Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal Biography

Source Link (google.com.pk)
Full name Umar Akmal Born May 26, 1990, Lahore, Punjab Current age 20 years 238 days Batting style Right-hand bat Fielding position Occasional wicketkeeper Relation Brother – Kamran Akmal, Brother – Adnan Akmal Umar Akmal Picture Major teams Pakistan, Lahore...
Umar Akmal (born 26 May 1990 in Lahore) is a Pakistani cricketer. He made his ODI debut on August 1, 2009 against Sri Lanka.
Current age 20 years 238 days

Batting style Right-hand bat

Fielding position Occasional wicketkeeper

Relation Brother - Kamran Akmal, Brother - Adnan Akmal
Playing Roll: Batsman
Batting Style: Right
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Umar Akmal Profile

The runs didn't cease to flow for Umar Akmal, the younger brother of Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran and Adnan, in his maiden first-class season. In a triumphant 2007-08 for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, Umar failed to score in his first outing but then went on to amass 855 runs from nine matches in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, at an average of 77.72 and an impressive strike-rate of 90.18. He showed a penchant for both brisk and big scoring, with knocks of 248 off 225 balls and 186 off 170. In January 2008, he was picked in Pakistan's Under-19 team for the World Cup in Malaysia. He was the leading run-getter - with 255 runs at a strike-rate of 123.18 - in a tri-nation tournament involving England and Sri Lanka in the lead-up to the World Cup. A successful tour of Australia with Pakistan A was followed up a maiden international call-up for the ODIs in Sri Lanka, and Umar started off with a half-century in his second game and a power-packed hundred in his third. A Test call-up was inevitable and he gave an optimistic glimpse into the future of Pakistan cricket, with a century on debut, under pressure followed by a string of consistent scores in New Zealand.
As explosive starts to one’s International careers go, few can rival Umar Akmal. He announced his entry with scores of 66 and 102* within his first 3 ODI innings (at Sri Lanka, 2009) in addition to a 129 and 75 on Test debut (at New Zealand, 2009). Those performances weren’t a surprise. At first class level, Akmal was renowned for his big scores amassed in quick time. 7 years prior to his debut, Umar’s elder brother Kamran had already gotten his taste of international cricket. By 2010, the siblings featured regularly, in tandem for Pakistan.
As a fearless, middle-order batsman, throughout Pakistan’s disappointing spree of series losses against Sri Lanka in 2009 and later at Australia in early 2010, Umar Akmal’s ascendance was one of their few positives. But as the series in Australia progressed, complacency began to creep into Akmal’s Test form, which started to dip. In ODIs though, a hundred and five fifties by his 18th outing maintained a steady average. It was enough to justify an inclusion in Pakistan’s 2010 T20 World Cup squad. He finished the tournament as Pakistan’s 3rd highest-run getter towards their semi-final run.
While still protected as a batsman, featuring at 3-down, in a Pakistan side that lacks specialist batsmen with the temperament for all forms of the game, Umar Akmal is their most proven rookie to fill the void for the years to come.
The runs didn't cease to flow for Umar Akmal, the younger brother of Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran and Adnan, in his maiden first-class season. In a triumphant 2007-08 for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, Umar failed to score in his first outing but then went on to amass 855 runs from nine matches in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, at an average of 77.72 and an impressive strike-rate of 90.18. He showed a penchant for both brisk and big scoring, with knocks of 248 off 225 balls and 186 off 170. In January 2008, he was picked in Pakistan's Under-19 team for the World Cup in Malaysia. He was the leading run-getter - with 255 runs at a strike-rate of 123.18 - in a tri-nation tournament involving England and Sri Lanka in the lead-up to the World Cup. A successful tour of Australia with Pakistan A was followed up a maiden international call-up for the ODIs in Sri Lanka, and Umar started off with a half-century in his second game and a power-packed hundred in his third. A Test call-up was inevitable and he gave an optimistic glimpse into the future of Pakistan cricket, with a century on debut, under pressure followed by a string of consistent scores in New Zealand.
Batting and fielding averages
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s Ct St
Tests 15 29 2 988 129 36.59 1481 66.71 1 6 115 17 12 0
ODIs 43 39 6 1249 102* 37.84 1430 87.34 1 8 98 21 18 0
T20Is 22 21 3 571 64 31.72 474 120.46 0 4 41 18 18 1
First-class 46 79 7 3346 248 46.47 4652 71.92 7 20 410 53 41 0
List A 68 63 9 2012 104 37.25 2298 87.55 3 12 150 38 32 0
Twenty20 46 43 8 1114 68* 31.82 861 129.38 0 7 107 30 35 1
Bowling averages
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10
Tests 15 - - - - - - - - - - - -
ODIs 43 - - - - - - - - - - - -
T20Is 22 - - - - - - - - - - - -
First-class 46 1 6 10 0 - - - 10.00 - 0 0 0
List A 68 2 24 13 0 - - - 3.25 - 0 0 0
Twenty20 46 1 24 36 1 1/36 1/36 36.00 9.00 24.0 0 0 0
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 Batting, Fielding and Bowling

The above stats are as per date of this post.

Umar Akmal Career

Test:
2009-2010

ODI:
2009-2010

T20:
2009-2010

Umar Akmal Test

Debut:
Pakistan Vs New Zealand at University Oval, Dunedin - Nov 24, 2009
Last played:
Pakistan Vs South Africa at Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium, Dubai - Nov 12, 2010

Umar Akmal ODI

Debut:
Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Rangiri - Aug 01, 2009
Last played:
Pakistan Vs South Africa at Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium, Dubai - Nov 08, 2010

Umar Akmal T20

Debut:
Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka at R.Premadasa Stadium (Khettarama), Colombo - Aug 12, 2009
Last played:
Pakistan Vs New Zealand at AMI Stadium, Christchurch - Dec 30, 2010
International Debut: 2009
Batting and fielding records
M Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s Ct St
Test 15 29 2 988 129 36.59 1481 66.71 1 6 115 17 12 -
ODI 43 37 6 1201 102* 38.74 1355 88.63 1 8 94 21 17 -
T20I 22 18 3 504 64 33.60 400 126.00 - 4 37 17 13 -

Bowling records
M Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Eco SR 4W 5W 10W
Test 15 - - - - - - - - - - - -
ODI 43 - - - - - - - - - - - -
T20I 22 - - - - - - - - - - - -

Career Statistics
Test Debut: New Zealand v Pakistan at Dunedin, 24-28, Nov 2009
ODI Debut: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Dambulla, Aug 01, 2009
Twenty20 Debut: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Colombo, Aug 12, 2009
The runs didn't cease to flow for Umar Akmal, the younger brother of Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran and Adnan, in his maiden first-class season. In a triumphant 2007-08 for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, Umar failed to score in his first outing but then went on to amass 855 runs from nine matches in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, at an average of 77.72 and an impressive strike-rate of 90.18. He showed a penchant for both brisk and big scoring, with knocks of 248 off 225 balls and 186 off 170. In January 2008, he was picked in Pakistan's Under-19 team for the World Cup in Malaysia. He was the leading run-getter - with 255 runs at a strike-rate of 123.18 - in a tri-nation tournament involving England and Sri Lanka in the lead-up to the World Cup. A successful tour of Australia with Pakistan A was followed up a maiden international call-up for the ODIs in Sri Lanka, and Umar started off with a half-century in his second game and a power-packed hundred in his third. A Test call-up was inevitable and he gave an optimistic glimpse into the future of Pakistan cricket, with a century on debut, under pressure followed by a string of consistent scores in New Zealand.

Umar Akmal Batting, Fielding and Bowling

The above stats are as per date of this post.

Umar Akmal Career

Test:
2009-2010

ODI:
2009-2010

T20:
2009-2010

Umar Akmal Test

Debut:
Pakistan Vs New Zealand at University Oval, Dunedin - Nov 24, 2009
Last played:
Pakistan Vs South Africa at Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium, Dubai - Nov 12, 2010

Umar Akmal ODI

Debut:
Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, Rangiri - Aug 01, 2009
Last played:
Pakistan Vs South Africa at Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium, Dubai - Nov 08, 2010

Umar Akmal T20

Debut:
Pakistan Vs Sri Lanka at R.Premadasa Stadium (Khettarama), Colombo - Aug 12, 2009
Last played:
Pakistan Vs New Zealand at AMI Stadium, Christchurch - Dec 30, 2010
 Umar Akmal carried on from where he left off at Lord's by scoring a century on the opening day of Pakistan's first-class three-day tour match against Kent on Monday.

Akmal made 153 out of a total of 360 all out just a day after top-scoring with 51 in Pakistan's tour-opening six-run Twenty20 win over MCC at Lord's.

His innings against Kent was much needed by the tourists as Pakistan slumped to 53 for three with hard-hitting captain Shahid Afridi out for a duck.

Kent's seamers made the ball nip around and the Pakistan top three were dismissed inside the first hour, all lbw, with Umar Amin, Fawad Alam and Salman Butt falling cheaply.

And before lunch Kent triallist Mark Lawson had Shoaib Malik caught at backward point.

All-rounder Alex Blake struck twice after the interval, having Kamran Akmal caught in the gully before Afridi sliced to deep backward point.

Akmal held firm and went to his fifty with a six off Lawson but largely kept himself in check on his way to completing a 150-ball hundred.

However, once he reached the landmark, he opened up and hit four more sixes, three off Lawson before he was stumped off the spinner by Paul Dixey.

Lawson finished with four for 93 on his Kent debut and, in the day's remaining over, the hosts reached two without loss.

Pakistan will play Australia in two Twenty20 internationals on July 5 and 6 at Edgbaston before playing two Tests against the same opponents at Lord's and Headingley.

After playing Australia, Pakistan will feature in four Tests, two Twenty20 and five one-day games against England. The tour ends on September 22.

Brief score
Pakistan 360 ( Umar Akmal 153, Lawson 4-93) by 358 runs with 10 wickets remaining
Kent 2 for 0
Status Kent trail by 358 runs
Recent matches
Bat & Bowl Team Opposition Ground Match Date Scorecard
8 Lahore Lions v R Rams Faisalabad 30 Jun 2011 Twenty20
8 Lahore Lions v Hawks Faisalabad 29 Jun 2011 Twenty20
20 Lahore Lions v Leopards Faisalabad 27 Jun 2011 Twenty20
43* Lahore Lions v S Stallions Faisalabad 25 Jun 2011 Twenty20
60* Pakistan v Ireland Belfast 30 May 2011 ODI # 3158
- Pakistan v Ireland Belfast 28 May 2011 ODI # 3157
56, 30 Pakistan v West Indies Basseterre 20 May 2011 Test # 1993
33, 47 Pakistan v West Indies Providence 12 May 2011 Test # 1992
26 Pakistanis v Guyana BP XI Georgetown 8 May 2011 Other match
24 Pakistan v West Indies Providence 5 May 2011 ODI # 3156
Profile
The runs didn't cease to flow for Umar Akmal, the younger brother of Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran and Adnan, in his maiden first-class season. In a triumphant 2007-08 for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, Umar failed to score in his first outing but then went on to amass 855 runs from nine matches in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, at an average of 77.72 and an impressive strike-rate of 90.18. He showed a penchant for both brisk and big scoring, with knocks of 248 off 225 balls and 186 off 170. In January 2008, he was picked in Pakistan's Under-19 team for the World Cup in Malaysia. He was the leading run-getter - with 255 runs at a strike-rate of 123.18 - in a tri-nation tournament involving England and Sri Lanka in the lead-up to the World Cup. A successful tour of Australia with Pakistan A was followed up a maiden international call-up for the ODIs in Sri Lanka, and Umar started off with a half-century in his second game and a power-packed hundred in his third. A Test call-up was inevitable and he gave an optimistic glimpse into the future of Pakistan cricket, with a century on debut, under pressure followed by a string of consistent scores in New Zealand.

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

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Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad Biography

Source link (google.com.pk)

Ahmed Shehzad, Cricketers is famous for Cricket, Pakistani celebrity. Born on 23 November, 1991

Ahmed Shehzad is a Pakistani cricketer. He plays domestic cricket for Habib Bank Limited. He made his One Day International debut for Pakistan on 24 April 2009 against Australia.

Domestic Career

In limited-overs domestic cricket Ahmed Shehzad plays for Lahore Lions and in June 2011 during the Faysal Bank T-20 Super Eights Shehzad top scored the innings by scoring 74 of 47 balls imposing a mammoth total of 218 against the opposition Sialkot Stallions who in turn were bowled out for 173 Shehzad took two-catches and a wicket as well he was rewarded man-of the match for his superb performances.

International career

Shehzad made his debut for Pakistan in a one-day international against Australia on 29 April 2009. In his maiden match he scored one boundary before he was run-out. The following match he scored 40 in an innings that included 4 fours. The third match he scored 43 but this time just scored 2 fours and in the final match of the series he scored 19 with 1 boundary to his name before he was given out leg-before.

These consistent performances meant that Shehzad made his Twenty20 debut against Australia scoring a single boundary before being caught in the deep. Despite a failure in the Twenty20 Shehzad was selected for the Pakistan squad in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 he only played one-game which was the opening game against England being caught by Paul Collingwood Pakistan changed their combination removing Shehzad and his partner Salman Butt and replaced them with Shahzaib Hasan and Kamran Akmal.

The big break vs New Zealand (2010-11)

After spending most of the sidelines on the fringes of national selection Shehzad played in the three-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand scoring 14 runs of just 7 balls in an innings that included 2 fours and 1 six. Shehzad showcase his ability to time the ball and to score runs at a quick pace therefore in the following match he started to feel comfortable on New Zealand wickets scoring a watchful 15 of 14 balls in an innings that included 1 four, this time he showcase his ability to remain calm in a situation where the middle order was collapsing around him. After batting at number 3 for these two matches Shehzad replaced Shahid Afridi as opener and scored his maiden Twenty20 half-century scoring 54 of just 34 balls in an innings that included 10 fours. After performing well in the three Twenty20's the Pakistan selectors selected Shehzad for the six-match ODI seri es against New Zealand with a potential place as a World Cup opener also available. After scoring 115 an ODI against New Zealand during the series, Shehzad was given a place in the Pakistan world cup squad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Muhammad Yousuf

Muhammad Yousuf Biography

Source Link (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-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 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.

Muhammad Yousuf

Muhammad Yousuf

Muhammad Yousuf

Muhammad Yousuf

Muhammad Yousuf

Muhammad Yousuf

Muhammad Yousuf

Muhammad Yousuf

Muhammad Yousuf

Muhammad Yousuf

Muhammad Yousuf

Imran Farhat

Imran Farhat Biography

Source Link (google.com.pk)
Full name Imran Farhat
Born May 20, 1982, Lahore, Punjab
Current age 31 years 222 days
Major teams Pakistan, Biman Bangladesh, Habib Bank Limited, ICL Pakistan XI, Lahore, Lahore Badshahs, Lahore Eagles, Lahore Lions, Pakistan Reserves

Also known as Romi

Batting style Left-hand bat

Bowling style Legbreak

Relation Father-in-law - Mohammad Ilyas, Brother - Humayun Farhat
Imran Farhat
Batting and fielding averages
    Mat     Inns     NO     Runs     HS     Ave     BF     SR     100     50     4s     6s     Ct     St
Tests     40     77     2     2400     128     32.00     4970     48.28     3     14     348     4     40     0
ODIs     58     58     2     1719     107     30.69     2489     69.06     1     13     190     16     14     0
T20Is     7     7     0     76     19     10.85     70     108.57     0     0     14     0     3     0
First-class     162     280     13     11254     308     42.14             27     48             140     0
List A     179     177     12     5933     164     35.95             13     29             67     0
Twenty20     51     51     2     1367     115     27.89     922     148.26     2     8     183     35     21     0
Bowling averages
    Mat     Inns     Balls     Runs     Wkts     BBI     BBM     Ave     Econ     SR     4w     5w     10
Tests     40     15     427     284     3     2/69     2/69     94.66     3.99     142.3     0     0     0
ODIs     58     8     116     110     6     3/10     3/10     18.33     5.68     19.3     0     0     0
T20Is     7     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -     -
First-class     162         5710     3272     107     7/31         30.57     3.43     53.3         2     0
List A     179         2831     2457     84     4/13     4/13     29.25     5.20     33.7     3     0     0
Twenty20     51     23     389     510     27     5/26     5/26     18.88     7.86     14.4     0     1     0
Career statistics
Test debut     New Zealand v Pakistan at Auckland, Mar 8-12, 2001 scorecard
Last Test     South Africa v Pakistan at Centurion, Feb 22-24, 2013 scorecard
Test statistics  
ODI debut     New Zealand v Pakistan at Auckland, Feb 17-18, 2001 scorecard
Last ODI     Pakistan v South Africa at Birmingham, Jun 10, 2013 scorecard
ODI statistics  
T20I debut     Australia v Pakistan at Melbourne, Feb 5, 2010 scorecard
Last T20I     Bangladesh v Pakistan at Dhaka, Nov 29, 2011 scorecard
T20I statistics  
First-class debut     1998/99
Last First-class     Habib Bank Limited v Water and Power Development Authority at Islamabad, Dec 21-23, 2013 scorecard
List A debut     1997/98
Last List A     Habib Bank Limited v Water and Power Development Authority at Islamabad, Dec 26, 2013 scorecard
Twenty20 debut     Karachi Dolphins v Lahore Lions at Lahore, Apr 25, 2005 scorecard
Last Twenty20     Habib Bank Limited v Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited at Lahore, Dec 1, 2013 scorecard
Recent matches
Bat & Bowl     Team     Opposition     Ground     Match Date     Scorecard
42     Habib Bank     v WAPDA     Islamabad     26 Dec 2013     LA
0, 6     Habib Bank     v WAPDA     Islamabad     21 Dec 2013     FC
16     Habib Bank     v Port Qasim A     Sialkot     13 Dec 2013     FC
2     Habib Bank     v Sui Gas     Lahore     1 Dec 2013     T20
9     Habib Bank     v Port Qasim A     Lahore     29 Nov 2013     T20
5     Habib Bank     v ZTBL     Lahore     28 Nov 2013     T20
32     Habib Bank     v WAPDA     Lahore     27 Nov 2013     T20
87     Habib Bank     v United Bank     Islamabad     22 Nov 2013     LA
18, 0/9, 32     Habib Bank     v United Bank     Islamabad     17 Nov 2013     FC
0     Habib Bank     v Khan RL     Rawalpindi     13 Nov 2013     LA
Profile

A gifted young left-handed opener who threatened at one stage to solve Pakistan's perennial opening conundrum, Imran Farhat had a brief spell in the Pakistan side after success with the national under-19 and A sides. Farhat also evokes Saeed Anwar but only fleetingly; he bludgeons rather than times his runs. He was rather too cavalier in his early appearances in the Test arena, and was promptly discarded after the tour to New Zealand in 2000-01. However, he tightened his game and achieved much more success in the 2003-04 season. Tempering his impressive array of shots with better defensive technique, Farhat scored a deluge of runs in the home series against South Africa and New Zealand, being involved in a record four successive hundred partnerships with Yasir Hameed in the one-day internationals against New Zealand. He also notched up his first century in both Tests and ODIs during this season, and then went on to score a vital 101 in Pakistan's victory against India in the Lahore Test. But since the India series, he has fallen away. A mediocre series at home to Sri Lanka and away to Australia saw him falter, especially with the emergence of the other left-handed opener, Salman Butt. When Pakistan included only one specialist opener in the squad for the series against England in 2005 - Butt - seemingly it confirmed that Farhat, temporarily, was out of national reckoning. But as an opener in Pakistan, you are never out of national reckoning and sure enough Farhat was back for the final Test against India, where he scored a fifty. That performance saw him on the plane to Sri Lanka and an average series. But with openers becoming as rare as dinosuars in Pakistan, he was retained for the summer tour to England, where he again produced some mixed results. Despite failures in the first two Tests, a broken finger and a spate of dropped catches, he came back to score a cavalier 91 in the final, fateful Oval Test. Runs against West Indies at home were followed by a barren patch in South Africa. A first away hundred followed by a patient half-century in the Napier Test of 2009 has set him up for a long sojourn in the Test side. His ODI career has however hit roadblocks since he was dropped after an indifferent run of scores in 2006

Imran Farhat

Imran Farhat

Imran Farhat

Imran Farhat

Imran Farhat

Imran Farhat

Imran Farhat

Imran Farhat

Imran Farhat

Imran Farhat

Imran Farhat

Waqar Younus

Waqar Younus Biography

Source Link (google.com.pk)

Waqar Younis, Cricketers is famous for Cricket, Pakistani celebrity. Born on 16 November, 1971

Waqar Younis Maitla is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket and widely regarded as one of the best fast bowlers of all time.

He was best known in cricket for his ability to reverse swing a cricket ball at high speed when bowling at the cricket pitch. He took 373 Test wickets and 416 One Day International wickets during his career. He is considered to be the best exponent of the swing bowling delivery. Younis has the best strike rate for any bowler with over 200 Test wickets. He worked as a bowling coach with the national side from 2006 to 2007.

Younis was appointed as the coach of the Pakistan cricket team on 3 March 2010. His managerial contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board will take part in all forms of cricket, right up to December 2011, which will include all professional competitions, such as the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Early and personal life
Younis was born in Vehari, Punjab in Pakistan in a Jatt family. He was educated in Sadiq Public School in Bahawalpur in Pakistan, the Pakistani College (Pakistan Islamia Higher Secondary School) in Sharjah and the Government College University in Vehari. He was raised in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, where his father was a contract worker. He returned to Pakistan during his adolescent years and there, he started playing cricket.

He is married to Dr. Faryal Waqar Younis with a son Azaan Waqar and a daughter Maira Waqar and now lives in Castle Hill in Australia. Younis has also worked as a television sports commentator for the Nine Network in Australia and for Ten Sports in the United Arab Emirates.

Cricket and coaching career
Younis began his cricket career in Pakistan, playing for several First-class cricket clubs. However he suffered an injury when he had cut and removed his little finger on his left hand, after he had jumped into a canal. He recovered from this accident and went on to continue his sporting career. He was eventually discovered by former Pakistan captain, Imran Khan and was selected to be part of the national side. The turning point of his career happened in England, during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when he played for Surrey County Cricket Club. There he displayed excellent cricketing performances and attracted attention from the sporting public.

He made his International cricket debut for Pakistan against India on 15 November 1989, in the same match that Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar also made his debut. Younis took 4 wickets in the drawn match including the wickets of Tendulkar and Kapil Dev. He made an immediate impression with his speed and became known in the cricket media as "Wiki" or the "Burewala Express". Younis along with Wasim Akram opened the bowling attack regularly for Pakistan, becoming a feared and potent attack. His most recognized delivery was an inswinging yorker. At his peak, he developed into a very quick fast bowler and also became famous for achieving a hat-trick in a One Day International match against New Zealand in 1994. He won the English County Championship with Glamorgan in 1997. During the early periods of 2000, he stayed out of the Pakistan team for a brief period allegedly due to suspension and conflicts with bowling partner and captain Wasim Akram. His return to cricket came with him being appointed the captain of Pakistan, a position he held until his team failed to make an impact in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He retired from cricket in 2003 after the Pakistan Cricket Board persistently ignored him for national selection.

In March 2006, he was appointed as the bowling coach for Pakistan. He resigned from this position on 6 January 2007 in protest against the Pakistan Cricket Board decision to retain him only for the Test series against South Africa and not for the subsequent series of five One Day International matches. He was re-appointed as Pakistan's bowling and fielding coach for their tour of Australia in December 2009. In February 2010, Younis was appointed the head coach of Pakistan after Intikhab Alam was sacked as coach, due to the low-level of performances of the national side during the tour of Australia earlier that year.

Waqar's first job as coach was to lead an inexperienced Pakistan side missing Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik to the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 as a consolation though Waqar had two top-notch bowlers in Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif at his disposal. He guided the defending champions to the semi-final of the tournament before the were knocked out by Australia courtesy of a superb 60* by Mike Hussey who whacked three sixes in the final over to seal the victory.

The World Twenty20 was followed with the 2010 Asia Cup in which Pakistan lost to Sri Lanka by a narrow-margin as Pakistan's top order collapsed and it was Shahid Afridi who scored 112 to nearly guide Pakistan to victory. In the following match Pakistan lost narrowly against India courtesy of a six by Harbhajan Singh an the third ball of the final over. The following match was a dead rubber between Pakistan and Bangladesh and another Afridi century meant Pakistan scored 385 runs and they comfortably won the match by 139 runs

After this a tour of England followed with two Twenty20's against Australia and two Test matches. Pakistan won both Twenty20's comfortably and the first test saw Pakistan defeated by 154 runs. Pakistan rallied in the second test and for the first time in 15 years Pakistan defeated Australia in a Test match. Ironically the previous victory in 1995 was also courtesy of a superb bowling spell by Waqar Younis

This tour was followed by a controversial tour against England as Pakistan headed in to the final Test match needing to win it to level the series 2-2 the News of the World broke a story that Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and captain Salman Butt were involved in Spot-fixing. This saw the three players temporarily suspended and Pakistan lost by an innings and 225 runs their biggest defeat in history. Low team-morale meant the next two T20 matches were won comfortably by England. Following an ODI series which Pakistan lost 3-2.

This was followed by a tour of Abu Dhabi playing against South Africa Pakistan lost the first Twenty20 match by six-wickets following a batting-collapse which meant that no partnerships were formed. Pakistan also lost the ODI series of five matches by 3-2. Pakistan won the second one day due to Abdul Razzaq's superb performance scoring 109* off 72 ball. The test series of two matches with South Africa was drawn. He also stated that now it was the time for Pakistan to rally and prepare for the World Cup

Skills in cricket
Younis is one of several Pakistani fast bowlers, beginning with Sarfraz Nawaz, who have been successful at bowling reverse swing. In partnership with Akram, Younis opened the Pakistan bowling attack in the 1990s. Cricket critics and scholars attribute Younis and Akram to be one of the most effective fast bowling partnerships in cricket, due to their ability to swing the ball at high speed. The ability to reverse swing and his speed led to him becoming one of the most talented bowlers in modern cricket.

Younis explained his ability to reverse swing by the manipulation of an old ball; with one side shiny, one side rough, the ball would move in the opposite direction to conventional swing. This led to Younis having the ability to bowl inswingers and outswingers in the cricket pitch and in effect both Younis and Akram became successful in taking wickets by this variation of swing bowling. His fastest delivery in cricket was 153 km/h or 95.1 mph, a delivery he bowled against South Africa in 1993. He was also effective in the use of bouncers or short pitch deliveries; Younis' bowling against South Africa in Sheikhupura in Pakistan, is remembered for his effective use of the short pitched delivery.

Following Pakistan's victory during the Test match series versus England in 1992, the English media were suspicious of the reverse swing delivery. It was relatively unknown to the cricketing world during that period and this led to accusations of foul play by critics, however cricket officials found no evidence of foul play and the skill of the reverse swing delivery has been accepted in cricket.

Sri Lanka fast bowler, Lasith Malinga, who became the first bowler in World Cup history to take two hat-tricks, has said that he learnt to bowl his deadly yorkers by watching Pakistan's legendary pair of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. No doubt over the years several bowlers have learned and mastered the skill of reverse swing but there are still some techniques which haven't have been explored e.g. banana swing. Title of Banana swing bowler was given to Waqar Younis because of his unique technique of swinging the ball in the air at very high speed before hitting the ground. In most of his hat tricks he has delivered banana swing balls which were unplayable.

Despite his qualities as a fast bowler, he was expensive at times and sometimes lacked the consistency of bowlers such as West Indian fast bowler Curtly Ambrose and Australian fast bowler Glenn McGrath. This may be partly due to the mentality of his former captain, Imran Khan, who prioritised aggression and speed.

Award and records
See also: List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Waqar Younis
Younis was awarded Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1992 for his sporting achievements. He is also the only bowler to have taken a 5 wickets in an innings in 3 consecutive One Day International matches. He has taken a 5 wicket hauls on 13 occasions in One Day International matches. In terms of deliveries bowled, he has taken the fastest 50, 300, 350 and 400 wickets in One Day International matches and the fastest 150, 200, 250, 300 and 350 wickets in Test matches.

Although primarily a fast bowler, Younis scored 1010 Test match runs during his career. As of September 2005, he was the only non-batsman to achieve a thousand runs without scoring a fifty.

Younis holds the record for the best strike rate for any bowler with over 200 Test wickets.

Cricket controversies
In July 2000 Younis became the first cricketer to be banned for ball tampering and was fined 50% of his match fee.

There has been some controversy about his date of birth and age. According to ESPN cricinfo sports, Younis was born in 1969 and others including Yahoo! Cricket and CricketArchive claims he was born in 1971.

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