I think that no other ODI (barring Australia vs Afghanistan of course) in the history of the game has ever been scheduled to start as late as 6pm local time in any part of the world. This has got to be some sort of history making moment.

HISTORY IS WITH AUSTRALIA
The last time Pakistan beat Australia in an ODI series, Waqar Younis was captain, Wasim Akram used to take the new ball, Inzamam & Shoaib Akhtar were Pakistan's most reliable assets, and there was no chance that a catch would be missed behind the stumps!

It was 10 years ago.

It was 2002.

Shahid Afridi is the only survivor among both teams from that series. The rest of the Pakistan squad have no idea what it feels like to win a series against Australia. On the flip side, none of the Aussies know what it feels like to lose a series to Pakistan.

Will this series be any different?

BELOW PAR RECENT FORM
Both Pakistan and Australia have had a torrid time in ODIs lately, despite winning the Asia Cup and CB series respectively.

Both teams have lost to England 4-0. Pakistan lost their series to Sri Lanka 3-1, while Australia drew their series against the West Indies 2-2.

Australia are not what they used to be, and for the first time in about a decade are not the top ranked ODI side. While Pakistan have tasted more success in tests and T20s than in ODIs, where they have struggled to find the perfectly balanced playing XI.

DIFFERENT STRATEGIES
Dave Whatmore has said that Pakistan will be relying on their spinners, which comes as no surprise. With bowlers like Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, and Mohammad Hafeez any team will happily rely on spin. Even on a green top with perfect conditions for swing bowling.

Pakistan's spin trio will surely trouble the Australians relatively inexperienced batting line up. Warner isn't the best player of spin, while Wade, Bailey, and Maxwell will find it challenging to face up to Ajmal, Afridi, and Hafeez.

Michael Clarke and the Hussey brothers are key for Australia and will need to be at the top of their game.

Interestingly enough, Australia is going to rely heavily on their pace attack of Johnson, Starc, and Pattinson. The trio found good purchase from the pitch in the game against Afghanistan, and Pakistan is known to struggle against top quality swing bowling.

TEAM COMPOSITION
Australia as per normal practice have already announced their playing XI. Pakistan, on the other hand, have some thinking to do.

They have struggled to strike the right balance in ODIs for some time now. The absence of an allrounder like Abdul Razzaq has resulted in Pakistan always playing either a batsman short or a bowler short.

The return of  Kamran Akmal, who can bat better than most keepers, and Shoaib Malik, who is a slightly useful bowler, might fix this problem. But I wish I did not have to see the day when Akmal Sr. and Malik would be considered as solutions to anything in this world.

Nasir Jamshed will most likely fit right back into the opening slot after missing the series against Sri Lanka. While Azhar Ali, who opened successfully in Nasir's absence, will probably fill the number 3 position, which he has done so with great success in test cricket.

Asad Shafiq will be unlucky to miss out as Shoaib Malik is likely to play to give that balance to the team, unless Misbah & Whatmore give Shafiq a chance in place of Umar Akmal. That would be a grave mistake though in my opinion.

Junaid Khan and Sohail Tanvir look like the 2 pacers that Pakistan will go in to the game with. I hope that Anwar Ali gets at least 1 game during the series.

Pakistan XI (Likely): Nasir, Hafeez, Azhar, Misbah, Umar, Malik, Kamran, Afridi, Tanvir, Ajmal, Junaid.

PREDICTION
I believe this series is Pakistan's best chance to reverse the tide against Australia. Two games in Sharjah, One on a Friday, I say it calls for a 3-0 clean sweep!

Australia is vulnerable. More than they have been in recent years. They seem to be struggling to cope with the heat. The batting looks inexperienced. The bowling looks very raw.

Pakistan can strike hard. And should.

The most popular question that comes up in discussions regarding Pakistan cricket is:

"Yaar what happened to that U19 bowler who swung it miles and got 5 wickets against India in the final? Why don't the selectors select him?"

I wonder what the next most popular question will be considering that the 6-year long wait of Anwar Ali fans is over.

The U19 wonder kid, who is now 24, will finally get a chance to show the world what he is (or not) capable of doing in Pakistan colors.

Here's hoping to Anwar Ali getting at least 1 ODI in the upcoming series against Australia.

It was a Pakistan vs Australia series in 2009 that was the launch pad for the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The ground was showcased to the world with that series 3 years ago, and its life will come a full circle when it hosts Pakistan and Australia again in a 3 match T20 series starting 5th September.


But before that, Pakistan and Australia take part in a 3 match ODI series that starts in two days in a stadium that is slowly making its way back to the international arena - Sharjah!

I grew up watching matches at the Sharjah stadium; it is the first cricket ground that I ever witnessed a match in; Pakistan has won a number of famous ODIs at the ground. So naturally it holds a special place in my heart.

Sharjah returned to the international scene after almost 8 years near the end of 2011 when it hosted an ODI between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

England refused to play there, but the Australians don't have a problem and will be playing 2 of the 3 ODIs in Sharjah. Just not the one on Friday.

Cricket fans of the 80s and 90s would know that Sharjah, Friday, and Pakistan share a special bond that not many teams are fond of.



Just speaking of Sharjah brings back so many awesome memories for the Pakistan cricket fan.

It all started with the six that Javed Miandad hit off the final delivery of the match against India to win the game for Pakistan. Chetan Sharma might have done a lot in his career and his life, but he will always be remembered for bowling that full toss that Miandad dispatched over mid wicket.

Wasim Akram managed all bowled hatricks against the West Indies and against Australia.

Aqib Javed took an all LBW hatrick against India.

Waqar Younis uprooted Ian Bishop's middle stump off the final delivery of the match when West Indies needed 1 to tie and 2 to win the match.

Abdul Razzaq picked up 5 wickets as the last 8 Sri Lankan wickets fell for less than 20 runs resulting in Pakistan tieing a match that they should have lost.

Basit Ali smashed 5 sixes against the West Indies including a couple of Curtley Ambrose in a batting display that I had never witnessed against the Windies bowling attack of the early 90s.

Saeed Anwar scored 3 consecutive centuries, which at the time was a record held by only 1 other person (Zaheer Abbas) besides Anwar. Since then Gibbs and AB have both knocked 3 consecutive tons in ODIs.

Inzamam Ul Haq and Aamir Sohail were involved in a mammoth 200+ run partnership against New Zealand. Pakistan scored 330 odd and each of the batsmen got scores in the 130s.

I believe that majority of Pakistan's nerve wrecking ODI victories have come in Sharjah. It is almost as if there some magic force at the ground that always ensures that Pakistan comes back from no where to win a game that they looked like losing all along!

Nothing proves that more than the 4th ODI against Sri Lanka in the series played last year. International cricket returned to Sharjah after 8 years and once again Pakistan came out of no where to win the match.

This time it was Shahid Afridi doing the magic as Sri Lanka lost their last 7 wickets for 19 runs and got bowled out for 174. They were chasing 201 and were 155-3 in the 38th over before Afridi scalped the first of his 5 wickets!

International cricket resumes in Sharjah again on Tuesday as Pakistan take on Australia in the 1st match of the ODI series. The teams will also play the 3rd and final ODI of the series there on 3rd September.

Time for some Sharjah Magic!

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It has not even been a year since Zaka Ashraf took over the reigns of the PCB from Ijaz Butt, and yet he has achieved more than his predecessor did in 3 years.

The way Zaka Ashraf's term has been so far, he is among the most successful PCB Chairmans yet. Not many former Chairmen of the PCB can claim to have accomplished what Zaka Ashraf has managed to in his short time at the top job.

The best part about the role Zaka Ashraf has played thus far is that he has remained in the background. There has not been the Nasim Ashraf type jumping around at cricket grounds, nor has there been the Ijaz Butt type nonsensical statements or claims in front of the media.

He has quietly gone about his job off the field and let the selectors, team management, and players do theirs without any interference.

Here's a list of accomplishments for Pakistan on and off the field during the 9 months that Zaka Ashraf has been PCB Chairman:

1. 3-0 clean sweep of the world's number 1 test team, England.

2. Won the Asia Cup after 12 years.

3. Reached number 4 in the test rankings.

4. Negotiated a tour to India, which is planned for December. If it goes ahead it will be the first bilateral series between the two teams in 5 years.

5. Planned the Pakistan Premier League, which is expected to launch before the end of this year.

6. Increased player salaries.

7. Pakistan became the first country to get a sponsorship for DRS during the series against Sri Lanka in the UAE.

Besides all this, the one thing that really got me startled and made me wonder how good the regime under Zaka Ashraf is, was the early announcement of the Pakistan squad for the World T20. Early being an understatement.

The World T20 does not get underway till mid September. The ICC deadline for submitting the 15-man squads is 18th August, while the deadline for submitting the list of 30 probables was 18th July.

The PCB, working in fast forward mode, released the list of 30 probables a week before the 18th July deadline, and then announced the 15-man squad a whole month before the deadline.

This has never happened before in the history of Pakistan cricket. Not in my lifetime at least.

The PCB has always announced the squads on the deadline, and at times even requested extensions to the deadlines.

So this announcement of the squad for the World T20 really came as a pleasant surprise.

For some people it was such a shock that there was a discussion over whether the PCB had misunderstood the deadlines and thought the 15-man squad was to be submitted by 18th July! Such has been the incompetence of the PCB in the past.

But this announcement is really a master stroke.

It is a no brainer that the squads for the T20 series against Australia and the World T20 had to be the same considering the series against Australia is sandwiched between the 18th August deadline and the World T20.

So that is not the reason for announcing the squad so early. Announcing it on 18th August, like in the past, would have accomplished the same objective of having the same squads. Moreover, the ODI series against Australia precedes the T20s and the squad for that has not been announced.

I believe that what this really does is leave no room for any speculation whatsoever. Stories of Afridi wanting the captaincy are always doing the rounds. The Pakistan media always cook up some captaincy controversy whether it is between Misbah and Hafeez or Afridi and Misbah.

With the captaincy sealed and the squad announced the media can't really speculate about anything and the team can be left to focus on the task of winning the World T20.

It can only be good.

I would like to believe that was the reason. I would like to believe that the PCB wanted to give the 15 men part of the World T20 squad a good 2 months to get mentally and physically prepared for the event without any uncertainty. I would like to believe that the PCB wanted to ensure that all focus is on the 15 men who have been entrusted with the task to bring T20 glory back to Pakistan.

If all these were in fact the reasons behind the early announcement then kudos to Zaka Ashraf and his team for taking a turn for the good. The PCB has suddenly started to look like a professional organization.

A professional board set up, a stable set of players, a team on the rise in the test rankings, no captaincy squabbles - beware world, a Pakistan team with no off-field issues can be the most dangerous opponent on this planet.

When the ICC made the annual adjustments to its test team rankings to reflect recent form a couple of days ago, the Pakistani fans were in for a pleasant surprise. Pakistan was ranked at number 4, which is the highest ranking it has achieved in 5 years.

Pakistan has been the most successful test team over the past 18 months - they have won more matches than any other team, they have not lost any of their last 7 test series, and they command the best win:loss ratio among all test teams during this period.


I believe that Azhar Ali has played an extremely important role in this success story.


Misbah's leadership, Saeed Ajmal, Waqar Younis, Mohsin Khan, and several other factors have been mentioned as factors behind Pakistan's recent success. True that it has been a team effort, but given Azhar's performance during this period, it is time for the world to take notice of a batsman who has the potential to become one of the best over the next decade.


STOOD OUT IN A TOUGH DEBUT
Two years ago in a test match against Australia at Lord's, a 25 year old batsman from Lahore made his debut for Pakistan.


A debut against Australia (even though they were not the top test team in 2010) is never easy. It gets even more difficult when it is in foreign conditions. It makes it tougher when the debutant is asked to take responsibility at the crucial number 3 position. And to top it all, it was a debut at the home of cricket - Lord's.


I don't think we can even begin to imagine what would have gone through the mind of Azhar Ali when he walked out to face his first delivery in a test match. Pressure, nerves, jitters were all bound to be there.


What we all witnessed was a composed batsman, who in only his second test innings was involved in a century partnership for the second wicket. Azhar's debut test yielded 16 and 42, with the latter being a part of a 102 run stand with Salman Butt.


Back then, not many would have thought that Pakistan had unearthed a batsman who will be Pakistan's best for the next two years.


ALWAYS THERE & THE BEST UNDER MISBAH
Pakistan has played 23 tests (including the current second test against Sri Lanka) since that Lord's test against Australia and Azhar Ali has featured in all 23 of those tests. He is the only player who has played all 23 tests for Pakistan in this period, and naturally he is also the leading run scorer in those 23 tests.




Consistency in selection has been the key driver of Pakistan's success in test matches under Misbah. The selectors and team management have stuck to a combination for a prolonged period and it has worked wonders. 


Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar recently became the first opening pair for Pakistan to play in 15 consecutive test matches. What makes this even better is that in the 16 test matches that Misbah has captained Pakistan, the team has had the same top order - Hafeez, Taufeeq, and Azhar - who are also the only three players who have featured in all the 16 tests with Misbah in charge.


No prizes for guessing the batsman who has been the leading run scorer for Pakistan in the 16 tests captained by Misbah.




Remember that Azhar Ali made his debut in a test captained by Shahid Afridi and played another 5 under Salman Butt before he played one under Misbah. It is never easy for a new player to settle into a team with so much inconsistency, however, Azhar Ali has managed to not only survive but prosper at a time when Pakistan cricket was coming out of its worst phase ever.


INVOLVEMENT IN BIG PARTNERSHIPS
Azhar Ali was not an instant hit with the fans and there has been a lot of criticism surrounding him. He bats too slow, he is too boring to watch, he doesn't convert his starts were (and are) some of the common phrases used when a discussion involving Azhar Ali takes place.


His strike rate in tests is 39.5, which has got to be one of the lowest, if not the lowest, for any test batsman with over 1,500 runs. He had 10 half centuries to his credit, including two scores in the 90s and two in the 70s, before he scored his first test century. Considering this, the critics have not been unfair. He is too slow.


However, at the end of the day, it worked (and works) for Pakistan. Azhar's resistance at the crease, time spent at the wicket, patience, and perseverance translated into partnerships for Pakistan and always ensured that one end remained safe.


You could call it Misbah's "tuk tuk" approach, but fact of the matter is that it is Azhar Ali who has truly mastered this approach, which has resulted in him being involved in as many as 9 century partnerships and 19 fifty partnerships in his 42 test innings. And we all know how crucial partnerships are for building good totals.




With respect to not being able to convert starts, it is something that Azhar has been able to overcome with time. Where he scored 10 half centuries in his first 14 tests, he has scored 3 centuries and 3 fifties in his next 9 tests, which also include two 150 plus knocks.


SCORES AGAINST EVERYONE
Azhar has not only scored in Asian conditions, but in all conditions that he has played in including England and New Zealand. He has not only scored against Asian teams but against all the opposition that he has come up against including Australia and England. Azhar averages above 33 and has at least one fifty plus score against all teams that he has come up against.




EVEN A GOOD ODI BATSMAN
Considering the dogged approach that Azhar plays with, there were obvious doubts about his capability as an ODI player. But even in this space, Azhar has proved all his doubters wrong. He has had a remarkable start to his ODI career and averages almost 44 in the 9 ODIs that he has played. He has notched up scores of 58, 96, and 81* as an opener in ODIs and looks set to flourish in the limited overs format as well.


POTENTIAL TO BECOME ONE OF THE BEST
There is no doubt in my mind that Azhar Ali is the best batsman to come out of Pakistan in the last decade. Younis Khan made his test debut in 2000 and no batsman since then has made the kind of impact Azhar has made for Pakistan. There is also no doubt in my mind that Azhar is here to stay and will go on to become the main stay of Pakistan's batting line up over the next decade.


He has displayed the potential to become one of the Pakistan greats and be known along side the likes of Javed Miandad, Inzamam Ul Haq, Mohammad Yousuf, and Younis Khan.


Yes it is early days just yet and there is a long road ahead, but the kind of composure that Azhar has demonstrated over the past two years is a good indication of what he can achieve in the years to come.


He has made the number 3 position in tests his very own, he has played during the biggest scandal to hit Pakistan cricket and come out of it, and he has quickly learnt how to make it count when he gets a good start.


Azhar Ali is the rock that keeps Pakistan's batting together and he has the ability to shine in this role for a long time to come.

I have thought and thought and have failed to understand what Salman Butt hoped to achieve through his interview on Express News on Thursday and his press conference on Friday.

Everyone knows that Sri Lanka's test bowling attack has struggled since the retirement of Muralitharan. Sri Lanka is still in search for a bowling attack that can consistently pick up 20 wickets and win them test matches.


Kanishka Balachandran over at Cricinfo talks about the promise that has been shown by Nuwan Kulasekara as Sri Lanka's pace spearhead for test matches. 


Kulasekara has been a sure starter in ODIs for a long time now, however his test appearances have not been as regular. He did well in the 1st test against Pakistan, but I have my doubts about whether he truly can be the bowler to fill the gaps in a bowling unit that has struggled in recent times.


Doing well against Pakistan is not anything new for Kulasekara.


His record suggests that he was probably born to do well against Pakistan.

It is as if his sole purpose in life is to torment Pakistan batsmen.

In 5 test matches against Pakistan, Kulasekara has 25 wickets at an average of 16.4 !

That is 25 of his 31 test wickets.

How can a bowler who has only 6 wickets in 8 tests matches have 25 wickets in 5 matches against one opposition?

Beats me really.

Even his record against Pakistan in ODIs (22 wickets at 27.00) is decidedly superior to his overall ODI record (bowling average of 34).

Kulasekara has the third best bowling average in the history of test cricket against Pakistan! He may be good, but we really make him look like the best.



So when it comes to Pakistan, sure Nuwan Kulasekara is the answer to all of Sri Lanka's bowling woes. But for all other teams, Sri Lanka will definitely have to to dig deeper and find those match winners to replace the threat that used to be posed by Muttiah Muralitharan.

Younis Khan is the first Pakistan batsman to score over 1,000 runs in 4th innings of tests. He also has the the best average among all test batsmen that have scored over 1,000 4th innings test runs, and the second best 4th innings average ever (only Bradman's is higher). #TheRealKingKhan

The last time I wrote about Younis Khan was 4 months ago when he had just knocked up a century against England in Dubai. It was a fantastic innings, and right after that I wrote a post titled "Why Younis Khan is King".

In that post, I highlighted how well (rather better) Younis Khan compares with the batsmen who are popularly referred to as the 'modern greats' of the test arena. What I didn't touch upon in that post was the area where Younis Khan really does reign supreme - The 4th Innings of a Test Match!

Thanks to Mahela Jayawardena's mind boggling decision to not enforce the follow on, Younis Khan got another opportunity to show the world what he is capable of in the 4th innings of a test.

Even though he didn't save the test match for Pakistan (which was never really on the cards given the amount of runs and overs we were up against), Younis Khan did play a splendid knock and in the process became the first ever Pakistan batsman (and 21st overall) to cross 1,000 4th innings test runs.

Achievement?

Definitely.

But there is a bigger achievement.

Younis Khan has the best average among all the test batsmen that have scored over a 1,000 4th innings runs.


Unfortunately Younis fell 13 runs short of his 21st test century today against Sri Lanka, but had he got there he would have become the first ever batsman to score 5 centuries in the 4th innings of a test.

Yes the first ever! Younis currently has 4 4th innings tons and stands level with Sunil Gavaskar, Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, and Ramnaresh Sarwan.

He truly is the King of the 4th Innings!

Well, not really. I'd simply say he's the King. Be it the 1st innings or the 4th innings, Younis Khan is the real KING KHAN!

If only Pakistan played more test matches...

The past year, 2011, was one of the best cricketing years in the history of Pakistan in terms of team results. Even though there were no outstanding individual performances, as Pakistan is used to, nor were there earth shattering results, but Pakistan won more games than they lost in all formats of the game, and even ended the year with the best win:loss ratio in ODIs among all teams.

It is a norm with Pakistan fans to call for a head or two of a player after a couple of failures. We have no patience at all with our cricketers. Or for that matter anyone from politicians to entertainers to sports players.

My recent twitter feed has been overflowing with people calling for Younis Khan to be axed from the ODI team. General discussions on online cricket forums and facebook are revolving around the same "drop Younis Khan" topic.


Is it really time for him to go?

With a test average of 52.44 and 20 centuries, Younis Khan is one of the best test cricketers of his time. One of the all time Pakistani greats, and arguably the best test number 3 our country has produced.

But when you look at his ODI record, it leaves a lot to be desired. An average of 32.33 and only 6 hundreds is not a record of a good ODI batsman who has batted at number 3 for most, if not all, of his ODI career.

Typically, any ODI team's top 3 batsmen are the ones that are expected to play long innings and make big hundreds. On that front, Younis Khan has failed more often than not.

I believe that the difference of 20 runs between his test and ODI average is probably one of the biggest difference between averages across formats for batsmen.

Besides this below par overall ODI record, Younis has had a lean patch of late as well, which has also led to increased calls for his axing from the shorter version of the game.

He scored his last ODI century almost 4 years ago in an ODI against the West Indies in Abu Dhabi. His last 15 ODI innings have produced only two scores above 50, which includes one against Afghanistan - that 70* is also his highest score in his last 15 ODIs.

Does Younis Khan deserve a place in Pakistan's ODI XI with players like Asad Shafiq (sitting on the bench), Azhar Ali (cementing his position in the ODI squad) and Nasir Jamshed (who will eventually return from injury) having built strong cases for a place in the team?



Probably not.

When Jamshed returns from injury, he will in all likelihood slot back into the opening position with Hafeez. Plus it will be difficult to drop Azhar Ali after his innings of 96 against Sri Lanka and his overall impressive start in ODIs (averaging almost 40 in his first 6 innings with two fifties).

Then, it would be difficult to keep Younis Khan in the team. Definitely more difficult than it is now, as Asad Shafiq, who is the potential replacement if Younis is axed right now, doesn't have a much better ODI record (averages under 30 in 29 ODIs) than Younis himself.

The calls to include Shafiq might be justified given that he is a promising cricketer and has a potentially bright future, but he is not as solid as Azhar Ali is, nor as flamboyant as Umar Akmal. His inclusion in the team will make the batting line up even more weaker than it is now I feel.

Just a few days ago I thought that Younis Khan still had it in him to continue in ODIs, but after giving it some thought and considering his value to the test team, I believe it is time for him to move on. It may even prolong his test career, which will truly benefit Pakistan.

Plus it is also better for Pakistan to transition now with him retiring from ODIs while Misbah carries on for some more time, instead of both the seniors exiting the format at the same time leaving a gaping hole in the middle order.

I hope the team management / selectors are also thinking on the same lines and someone is having this discussion with Younis.

He deserves a fitting finale and farewell, and not an axe similar to what majority of Pakistan's retired cricketers got in their careers.

This ODI series against Sri Lanka should be his last I think.

Do it Younis, do it before they axe you!

With the T20 series shared between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, all eyes are now on the ODI series that begins on 7th June.

I'm not sure how many of you remember the Lombard Challenge from 1996, but those of you who do will remember it as the U-15 cricket world cup that was held in England during the summer of 96. Called the Lombard Challenge U-15 Cup, the competition was contested by 10 teams including all the 9 test playing nations at the time and Canada.

I was in Pakistan for my summer holidays at the time when the tournament was being played and I remember watching all the games Live on Star Sports. It was quite interesting to watch the potential future Pakistan stars competing at a global stage. What made it even more exciting was that the Pakistan team was quite dominant and from what I recall, it won most, if not all, of its matches.

The final of the tournament was played between Pakistan and India, which gave the entire tournament a totally different edge.

I wonder why It has never been held again.

But that is not what I wonder the most about. I really wonder what went wrong during the summer of 96 that none of the players from Pakistan's Lombard Challenge squad that represented Pakistan in international cricket managed to become a permanent feature in the team.

There were 7 players in Pakistan's Lombard Challenge squad that made it to the top level - Faisal Iqbal, Bazid Khan, Shoaib Malik, Hasan Raza, Taufeeq Umar, Yasir Arafat, and Kamran Akmal.

Something must have happened during that summer of 96 that none of these players have lived up to their "potential".

The international careers of Bazid Khan and Hasan Raza seem over. Although with the way the recent selections happened, one can't rule out a comeback for anyone! One can argue that neither of them were given a decent stint with the international team to establish themselves - Bazid played only 1 test and 5 ODIs, while Hasan played 7 tests and 16 ODIs.

Bazid's last ODI innings was a half century against Bangladesh in 2008, so it does seem unfortunate that he wasn't selected again.

Hasan was dropped from the test team in 2002 after scoring fifties in both innings in a test against Australia, only to make a comeback in the series against England in 2005, which wasn't too successful for him. His international appearances are dispersed over a long period and he was never really allowed to settle into the team. Maybe if he was given a proper run he could have translated his domestic success to international cricket as well.

Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal had long stints with the international team with both of them being regulars for almost a decade. At present though, one of them is barely hanging on to a place in one format, while the other is completely out of favor.

Shoaib Malik captained Pakistan in all three formats of the game before he was removed following major dressing room politics. He got involved in spats with senior players, never came across as a confident leader, and was regularly accused of being a puppet of then PCB Chairman, Nasim Ashraf. Malik did make it as a successful limited overs batsman and won many ODIs and T20s for Pakistan, but today he is not even a shadow of what he used to be. He was never considered a test player, and now finds himself out of the ODI side as well. He is still part of the Pakistan T20 squad, yet it might be his last few days unless he produces something magical.

Kamran was the preferred wicket keeper for best part of the last 10 years in all forms of the game, however for the last year or so he has been on the sidelines with the PCB trying out various new players behind the stumps. Being constantly embroiled in spot fixing allegations and bad form behind the stumps seem to have ended Kamran's career a lot earlier than he would have liked.

Taufeeq Umar had a very promising start to his test career and forged a strong opening partnership with Imran Farhat during their early days in international cricket. Even though he was averaging above 40 in tests, a string of low scores led to his ouster from the team in 2005. He made a comeback at the end of 2010 against South Africa and since then has been a permanent feature in the test team.

For how long though?

Afaq Raheem, a prolific domestic opener, has just been selected in the test squad, and there have been increasing calls for Azhar Ali to open in place of Taufeeq to fit in another middle order batsman. So it might not be long before Taufeeq finds himself on the sidelines like the rest of his 1996 compatriots.

Faisal Iqbal and Yasir Arafat have just made comebacks to the test and T20 squads respectively.

Faisal, like the rest of his team mates from 1996, had a very promising start to his international career. Always considered a test specialist, he showed his potential with half centuries in his debut series. His real worth came to light in an innings of 80 odd against Australia against an attack that comprised of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. The way he took the attack to Warne demonstrated what a great batsman he could have become, before poor scores resulted in his axing.

He made a comeback to the team in 2006 in the series against India after a very successful domestic season and proved the selectors right scoring a century in his first game back in the test in Karachi. He remained a permanent feature in the test team till 2010, before being dropped again after some low scores. Now, two years later, he is back in favor and has made yet another comeback after a successful domestic season.

Why Yasir Arafat is back in the team is beyond my understanding. He has constantly failed for Pakistan and has never been able to translate his domestic or county cricket success to international cricket.

There must be something about that summer of 96 that all the players who made it from that Lombard Challenge squad to representing Pakistan at the international level have still not been able to cement their places in the team. Barring Yasir Arafat, all of them made reasonably sound starts to their international careers, faltered and got sacked at certain points of their career, and made several comebacks. While some of them may have played their last international cricket match, some are still on their comeback trail.

With all of them around the age of 30, some of them have unfortunately faced premature ends to their international careers; while those that are part of the team are still not considered established international cricketers.

No PCB press conference is ever held without some heads turning and shouting WTF!

It all started well with Misbah stepping down from the T20 captaincy, and Zaka Ashraf announcing Mohammad Hafeez as the new captain of Pakistan's T20 team.

Well played by the PCB and Misbah in ensuring that it happened the right way with Misbah "stepping down" and not being pushed out.

I won't deny that I was rooting for Afridi to take over the captaincy once again but I guess the selectors wanted to look ahead at the future. With Hafeez taking over the T20 captaincy, he is also being set up for taking over the leadership in all 3 formats of the game once Misbah moves on. Which will definitely happen in the next year or two at most.

It is up to Hafeez now to demonstrate his leadership potential, which all of us have heard of, and make that role of captain in all three formats his very own going forward.

Till now, all was well and good. But then came the announcements of the three squads.

There were stories going around that the PCB, selectors, and coaching staff were contemplating going for three different teams. And go for different they did.

The only common theme in all three squads is that each squad comprises of 16 players, and only 4 players are present in all 3 squads: Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Umar Gul, and MOHAMMAD SAMI !!!

Great that he's made a comeback, but man how does one pacer go from being out of favour for so long to being in favour for all 3 formats. Something that only 3 regular international players have managed.

The selectors made a number of changes with some new faces being introduced, several players earning a comeback, and a few being dropped. Its a bit of a khichdi really, a total hotch potch.

I don't mean to undermine the PCB selectors. I'm sure it was hard work, and I'm sure that long hours were spent discussing the composition of the T20, ODI, and Test squads. But I really don't remember the last time when so many players made a comeback to the team at the same time!

T20 SQUAD
Retained: Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Shoaib Malik, Hammad Azam
Dropped: Misbah Ul Haq, Awais Zia, Wahab Riaz, Asad Shafiq, Abdur Rehman, Aizaz Cheema, Adnan Akmal, Imran Farhat, Junaid Khan
Comebacks: Khalid Latif, Ahmed Shehzad, Yasir Arafat, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Sami, Nasir Jamshed
New Faces: Shakeel Ansar, Raza Hasan, Haris Sohail

This is what is called a major overhaul!

As many as 9 players have been dropped from the T20 squad that took on England. Not only is there a new captain, there are 3 new faces, and as many as 6 players making a comeback to Pakistan's T20 team.

Shoaib Malik's retention upsets me considering how he has continuously failed at the international level. But to be fair, he did seem to come back to form near the end of the T20 series against England, and he performed reasonably well in the Faysal Bank Super Eight T-20 Cup (FB T20) while leading his Sialkot Stallions to the title.

Out of the 9 players who have been dropped, Awais Zia and Asad Shafiq are questionable. He didn't set the stage on fire in his debut series against England, however he did seem to have good potential. It really doesn't make sense to drop someone after just 1 series.

Besides Khalif Latif, who was the leading run scorer in the FB T20, the other comebacks do not really make sense to me.

I am a big supporter of Ahmed Shehzad and I think he is a future Pakistan opener, however unless the Bangladesh Premier League was part of the selection criteria, there is no basis for Shehzad's return. Other batsmen, namely Imran Nazir, Asad Shafiq, and Shahzaib Hasan scored more runs in the FB T20. Moreover, Imran Nazir and Shahzaib had decent outings in the BPL as well.

Yasir Arafat, Sohail Tanvir, and Mohammad Sami have done nothing of note in domestic T20 competitions to warrant a comeback into the team. Sami was outstanding in the BPL, Tanvir was a star in the South African T20 competition, and Arafat has been a consistent performer in the English county scene; but if foreign competitions are criteria for selection then the selectors need to make that clear.

Despite the comebacks being questionable, the three new faces in the T20 team are all well deserved. Haris Sohail and Shakeel Ansar, both from the Sialkot Stallions were among the top 5 run scorers in the FB T20.

Shakeel has been picked as the wicket keeper, and his century, which was the only one in the FB T20, showed that he can bat. Even though his first class and List A record does not leave much to be desired, his T20 record is impressive. But he is 33 years old so the selectors aren't exactly looking at a future prospect here.

Haris Sohail performed consistently for the Stallions in the FB T20, and has been a solid performer at the domestic level for the last 5 years. He has an exemplary first class record averaging close to 47, while his T20 record, with an average over a 100 is phenomenal. At 23, he is definitely one for the future.

Raza Hasan has been on the fringes of national selection for quite some time now, and the 19 year old left arm spinner is also considered as the long term first choice spinner for Pakistan's ODI and test squads. He has displaced Abdur Rehman in the T20 team and with time he will get promoted to the other formats as well if he puts up impressive performances in international cricket. His call to the national team could not have been better timed with him finishing at the top of the wicket taking tally in the FB T20.

The PCB selectors have picked a young T20 team, obviously keeping the World T20 in mind, however it is largely inexperienced as well.

It will be interesting to see the combination they go in with considering the team has as many as 5 openers in Hafeez, Jamshed, Shehzad, Latif, and Shakeel.

My XI: 1. Ahmed Shehzad 2. Shakeel Ansar 3. Mohammad Hafeez 4. Umar Akmal 5. Haris Sohail 6. Hammad Azam 7. Shahid Afridi 8. Umar Gul 9. Mohammad Sami 10. Saeed Ajmal 11. Raza Hasan

ODI SQUAD
Retained: Misbah-ul Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Asad Shafiq, Aizaz Cheema, Azhar Ali
Dropped: Hammad Azam, Wahab Riaz
Comebacks: Imran Farhat, Mohammad Sami 
New Faces: Rahat Ali

By in large, Pakistan's ODI squad is what it was in the Asia Cup and the series against England prior to that, with just a few changes, which really do not make much sense.

Wahab Riaz has hardly been played by Pakistan in recent times, but he's always been considered as good potential, but suddenly he finds himself out of favour. The person replacing him is Mohammad Sami, who once again did not do much in last season's List A cricket in the domestic scene.

Imran Farhat's inclusion and Hammad Azam's exclusion is completely nonsensical! Farhat was dropped for the Asia Cup on the back of repeated poor performances and yet he comes back for the series against Sri Lanka. On what basis!?

And poor Hammad Azam. Every chance that he has got, he has shown his potential. With Pakistan missing genuine allrounders, Hammad is one player who can be groomed to fill in the gap left open by Abdul Razzaq, and which would be left even more widely open in a few years once Afridi hangs up his boots.

Yet the selectors have gone with an ODI squad without him.

Rahat Ali must have impressed Dave Whatmore and the selectors during the fast bowlers camp that was recently held. He also had an impressive first class season picking up 61 wickets at an average of 19 finishing the season as one of the leading wicket takers.

But that was first class cricket, which should get him place in the test team, not List A cricket!

My XI: 1. Mohammad Hafeez 2. Nasir Jamshed 3. Younis Khan 4. Umar Akmal 5. Misbah Ul Haq 6. Shahid Afridi 7. Sarfraz Ahmed 8. Umar Gul 9. Mohammad Sami 10. Saeed Ajmal 11. Aizaz Cheema


TEST SQUAD
Retained: Misbah-ul Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema
Dropped: Umar Akmal, Imran Farhat, Mohammad Talha, Wahab Riaz
Comebacks: Faisal Iqbal, Mohammad Sami 
New Faces: Afaq Raheem, Ayub Dogar

With the way Pakistan's test team has performed over the past 18 months, there really was no need for any changes to the test squad, yet the selectors thought otherwise.

But why drop Umar Akmal, who is the future of Pakistan's batting? Sure he has not been part of the starting XI in tests with Asad Shafiq being preferred over him, but Umar's presence in the squad as the reserve batsman is imperative to his development as a player.

Faisal Iqbal makes a comeback based on his recent impressive domestic performance, which was one of his most successful seasons with 1013 runs at an average of 53.3. Faisal's 5 centuries during the past season were second only to Usman Salahuddin's 7, and the last time Faisal came into the Pakistan team on the back of so many centuries, he scored another one against India in Karachi.

However The likes of Fawad Alam (1062 runs ar 64.5), Haris Sohail (1184 runs at 49.33), and Yasir Hameed (1124 runs at 46.8) would be disappointed at being overlooked in favor of Faisal Iqbal.

But the man who would be most disappointed is Usman Salahuddin. With 1401 first class runs, he was the second highest run scorer in the past domestic season, and his average of 77.8 is a good 15 runs more than the next best average during the season. Moreover, no one scored as many first class hundreds as Usman did during the 2011-12 home season.

Yet he finds himself on the sidelines, while Afaq Raheem and Ayub Dogar make the squad for the first time ever.

Afaq Raheem was the the only one who scored more first class runs than Usman did during the past season, with 1420 runs at an average of 54.6, but he also played 6 more innings than Usman did. There is no doubt that Raheem deserves his places in the squad on the back of his domestic performance, but I believe even Usman does.

Considering that Usman is only 21, he should be considered as one for the future, especially over the likes of Ayub Dogar, who despite being the 3rd highest run scorer behing Raheem and Usman, is 32 and not really one that Pakistan can build their test future around.

This is the only format where I think Mohammad Sami deserves to make a comeback. His 56 first class wickets at an average of 16.6 not only resulted in one of his best ever domestic seasons, but also ensured that he was the best experience fast bowler on the domestic circuit during the past one year.

But he doesn't take international wickets! A bowling average of 50 is hardly one to be proud of, but I really hope that Sami can set his record right going forward. This will surely be his last chance.

My XI: 1. Mohammad Hafeez 2. Taufeeq Umar 3. Azhar Ali 4. Younis Khan 5. Misbah Ul Haq 6. Asad Shafiq 7. Adnan Akmal 8. Umar Gul 9. Mohammad Sami 10. Abdur Rehman 11. Saeed Ajmal

A few days ago, it was reported that Shoaib Malik was hopeful of making a comeback to the Pakistan team for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka; and keeping that in mind he had turned down county offers.

He also claimed that the counties had required that he sign a contract to choose county over country in case he was invited for Pakistan duty.

I doubted that any county contract would have that clause.


Just two days since Malik claimed to have those offers, Hampshire and Essex have come out and said that they never made any offer to Shoaib Malik!

Oh Malik, how you have been caught red handed trying to fool the public, the selectors, and the board.

What a liar.

So its come to this where Shoaib Malik will do anything to get back into the good books of the people that matter? He will resort to lies and dirty tactics to try and win the people's favour, and that of the selectors?

Malik was in miserable form throughout last year. After he was dropped and brought back on Misbah's request for the series in England, he failed terribly.

There is no reason for Malik to be in the Pakistan squad. There is no room for him there either.

No reason because of his utterly shit international form - I really don't think that domestic form counts for anything if you keep failing continuously in international cricket.

And no room because of his continuous lies, manipulation, and politicking.

Every single senior played had a problem with him when he first became captain. Yousuf, Afridi, Razzaq, Shoaib Akhtar, and even Younis Khan who doesn't generally get involved in petty politics had issues with Shoaib Malik's presence as the team leader.

Not because he was a junior cricketer leading them on the field, but because he was a spineless idiot who became Nasim Ashraf's puppet and almost destroyed the careers of Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq.

It is no secret that he has time and again returned to the international fold on the back of political pressure. Why else would an out of form cricketer be selected repeatedly.

Enough is enough now.

With all this tainted history, and the recent lies in an effort to manipulate the selectors and fans minds, Shoaib Malik needs to be kept away from the Pakistan cricket team for good.

Please!