Osman Samiuddin

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Umar Gul reflects on his last crack at the Indians two years ago

Osman Samiuddin
Osman Samiuddin
10-Jan-2006


Umar Gul raring to go despite missing out on selection for the Lahore Test © AFP
Some might consider Umar Gul unlucky not to be selected for the Test squad against India. Some though might consider Gul just lucky to be around to be unlucky not to get selected. One stress fracture of the back is threatening enough, after all, but three is not overcome easily.
Where Gul sits on this is not yet certain, although he probably agrees with both schools of thought. Gul told Cricinfo: "I was very frustrated during my time away but I am also lucky that I have been able to come back after such a serious injury. I wasn't worried my career was over but there was some serious concern. Doctors said I needed to rest and work out a little for a year. I could have had an operation to heal it quicker but that could have caused damage."
In the kind of tragically abrupt manner reserved for bigger personalities, Gul suffered his cruelest blow while at his highest peak. Just then he had burst into the series, into the picture, onto the scene, into the future. Just like that, before we could begin to appreciate him, like Keyser Soze, he was gone. On the first day of the second Test at Lahore against India in 2004, Gul, with the gawkiness of a boy nine days from turning 20, stuttered in against a batting line-up with no equal for twelve overs either side of lunch.
Some deliveries nipped in, others cut out, some moved minimally, others extravagant, and most landed on what looked suspiciously like an area of the pitch Glen McGrath is inclined to. By the spell's end, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Parthiv Patel constituted a glittering first five-wicket haul. His only wicket in the second innings - Laxman again - "was my best ball," nothing less than a fast leg-break, its path obstructed only by its encounter with the stumps.
Gul reflects, "The pitch was helpful, there was grass on it. I looked at it and thought, stick to a nice line, length and wait. Sami and Shoaib were really quick, but it helped my type of bowling more I guess."
His type of bowling of course is not the type of bowling we are used to, at least not until recently. Ten years ago, he might have been Aqib Javed; honest toil with a nice line in seam movement, though essentially back-up to the heavies. But Gul did, in his fifth Test, what you always hoped Aqib would also do - win a Test match.
Three of his five wickets were edged to keeper or slips, no yorkers, no broody posturing, no reverse swing and pace only mildly anxious for batsmen. This was the antithesis of the two W's and, in a cathartic way, it was refreshing. Having gorged on heavy metal for so long, this was like suddenly happening upon and appreciating sensitive - even wussy - college-boy indie rock.
That impression is only strengthened by Gul's admission. "You dream of being really quick but ultimately you realise that whatever is natural to you should be the best option. Akram is an idol and a mentor but I relate most with McGrath. He is relentless and has complete control which is so inspiring. I watch him on TV and video to try and learn."
Famously, that Test was his last cricket for over a year. He missed the decider and while in South Africa, discovered there was a chance he might not play again. He said, "I didn't feel anything during the match. I went to a hospital in South Africa and found out there what happened. The doctors were great; I rested for the first four months, but then began a lot of pool work and gym training. I bowled again for the first time six months ago."
Remarkably, he is back now, with a slightly modified action, his coltish body packing more muscle and wizened to the ways of body maintenance. Pakistan's management are confident that he is bowling better than before. Aqib, who worked with him extensively on his action after the injury, thinks him the most exciting prospect among a bevy of young Pakistani fast bowlers. He would wouldn't he? Aqib told Cricinfo, "He is a fantastic prospect and a really good seam bowler. He worked hard to recover and modify his action slightly, which isn't easy."
Is it too late for introductions, over two years after he made his debut? He comes from Nawa-e-Killi, in the NWFP, a town where babies are born with, not silver spoons, but squash racquets. This is ground zero for Pakistan's squash dynasty - Jahangir, Jansher and the Khans are from nearby. Here, from a generational epicentre of squash, emerged Gul. He said, "I was never into squash despite the history of the area. It was always cricket."
Like most Pakistanis, his early cricket was tape-balled. It helped him, he says, develop accuracy. He didn't play with a cricket ball until he was 16; thereafter his rise was predictably swift. "After college I joined Sirku Club and got picked for Peshawar division. Farrukh Zaman, our coach, was impressed and pushed me into domestic cricket," explains Gul. After playing `A' team and junior level, he was spotted by Rashid Khan, a former fast bowler, and after a total of nine first-class games, was fast-tracked into the Pakistan team after the 2003 World Cup. Gul exclaimed, "It was bizarre. I couldn't believe I was playing for Pakistan so soon."
Selection for this year's Lahore Test, two years hence would thus have completed a neat, full circle. That it will be completed, and soon however, is not in any serious doubt.

Osman Samiuddin is Pakistan editor of Cricinfo