Monday 10 February 2014

Umer Gul

Umer Gul  biography .

Umar Gul (Urdu: عمرگل, Pashto: عمرګل‎) (born 14 April 1984) is a Pakistani right arm fast medium bowler in cricket who has played Test matches, One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals for the Pakistani cricket team.[1][2] He has gained fame as one of the most successful bowlers in Twenty20 cricket finishing as the leading wicket taker and bowler in both the 2007 and 2009 Twenty20 World Championship tournaments.[3][4] Umar Gul is the second most highest wicket taker(74) in Twenty20 International cricket,only behind Saeed Ajmal.[5][6] He won the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year 2013.[7]Personal life

Gul was born in Peshawar of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan he was born in a middle-class family and frequently played tape-ball cricket. People on the street encouraged Gul to become an international cricketer as they saw his excellent bowling. On October 2010 Gul's family announced that he was to wed a Dubai Doctor. The doctor is from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and was born there as well.[8][9][10] Gul's first daughter, Rehab Umar, was born in May 2012.[11] In the same month, Pakistan Army Commandos mistakenly raided Umar Gul's house in Peshawar and arrested his brother Meeraj Gul on the charge of hiding a wanted militant. However, the commandos later on apologized to Meeraj.[12]
Career

Early career
Gul was first called up for the team in April 2003, playing four one-day matches at the Cherry Blossom Sharjah Cup against Zimbabwe, Kenya and Sri Lanka,[13] where he took four wickets, and he was in and out of the one-day team after that tournament. However, he played the whole of the 2003–04 home series against Bangladesh, making his Test debut and taking 15 wickets in the three Tests, and took the second-most wickets of any Pakistani bowler in the series, behind Shabbir Ahmed with 17. However, Shoaib Akhtar, who took 13 in third place, only played two of the Tests.
Gul was retained for the ODIs against Bangladesh, taking a List A best five for 17 in nine overs in the third match, and ended with 11 wickets in the 5–0 series win. However, he could still not command a regular spot, playing three of Pakistan's nine next ODIs before finally getting dropped after one for 36 against New Zealand.
Test matches
He was recalled and played two Tests after that taking four wickets in a drawn Test against New Zealand before coming in as replacement for Shabbir Ahmed in the second Test of the three-Test series against India. After coming on as first-change bowler, Gul dismissed Virender Sehwag in his second over, and then bowled unchanged for 12 overs either side of lunch to take five Indian top order wickets – including Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, who both had Test batting averages above 50, as did Sehwag. Gul finished with five for 31 in his spell, earning him commendation from Cricinfo journalist Dileep Premachandran, who praised his "control of line and length",[14] and he was also named Man of the Match despite conceding runs at five an over in the second innings in a nine-wicket win.
After a length injury lay-off, which kept him out of international cricket for nearly two years, Gul returned to the Pakistan fold in 2006. Firstly with quiet away series against Sri Lanka then followed by a tour to England in 2006. Gul was quickly made the lead bowler in the side due to the injuries to other front line bowlers. Gul to 18 wickets in four tests, justifying the selectors faith in him.
Later in 2006, against West Indies at home, Gul had perhaps his most successful test series. He took 16 wickets in 3 tests, including notable spells of reverse swing bowling. He was responsible for breaking Ramnaresh Sarwan's toe with a dipping yorker.
Test appearances however remained few and far between due to injuries and lack of test cricket for Pakistan.
In February 2009, Gul recorded his best test figures in the Pakistan team, taking 6 for 135 on a flat pitch.


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Umer Gul

Friday 7 February 2014

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq biography ,


Abdul Razzaq (Urdu: عبد الرزاق, born 2 December 1979) is a Pakistani right arm fast-medium bowler and a right-handed batsman and a member of Pakistan cricket team. He emerged in international cricket in 1996 with his One Day Internationaldebut against Zimbabwe at his home ground in Gaddafi Stadium, Pakistan, just one month before his seventeenth birthday. He has played 265 ODIs and 46 Tests for Pakistan.

Early career[edit]
Razzaq made his One Day International debut in November 1996, againstZimbabwe, but had to wait just over three years to make his Test cricket debut for Pakistan, eventually doing so against Australia in Brisbane on November 1999. In the 1999–2000 Carlton and United Series, he rose to fame and was named man of the series for his all round performance. During a match in Hobart against India, Razzaq scored a half century and took five wickets. In the same tournament, he hit former Australian fast bowler, Glenn McGrath for 5 fours, which totaled to 20 runs in one over.
1999 Cricket World Cup[edit]
Razzaq became a regular member of his national side during the 1999 world cupheld in England. During the event, he got the attention of selectors as he performed well both with the ball and bat. His brilliant performance with the bat came in the group match against Australia, where he went on to score his first half century making 60 runs in a long and stable partnership with Inzamam-ul-Haq, which helped Pakistan reach a defendable target of 275.[1] Pakistan went on to win the match by ten runs and as a result qualified for the Super Six stage.[1] With the ball, he made a brilliant performance against the tough West Indian cricket team by taking three wickets for 32 runs having three maiden overs, which proved decisive for Pakistan atBristol.[2]
2000 Carlton & United Series[edit]
Razzaq's other impressive performances came during the Carlton & United Series atAustralia in a tri-nation tournament involving Pakistan, Australia and India in 2000. Razzaq achieved the man of the series award for his best all round performances, especially in a pre-finals match against India, where he scored 70 not out with the bat and took 5 wickets for 43 runs, thus becoming the fifth all-rounder to have scored a half century and take five wickets in a match; the other four players being Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil Dev, Ian Botham and Sourav Ganguly; Shahid Afridi subsequently achieved the feat.
In the first match of the series against Australia, he took 4 wickets and played an important role for Pakistan helping them to successfully defend a very low target of just 187 runs at Brisbane. In the third match of the series, Razzaq came into prominence after hitting five consecutive boundaries in the fifth over of Australian pacer Glenn McGrath. Eventually Pakistan was defeated in the finals by Australia but Razzaq was named player of the series for his all-round performance.[3]
Subsequent Years[edit]

In 2000, Razzaq became the youngest cricketer in the world to take a Test cricket hat trick in a match against Sri Lanka. He has scored three centuries and twenty two fifties in One Day International matches. His highest score was 112 runs, against South Africa in 2002, where he shared a partnership of 257 runs with Pakistani batsman Saleem Elahi. His second century was scoring 107 runs not out in a match against Zimbabwe in 2004. During this match, he saved Pakistan from a disastrous start and eventually won them the match. His first fifty came in 90 deliveries, before accelerating in the second fifty runs, which was scored in just 21 balls. Also in 2003–2004, he scored 89 runs from 40 balls against New Zealand, whose captain Stephen Fleming called him the "best hitter" in the world.[4]In January 2005, He was involved in the ACC Asian XI that took on the ICC World XI in the World Cricket Tsunami Appeal charity match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia.
As a fast bowler, Razzaq experienced a steady decline in speed and performance during the 2003 cricket World Cup and 2004. During this period, he remained as a supporting bowler. However, from 2005 to the end of 2006, he regained his speed and he won many matches for Pakistan with his bowling. His best bowling figures in a One Day International match is 6 wickets for 35 runs. His another notable performance was against Sri Lanka at Sharjah in 1999, where Pakistan was all out for 196 runs and he took 5 wickets for 31 runs to draw the match. During the 2005–2006 Test match series against India, Razzaq took 9 wickets and scored 205 runs in two Test matches he played, which resulted in an improvement of his performance. His batting remained generally consistent from 2000 to 2006, although his place on the Test team was never secure.


Abdul Razzaq 


Abdul Razzaq 


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Abdul Razzaq 



Umer Akmal

Umer Akmal biography.

Umar Akmal (Urdu: ‎; born 26 May 1990) is a Pakistani cricketer. He made his ODI debut on 1 August 2009 against Sri Lanka and made his Test debut against New Zealand on 23 November 2009. He is a right-handed batsman and a part-time spinner. Like his two brothers, Adnan and Kamran, Umar has kept wicket for the national team.
He was announced as a Franchise Player for the inaugural Caribbean Premier League alongside Pakistani teammates Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik [1]
Personal life

Umar is the youngest brother of Adnan Akmal and Kamran Akmal who are also cricketers, both wicket-keepers.
Early career

Umar represented Pakistan in the 2008 U/19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia. After his success at the U-19 level he earned himself a first class contract and played the 2007-08 season of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, representing the Sui Southern Gasteam. He is considered a future asset for Pakistan cricket. He is an aggressive style cricketer. In only his sixth first class match he smashed 248 off just 225 deliveries, including four sixes.[2] He followed that up with an unbeaten 186 in his 8th first class match, off just 170 balls. He fared less well in his second season of first class cricket, with a string of low scores batting at number 3. He found form in the final few matches of the 2008/09 season and then in the RBS T20 tournament thus getting the selectors nod to play for Pakistan A side on their tour to Australia A.
Australia A tour
Umar came to prominence during the Australia A tour in June/July 2009. In the two Test matches he recorded scores of 54, 100*, 130, 0. In the ODI series that followed Umar continued his fine form with a century in the opening ODI encounter off just 68 deliveries. These performances made him gather considerable praise from the media who were there to witness him and calls began to grow about his inclusion in the ODI series for the main Pakistan side against Sri Lanka.[3]
Test career



Umar Akmal at the University Oval, Dunedin, in 2009.
Umar made his Test debut against New Zealandat Dunedin on 23 November 2009. On the third day of his debut test, Umar Akmal hit 129 runs from 160 balls becoming only the second Pakistani to score a hundred on debut away from home after Fawad Alam. This feat also made him the first Pakistani batsman to score both his maiden Test and ODI century away from home, following his ODI century against Sri Lanka. The innings was noted as special due to Pakistan's tough position in the match and the hundred partnership which Akmal was involved in alongside his elder brother Kamran. He followed up the century in the first innings with a fifty in the second innings.
In only his second Test match he was moved up the order to the crucial spot of number 3, where he struggled initially but managed to counter-attack the hostile bowling with his natural flair, making 46 before he was undone by an inswinger by Daryl Tuffey. In the second innings he was moved down the order to his usual batting spot of number 5 as captain Mohammed Yousuf chose to bat at number 3 himself, and Akmal looked his usual aggressive self throughout his innings of 52 which came off only 33 balls. He had his first failure in the first innings of the third test at Napier where he was caught in the gully for a duck but scored a rearguard 77 in the second, promoting him to the leading run scorer of the series. Akmal finished the tour with 400 runs at an average of 57.14.

Umar Akmal's early success was briefly tarnished by a controversy during Pakistan's 2009–10 tour of Australia. It was widely reported that Umar had feigned an injury to protest the dropping of older brother Kamran for the final Test match against Australia. Umar denied such rumors and played in the final match without his brother. He was later fined 2-3 million rupees by the PCB for breaching his contract and speaking to the media without approval.[4]




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Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad biography.


Personal life[edit]


Ahmed Shehzad was born on 23 November 1991 in a Pashtun family in Lahore,Punjab, Pakistan. He is a fluent speaker of Pashto.[1]

Career[edit]


In limited-overs domestic cricket Ahmed Shehzad plays for GRW CRICKET and in June 2011 during the Faysal Bank T20 Super Eights Shehzad top scored with 220 runs off 147 balls posting a mammoth total of 218[citation needed] against the opposition GRW CRICKET who in turn were bowled out for 173. Shehzad took two catches and a wicket as well; he was rewarded Man-of-the-Match for his superb performance.[2]

Against Australia, in his debut match, he scored one boundary before he was ran-out. The following match he scored 40 in an innings that included 4 fours. The third match he scored 43 but this time just scored 2 fours and in the final match of the series he scored 19 with 1 boundary to his name before he was given out leg-before.

These consistent performances meant that Shehzad made his Twenty20 debut against Australia scoring a single boundary before being caught in the deep. Despite a failure in the Twenty20 Shehzad was selected for the Pakistan squad in the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 and he only played one game which was the opening game against England, being caught by Paul Collingwood. Thereafter, Pakistan changed their opening combination removing Shehzad and his partner Salman Butt and replacing them with Shahzaib Hasan and Kamran Akmal.

After spending most of the sidelines on the fringes of national selection Shehzad played in the three-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand scoring 14 runs of just 7 balls in an innings that included 2 fours and 1 six. Shehzad showcased his ability to time the ball and to score runs at a quick pace therefore in the following match he started to feel comfortable on New Zealand wickets scoring a watchful 15 of 14 balls in an innings that included 1 four, this time he showcased his ability to remain calm in a situation while the middle order was collapsing around him. After batting at number 3 for these two matches Shehzad replaced Shahid Afridi as opener and scored his maiden Twenty20 half-century scoring 54 of just 34 balls in an innings that included 10 fours.[3] After performing well in the three Twenty20's the Pakistan selectors selected Shehzad for the six-match ODI series against New Zealand with a potential place as a World Cup opener also available.[4]After scoring 115 an ODI against New Zealand during the series, Shehzad was given a place in the Pakistan world cup squad.

In his 15 T20Is Shehzad struck six sixes en route to the highest score by a Pakistani batsman 98* in the Twenty20 format, but missed an opportunity to reach three figures when he could only manage a single from the final ball of the innings.

The Barisal Burners bought Shehzad for $50,000 to pay in the 2012 Bangladesh Premier League.[5] With 486 runs from 12 matches, Shehzad was the tournament's leading run-scorer.[6]

Test career[edit]


Ahmed Shehzad was shortlisted for the Pakistan A match against South Africa in the UAE in October 2013. He scored a fifty in the game and was selected for one of the 3 remaining slots in the Test squad alongside Shan Masood and Asad Shafiq. He was, however, not selected in the playing XI in either of the 2 Tests against South Africa. Shehzad again selected for the three Tests against Sri Lanka, also in the UAE, starting on 31 December 2013, and stretching to January 2014. This was based on good showing in the limited overs leg of the tour. He debuted in the first Test, and was presented his first Test cap by Younis Khan. He scored 38 in the first innings and 55 in the second.[7] The match was drawn.

In his 3rd test match Shehzad scored a maiden century [8][9] aganinst Sri Lanka. He scored 147 run from 275 balls and batted for 339 minutes, hit 12 fours and a six.

Test centuries[edit]


In the column Runs, * indicates being not out

The column title Match refers to the Match Number of the player's career.


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Mohammad Yousuf

Mohammad Yousuf biography


Mohammad Yousuf (Punjabi, Urdu: ‎; formerly Yousuf Youhana, ; born 27 August 1974) is a Pakistani right-handed batsman. Prior to his conversion to Islam in 2005, Yousuf was one of only a few Christians to play for the Pakistan cricket team.
Yousuf was effectively banned from playing international cricket for Pakistan, for an indefinite period by the Pakistan Cricket Board on 10 March 2010, following an inquiry into the team's defeat during the tour of Australia.[1] An official statement was released by the Pakistan Cricket Board, saying that he would not be selected again on the grounds of inciting infighting within the team.[1]
On 29 March 2010, Yousuf announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket,[2] a direct reaction to the indefinite ban handed out to him by PCB. However following Pakistan's disastrous first Test against England in July/August 2010, PCB decided to ask Yousuf to come out of retirement.[3]

Early life[edit]

Yousuf was born in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan to a family who had converted from aHindu low caste Balmiki to Christianity.[4] His father Youhana Maseeh worked at the railway station, the family lived in the nearby Railway Colony. As a boy, he couldn't afford a bat and so swatted his brother's taped tennis ball offerings with wooden planks of various dimensions on surfaces masquerading as roads. As a 12-year-old, he was spotted by the Golden Gymkhana, though even then only circumstances dictated his ambitions and never thought of playing cricket, to make a living. He joined Lahore's Forman Christian College and continued playing until suddenly giving up in early 1994.[5] For a time he tried his luck driving rickshaws in Bahawalpur.[6]
Yousuf, hailing from poor background, was plucked from the obscurity of a tailor's shop in the slums of the eastern city of Lahore to play a local match in the 1990s. His well-crafted shots attracted attention and he rose through the ranks to become one of Pakistan's best batsman. He was set to work at a tailor's when he was pulled back by a local club was short of players. They called him to make up numbers and made a hundred which led to a season in the Bradford Cricket League, with Bowling Old Lane, and a path back into the game.[5]
Conversion to Islam[edit]

Until his conversion to Islam in 2005, Yousuf was the fourth Christian (and fifth non-Muslim overall) to play for the Pakistan cricket team, following in the footsteps ofWallis Mathias, Antao D'Souza and the Anglo-Pakistani Duncan Sharpe.[7] He also has the distinction of being the first and so far only non-Muslim to captain the country, leading the team in the 2004–05 tour of Australia where he scored a century in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He converted to Islam after attending regular preaching sessions of the Tablighi Jamaat, Pakistan's largest non-political religious grouping, whose preachers include Yousuf's former team-mate Saeed Anwar and his brother. His wife Tania converted along with him and adopted the Islamic name Fatima. However, the news was kept private for three years due to family reasons, before his announcement of their conversion publicly in September 2005.[8][9] "I don't want to give Yousuf my name after what he has done", his mother was quoted as saying by the Daily Times newspaper. "We came to know about his decision when he offered Friday prayers at a local mosque. It was a shock", his mother was reported as saying. However, Yousuf told the BBC that "I cannot tell you what a great feeling it is."[10] As part of his conversion, Yousuf officially changed his name from Yousuf Youhana to Mohammad Yousuf.
Former Pakistan cricketer and sports commentator Rameez Raja, who himself is Muslim, acknowledged the significance of Yousuf's new faith: "Religion has played an integral part in his growth not just as a cricketer but as a person."[11]

Mohammad Yousuf 


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Mohammad Yousuf