Uncertainity Thy Name is Yousuf

Are there two Mohammad Yousuf's? One rivalling VVS Laxman and Mark Waugh for grace and elegance on the cricket field, the other acting as the exact opposite in real life - a comical mixture of indecision and rash thinking.

The erstwhile Yousuf Youhana's, on the field, exploits are the primary reason for his place in any cricket fan's heart. His timing has been astounding and for a brief span in 2006, he was the best batsman in the world bar none - at least based on statistics. While there have been criticisms regarding his apparent selfishness with the bat, Yousuf remains by some distance Pakistan's best batsman.

But, there is another side to Yousuf- his life outside the cricket ground. While his conversion from Christianity to Islam may be accepted on the altar of personal life, the latest saga related to the ICL cannot be blindly accepted . Here is the story in short.

In a fit of pique, after the 2007 World Cup, Yousuf joined ICL. On pressure from the PCB, he drops out of the rebel league. Instead, he offers his wares to the IPL. The ICL retaliated with legal action. Yousuf backed off. PCB announced their team with Yousuf in it. ICL announced that Yousuf was a part of the ICL fraternity. The story currently stays here with more to come for sure.

To me, Yousuf resembles Pakistani cricket. Exhilarating and Infuriating in equal measures. Cricket's Jekyll and Hyde - both the country and the man. If Hamlet, were a cricket follower , he would have one thing to say about both - "Uncertainty, thy name is ..."

Has Ranatunga just broken a murderer's heart?

If someone had to grow some balls, it is not very surprising that Ranatunga inspired it. Anyway, it is quite sad that it needed one of the smaller, less powerful cricketing nations for the breach to occur. Any suggestion that the acts of the SL cricket board are motivated are entirely lacking in evidence. But this is not a courtroom. Mr Chandra is a known International Man of Mystery.

The BCCI had been a good provider. Puts food on the table. Buys the silk and took you out to the movies. The sex was just about all right. Did not move mountains, but satisfactory.

As Ranatunga grew fat and sedentary and spent the afternoons watching The Bold and the Beautiful, something just wasn't right - it was never perfect of course, at the back of his mind and elsewhere, and now it was festering..

Now you have eloped and left the BCCI wondering what's he got that I ain't got?

Can Ranatunga handle the wrath?

"There are consequences to breaking the heart of a murdering bastard."

Giving up the ghost. Not!!

For those who do not already know, the new ICL ads are out, and to my jaded eye, they were refreshing. None of the crass Bollywood nonsense and the superstar hype that characterised the IPL ads, and the ICL marketing of previous years. Here's a sample:


Are they trying to be the Thinking Man's (okay, let me rephrase: The Non-Vegetable's) domestic 20-20 competition?

In other news, the ICL has poached some Bangla heavyweights (this is not an Inzamam joke) of yesteryear, as well as a few promising youngsters.

The ICL is not giving up yet. Let's hope they can carry on until they break the BCCI monopoly on domestic cricket.

Dear Pat Symcox,

If you sue Nimbus and drag the BCCI to court as well, I will forget the fact that I have hated you for ten years. If you win, I will get a life-size cutout made of you, and sleep with it. That's at night. During the day, that cutout will be in the special Symcox-pooja room, with your recorded whiny voice playing, till it is time for me to go to sleep again.
Excited,
SOCF