2010, not a year to remember for Pakistan cricket
One team that has been in the news throughout 2010 is the Pakistan cricket team. There has been a serious dip in form for the Men in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Green-c60723 and a lot of controversies have surrounded the players.
Pakistan ended 2009 on a high. The team won the Twenty20 World Cup in England and featured in the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy. After that the team was alleged to have fixed games, and Younis Khan stepped down from the captaincy.
In 2010, the team toured Australia and was unable to win a single match in the country. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 lost all the matches in the series including three Tests, two Twenty20s and five one-day internationals (ODI). The fans were devastated and the Pakistan Cricket
Board (PCB) decided to take drastic action against players. Two of the most senior players in the team - Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan - were handed life bans, while some other players were fined. Both Younis and Yousuf were allegedly involved in in-fighting
and the board thought that these players were the reason behind the team’s poor form.
Even though the players were banned and fined, the team was still unable to perform in the international arena. Pakistan was not even winning Twenty20 matches; a format which they favour the most. Increased pressure on the board saw the bans removed from
the players, but the team left for England without the senior players. The start to the tour was good as the team defeated http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in two Twenty20s, and won a Test match to level the two match series 1-1.
Just when things looked to be heading in the right direction, spot-fixing charges jolted the team. As a result Captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif were suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Not only did Pakistan
lose the series, but three important players were also left out due to the suspension following corruption charges.
There were yet again many changes made to the team, and former captain Younis Khan returned to the team for the South African series played in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/United-Arab-Emirates-c3033 (UAE). The team lost the Twenty20 and one-day series but was able to draw the two Test
series 0-0.
Another controversy then came in the way of the team, when wicketkeeper batsman Zulqarnain Haider left the team abruptly and claimed to have received life threats. The series continued and Zulqarnain flew to England.
Pakistan is currently ranked number one in the ICC Twenty20 rankings, but the team had a very bad year in Twenty20 cricket. Most of the series were lost even in the shortest format of the game. At the start of 2010, Pakistan lost the series to Australia.
After that they lost Twenty20 series against England, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 and New Zealand. The only Twenty20 series victory for Pakistan came in England, when the team defeated the Australian side 2-0.
Pakistan is currently in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 and the team has already played and lost the Twenty20 series 2-1. They will now play a two-match Test series before playing six match ODI series. After the New Zealand tour, the team will play the World Cup which is scheduled
to start in February. The PCB is yet to announce its preliminary squad for the World Cup. The deadline for the announcement of the squad is 5 January.
Pakistan can consider 2010 as the worst year in their cricketing history. Not only has the team been unable to perform well, but there are many players who are unavailable for selection due to match-fixing allegations. The fans will be hoping that the team
stays away from any controversies in 2011 and gets back to winning ways. It will be difficult for the team to bounce back and perform well in the world Cup, but the Pakistan team can surprise any team on a given day.
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