best friends are die-hard India fans and one rang me at about 5am to tell me Irfan Pathan had taken a hat-trick and Pakistan were 39/6.
PakPassion.net: Your favorite batsman of all time?
SOSami: Inzamam-ul-Haq. He was a one-man batting line-up for so long. I once heard Wasim say that whatever the position, if Inzi still had to go out to bat the dressing room was relaxed. If he got out cheaply, the whole team would be disheartened.
PakPassion.net: Your favorite bowler of all time?
SOSami: Waqar Younis. I started watching cricket because of Waqar Younis touring England in 1992. There wasn't much worldwide TV coverage of cricket back then and that was the only way I got to see Pakistan play. Tremendous bowler and still one of the top two bowlers of all time for me. Fearless.
Also have a soft spot for Darren Gough, who played the game the right way.
PakPassion.net: Your favourite captain of all time?
SOSami: Paul Nixon at Leicestershire. Not captain for any significant period of time and completely mad, but played with a passion that infected his side. He set a brilliant example for youngsters and never gave up. In another era would have been England wicket-keeper for a decade.
Saurav Ganguly too – he was an intelligent captain and one who sacrificed everything for his team, including his own batting. It's no surprise the Indian team flourished under him – he was fiercely protective of his players, which allowed them to focus on the cricket rather than the media.
Imran was before my time, but I wouldn't be a Pakistan fan if I didn't include him!
PakPassion.net: Would be pick a player alone on his talent even if his stats aren't impressive?
SOSami: Bowler yes, batsman no. A bowler only needs to get it right five times the 120-odd balls he bowls in day of Test cricket and he'll get a five-fer. A batsmen gets it wrong five times in a row and he's out of the side.
PakPassion.net: Most memorable cricketing moment?
SOSami: Standing at Lords as Afridi hit the winning runs in the 2009 ICC World T20 in England is my best cricketing moment. There were five of us friend who went to every match and none of us had purchased any tickets as they went on general sale, so we'd be rushing around buying tickets and trying to get time off work, working weekends to make up the time.
The semi-final at Trent Bridge was the best atmosphere I've experienced at any sporting event. We sat through the early losses, the rain and cold, but for some reason we had no doubt Pakistan were going to win it at any point. The banter with the players and even umpires during the matches was brilliant too – if the weather holds up, there is no better place to watch cricket than England.
Winning was the end of a long journey and the reason why I'll always support Pakistan; for all the rubbish we have to put up with, they gave us that summer and that win.
PakPassion.net: Let's suppose that you are MS Dhoni's batting coach, what exactly would be your advice to him as far as his batting is concerned in Test cricket?
SOSami: I wouldn't tell him to change anything. Sometimes a player is so good in one format that it would be a travesty to risk ruining that by changing his technique or approach.
PakPassion.net: What are your thoughts on Misbah-ul-Haq?
SOSami: Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez show how dangerous lack of succession planning can be. As Misbah himself said, there is a reason why he never got a chance when Inzi, Yousuf and Younis Khan were in the team. When you put severely limited players in charge, those who do not have the will nor the wherewithal to counter-attack the opposition, only knowing the art of defence and graft, this attitude permeates the mindset of all those in the team and the modern game does not allow for such an approach, just ask Alistair Cook. If you keep the scoreboard moving, you put the opposition under pressure as to whether to stick or twist.
Neither of the the Pakistani captains are equipped to face the leadership challenges set by international cricket. Hafeez has batted at number three in Misbah's Test team against Sri Lanka. He batted three in South Africa, in the limited overs team. What's the thought process behind that? Will it enhance Pakistan's chances of victory? The question I would like to ask them both - the decision-makers - is: “What did you think is going to happen?” Did they think Hafeez would suddenly turn into a world-class number three who could potentially his place in the Pakistan Test side for the next five years?
The answer would be as weak as the people making the decision and epitomizes the vacuum of logical or constructive thought in the Pakistan “leadership” team.
PakPassion.net: Who do you think will win the upcoming World T20 2014 and why? Which teams do you think have the most chance of lifting the trophy this time?
SOSami: Sri Lanka are always in the mix. India's bowling issues can be masked on such pitches, as can Pakistan's batting woes. Hard to look beyond those three teams.
PakPassion.net: What kind of pitches do you think will Australia offer up at the next World Cup?
SOSami: Same as every other ICC tournament – pitches which look and play like they've been flown straight from Karachi or Mumbai.
PakPassion.net: What is your preview or what are your expectations on performances of Pakistan cricket team in 2014?
SOSami: I'm always hopeful of Pakistan's chances. It requires a change in leadership through. Unfortunately, it looks like Moin Khan, a man who was captain makes Misbah look dynamic, may well take over management of the side. If that does happen then we can only expect much of the same from Pakistan, which is a number of poor results permeated with some outstanding victories; for every first-Asian-team-to-win-a-series-in-South-Africa there will be a Zimbabwe!
If we get the likes of Umar Akmal, Haris Sohail and Mohammad Rizwan in the side then Pakistan can have a very successful 2014.
PakPassion.net: Finally few words for cricket fans?
SOSami: Cricket is entertainment!
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