I am sick of people saying:
“Shoaib Akhtar is arrogant and therefore should not play.”
It is idiotic. Since when did humility become a prerequisite for playing cricket, or any sport for that matter? These players are supposed to be professionals. This is their job. If Shoaib is arrogant, don’t go to dinner with him, or invite him over to play with your kids. But surely you can work with him. God knows we’ve all worked with a few arrogant idiots from time to time.
I am not a fan of Shoaib’s antics. But his ‘arrogance’ does tend to make him an exciting player to watch. He is a celebrity and a superstar, and every now and then he should be allowed to act like one. The way his career has been manhandled says less about him and more about the disastrous state of man management in the PCB (and in Pakistan in general, for that matter).
It is a pity that the PCB has not learned to deal with Shoaib the way the Australians managed to deal with Warne. The Aussies did so well, in fact, that a man who has been found guilty of both match-fixing and doping is still hailed as a hero around the world. There are other circumstances at play here of course (the Australian media is a tad more influential than the Pakistani media, for example), but even so, Shoaib is lucky if he gets respect from his own countrymates.
So what if he’s arrogant? He’s the best bowler we have (sorry Asif, but it’s true). Unless I’m missing something, the team that goes out to represent Pakistan should consist of its best players, not its most humble. Otherwise we may as well just send out a bunch of 11 beard-toting, God-fearing mullahs and see how they do.
Oh, wait… we already did…
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cross-posted at billu.net
This article at Cricket Bloggers of Pakistan has been composed by Billu.net .
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Hmm i dont agree with you over here. People tend to let success go over their head at times. They tend to act arrogant and that affects morale. Cricket is a team sport and not an individualistic (is that even a word?)sport such as tennis or golf. The morale of the team should be high and everyone should work together. Shoaib’s attitude does not reflect well on the team. If he is allowed to act like his arrogant self then he turns into a monster. An effort has to made on both sides but then i guess its impossible to deal with difficult people. Shoaib should get a reality check. He should remember that his cricket career will be over in a few years and that he needs to tone down his behavior or life post-cricket wont be a bed of roses. He will be best known as a has-been.
Dude, when we say that he’s arrogant it means that he has a bad influence in the dressing room that rubs off on the other players especially the young ones. You can’t afford to have characters like him in the dressing room creating divisions and acting like they’re the heart of the team. Shoaib, no doubt, is a fantastic bowler but time and again you get to hear about a mess in the dressing room that he’s involved in. You need ‘team players’, not show boaters like him in your side. Superstars do tend to possess an ‘attitude’ and it is the responsibility of the management to keep tabs on Shoaib’s behaviour and if he doesn’t comply, throw him out for good.