What will happen now?

So is this the end? Will we never ever see Shoaib Akhtar’s bustling run-up up to the wicket and then taking off in celebration after striking. Will the fans in Cricket grounds deprived of the thrill and excitement of banging bottles against their seats and cemented benches while he used to make his run. It was one experience and I am glad that I have been part of it. Though we all agree how controversial he was and how many times he has disappointed us but all of us will also agree that his name in playing eleven always used to give us this extra hope and now its hard to believe that we will be playing the World Cup without him. Asif was an emerging talent, with him rising high we were slowly shifting our bowling dependency from Shoaib to him or should I say dividing our expectations. He was our future star not as fast as Shoaib but deadly accurate, a perfect compliment. It would have been still easier for us to just miss Shoaib during the World Cup and do with Asif but now without him gone too(most likely) it looks like Searching for The Holy Grail.

For me the ban on both of them was inevitable but bit harsh, considering Shane Warne was just handed ban of one year, then why we acted with such an over efficiency? Is it because we want to clear our tainted image in the outside world? Maybe we wanted to show the world that we don’t bow down to sentiments and got bit more stiffer then it was required or after reading Intikhab Alam’s statement yesterday “He [Shoaib] drinks alcohol, has an active sex life and he's been part of anti-doping awareness programmes.” I have a feeling that board has hit two birds with one stone that is, one handing ban to Shoaib and secondly also making sure he doesn’t come back in the squad. There have been reports that Skipper and Coach are not so happy with his attitude, but when was the last time anyone was with Shoaib :). Anyhow if take our conspiracy hats off for a moment then there might be another case, what if they were handed a stiff ban so that after an appeal it can be reduced to half or even lesser thus allowing atleast Asif or both to feature in World cup, oh well only time will tell. But this is a huge blow, a one which will take considerable effort and determination from other players to over come. Lets Pray our cricket survives.


This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
Ill never look into your eyes...again