Pakistan Squad for Twenty20 World Cup 2007

The PCB has announced the Pakistan squad for the Twenty20 World Cup 2007. The announcement came three days earlier than expected and may signify a unanimous decision.

As I had mentioned in an earlier post, Muhammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq have been left out. The third surprising dropping is of Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan.

Shoaib Malik (Captain)
Salman Butt
Imran Nazir
Younis Khan
Shahid Afridi
Misbah-ul-Haq
Fawad Alam
Kamran Akmal
Mohammed Hafiz
Mohammed Asif
Shoaib Akhtar
Umar Gul
Rao Iftikhar
Yasir Arafat
Abdul Rehman

Muhammad Yousuf & Abdul Razzaq Set to Get the Boot

Through all the complaints of exhaustive training schedule, playing two games a day, having gone through three training camps this summer, the Pakistani squad for the upcoming Twenty20 World Cup is about to be announced.

The two big guns of the team, Muhammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq, can all bet forget about packing their backs for the trip. It is almost certain, barring any last minute injury, that these two will be selected for the tournament.

Both Yousuf and Razzaq have not been on song through out the training camp and it seems that fresher legs are being given more importance than experienced hands. This leaves Younis Khan as the mainstay of the middle order. More flexible batting options are required in the shortest version of the game. Fielding is also an issue where both Razzaq and Yousuf have not excelled and dropped catches and missed run out opportunities are going to cost double in Twenty20.

I think giving chances to younger players like Fawad Alam is going to give the Pakistan side a much better bench strength when it comes time to select a team for the 50 over game.

Breaking News: PCB Conducts Doping Test

The PCB is currently conducting doping tests of all the probables in the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup preparatory camp in Karachi. The test is being conducted by "a doctor and a local representative of World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)".

The results will be available in a week's time and help in announcing the final selection for the cup in South Africa. Younis Khan, Danish Kaneria and Yasir Arafat, who are playing county in England, are the only ones not being tested in Karachi. They will be tested at their current locations.

I am glad that the tests are being held under WADA's rules this time around and the PCB should continue with its zero tolerance policy. I also hope that PCB's vigilence is not bound to testing alone but also to provide the players with better education on the topic and qualified nutritional advice too.

Pakistan Gearing Up for Twenty20 Selection

Some very interesting news is coming from Karachi these days where the Pakistani squads selected for preparation of Twenty20 World Cup are playing each other. Pakistan Tigers and Panthers have been playing each other for five straight days in daily Twenty20 games.

One notable surpirse is the emergence of Salman Butt as an agressive opener striking fours and sixes to out do likes of Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik. Salman Butt has been thought of as a traditional opener but with these performances he has definitely raised the bar for the rest of the openers in the squad.

Another maverick, Shoaib Akhtar had been protected from the heat and humidity of Karachi. His first appearance yesterday left much to be desired. He left the field after bowling 3 overs which raised a lot of speculation regarding his fitness. Talat Ali, the Pakistan manager, explained that he was dehydrated due to the heat. Although he came back to bowl 3 overs for the other side, but was belted for 41 runs.

Overall the squad seems to be going through some tough and heavily fought games and I am sure this will raise the captaincy aptitude of Shoaib Malik and his deputy Salman Butt.