Pakistan Cricket Board selects veterans to strengthen Pakistan’s One Day team
After a disastrous start to the Test series against England, the inclusion of veteran Pakistani batsman Mohammad Yousuf has given the young Pakistani side vital support and mental comfort. The veteran batsman is a morale booster for the inexperienced visiting test side. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) looking at the performance curve after Yousuf’s inclusion in the test side, has decided to include more senior players for the upcoming 5 one-day internationals (ODI)’s. Veteran fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar’s selection is evidence of the PCB’s renewed faith in senior players.
Yousuf’s advent has backed the young test captaincy of Salman Butt. In these unfamiliar English conditions the PCB has also decided to enforce Pakistan’s bowling power, with 36-year old Akhtar coming back into the ODI squad. However, former captain, Younis http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746.
Younis Khan, along with fellow team-mates, was accused of match fixing. Khan and Yousuf were given life time bans. Yousuf successfully regained his position in all forms of the game, but Khan’s pending decision remains untouched. ODI and T20 captain, Shahid Afridi, along with chief selector, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ijaz-Butt-c64128.
Another noteworthy move is the exclusion of Shoaib Malik from the squad. The selection committee believes, “lack of form, lack of performance”, is the reason for former skipper, Malik, not being in the ODI squad.
“Rawalpindi Express”, the veteran pace man has been given another chance to make a much needed comeback. The 36-year old, known to be the fastest bowler ever in the history of the game, will add strengthen Pakistan’s bowling arsenal which already includes, Mohammad Aamir, Mohammad Asif, Wahab Riaz and the injured Umar Gul. With the kind of credentials Rawalpindi Express holds, an amazing bowling average in ODI’s 21.85, 227 wickets in just 147 matches, young bowlers will have someone to look up to.
Veteran batsman, Yousuf, has almost 10,000 runs to his name at an average of 42.79, including 15 ODI centuries to his name. Right-handed, Yousuf, scored his first century against the mighty Aussies in his 10th match. His class-act also broke Viv Richard’s 30-year old record of 1710 Test runs in a calendar year, when he scored 1788 Test runs during a single calendar year. He also struck the most test centuries in a single year, with nine centuries in 2006. The veteran broke Donald Bradman’s record for six consecutive centuries, with six successive centuries in 4 matches, as Bradman took six matches. He went on to win the ICC test player of the year in 2007. His talent and experience has helped http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755’s Test squad’s performance improve when compared to performances in the first two test matches of the current Test series in England.
Skipper, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 in ODI matches. The inclusion of senior players in the departments of batting and bowling will assist the current youngster to lift their game and morale. The current ODI squad includes the following players:
Shahid Afridi (capt), Salman Butt, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahzaib-Hasan-c2488, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Yousuf, Azhar Ali, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal, Fawad Alam, Abdul Razzaq, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Amir, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Akhtar, Wahab Riaz.
Reserves: Sarfraz Ahmed, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Irfan, Abdur Rehman.
Based on the current ODI squad’s performance, PCB selectors will decide whether the inclusion of senior players improve the limited over game. Yousuf’s inclusion immediately improved the performance the Test team. PCB hopes their theory pays off before the advent of World Cup 2011. Otherwise this talented Pakistani team will fail to pose a real threat in cricket’s largest tournament.
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