Pakistan suffers a double blow : Gul and Arafat out of World Twenty20

[vvvslaxman]

Yet the stats indicate otherwise' date=' there is a remarkable consistency in T20 cricket for Pakistan, it's not all about luck. I would definately say that it doesn't require or possess the same level of skill that ODIs do let alone Test cricket. However people write it off as lesser cricket all to easily. You tell me if Dhoni doesn't badly want to win the T20 WC or if Smith will go into the WC with anythign other than wanting to see his SA win.[/quote'] You lost to England, You lost to India thrice, You lost to Srilanka, You lost to England recently, You lost to Australia. You beat scotland, ireland, bangladesh in other matches. Ya remarkable consistency. I bet a bunch of Indian discards will beat the crap out of your team. Didn't you guys lose to your own A team which is full of garbage players?

[zubinpepsi]

dint Afretard say missing IPL is a blessing in disguise?? :giggle:

[vvvslaxman]

dint Afretard say missing IPL is a blessing in disguise?? :giggle:

Not sure about disguise.. But it is certainly a blessing for IPL :winky: Fans would be tired of watching his local sixes.

[Ramzz]

Pakistan, along with Australia are favorites for this WC. For us, all depends on how the bowlers bowl during the first 6 and then the death overs. I hope Chawla does not play...along with Kumar bro's.

[vvvslaxman]

Hope they prepare a pitch for Pakistan like they did against Ireland. :cantstop: The techniqueless cowlashers will be exposed against swing and seam.

[Serani]

pitches will be flat flat flat.

[Maha_Apa]

Hope they prepare a pitch for Pakistan like they did against Ireland. :cantstop: The techniqueless cowlashers will be exposed against swing and seam.

Seaming track against Pakistan will back fire this time because now we have Asif & Umar Akmal. :winky:

[vvvslaxman]

Seaming track against Pakistan will back fire this time because now we have Asif & Umar Akmal. :winky:

Ya right.. you guys were bowled out for 114 against Ireland journey man :hysterical:

[Feed]

Arafat to miss World T20, confirms Afridi LAHORE – Pakistan T20 captain Shahid Afridi Wednesday confirmed that all-rounder Yasser Arafat will not be part of the team for the ICC World Twenty20 to be played in the Caribbean, due to a calf injury. More... Arafat to miss World T20, confirms Afridi Published: April 15, 2010 LAHORE – Pakistan T20 captain Shahid Afridi Wednesday confirmed that all-rounder Yasser Arafat will not be part of the team for the ICC World Twenty20 to be played in the Caribbean, due to a calf injury. However, the fitness test of the team’s main strike bowler Umer Gul will be held once again on Saturday and the PCB constituted a panel of doctors which will examine the bowler. “Yasser Arafat is out because of the calf injury,” Afridi said. “He told us that he was not fit, after which we had to take a decision.” A replacement is yet to be named but Afridi hinted that Shahzaib Hasan, a batsman, may be drafted into the team. The 20-year old represented Pakistan at last year’s World Twenty20 and showed signs of promise at the top of the order. “Shahzaib is very much in the picture for us,” said Afridi. “He is a good pinch-hitter and could be useful for us in the West Indies,” he added. Pakistan also have a concern regarding the fitness of key bowler Umar Gul. Fortunately for Afridi, Gul has resumed bowling in the nets and has reported no discomfort in his injured shoulder. “We don’t have that much time which is why there is going to be a fitness test for him on the 18th,” said the Pakistan captain. “Gul himself is very keen and confident which is why I’m hoping that he would get fully fit.” Pakistan’s World Twenty20 campaign kicks off on May 1 against Bangladesh. Mushtaq Muhammad puts faith in Afridi Pakistan great Mushtaq Muhammad believes controversial all-rounder Shahid Afridi is the right man to “lead from the front” as they prepare to defend their World Twenty20 title. Afridi has long been one of the world’s leading one-day players and his aggressive batting and leg-spin bowling were instrumental in Pakistan winning the World Twenty20 in England last year. “Pakistan are a team in the making at the moment and Shahid Afridi is quite a force in the shorter form of cricket,” Mushtaq told reporters at Lord’s here on Monday. “He won us the (Twenty20) World Cup here last summer. He is a very positive cricketer and we need somebody to lead Pakistan from the front.” Afridi has been appointed to captain the side at this year’s World Twenty in the West Indies, which starts later this month, after a chaotic period even by the standards of Pakistani cricket. Pakistan will head to the Caribbean without former captains and star batsmen Younus Khan and Muhammad Yousuf, who were among a group of leading players, including Rana Naved and Shoaib Malik, banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after their team’s December-February tour of Australia ended without a single international win for the visitors. And the 30-year-old Afridi was fined three million rupees (35,000 dollars) by the PCB for ball-tampering in a one-day match against Australia in Perth in February, although he appealed Tuesday saying it was unfair to punish him twice after he was hit with a two-game ban by the International Cricket Council. “Pakistan have lost a lot of their key players,” Mushtaq, one of Pakistan’s greatest batsmen, said. “But I hope they will come round and get the senior players to strengthen the team.” Mushtaq, a former Pakistan captain and coach, was at Lord’s for the launch of the sponsorship by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the ground’s owners, of the Pakistan-Australia Test and Twenty20 series in England in July. The neutral series are being staged in England because Pakistan has become a no-go area for the world’s leading nations following last year’s armed attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore. Mushtaq, 66, said he hoped international cricket would return to Pakistan but held out little hope of a resumption anytime soon. “Not in the near future, the political and security situation has to improve for us to convince foreign teams to come and play cricket in Pakistan,” he said. “It will take a little while. “Pakistan having to play a home series away from home is never a very healthy sign for Pakistan cricket,” Mushtaq, also a former leg-spinner, added. “Cricket lovers in Pakistan at the moment are deprived of watching their team. It’s very sad.” But Mushtaq, four of whose five brothers played for Pakistan as well, said MCC’s backing for the neutral series - the first in England for nearly a century - was a welcome boost. “At a time like this, when Pakistani cricket is going through turbulence, you need your friends to help you out and MCC have done just that.” Pakistan’s players will have two matches in which to get their names on the honours boards at Lord’s this year when, after their July Test against Australia, they return to the ‘home of cricket’ for the fourth and final Test against England in August. Mushtaq may have scored 10 centuries in 57 Tests during a 20-year career that stretched from 1959 to 1979, and got to know Lord’s well while playing for English county side Northamptonshire, but his name is absent from those displayed in the Lord’s dressing rooms. “It is a great thing to get your name on the honours board here,” Mushtaq said. “I’m not that lucky. I played a lot of cricket on this ground but that is one thing I never achieved.” We are doing our best but don’t call us favourites: Bari Pakistan Cricket Board Chief Operating Officer Wasim Bari said on Tuesday that no team was favourite in the Twenty20 format of the game. Talking to a group of journalists here Tuesday, Wasim Bari said that not team can be termed as favourite in the T20 version of the game. “The national cricketers are doing their best in the camp training and high hopes are attached with the team during the World T20 which starts later in the month in the West Indies,” he added. He further said that the injury report of Umar Gul and Yasser Arafat has been received and the final decision will be taken after the doctors report after the MRI tests. However, the decision will be taken before April 18. He said that all the players have been provided with all the facilities required for training and now it all depends on the players how they excel in the championship.

[Feed]

Confusion over fitness of Pak bowlers Confusion reigns over the fitness and availability of Pakistani pacer Umar Gul and all-rounder Yasir Arafat for the ICC World T20. More... Confusion over fitness of Pak bowlers Confusion reigns over the fitness and availability of Pakistani pacer Umar Gul and all-rounder Yasir Arafat for the ICC World T20. Pakistan's Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi told 'The News' that Arafat was out of the national team after failing to recover from a calf injury that has kept him out of action since last week. "Yasir Arafat is out because of his calf injury. He himself told us that he is not fit after which we had to take a decision," said the skipper. But Pakistan manager Yawar Saeed told a media conference here that both Umar and Arafat would undergo final fitness tests on April 19 and 20 before it was known whether they would be fit in time for the World Cup. "The medical panel of the Pakistan Cricket Board has seen their reports and suggested they have final fitness tests. They are still chances the two might be fit for the World Cup," Yawar said. His statement created confusion as to what was going on behind the scenes with the captain and manager giving contrasting statements on the same issue. However, both Afridi and Yawar were in agreement on the status of Umar who is suffering from a shoulder injury. They both said Umar had resumed bowling and had shown signs of recovery and would make the World Cup squad that leaves for the West Indies on April 24. Chief selector Mohsin Khan ruled out any possibility of controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar being considered as a replacement if either Umar or Arafat failed their fitness test. "Shoaib is not in contention at all, as he is not in the final squad of 30 neither in the final reserve list of five players," Mohsin said, contradicting the remarks of his fellow selector Saleem Jaffer who said that Shoaib could still be considered for the World Cup as a replacement.

[hari504504]

They're overdoing it with all those batsmen in the line-up..They need a like-for-like replacemen for Arafat in the form of Sami

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Pakistan suffers a double blow : Gul and Arafat out of World Twenty20 Defending champions Pakistan suffered a major blow less than a fortnight from the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean when Umar Gul and Yasir Arafat were both officially ruled out of the tournament. More... Gul and Arafat out of World Twenty20 Osman Samiuddin April 18, 2010 Defending champions Pakistan suffered a major blow less than a fortnight from the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean when Umar Gul and Yasir Arafat were both officially ruled out of the tournament, having failed to recover sufficiently from injuries picked up in the ongoing training camp. But the announcement of replacements was a typically muddled process, with a lack of communication between the team management and the chairman PCB, Ijaz Butt, resulting in the former naming two replacements and the latter hurriedly issuing a press release clarifying that "the decision for the replacement of two players in Pakistan Team for ICC T-20 World Cup has yet to be approved by the Chairman PCB. The Final decision will be released after approval. All statement made earlier in this regard are not correct." The 'statement' the release referred to was made by Shahid Afridi, Waqar Younis and then chief selector Mohsin Khan, all of whom told reporters that fast bowlers Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Irfan would be the replacements. "In mutual agreement with captain and coach, we have decided that we will not take a chance with half-fit players," Mohsin said in Lahore. "We have approved the names of Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Irfan as replacements." The chief selector later confirmed to Cricinfo specifically that approval had been given. But Cricinfo understands that the board chairman hadn't been informed of the names at that point; senior officials in the board were bewildered that the trio had announced the names without any consultation with the chairman. "There has been some miscommunication over this but the names have not been approved," Butt told Cricinfo. "They will be announced later today." The confusion initially overshadowed the magnitude of Pakistan's loss. A calf injury had ruled Arafat out some time ago and it was only his departure from the tournament last year and Abdul Razzaq's arrival that settled Pakistan's line-up. But Gul will be a significant blow, especially as he was thought to be recovering from a shoulder injury he picked up during a fielding drill. Medical assessments held over the weekend weren't bright. Gul had been their leading wicket-taker in both the 2007 and 2009 editions of the World Twenty20. His death bowling was a key component of the 2009 success in particular, a record spell of 5-6 against New Zealand, sparking a turnaround in the team's fortunes. He is currently the world's leading wicket-taker in the format. Sami's name was widely being touted as a possible replacement in any case, so impressive has his comeback into the national eye been since he led Karachi to a Quaid-e-Azam trophy title last year and was called up to Australia. Afridi has always been a fan and at the ICC trophy unveiling earlier this week, informally spoke very highly of Sami's commitment and energy in the field. If both replacements are approved by the chairman, Irfan's will be one of the stories of the tournament and not only because he will be the tallest bowler there: his official height, with typical confusion, is recorded as anywhere between 6'8" and 7'2". The left-arm paceman's rise to national selection is nothing short of remarkable. He made his first-class debut this season, for Khan Research Laboratories, only after huge interest was created around him on the popular Pakistani fans' website, **********.net. One of their writers was told of Irfan by a former first-class fast bowler Nadeem Iqbal, who was running an academy in Multan; Irfan hails from Gaggu Mandi, a nearby town which also produced former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Zahid. The writer, while subsequently interviewing Aaqib Javed - then with the National Cricket Academy in Lahore - mentioned Irfan's name to him and Aaqib immediately asked for Irfan to come to the academy. He was spotted by KRL captain Mohammad Wasim, the former Pakistan opener, and an impressive debut season brought him to the attention of the selectors. Though he wasn't in the reserves of the 15-man squad announced by the PCB, his performances in the RBS Twenty20 Cup and the potential surprise value his height brings have thought to have persuaded the management to prompt for him.

[mastana]

:fear:

[Pakistan-India]

one highest wicket taker in all forms of t20 cricket and other highest wicket taker on international stage. but both wont be misssed, malcolm sami is back with a surprise

[Gunner_Mania]

How many times is the word confusion used in OP?

[vvvslaxman]

Gul has been crapping in his pants in recent times. England batsmen just murdered him in his death overs. He is a two trick pony.

[Sir john]

good news.

[EnterTheVoid]

good news.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH You are just too funny

[S.Bond]

Ya right.. you guys were bowled out for 114 against Ireland journey man :hysterical:

nice day to remember?

[CSK Fan]

Gul has been crapping in his pants in recent times. England batsmen just murdered him in his death overs. He is a two trick pony.

Better to be a two trick pony with expertise in both the tricks rather than be a 100 trick pony like Ishant or Pathan and failing in each trick