Derailment of ‘Rawalpindi Express’ by Pakistan Cricket Selectors
Pakistan Times Sports Desk

ISLAMABAD: On Monday national cricket selectors decided to sideline “Rawalpindi Express”, Shoaib Akhtar, maybe forever, considering him too heavy for railway tracks. They thought he could do more damage than benefit if got the opportunity to steam on Windi Islands.

It is a sorry sight for all those fans of him in Pakistan and all around the world, which for so many years saw him cruising around cricket fields with nearly hundred-mile speed per hour. What a spectacle to view Rawalpindi Express steaming off and sending shivers of fears in spinal chords of batsmen all over the world! People love to see him bowling, writes Gul Jammas Hussain.

Especially, in West Indies when they learn that Express is coming to their islands, the fun and jubilation there got doubled. What would be their feelings when they would know that he is not coming? I wonder! Will they feel disappointed?

Over the years when Pakistan were having another Express from Burawala, the scenes were such that as they learn Burawala Express would be steaming off in Jamaica, in Trinidad, or in Antigua they jump with joy and made sure that not a single seat would remain empty. The cover all the best places in the ground and some would go to trees to have good look of him.

Rawalpindi Express himself once told that as Waquar (Burawala Express) would start his run up, in order to see his run-up, the front seats of him sold out with double prices. West Indies fans love to see him running for delivering ball, and they especially try to occupy those seats from where they can see him from all the possible angles. Cricket is a craze in Windi Islands and fast bowling is a passion. They created the best fast bowlers of all times.

In eighties, they ruled the pace departments with the likes of, Marshall, Garner, Croft, Roberts, Holding, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose.

For twenty years, from the time of the Holding and Roberts pairing, the West Indies dominated cricket, using a battalion of fast-men from Croft to Garner, including the great Malcolm Marshall. Other speed demons of this golden Windies era included Curtly Ambrose and the West Indies leading all time Test wicket-taker Courtney Walsh. The West Indies generally played at least four pacemen, even on the slower wickets to ensure there was no respite for the opposing batsmen.

Such kind of pace blowers inculcated in West Indies fans an extra love for the fast bowlers from other parts of the world as well. After Waquar they found this love for Shoaib Akhtar. They became good fans of his bowling. They were waiting anxiously to see him in their Islands, but Alas! Shoaib Akhtar let him to get unfit for the tour.

Selectors on Monday quoted the reasons of his exclusion from the team: “Akhtar’s medical report suggests that the speedster is still not fit and is horribly overweight.”

“The PCB Ad-hoc Committee that approved the 17-member touring squad, and felt that Shoaib was still not 100 per cent fit and needed time to lose weight to improve his fitness. The members were in agreement that he was a vital part of the senior team but needed to show more commitment and improve his attitude,” PCB Director Media Affairs Abbas Zaidi said on Monday.

This downfall of Shoaib is entirely of his own making. It is self-inflected. He despite having the best trainers’ available did not take care of his weight and let himself look bulky and shabby. He looked out of sorts.

As he was bowling in Twenty20 ABN- Amro cup, only after couple of overs he started to gasp for breath. Waquar seeing him said it clearly that Shoaib is not fit, he is overweight and not in best of form. He badly needs to lose his weight and trim himself. He said, extra pounds of a fast bowler put extra pressure on his knees, ankles and spinal chord, so there always are obvious chances of him breaking down right in the middle of the innings. Waquar, himself, reputed for his superb fitness all the years of his cricket, has the qualification to say it all.

I think, selectors took a good but tough decision to leave Rawalpindi Express out in the cold, to let him have some soul searching. If he would get fit for next series then certainly he deserves a chance to steam again otherwise, he should be remain sidelined though West Indies fans would be very upset because of his exclusion from Pakistan touring party. Sorry for his all fans around the world but he and only he is responsible to disappoint them. He needs to think over it.●