Final Analysis

Umar Gul, the leading T20 wicket taker of all time and the leading wicket taker in both previous T20WC's won't be present in the Caribbean this time round for team Pakistan.

We here at BBK have been vigorously building upto Pak's defence of the ICC World T20 ever since the conclusion of Pak's humiliating winless tour down under and the ICC U19WC in January. Now we are just days and hours away from the much awaited fun, can't wait! Let the action commence!

CSK are crowned 2010/IPl3 champions after beating MI on Sunday 25th April in the IPL final: http://www.cricinfo.com/ipl2010/engine/current/match/419165.html

MS.Dhoni has his hands on the IPL trophy! One just wonders if he can do the same come 7:00 GMT on 16th May on Caribbean turf for ICC T20WC?! Certainly our BBK audience doesn't feel shy to think he can as India are currently winning the poll, just a few days to go before the close! RCB meanwhile captured the 3rd place spot and therefore will feature in this year's CLT20 which is scheduled to be staged in RSA following a recent announcement on the matter.

Anyhow, I don't wish to go into the details of the Modi saga! Leave me and us out of that garbage for now! However, I do wish to update our viewers on the team sheets and gossips going into the global cricketing event!

The dashing dangerous free scoring right handed opener, Virender Sehwag who I actually labelled as India's gun player for the event has been ruled out and his replacement will be the CSK opener, Murali Vijay! I have seen some of him during the ongoing IPL season and he comes across as someone who is a good striker of the ball and has got a wide range of shots and is equally capable against the slower and quicker men! This is a big blow for team India, but in the same sense a perhaps "gain in disguise" as some followers have highlighted.

Pakistan were being the laughing stock in the headlines once more when the chairman of the board changed the decision to select left arm sensation, Irfan despite the matter of fact being the coach, captain and more importantly chief selector had announced him as replacement for injured Umar Gul the day before. Once more this questions the purpose and authority of the chief selector as Aamer Sohail, former Pakistani opener and Kamran Abbasi, Pakistani cricket writer have outlined and questioned at the encyclopaedia of cricket, cricinfo at the following links. I totally agree with the two gentlemen!

http://www.cricinfo.com/wt202010/content/story/456762.html?CMP=OTC-RSS
http://blogs.cricinfo.com/pakspin/archives/2010/04/who_is_pakistans_chief_selecto.php#more

Certainly, PCB seems to be a "one man show" unfortunately and such interference from Ijaz Butt needs to be questioned fully. The other selection was approved and that was of Mohammad Sami, the Karachi fast bowler who captained the Dolphins in this year's RBST20 Cup to the final where they were beaten by the invincible Stallions! Sami impressed throughout the competition and has had a successful first class season too! Abdur Rehman, was the replacement following the disapproval of Iran's selection for the injured Yasir Arafat, the Sussex star who holds the record for the most T20 wickets at all major levels. He (Abdur) is a decent bowler, however was he really necessary and the best option available? Many feel he wasn't and I totally agree here. He is a winning Stallion team member nonetheless, the team that has won the Pakistani domestic T20 competition for 5 consecutive years running, formidable!





The opening game of the ICC T20WC promises to be a cracker! Sri Lanka and NZ are two evenly balanced sides. I feel the match will be decided on NZ's batting against the Lankans potency and variety with the ball!

BBK Management 4 Contenders Choices For The Comp In order Is As Follows ....

Maaaaaaaaaaz

1) Australia 2) India 3) Pakistan 4) Sri Lanka

HR

1) Australia 2) RSA 3) Pakistan 4) India

Babar

1) Pakistan 2) Sri Lanka 3) RSA 4) WI


Finally, a last request for everyone to join out T20 fantasy league for the tournament!
http://maza786.blogspot.com/2010/04/fantasy-league-for-icc-t20-2010.html
This would be much appreciated and is guaranteed to be fun and entertainment for all, so what are you waiting for?!

The Hosts WI!

West Indies: Chris Gayle (captain), Sulieman Benn, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Andre Fletcher, Wavell Hinds, Nikita Miller, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor.



WI are self explanatorily holding the home advantage as they are obviously the hosts of the ICC World T20 2010. The support and conditions should be in their favour as they will be looking for glory on home soil. The last real triumph for the Windies in a major cricketing event was in September 2004 where they won the ICC Champions Trophy on a chilly early Autumn Saturday at the picturesque Brit Oval ground when they won from the jaws of defeat following this heroical 9th wicket partnership. Could 2010 be their next global cricketing triumph? Certainly this isn't out of the question one shall feel.

As far as the team's performance in the T20 WC is concerned they have produced mixed results. In 2007 they were surprisingly eliminated in the first round of the tournament having lost to the RSA and Bangladesh. Who would have thought this would be the case when Gayle scored a breathtaking century at the Wanderers Johannesburg, many would have been saying that WI were serious contenders when this was taking place in the opening game then! But, as it turned out they were amazingly knocked out a few days later, astonishing!

In 2009 they were on fire and beat the likes of Australia, England and India to find themselves earning a well deserved place in the semi finals! There Angelo Matthew's opening over broke their hearts as they ended up losing to the finalists, the Lankans in a rather one sided encounter.


WI have some star attractions in their ranks such as the skipper, Chris Gayle, a flamboyant free scoring opener who has got an excellent T20 record and his game is highly suited to the format and he's an occasional offspinner too if needed! Darren Sammy has a T20 5for under his name all beat it that it came against the minnows, Zimbabwe. He was also the MOM is the one-off Stanford T20 match against England in 2008. He has a growing reputation in the game with his seamers and is an entertaining and energetic pumped up cricketer who is good to watch with both ball and actually bat in his hand too! On top of this they have the experience of the world class batsmen in Chanderpaul and Sarwan whose experience could come invaluable in certain situations especially against the stronger sides. Kieran Pollard has been a sensational find with his all-round credentials as an explosive batter, acrobatic fielder and wicket taking medium pacer, he in one to watch out for and has developed into a real potential "matchwinner " for WI in years to come. Big Ben is a top specialist in the format and someone the skipper could rely on to produce the goods with his slow left arm.

WI are a capable unit and if their players deliver the goods and come to the party they could be in with a top shout of going the distance I optimistically conclude upon.

Strengths: Star performers
Weaknesses: Too much reliance on individuals...
Prediction: Super Eights
Key Players: Pollard and Gayle

Team Sri Lanka Preview For World T20

Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Muttiah Muralitharan (vice-capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Mahela Jayawardene, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Thissara Perera, Nuwan Kulasekera, Suraj Randiv, Ajantha Mendis, Lasith Malinga, Chanaka Welagedara, Chamara Kapugedara, Sanath Jayasuriya, Chinthaka Jayasinghe

Winners of the 1996 ODI world cup, finalists of 2007 ODI world cup and 2009 T20 world cup, team Srilanka is a strong cricketing unit having a mix of individual brilliance and ability to play brilliantly as a unit the Lankan team always proves to be a tough opponent for any team at any venue.

As far as team’s performance in the twenty over cricket is concerned the team has been very consistent.

In the 2007 ICC T20 the Lankans managed to qualify for the super eights quite easily however in the super eights stage they were in a tough pool comprising of the Aussies and the top T20 team Pakistan.

Having lost both its super eight games to Pakistan and Australia respectively the team returned home empty handed.

However two years later in the UK the tigers were unstoppable. They cruised into the finals after playing some solid T20 cricket and overcame opponents like Pakistan, Australia, West indies, and beating the Windies again in the semifinal ensured them a deserving place in the final. However in the final they were outclassed by the champions Pakistan thanks to Razzaq and Afridi brilliance.

If we talk about the team’s chances in the upcoming world cup in the Carribean in my opinion the Lankans will be at the top of the game once again and their influential skipper Kumar Sangakkara will leave no stone unturned in making his team fight for the glory.

If we talk about the batting strength no doubt they have a very strong batting unit. And the note worthy thing is that their batting style is tailor made for 20 over cricket.

Having the likes of Sanath Jayasuriya and Tilakaratne Dilshan opening the innings for them is a night mare itself for any bowling team. Both of them had a great tournament in the UK especially Dilshan who was simply superb and was declared man of the tournament for his brilliance. The match in which in which he didn’t performed was the final and the team lost that game.

Veteran Jayasuriya is always hungry to play and perform. No wonder this time we will see fire works from his bat.

Solid middle order is another strong point of the Lankans. Skipper Sangakkara and Jayawerdene are very experienced and they have regained their form in the latter part of the IPL. Kapugedera and Matthews are also very good T20 players.
As far as bowling goes Lankans look very balanced in terms of pace bowling along with the possession of quality spinners.

Malinga, Kulasekera, Pereira all have been impressive whenever they have played, however much will as usual be expected from the master Muttiah Muralitharan and also from Ajantha Mendis as spin always play a key role in a T20 innings
Latest sensation Angello Matthews will again be lookin to repeat his last time performances as he was impressive with both bat and bowl.
Team Srilanka is looking a solid unit and their skipper is the one who always leads by example he himself is a hard worker and expects his team mates do follow him. No doubt the Lankan lions will start their campaign with a roaring performance and will tear apart their prey

Key Players:
Tilakaratne Dilshan
Sanath Jayasuruya
Muttiah Muralitharan
Kumar Sangakkara
L asith Malinga
Angello Mathews

Strengths:
Explosive Openers
Quality Spinners
Malinga’s brilliant depth bowling

Weakness:
Depending too much on inform players

IPL Round Up

I recently conducted a prediction thread for the EYEPL semi finalists. Now the time has come to reveal the winner who is.......

Result/Winner: Purna and Reverse who equally guessed 3 correctly!

Now predict the finalist and winner?

Pakistan vs. Bangla Preview and Bangla Team Preview

Bangladesh play Pakistan on the 1st of May at St Lucia at 5:30 GMT. It has been described as a "final" by some fans of the game. Pakistan will be looking to retain their crown and the way they start their defence may be influential in their long term finalised position in the long run of the competition. They must set the standards and seize the initiative. If Pakistan end up on the losing side that day, the next game will be a do or die situation for the defending champions and they could face the unlike possibility of being eliminated in the preliminary stages against the might of Australia, a team to beat! Therefore, the game against the so called minnows has a lot of influence and cannot be afforded to be taken lightly by any means on the imagination. The tournament defenders should look to stamp their authority with a comprehensive victory and get themselves into form for the next encounter against Australia and try to beat them too as this will install a lot of confidence in the players going ahead into the latter stages of the short and exciting tournament.

Bangladesh: Shakib Al Hasan (captain), Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Ashraful, Aftab Ahmed, Mahmudullah, Naeem Islam, Mashrafe Mortaza, Abdur Razzak, Shafiul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Syed Rasel, Suhrawadi Shuvo, Jahurul Islam.

Bangla have caused a few upsets over the years at major global events such as beating India and RSA at the 2007 WC in WI and beating WI at the 2007 ICC T20 in RSA to send the side with their bags packing carrying heavy disappointment and shock to ponder upon whilst they were happily celebrating the achievement in leaps and bounds! Could 1st May be another of those days for them one wonders? Certainly it isn't out of the question as past events implement. They should fancy their chances and look to humiliate the tournament defenders!

Bangladesh are blessed with a few world class players who are underrated and shouldn't be underestimated. Tamim Iqbal is a free scoring left hand opener who can play aggressively and score very quickly, he is one to watch out for and is capable of winning a match single handily on his day. Mohammad Ashraful likes to express himself and therefore is ideally suited to the shortest format of the game. Meanwhile with the ball left arm spinners will be reliant upon including the skipper, Sakib himself. They will have a big role to play in the middle stages and can cause trouble and panic attacks in the batting dug-out with their guile and craft.

Bangladesh lack quality pace bowlers, this is an area teams can capitalise on with ease I dear say. The batsmen will enjoy the format but the bowling is an area that may find the team thoroughly undone and suffer as one may find out and spot.

The Proteas are in for a challenge, 2010 ICC T20 WC South Africa Preview.

South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Jacques Kallis, Loots Bosman, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Herschelle Gibbs, Rory Kleinveldt, Charl Langeveldt, Albie Morkel, Morne Morkel, Dale Steyn, Juan Theron, Roelof van der Merwe.


Blessed with six All-Rounders Graeme Smith men will take field on the 2nd of May at the Beausejour Stadium in St Lucia looking forward to beat former T20 champions India, South Africa are seeded 3rd in their group along with the mysterious team of Afghanistan and the Capable Indian side.

We need to rewind a little bit and have look back at some history, we understand that South Africa has always performed well in the initial stages of the tournament with the 2003 world cup being an exception where there captains and coach carelessness took hold of them. We start from 1992 when the saga of bad luck struck them first and since then they have been unable to recover. South Africa needed 22 runs from 13 balls when rain intervened and when the play resumed in order to progress they were asked to score 22 runs off one ball as per the laws of cricket in 1992. Favorites in the 1996 world cup but knocked out in the quarterfinals. They performed quite well in the 1999 world cup and qualified for the Semis, in came the semi finals and the picture of Allan Donald being running out became one of the most iconic pictures of cricket history and a nightmare for The Proteas. In the 2003 cricket world cup they misunderstood the calculations in a rain affected game, what a way to choke that was an act of lack of knowledge despite playing for many years was never expected from Shaun Pollock.

They were ranked number one in ODI rankings in the 2007 world cup, the tournament went on and enjoying the ride were The Proteas up until the semi finals where they met once again The Australians, scoring just 149 while batting first was too less a target for the OZs to chase down and once again the dream of a South African World Cup victory was shattered by a rookie Shaun Tait.

Bad form was the reason of defeat in the 2007 T20 WC, but they still had another crack in the 2009 T20 WC. Unbeaten till the semi finals where they met the unpredictable Pakistan side of which Nasser Hussain has already said/warned that on that day it was the Pakistan to fear of, Pakistan gave South Africa a testing target of 150 runs and everything was going well for The Proteas when Jacque Kallis along with JP Duminy were marching towards the total but a defeat by a narrow margin of 7 runs saw them returning back home and once again their semi final opposition this time Pakistan won the world cup, it was the third time this happened where South Africa lost the semi final and the opposition went on to win the world cup with the previous two being ODI world cups of 1999 and 2007.

The Proteas has never been short of talent but somewhere down the line they lose focus, this time around once again they will be the most feared side in the tournament blessed with six All-Rounders, five clean hitters and some quality bowlers, South Africans are there to chase it down to the wire. Juan Theron will be joining the South African squad for the first time in his career, the thing about Juan is that he is a match winner he has won his side many matches with the ball at domestic level, this seamer from the Eastern Cape is the one to watch out for, he is the perfect replacement for the injured Wayne Parnell. Rory Keith Kleinveldt is another unfamiliar face making only his 2nd appearance for South Africa, a guy whose bat speed can destroy any bowling attack but also can destroy a batting line up with his bowling speed, but The Morkels, Steyn, Kallis, Langeveldt and Keith won’t make it easy for him to get into the starting XI neither will the 5 of them make lives easier for each other, its five because the veteran Kallis is an automatic selection for the seamer position.

South Africa are also taking with them Johan Botha and Roelof van der Merwe to fill their spaces in the spin department, these two can bat too and when it comes to T20 they can be called good batsmen. Batting department needs no introduction a strike rate of 150 runs per 100 balls Mr. Loots Bosman will open the innings for The Proteas, he has in company with him Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, AB Deviliers, Mark Boucher and the veteran Jacques Kallis. All in all it’s one of the most talented side of the tournament and if they are able to keep their focus on and may be have a fair bit of luck it can see them through the Semi Finals and then who knows what they show us when they play in the finals, haven’t seen them in a final or have we? Other then the Knockout cup 1998.

Strengths: All-Round capabilities, fielding.
Weakness: Lose focus in important matches.
Predictions: Final

Key players
Jacques Kallis

AB Deviliers

Dale Steyn

JP Duminy

Graeme Smith



at 16:28 3 comments

Fantasy League for ICC T20 2010

Hello folks!!

I have created a "maza786" T20 fantasy league at http://www.cricketweb.net/fantasycricket/index.php

1)You will have to register a team name firstly and create your line up.
2)Once you have done that add it to the Maza786 league by clicking "add comp" on the left hand side.

If we can have at least 20 participants that will be wonderful!! It shall be great fun!!

TJ,HR,WES,CPD,BABAR,WASIM,PURNA and anyone else are most welcome to join!!

Shonnia Mubarak ;-) !

Shoaib Malik and Sania Mirza’s marriage has caught a lot of hype and media attention over the last few weeks. It’s a special occasion for both individuals obviously, but is also a symbolic speciality as the couple signify the unity with Pakistan and India as both individuals are two modern sporting icons in Southern Asia who have represented their country and done their fans proud in the past.

Many are saying this is a so called “triumph” for Pakistan to cherish and relish upon with an abundance of happiness. However, I would like to interrupt here and say that we are in no competition with India and as civilised people should be happy for the couple as a whole rather than feeling that Sania has rejected Indians and pleased Pakistanis, she may have done but no need to feel boastful over such an event as we are neighbours and should support each other in order to help us regain our positive neighbourhood relations which have taken a bit of a slump in recent times since the catastrophic Mumbai atrocities in November 2008, unfortunately. United we stand, not divided we fall. We should be excited and pleased and hope that everything which is taking place at the marriage ceremony runs smoothly over the next couple of days.

The marriage has caught a lot of controversy due to Malik’s past doings with Ayesha Siddique, but thankfully that has now been cleared and the much awaited wedding can now go ahead peacefully.There shall be a feeling of neighbourhood happiness all-round and I for one am very congratulatory towards the couple. Best wishes and all the best in living a prosperous life when they get settled down in UAE!

Unpredictability=Negative(-)

It is well and truly evident that Pakistan are the kings of unpredictability. Some days one will witness sheer individual brilliance whereas other days we will be comprehensively defeated and humiliated for our passionate supporters to start criticizing and attacking our players and team as if there is no tomorrow. Some have said that being unpredictable is good for the game because it makes Pakistan so interesting, exciting and eventful to watch, they don't want it to change or be any different in the sense that you never know what's coming next! However, is this the right approach at the end of the day and should it be that on these basis we support Pakistan with an abundance of enthusiasm?

Firstly, I can understand were the fans are coming from. We all like to watch something exciting and surprising, don't we? In a veritable sense we wouldn't like to see expected results repeatedly as we all like to see variation and differentiation in several walks of life. We want something worthwhile and intriguing to watch and that's what an unpredictable unit like Pakistan provides us with.

However, being unpredictable leads to inconsistency, which is the pain of mediocrity. Mediocre players aren't the best of role models and national representatives, although they will have their memorable monumental moments as well. Remembering that cricketers are labelled as our (Pakistanis) leading ambassadors.

If a side is to make valuable progression as players and as a unit on the ICC ranking system consistent performances over a lengthy duration of time is the only virtual method of accomplish such an achievement. Thereby, inconsistency gets you nowhere and as determined die hard supporters of the game we should refer to inconsistency negatively and strive for excellence as opposed to mediocrity. We should set high standards and expect nothing but wins from our national team as a regularity. That's the only one ticket route to building a positive sounder reputation on the global scale , getting recognition for top cricketing performance and consequently saving the nation from this social and political turmoil which lies against Pakistan and has increasingly destructively destroyed our unity and spirit as a nation in this day and age, two highly significant patriotic aspects.

A record worth mentioning

Pakistani blind cricket team creates history by chasing a record England score of 438 for 3 and winning by 4 wickets. It was the highest run chase in blind cricket, the match was played in Sharjah.

Final scores were as follows:
Pakistan beat England by four wickets. England 438 for 3 in 40 overs (Nathan Foy 246, Luke Sugg 90, Matt Dean 54) Pakistan 439 for 6 in 38 overs (Amir Ishfaq 120, Abdul Razzaq 57, Muhammad Shahbaz 50, Mohammad Jameel 59n.o Muhammad Zafar 40n.o).

Pakistani Players and Their List of Controversies

Here is a small list of our great players & there tiny controversies:

1. Shahid Afridi = Ball tampering
2. Mohamad Yousuf = ICL, Infighting
3. Shoaib Malik = Playboy, Infighting
4. Kamran Akmal = Match Fixing, Infighting
5. Umar Akmal = Faking Injury
6. Nasir Jamshed = Cheating in exam (L0L)
7. Imran Farhat = Sifarish
8. Faisal Iqbal = Sifarshi
9. Fawad Alam = Sleeping till late missing meetings, Discipline
10. Shoaib Akhtar = King of controversies, Clubbing, coach slapping, bad attitude etc
11. Mohamad Asif = Drugs, cocaine, Nandralone don't know wat else
12. Rana Naveed = Match Fixing
13. Younis Khan = Missing, Quitting, Fishing


Please let me know if I have missed something.

Preview of team New Zealand team for the 2010 T20 world cup

Vettori's side aren't to be underestimated...

Squad:
Brendon McCullum, Jesse Ryder, Martin Guptill, Ross Taylor, Scott Styris, Aaron Redmond, Jacob Oram, Gareth Hopkins (wk), Daniel Vettori (capt), Rob Nicol, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Tim Southee, Shane Bond, Ian Butler.


Team NewZealand,a side that always has been a good team in the shorter formats of the game.It is one of those teams in the world that has remained consistent for a major period of time over the years. Great thing about them is that they have not had very big names but they always play with great team effort and spirit and you always except them to put up a great fight when ever they play.
They have have had a history of getting knocked out of any major tournament in the semi final match. Including losses to Pakistan in the 1992 and 1999 World Cup semi finals and in 2007 World Cup to Sri Lanka. However they have beaten Pakistan on both the occasions when the two sides met in the semi final of the ICC Champion's Trophy in 2000 and 2009 in Kenya and South Africa respectively.
As far as team's performance in the ICC T20 World Cup goes the black caps made it to the last four in 2007 however lost again to Pakistan at Cape Town and were knocked out. Where as in 2009 in the UK the team was knocked out in the Super eight stage.

As far as previewing the kiwi team for the upcoming T20 world cup in Caribbean is concerned rest assured that a good fighting performance is expected from the team.

The main strength of the team can not be specified to batting or bowling. It is that combine effort that makes the team dangerous and consistent.

As far as the batting strength of the team goes no doubt they have got fire power in the top and middle order. Team depends a great deal on Brendon Mc Cullum (the highest run getter up til now in international T20) to provide them with a good start. Combining brilliance and consistency of Mc Cullum with power of Jessee Ryder at the top of the order, teams must be vary of the dangerous kiwi opening pair.

In the middle order kiwis have got likes of Ross Taylor,Martin Guptill,Aaron Redmond who have good experience of playing twenty over cricket and have on numerous occasions have made good performances for the kiwis.
NewZealand side looks very fertile in terms of having all-rounders. Having likes of Oram,Styris and Vettori makes NewZealand a very balanced side.

The bowling department of kiwis will be largely depending on skipper Daniel Vettori and fast bowler Shane Bond.
Both of them are highly experienced and carry the burden of kiwi bowling attack. Apart from these two, guys like Ian Butler, Kyle Mills, Tim Southee in addition to kiwi allrounders who are equally good with the bowl as they are with the bat is making Newzealand look a very sold team and this time they surely will be looking to end the semi final losing streak and win the cup.

Strengths: Excellent fielding,Team unity,Explosive batting
Weakness: Collapsing in the pressure games
Predictions: Semi final

Key players
Brendon Mc Cullum
Daniel Vettori
Ross Taylor
Shane Bond
Scott Styirs

The IPAD

Is this a technological grand breakthrough?

Babar The New BBK Author

We are extremely pleased to have Babar from Karachi joining the blog as an author. Babar is a very updated and knowledgeable cricket fan and we look forward to hearing much more from him in the future.

Preview of team Pakistani team for the 2010 T20 world cup

1. Mohammad Hafeez
2. Salman Butt
3. Khalid Latif
4. Umar Akmal
5. Fawad Alam
6. Misbah-ul-Haq
7. Shahid Afridi
8. Abdul Razzaq
9. Yasir Arafat
10. Kamran Akmal
11. Hammad Azam
12. Saeed Ajmal
13. Umar Gul
14. Mohammad Aamer
15. Mohammad Asif

Pakistan is the current holders of the trophy,having won it in the UK under the charasmatic leadership of Younis Khan team Pakistan is a strong force in the shortest format of the game.Currently sitting at the top of the T20 leader board,Pakistani team is all set to bring the title back home but this time under a different KHAN. i.e Shahid Khan Afridi the Pathan from Khyber Agency.

Well as all of us know there is a great of uncertainty and unpredictability attached with team Pakistan.

However it is this predictability that makes the team very exciting to watch.

Lets come to the point and analyze the team’s strengths and weaknesses and also the chances in the tournament.

Following the tradition of cricket lets discuss the strength of the team first. There is no doubt that bowling is the main strength of the team. Having a pace battery comprising of bowlers like Mohammad Asif, Umer Gul and Mohammad Aamir , team Pakistan will look forward to these menacing bowlers to apply early pressure on the batting teams.

Mohammad Asif is lethal with his line and length and his performance in the first edition of world T20 in South Africa was quite impressive. He performance with the new ball will be a major factor in Pakistan’s campaign.

Mohammad Aamir the latest sensation of Pakistan cricket. He was the find of the tournament in the last T20 world cup. He has got swing, pace, attitude all the attributes that makes a fast bowler successful at the highest level. After his brilliant performance in the last T20 world cup final, Aamir has come a long way and has become a key member of the Pakistani team and he also will be a key member of the team.

Now comes the turn of Mr Consitent of team Pakistan in T20 format Umar Gul. Gul was the highest wicket taker in both the editions of the T20 world cups and played a major role in helping Pakistan to get into the finals both the time. His performance in the 2007 final was brilliant as he removed the back bone of Indian batting by dismissing Dhoni, Yuvraj and Gambhir.

However in 2009 edition of the tournament Gul was simply unstoppable. And he even went on to become the first bowler to take 5 wickets in an international T20, when he took 5/6 against the Kiwis at the Oval. Apart from that his performance in the semi final against the Proteas at Nottingham was simply amazing as he came onto bowl at a crucial stage and bowled his Yorkers with such consistency and accuracy that the batsmen of the caliber like Jean Paul Duminy , Jacques Kallis and Albie Morkel were not able to hit the required boundaries, and the pressure kept on mounting on the South Africans and in the end Pakistan managed to pin them down by 7 runs and qualified for the final.

Where the fast bowling has got quality and depth Pakistani slow bowlers are the best in the world. Skipper Shahid Afridi and offie Saeed Ajmal are a wonderful spinning combo for the team.They both have been phenomenal in the short format of the game.

Afridi with his pace variation and ability to bowl his overs quickly doesn’t give the batsmen easy opportunities to settle where as Saeed Ajmal with his orthodox but effective off spin bowling not only controls the flow of runs but also picks up wickets at crucial times. This spin duo was very beneficial the green shirts in their success in the 2009 and rest assured they will be more effective this time as well.

Now comes the turn of our batting. A factor that has always been a big worry for the team since a large period of time.

If we talk about the team’s batting strength it looks a good team on paper, but consistency and technique are the major factors that have brought about team’s downfall numerous times and we have lost some matches in the most dramatic of fashions.

Two out of the three openers have been selected due to their good performances in the recently held National Twenty Twenty cup. Mohammad Hafeez and Khalid Latif showed good form in the tournament and impressed one and all with their batting.

However both of them have not had it easy at the international level so far.

Hafeez made his debut in 2003, and was dropped from the team very soon. However he kept on making come backs as he was consistent at the domestic level. His major came back was in 2006 as he was called upon as an opener he was also a part of 2007 ODI world cup and 2007 T20 world cup. His performance with the bat in that T20 world cup was below average and he failed to deliver when the team needed a contribution from him. He has not been able to perform with the bat and has been heavily criticized for that. However with sheer hard work and determination he has once again earned a deserving recall after 2 years.

Khalid Latif, the Karachi batsman has also had it tough in international circuit however he continues to amass heaps of runs in the domestic level. He is a good batsman and has all the strokes however he needs to work on his technique.

Salman Butt is very experienced and has been a part of both the squads that have played the T20 world cup. His selection is also surrounded by question marks and this tournament is a great opportunity for Butt to prove that he is a player for all forms of the game.

Middle order batting has got fire power with the likes of Misbah, Kamran Akmal, Afridi, Umer Akmal and Abdul Razzaq. No doubt the absence of Younis Khan and Shoaib Malik will be felt but the players avalible are good enough to play a responsible role.

Pakistan have got good allrounders in Yasir Arafat, Abdul Razzaq, Fawad Alam as all of them have got vast experience of playing T20.

Pakistan definitely have got the team that can defend its title and in Shahid Afridi they have got a leader that can surely lead them to success. However a lot depends upon how the team gels together and remain as a unit. If they are able to play as a unit and play with determination no wonder why cant they re taste the glory as they did in 2009.

Key Players

1) Shahid Afridi

2) Saeed Ajmal

3) Umar Gul

4) Umar Akmal

5) Mohammad Asif

T20WC, Team England

England: Paul Collingwood (captain), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Craig Kieswetter, Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Ajmal Shahzad, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy.


The Football World Cup in RSA will be dominating most people's attention in Britain this year. The interest and differences of interest between the two tournaments, the T20WC and Football World Cup will be rather considerable! Many people wouldn't even care I reckon about the cricketing event.

Anyhow, in regards to the squad I feel England have left out some key players including the Middlesex Karachi born batsmen Owais Shah who is highly suited to T20 cricket and has been successful in the format. Michael Yardy, the skipper of Sussex, the team that won the county T20 competition last year is a good edition to the squad. His experience and all- round credentials will be highly valued.

In both previous World Cups England failed miserably. I expect this time to be no different and only see England getting to the Super Eights at the most.

Key Player:KP and Eoin Morgan
Strengths: Middle Order
Weaknesses: Past failings... I feel they might lack the belief....
Prediction: Super Eights