#osman samiuddin

The other reason they don’t like talking about it is because it drives home the uncomfortable truth: the PTI isn’t really a party. The party is Imran. The ideology is Imran. People joined for Imran. People voted for Imran. The military banked on Imran. It always was Imran and will remain Imran, until there is no Imran. He is its life, and also its sunset clause.

To this eye, and perhaps many others, all Australian cricket should stand for is Australian cricket, because that has always been more than enough. The way their openers and one-downs come at you, the way they don't stop producing super-fast fast bowlers, the way their keepers yap and catch, the way their slips stand chewing gum like they're a street gang, the way they think leggies are the normal ones and offies the ones to be suspicious of, the way their grounds can feel simultaneously so big and so small, and the way no game is over for them until the very last of them has physically sat on the bus and left the stadium. It has never needed any buzzwords or catchphrases beyond that.

The thin white strip on Pakistan's flag representing minorities may as well be blood red. For the sake of accuracy, it should definitely be a non-fixed area, receding over time.

“Zaheer has been something else altogether. At worst, there has been silent, gruff, Pakistani acknowledgement of Zaheer’s skill. At best, there has been respect, admiration and, yes, maybe even a little envy. Envy? Why not? It is he who has led his side to Test wins at home and, more importantly, abroad. It is he who has helped his side win a world title and be the top Test side. It is he, not Mohammad Amir or Junaid Khan, who is the true heir to Wasim Akram, in fact, the best left-arm fast bowler after Akram. It is he who has been bad-boy enough to be cool, but not to completely poleaxe his own career.”