All seems to be set for the Asia Cup and there is a gradual build-up to it and which will intensify in the days to come and a hype will be created that will be disproportionate to the importance of the event itself.
The amount of money invested by commercial houses and corporations in promoting their goods and services via cricket shows no sign of declining. It seems to be money well spent and good luck to them.
Cricketers seem to benefit by this hoopla and some of them have become more familiar as characters in television commercials than as players. But one of these days this bubble will burst.
In the days when I used to do the commentary, I found the intrusion of commercials most irritating and on one occasion I gave vent to my feelings and said that we hoped to bring the viewers some cricket in between commercials. I have often wondered whether this is good advertising.
It's selling the sizzle and not the steak. I have a picture in my mind of Sachin Tendulkar extolling the virtues of some motor cycle but I don't know which one! A small diversion to register my protest.
There are no quarrels with the Pakistan squad that has been selected. Both the captain and the coach were taken on board in picking the squad and there should be no gripes.
By all accounts the training camp went well and the new trainer in a matter of a few days has given a new meaning to fitness and even more heartening is that the players co-operated fully. It was important to establish early that this training is not being imposed but was for the benefit of the players.
The team has a doctor but does not appear to have a physio and a qualified physio is vital for running repairs. I am sure that Bob Woolmer would have pointed this out.
It is important for our cricket public to know that Pakistan is not the favourite. In my estimation India and Sri Lanka are co-favourites. India has been able to get Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan fully fit and will be at top strength.
Sri Lanka will be playing at home and will have been battle-hardened by its short tour of Australia and Muttiah Muralitharan will be back in the team after refusing to tour Australia.
The general expectation is that the wickets will be spinner-friendly and Pakistan will be at a disadvantage. Danish Kaneria and Shoaib Malik are not in the same class as Harbhajan, Anil Kumble and Muralitharan.
Kaneria is still learning his trade while Shoaib Malik is a batsman who can bowl. Pakistan has been able to produce fast and fast-medium bowlers but ever since Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq ceased to be in contention, the cupboard has been fairly bare.
If indeed the wickets turn out to be spinner-friendly, the absence of a quality spinner will be felt and no disrespect is intended to Kaneria who happens not to be the most agile in the field. But he gives his all and spinners take time to mature. I am glad he is in the team and might surprise us yet.
Imran Nazir is somewhat fortunate to be in the team but so gifted is he and his fielding is a bonus that he deserved to be given another chance, I am wondering whether it might be better if he didn't open the innings and be slotted in the middle order.
Pakistan needs a batsman in the top order who can bat through most of the overs and around him the innings can be built. Yousuf Youhana would have been the ideal batsman but there are chinks in his batting technique and there is no Zaheer Abbas in sight.
Strange that we have never been able to fill this spot since ZED departed to take up the pen and his other pursuits. One-day cricket keeps changing. In the NatWest tournament, the team batting second invariably won except in the case of the final where the West Indies batsmen had no clue once Stephen Fleming decided to take the pace off the bowling and entrusted his attack to Daniel Vettori and Chris Harris.
I would guess that this will be the tactics in the Asia Cup. The quicks will try and get some wickets while the ball is new and hard and then the slow or slower bowlers will make batting difficult unless reverse swing is available and Pakistan bowlers seem to have lost the art.
Of course, I am looking forward to the Asia Cup. I have been an advocate of more and more cricket in the Asian region and it's good to see that UAE and Hong Kong will be featuring in this Asia Cup. Both teams are made up of players of Pakistan or Indian origin but the main thing is that the game is flourishing in those areas.
Bangladesh will be competing as a senior team. From what I have been able to watch on television, Dav Whatmore has been able to bring about quite a few improvements. There is certainly more discipline and the body-language is more positive.
What I like best is that the Bangladesh cricket public has not given up on their team. There have been those who have questioned the Test status of Bangladesh but they keep throwing up new players and sooner than later, Bangladesh may pull off an upset.
There were a few young players who were not able to make the Pakistan squad but it is good news that they will be picked for the 'A' team and go to Kenya. The PCB must give far more importance to the 'A' team than it has been doing.
The 'A' team must be sent on as many tours as possible and it should be given the same support-structure that the national team at last has. I would recommend that a qualified, full-time trainer should be appointed. The sooner our young players get used to the idea of fitness the better. By the end of the year, there may be some vacancies in the senior team.
