Tuesday, 4 June 2013

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal Biography

source(google.com.pk) 
Date of Birth: 26 May 1990
Place of Birth: Lahore, Pakistan
Batting Style: Right-handed
Role: Batsman
Fielding Position: Occasional Wicket keeper
Test Debut: 24 November 2009 VS New Zealand
 

ODI Debut: 1 August 2009 VS Sri Lanka:-
This 19 year old boy surprised everyone when he scored century on his debut Test against New Zealand. He received praise from experts due to his fearless approach at crease and wide array of strokes. Umar also scored century in his third ODI and it appeared Umar would be a certain member of team in all formats for several years.
But the second chapter of his story is not perfect as his form dropped in 2010 and he was axed from the Test Team. Due to his poor performance selector decided that he must return to domestic cricket and rediscover his ability to stay long at crease.
Umar Akmal was born on 26 May 1990 in Lahore Pakistan. He is younger brother of Kamran Akmal and Adnan Akmal, both are Test Crickets. Umar represented Pakistan U-19 team and earned his spot in first class cricket representing SNGP Cricket Team.
He has class, talent and skills which can make him a world class batsman but he need to work hard on his technique. He often loses his wicket easily due to lack of concentration. He is considered as the future of Pakistan Cricket. Umar Akmal is still young and he can developed himself into a perfect batsman with passage of time.

 Fast Facts:-

Akmal’s total of 204 runs on his Test debut (against New Zealand) is the 8th highest ever.
 It’s also the second highest for a Pakistani debutant behind Yasir Hameed’s 275 in 2003.
 Akmal’s 129 on Test debut is the 4th highest for a Pakistani, making him one of only 7 players from his country to score a century on debut. Among those on the list, Akmal is the only centurion to have achieved the feat on foreign soil.
 It took Umar Akmal 38 matches (6 Tests, 18 ODIs and 14 T20s) until playing for Pakistan in Pakistan, the third most behind teammate Mohammad Aamer (41) and Sri Lankan Greame Labrooy (53).
 Along with brother Kamran Akmal, the Akmals are the 4th blood brothers to feature for Pakistan in the 60-odd years of cricket history.
 Among top order batsmen, Akmal has the 4th best strike rate overall (Test, ODI and T20) for Pakistani players. (Minimum of 40 matches).

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

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Waqar Younus

Waqar Younis Biography

source(google.com.pk)
Waqar Younis Maitla (born November 16, 1971) is a famous Pakistani cricketer from Burewala, Punjab, and one of the greatest bowlers the game has known. He attended Pakistani College, Sharjah and Government College, Vehari. Playing as a fast bowler, he took 373 Test wickets and 416 wickets in One-day Internationals. He debuted for Pakistan against India on November 15, 1989. It is noteworthy that Sachin Tendulkar debuted in the same match. His most lethal weapon was the in-swinging yorker, which he managed to produce at will and with a high degree of accuracy, as experienced first-hand by plenty of county batsmen who were unfortunate enough to face him at his peak.

Known as the "Burewala Bombshell", Waqar formed one half of the legendary fast bowling partnership with Wasim Akram. At his peak, most were of the view that there was no better bowler, especially with regards to wicket-taking ability and being penetrative. His tendency to aim for the stumps earned him the highest strike rate of all time, among the bowlers with 200 or more wickets. His blistering pace and toe-crushing yorkers put tremendous fear in the batsmen. Much was expected of him but he stayed out of the team for quite a long time to do his talents and fans justice because of his controversial conflicts with once bowling partner and captain Wasim Akram. His comeback, however, came with him being appointed the Captain of the national side - which he remained so till his side failed to make an impact in the 2003 World Cup. He was forced to retire as the Pakistan Cricket Board persistently ignored him for national selection.

Waqar was one of a long line of Pakistanis (starting with Safraz Nawaz) who mastered the art of reverse swing. It was his partnership with Wasim Akram that took this art to new levels, and their 1992 series versus England will forever be remembered as their signature series. Many sections of the English media could not fathom how an old ball could swing so much and so late, and this led to cries of foul play and the infamous allegations of "ball-tampering" from some quarteres. The passage of time, coupled with the fact that England now have their own reverse swing bowlers, has led to an appreciation of the science and skill behind reverse swing, and most now accept that Waqar was simply ahead of his time.

Waqar Younis is cited alongside Wasim Akram, Allan Donald, Glenn McGrath, Walsh and Ambrose as the best fast bowler of the 90s. While his contemporaries, Donald and McGrath, played most of their cricket on the fast and bouncy tracks of South Africa and Australia, backed up by the spectacular fielding sides, Waqar Younis, on the other hand, had to contend with the slow and docile tracks of the sub-continent, backed by a fielding side that had nothing so distinguished to write about. An astonishing number of Waqar's wickets have been clean bowled or have come from leg-before decisions showing how much he has had to depend on his own efforts to get his batsmen. He will be known for his attacking bowling as against the "line n' length" bowling of the most of his peers. He bowled one of his best balls to Brian Lara, another cricketing legend, which ended with Lara on the ground, his stump flipped 6 feet away. Waqar Younis has some outstanding records. He is the only bowler who has taken 5 wicket haul in 3 consecutive ODIs. He has taken 4+ wickets on 27 occasions in ODIs, which is a record. He has also taken the fastest 50, 300, 350 and 400 wickets in ODI matches and in test matches he has taken the fastest 150, 200, 250, 300, 350 wickets by lesser number of balls bowled.

Although primarily a bowler, Waqar hit 1010 Test runs; he is in fact (as of September 2005) the only man to pass the thousand mark without ever scoring a fifty. He is now married with a son and a daughter. Recently, he has become a television cricket commentator for Australia's Nine Network since a series against Australia and Pakistan.

Waqar Younis

Waqar Younis

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Waqar Younis

Waqar Younis

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Mohammad Yousuf

Mohammad Yousuf Biography

source(google.com.pk)
Mohammad Yousuf (formerly Yousuf Youhana, born 27 August 1974, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan) is a Pakistani cricketer who has been a member of the Pakistani national cricket team since 1998. He is best known for his achievement in 2006 when he broke the great West Indian batsman, Sir Vivian Richards', world record for the most Test runs in a single calendar year. Prior to his conversion to Islam in 2005, Yousuf was one of the few Christians to play in the Pakistan national cricket team. He made his Test debut against South Africa at Durban and ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Harare. He has scored over 9,000 ODI runs at an average of 43.63 (2rd highest batting average among Pakistani batsmen after Zaheer Abbas and 6,770 Test runs at an average of 55.49 (highest batting average amongst all Pakistani batsmen) with 23 Test centuries. He has the record of scoring the most runs without being dismissed in ODIs, 405 against Zimbabwe in Zimbabwe in 2002-03. He has also scored a 23-ball fifty in ODIs, and a 68-ball hundred. In Tests he has scored a 27-ball fifty, which is 3rd fastest by any player. He was top scorer during the successive years of 2002 and 2003 in the world in ODIs. In 2004, he scored a memorable 111 against the Australians in the Boxing Day Test. In December 2005, he scored 223 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 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-IBNs Cricketer of the Year for 2006, ahead of the likes of Australian captain Ricky Ponting, West Indies Brian Lara, Australian spinner Shane Warne, South Africas bowling spearhead Makhaya Ntini and Sri Lankas Muttiah Muralitharan. He was selected as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in the 2007 edition. 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 five centuries and two fifties in just 10 innings and that was enough to be awarded the honour ahead of Kevin Pietersen and Ricky Ponting. Yousuf was also named in the 2007 Test team of the Year alongside compatriot Mohammad Asif. A year that started on a promising note, Yousuf carried it forward to break two world records both held earlier by West Indian great Sir Vivian Richards. The 32-year-old smashed an unparalleled 1788 runs in just 11 Test matches with the help of nine centuries  his second record taking him beyond the Windies great yet again. 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. Yousuf is a skillful infielder, with a report prepared 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. 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) recently since his conversion to Islam. 

Mohammad Yousuf

Mohammad Yousuf

 Mohammad Yousuf

 Mohammad Yousuf

 Mohammad Yousuf

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 Mohammad Yousuf

Mohammad Yousuf

Shahid Afridi

Shahid Afridi Biography

Source(google.com.pk)
Shahid Afridi is a professional cricket player, who was born on March 1, 1980 in Khyber Agency, Pakistan. His parents are of the Afridi tribe in Kohat; he is married to Nadia and has two daughters, Aqsa and Ansha.
Nicknamed ‘Boom Boom Afridi’ for his aggressive batting style, Shahid Afridi is a brilliant all-rounder, as he is also a right-arm leg-spin or medium-paced bowler. In October 1998, he made his Test debut for the Pakistan team against Australia and became a reliable member of his side. Shahid Afridi scored five Test centuries in his career, as of the year 2008; three times against India (1999 and twice in 2006) and twice against the West Indies (2002 and 2005).
 His first appearance in an One Day International (ODI) came on October 2, 1996 at Nairobi in a match played against the Kenya cricket team. He rose to become an indispensable member of the Pakistani ODI squad with his remarkable performances since 1996. By making the fastest hundred runs (included six boundaries and eleven 6’s) of 37 balls in an ODI match against Sri Lanka, Shahid Afridi beat the record of Sanath Jayasuriya, a famous Sri Lankan cricketer, on October 4, 1996. He was just 16 years, when he performed this feat and was the youngest player to have achieved such an accomplishment. With Brian Lara, he shares a joint record for scoring the third fastest ODI century out of 45 balls against India in April 2005. By making four of the top eight fastest ODI half centuries, Shahid Afridi has made a mark for himself in the history of ODI cricket. In 2007, he scored 32 runs (including four consecutive sixes) off six balls against Sri Lanka at Abu Dhabi. The over was bowled by Malinga Bandara which is considered to the second most expensive over in the ODI history.
 In March 2005, his Test performance with the bat and the ball played a key role in Pakistan’s encounter against India. Shahid Afridi made 50 runs out of 26 balls and walked away with three wickets in the second innings of a Test match claiming the victory for his team and brought the series to a draw. In January 2006, he smashed four consecutive sixes against Harbhajan Singh’s bowling in a Test match against India. On achieving a combination of 5000 runs and 200 wickets, Shahid Afridi is the third player (after Sanath Jayasuriya and Jacques Kallis, a South African cricketer) to accomplish such a feat in the ODI history.For his commendable performances as a bowler of the Pakistan team in the international 2007 Twenty20, Shahid Afridi earned the Man of the Series award.
He represented the Deccan Chargers (DC) team under the captaincy of VVS Laxman, an Indian cricketer, in the Indian Premier League (IPL) of 2008. His sign-in price was $675,000 and played thirty matches for the DC team. Shahid Afridi scored 367 runs, which included 32 boundaries and 21 sixes with a strike rate of 171.49. By taking 35 wickets, the bowling average of Shahid Afridi was 20.05 at an economy rate of 6.81.

Shahid Afridi

 Shahid Afridi

 Shahid Afridi

 Shahid Afridi

 Shahid Afridi

 Shahid Afridi
Shahid Afridi

 Shahid Afridi

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Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal Biography

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

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal