Pakistan's Cricket Players

Saturday, 5 January 2013

Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar Biography
Shoaib Akhtar is a former professional cricketer who played testes and One Day International matches for the Pakistan national team in ICC organized events. He has been dubbed as The Rawalpindi Express after the place where he was born and he is arguably the fastest bowler the world of cricket has ever seen, easily clocking 150 km/hour on many occasions. He became the first man to bowl a delivery over 100 miles/hour or 161.3 km/hour, which is the fastest delivery ever bowled in the history of cricket against England. Moreover, not only did he achieve a speed of 100 miles/hour on his delivery, he achieved it twice during one single match and that is something that makes him very unique in the world of fast bowlers. His prowess lay in being able to bowl fast and precise Yorkers as well as quick bouncers and these abilities made him one of the greatest as well as most feared bowlers of all time, the likes of which had not been seen in international cricket since the times of Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Jeff Thompson, Dennis Lillie, Malcolm Marshall and the likes – players who depended on raw pace to pick up wickets.

However, Shoaib Akhtar was also a very controversial figure and it followed him wherever he went. It has been said that he was very selfish and not a team man. The Pakistan team management once sent him home from Australia in the middle of a series because of an alleged poor behavior on his part. In 2006, he was perhaps involved in the biggest controversy when WADA found Shoaib Akhtar guilty of taking performance enhancing drugs and the ICC banned him from playing cricket. This ban was however lifted and he returned to the Pakistan national side the following year and almost immediately, got himself banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board or the PCB for fighting with team mate and fellow opening bowler Mohammad Asif during a training session.

He was selected to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders for the inaugural IPL but injuries blighted his season and he played only a handful of matches. Akhtar was so injury prone that he only managed to play a total of 46 tests and 163 One Day Internationals in his 12 year international career, taking a total of 425 wickets in all. Shoaib Akhtar, in spite of all his short comings, is truly a legend of the game and no matter what happens, cricket will always remember this flamboyant star.

Shoaib Akhtar

Younis Khan

Younis Khan Biography
Mohammad Younis Khan (born November 29, 1977 in Mardan, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan) is a Pakistani cricketer and current captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Younis' name is often spelled Younus Khan.He is only the third Pakistani player to score 300 or more runs in an innings. Younis Khan made his international debut in an ODI against Sri Lanka at Karachi in February 2000, and has since played over 150 ODIs for Pakistan. He has also played in over 50 Test matches. Younis was one of the few batsmen who retained his place in the team after Pakistan's disastrous World Cup campaign in 2003, but lost it soon after due to a string of poor scores in the home series against Bangladesh and South Africa. He came back for the one-day series against India, but failed to cement a place in the Test side. It was his return to the side in October 2004, at the pivotal one-down, against Sri Lanka in Karachi that laid the groundwork for his emergence as a force in Pakistan cricket. He was the top run-getter in the disastrous 3-0 whitewash in Australia immediately after and on the tour of India, for which Younis was elevated to vice-captain, he blossomed. After a horror start to the series he came back strongly, capping things off with 267 in the final Test. It was his highest Test score and came off 504 balls in the first innings, to set up a series levelling victory in Bangalore. As well as being an accomplished batsman, Younis is also a skilled slip fielder and a very occasional leg-spin bowler. He has performed particularly well outside Pakistan, including on tours of Australia, India, England and Sri Lanka. In the six Tests he has played against India, Younis averages an exceptional 106, the highest average against India by a Pakistani. Apart from his 267 at Bangalore, Younis also made 147 at Kolkata in 2005 and a pair of centuries during India's trip to Pakistan in 2006. More importantly, the tour to India also showcased his potential as a future captain of Pakistan and his energetic and astute leadership has impressed many people. Also in 2006, Younis made a century in the third Test against England at Headingley. On 22 January 2007, he scored a matchwinning 67 not out in the 4th innings to guide Pakistan to victory over South Africa in Port Elizabeth. The five wicket win levelled the series at 1-1. In 2005, he was one of the 15 nominees for the ICC Test Player of the Year. He is the second fastest Pakistani in terms of innings to reach 4000 Test runs, behind Javed Miandad. Younis reached the milestone in 87 innings, just one more than Sachin Tendulkar took. Younis Khan's highest position in the LG ICC's Test Batting Rankings is third, which he achieved after the third test against England in 2006. His ranking score of 856 is the fourth highest achieved by a Pakistani batsmen after Mohammad Yousuf (933), Javed Miandad (885) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (870). Younis Khan made his first 300 against Sirilanka in 24 Feb 2009

Younis Khan

Friday, 4 January 2013

Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik Biography
Shoaib Malik is a Pakistani cricket player and former captain. He made his One-Day International debut in 1999 against the West Indies and his Test debut in 2001 against Bangladesh.He has taken over 100 ODI wickets, and has a batting average in the mid 30s in both Test and ODI cricket.His bowling action has come under scrutiny (particularly his doosra) but he has had elbow surgery to correct this. Malik was ranked second, behind teammate Shahid Afridi, in the ICC ODI all-rounder rankings in June 2008.In March 2010, Malik received a one-year ban from international cricket from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB); the ban was overturned two months later.Malik is regarded as a flexible player. He is capable of hitting big shots but is also capable of rotating the strike with good placement. He has a strike rate of 77.23 runs per 100 balls, which compares favourably to players such as Rahul Dravid and Inzamam ul-Haq.His most brazen display of "power hitting" came in 2003 against South Africa when he scored 82 from 41 balls.As is required of most modern players, he also has displayed good defensive batting at times.In 2008, media reports in Pakistan surfaced that Malik has married Ayesha Siddiqui, a woman from Hyderabad, India, on 3 June 2002.Malik denied these allegations saying his marriage plans with the woman did not go through, because of a lack of consensus between both the families.In April 2010, Siddiqui's family released Shoaib-Ayesha 'marriage' certificate (Nikahnama).On April 2, 2010, Malik said he plans to sue Siddiqui's family for "indulging in character assassination".On April 7, 2010 Malik confirmed his marriage with Siddiqui and signed the Talaq (divorce) papers.On 12 April 2010, Malik married Indian tennis player Sania Mirza in an Islamic wedding ceremony at the Taj Krishna Hotel in Hyderabad, India for a mahr of 61 lakh (US$137,500).Malik is now based in Dubai.

Shoaib Malik

Tuesday, 1 January 2013

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal Biography
Kamran Akmal (born 13 January 1982 in Lahore) is a Pakistani cricketer who has played 38 Test matches and 88 ODIs for Pakistan. He is a quick-scoring batsman and a wicket-keeper, who has achieved four centuries and two fifties in 31 Test innings. However, his first century was vital - his 109 from the number eight position at Mohali, coming in with Pakistan in a lead of 39 against India in the first Test, ensured that the visitors could draw the match. His form against the touring English in 2005 made him one of the most important players in the team. Naturally, he is a batsman that plays lower down the order but has sometimes opened in both Test and One-day cricket. As an opener he has scored two back to back centuries in ODIs against England. Coming in lower down the order in Test matches, he played one memorable innings. He saved Pakistan from a score of 39/6, scoring a century, to a competitive 245 which helped Pakistan win the match and series. His batting was highly productive in early 2006 as he scored seven international hundreds within the space of 6 months. Since his tour of England in Summer 2006 however his batting form dwindled and steadily become worse. His wicket-keeping also worsened and dropped many catches on both the England tour and on a tour to South Africa in early 2007. Since then he did not score an international hundred until the Bangladeshi tour of Pakistan in 2008. Kamran Akmal was dropped for the Asia Cup 2008 as a result of his poor batting form and very poor keeping. He was replaced by Sarfraz Ahmed who has performed very well the domestic level. Kamran was named in the 30 man probable squad for the 2008 ICC Champions Trophy. On 12 November 2008, Akmal hit two consecutive 6s in the last over. As a result Pakistan won the first ODI in Abu Dhabi against West Indies. Akmal was also signed on to the Rajasthan Royals, and played in the inaugural season of the IPL. He played five matches in the tournament, as wicket-keeper and top-order batsman, including the final of the tournament against the Chennai Super Kings. He took two catches in the first innings, however he was run out for six runs during the Royal's chase. The Royals went on to win the tournament after a thrilling finish.

Kamran Akmal

Misbah Ul Haq

Misbah Ul Haq Biography
Misbah-ul-Haq Khan Niazi (born May 28, 1974) is a Pakistani cricketer. Misbah is known for his cool headed batting especially under pressure. Outside of cricket he has done an MBA from the University of Management Technology, Lahore.

Major Team: Pakistan, Khan Research Labs, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Sargodha

Playing Roll: Batsman

Batting Style: Right

Bowling Style: Legbreak

Current age 36 years 236 days

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Legbreak

An orthodox batsman with reasonable technique, Misbah-ul-Haq caught the eye with his unflappable temperament in the tri-nation one-day tournament in Nairobi in 2002, scoring two fifties in three innings, including one in the final against Australia. But before Pakistan could hail him as a possible middle-order mainstay, Misbah's form slumped - he didn't manage a single 20-plus score in three Tests against Australia and was duly dumped. Pakistan's abysmal World Cup campaign - and the wholesale changes to the team in its aftermath - gave Misbah another chance to redeem himself, but he did little of note in the limited opportunities he got.

Misbah Ul Haq