Pakistani Readers discussion

Your favourite cricket books ? Here are some I have liked :
Cutting Edge (the autobiography of Javed Miandad)
Botham
Imran
Shoaib Akhtar's Controversially Yours.

I didn't read one yet.
The reason is simple that usually such people consult other people to write for them which doesn't give natural impression.
I added Controversially Yours by Shoaib as I want to know his past as he belongs to my division.

I've read Controversially yours by Akhtar and Pakistan : A Personal History by Imran Khan.
The latter wasn't a cricket book but it had a chapter or two dedicated to cricket. It was quite well written.

Akhtar's book wasn't as polished and it's mostly about his early life and the problems he had with PCB and the dressing room environment. I was hoping to read some anecdotes about local and international players. Didn't really get that.

The Unquiet Ones by Osman Samiuddin.
All Round View by Imran Khan.
Pundits from Pakistan by Rahul Bhattacharya.

I've heard a lot of praise for The Unquiet Ones. Didn't find it at the bookstores though

Javed Miandad's Cutting Edge is a lively account of his career and the controversies that followed him including his scuffle with Dennis Lillee and the players' revolt against his captaincy.His difficult relationship with Imran Khan also gets discussed in detail along with the milestones in his career,the Sharjah six,the World Cup victory and the "wars" with India.

Controversially Yours by Shoaib Akhtar is certainly entertaining,particularly the account of the struggles of his early life.It is very frank about his relationship with the senior players.It also shows that there is too much infighting in the Pakistan team.

There are also some very famous cricketers who wrote rather boring books.Don Bradman's book,Farewell to Cricket falls in this category,as does Shane Warne's autobiography.

Osman Samiuddin's The Unquiet Ones looks very interesting,I have read some excerpts online.There are plenty of behind the scenes stories including those from Pakistan's 1992 World Cup victory from a near hopeless situation.The chapter on Javed Miandad is also very good.

Shahid Afridi's Game Changer is fairly disappointing.Instead of focusing just on his cricket career,it needlessly goes into his political views.Rather badly written,too.

I have read Shoaib Akhtar's Controversially Yours, Afridi's Game Changer and Tharoor and Khan's Shadows across the playing field.

Pandits from Pakistan,by Rahul Bhattacharya.An Indian journalist's account of the Indian team's 2004 tour of Pakistan.It isn't just about the cricket,but is also a travelogue of Pakistan.Very well-written,and interesting.

Inside Out : The autobiography of Mushtaq Mohammad.He was Pakistan captain in the 1970s.
From Dusk to Dawn : The autobiography of Fazal Mehmood,Pakistan's first match winning bowler.Star of Pakistan's first Test victory against India at Lucknow in 1952,and against England at The Oval in 1954.

The Packer Affair,by Henry Blofeld.
Kerry Packer paid a number of leading players handsomely, to play for him,and not their respective countries.These included five Pakistanis,including Imran Khan.Major cricket teams,became weakened as a result,and the players were blamed for abandoning their countries.Later,the cricket boards,were forced to compromise with Packer,and the players were allowed to play for their countries.

The autobiography of Wasim Akram,published in 1998,while his career was still continuing.Well-written and very interesting,with lots of anecdotes.Contains a lot of self-justification against charges of match fixing and ball tampering.

Wounded Tiger by Peter Oborne,a comprehensive history of cricket in Pakistan.Does get bogged down by too much detail,however.

Zed,the biography of Zaheer Abbas.But it was published a long time ago,and is hard to find.

Imran Khan's first biography,Imran,was published in 1983 when he was in mid career.Fairly interesting account of his early years,and early success as Pakistan captain.
His second book,All Round View,came out a few years later.Updated his career,after spending two years out of the game with an injury.

Sir Vivian,the autobiography of Viv Richards,one of cricket's most destructive batsmen.Rather disappointing,Richards is too full of himself.(Also does not include much mention of three exciting Pakistan West Indies series.In all of those,Pakistan had held the mighty West Indies to hard fought draws).

Botham,the autobiography of Ian Botham.His successes were spectacular,and so were his failures.His off field behavior,and controversial remarks frequently landed him in trouble.A very entertaining book.

Botham's Century,by Ian Botham.His impressions and anecdotes about many leading cricketers,including several Pakistanis.Controversial,and entertaining.

The Incredible Tests,by Ian Botham.His own account of how he turned around one of the most famous series of all time,the 1981 Ashes.

Some more on my wish list :
Penguins Stopped Play (hilarious cricket stories)
White on Green,Celebrating the Drama of Pakistan Cricket
Beefy's Cricket Tales,by Ian Botham

The Best of Chappelli,by Ian Chappell
Hilarious collection of anecdotes,one of the funniest cricket books I've read.

haven't read any. but "One Century is not enough" by Saurav Ganguly is in my to-read list.

Cricket is my second fav game!

Majestic Khan,by Zahid Zia Cheema
Biography of Majid Khan.Not very well-written,but has its share of anecdotes and incidents.

A few more I read recently :
Test of Will by Glenn McGrath,reads more like a self-help book,than a cricket book.
At the Close of Play by Ricky Ponting,fairly interesting,but very lengthy.

White on Green: Celebrating the Drama of Pakistan Cricket by Richard Heller
Looks interesting.

A Beautiful Game: My Love Affair with Cricket by Mark Nicholas

Cricket in this country can't be avoided. However,I'm more interested in cricket writing than watching cricket.

The Picador Book of Cricket by Ramachandra Guha
tbr

Penguins Stopped Play by Harry Thompson

Botham's Century: My 100 Great Cricketing Characters by Ian Botham

Green Shadows by A.H. Kardar

A rare book about the Pakistan team's first tour of the West Indies,in 1958.The author is A.H.Kardar,Pakistan's first Test captain.

Dickie Bird: My Autobiography by Dickie Bird

Amusing account of English umpire Dickie Bird's life and career.