Wednesday 7 December 2011

Shoaib Malik

Shoaib Malik Biography

Shoaib Malik (Urdu: شعیب ملک) (born 1 February 1982) 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.[1] 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.Shoaib Malik first played tape-ball cricket in the streets as a child. He began to take playing cricket seriously in 1993/94 when he attended Imran Khan's coaching clinics in Sialkot. He began as a batsman only developing on his bowling later. He used to get in trouble with his family for playing cricket, as they wanted him to focus on his education. His master was Hussain Gujjar of Sialkot who taught him extensive cricket during his teenage. In 1996, Malik attended trials for the U-15 World Cup. He was selected in the squad for his bowling.[3]
In May 2001, Malik's bowling action was inspected. The PCB group of bowling advisers concluded that his stock off-spinner was legal, although his delivery going the other way was not. He was encouraged to concentrate on his off-spin and to practice bowling his other delivery without bending his arm.[4] In a One Day International (ODI) against England in June 2001, Malik suffered a fractured right shoulder after falling awkwardly while attempting to take a catch.[5]
Malik was approached by Gloucestershire County Cricket Club in July 2003 to act as a replacement for Ian Harvey, who was on international duty with Australia. John Bracewell, the club's director of cricket, commented that he was "excited by the prospect of signing an international spinning all-rounder to replace Ian during the Cheltenham Festival and the C&G semi-finals. He will add a new and refreshing dimension to the squad ... which is in keeping with our playing philosophy to both win and entertain".[6] He sufficiently impressed in two County Championship and three one-day matches that resulted in renewing of his contract for the 2004 season. Mark Alleyne, the club's head coach, remarked that "Shoaib did very well for us last year in the short time he was with us and fitted in very well. He is a gifted all-rounder who is worthy of a place in either discipline and as a 21 year old, he can only get better and I am really pleased at having him in my squad".[7] Over the course of his two seasons at Gloucestershire, Malik played eight first-class matches, scoring 214 runs at an average of 17.83 with two fifties[8] and taking 15 wickets at an average of 45.06, with best bowling figures of 3/76.[9] He also played twelve one-day matches, scoring 345 runs at an average of 43.12 with three fifties[10] and taking 10 wickets at an average of 47.60, with best bowling figures of 3/28.[11]
In October 2004, Malik was reported to the International Cricket Council (ICC) for having a "potentially flawed bowling action";[12] eight months later, his action was cleared.[13] In the intervening period, Malik was used mainly as a batsman.[14] He was also given a one-Test ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board after admitting to deliberately losing a Twenty20 match for the Sialkot Stallions against Karachi Zebras to knock Lahore Eagles out of the Twenty-20 Cup. The inquiry concluded that the incident "damaged Pakistan's cricketing image and had shown disrespect to the crowd", but that "his actions were not part of any match-fixing with no financial implications, but were an immature attempt to express his disappointment at earlier decisions in the competition that he felt went against his side".[15]
During his Test career, Malik has batted at 5 different positions and has the unusual record of batting at every position except 11th in ODIs. Pakistan's problems in finding a reliable opening pair have led to Malik being used as an opener in Test and ODI matches. In Test cricket, he made a big impression with his match-saving innings against Sri Lanka in 2006, during which he batted for the whole day and finished with 148 runs not out. His bowling has been effective at times, especially in one-day cricket where his best bowling figures are four wickets for 19 runs (4/19) in addition to many 3-wicket hauls.
On the international stage Malik struggled in England. In 12 ODIs across four tours between 2001 and 2006 he scored 98 runs at an average of 8.16, with just two scores above 20, far below his career ODI average of 34.35. Of people who have played at least eight ODIs in England, Malik's is the furthest below his overall average.[16]
[edit]Pakistan captaincy
Following Inzamam-ul-Haq's resignation as Pakistan captain after the 2007 World Cup, Malik was put forward as one of the names for the captaincy along with Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf. After Younis Khan's rejection, Malik was the popular choice as a younger player and was seen to represent a fresh start after the Inzamam era.
Pakistan's coach, Bob Woolmer, was a strong advocate of Malik's case to become captain; in Woolmer's opinion Malik was "the sharpest tactical tack among his group ... a real presence on the field".[17] Former skipper Imran Khan also backed Malik for the role, stating "He appears to have a good cricket brain and could turn out to be a very good choice for Pakistan cricket".[18] Malik was appointed captain on 19 April 2007 by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), his experience considering his relatively young age and consistent performances were cited as other reasons for his appointment.[18] At the age of just 25, he was Pakistan's fourth youngest captain.[17]
In Malik's first series as captain, Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka 2–1 in an ODI series in Abu Dhabi. His next assignments were home Test and ODI series against South Africa, which Pakistan lost 1-0 and 3-2 respectively. 3-2 was the score in favour of India when Pakistan subsequently played an ODI series against their arch-rivals. Malik hit 89 and took three wickets in the final match, which Pakistan won by 31 runs.
Malik's captaincy lasted two years. A report by the coach and manager criticised his leadership, claiming that Malik was "a loner, aloof and involved in his own little world, which is OK but not when the team required a fully committed captain  We do not see any meaningful communication between players and captain other than his five-minute talk during the team meeting".[17] Younis Khan took over as captain on 27 January 2009[19] after a poor performance against Sri Lanka saw Malik step down.[19] In his two-year tenure as captain, Malik lead his country in two Tests, losing two and drawing one,[20] and 36 ODIs, of which Pakistan won 24,[21] and 17 T20Is, winning 12.
Shoaib Malik
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Sheela, Shagun and Meenakshi with Shoaib Malik Part-2
Shoaib Malik 75 & Fools Harbhajan Singh

Thursday 1 December 2011

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal Biography
Kamran Akmal (Urdu: کامران اکمل; born 13 January 1982) is a Pakistani cricketer who has played Tests, ODIs and T20Is for Pakistan as a wicket-keeperInternational career

He is a quick-scoring batsman and a wicket-keeper, who has achieved 6 centuries in 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 the 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. He then scored an international hundred in the Bangladeshi tour of Pakistan in 2008. He later moved to have some injuries and did not play for some days but later he was again brought into the team.
Akmal was dropped for the Asia Cup 2008 as a result of his poor wicket-keeping. He was replaced by Sarfraz Ahmed who performed very well at the domestic level and also because of Sarfraz's strong showing in the U-19 World Cup. Akmal was named in the 30 man probable squad for the 2008 ICC Champions Trophy.
Akmal was part of the Pakistan team that won the T20 World Cup in 2009. He was notable for his quick stumpings, dismissing 4 batsmen in one match against Netherlands.
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.
On 17 July 2010, Akmal was appointed the vice-captain of the Pakistani test squad but later removed because of his alleged involvement in spot fixingMatch fixing allegations

In the 2nd Test match on the 2009-10 tour of Australia, Akmal dropped four catches in the Australian innings, three of those coming from Michael Hussey. Hussey went on to score 134* and was involved in a massive 9th wicket partnership stand of 133 runs with Peter Siddle. Pakistan eventually went on to lose the match by 36 runs, after being dismissed for just 139 in the second innings. Later it was alleged that he, along with pace bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were involved in match fixing, and were questioned by Pakistan Cricket Board and subsequently dropped for the Twenty20 series against England.[2]
In early September 2010 The International Cricket Council sent an official notice to Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal telling him that he is under investigation for allegedly fixing the Sydney Test.[1]  For the subsequent series against South Africa in October 2010 Akmal had an operation to remove his appendix and was unavailable for the limited-overs squad. Akmal was able to recover from the operation to participate in the two-match test series but Zulqarnain Haider was selected ahead of him [3] Another reason also emerged that Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin and Yasir Hameed were not selected for the tour due to the fact that suspicions were raised that they were involved with the spot-fixing scandal that included Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif. Another player Wahab Riaz was under investigation for fixing but the ICC had interrogated him and he was no longer part of the investigation therefore he was allowed to take part on the tour of South Africa that included two Twenty20 Internationals, five ODI matches and two Test matches. Though this has not been confirmed by the board, it is believed that the reason they were not picked was that the suspicion had not been cleared.[4] The ICC confirmed that Akmal had been barred from entering the team. Once his investigation was completed he was available for national selection.
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1 over 17 Runs Required - How Kamran Akmal Survived
YouTube-‪Kamran Akmal 64 vs aus t20 2010.flv

Saeed Anwar

Saeed Anwar Biography
Saeed Anwar (Urdu: سعید انور; born 6 September 1968) is a former Pakistani opening batsman. A left-hander, Anwar is most notable for scoring 194 runs against India in Chennai in 1997, then the highest, and now the joint second highest individual score in a One Day International.[1][2]Personal life
Saeed Anwar graduated from NED University, Karachi in 1989 and is an engineer by profession. He was planning to go to the United States for his Master's studies before becoming a professional test Cricketer.
He faced a personal tragedy in 2001, when his daughter died after a prolonged illness.[3] As a result he turned to religion.[4] He made his return to Cricket after a long hiatus and was one of the most consistent Pakistani batsmen in the 2003 World Cup.
On 15 August 2003, he announced his retirement from Cricket after he was dropped from the squad for the upcoming One-Day International tournament in Sharjah.[5] He devoted his life to preaching Islam across Pakistan with the Tablighi Jamaat. He led the funeral prayers for his ex team mate Wasim Akram's spouse, Huma Akram, in Lahore.[6]
[edit]CareerAn opening batsman capable of annihilating any bowling attack on his day, Anwar was an attacking batsman in one-day matches and once settled in Test matches, scored quickly and all over the field. His success came from good timing.Anwar became famous for his trademark flick. He was able to lift a ball that had pitched outside off stump for six over midwicket. Anwar's timing and ability to score quick runs made him a crowd favourite. He was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1997.
Anwar was the first Pakistani batsman to score a century against India on Indian soil in a one-day match. He has the highest Test batting average (59.06) of any Pakistani against Australia, and once scored three consecutive centuries against them. He scored a classic century against South Africa in Durban, which allowed Pakistan to win a Test match for the first time in South Africa.
On 21 May 1997 in Chennai, Anwar scored 194 against India in India in an ODI match.[8] Charles Coventry equalled the feat on 16 August 2009, against Bangladesh.[9] This was the highest individual score by any batsman in the world till Sachin Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 200 against South Africa on 24 February 2010.
Anwar is a member of the exclusive club of batsmen who have scored three successive hundreds in ODIs, with hundreds against Sri Lanka, West Indies and Sri Lanka during the 1993–94 Champions Trophy in Sharjah. He scored two successive hundreds on three other occasions in his career, and was the first batsman to complete this feat in ODIs.RecordsAnwar (194) and Charles Coventry (194*) shared the record for highest individual score in an ODI match until it was overtaken by India's Sachin Tendulkar (200*) against South Africa on 24 February 2010. Anwar has scored two or more successive hundreds on four occasions. He holds the highest Test batting average (59.06) of any Pakistani against Australia in Test matches, and made 20 hundreds in One Day Internationals as a Pakistan opening batsman.
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Saeed Anwar's 194 vs India
Saeed Anwar 95 vs India 1998/99

Mohammad Yousuf

Mohammad Yousuf Biography
Mohammad Yousuf (Punjabi, Urdu: محمد یوسف ; formerly Yousuf Youhana, یوسف یوحنا; born 27 August 1974, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan) is a Pakistani right-handed batsman. He is best known in cricket for his achievement in 2006 when he broke the world record for most Test runs in a single calendar year.[1] Prior to his conversion to Islam in 2005, Yousuf was one of only a few Christians to play for the Pakistan cricket team.
Yousuf was effectively banned from playing international cricket for Pakistan, for an indefinite period by the Pakistan Cricket Board on 10 March 2010, following an inquiry into the team's defeat during the tour of Australia.[2] An official statement was released by the Pakistan Cricket Board, saying that he would not be selected again on the grounds of inciting infighting within the team.[2]
On 29 March 2010, Yousuf announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket,[3] a direct reaction of the indefinite ban handed out to him by PCB. However following Pakistan's disastrous first Test against England in July/August 2010, PCB decided to ask Yousuf to come out of retirement.Early life
Yousuf was born to a Balmiki family who later converted to ChristianityCareer
He made his Test debut against South Africa at Durban and One Day International debut against Zimbabwe at Harare. He has scored over 9,000 One Day International runs at an average above 40 (2nd highest batting average among Pakistani batsmen after Zaheer Abbas) and over 7,000 Test runs at an average above 50 (highest batting average amongst all Pakistani batsmen) with 24 Test centuries. He has the record of scoring the most runs without being dismissed in the One Day International match, with a total of 405 runs against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in 2002–2003. He has also scored a 23-ball fifty and a 68-ball hundred in One Day International. In Test match, he has scored a 27-ball fifty, which is 3rd fastest by any player. He was the top scorer during the successive years of 2002 and 2003 in the world in One Day International match. In 2004, he scored 111 runs against the Australians in the Boxing Day Test. In December 2005, he scored 223 runs against England at Lahore, also earning him the man of the match award. Seven months later in July 2006, when Pakistan toured England, he scored 202 runs and 48 in the first Test, again earning himself the man of the match award. He followed up with 192 in the third Test at Headingley and 128 in the final Test at The Oval.
Yousuf was named CNN-IBN’s Cricketer of the Year for 2006, ahead of the likes of Australian captain Ricky Ponting, West Indies Brian Lara, Australian spinner Shane Warne, South Africa’s bowling spearhead Makhaya Ntini and Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan. He was selected as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in the 2007 edition.[6] Yousuf became the fourth recipient of the ICC 'Test Cricketer of the Year' award for 2007, he scored 944 runs at an average of 94.40 including seven centuries and two fifties in just 10 innings and that was enough to be awarded the honour ahead of English batsman Kevin Pietersen and Australian batsman Ricky Ponting.[7]
A year that started on a promising note, Yousuf carried it forward to break two world records both held earlier by former West Indian batsman Viv Richards. The 32-year-old, Pakistani batsman achieved an unparalleled 1788 runs in just 10 Test matches with the help of twelve centuries which became his second world record. Yousuf is known for his ability to score runs at exceptional rate through his great technique and composed strokeplay. Although capable of hitting the ball hard, Yousuf is quick between the wickets, although he is prone to being run out.[1]
Yousuf is a skilful infielder, with a report prepared by Cricinfo in late 2005 showing that since the 1999 Cricket World Cup, he had effected the ninth highest number of run-outs in ODI cricket of any fieldsman.[8] He is also distinguished by his characteristic celebration after hitting one hundred runs for his country, where he prostrates in thankfulness to Allah in the direction of Mecca. He has observed this act (known as the Sajdah) since his conversion to Islam.[9][10] In 2007, after initially signing a contract to join the Indian Cricket League, Yousuf later refused due to pressure from the Pakistan Cricket Board as he would later face a ban by the board. In return the PCB promised to get him into the Indian premier league, however, no team bid for him as he faced litigation from the ICL.[11]
In 2008, he once again threatened to join the ICL after the PCB dropped him from their squad. A PCB official was quoted as saying, "We have banned all our cricketers who joined the ICL and if Yousuf also plays for the unauthorised league then he will have to face the same punishment. Yousuf is still our best Test batsman and has a future with the Pakistan team, but not if he joins the ICL."[12] Yousuf decided to join the ICL again to play mid-way though the second season.[13] The Pakistan Cricket Board reacted to the news by banning him from the national team.[14] Yousaf's chances to return to Pakistani cricket improved on 2 February 2009 when a Pakistani court suspended the ban on ICL players.[15]
Pakistan Cricket Board recalled batsman Mohammad Yousuf to the squad for their July 2009 Test series in Sri Lanka. Yousuf ended his association with the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League (ICL) in early May, in the hope of earning a recall for his country. His decision to join the ICL was made because of differences with former captain Shoaib Malik, who has since been replaced by Younus Khan.[16] In July 2009, on his first match after returning to Test Cricket since 2007, Yousuf scored a century to announce his return to cricket.
Yousuf informed the Pakistan Cricket Board that he would not be taking part in the Champions Trophy 2008 because it would coincide with the holy month of Ramadan.[17]
He along with another former Indian Cricket League player Abdul Razzaq were awarded ‘A’ category mid-term central contracts by Pakistan Cricket Board after they left Indian Cricket League.[18] A little over one year after being welcomed back by the PCB, Yousuf was made captain of the Test team for the tour of New Zealand after Younus Khan was allowed to take a break.[19]
The Pakistan Cricket Board, on 10 March 2010, banned Yousuf and former captain, Younis Khan from playing for the national team indefinitely and imposed one-year bans on Shoaib Malik and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan.[2] Despite receiving the ban Yousuf said that the series against South Africa in late 2010 could be a possibility.[20] Pakistan then toured England in July 2010 and after losing the first test by 354 runs due to a weak batting line-up, the second innings total of 80 being the lowest total by Pakistan against England. Yousuf announced his return to International Cricket and was placed on the squad.[21] He then required a visa which was granted but there was a concern that Yousuf could not come to England in time for that tour.[22]
[edit]Retirement and subsequent return (2010)
On 29 March 2010, Yousuf announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket,[3] just days after the Pakistan Cricket Board imposed an indefinite ban on him. "I received a letter from the PCB that my staying in the team is harmful for the team, so I announce my retirement from international cricket," he said at a press conference in Karachi.[3] On 27 March, Yousuf said that he had decided to retire from international cricket.[23] "Yes, I have decided to retire as Pakistan player and my decision is not an emotional one", Yousuf told press agency AFP, "It's of no use playing if my playing is harmful to the team".[23] He was handed over an indefinite ban by the Pakistan Cricket Board for his disciplinary problems on Pakistan's tour of Australia 2009–2010.
On 1 August 2010, after Pakistan lost the first Test match against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, Yousuf was called back in the squad for the rest of the series.[4] He decided not to play the second test because of tiredness.[24] Shortly after the completion of the second test, Pakistani captain, Salman Butt announced that he expected Yousuf to return for the third test.[25] The selectors decided to play Yousuf in a Tour match against Worcestershire just before the third test so that his form and fitness could be checked[26] Yousuf's form check was positive because on a day inflicted by rain he managed to score 40*[27] Yousuf then scored 56 against England in the 3rd Test before being caught and bowled by Graeme Swann in the process Yousuf became Swann's 100 casualty in Test cricket the day saw a much improved performance by Pakistan as they were eventually bowled out for 308[28]
In the same tour of England that summer he participated in the Twenty20 series as well. Despite being considered an "old boys cricketer" and having participated in only a sole T20I in 2006 and considered one who does not slog as often (notable by the low amount of sixes he has scored) Yousuf participated and score 26 of 21 deliveries.
His return continued well when he scored 46 in the second ODI against England. He consistently scored during the five-match England series as Pakistan lost 3–2. Yousuf was subsequently selected to play for Pakistan in all three-formats against South Africa in October 2010[29] he was considered as an option for becoming captain but the captaincy was given Misbah-ul-Haq Yousuf's batting partner Younis Khan however still was not selected.[30]
Mohammad Yousuf captained his domestic team the Lahore Lions to victory in the 2010-11 Faysal Bank Twenty-20 Cup the team defeated the Karachi Dolphins comfortably in the final. This was also the first time in five-years that the trophy had gone to someone besides the Sialkot Stallions.[31] Despite his poor fielding skills Yousuf was given the award of fielder of the series. He did however injure is hamstring in training for the series against South Africa in October 2010. Chief Selector Mohsin Khan elected to withdraw Yousuf from the ODI and Twenty-20 squads but said that he should be ready to lay in the Test match series.[32] Yousuf's replacement in the limited-overs squad was Younus Khan who had successfully reconciled with the Pakistan Cricket Board. He managed to regain his fitness and participated in the two-match test series against South Africa[33] Also he managed to regain his fitness quick enough to participate in the final ODI of the five-match series. Yousuf wore a shirt which had his name written on in ink which was against regulations. The match-referee called him and Yousuf stated that because he came for the test series he did not bring coloured clothing because he did not think that he would play. Subsequently the ICC cleared him of any wrongdoing[34] Minutes before the toss in the first Test match Yousuf picked up a groin injury. The injury took two weeks to heal and subsequently Yousuf missed the two-match test series[35] Amid his recent spat of injuries former Pakistan captain Moin Khan suggested that Yousuf should retire from ODI's and T20's and focus on Tests only due to age and consistent injuries
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Mohammad Yousuf 192 - England v Pakistan 3rd test at Leeds 2006
Mohammad Yousuf 202 - England v Pakistan 1st test at Lords 2006

Umar Gul

Umar Gul Biography
Umar Gul (Urdu: عمرگل, Pashto: عمر ګل) (born 14 April 1984) is a Pakistani right arm fast medium bowler in cricket who has played Test matches, One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals for the Pakistani cricket team. He has gained fame as one of the most successful bowlers in Twenty20 cricket finishing as the leading wicket taker and bowler in both the 2007 and 2009 Twenty20 World Championship tournaments.Personal life
Gul was born in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan he was born in a middle-class family and frequently played tape-ball cricket. People on the street encouraged Gul to become an international cricketer as they saw his superb bowling. On October 2010 Gul's family announced that he was to wed a Dubai Doctor. The doctor is from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and she was born there as well[1][2]
Career
Early career
Gul was first called up for the team in April 2003, playing four one-day matches at the Cherry Blossom Sharjah Cup against Zimbabwe, Kenya and Sri Lanka, where he took four wickets, and he was in and out of the one-day team after that tournament. However, he played the whole of the 2003–04 home series against Bangladesh, making his Test debut and taking 15 wickets in the three Tests, and took the second-most wickets of any Pakistani bowler in the series, behind Shabbir Ahmed with 17. However, Shoaib Akhtar, who took 13 in third place, only played two of the Tests.
Gul was retained for the ODIs against Bangladesh, taking a List A best five for 17 in nine overs in the third match, and ended with 11 wickets in the 5–0 series win. However, he could still not command a regular spot, playing three of Pakistan's nine next ODIs before finally getting dropped after one for 36 against New Zealand.
Test matches
He was recalled and played two Tests after that taking four wickets in a drawn Test against New Zealand before coming in as replacement for Shabbir Ahmed in the second Test of the three-Test series against India. After coming on as first-change bowler, Gul dismissed Virender Sehwag in his second over, and then bowled unchanged for 12 overs either side of lunch to take five Indian top order wickets - including Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, who both had Test batting averages above 50, as did Sehwag. Gul finished with five for 31 in his spell, earning him commendation from Cricinfo journalist Dileep Premachandran, who praised his "control of line and length",[3] and he was also named Man of the Match despite conceding runs at five an over in the second innings in a nine-wicket win.
After a length injury lay-off, which kept him out of international cricket for nearly two years, Gul returned to the Pakistan fold in 2006. Firstly with quiet away series against Sri Lanka then followed by a tour to England in 2006. Gul was quickly made the lead bowler in the side due to the injuries to other front line bowlers. Gul to 18 wickets in four tests, justifying the selectors faith in him.
Later in 2006, against West Indies at home, Gul had perhaps his most successful test series. He took 16 wickets in 3 tests, including notable spells of reverse swing bowling. He was responsible for breaking Ramnaresh Sarwan's toe with a dipping yorker.
Test appearances however remained few and far between due to injuries and lack of test cricket for Pakistan.
In February 2009, Gul recorded his best test figures in the Pakistan team, taking 6 for 135 on an otherwise flat pitch.
In July 2010, Pakistan faced England at Trent Bridge and were 147/9 in their first innings. Gul scored 30* before the day was called off due to bad light. He returned the next day with Mohammad Asif and batted with intent to add another 35 runs in five overs. This saw Pakistan avoid the follow-on against England and therefore survive an innings defeat.[4]
Gul then suffered a hamstring injury in the second test when he was touring England in 2010 he was ruled out for three weeks that meant he would miss the remaining two tests. However Gul managed to recover and became fit enough to play in the fourth test[5] However they decided to rest Gul for the final test match despite the fact that he had recovered quicker than expected.
His next chance to play test cricket came against South Africa in November 2010 when he took 3 wickets in a first innings and triggered a South African collapse of 380 on a flat wicket. He took the crucial wicket with an excellent inswinger against AB de Villiers[6]
Twenty20
With injuries limiting Gul's test cricket participation, he made a distinct change to his bowling set-up. Making a focus on bowling in the late overs of T20. He got his opportunity with the absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa. He was generally used by Pakistan from the 13th over onwards and finished the tournament with 13 wickets, making him the leading wicket taker ahead of Shahid Afridi and RP Singh.
In the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, he performed excellently, earning the mantle from at least one pundit of "the outstanding seam bowler of the World Twenty20".[7] His five-wicket haul for just six runs when Pakistan dismantled New Zealand won especial acclaim. The spell made him the first bowler in history to take a five wickets in a Twenty20 international, and he held the record of best T20I bowling figures until 8 August 2011, when surpassed by Ajantha Mendis (6/16).[8] Mutterings were made about a possible correlation between ball tampering and the exorbitant amounts of reverse-swing he was able to extract, but he denied them categorically: "Whenever an Asian bowler performs and uses the reverse-swing, the Western cricketing countries raise the issue of ball-tampering against them."[9]
He was also part of the Pakistan team that lifted the trophy at Lord's while also finishing as the leading wicket taker of the tournament for the second consecutive time.[10]
He gained a lot of wickets bowled, in particular with late reverse swinging yorkers, which dip late to slide under the bat and leave little room for batsmen to maneuver the ball. Consequently he has also an excellent economy rate in this format of the game.
In February 2008, Gul signed with the Indian Premier League and was drafted by Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders franchise for US $150,000.[11] He played in six matches, taking 12 wickets at an average of 15.33,[12] including a player of the match award in Kolkata's final game in which Gul took 4-23 and scored 24 runs from 11 balls.[13]
In December 2008 Gul signed with the Western Warriors to compete in the Australian domestic 2008-09 KFC Twenty20 Big Bash tournament.[14] He performed very well in his debut match for the Warriors, taking 4 wickets for 15 runs in a losing side. He was amongst the most successful bowlers in the competition despite not being available for the entire tournament he finished second top wicket taker with 12 wickets.[15]
Internationally, Gul has taken 47 wickets in just 32 games at an average of 14.65, a truly outstanding statistic. He is the second leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 Internationals behind fellow teammate Shahid Afridi
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Umar Gul 4 wickets vs England
Umar Gul's 8 wickets vs Black Caps

Younus Khan

Younus Khan Biography
Mohammad Younus Khan (Pashto: محمد یونس خان) (born 29 November 1977) is a Pakistani cricketer and former captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. Younus' name is often spelled Younis Khan, but he has been quoted as saying, "My name is Younus Khan. I tell people that everywhere, but they don’t listen."[1] He is only the third Pakistani player to score 300 or more runs in an innings.[2]
On 10 March 2010, Younus, along with another player, Mohammad Yousuf were axed by the Pakistan Cricket Board from playing for Pakistan in any format for an indefinite period, following an inquiry report which suggested that both the player were involved in breaches of discipline by inciting divisions within the team.[3] The ban was overturned three months laterCareer

International career
Younus 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. Younus 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 Younus 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, Younus 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, Younus averages an exceptional 106, the highest average against India by a Pakistani.[5] Apart from his 267 at Bangalore, Younus 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, Younus 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. Younus reached the milestone in 87 innings, just one more than Sachin Tendulkar took.[6]
Younus Khan topped the ICC's Test Batting Rankings in February 2009 after an acclaimed innings of 313 in his first test as captain, in the process of helping save the match for Pakistan.[7] His ranking score of 880 is the third highest achieved by a Pakistani batsmen after Mohammad Yousuf (933), Javed Miandad (885) and just ahead of Inzamam-ul-Haq (870).[8]
Captaincy situation
He first led Pakistan against the West Indies in 2005. In September 2006, he was offered the position of captain for the course of the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy, following the suspension of Inzamam ul Haq. He turned down the offer, stating he did not want to be a "dummy captain".[9] However, on the morning of 7 October 2006 the Pakistan Cricket Board announced that Khan would lead his team in the tournament.[10] Following the resignation of Inzamam after the side's exit from the 2007 Cricket World Cup, Khan was offered the captaincy on a permanent basis, but turned it down. He blamed the angry reaction by the Pakistani public to side's early exit from the tournament.[11]
After Pakistan's 2009 2 matches to 1 defeat to Sri Lanka, PCB chairman Ijaz Butt appointed Younus Khan as the permanent captain of both the Test and ODI teams. The appointment became effective as of 27 January 2009.[12] Shortly after accepting the post Younus was quoted as saying, "I will try and fix things that aren't right at the moment...I want our team to be consistent above all, in everything we do and that will require everyone to put their hands up."[13] Younus went on to say that he expects full support from former captain Shoaib Malik whom he called a senior player in the side.
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Younis Khan 101(109)-England vs Pakistan 3rd ODI 2006 at Southampton
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Imran Khan

Imran Khan Biography
Imran Khan Niazi (Urdu: عمران خان نیازی; born 25 November 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics. Currently, besides his political activism, Khan is also a philanthropist, cricket commentator and Chancellor of the University of Bradford and Founder and Chairman Board of Governors of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre.
Khan played for the Pakistani cricket team from 1971 to 1992 and served as its captain intermittently throughout 1982-1992. After retiring from cricket at the end of the 1987 World Cup, he was called back to join the team in 1988. At 39, Khan led his teammates to Pakistan's first and only World Cup victory in 1992. He has a record of 3807 runs and 362 wickets in Test cricket, making him one of eight world cricketers to have achieved an 'All-rounder's Triple' in Test matches.[1] On 14 July 2010, Khan was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.[2]
In April 1996, Khan founded and became the chairman of a political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice).[3] He represented Mianwali as a member of the National Assembly from November 2002 to October 2007.[4]
Khan, through worldwide fundraising, has also helped establish the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre in 1996 and Mianwali's Namal College in 2008.Cricket career
Imran Khan
Personal information
Born 25 November 1952 (age 59)
Mianwali, Punjab, Pakistan
Batting style Right-handed
Bowling style Right-arm fast
Role All-rounder
International information
National side Pakistan
Khan made a lacklustre first-class cricket debut at the age of sixteen in Lahore. By the start of the 1970s, he was playing for his home teams of Lahore A (1969–70), Lahore B (1969–70), Lahore Greens (1970–71) and, eventually, Lahore (1970–71).[12] Khan was part of Oxford University's Blues Cricket team during the 1973-75 seasons.[8] At Worcestershire, where he played county cricket from 1971 to 1976, he was regarded as only an average medium pace bowler. During this decade, other teams represented by Khan include Dawood Industries (1975–76) and Pakistan International Airlines (1975–76 to 1980-81). From 1983 to 1988, he played for Sussex.[1]
In 1971, Khan made his Test cricket debut against England at Birmingham. Three years later, he debuted in the One Day International (ODI) match, once again playing against England at Nottingham for the Prudential Trophy. After graduating from Oxford and finishing his tenure at Worcestershire, he returned to Pakistan in 1976 and secured a permanent place on his native national team starting from the 1976-77 season, during which they faced New Zealand and Australia.[12] Following the Australian series, he toured the West Indies, where he met Tony Greig, who signed him up for Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket.[1] His credentials as one of the fastest bowlers of the world started to establish when he finished third at 139.7 km/h in a fast bowling contest at Perth in 1978, behind Jeff Thomson and Michael Holding, but ahead of Dennis Lillee, Garth Le Roux and Andy Roberts.[1]
As a fast bowler, Khan reached the peak of his powers in 1982. In 9 Tests, he got 62 wickets at 13.29 each, the lowest average of any bowler in Test history with at least 50 wickets in a calendar year.[13] In January 1983, playing against India, he attained a Test bowling rating of 922 points. Although calculated retrospectively (ICC player ratings did not exist at the time), Khan's form and performance during this period ranks third in the ICC's All-Time Test Bowling Rankings.[14]
Khan achieved the all-rounder's triple (securing 3000 runs and 300 wickets) in 75 Tests, the second fastest record behind Ian Botham's 72. He is also established as having the second highest all-time batting average of 61.86 for a Test batsman playing at position 6 of the batting order.[15] He played his last Test match for Pakistan in January 1992, against Sri Lanka at Faisalabad. Khan retired permanently from cricket six months after his last ODI, the historic 1992 World Cup final against England at Melbourne, Australia.[16] He ended his career with 88 Test matches, 126 innings and scored 3807 runs at an average of 37.69, including six centuries and 18 fifties. His highest score was 136 runs. As a bowler, he took 362 wickets in Test cricket, which made him the first Pakistani and world's fourth bowler to do so.[1] In ODIs, he played 175 matches and scored 3709 runs at an average of 33.41. His highest score remains 102 not out. His best ODI bowling is documented at 6 wickets for 14 runs.
Captaincy
At the height of his career, in 1982, the thirty-year-old Khan took over the captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team from Javed Miandad. Recalling his initial discomfort with this new role, he later said, "When I became the cricket captain, I couldn’t speak to the team directly I was so shy. I had to tell the manager, I said listen can you talk to them, this is what I want to convey to the team. I mean early team meetings I use to be so shy and embarrassed I couldn’t talk to the team."[17] As a captain, Khan played 48 Test matches, out of which 14 were won by Pakistan, 8 lost and the rest of 26 were drawn. He also played 139 ODIs, winning 77, losing 57 and ending one in a tie.[1]
In the team's second match under his leadership, Khan led them to their first Test win on English soil for 28 years at Lord's.[18] Khan's first year as captain was the peak of his legacy as a fast bowler as well as an all-rounder. He recorded the best Test bowling of his career while taking 8 wickets for 58 runs against Sri Lanka at Lahore in 1981-82.[1] He also topped both the bowling and batting averages against England in three Test series in 1982, taking 21 wickets and averaging 56 with the bat. Later the same year, he put up a highly acknowledged performance in a home series against the formidable Indian team by taking 40 wickets in six Tests at an average of 13.95. By the end of this series in 1982-83, Khan had taken 88 wickets in 13 Test matches over a period of one year as captain.This same Test series against India, however, also resulted in a stress fracture in his shin that kept him out of cricket for more than two years. An experimental treatment funded by the Pakistani government helped him recover by the end of 1984 and he made a successful comeback to international cricket in the latter part of the 1984-85 season.[1]
In 1987, Khan led Pakistan to its first ever Test series win in India, which was followed by Pakistan's first series victory in England the same year.[18] During the 1980s, his team also recorded three creditable draws against the West Indies. India and Pakistan co-hosted the 1987 World Cup, but neither ventured beyond the semi-finals. Khan retired from international cricket at the end of the World Cup. In 1988, he was asked to return to the captaincy by the President Of Pakistan, General Zia-Ul-Haq, and on 18 January, he announced his decision to rejoin the team.[1] Soon after returning to the captaincy, Khan led Pakistan to another winning tour in the West Indies, which he has recounted as "the last time I really bowled well".[7] He was declared Man of the Series against West Indies in 1988 when he took 23 wickets in 3 tests.[1]
Khan's career-high as a captain and cricketer came when he led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 Cricket World Cup. Playing with a brittle batting line-up, Khan promoted himself as a batsman to play in the top order along with Javed Miandad, but his contribution as a bowler was minimal. At the age of 39, Khan scored the highest runs of all the Pakistani batsmen and took the winning last wicket himselfPost-retirement
In 1994, Khan had admitted that, during Test matches, he "occasionally scratched the side of the ball and lifted the seam." He had also added, "Only once did I use an object. When Sussex were playing Hampshire in 1981 the ball was not deviating at all. I got the 12th man to bring out a bottle top and it started to move around a lot."[19] In 1996, Khan successfully defended himself in a libel action brought forth by former English captain and all-rounder Ian Botham and batsman Allan Lamb over comments they alleged were made by Khan in two articles about the above-mentioned ball-tampering and another article published in an Indian magazine, India Today. They claimed that, in the latter publication, Khan had called the two cricketers "racist, ill-educated and lacking in class." Khan protested that he had been misquoted, saying that he was defending himself after having admitted that he tampered with a ball in a county match 18 years ago.[20] Khan won the libel case, which the judge labelled a "complete exercise in futility", with a 10-2 majority decision by the jury.[20]
Since retiring, Khan has written opinion pieces on cricket for various British and Asian newspapers, especially regarding the Pakistani national team. His contributions have been published in India's Outlook magazine,[21] the Guardian,[22] the Independent, and the Telegraph. Khan also sometimes appears as a cricket commentator on Asian and British sports networks, including BBC Urdu[23] and the Star TV network.[24] In 2004, when the Indian cricket team toured Pakistan after 14 years, he was a commentator on TEN Sports' special live show, Straight Drive,[25] while he was also a columnist for sify.com for the 2005 India-Pakistan Test series.[26] He has provided analysis for every cricket World Cup since 1992, which includes providing match summaries for BBC during the 1999 World Cup.[26]
In November 2009 Khan underwent emergency surgery at Lahore's Shaukat Khanum Cancer Hospital to remove an obstruction in his small intestine
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SIR IMRAN KHAN GREATEST ALLROUNDER IN THE HISTORY OF CRICKET
Imran Khan - 'A more consistent allrounder than the rest' Legends of Cricket Part 2