Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh 2021

Pakistan had a hugely successful tour of Bangladesh. Although the twenty20 series was much closer than matches in the test series Pakistan nevertheless whitewashed Bangladesh in the Twenty20 series as well. Mind you Bangladesh fielded an extremely inexperienced team in the twenty20 series clearly missing the services of Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan while Pakistan were at full strength. Bangladesh in particular look an extremely weak team whenever they play without Shakib Al Hasan who is their only star player with a lot of charisma.

Bangladesh team showed fight in the first match and in the third match of the twenty20 series. In the first match if it wasnt for Shadab Khan and Muhammad Nawaz late power hitting Pakistan might have lost the first match. In the second match of the twenty20 series Pakistan won convincingly by eight wickets. In the third match, Pakistan had the control of the game until Mahmudullah's final over of the innings in which he picked up three wickets. Had Ifthikar Ahmed not struck a huge six of the third ball of the innings and Muhammad Nawaz not struck four of the last ball of the innings the match might have been decided by the super over. Having said that Muhammad Nawaz took a huge risk by leaving the last ball of the innings indicating to the umpire he wasnt ready before he struck the last ball of the innings for four.

In the test series Pakistan was ruthless even though Mushfiqur Rahim returned for the test matches and Bangladesh had taken the lead in the first test match. Abdullah Shafique and Abid Ali struck century opening partnerships in the both innings of the test match to ensure Pakistan won easily by eight wickets in the first test. The second test match was a rain marred test with rain ensuring any play on the third  day of the test match but Sajid Khan's spell of 8-42 left a Bangladeshi collapse of 87 in their first innings ensuring follow on. On the last day Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das and Shakib Al Hasan resisted but were unable to prevent an innings defeat to Pakistan as Pakistan clean swept the test series 2-0 against Bangladesh..

Pakistan in this tour of Bangladesh proved to the world that they are not only a very good twenty20 side but they have an equally potent test side as well and they really have the temperament to play the longer versions of the game.

Pakistan's ICC twenty20 World Cup 2021 campaign

 

Pakistan had a dream World Cup until that dream was shattered by Australia in the Semi Final. Pakistan set a decent target of 176 runs thanks to Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman 's knocks. When Australia were 96 for 5 it looked like Pakistan had the upper hand and Pakistan were winning. On the other hand Stoinis and Mathew Wade had other ideas as unbelievably they had  a match winning 81 runs partnership which stole away the match from Pakistan's grasp. Pakistan was also unlucky they didnt win the toss as teams chasing especially in Dubai have a huge advantage batting second because of the dew factor. It is because of the dew factor Pakistan's bowling suffered as the bowlers found it difficult to grip the ball and make it swing.

Babar Azam's slow batting also let Pakistan down in the semi final. Babar Azam scored only 39 runs off 35 balls and wasted too many deliveries with dot balls. If Babar Azam played with a better strike rate then Pakistan would have posted a higher total with extra twenty or so runs and Australia might have never reached that target. Pakistan also lost the semi final because of Hassan Ali's poor performance. Hassan Ali not only gave away too many runs with his bowling but was also responsible for the defeat by dropping Mathew Wade. As we say catches win matches and had that catch being taken by Hassan Ali who knows Pakistan would have been in the final of this Twenty20 World Cup. Hassan Ali just dropped the Twenty20 World Cup by not taking that catch of Mathew Wade.

Overall Pakistan's performance was superb in the tournament winning five consecutive matches before the semi final. That performance also included a win against India which was Pakistan's first win over India in world cup matches. Having said that ICC should have staged the knockout matches at Day time as in the night the dew factor comes in which robbed Pakistan a place in the Final of the tournament.

In the end I would like to congratulate and thank Pakistan cricket team for it's superb performance throughout the Twenty20 World Cup and I would say it was a successful World Cup for Pakistan. I am proud of this Pakistan cricket team and they have made the entire nation proud of their performance.

Pakistan s wins in major tournaments

 Pakistan has won a major tournament in two formats of the game that is in two tournaments of ICC in ODI format namely the world Cup of 1992 and champions trophy of 2017. In twenty20 we won the 2009 twenty20 World Cup tournament which was held in England.

In 1992 World Cup after a terrible start we came from behind to win the tournament. After 5 matches Pakistan had won just one match lost three and one match as no result. Pakistan were at the bottom of the table along with zimbabwe. Then came their match against Australia. Pakistan bowled extremely well setting a target of 220 to Australia on the fast WACA pitch and eventually bowled the hosts Australia for 180 which began Pakistan revival in the 1992 World Cup. Pakistan then went onto defeat srilanka and new Zealand to enter the semi finals of the 1992 World Cup.

Chasing a target of 263 Pakistan was struggling at 140 for 4 in the 35th over. In came inzamam who played a match winning knock of 63 runs of just 37 balls to win the semi final for Pakistan. In the final, javed Miandad and imran Khan s slow batting was pushing Pakistan s towards a below par total then inzamam and later wasim akram pushed the run rate with their knocks of better than a run a ball. Pakistan were able to post a fighting total of 249 runs and Pakistan were able to defend that total to win the 1992 World Cup which proved to be pakistan's only world Cup win in so many world cups played so far. 

Now I will talk about Pakistan's Champion's trophy win in 2017. Pakistan entered the tournament as the bottom ranked team. They were 8th in the ICC ratings when the tournament started so there was no surprise when India crushed Pakistan to open Pakistan's campaign in their first match. Then on Pakistan looked a completely different side from their first match as they defeated South Africa in a rain hit match. In their next last qualifying match they defeated Sri Lanka after Mohammad Amir and Sarfraz Ahmed match winning partnership stole the match from Sri Lanka's hands and Pakistan entered the Semi Finals. Pakistan then produced a brilliant show with both bat and ball to beat England and reach the final of Champions Trophy. Fakhar Zaman played a brilliant knock of a hundred plus score to lead Pakistan to a tremendous total of 339 runs. India were never in the hunt in their chase after Muhammad Amir's brilliant opening spell of 3 wickets and Pakistan won the Champions Trophy for the very first time in its history.

In the end will like to conclude that after a disappointing loss in 2007 ICC twenty20 World Cup Final , Pakistan bounced back on the behalf of brilliant all round performance of Shahid Afridi to win the ICC 2009 Twenty20 World Cup.

Pakistan tour of West Indies 2021

Pakistan had a fantastic tour of West Indies although I think Pakistan was unlucky not to win the test series as well. Pakistan started the tour with the Twenty20 series win over West Indies. Pakistan was lucky that three out of four matches were rained off otherwise the star studded and heavy and powerful hitters of the West Indian team were clear favourites for the Twenty20 Series over Pakistan.

Had Muhammad Hafeez not bowled that economical spell of 4-1-6-1 in the second twenty20 match in West Indian innings and had Nicholas Pooran was ably supported at the other end Pakistan would have lost the second Twenty20 match and the series. So Pakistan was lucky to win the Twenty20 Series against West Indies.

In the test matches opposite happened and luck deserted Pakistan in the first test match of the series. Had Pakistan not been bowled for a low total of 217 in the first innings and if they took their chances while Kemar Roach was batting Pakistan would have won the first test match as well.

In the second test match Fawad Alam, Babar Azam in batting showed their class while in bowling Shaheen Shah Afridi proved to be a match winner. Pakistan won the second test match by 109 runs which clearly indicated that Pakistan were a much talented and superior side than the West Indies in tests.

Overall I would say that Pakistan had a successful tour of West Indies winning the twenty20 series 1-0 and drawing the test series 1-1.

Pakistan's tour of England 2021

 Although Pakistan won just one twenty20 match in their entire tour of England. I would not call this tour a disastrous one because it wasnt a win less tour. This can be judged by the fact that Sri Lanka had a disastrous tour of England before England playing Pakistan as Sri Lanka failed to win not even a single match.

Having said that Pakistan was facing England's second string side in the ODI's and Pakistan should have won atleast the ODI series. In the Twenty20 series England played their full strength team so it was reasonable to expect England to win the Twenty20 series.

 Pakistan's batting let them down in their first two ODI's and when finally their batting put up an mammoth total of 331 runs on board their bowling let them down. Pakistan's middle order has been under performing for quite a while now and whenever Pakistan's top order fails it is expected Pakistan cricket team will surely lose. I would suggest Pakistan to play both Sarfraz Ahmed and Muhammad Rizwan with Muhammad Rizwan playing as a batsman and Sarfraz Ahmed playing as a middle order batsman and also as a wicketkeeper. Bringing in Sarfraz Ahmed as a batsman will bring stability to Pakistan's middle order. I would also suggest to bring Muhammad Amir and Wahab Riaz back into the team to bolster our bowling attack.

Our Twenty20 team's performance was okay but I would suggest to bring Shoaib Malik in place of probably the misfiring Sohaib Maqsood and also bring Muhammad Amir and Wahab Riaz back into Twenty20 team as well. With these changes Pakistan will achieve the required results expected of them and the team will return victorious once again.

Pakistan s top three bowlers of all time

 My choice for Pakistan's top three bowlers of all time are:

1) Wasim Akram

2) Waqar Younis

3) Imran Khan

1) Wasim Akram: I rate Wasim Akram as the best Pakistani bowler of all time. Wasim Akram with 502 ODI wickets is the best Pakistani bowler of all time. Of all Pakistani bowlers Wasim Akram had the best variety and variation in his bowling. Wasim Akram could swing the new as well as old ball. He can reverse swing the ball and can bowl both inswing, outswing, leg cutters, off cutters and had a deadly bouncer too. Wasim Akram not only had extreme fast pace but he also had a very good slower ball. Wasim Akram not only had a terrific ODI career but also had a wonderful test career as well. To top it all he was a handy batsmen too coming at no.8 in batting order making him an all rounder of great repute.

2) Waqar Younis: I  rate Waqar Younis as the second best Pakistani bowler of all time. Waqar Younis could reverse swing the old ball at extreme pace. Waqar Younis was known for his toe crushing yorkers. Waqar Younis was known to get the middle order and tail ender batsmen out while Wasim Akram was known as getting top order batsmen out regularly. Waqar Younis had an extremely awkward and great bouncer too.

3) Imran Khan: I rate Imran Khan as the third best Pakistani bowler of all time. It was Imran Khan who taught reverse swing to both Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis and was their mentor. It was Sarfraz Nawaz who taught Imran Khan reverse swing and also how to swing the ball at high pace. Imran Khan was an extremely capable all rounder and was equally dangerous and capable with both bat and ball.

Pakistan's top three batsmen of all time

 My choice for the top three Pakistani batsmen of all time are:

1) Younis Khan

2) Inzamam ul Haq

3) Javed Miandad

1) Younis Khan: I rate Younis Khan as the greatest Pakistani batsmen of all time because he is the only Pakistani batsmen to break the tally of 10,000 runs barrier in test cricket. No Pakistani batsmen has scored more runs than Younis Khan in test cricket. He was a great accumulator of runs and had a great match temperament. He never used to throw his wicket away and never used to gift his wicket to the opposition bowlers. It was very difficult to dismiss him because he had a rock solid defensive technique and scored a lot of valuable runs for Pakistan under pressure.

2) Inzamam ul Haq: I rate Inzamam  ul Haq as the second greatest Pakistani batsmen of all time. Inzamam ul Haq was a big match winner and won a lot of matches for Pakistan single handedly. It has been said and is a well known fact that Inzamam won more matches for Pakistan than Sachin Tendulkar did for India. In this way Inzamam was an even better match winner than Sachin Tendulkar. Another well known fact is that whenever Inzamam played a substantial innings Pakistan always used to win.

3) Javed Miandad: I rate Javed Miandad as the third greatest Pakistani batsmen of all time. Javed Miandad was a great fighter. He rescued Pakistani batting from difficult situations a lot of times by playing the sheet anchor role. Javed Miandad had a great technique, probably the best technique as compared to both Younis Khan and Inzamam ul Haq. It was Javed Miandad whom the opposition  used to fear that he can win matches single handedly for Pakistan from any situation especially against India.

I know that Babar Azam is breaking all the batting records but I wont include him in the list and in my ratings because he isnt as experienced as Younis Khan, Inzamam ul Haq and Javed Miandad.

Saeed Ajmal - the magician off spinner

Saeed Ajmal (Punjabi, Urdu: سعید اجمل‎; born 14 October 1977) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer, who played all forms of the game. He is a right-arm off-spin bowler who bats right handed. Regarded as one of the best spinners in the world of his era, Ajmal was rated the best ODI and T20I bowler in the world and second in Tests at various times between 2011 and 2014.^[1] 

At domestic level in Pakistan he represented Faisalabad, with whom he won the 2005 ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup; Khan Research Laboratories; and Islamabad. Ajmal made his One Day International debut for Pakistan in July 2008 at the age of 30, and a year later played his first Test. In 2009 he was reported for having a suspect bowling action, but after being cleared he helped Pakistan win the 2009 ICC World Twenty20. Ajmal played for Worcestershire as an overseas player in English domestic cricket in 2011. From November 2011 to December 2014, Ajmal was ranked by the International Cricket Council as the number one bowler in ODIs. He reached the same ranking in T20Is between October and December 2012, while his highest Test ranking was second between January and July of the same year.[2] He is one of four Test bowlers that made their debut after the age of thirty to take more than 100 test wickets, along with Clarrie Grimmett, Dilip Doshi and Ryan Harris.[3]

On 28 January 2012, in his 20th Test, Ajmal became the quickest Pakistani to take 100 Test wickets.[4] He holds the record of leading wicket taker (85) in Twenty20 International cricket before Shahid Afridi broke this record (101).[5] He was signed by Adelaide Strikers for the 2012 Big Bash League in Australia.[6]

In 2014 he was banned by the ICC because of an illegal bowling action. Saqlain Mushtaq worked with Ajmal to correct his bowling action. On 27 December 2014, Saeed Ajmal withdrew his name from the Pakistani World Cup squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 after he was unable to rectify his bowling action.[7]

In the honour of his services for the country he received Sitara-e-Imtiaz by President of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain on 23 March 2015, it is the third highest civilian award of Pakistan.[8]

On 13 November 2017, Ajmal announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.[9] On 29 November 2017, he played his final match, playing for Faisalabad against Lahore Whites, in the semi-finals of the 2017–18 National T20 Cup.[10] Currently, Ajmal is a spin bowling coach of PSL team Islamabad United.[11][12]

Contents

1 Domestic career

2 International career

3 County cricket

4 Bowling style

4.1 ICC ban

5 Sitara-e-Imtiaz

6 Hong Kong T20 Blitz 2017

7 References

8 External links

Domestic career

Saeed Ajmal has played for Faisalabad since his debut in 1995 at the age of 18. Ajmal represented the Faisalabad Wolves in the 2005 ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup, his team won the final in which he was man of the match.[13][14] When Faisalabad won the final of the ABN-AMRO Patron's Cup in March 2006 Ajmal was named the tournament's best bowler and was given a Rs 25,000 prize.[15] He has also represented Khan Research Laboratories, who were runners-up in the final of the 2008/09 Quaid-i-Azam Trophy; though his side lost the final, Ajmal took 5/105 and 2/55 and in the process passed 250 first-class wickets.[16][17] Ajmal has also played for Islamabad.

International career

Saeed Ajmal in the field during a 50-over warm-up match against Somerset at the County Ground, Taunton, during Pakistan's 2010 tour of England.

Pakistan hosted the Asia Cup in June 2008; Ajmal was included in the 15-man squad and was expected to act as a foil to Shahid Afridi's leg spin.[18] He made his debut against India on 2 July 2008. Ajmal took a single wicket, that of Yusuf Pathan, from his ten overs while conceding 47 runs (1/47) as Pakistan won by eight wickets,[19] before taking 2/19 in a ten-wicket victory over Bangladesh, although the team had no chance of progressing to the competition's final.[20] In November that year Pakistan travelled to the United Arab Emirates to face the West Indies in a three-match ODI series. Ajmal and Afridi were the team's only spin options;[21] the former took a single wicket while conceding 73 runs and Pakistan won all three matches.[22]

Ajmal's next match the third ODI against Sri Lanka in January 2009.[23] In April Pakistan faced Australia in the UAE in five ODIs. Playing in all five matches Ajmal took four wickets at an average of 39.50.[24] He was then picked for the Sri Lankan series in Sri Lanka where he had made solid performances in the Test matches, being picked ahead of Danish Kaneria in two of the matches.

In April 2009, Ajmal was reported by umpires for having a suspect bowling action. An independent test the following month demonstrated that Ajmal's arm flexed within the 15-degree tolerance allowed by the International Cricket Council.[25] Later that year, the Pakistan Cricket Board named a pool of 30 players from which they would choose their final squad for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, held in June. Initially left out, Ajmal was one of three players added to the list, replacing players who were dropped because they were contracted with the controversial Indian Cricket League.[26] In the tournament, Ajmal partnered Afridi.[27] Pakistan won the tournament,[28] and Ajmal was the tournament's joint second highest wicket-taker with twelve dismissals from seven games (only Pakistan's Umar Gul took more wickets, with thirteen dismissals).[29]

Ajmal's good form continued in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 as he was Pakistan's leading wicket taker. However despite his good form he was known for conceding three sixes to Michael Hussey in what has been hailed as the most thrilling Twenty20 match of all time as Australia were in trouble and Ajmal was the unfortunate bowler who bowled that final over.[30]

Shortly after this the Pakistan team began a tour of England where they would face Australia in two Tests in July, and subsequently play England in four Tests and five ODIs. Danish Kaneria was preferred to Ajmal in the first match against Australia, but after Pakistan lost the selectors considered dropping the leg-spinner and choosing Ajmal.[31] In the event, Ajmal was not selected until the second Test against England,[32] when Kaneria was dropped because he had been ineffective. Though Pakistan lost the match by nine wickets, Ajmal took his first five-wicket haul in Tests. In Pakistan's second innings, with his team looking to set a target for England to chase, Ajmal scored 50 from 79 balls, his first half-century in Tests, before he was dismissed by fellow off spinner Graeme Swann.[33][34]

During the series against England, Pakistan became engulfed in a spot fixing scandal after the fourth test. In a later secret interview it was unveiled by alleged fixer Mazhar Majeed that Ajmal, Abdul Razzaq, Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi were too difficult to bribe. He stated that Ajmal was too religious to get involved into fixing.[35]

After the controversy and upheaval of 2010, 2011 saw Pakistan become a more consistent team. The year began with the World Cup held between February and April. Pakistan progressed to the semi-final, where they were defeated by India;[36] playing in three of the team's matches, Ajmal took five wickets at an average of 18.60.[37][38] After the World Cup, Pakistan played ten Tests, winning six and losing a single match;[39] this saw the team win series against Bangladesh, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe and draw with the West Indies.[36] Ajmal finished the year with 50 wickets from 8 Tests, more than any other bowler (second on the list was India's Ishant Sharma with 43).[40] Pakistan were also largely successful in ODIs, winning 24 out of 32.[36] After Pakistan beat Sri Lanka 4–1 in November 2011, Ajmal climbed to the number one spot in the ICC's ODI rankings.[41] He finished the year by taking nine wickets over two Tests in Pakistan's tour of Bangladesh.[42]

Pakistan started 2012 with a three Test series against England in the United Arab Emirates. Ajmal was named the man of the match for the first Test in Dubai, with match figures of 10 wickets for 97 runs and a career best 7/55 in England's first innings.[43][44] In the second fixture he dismissed Matt Prior to become the fastest Pakistani bowler to reach 100 wickets in Tests, taking 19 matches to accomplish the feat.[45] The series concluded with Pakistan completing a 3–0 whitewash over England, and Ajmal was named man of the series after claiming 24 wickets at an average of 14.70.[46][47]

In the immediate aftermath of the Test series, following confusion over comments from Ajmal about his bowling action in an interview to the BBC,[48] ESPNCricinfo published detailed information on the issue after a thorough investigation by journalist George Dobell with extensive discussion with ICC having been conducted. The resulting articles underlined the fact that Ajmal's bowling action falls well within the legal bounds set by the ICC for bowlers.[49][50]

Ajmal was signed by Adelaide Strikers for the 2012 Big Bash League in Australia.[6]

Following a career best innings haul of 7/19 for Worcestershire against Essex,[51] the issue of Ajmal's bowling action was again raised by former England captain Michael Vaughan and current Twenty20 captain Stuart Broad. The latter opined that Ajmal's action in competitive cricket may differ from that which he used during ICC testing. However, as part of the testing procedure, match footage is used alongside videos made "in a lab" and compared to ensure it is identical. Also, umpires are able to super-impose match footage on the testing footage to check that a bowlers' action has not subsequently deteriorated. This has been done in Ajmal's case and his action was found to be identical. Ajmal contacted the ECB to request an explanation for Broad's comments.[52]

In July 2014, he played for the MCC side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord's.[53]

On 13 November 2017, he announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.[54

A right-arm off spinner, Ajmal's stock delivery turns into right-handed batsman but he also frequently uses the doosra which turns the other way,[33] and he generally bowls flatter than most off spinners. The doosra has been an effective tool for Ajmal as batsmen have often failed to pick it. Explaining his bowling style in 2012, Ajmal said "If I bowl with flight I cannot bowl well. If I bowl at a quicker speed I can then use variations in pace. If I take 70% of my wickets with the doosra why should I not bowl it? Whether you bowl a doosra or an offbreak, the ball should be bowled on the right line and one should take a wicket with it."[55]

Zaheer Abbas - The Asian Bradman

 

Syed Zaheer Abbas Kirmani (in Punjabi and Urdu: سید ظہیر عباس کرمانی; born 24 July 1947), popularly known as Zaheer Abbas, is a former Pakistani cricketer. He is among few professional cricketers who used to wear spectacles. In 1982/1983, he became the first batsman to score three consecutive centuries in one-day internationals.[1] Sometimes known as 'the Asian Bradman', Zaheer Abbas is regarded as one of the finest batsmen in the history of cricket.[2][3][4] In August 2020, he was inducted to the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.[5]

Abbas made his Test match debut in 1969; in his second Test he scored 274 against England, which is still the sixth-ever highest score by a Pakistani batsman. This was the first of his four Test double-centuries; only two men from Pakistan (Younis Khan and Javed Miandad) have scored more.[6] The last was an innings of 215 against India in 1983, the first of three centuries in consecutive Tests, and his hundredth first-class century; Abbas and Geoffrey Boycott are the only two batsmen to have scored their hundredth first-class century in a Test match.[7]

Abbas had great success in first-class cricket, and was the first Asian batsman to score one hundred first-class centuries.[8] He had a long stint with Gloucestershire; joining the county in 1972, he remained there for thirteen years. During that time he scored over a thousand runs in the majority of his thirteen seasons. He also made over two thousand runs in a single season on two occasions for the club (1976 and 1981). During those thirteen years at Gloucestershire, he played 206 first-class games, scoring over 16,000 runs. He averaged 49.79, hitting 49 hundreds and 76 fifties. Abbas is the only player to have scored a century and double century in a first-class match four times, finishing each of the eight innings not out.[9]

Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian Test captain, once said while commentating that the Indian players would often say to Zaheer, "Zaheer Ab-bas karo", which means "Zaheer, stop it now" in Urdu and Hindi, referring to Abbas' free scoring.

Abbas had two stints as captain of the national team in 1981 and 1984. He retired from international cricket in 1985, and has officiated as a match referee in one Test and three ODI matches. He has also worked as the manager of the national team. In 2015 he became ICC president, the third cricketer after Colin Cowdrey and Clyde Walcott, to hold the post.[10]

Zaheer Abbas held the record for scoring the most runs by any batsman in a 4 match bilateral ODI series (346 runs) from 1982 to 2015.[11] The record was broken by Hashim Amla of South Africa in 2015.[12

Mushtaq Ahmed - the googly expert

 

Mushtaq Ahmed Malik (Urdu: مشتاق احمد ملک) (born 28 June 1970) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who currently acts as the spin bowling coach for the Pakistan Cricket Team. A leg break googly bowler, at his peak he was described as being one of the best three wrist-spinners in the world. In an international career that spanned from 1990 until 2003, he claimed 185 wickets in Test cricket and 161 in One Day Internationals. He was at his most prolific internationally between 1995 and 1998, but his most successful years were as a domestic player for Sussex in the early 2000s.

Mushtaq was part of the Pakistan team which won the 1992 Cricket World Cup, and five years later, he was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year. During his time with Sussex, he was the leading wicket-taker in the County Championship for five successive seasons, and helped the county win the competition in 2003, 2006 and 2007. He is the only bowlers in the world to take man of the match in SENA.

Mushtaq Ahmed made his first-class cricket debut in January 1987, at the age of 16.[1] Playing for Multan, he claimed four wickets in the second innings of the match against Sukkur.[2] He claimed his maiden recorded five-wicket haul in the format the following season, playing for the Punjab Chief Minister's XI against the touring England cricket team.[3] Shortly thereafter, he competed in the 1988 Under-19 World Cup, where he was the joint leading wicket-taker, claiming 19 wickets at an average of 16.21.[4] Pakistan reached the final of the tournament, in which they lost to Australia by five wickets.[5] Early the following season, Mushtaq took the first ten-wicket haul of his career, collecting six wickets in the first innings and eight in the second innings of a match against Peshawar.[6] He continued to impress that season, and took 52 wickets at an average of 22.84.[7] He continued to appear for Pakistan Under-19s, and took 26 wickets in their series against India under-19s, more than double any other Pakistani player.[8] His strong performances resulted in a call-up to the Pakistan national cricket team in March 1989.[1]

International bowler

He made his full international debut on 23 March 1989, playing a One Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka. He took two wickets for 33 runs in the match, which Pakistan won by 30 runs.[9] He retained his place in the Pakistan side for the subsequent tri-series with India and the West Indies, and made his Test cricket debut in January 1990 against Australia at the Adelaide Oval.[1] His only wicket of the match was that of Mark Taylor.[10] A year later, took fourteen wickets in a match against Peshawar, collecting five in the first innings, followed by nine in the second, finishing the match with figures of 14 for 130.[11]

In 1992, Mushtaq was part of the Pakistan team which won the Cricket World Cup. He was joint-second amongst bowlers by wickets taken, having claimed 16 during the tournament, trailing only his compatriot Wasim Akram.[12] He struggled to make a significant impact in Test cricket for a number of years after his debut: between 1990 and 1994, he only claimed ten or more wickets in a Test series on one occasion, against England in 1992. However, between November 1995 and March 1998, he took at least ten wickets in every Test series, and claimed ten five-wicket hauls.[7] The first occasion on which he claimed five wickets in an innings in Test cricket was the second Test against Australia in November 1995.[13] He repeated the feat in the third Test of that series, and then in the only Test of the subsequent series against New Zealand, in which he recorded his best figures in a Test match, seven for 56.[14] His only five-wicket haul in ODI cricket occurred in the fifth ODI of the "Sahara 'Friendship' Cup", a series played between India and Pakistan in Toronto, Canada. He took five wickets for 36 runs to help Pakistan win the match by 52 runs, and thus clinch the series 3–2.[15]

During his most prolific years of Test cricket, he played his first spell of county cricket, appearing for Somerset between 1993 and 1998. In his book Somerset County Cricket Club (100 Greats), Eddie Lawrence describes Mushtaq as "one of Somerset's best-ever "overseas" signings."[16] He played 62 first-class matches for the county, and claimed 289 wickets at an average of 26.32.[16] In 1997, he was named as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year, in which he was described as being a member of "a glittering triumvirate of wrist-spinners who adorn the modern game."[17]

In the late 1990s, Mushtaq was one of a number of Pakistan cricketers who were suspected of match-fixing. Saleem Pervez alleged that he had given Mushtaq, along with Salim Malik, £100,000 to intentionally lose a match against Australia in September 1994.[18] After an inquiry, Mushtaq was fined £3,500, and banned from captaining Pakistan.[19] The judge presiding over the inquiry stated that: "There are sufficient grounds to cast strong doubt on Mushtaq Ahmed."[18]

Later career

After losing his place in the Pakistan national cricket team, Mushtaq played one season of county cricket for Surrey in 2002, having appeared in the Liverpool and District Cricket Competition for Northop Hall the previous year.[1] He failed to impress for Surrey, claiming eight wickets at an average of 38.12.[20] The following season, he joined Sussex, where he became the leading county wicket taker for five seasons in a row, playing a major role in Sussex's first ever County Championship title.[21]

His form for the county prompted a recall to international duty, but it was short-lived: he played two Tests and one ODI before being dropped for the final time.[1] He helped Sussex to win the County Championship twice more before persistent knee injuries forced him to retire at the end of the 2008 season.[22] In 85 matches with Sussex, Mushtaq claimed 478 wickets at an average of 25.34.[20]

Coaching career

In late 2008, the England and Wales Cricket Board appointed Mushtaq as spin-bowling coach to the England cricket team until 2014 when lost his job in Peter Moores reshuffle. He joins batting coach Graham Gooch and Richard Halsall, the fielding coach in not retaining their roles. His major success as bowling was to install Graeme Swann as lead spin bowler for England cricket team [23]

He was bowling coach of Surrey County Cricket Club for brief period of time in 2012.[24] He was also on the verge of joining the Delhi Daredevils as a bowling coach for the 2013 IPL season.[25]

In 2014, Mushataq was named as Pakistan cricket team's bowling consultant under new coach Waqar Younis and his contract ended in May 2016.[26][27]

In April 2016, Mushtaq was named as head coach of Pakistan's National Cricket Academy.[28] In November 2018 Ahmed was appointed as the assistant coach and spin consultant of West Indies national cricket team ahead of the tour of Bangladesh.[29][30] In April 2019 Mushtaq was honoured with the Outstanding Achievement in Sport award at The Asian Awards.[31]

On 9 June 2020, the PCB appointed Mushtaq Ahmed as their spin-bowling coach for Pakistan's tour to England.[32][33]

Pakistan cricket team having a magnificent 2021 so far

After the disastrous tour of New Zealand and starting the year poorly with a defeat in the second test against New Zealand Pakistan has bounced back nicely this year. Credit should go to PCB for bringing in the changes like replacing Misbah ul Haq with Mohammad Wasim and his new team as head of selectors. Mohammad Wasim completely changed the team and that changes completely changed the fortunes of Pakistan cricket team.

After New Zealand tour, people in cricketing circles were saying that Pakistan can no longer win in test cricket. All that changed with Pakistan's magnificent performance at home defeating South Africa infact whitewashing South Africa 2-0 in the home series. This was Pakistan's first test series win since 2003 against South Africa. Fawad Alam and the inspired selection by Mohammad Wasim of Hasan Ali were the star performers of the test series against South Africa.

Pakistan then went on to win 2-1 in the twenty20 series against South Africa at home, then they defeated South Africa 2-1 in ODI s and 3-1 in the twenty 20 series against South Africa in their own conditions which is a remarkable feat and achievement by Pakistan. Pakistan has also defeated Zimbabwe in Twenty20 series 2-1 and looks set to whitewash Zimbabwe in the test series.

Babar Azam is a great gift for Pakistan cricket team not only as a batsman but as a captain as well. He really matches Virat Kohli in every aspect. I wish Pakistan cricket team best of luck for the remainder of the year 2021 after having a successful tour of Africa.

Aamir Sohail - One of Pakistan's best opening batsmen

 

Mohammad Aamer Sohail Ali (Urdu: محمد عامر سہیل علی‎; born 14 September 1966) is a Pakistani cricket commentator and former cricketer.[1] In a playing career that spanned eighteen years, Sohail played in 195 first-class and 261 List A Limited Overs matches, including 47 Test matches and 156 One Day Internationals for Pakistan.

Domestic career

Sohail made his first-class debut in 1983, a left-handed opening batsman and occasional left-arm spin bowler.

International career

Early years

An aggressive batsman, Sohail first appeared for the national team in a 1990 one-day International against Sri Lanka and enjoyed a successful international career. He was an important member of the team that won the 1992 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

Captaincy

Sohail captained Pakistan in six Tests in 1998, becoming the first Pakistani captain to defeat South Africa in a Test Match.[2] He led Pakistan through 22 One Day Internationals from 1996 to 1998, winning nine and averaging 41.5 with the bat. He also acted as acting captain of Pakistan against West Indies in Sharjah.[3]

Controversies

Sohail played a big role in Pakistan's World-Cup triumph in 1992, famously telling Ian Botham that he might want to send his mother-in-law in to bat, referring to Botham's statement that he wouldn't send even his mother-in-law to Pakistan, after Botham was controversially given out for nought in the final.

In the 1996 World Cup Quarter Final in Bangalore against arch rival India, Sohail was captaining his side in pursuit of a relatively large target of 287 in 49 overs.[4] With opening partner Saeed Anwar, he got Pakistan off to a flying start. With the score at 109 for one, and Saeed Anwar (48) back in the pavilion, Sohail smashed a delivery from Indian seamer Venkatesh Prasad through the covers for four. Both players exchanged words, and Sohail unnecessarily pointed his finger aggressively at Prasad. The next delivery clean-bowled him and triggered a batting collapse which ultimately lost the game and eliminated Pakistan from the competition.[4] Sohail was at the heart of the match-fixing scandal that rocked cricket in the 1990s: as captain of the national team, his whistle-blowing may have negatively affected his international career.[5]

Cricket administration

After retiring from cricket in 2001, Sohail became chief selector for the national team, his tenure ending in January 2004 when he was replaced by former national team wicketkeeper Wasim Bari. He continues to work as a cricket broadcaster. On 4 February 2014, he was again appointed as Chief Selector of the national team for the second time.[6]

Moin Khan - A Pakistani street fighting cricketer

 

Muhammad Moin Khan (Urdu: محمد معین خان‎; born 23 September 1971) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer, primarily a wicketkeeper-batsman, who remained a member of the Pakistani national cricket team from 1990 to 2004. He has also captained the Pakistani side. He made his international debut against the West Indies at Multan. He took over 100 catches in Test cricket. He has scored over 3,000 ODI runs and taken over 200 catches in ODI cricket. He is credited with coining the name of Saqlain Mushtaq's mystery delivery that goes from leg to off, as the doosra. It means the "other one" in Urdu. In July 2013, he replaced Iqbal Qasim as the chief selector of the Pakistan cricket team.[1] Moin was appointed the head coach of the national team on 11 February 2014.[2]

Throughout his international career, Moin had to compete with another wicket-keeper, Rashid Latif. Moin kept wickets in the 1992 Cricket World Cup which Pakistan won and the 1999 Cricket World Cup where Pakistan finished runners up. Latif kept wickets in the 1996 Cricket World Cup and the 2003 Cricket World Cup.

During the 1992 Cricket World Cup Semi-final against New Zealand, Pakistan needed 9 runs for 8 balls before Khan hit a six to make it 3 runs off 7 balls and then hit a boundary to help Pakistan set up a clash in the world cup final with England. In the world cup final, Pakistan were 249 from 50 overs with Khan not getting a chance to bat. However, he took three catches in the match including one of Ian Botham, who went for a duck against an inswinger bowled by Wasim Akram.[3]

Domestic career

In 2005, Moin scored the first century in Pakistan domestic Twenty20 cricket when he smashed 112 off 59 balls for Karachi Dolphins against Lahore Lions in the ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup. At the end of the season, he retired from cricket finishing with 200 not out against Hyderabad, his highest first-class score.

In 2007, Moin signed with the unofficial Indian Cricket League and coached the Hyderabad Heroes. In the 2008 edition of the competition, he coached the expansion team, the Lahore Badshahs.

Coaching career

Moin was appointed the manager of the team in August 2013.[4] He was appointed as the new head coach of the national team on 11 February 2014, replacing Dav Whatmore.[5]

He was appointed chief selector for the Pakistani team in 2013. But in 2015, during the Cricket World Cup 2015 he was removed from the position after the teams poor performance during the World Cup.

Personal life

Khan's son Owais is married to television actress Mariam Ansari.[6]

Pakistan s unpredictability

 Pakistan throughout their history is an unpredictable cricket team. One day they can be world beaters and play like champions. On the other hand they might lose to minnows like Ireland and Zimbabwe.

The 1992 world Cup and 2019 world Cup performances of Pakistan cricket team are an indication of Pakistan s unpredictability. In 1992 World Cup we had a bad beginning but then went on to win four consecutive matches to win the world Cup. In 2019 World Cup we defeated strong teams including finalists England and New Zealand but lost to a weak team like West indies and that too a crushing defeat against West indies that was the main reason behind Pakistan s low net run rate at the end of the tournament.

1n 1999 World Cup we defeated a strong team like Australia and then were also defeated by at that time minnows Bangladesh. 1n 2007 World Cup we lost to again at that time only a icc associate side Ireland.

So our history is again full of ups and downs showing our unpredictability. Our recent example of unpredictability is our recent wins against strong South Africa in odi and twenty 20 series and then losing to Zimbabwe for the very first time in one match so far in the twenty20 series. 

Pakistan's African tour

 

Pakistan's last tour of South Africa wasnt a very fruitful one. In the last tour of South Africa in 2019 under Sarfraz Ahmed's leadership Pakistan lost the test series 0-3, lost the ODI series 2-3, and last but not the least lost the Twenty20 Series 1-2 to South Africa. This time we have Babar Azam leading Pakistan in all the three formats. 

Given that South Africa is  almost a formidable team at home, I dont rate Pakistan's chances very highly on South Africa leg of the tour. Pakistan doesnt have a very established opening pair. The batting is too heavily reliant on Babar Azam and there are hardly any Pakistani batsmen who score runs freely. For many years now Pakistan has been lacking in hard striking and hard hitting batsmen. This is the reason why Pakistan's run rate is so slow in ODI cricket and they hardly score runs in excess of 300 runs which is a necessity in modern day ODI cricket. Their bowling is okay but they lack penetration and consistency at times.

In Twenty 20 cricket I am pretty hopeful we will give South Africa a fight and win atleast one or two matches against them. We have a pretty good Twenty20 team and our players style of play and abilities suit Twenty20 Cricket.

In Zimbabwe leg of the tour I am pretty hopeful and I hope Pakistan doesnt prove me wrong that Pakistan will whitewash Zimbabwe in both the Tests and Twenty20 series. Corruption and politics have weakened the Zimbabwe team as can be seen in their losses recently to a lowly ranked Afghanistan team.

I wish Pakistan cricket team best of luck for their African tour of South Africa and Zimbabwe. I am not so optimistic this time as under the current management of Misbah ul Haq and Waqar Younis Pakistan cricket team has hardly won overseas and won almost every series at home but not abroad.

Sarfaraz Ahmed a great fighting Pakistani wicket keeper

 

Sarfaraz Ahmed (Urdu: سرفراز احمد‎; born 22 May 1987) is a Pakistani wicketkeeper-batsman who plays for the Pakistani national cricket team. He was the former captain of the Pakistan side in all formats.

Sarfaraz was named as Pakistan's Twenty20 International captain following the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 in India,[1] while he was named Pakistan's ODI Captain on 9 February 2017 after Azhar Ali stepped down.[2] He took up the Test captaincy mantle for his team following the retirement of Misbah-ul-Haq and hence became the 32nd Test captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team in doing so. Under his captaincy, Pakistan won the Champions Trophy in June 2017.[3] In March 2018, on Pakistan Day, Sarfraz became the youngest cricketer to be awarded with the Sitara-i-Imtiaz.[4]

In August 2018, he was one of thirty-three players to be awarded a central contract for the 2018–19 season by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).[5][6] In January 2019, in the second ODI against South Africa, he played in his 100th ODI match.[7] Later in the same series, he was banned for four matches after admitting making a racist remark to South African Andile Phelukwayo.

Sarfaraz Ahmed was born on 22 May 1987 in Karachi, Pakistan to a family with a printing press business.[9] His ancestors were from Uttar Pradesh, India and his father died in 2006.[9] He married Syeda Khushbakht in 2015; the couple have two children.[10][11]

International career

Early career

One Day International

Sarfaraz's notable achievement during the early days of his career was winning the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2006 when he led the Pakistani team and defeated India in the final in a low-scoring encounter.

Sarfaraz was called up by Pakistan as a cover for Kamran Akmal who had a finger injury in the one-day series between India and Pakistan in November 2007. He made his ODI debut in the final match of the series, on 18 November 2007. He didn't get a chance to bat as Pakistan had won the match before he was needed to bat.

In 2008, Sarfaraz was selected ahead of Kamran Akmal for the Asia Cup.

In 2015, Sarfaraz was selected for 2015 Cricket World Cup but did not get a chance to play in the first four matches. Due to the first frequent losses, he was selected for Pakistan's fifth match of the event against South Africa where he scored 49 runs off 49 balls and took 6 catches as wicket-keeper to equal the one day international record for most dismissals(6 dismissals).[12] Also he equalled Adam Gilchrist's record for the most dismissals as a wicketkeeper in a single World Cup innings(6)[13] He was rewarded with the Man of the Match award. In his second match in the world cup he scored 101* against Ireland and he was again named the Man of the Match. The win gave Pakistan a spot in the Quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Test

He made his Test match debut in Hobart on 14 January 2010, in the third Test match against Australia, replacing Kamran Akmal who suffered an "error-ridden performance" in the second Test.[14] He was dropped again after one match.

Return to international cricket (2011)

Sarfaraz returned to the international team for the ODI series against Sri Lanka in November 2011 and for the subsequent series against Bangladesh and the Asia Cup. In the final of the tournament he scored a crucial 46 not out (the highest score from his team) as Pakistan won the match by 2 runs. He was consequently rewarded a Category C contract and selected for Pakistan's next series against Sri Lanka, again for T20s

Vice-captaincy

After Misbah retired from the ODI format of the game after 2015 Cricket World Cup, Sarfraz was emerging to be a potential successor. However the PCB went with Azhar Ali for the captaincy and considering Sarfaraz led the Pakistan U-19 team, appointed him as the vice captain of the ODI team.

Sri Lanka Test series (2015)

During the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle, Sarfaraz stabilized the Pakistan innings with a knock of 96 runs in just 85 balls, falling just four runs short of a century when he was bowled by Sri Lankan pacer Dhammika Prasad. During his knock he became the 7th Pakistani wicketkeeper to reach 1000 Test runs, in 28 inns, jointly the fastest Pakistani wicket-keeper with Imtiaz Ahmed. The knock also earned him the Man of the Match award.

Sarfaraz was dropped from the T20 series that followed the Test series against Sri Lanka. Many fans back home were shocked and started to raise questions.[15] Pakistani coach Waqar Younis said on 6 August that Sarfraz is a key Pakistani player and he should be the next T20 captain of Pakistan.[16]

Zimbabawe ODI series (2015)

Due to a foot injury sustained by usual One day captain Azhar Ali, Sarfaraz became the captain for the third ODI against Zimbabwe on 5 October 2015. He recorded first win in his debut match as captain.

Captaincy

T20I captaincy

After a horrendous T20 World Cup 2016 campaign, the T20I captain Shahid Afridi resigned and the PCB appointed Sarfaraz captain of the national T20 team on 5 April 2016. He won his first match in the only T20I against England by nine wickets.[17] Later his team defeated the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 champions, West Indies with a whitewash in a 3 match series. Pakistan is Number 1 in T20 Internationals as of November 2018. Under his captaincy Pakistan won 11 consecutive T20 series. The teams included West-indies, Australia, New Zealand, England & Zimbabwe against which Pakistan won the series. Pakistan also white-washed the opponent in a bilateral series on 5 occasions under his captaincy.

ODI captaincy

On 9 February 2017 following the resignation of then captain Azhar Ali from ODI captaincy, Sarfaraz Ahmed was chosen to succeed him thus making him a full time limited overs captain of Pakistan. He was also made vice-captain for the Pakistan Test team. In his first series as ODI captain, Pakistan beat West Indies 2–1[18]

His first major tournament as the captain was 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. In the pool matches, Pakistan lost to India, but went on to win against South Africa and Sri Lanka to enter semi-finals. In the semi-final, Pakistan beat the hosts England comprehensively to enter Pakistan's first Champions Trophy final. In the final against arch-rivals India, Pakistan posted a massive total of 338 and won the match convincingly to become the champions.[19] He was also named as captain and wicket keeper of the 'Team of the Tournament' at the 2017 Champions Trophy by the ICC[20] and Cricinfo.[21]

Test captaincy

On 28 September 2017, against Sri Lanka, he became the 32nd captain of Pakistan in Tests.[22] Sri Lanka won the Test series 2–0. It was Pakistan's first whitewash in the United Arab Emirates, and only their second whitewash in a home series, after losing 3–0 to Australia in October 2002.[23]

Suspension, dropped as captain

In January 2019, during the second ODI of the series against South Africa, Sarfaraz was caught on the stump mics using a racial slur towards Andile Phehlukwayo.[24] He played in the third ODI match, but was then suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the next four matches, missing the last two ODIs and the first two T20Is of the tour.[25] Shoaib Malik captained the Pakistan team in Sarfaraz's place.[26] The following month, the PCB confirmed Sarfaraz as the team's captain, and stated he would lead the squad at the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[27][28]

In April 2019, he was named as the captain of Pakistan's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.[29][30] Under his Captaincy, Pakistan managed to win five out of their nine matches, losing three and one no result. Pakistan couldn't qualify for the semi-finals as their net run rate was less than New Zealand's.[31][32]

In October 2019, ahead of Pakistan's tour to Australia, Sarfaraz was sacked as captain of Pakistan's team, following Pakistan's poor run of form.[33] Azhar Ali and Babar Azam were named as the captains of the Test and T20I squads respectively.[34] Under his leadership, Pakistan won 29 of their matches out of 37 and reached No.1 Spot in T20Is rankings.[35]In ODI's and under his leadership, Pakistan played 50 matches out of which they won 28 matches, lost 20 matches and had a winning rate of 58.33.[36]

In June 2020, he was named in a 29-man squad for Pakistan's tour to England during the COVID-19 pandemic.[37][38] In July, he was shortlisted in Pakistan's 20-man squad for the Test matches against England but he was overlooked and did not play a single test.[39][40]

Domestic and franchise cricket

Sarfaraz was picked by Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) players draft on 21 December 2015. He was selected to be the franchise captain for the 2016 season. He led the Gladiators all the way through to the final, losing only two matches before it. But still his team just couldn't make it and they lost in the final to Islamabad United.[41] In the second season 2017 he once again led Quetta to the final, but Quetta lost by 58 runs against Peshawar. Which meant that Quetta had lost the PSL final for the second time in a row.[42] In the third season (2018) Quetta Gladiators not manage to qualify for the final, but instead were defeated by Peshawar Zalmi by 1 run in the first eliminator.[43] He once again captained Quetta Gladiators in fourth season of PSL leading the team to win the tournament for the first time by defeating Peshawar Zalmi in the final match.

In September 2019, Sarfaraz was named as the captain of Sindh for the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament.[44][45] In October 2020, he was drafted by the Galle Gladiators for the inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League.[46]

Former Pakistan cricket coach Mickey Arthur has revealed that wicket-keeper batsman Sarfraz Ahmed has qualities that set him apart from other great captains like Graeme Smith, Misbah-ul-Haq, and Michael Clarke.

During an interview with Aamir Sohail on his YouTube channel on Tuesday, Arthur shared that the best part about Sarfaraz was that he was an authoritarian on-field, but he would transform into a brother off-field with the players.

“Sarfaraz is a very good leader. I was very privileged to work with Graeme Smith, Michael Clarke, and Misbah-ul-Haq. They were very good leaders but Sarfaraz had one thing that I had not seen before: He had the ability to be an authoritative voice, like a disciplinarian on the field, but when he came to the dressing room, he transformed into a brother to the guys. He had that,” the former Pakistan coach said.

Mickey cherished his outstanding relation with Sarfaraz and shared that he has always loved working with him.

“People saw what happened on the field, like his movements, but they did not see the other side of Sarfaraz in the dressing room. He was a very popular leader inside the changing room,” he said.

“Sarfraz was always ahead of the game,” he said, appreciating the batsman’s technical knowledge in Twenty20 cricket.

'Consistent policies are imperative'

He expressed satisfaction over building team structure, improving players’ fitness, and unearthing good young talent. However, one disappointment the former coach said he had when he left was that he was unable to rebuild the test team after former batting greats Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan left.

Read more: Sarfaraz Ahmed had 'deep reservations' against playing 3rd T20I against England: report

Advising his successor [Misbah], the former coach said that consistency of policy is required otherwise players will play for themselves. “I think you have got to stay consistent. Consistent with your coaching staff, consistent with your structure, consistent with your selection, and with the roles you give to players. I think that’s really important because that will allow players to flourish,” he added. 

‘I loved it. I loved every minute of it’

Speaking about his tenure as Pakistan cricket head coach, the South African said: “I loved it. I loved every minute of it.” He described his experience in the country with four words: Exhilarating, chaotic, exciting, and fulfilling.

Referring to the “chaotic” part of his experience, the former coach said that he was not a fan of Pakistani media. “Dealing with the media in the country is tough, Pakistani media is uncompromising,” he said.

Pakistan's chances in ICC world cup twenty20 2021

ICC Cricket T20 World Cup 2021 Schedule, Team, Venue, Time Table, PDF, Point Table, Ranking & Winning Prediction

By ICS Editor / January 5, 2021 / Cricket, Schedule

ICC Men’s Cricket T20 World Cup 2021 which will be the 8th T20 cricket world has been scheduled between October 2021 and November 2021. The host country will be India. There are two continuous T20 world cup in 2021 and 2022. The ICC Cricket control Board announced on April 2018 that T20 World Cup 2021 will replace to Champions Trophy 2021.

Table of Contents

• ICC Cricket T20 World Cup 2021 Schedule
• ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Team Rankings
• ICC T20 World Cup History
• ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Download
• ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Ticket
• ICC T20 World Cup 2021 News and Updates
• ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Summary
• Related cricket news articles:

ICC Cricket T20 World Cup 2021 Schedule

T20 2020 World cup postpone due to the Covid-19 until 2022 but T20 World Cup 2021 schedule should be similar as below.

Match No	Date	Teams	Round	Group
1	18-Oct-21	Sri Lanka vs Ireland	First Round	Group A
2	18 October 2021	Papua New Guinea vs Oman	First Round	Group A
3	19-Oct-21	Bangladesh vs Namibia	First Round	Group B
4	19-Oct-21	Netherlands vs Scotland	First Round	Group B
5	20-Oct-21	Ireland vs Oman	First Round	Group A
6	20-Oct-21	Sri Lanka vs Papua New Guinea	First Round	Group A
7	21-Oct-21	Namibia vs Scotland	First Round	Group B
8	21-Oct-21	Bangladesh vs Netherlands	First Round	Group B
9	22-Oct-21	Papua New Guinea vs Ireland	First Round	Group A
10	22-Oct-21	Sri Lanka vs Oman	First Round	Group A
11	23-Oct-21	FriNetherlands vs Namibia	First Round	Group B
12	23-Oct-21	Bangladesh vs Scotland	First Round	Group B
13	24-Oct-21	Australia vs Pakistan	Super 12	Group 1
14	24-Oct-21	India vs South Africa	Super 12	Group 2
15	25-Oct-21	TBC vs TBC	Super 12	Group 1
16	25-Oct-21	New Zealand vs West Indies	Super 12	Group 1
17	26-Oct-21	Afghanistan vs TBC	Super 12	Group 2
18	26-Oct-21	England vs TBC	Super 12	Group 2
19	27-Oct-21	New Zealand vs TBC	Super 12	Group 1
20	28-Oct-21	Afghanistan vs TBC	Super 12	Group 2
21	28-Oct-21	Australia vs West Indies	Super 12	Group 1
22	29-Oct-21	Pakistan vs TBC	Super 12	Group 1
23	29-Oct-21	India vs TBC	Super 12	Group 2
24	30-Oct-21	FriEngland vs South Africa	Super 12	Group 2
25	30-Oct-21	West Indies vs TBC	Super 12	Group 1
26	31-Oct-21	New Zealand vs Pakistan	Super 12	Group 1
27	31-Oct-21	Australia vs TBC	Super 12	Group 1
28	01-Nov-21	Afghanistan vs South Africa	Super 12	Group 2
29	01-Nov-21	India vs England	Super 12	Group 2
30	02-Nov-21	TBC vs TBC	Super 12	Group 2
31	02-Nov-21	New Zealand vs TBC	Super 12	Group 1
32	03-Nov-21	Pakistan vs West Indies	Super 12	Group 1
33	04-Nov-21	Australia vs TBC	Super 12	Group 1
34	04-Nov-21	Afghanistan vs England	Super 12	Group 2
35	05-Nov-21	South Africa vs TBC	Super 12	Group 2
36	05-Nov-21	India vs TBC	Super 12	Group 2
37	06-Nov-21	FriPakistan vs TBC	Super 12	Group 1
38	06-Nov-21	Australia vs New Zealand	Super 12	Group 1
39	07-Nov-21	England vs TBC	Super 12	Group 2
40	07-Nov-21	West Indies vs TBC	Super 12	Group 1
41	08-Nov-21	South Africa vs TBC	Super 12	Group 2
42	08-Nov-21	India vs Afghanistan	Super 12	Group 2

Match No	Date	Teams	Semi-Final|Final
1	11 November 2021	TBC vs TBC	1st Semi-Final
2	12 November 2021	TBC vs TBC	2nd Semi-Final
3	15 November 2021	TBC vs TBC	Final

Pakistan's chances in Twenty20 World Cup 2021 is quite promising considering the current players and current form of Pakistani's team  in Twenty20 cricket. Pakistan boasts talent in the form of players like Muhammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Haider Ali, Muhammad Hafeez in batting and in bowling they have Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Usman Qadir, Haris Rauf and Shadab Khan , in the all rounders department we have Faheem Ashraf and Muhammad Nawaz, thus Pakistan in twenty20 cricket is full of talented and capable players.

In batting we have hard hitting batsmen who score freely and hit sixes and fours at will and in bowling we have variety in pace and spin department. As pace bowlers we have some of the fastest bowlers in the world who can reverse swing and ball yorkers at will.  We have spinners who can turn the ball hugely and have many variations in their bowling. We have all rounders  who can save and rescue Pakistan from losing positions with both bat and ball.

In this way and considering the tournament will be held in India, we have a good all round team and players suitable to the conditions in India. Considering that Pakistan is ranked fourth in ICC Twenty20 rankings and current form of Pakistan teams suggests that they will make it to atleast to the semi finals of the tournament. I consider Pakistan as one of the favourites of the tournament.