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Tanvir Ahmed upset at his unfair treatment

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Despite a batting average of 29 and a bowling average of 24.56 in his first 4 Tests, Kuwait born pace bowler Tanvir Ahmed not only finds himself out of favour with the Pakistani selectors since May 2011, but he was also omitted from the list of 42 players awarded central contracts by the Pakistan Cricket Board last month.

After an impressive couple of seasons in domestic cricket Tanvir was finally given his opportunity at international level a year and a half ago. The 33 year old did not disappoint and ended up with match figures of 6 for 149 on Test debut against South Africa in November 2010 in Abu Dhabi, including 6 for 120 in the first innings. His scalps on an impressive debut included Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla and Mark Boucher.

Tanvir is not your typical Pakistani pace bowler rather a medium fast bowler who relies mainly on nagging accuracy, wholehearted effort and the ability to surprise the opposition batsmen with an effort ball that quite often results in a wicket. Whilst he was never a fan’s favourite Tanvir impressed many with his never say die attitude and effort.

Speaking with PakPassion.net about his axing from the international set up, his omission from the list of contracted players and his plans to earn an international recall, a disappointed and frustrated Ahmed stated that he was stunned, angry and extremely upset over his treatment and omission, but he would continue to work hard in an attempt to earn a recall to the Pakistan side.

“In the four Test matches that I have played, I gave my absolute all. I did not have the luxury of playing against any minnow teams in any of the matches. My four Test matches were against South Africa in Abu Dhabi and then away in New Zealand and then in the Caribbean. I toiled for the team and for my colleagues and worked hard for every wicket and for every run” stated Tanvir.

He continued “Even in my last Test match against the West Indies I scored 57 in the first innings and because it was a turning track I was only given the opportunity to bowl 12 overs but I still managed to take 2 wickets for 32 runs. After that I was dropped without any explanation, I’m really puzzled and shocked by my treatment and I think I have been treated unfairly. I performed with the ball and with the bat, my batting average for Pakistan is better than some all rounders yet I am supposed to be a bowler. Whenever I was called upon to bowl by the captain I performed, it’s confusing to see myself on the sidelines at the moment.”

Tanvir who is currently one of the standby players for the ongoing Test series in Sri Lanka added that fitness cannot be an issue for his omission from the squad as he has been working extremely hard on maintaining his levels of fitness despite the domestic cricket season having ended in Pakistan.

“I’m fully fit, I’ve been training hard once the domestic season ended and have been maintaining my levels of fitness particularly after being named as one of the reserve players for the Test series in Sri Lanka. Fitness and form cannot be a reason for my omission.”

As if his omission from the Test squad was hard enough to take, Tanvir also had to suffer the agony of being dropped from the list of centrally contracted players also, despite 42 cricketers being included in the list for 2012.

“They dropped me from international cricket which was hard to accept but then I was surprisingly omitted from the list of contracted players. I find it hard to believe that I am not amongst the best 42 players in Pakistan at the moment. It was tough to accept and I felt really down when the list of contracted players were announced” added Tanvir.

Tanvir pointed to a strong upcoming domestic season as his opportunity to once again impress the selectors and to earn a recall to international cricket and stated “I’m looking forward to the coming domestic season and the chance to prove a few people wrong. I’m more determined than ever to show people that I still have the will power and determination to succeed and perform at the top level of cricket. I will prove my critics and the doubters wrong and I hope to be back playing for Pakistan very soon.”


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there's no doubt that he was treated unfairly and I'm sure his anger would have increased after seeing sami being recalled in all forms of the game. He performed and that should be the criteria for selection, not some pace that gets smacked for 4's
 
He's completely justified to feel hard done by and he's not alone in believing this. Fans, at least on pp, complained about this when he was first dropped as well as subsequent ignorances by selectors.

Sadly, I think it's too late now. I mean he could still play now and probably close to the standard he's been playing in his 4 tests. But it would mean dropping someone, a youngster. Even that would be fine, if he was going to play for another year or two. That's where the problem lies.

It's very similar to the Yousuf situation. Unfortunate but too late now.
 
I toiled for the team and for my colleagues and worked hard for every wicket and for every run” stated Tanvir.

Thats the problem...had he taken a back-seat, let others do the work and bowl certain 4 ball (ala Sami) every single over....he still be up there :ibutt
 
It's too late. At 33 he isnt going to get any younger and well, I hope he does get another chance; but I cannot blame the selectors for trying to find younger options.

As this is the end of Sami's career, I do think there is a small glimmer of hope for Tanvir, but there will be tough competition from Cheema, Talha, Anwar Ali, Rahat Ali and so many others.
 
He was dropped for his fitness. In this interview it's a shame there's no real mention of him "improving his fitness", rather just "maintaining". Perhaps it was just a collection of bad days, but from what the fans saw he looked terribly unfit and didn't look like he could last consistently playing test match cricket (where his fitness struggled over 5 days).

Maybe it was more bad luck, he looked more unfit than he usually was. Perhaps he picked up something while bowling e.g. cramp.

What should be done is a fitness test should be put into place by the PCB (for all fast bowlers). If he passes this, he should be back in the squad and back in the team. Give him something to work on and improve.
 
Very unlucky cricketer. He's performed in almost every innings he's played. He's batted very well too. Don't know why he was dropped so unfairly.
 
That is why Pakistan will always be a poor team (or at least not the number 1 team ever)
 
If Pakistan think he's too old now then they shouldn't have tried him in the first place.
 
Huge injustice was done to him in tests, a lot bigger than to Fawad Alam in test.
 
took 6-fer on debut vs saffers on an absolute road. contributed both with bat and ball any time needed.

and sami gets selected IN TESTS because he bowled well in the freakin' bpl.

no wonder pakistan are ranked at #5.
 
Huge injustice was done to him in tests, a lot bigger than to Fawad Alam in test.
er no.

Tanvir was dropped for a valid reason, fitness. If you can't last for 5 days in tests, your fitness isn't good enough.

Fawad alam wasn't. One of the fittest cricketers in pakistan, excellent fielder and was performing with the bat.
 
er no.

Tanvir was dropped for a valid reason, fitness. If you can't last for 5 days in tests, your fitness isn't good enough.

Fawad alam wasn't. One of the fittest cricketers in pakistan, excellent fielder and was performing with the bat.
Is it a fact that he was dropped for fitness issue or you are presenting your view as a fact? I dont see anything about it.
 
He got the ball to swing a lot more than any Pak bowler in the current lineup on phatta tracks, Very mistreated by the PCB.

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Watch at 5:00
 
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He got the ball to swing a lot more than any Pak bowler in the current lineup on phatta tracks, Very mistreated by the PCB.

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Watch at 5:00

Wow awesome delivery at 5:06
 
He was a good new ball bowler, much better than Gul. He didnt have a lot of pace, his fitness wasnt that great but he got the job done. He has every right to feel hard done by.
 
Is it a fact that he was dropped for fitness issue or you are presenting your view as a fact? I dont see anything about it.
I remember people's complaints about him and watching him play. I'm pretty sure that's why the PCB dropped him. Was the clear negative thing that stood out about him. Just look at other people's comments about him.

Fawad was dropped down to technique. Which is hard to see it as a valid reason as he was performing regardless. If anything if selectors tought he wouldn't succeed based on technique he never should have been given a chance. Bit strange to give him a chance, let him score a century then drop him 2 tests later.

Fitness is important as if you can't remain fit through the day, we're going to lack bowling penetration at certain times of the day. We won't be able to keep the bowling pressure on, and with one bowler out tired, we'll have to rely more on part timers which is more easy runs for the opposition batsmen.

But more importantly if a player isn't fit, difficult to see him having a long test career. Just won't last. If he's struggling with one test series, pile up a couple of them and he'll be wrecked.
 
Man, the guy's stats are amazing if you consider where he bowled and who he bowled to. That pitch we played on where SA batted ~500 was an absolute pancake, I don't care what kind of fitness issues you have, with and average of 24 and strike rate of 38, you can grunt or drop your place all you like as long as you get results.

I think the comparison with Fawad is valid but Tanvir doesn't seem to get as much love, probably because he's 33 and medium pace.
 
The guy has every right to be upset about his exclusion from the Pakistani Team. I never really saw any problems with his fitness. In fact, after this injury, Junaid Khan doesn't seem to be very fit anymore.
 
disgusting stuff by the management

they didnt expect him to perform

when he did, they just dropped him for the craic
 
Very strange decision it was to drop someone who have been doing well on batting tracks. He had a good outswinger and he reversed it well as well. Only problem i thought about him was his lack of fitness. I am sure this could have worked. He was more than a handy batsman and this should have worked on his favor especially when our tail is very weak.
 
was the only bowler in recent times who swung the new ball. Got wickets up front. Shouldnt have been dropped, but how will he make a comeback now? 33 yrs old, and out of international cricket for a few months as well.
 
thx for doing interview with him , really wanted to hear from him
has been treated very unfairly
is a wicket taker and much better then junaid , aizaz, sami and gul
at test level
 
I've always wondered why Pak fans worry so much about Tanvir Ahmed. He is 33. And a good pro, but nothing more than that. It was a bit embarrassing to see somebody of his limited pace opening the bowling for a Pakistan team in test matches. Stick with Junaid and Gul.
 
Whilst there may have been fitness issues and his bowling need some work, he was a pretty god performer and very good with the bat, something pakistan really need.

His non-inclusion and no justifcation as to why he was dropped and not been looked at since is down right disgusting.
 
One of tjose rare bowlers who could perform on flat tracks..

He waa dropped from the team not cause of his fitness but cause of his poor bowling in odi against west indies. Thats right he was dropped from test due to poor performance in odis :facepalm:
 
One of tjose rare bowlers who could perform on flat tracks..

He waa dropped from the team not cause of his fitness but cause of his poor bowling in odi against west indies. Thats right he was dropped from test due to poor performance in odis :facepalm:

He was actually dropped due to a poor performance against Ireland(ODI). Very poor from the selectors.
 
I remember people's complaints about him and watching him play. I'm pretty sure that's why the PCB dropped him. Was the clear negative thing that stood out about him. Just look at other people's comments about him.

Fawad was dropped down to technique. Which is hard to see it as a valid reason as he was performing regardless. If anything if selectors tought he wouldn't succeed based on technique he never should have been given a chance. Bit strange to give him a chance, let him score a century then drop him 2 tests later.

Fitness is important as if you can't remain fit through the day, we're going to lack bowling penetration at certain times of the day. We won't be able to keep the bowling pressure on, and with one bowler out tired, we'll have to rely more on part timers which is more easy runs for the opposition batsmen.

But more importantly if a player isn't fit, difficult to see him having a long test career. Just won't last. If he's struggling with one test series, pile up a couple of them and he'll be wrecked.
so basically on hearsay about fitness you are supporting the decision to drop him from tests even when he was producing results. Thats very poor from you.
 
Although he is a good bowler, I don't know if it would be the best idea to have him in the same team as Cheema. Both are on their last legs. Without exposing guys like Junaid to international cricket, you aren't going to develop them into future stars. Then when Cheema and Tanvir retire next year, you are back to square one.

I think Cheema and Tanvir are competing for one spot, which for some reason has gone to Cheema for now. If Tanvir can out-perform Cheema in the upcoming domestic season, then there should be no reason why he should not replace Cheema.
 
if fitness was a issue why hasnt he been told this? The least they couldve done is to explain their reasoning and give the lad a chance to try and improve it

If over a period of a few months his fitness was still a issue then ditch him. The way theyve handled this whole situation is ludicrous. Several other players get chance after chance after chance whilst others get banished for good for no explanation
 
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Why is everyone so surprised. The selectors are, and always have been, idiots. The hardworking players who achieve results dropped for tested failures who are well connected
 
Ill used policy

Problem is not with the players but PCB! I have never seen so many players being ill used by any cricket board other than PCB. We have a whole lot of players who have been ill used and we can even make a good playing 11 out of them! Ahmed Shehzad, Fawad Aalam, Hammad Aazam, Shahzaib, Sarfraz, Umar Akmal and many more can come in the list but our dear PCB has been regarding many youngsters as a future of PAK and I think they will be vanished as soon as the future will come! Other teams develop the young talent and work on them to make them star but PCB put them aside on the bench and in many cases out of the team by labeling them as a future when we r suffering in out present !!
 
Gul is injuried and might be ruled out from the series. Tanvir being in the reserves has got a good chance
 
After having started two of the main support threads for Tanvir on PP, you can say I am a fan!

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showthread.php?t=135750&highlight=tanvir
http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showthread.php?t=118460&highlight=tanvir

I am a fan of the Mohammed Asif's school of bowling i.e. 'No Pace pe Pace Bowling'...I see all sorts of choochas posting threads about scary pace bowling, lightning quick bowlers, and how these sorts of bowlers can blast opposition batsmen the world over. When in reality, we see folks like Sami etc. toil all day for nothing to show in return. Pace bowling without a plan, without discipline, swing, seam, bowling in the right channels, changing your pace, yorkers, bouncers, etc. etc. is nothing but a phattoo idea.

This is where Asif, Tanvir, etc. shine...they always had a plan, they always looked to deceive the batsman with the change of line, pace, angle etc. Obviously Asif was the king of such bowling and Tanvir does not belong in the same class. But looking at his short Int'l career(excellent and exceptional by any standards) and the fact that he could bowl in the mid 130's despite being above 30 years of age, not being in excellent physical condition, and not looking like a very threatening bowlers and could always find a way to take a wicket; who is to say he could not belong up there with Asif if he was provided the chance much earlier in life when he was young?

After the NZ series, I started the second thread (Message to Tanvir Ahmed) because I was sensing that our selectors will do something silly and drop an excellent bowler for no crime of his, despite taking wickets (some very big ones) when ever he was given the ball, and despite giving his all in every game (even helped win a test with his batting against WI)!

Here we are several months later and my worst fears have materialized and our short sighted selectors have done exactly that and dropped a bowler who could always produce a wicket and instead picking bowlers like Gul (especially in Tests) who most of the time does not look like taking a wicket even when bowling with a new ball.

Pakistan team is the looser due to that because age, physical condition, phaast lightening bowling etc. should never determine whether a bowler plays or not. The ability to pick wickets most of the time should be the sole and main criteria and Tanvir passed that with flying colors, in his short career so far!
 
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Well yes in the sense he was dropped for no reason, then brought back to late when he could barely hit 125kph consistently

I feel he was dropped for fitness reasons. We realised we didn't have many alternatives, brought him back and he was even less fit than before thus dropped.

It's strange we're a bit two faced on our fitness policies. For some it's acceptable to kick them out of the team based on this, e.g. Tanvir, I also think Sohail Khan was probably dropped due to fitness worries too. Yet some it doesn't matter so much e.g. Sharjeel. I think in general we take fitness a lot more seriously when it comes to fast bowlers than other disciplines. Probably partly we've had batsmen who have suceeded before who were unfit/overweight e.g. Inzi, but I struggle to think of many fast bowlers who weren't supremely fit. Guys like Wasim, Imran, Waqar etc. were even above average fitness for a fast bowler.
 
Tanvir Ahmed and Sohail Khan...two could have been's both picked at the twilight of their careers. Both could've been Broad/Anderson level bowlers, such was their ability. Very unfortunate.
 
Tanvir Ahmed and Sohail Khan...two could have been's both picked at the twilight of their careers. Both could've been Broad/Anderson level bowlers, such was their ability. Very unfortunate.

Delusions

Sohail Khan, by his own admission, wasn't half the bowler in 2009 that he was later.

Tanvir Ahmed perhaps you can make a case but even then at best he would be a Umar Gul level bowler rather than broad

Broad and Anderson are world class. These two never were especially Tanveer
 
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Bowlers like Sohail Khan, Tanvir Ahmed, Sami Ver2, fazl-e-Akber and quite a few more names appear from time to time to fill the void of fast bowlers. They are never gonna take the place a lead bowlers so I don't think there is any need for crying about what a great legend he could be..
 
wow.. hella misleading bump

for a minute i thought chacha Tanvir had gotten delusional in his old age
 
He was a good bowler. Anyone who comes here commenting on his pace, do bother to watch the replays of his first 4 test game.

The guy wasnt pacey but he took wickets on the flattest road on earth. He was a great bowler, but he lacked fitness. He couldnt last 5 days in test cricket.

He was rightly dropped from test reason being fitness. His fitness was similar to sohail khans
 
No, he wasn't but Rao Iftikhar and Aizaz Cheema were. They were both decent ODI bowlers.
 
Delusions

Sohail Khan, by his own admission, wasn't half the bowler in 2009 that he was later.

Tanvir Ahmed perhaps you can make a case but even then at best he would be a Umar Gul level bowler rather than broad

Broad and Anderson are world class. These two never were especially Tanveer

I think even in the Karachi circuit they were never the lead bowlers to begin with tbh. I remember in every regional picking of KCCA, both these (Especially the The Grunting Tanvir :tanvir) were first under the shadow of Sami, then Tabish Khan (who I actually believe is the best fast bowler Khi has produced), Anwar Ali (for a brief period) :facepalm: and now Ruman Raees/Mir Hamza et al.

Sohail Khan had somewhat potential but Tanvir, no offense intended to him, was quite mediocre.
 
Fitness issues with some attitude issues kept him out.. he was a decent bowler but lacked discipline and then why should we bother when we have better bowlers to play.. Not everyone can play for national team especially when you are unfit.
 
It's strange we're a bit two faced on our fitness policies. For some it's acceptable to kick them out of the team based on this, e.g. Tanvir, I also think Sohail Khan was probably dropped due to fitness worries too. Yet some it doesn't matter so much e.g. Sharjeel. I think in general we take fitness a lot more seriously when it comes to fast bowlers than other disciplines. Probably partly we've had batsmen who have suceeded before who were unfit/overweight e.g. Inzi, but I struggle to think of many fast bowlers who weren't supremely fit. Guys like Wasim, Imran, Waqar etc. were even above average fitness for a fast bowler.

I don't think we ignore fitness standards for our batsmen because of success of unfit batsmen in the past, e.g. Inzi. I think we are more concerned about fitness when it comes to fast bowlers as we have a lot of options to choose from. In the current scenario the selectors can drop Sohail Khan as they have Mohammad Abbas, Hassan Ali, Junaid Khan, Amir, Rumman Raees, Imran Khan, Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz to choose from. Barring the Champions Trophy, during the last few years none of these bowlers have been exceptional but none have been awful either. So a lot of bowlers performing at similar level.

However when it comes to batting, Pakistan has struggled to produce decent LOI batsmen in the past few years. Due to this reason, if an unfit Sharjeel can play a few impactful innings, then his fitness is overlooked due to lack of alternate options.

Our batsmen's lack of ability also hides their lack of fitness. A batsman's fitness is tested when he needs to play long innings and bat out 50 overs in ODI's. Most of our batsmen average in the 30's with a strike rate of 70 so they usually end up playing 40 to 45 balls per innings and then get out. Due to this their fitness does not get exposed. On the other hand the bowlers lack of ability does not hide their lack of fitness. Even if the bowler gets hit around, he has to bowl the third and fourth spell in Test OR bowl the quota of 10 overs in ODI's and this exposes their lack of fitness. Additionally if an unfit batsman plays a long innings, eventually he plays a rash shot due to lack of fitness and gets out. By this time if he has scored 60 or 70 runs then by Pakistani standards he has played a good innings and people do not question about his inability to play a longer innings and win the match. On the other hand, if a bowler is unfit, he bowls poorly, keeps getting hit around and yet he still has to complete his spell/quota and the frustration continues. Due to these reasons it seems we are two faced in our fitness standards between batsmen and bowlers.
 
Delusions

Sohail Khan, by his own admission, wasn't half the bowler in 2009 that he was later.

Tanvir Ahmed perhaps you can make a case but even then at best he would be a Umar Gul level bowler rather than broad

Broad and Anderson are world class. These two never were especially Tanveer
Onabout delusions like say am their PR team or something.

Both at their best were 135kph bowlers who could move it either way, on any surface. I'd say that's Anderson territory there...Plus neither were mugs with the bat, outside of Asia too.

Anderson has fitness, they don't. That's what made them different.
 
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