Random Chusses…

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In case you haven’t heard it yet Mohammad Yousuf has escaped Pakistan and defected to the Rebel League aka ICL. As usual very interesting news from Yousuf. After lots of discussion with Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq, the captain of Lahore Badshahs was able to convince him that playing for Pakistan was not worth it anymore urging him to join his buddies in ICL. So he sneaked out of his home and got a flight to India without informing the PCB or any one else of his decision. It was only at the press conference there that the authorities got to know of his decision. Yousuf had also earlier left Pakistan to join ICL but was brought back by PCB and given a contract in IPL. There was some legal battle too over the contract stuff. PCB had to pay a lot of bucks to get that settled. And now its all over again. No wonder PCB want their money back.

Anyhoo, If you remember exactly one month ago I blogged about the news that Yousuf was left behind for a T20 tournament in Canada due to some mysterious ‘visa problems’. The man obviously wants to play some T20 really badly. Or maybe he’s realized that he’s getting old and Pakistan don’t look like playing any matches these days. Pakistan has had a test match less 2008. Regardless he’s gone now and I think we can safely say that we won’t be seeing any more from the 34 year old in regular cricket. For all practical purposes he has retired from Pakistan cricket. He actually had a really good last season of Test cricket if I remember correctly scoring an insane amount of runs and centuries. And he’s looking good playing for Lahore Badshahs in India. Played some sublime shots in their match against Chennai super kings (or super stars).

There is also the issue of Shoaib Malik ‘not treating the senior players well’ according to Inzi which was also one of the reasons that led Yousuf down the path of rebellion. He didn’t feel quite at home in the side anymore and was missing all his old buddies who gave him the respect that he deserved. Yousuf has blamed PCB (who’s actually running this shop?) and Malik for this move.

“Everyone is saying that I have signed (up for) the ICL because of money but the real reason was the attitude of the PCB and Malik which forced me to join the league,” Yousuf told BBC Urdu radio in an interview from India.

“I was told that my visa for Canada was delayed. In fact afterwards I got to know that my visa was applied (for) in a wrong manner and I was left out of the team and no one from the PCB bothered to talk to me,” he added.

“I am the senior most player and team’s best performer for the last several years but I was left out of the team. They don’t want me in the team so why not I join a league where I am welcomed?

“(The) captain never gave me the respect I deserved.”

The ‘new’ coach Intikhab Alam (Geoff Lawson was sacked a while ago) has vowed to resolve these tiny conflicts among the team and get them all going with Malik who hasn’t shown any captaincy material yet. There’s apparently some dissent from Afridi and Akhtar as well who regard themselves as ’senior players’. Actually Afridi has been heard talking about his dreams to captain Pakistan. Lol. Give me a break, man. In the meantime you can always watch the ICL for some Yousuf action. Which by the way is also featuring Saqlain Mushtaq and his new ‘jalaibi’ delivery. Saqlain who had been heard harbouring dreams of playing for England now looks set to miss playing for Surrey next year.

On Friday 7th November, Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad, the fifth Caliph of the world-wide Ahmadiyya Muslim community inaugurated the Al Mahdi Mosque in Bradford UK. Taking two years to complete it costed around £2.5 million, all paid for by the members of the community. More than 2000 people attended the Friday prayers held there and listened to the sermon. The proceedings were also televised around the world through MTA.

Dr Bary Malik, president of Bradford’s Ahmadiyya Muslim Association, said: “The doors of the mosque are open to everyone. We want to do as much as we can for the community and for Bradford.

“The opening went very well; people came from all over the country and from as far away as Pakistan, Canada and Germany especially for the occasion.

“It was a day of joy and celebration for everyone and now we have a beautiful mosque, which can be seen from all over Bradford. People were chanting, welcoming our leader who had come to open it for us.”

Rafiq Hayat, national chairman of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK, said: “The Prophet Muhammad taught us that one who helps build a mosque in this life, God will build a house for them in Paradise.

“Ahmadiyya Muslim mosques, wherever based in the world, reach out to the community they are in – equally this new mosque in Bradford will work towards interfaith dialogue, understanding and harmony.

“Peace conferences will be held here, school visits will be invited, and the doors of this mosque will be open to all.”

Excerpt from a report in Telegraph and Argus

Check out some mosque construction photos here.