ICC World T20 - A chance to dig gold for Pakistan - Opinion
Pakistan as a cricket outfit is one of the most dangerous, unpredictable and exciting teams in the world circuit today. Their state of being dangerous and unpredictable tends to go up a notch when they embrace the shortest format of the game. Sadly their
talent had to bear the brunt of not being able to play in the annual Indian Premier League as compared to other players from different teams. Pakistani players have had to settle with playing in domestic competitions such as the Faysal Bank T20, to prepare
for the international arena. Things could remarkably change for them this time around, in light of the fact that the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 World T20 in Sri Lanka is around the corner and the Sri Lankan Premier League is about to start.
The Sri Lankan Premier League will host its first edition that will take place from the 11th of August to the 31st, and will be expected to provide over 20 days of swashbuckling action. The icing on the cake is that the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 Cricket
Board has named 56 foreign players for various franchises, of whom 13 are Pakistanis alone. Players such as Shahid Afridi, Misbah Ul Haq and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Hafeez-c76898 would be able to show case their talent on Sri Lankan pitches in a truly international setting. For
Pakistan, this tournament coincides with their objective of retaining their World T20 title that they had lost to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 in 2010. It would also help them acclimatize to Sri Lankan conditions and practice hard for the big event. The fact that they had come
back from a difficult tour of Sri Lanka before being signed up in various franchises for the SLPL, would also give them an advantage over teams from other parts of the world.
With a wealth of T20 talent at their disposal, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mumbai-c820 Attacks, Visa issuance problems and threats from right wing groups,
had stymied Pakistan’s progression into a tournament which has hit the box office on a number of occasions. The IPL has also had a grave impact on grooming international cricketers for the challenges of the modern day format of T20 cricket.
Pakistani’s cricketers had performed exceptionally well in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Nasir-Jamshed-c78752 managed to annihilate attacks on placid pitches and bowlers such as Shahid Afridi, bowled with plenty
of guile and zip. The script is not expected to change in the Sri Lanka Premier League, where conditions are tailor made for quality stroke play and plenty of spin.
Pakistan has historically relied on its spin department to win them T20 games. The SLPL would give them a chance to unravel their talent and rehearse for the World T20. The Kandurata franchise for example, has signed up http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Saeed-Ajmal-c87859, who is one of the most
devastating spinners of his time. For him to gain invaluable match practice ahead of confronting the big guns in the ICC World T20 would be divinely ordained. The same can be said about http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 as well, who has been out of match practice since the Sri
Lanka series that has recently concluded.
The SLPL would thus be a platform for one of the tournament’s favorites to warm up for the big occasion. It can be safely said that if good performances materialize on the field, Pakistan is bound to perform exceptionally well in the World T20 which starts
on the 18th of September.
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