Bob on Najaf Shah

Lately there has been alot of talk on here about why isnt najaf shah playing either in the A team or selected for the test team (same thing everyone said about Irshad, before people really saw him bowl). well this is what bob has to say about Shah after someone posted on his website why he wasnt selected.
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http://www.bobwoolmer.com/qa.aspx?Page=5

Question: Dear Sir, Like others I am not at all depressed because our team deserve this loss. When our team was winning even at that time I wrote u that Pakistan is winning just bcs of bits and peaces performancs. I m dissapointed by ur and Bari's talent identification ability. U and others always thaought with conviction about Rao iftikhar, umer Gul and Sami Niazi but believe me they r not more than the club level players. Neither their pace is reasaonable nor they get bounce how we can expect that they will worry others. These players were not effective even from Pakistan A agaisnt India A in UAE but? The best bowler pacer is najaf Shah being ignored consistetly. You are not only wasting him but also teams chances. The other better bowler is Abdul Rauf but not even in probables. You people are just playing with same 14 boys for last few years, if a player gets unfit teams balance diturbs. Since ur joining Paksitan team has not been able to identify even a single new player this is just that u r not giving enough time to domestic cricket like Greg Chappel. At last let us know the reason why Najaf Shah is not considered better in comparison with poor Umer Gul, Rao iftikhar and Sami Niazi? Haroon Israr

Answer Date: 8/12/2006
Answer:

I am really amazed that you continue to bang on about Najaf Shah, he very kindly came to bowl in the nets at Old Trafford with Samiullah and the other bowlers. I do not want to denigrate his bolwing or any of the others but your assesment is flawed and if Najaf was as good as you are portraying him he would have been a fixtutre in the team.

Bob

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I leave it for all the najaf supporters to come to his defense now, who probably have never seen him bowl.

Well I guess if Bob says it then it must be. But there is a lot of fixing, and "fights" in today's world so anything could be a reason for Najaf not playing.

Well that sums up Najaf Shah

That's Bob's opinion. He is entitled to it. If he thinks Niazi is better than Najaf, good luck to him, but even Niazi has been sent packing after a merry trip down to UK.

well i do rather take bob's opionion than some of the arm chair critics over here, who havent even seen him bowl.

yeah right Bob , no wonder Najaf is the Leading Wicket TAker in Fc cricket (left handed) & even in that tour match against england he was the leading wicket taker.

Perhaps Bob needs to explain too how Faisal and Farhat bene doing? What did he see in their struggling batting styles that he is so enamored with the duo?

actually he wasnt the leading wicket taker in the side games. he only played in the Patron's XI v England XI.
He only took 5 wickets in two innings. arafat got 9 in that match which pakistan lost and he didnt play the A game which pakistan won mostly due to muhammad Asif taking 7 in the first inning.
http://usa.cricinfo.com/link_to_dat...-02NOV2005.html

Normally I would agree with the general point being made by Bob that 'if he was better then the current players, he would be in the team' however, looking at the way Shahid Nazir bowled in the last game, one can't help wonder as to why he is below Sami in the pecking order for bowlers. He is obviously a better bowler then Sami at the moment and deserves to be playing ahead of him. Therefore I'd rather wait to see Najaf play rather then beleiving what Woolmer has to say about him.

what ever people say & Bob says (he has his own opinion being the Coach) like Farhad bhai said earlier, at the moment i reckon he is the Best left-arm bowler currently in Pakistan & has improved a lot .

i have seen Sami ullah Niazi bowl and can tell you was not impressed at all .

Najaf on the other hand might not be as good According to Bob, but he Surely has a lot of potential e.g a Good in swinger , reasonable pace and his Height ?

Bob said something similar about Shahid Nazir a while ago.

He's just getting defensive for the sake of it.

Even if Najaf isn't all that, it's not as if the others are setting the world on fire. He's making out that the other bowlers are in another league which they quite clearly are not.

spot on!

Exactly!

Bob used to like khalil.. that says alot about his spotting skills. not that i am in favor of Najaf. I have never seen him bowl so i can't comment

I think this is just another fan gone upset. I am surprised Bob opens his site for such idiots like him. Yes, it is a shame that Najaf is not in the side, I really want him in the sdie but its not a open invation to openly bash Bob and others.

Umar Gul? The guy bowled his heart out. Bowling England out at home, is not a easy prospect. Everyone is expecting him to rip through their batting. This England team is better than any of the other we played over the years. They area good ateam at home and have not lost a series there since 2001 against the mighty Aussies.

Than Bob has not found any new players eh? Downright stupid comment. I know alot will say Bob has not properly utilised some players, but than agian he has utilised some players to their fullest potential. Like Shoaib Malik. He was always batting at the death adn could not play his natural game of settling in under Miandad. Woolmer makes him numbr 3, we all call for his head. One game later, we beat arch rivals India and all is forgiven.

Mohammad Asif? Who picked him for that decisive KArachi test?

Rana NAved? He was persisted under Bob. I remember that ICC CT game vs India and the whole time I said "Oh Azhar should be playing, not this landa" Turns out that landa took 4 wickets and won us the game!

And than Shahid Afridi. Under Woolmer, we have all seen Afridi improve immensely despite his recent brian explosion in England.

To say Woolmer has given nothing to the team is stupid. Also, all you arm-chair critics, think you knwo the game so well. You criticised Bob for not having Irshad in the squad and once you saw him play he was a big a joke as Venkatash Prasad!

Najaf has had problems with the authorities over the years. His discipline has indeed been a factor for his omission.

Also we can thank Gen Tauqeer Zia for ruining the career of a genuine star Abdur Rauf. Those who saw Rauf on TV well past his prime a few months ago in the 20/20 competition will definitely vouchsafe how much better he is from any pacer Pak has put on show in this Test Series. Rauf is around 6'4 and does generate considerable swing still although pace has slowed down.

Bob gave Asif a chance, leading to his rise? Interesting doctrine that. Those who have played under Bob and delivered well have done so thanks to Bob, and yet those who have failed Pak and been persisited with by BW, have themselves to blame!

What about Khalil? What about Sami - not exactly doing wonders out there in England, is he?

We have also seen what rank failures his favorite fringe players Farhat and Faisal have been. Who is to be held accountable for their continued selections??

didnt mr aquib javed help him modify his action like a few others? by modify, i mean take the pace away

I don't know about that. But that Rauf had a major problem with Gen. Tauqeer Zia, the former PCB Chief is quite common knowledge in cricket circles here. That's why despite topping the national averages for consecutive years, he was never given a chance even when Junaid Zia and a few others were.

Yes ofcourse our armchair critics on PakPassion who at best have only seen a handful of Twenty20 matches obviously have a superior breadth of knowledge in comparison to our coach who has only led us to the No.2 position in the world.

Bob clearly knows what he is talking about, he has seen this guy bowl in detail which no one here has. So before launching a scathing attack think that he might actually be correct, and being our coach, he may even have our best interests at heart.

Just think of Khalil keeping in perspective the above.

Bob apparently has also seen a lot of Faisal, Farhat and Sami too. And so have tens millions of Pak fans on TV.

Come on Bob bring Najaf to the squad or is that too many bowlers from pindi

He is not from pindi .

and yes, Pindites Rule

he plays for pindi though

jeez time to get rid of bob

isnt his contract nearing end

second that

finishes after the wc next year.

shut up about najaf shah and xyz and etc etc it's time to face the facts...in pakistan the team isn't selected on merit or talent it's based on sifarish/rishwat

And you are backing this statement by which facts?

you're asking me for facts? are you an ABCD? or forgotten what pakistan is like? henh puttar?

i know what pakistan is like so dont lecture me on that. Unless you have some inside info dont pass sweeping general statements about the state of affairs of the country and in particular PCB.

I never said Bob made Asif. But the guy said in his question that Bari and Bob have not picked out any new talent and that is quite wrong.

I would agree with that, I like Woolmer but I am not going to discount Shah just because Bob says he isn’t that good. If Sami can keep getting in the team ahead of Gul and Nazir then its clear that Bob can get things wrong big time.

Spot on! Unless you really extraordinary, you need connections to make your way up.

Interesting.

Especially since Bob was the one talking about Najaf in the first place. He once claimed (on his site) that he wanted Najaf for Australia but was denied.

Then he described him as the best amongst the A team bowlers and pointed him out as one for the future.

And then Najaf went on to be the most successful bowler in the A team before he was mysteriously left out.

So the twist in the story is indeed interesting.

I've seen him bowl only a few balls and it is difficult to judge but I'd be really surprised if Samiuallah (whom I've also seen) turns out to be better than him. He at least has height and a bit of bounce to support his cause unlike some of the others in contention. I also recall that the Cricinfo journalist Andrew Miller was quite impressed with Najaf in the practise game.

Anyhow given that Woolmer once felt Khalil was 'it' and has supported the likes of him and Rao over Nazir...

Have always criticised BW's eye for bowling talent. Not surprised at all. If he is being a mouthpiece for others, it's his fault

As lady bug said above, he had implied that Khalil was a Messiah, so...

dont think its 2 weeks yet ? or is it now ? "Lowser" ?

i have been on bob woolmer site, and quite like the idea of having a site and connecting with the people directly, later by looking at the no. of mails put in their which lauds him as the sole saviour of pakistan cricket and belive he is the best thing happened to pakistan cricket, i could not help thinking, can you blame or praise him alone for everything especially regarding selcetion, which we all know has been a muddy issue with our cricket.

i have the following observations.

1. no doubt bob has done some good work, and his intension are reflected in many of his actions, i think he played safe on certain issues and maybe thought better off coming in direct conflict with the officials, so maybe a mute speactator in the selection politics,

2. he is too defensive in his mindset and maybe bowling is his achills, their are enough glaring instances of that, what we have seen under his stint is that batting getting stronger but bowling weaker.

3. knowing the general mistrust among ourselves and the way we treat foreign coaches, he just want to take it easy with his stay in pakistan team unlike greg who has started his tenure with calling a spade, a spade and working on his own conditions.

4. i am not at all in the position to comment on shah, but what i have heard and read at many places suggests that the lad has something, if khalil can be given chances sami could be persisted with Rao is selected ahead of many deserving candidtates why not shah ?

I welched, Im a welcher, didn't I tell you? ;)

not only that....but you are also a sissy, a born lowser, a makaar, dhokay baaz, no wonder PAkistan has not PRogressed much in the last 59 years, its all because of people like you , who not only love losing, but always come back for more....i can understand you guys are AADat say majboor ;)

ps : by the way i had a thread waiting for you, but someone deleted that..anyways most people know anyway, so make sure next time you think twice before crossing the lines with the Great 1

Well, its very intresting. Bob has him self praised Najaf alot, as one friend mentioned above and all of sudden these remarks. very intresting....

TOoo be honest he was made to defend selection, coz he gave chance to khalil and he failed and now samiullah. let see

This is no surprise.

From what I have seen Samiullah is a tidy bowler who keeps a reasonable line and length without setting the world alight. Najaf Shah is tall, gets bounce and movement and has pace!
Not Bob's cup of tea ;)

Interesting. Bob has backtracked on Najaf now. What are his latest opinions on Khalil?

Bob tries to have neutral view of every player. He has fairly unorthodox system in the sense he loves bits and pieces players like fletcher. he always looks for the boje or klusener. Thats his main flaw, because in the past the bowlers were good enough in that role where they could pinch hit and stuff. but now they arent as good with bowling making it very difficult.

i would have shah in the squad but more importantly in the a team at least. keep him line and inclure arafat.

Sorry but what is so wrong with that? Haven't you ever been fond of something but the more time you spend or get to know more you know it isn't what you expected?

If everyone is so convinced that Bob has an agenda against Najaf (I am not taking sides at all), or that he has had nothing but praise for Najaf in the past...then why not post a message on his site which contains 'Bob's pat and latest opinion about Najaf'!

Lets see what Bob comes up with to defend his change of heart or his so-called agenda against one player or the other

thing is as some posters are saying that Najaf is best. question is has he continued his performance? or he went down with time like other guys like Irshad,Mansoor etc.
Remember how much hype/expectation were over Irshad? now hardly anyone mention him after his bad performance.
so let's wait untill we see Najaf in action and not ONLY basis of performance in domestic cricket.

like I was very impressed from bowler "John Srephan" (name?) in 20/20 matches, but when asked Noddy he simply said no any future for him. He is left hand bowler as well who swings ball in air from 1st over.
ppl who are around these guys and watch them very closely are better judge then us.

That's marriage in a nutshell....

Any body has a video showing najaf in action ?

Stephen John from Islamabad I think you mean!
not a bad bowler apparently.

I wont believe any hype about Najaf Shah, until I have seen him in action...remember, Rao, Khalil, Irshad etc etc

well my brummie G think Zoysa but a lot quicker!

I don't remember from which team he played. May b he played in same team as Arun Lal? But he does swing alot in air.

weird name for a guy from Pakistan