Just a few months before the start of ICC World Cup 2011, Pakistan were struggling hard to find their feet due to the spot-fixing scandal.
Young Mohammad Amir, who had emerged as the most exciting fast bowling prospect on the horizon along with Mohammad Asif, who seemed to have put his past travails behind were a real threat to any outfit of the world. And Salman Butt, who was handed over the reins of team's stewardship for tests, had established himself as an established batsman, occupying the crucial opening slot. But the three faced lengthy bans by International Cricket Council on match-fixing charges. Butt faced a 10-year ban, while Asif and Amir were banned for 7 and 5 years, respectively. The penalty deprived Pakistan of three of their key players, ahead of the mega-event to come.While the other sides were asked to announce their lists of 30 probable players for the quadrennial spectacle, latest by January 19, the ICC allowed Pakistan Cricket Board to delay its announcement, until after the hearing in respect of the spot-fixing allegations against the tainted trio. However, the board's hopes to include them in the final squad were dashed when the final hearing of their case got postponed to February 5. The selectors were left with no option but to go ahead and announce their final squad of 15. But the exclusion of country's s most senior and technically accomplished batsman Mohammad Yusuf from the squad caught many observers by surprise. After that the exclusion of fast bowler Sohail Tanvir from the final squad was also astonishing. The squad comprised a rag tag bunch of young guns, alongside some seniors - Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq. Among these Misbah was the only player, who had shown some consistency with the bat. As far as the fast bowling was concerned, the attack was to be spearheaded by Shoaib Akhtar, with his suspect fitness, at age 35. There were a few young new ball operators like Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan, alongside Umar Gul and Abdul Razzaq, who could use old ball very well.While two sub-continental teams, India and Sri Lanka were considered as being among the favourites to win the world cup, Pakistan were treated as unlikely to win despite well-known for being unpredictable and capable of beating any team on their day.But after their well-earned victory over Sri Lanka on February 26 and then by beating Canada convincingly on March 3, Pakistan look set to reserve a place for themselves in the quarter-finals. Pakistan will now take on New Zealand on Tuesday and beating them would mean they are likely to finish higher than Sri Lanka in Group A in the pecking order. If they managed to finish first in their group, they would contend the four ranked team in Group B and if they stand second, they would have to face the third ranked team in that group. Afridi and boys would definitely be fancying their chances of reaching the last four. And that should be a scary thought for their rivals, no matter whoever they will be.
Source: APP
Young Mohammad Amir, who had emerged as the most exciting fast bowling prospect on the horizon along with Mohammad Asif, who seemed to have put his past travails behind were a real threat to any outfit of the world. And Salman Butt, who was handed over the reins of team's stewardship for tests, had established himself as an established batsman, occupying the crucial opening slot. But the three faced lengthy bans by International Cricket Council on match-fixing charges. Butt faced a 10-year ban, while Asif and Amir were banned for 7 and 5 years, respectively. The penalty deprived Pakistan of three of their key players, ahead of the mega-event to come.While the other sides were asked to announce their lists of 30 probable players for the quadrennial spectacle, latest by January 19, the ICC allowed Pakistan Cricket Board to delay its announcement, until after the hearing in respect of the spot-fixing allegations against the tainted trio. However, the board's hopes to include them in the final squad were dashed when the final hearing of their case got postponed to February 5. The selectors were left with no option but to go ahead and announce their final squad of 15. But the exclusion of country's s most senior and technically accomplished batsman Mohammad Yusuf from the squad caught many observers by surprise. After that the exclusion of fast bowler Sohail Tanvir from the final squad was also astonishing. The squad comprised a rag tag bunch of young guns, alongside some seniors - Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Kamran Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq. Among these Misbah was the only player, who had shown some consistency with the bat. As far as the fast bowling was concerned, the attack was to be spearheaded by Shoaib Akhtar, with his suspect fitness, at age 35. There were a few young new ball operators like Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan, alongside Umar Gul and Abdul Razzaq, who could use old ball very well.While two sub-continental teams, India and Sri Lanka were considered as being among the favourites to win the world cup, Pakistan were treated as unlikely to win despite well-known for being unpredictable and capable of beating any team on their day.But after their well-earned victory over Sri Lanka on February 26 and then by beating Canada convincingly on March 3, Pakistan look set to reserve a place for themselves in the quarter-finals. Pakistan will now take on New Zealand on Tuesday and beating them would mean they are likely to finish higher than Sri Lanka in Group A in the pecking order. If they managed to finish first in their group, they would contend the four ranked team in Group B and if they stand second, they would have to face the third ranked team in that group. Afridi and boys would definitely be fancying their chances of reaching the last four. And that should be a scary thought for their rivals, no matter whoever they will be.
Source: APP
