Umar Gull

Umar Gull Biography:
Source link (google.com)

Umar Gul (Urdu: عمرگل‬, Pashto: عمرګل‬‎) (born 14 April 1984) is a Pakistani cricketer, who plays all three formats of the game as a right arm fast medium bowler 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]

Contents  [show]
Personal life
Gul was born on April 14, 1984 in Peshawar, Pakistan in a middle-class family and frequently played tape-ball cricket. He was encouraged by his friends to become an international cricketer as they saw his excellent bowling.

In October 2010, Gul was married to a Dubai based doctor.[8][9][10] Umar Gul's 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]

Domestic career
In February 2008, Gul signed with the Indian Premier League and was drafted by Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders franchise for US $150,000.[13] He played in six matches, taking 12 wickets at an average of 15.33,[14] including a player of the match award in Kolkata's final game in which Gul took 4–23 and scored 24 runs from 11 balls.[15]

In December 2008, Gul signed with the Western Warriors to compete in the Australian domestic 2008-09 KFC Twenty20 Big Bash tournament.[16] He performed very well in his debut match for the Warriors, taking 4 wickets for 15 runs in a losing side. He was among the most successful bowlers in the competition. Despite not being available for the entire tournament, he finished second top wicket-taker with 12 wickets.[17]

In July 2014, he played for the MCC side in the Bicentenary Celebration match at Lord's.[18]

Gul had signed a one-year contract with Gloucestershire to play in 2007, but the Pakistan Cricket Board failed to give them their permission.[19]

International career
Early years
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,[20] 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 cricket
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",[21] 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.

In February 2009, Gul recorded his best test figures in the Pakistan team, taking 6 for 135 on a flat pitch. In July 2010, Pakistan faced England at Trent Bridge and were 147/9 in their first innings. Gul scored 30* before the day was called off due to bad light. He returned the next day with Mohammad Asif and batted with intent to add another 35 runs in five overs. This saw Pakistan avoid the follow-on against England and therefore survive an innings defeat.[22]

Gul then suffered a hamstring injury in the second test when he was touring England in 2010 he was ruled out for three weeks that meant he would miss the remaining two tests. However Gul managed to recover and became fit enough to play in the fourth test[23] However they decided to rest Gul for the final test match despite the fact that he had recovered quicker than expected.

His next chance to play test cricket came against South Africa in November 2010 when he took 3 wickets in a first innings and triggered a South African collapse of 380 on a flat wicket. He took the crucial wicket with an excellent inswinger against AB de Villiers[24]

Twenty20 Internationals
With injuries limiting Gul's test cricket participation, he made a distinct change to his bowling set-up, making a focus on bowling in the late overs of T20. He got his opportunity with the absence of Shoaib Akhtar and Abdul Razzaq in the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa. He bowled from the 13th over onwards and finished the tournament with 13 wickets, becoming the leading wicket taker ahead of Shahid Afridi and RP Singh.

In the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, he performed well, earning the mantle from at least one pundit of "the outstanding seam bowler of the World Twenty20".[25] His five-wicket haul for just six runs, when Pakistan defeated New Zealand, won especial acclaim. The spell made him the first bowler in history to take a five wickets in a Twenty20 international, and he held the record of best T20 bowling figure until 8 August 2011, when surpassed by Ajantha Mendis (6/16).[26] Mutterings were made about a possible correlation between ball tampering and the exorbitant amounts of reverse-swing he was able to extract, but he denied them categorically: "whenever an Asian bowler performs and uses the reverse-swing, the Western cricketing countries raise the issue of ball-tampering against them."[27]

He was also part of the Pakistan team that lifted the trophy at Lord's while also finishing as the leading wicket taker of the tournament for the second consecutive time.[28] He gained a lot of wickets bowled, in particular with late reverse swinging yorkers, which dip late to slide under the bat and leave little room for batsmen to maneuver the ball. Consequently, he has also an excellent economy rate in this format of the game.

Internationally, Gul has taken 47 wickets in 32 games at an average of 14.65. He is the second leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 Internationals behind teammate Shahid Afridi.

One Day Internationals
Gul appeared in all three of Pakistan's group matches in the 2007 World Cup taking four wickets with an economy rate of 3.13, only Shane Bond of those to deliver 100 balls was more economical.[29] He also appeared in all of Pakistan's matches at the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 taking 3/15 of 4 overs in the semi-final victory over New Zealand. He took three wickets in the final to finish as the tournament's leading wicket-taker.[30]

On January 2016, Gul was suspended from international cricket for a doping offense. Gul was recalled into the ODI squad on 9 August 2016 for the England and Ireland tour.[31]

Injuries
However, Gul was then ruled out of the third Test with a back injury which kept him out of cricket for an entire year. He returned to play two games at the 2004–05 Faysal Bank T20 Cup, and played some matches for Pakistan A and a Pakistan XI in warm-up games before the Test matches against England the following season, but he was not selected for the matches and has instead played three matches with Peshawar at the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Shortly after making a six-month come-back from a shoulder injury in July 2010 Gul picked up a hamstring injury against England in August but it wasn't too serious and he only missed the two Test matches.

Batting-skills
Despite being a bowler Gul can perform well as a lower order batsman and has proved his ability as a quick.run-picker His finest moment with the bat came in a test match against England in August 2010 when Pakistan were at 103/7 and Gul came into bat at 8. He scored 29 off 30 deliveries, and when play ended that day, two more wickets had fallen and the team were at 148/9. Pakistan needed 11 more runs to avoid the follow-on, and Gul then came in with his number 10 partner Mohammad Asif. Gul scored 34 runs in just 11 deliveries however his partner Mohammad Asif was run out at the other end and Gul ended on 65 not out.

Umar Gull

Umar Gull

Umar Gull

Umar Gull

Umar Gull

Umar Gull

Umar Gull

Umar Gull

Umar Gull

Umar Gull

Umar Gull

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal Biography:
Source link (google.com)

Kamran Akmal (Urdu: کامران اکمل‬‎; born 13 January 1982) is a Pakistani cricketer, who plays Tests, ODIs and T20Is for Pakistan as a right-handed wicket-keeper-batsman. He started his international career in November 2002 with a Test match which Pakistan won at Harare Sports Club.[1] He has made 2648 runs in 53 Test matches with the help of six centuries, while in 137 ODIs, he has scored 2924 runs with the help of five centuries. In T20Is, he has scored 704 runs.[2] As a wicket-keeper, he has dismissed 206, 169 and 52 batsmen in Tests, ODIs and T20Is respectively.[2]

His brothers are Adnan Akmal and Umar Akmal, who are also professional cricketers, the former being a keeper-batsman and the latter being a specialist batsman as well as part-time wicket-keeper. He married in 2006 and lives with his wife, Aiza, their daughter, Laiba, and their son Ayyan.[3] He is a graduate of Beaconhouse School System Garden Town, Lahore.[4].[2]

Contents  [show]
International career[edit]
Kamran Akmal is a quick-scoring batsman and a wicket-keeper, who has achieved 6 centuries in Test cricket. However, his first century was vital – his 109 from the number eight position at Mohali, coming in with Pakistan in a lead of 39 against India in the first Test, ensured that the visitors could draw the match. His form against the touring England in 2005 made him one of the most important players in the team. Naturally, he is a batsman that plays lower down the order but has sometimes opened in both Test and One-day cricket[citation needed]. As an opener he has scored two back to back centuries in ODIs against England. Coming in lower down the order in Test matches, he played one memorable innings. He saved Pakistan from a score of 39/6, scoring a century, to a competitive 245 which helped Pakistan win the match and the series.

His batting was highly productive in early 2006 as he scored seven international hundreds within the space of 6 months. Since his tour of England in Summer 2006 however his batting form dwindled and steadily become worse. His wicket-keeping also worsened and dropped many catches on both the England tour and on a tour to South Africa in early 2007. He then scored an international hundred in the Bangladeshi tour of Pakistan in 2008. He later moved to have some injuries and did not play for some days but later he was again brought into the team.

Akmal was dropped for the 2008 Asia Cup as a result of his poor wicket-keeping. He was replaced by Sarfraz Ahmed who performed very well at the domestic level and also because of Sarfraz's strong showing in the U-19 World Cup. Akmal was named in the 30 man probable squad for the 2008 ICC Champions Trophy.

Akmal was part of the Pakistan team that won the T20 World Cup in 2009. He was notable for his quick stumpings, dismissing 4 batsmen in one match against Netherlands.

On 12 November 2008, Akmal hit three consecutive 6s in the last over. As a result, Pakistan won the first ODI in Abu Dhabi against West Indies.

On 17 July 2010, Akmal was appointed the vice-captain of the Pakistani test squad but later removed because of his alleged involvement in spot fixing.[5]

In August 2012, Akmal was recalled for the three ODI series against Australia.[6]

In Feb–March 2017, he played for Peshawar Zalmi in Pakistan Super League 2017. In the 3rd Qualifying match he scored 104 runs,[7] the first century in PSL 2017. In this match Peshawar Zalmi won and moved to final of PSL for first time.

Match fixing allegations[edit]
In the 2nd Test match in Sydney on the 2009–10 tour of Australia, Akmal dropped four catches in the Australian innings, three of those coming from Michael Hussey. Hussey went on to score 134* and was involved in a massive 9th wicket partnership stand of 133 runs with Peter Siddle. Pakistan eventually went on to lose the match by 36 runs, after being dismissed for just 139 in the second innings. Later it was alleged that he, along with pace bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan were involved in match fixing, and were questioned by Pakistan Cricket Board and subsequently dropped for the Twenty20 series against England.[8]

In early September 2010, the International Cricket Council (ICC) sent an official notice to Kamran Akmal telling him that he is under investigation for allegedly fixing the Sydney Test.[1] For the subsequent series against South Africa in October 2010 Akmal had an operation to remove his appendix and was unavailable for the limited-overs squad. Akmal was able to recover from the operation to participate in the two-match test series but Zulqarnain Haider was selected ahead of him.[9] Another reason also emerged that Kamran Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Umar Amin and Yasir Hameed were not selected for the tour due to the fact that suspicions were raised that they were involved with the spot-fixing scandal that included Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif. Another player Wahab Riaz was under investigation for match fixing but the ICC had interrogated him and he was no longer part of the investigation therefore he was allowed to take part on the tour of South Africa that included two Twenty20 Internationals, five ODI matches and two Test matches. Though this has not been confirmed by the board, it is believed that the reason they were not picked was that the suspicion had not been cleared.[10] The ICC confirmed that Akmal had been barred from entering the team. Once his investigation was completed he was available for national selection.[11] kamran akmal friend with munir prince

Wicket-keeping[edit]
Kamran Akmal has been constantly criticized for his lack of consistent wicket-keeping. After another horrendous series behind the stumps against Sri Lanka in January 2009, journalists and former players called for his removal from the national team.[12] His wicket-keeping steadily improved, with a very strong showing in the 2009 T20 World Cup, including a world-record performance of four stumpings in a single match against the Netherlands. However, during the second test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground he dropped four catches, including three chances from Michael Hussey in one session on Day 4. Hussey went on to score a match winning century with the Pakistan team losing in a shock result after dominating the first three days of play.[13][14] He was subsequently dropped for the third test, being replaced by Sarfraz Ahmed. After this tour Akmal saw a steady improvement in his wicket-keeping for the 2010 ICC World Twenty20, 2010 Asia Cup and against Australia in July 2010 however the next test series against England saw Akmal drop three easy catches and miss a stumping. The match as a consolation saw Akmal take a superb catch of Kevin Pietersen before dropping a catch on the very next ball against Paul Collingwood. In the first innings Akmal dropped a catch of Eoin Morgan when he was on 23 who then went on to score 130.[15] Despite having another keeper, Zulqarnain Haider, in the squad, Pakistani captain Salman Butt announced it was too early in the series as only one match had been played to decide the fate of Kamran Akmal.[16]

Personal life[edit]
Kamran Akmal comes from a large family, of which two of his brothers, Adnan Akmal and Umar Akmal, are also professional cricketers, the former being a keeper-batsman and the latter being a specialist batsman as well as part-time wicket-keeper. He married in 2006 and lives with his wife, Aaiza, and their daughter, Laiba.[3] He is a graduate of Beaconhouse School System Garden Town, Lahore.[4]

IPL career[edit]
Akmal was signed on to the Rajasthan Royals, and played in the inaugural season of the IPL. He played five matches in the tournament, as wicket-keeper and top-order batsman, including the final of the tournament against the Chennai Super Kings. He took two catches in the first innings, however he was run out for six runs during the Royal's chase. The Royals went on to win the tournament after a thrilling finish. He did not play in 2009 because Pakistani players were not selected by any IPL teams to participate that season as a result of the tense atmosphere after the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Domestic career[edit]
In the 2016–17 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Akmal was the highest run-scorer in the tournament making 1,035 runs.[17] In November 2017, he scored 150 not out batting for Lahore Whites against Islamabad in the 2017–18 National T20 Cup.[18][19] He became the first batsman for Pakistan to score 150 runs in a T20 match.[20] He also hit the most number of sixes in a domestic T20 match in Pakistan and became the third batsman to make five consecutive fifties in T20 cricket.[21]During the 2017-18 National T20 Cup he along with Salman Butt set the world record opening partnership in T20 history of unbeaten 209 runstand, surpassing the previous highest opening partnership of 207 in any form of T20 cricket held by Joe Denly and Daniel Bell-Drummond.[22][23][24][25][26] The record runstand was also the third highest partnership in terms of runs for any wicket in T20 history.[27]

PSL career[edit]
Kamran was picked ("bought") for US$50,000 by the Peshawar Zalmi side. He had an average scoring of just 151 runs in the 2016 season scoring, with a highest score of 45. He was retained on the back of his tremendous performance in 2016–17 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. In the inaugural match of 2017 season against Islamabad United he scored 88 runs off just 48 balls. He lost his rithym in the middle of the season but found his form at right time against Karachi Kings in a do-or-die match scoring a century of only 60 balls, ensuring his team a place in the final.[28] He was later adjudged player-of-the-match. He finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer with 353 runs and won the green cap and the Hanif Mohammad Award for best batsman,[29] as well as the Imtiaz Ahmed award for the best wicket keeper of the season with a total of 12 dismissals.[30]

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Kamran Akmal

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq Biography:
Source link (google.com)

Abdul Razzaq (Urdu: عبد الرزاق, born 2 December 1979) is a former Pakistani cricketer, who played all formats of the game. He is a right arm fast-medium bowler and a right-handed batsman, who emerged in international cricket in 1996 with his One Day International debut against Zimbabwe at his home ground in Gaddafi Stadium, Pakistan, just one month before his seventeenth birthday. He was the part of the Pakistan Cricket Team squad that won the ICC World Twenty20 2009. He played 265 ODIs and 46 Tests and is widely regarded as one of the best All-Rounders to have played for his country.

Contents  [show]
Personal life[edit]
Abdul Razzaq is married to a Pakistani woman Ayesha.[1] He has 3 brothers and one sister :Muhammad Afzaal, Muhammad Faisal, Muhammad Ashfaq and Saima Shahid.

International career[edit]
Early career[edit]
Razzaq made his One Day International debut in November 1996, against Zimbabwe, 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 totalled to 20 runs in one over.

1999 Cricket World Cup[edit]
Razzaq became a regular member of his national side during the 1999 world cup held 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.[2] Pakistan went on to win the match by ten runs and as a result qualified for the Super Six stage.[2] 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 at Bristol.[3]

2000 Carlton and United Series[edit]
Razzaq's other impressive performances came during the Carlton & United Series at Australia 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 10 wickets and played an important role for Pakistan helping them to successfully defend a very low target of just 17 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.[4]

Prominence[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.[5] 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. Razzaq dropped Tendulkar who later on scored a matchwinning 98(75). 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.

Razzaq's place in the Pakistan national team has been marred by injuries and absences. In 2005 it was revealed that he was suffering from an addiction to spinach, which was causing him to suffer from nausea and sickness while playing. This led to him being known as 'Popeye' by his team mates.[6] In 2007, a poor performance in a series with both the bat and ball, in a match against South Africa, accompanied with an injury that forced him out of the 2007 cricket World Cup, had him dropped from the 2007 World Twenty20, a decision that received widespread criticism from cricket individuals.

Temporary retirement in 2007[edit]
On 20 August 2007, Razzaq announced his retirement against his omission from the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 squad.[7] However, on 27 October 2007, Razzaq revoked his decision following discussions with his local cricket club and coach, saying, "Maybe I made that (decision to retire) in the heat of the moment."[8]

“ "By my making an announcement saying that I've retired, it doesn't mean that it's a permanent thing,". ”
—  Abdul Razzaq on his decision to retire from the Pakistan national team .[9]
He signed up for the Indian Cricket League and played for the Hyderabad Heroes as one of their star players. He eventually severed ties with the league in September 2008 and returned to international cricket in June 2009, helping Pakistan win the 2009 ICC T20 World Cup.

Return in team: 2009 World Twenty20 Championship[edit]
In 2009, he was selected into Pakistan's squad for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England as a replacement for injured fast bowler Yasir Arafat, marking his return to International cricket and becoming the first Indian Cricket League player, whose ban was lifted by the Pakistan Cricket Board.[9] He played an important role in Pakistan's victory in the tournament, taking 5 wickets at an average of 14.80 and an economy rate of 5.92. His figures of 3 wickets for 20 runs, played a significant role in Pakistan's victory against Sri Lanka in the final. As a result, he along with another former Indian Cricket League player Mohammad Yousuf were awarded 'A’ category mid-term central contracts by the Pakistan Cricket Board.[10]

In the 2009–2010 season, Razzaq missed out on the tours of New Zealand and Australia, due to injury. However he was selected in the two match Twenty20 International series against England in February 2010. His innings of 46 runs not out from 18 deliveries in the second match of the series, cemented Pakistan a victory, their first in eleven international outings.[11]

On 30 December when playing in a game for the Melbourne Renegades, former Australian cricketer Mark Waugh described Razzaq as a "cardboard cut out" based on his appeared disinterest when playing.[citation needed]

ODI return: against New Zealand[edit]
Upon his ODI return, he played a fine little cameo for Pakistan with the bat scoring 23 runs of 20 deliveries and pushed the score to 287. New Zealand needed 288 to win and Razzaq took the key wicktes of Scott Styris and Jacob Oram to ensure that Pakistan thrash New Zealand by 141 runs. In the second ODI, he took the wickets of Martin Guptill (62) and Daniel Vettori on (30). Despite this, New Zealand ended the innings at 303/8. Pakistan collapsed to 239 all out, with Razzaq scoring 35 runs. With the series levelled 1–1 Pakistan went into the third ODI and bowled New Zealand out for 211. Despite this Pakistan suffered a top order collapse at 79/7 with Younis Khan, Salman Butt, Khalid Latif, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal and Shahid Afridi falling cheaply. The Razzaq came in and registered a duck as he was run out by Vettori. Gul fell cheaply as well but Pakistan still got agonizingly close to victory, when Mohammad Amir and Saeed Ajmal were engaged in a 103 run partnership before Ajmal top edged a pull on the first ball of the last over as Pakistan were seven runs short of victory.

Hand injury: No participation against Australia[edit]
Razzaq picked up a hand injury just before the first ODI against Australia and missed the whole five match series and the only Twenty20 match. He was hit on the hand while batting during the practice sessions[12] The series turned out to be a forgettable one of Pakistan as Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan received life bans (overturned 2 months later) for inflicting fighting in the team. Also Rana Naved-ul-Hasan was given a one-year ban along with Shoaib Malik being banned for a year all were overturned on appeal. Amid the fighting Pakistan lost the five match series 5–0 and the only Twenty20 match as well.

Top all-round form (2010)[edit]
With players like Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik suffering from selection issues, it was Razzaq who took up the role of a senior player in the Pakistan cricket team. He was selected in the squad for the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 and performed admirably with the bat scoring five sixes during the tournament. Pakistan crashed out of the tournament after losing to Australia in the semi-final. Razzaq then took part in the 2010 Asia Cup.[13]

In July 2010, Razzaq played in the two T20Is against Australia as Pakistan won both matches comfortably. He wasn't selected for the Test series against Australia and England and next played in the September 2010 Twenty20 and ODI series against England. The Pakistan team had been surrounded by Spot-fixing allegations as the team lost both Twenty20 matches due to low morale. Razzaq missed the first two ODI's against England because of a back-strain as Pakistan lost both matches. He returned to the third ODI and scored 31 runs in a fruitful partnership with Shahid Afridi before Afridi was run out and Razzaq was subsequently caught in the deep square leg as Pakistan were bowled out for 241. England opened the innings strongly before Umar Gul removed six batsmen and Razzaq took two wickets to seal a 23-run victory for Pakistan.[14]

Razzaq's lower order destruction also became helpful for his domestic team the Lahore Lions as he scored 138 runs from his four innings including a superb 73* in the final to help guide his team to victory in the 2010-11 Faysal Bank Twenty-20 Cup.[15]

On 31 October 2010, in the second One Day International against South Africa, Razzaq played a match-winning innings of 109* off 72 balls at a strike rate of 151.38, his third One Day International century. The innings which contained seven fours and ten sixes saw Pakistan to a one-wicket win with one ball remaining and level the 5-match series 1–1.[16]

Series against New Zealand, World Cup Preparation (2011)[edit]
Razzaq struggled with the bat in the first two Twenty20's against New Zealand but he did perform admirably with the ball taking out Jesse Ryder for a golden duck in the second Twenty20. During the third match Razzaq blased 34 of just 11 balls in an innings that included 3 fours and 3 sixes. This innings helped Pakistan push their total onto 184. Razzaq then did the damage with the ball taking the leading run scorer of the series Martin Guptill out for a duck and then took two more top order wickets of Ross Taylor (Leg-before) and clean bowled James Franklin. For this superb all round perform coupled with a 103 run victory for Pakistan Razzaq won man of the match. However two early losses in the series meant New Zealand won the series 2–1.[17]

2011 Cricket World Cup[edit]
Razzaq was included in Pakistan's 15-man squad for the 2011 World Cup hosted by Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka between February and April. His role was to open the bowling and bat down the order. In his first two matches, he had faced just 10 balls,[18] however he scored 20 not out from 24 balls against Australia to guide Pakistan to victory, ending Australia's string of 34 matches in World Cups without defeat.[19]

Domestic career[edit]

Razzaq celebrating Leicestershire winning the semi-final of the 2011 Friends Life t20. The team went on to win the competition.
Indian Cricket League[edit]
In 2007–2008, he played in the Indian Cricket League, playing for Hyderabad Heroes. His excellent performance in the last over during the Indian Cricket League final, allowed his team to take a 1–0 lead in the best of three finals. The finals were eventually won by Hyderabad Heroes, 2–0. During this time, his international career remained in doubt, as the Pakistan Cricket Board had banned players who participated in the unofficial league.[20]

After playing for two seasons, he departed from the Indian Cricket League to be selected and play for the Pakistan national team, saying that he hoped the Pakistan Cricket Boards's ban on Indian Cricket League players would soon be revoked and that he has a desire to play for Pakistan national team once again, affirming that his retirement was not necessarily a permanent decision.

England County Cricket[edit]
He has also played at the English county level for Middlesex, Worcestershire and Surrey. He joined Surrey in June 2008 on a short term contract to play in the Twenty20 Cup. He helped Surrey win against Sussex by scoring 39 runs from 19 balls. Despite his short period at The Oval, Razzaq became a favourite player amongst Surrey supporters.

In March 2010 Razzaq signed for Hampshire County Cricket Club as one of their four overseas players for the English domestic Twenty20 competition.[21] He played a starring role in their victory against Somerset on finals day at Hampshire's home ground, the Rose Bowl.

Razzaq signed for Leicestershire County Cricket Club as their second overseas players for the English domestic Friends Life t20.[22] At the 2011 Friends Life t20 he again played for the winning team, this time as a Leicestershire player, against Somerset on the finals day. He also played in both Leicestershire's games in the Champions League T20s, but was unable to help Leicestershire through the qualification stage.[23] He has signed for Staffordshire club Hem Heath for the 2014 Season.[24]

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal Biography:
Source link (google.com)

Umar Akmal (Urdu: عمر اکمل‬‎; 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 any many ODIs. His wife name is noor Fatima.

He was announced as a Franchise Player for the inaugural Caribbean Premier League alongside Pakistani teammates Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik [1] Domestically, he played for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited for eleven years, before signing with United Bank Limited in August 2017.[2]

Contents  [show]
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 Gas team. 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.[3] 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.

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.[4]

Test career

Umar Akmal at the University Oval, Dunedin, in 2009.
Umar made his Test debut against New Zealand at 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.[5]

ODI and Twenty20 Career
In an interview, Umar said "My own dream is to one day play for Pakistan alongside Kamran Bhai (Brother) and I'm working hard to try and achieve that goal".[6] Akmal was selected in Pakistan's squad for the One Day International Series against Sri Lanka in July/August 2009.

He had missed out on the first ODI Umar made his debut in the second match of the series replacing Mohammad Yousuf in the middle order. In only his second career ODI Umar scored his maiden ODI fifty. Umar followed up his maiden fifty by scoring a century in the very next match. For this match winning effort he was awarded his first career Man of the Match award.[7] His exploits in Sri Lanka earned him a place in Pakistan's champions trophy squad. He played two good innings.

His 41 not out against West Indies was a match winning knock and landed him his second career Man of the Match award.[8] His next big innings came in the semi final against New Zealand, where he scored a brisk 55 in a losing effort, before he was wrongly given out by umpire Simon Taufel, who later apologized.[9]

Despite the fact that Umar Akmal is not a wicket-keeper he kept wicket for Pakistan temporarily in the third ODI against England in 2010 from the 27th over onwards because his elder brother Kamran was being diagnosed for an injury to his finger. Umar Akmal scored 71 runs from 52 balls in his debut World Cup match and was named Man of the Match.[10]

In February 2012 Pakistan faced England in four ODIs. Pakistan's brittle batting meant the team management chose to play Umar as a wicket-keeper based on his batting, though his brother Adnan was considered the better 'keeper.

The result of choosing the less accomplished glovesman was that in the first two matches Umar Akmal missed opportunities to dismiss Ravi Bopara and Alastair Cook early in their innings, and they respectively went on to score a half-century and a century.[11]

Umar was dropped from ODI series against Sri Lanka in 2015, but called to the T20I series. He proved his value to the team, by scoring 24-ball 46 runs in the first T20I match.

Umar Akmal has the record for scoring the most number of ducks in Twenty 20 cricket history(27).[12]

PSL 2016
Umar remained highest runs scorer batsman in PSL 2016.[13] He scored 335 runs in seven innings with four half-century.

Personal life
Umar is the youngest brother of Adnan Akmal and Kamran Akmal who are also cricketers, both wicket-keepers. He is also the cousin of Pakistani batsman Babar Azam.

While he was playing for the Barbados Tridents, in the Caribbean Premier League, he had to spend a night in hospital after he suffered mild seizures. Following this, the PCB called him back for a complete medical checkup and also dropped him from the upcoming Zimbabwe tour. On 6 September 2013 he was cleared by a neurologist, saying that the seizure was possibly due to a lack of sleep.[14]

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Umar Akmal

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad Biography:
Source link (google.com)

Personal life[edit]
Shehzad was born on 23 November 1991 in the city of Lahore. He belongs to a Pashtun family and is fluent in Pashto.[1] [2] When Shehzad was two years old, his father died and he was raised by a single mother in Anarkali, Lahore.[3]

On 19 September 2015, Shehzad married Sana, his childhood friend.[4]

Domestic career[edit]
He was the leading run-scorer in the 2016–17 Departmental One Day Cup, with 653 runs, including a career-best score in List A cricket of 166 in the semi-final.He was also caiptan of team.[5][6] During the tournament he scored three centuries and three half-centuries in nine matches.[7]

International career[edit]
See also: List of centuries in Twenty20 International cricket
Shehzad made his first-class debut in 2007. The innings which led to a call-up for the national team was a 167 he scored in Pakistan Youth’s victory against England.[8]

Shehzad made his Test debut against Sri Lanka in 2013 scoring 38 in the first innings and 55 in the second.[9] Ahmed Shahzad was part of the Test squad against South Africa in UAE. However he wasn’t selected in the playing XI in either of the 2 Tests against South Africa.

Controversies[edit]
Shehzad was issued a 1-match ban in 2011 for peeing on umpire Asad Rauf and on the feild during the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy series. This was after he was issued a fine just the month before on disciplinary grounds.[10]

The PCB issued Shehzad an official reprimand after his frequent quarrels with Sri Lankan batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan about his own past and current religions.[11] Shehzad was also dropped from team after Cricket World Cup 2015. Team coach Waqar Younis told a press conference that he had some attitude issues.

During a The Pakistan Super League group stage match vs Peshawar Zalmi, Shahzad had an exchange of words and physical contest with fast bowler Wahab Riaz. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) imposed a fine on both players and issued an official warning to them.[12]

After Pakistan's exit from the 2016 World Twenty20 from losing 3 matches against New Zealand, India and Australia, Shehzad's poor performance led to a PCB committee suggesting a ban on him and player Umar Akmal.[13]

Records and achievements[edit]
Source[14]

Only Pakistani batsman to have scored centuries in all international formats of the game (i.e. Test, ODI and T20I).[15][16]
Most runs, most sixes in a T20 innings by a Pakistani.[17]
Most runs (168) in a two–match T20I series by a Pakistani cricketer.[18]
Highest run scorer for the Lahore Lions.
Second quickest batsman to score centuries in all three formats of international cricket(76 innings) just behind Lokesh Rahul.
Highest run scorer for the Quetta Gladiators.
Highest run scorer in the Pakistan Super League.
First Pakistani batsman to hit three consecutive sixes in T20I.

The 2015 Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Cricket World Cup 2015) was the 11th Cricket World Cup, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand from 14 February to 29 March 2015. Australia defeated New Zealand by 7 wickets to win their fifth ICC Cricket World Cup. Fourteen teams played 49 matches in 14 venues, with Australia staging 26 games at grounds in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney while New Zealand hosted 23 games in Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Napier, Nelson and Wellington.[1]

The hosting rights were awarded at the same time as those of the 2011 Cricket World Cup, which Australia and New Zealand had originally bid to host, and the 2019 Cricket World Cup, which was awarded to England. The 2011 tournament was awarded to the four Asian Test cricket playing countries: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (Pakistan later lost the co-hosting rights due to a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team). The International Cricket Council were sufficiently impressed with the trans-Tasman bid that it was decided to award the next World Cup to Australia and New Zealand.[2][3] This was the second time the tournament was held in Australia and New Zealand, with the first being the 1992 Cricket World Cup.

India were the defending champions, having won the tournament in 2011. Tickets for the Pool B match between India and Pakistan, played on 15 February 2015, reportedly sold out within 12 minutes of going on sale.[4]

The final match of the tournament took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground between co-hosts New Zealand and Australia in front of a record crowd of 93,013[5] while the average attendance throughout the tournament was 21,175 resulting from the cumulative tournament attendance of 1,016,420 and a washed out game between Australia and Bangladesh in Brisbane for which no attendance-figures were available.[6][7]

Contents  [show]
Host selection
Bids
The ICC announced the hosts for the previous World Cup, the 2011 competition, on 30 April 2006. Australia and New Zealand had also bid for the tournament and a successful Australasian bid for the 2011 World Cup would have seen a 50–50 split in games, with the final still up for negotiation. The Trans-Tasman bid, Beyond Boundaries, was the only bid for 2011 delivered to the ICC headquarters at Dubai before the 1 March deadline. Considerable merits of the bid included the superior venues and infrastructure, and the total support of the Australian and New Zealand governments on tax and custom issues during the tournament, according to Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland.[8] The New Zealand government had also assured that the Zimbabwean team would be allowed to take part in the tournament after political discussions about whether their team would be allowed to tour Zimbabwe in 2005.[9]

ICC President Ehsan Mani said that the extra time required by the Asian bloc to hand over its bid had harmed the four-nation bid. However, when it came to the voting, the Asians won by seven votes to four; according to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), it was the vote of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) that turned the matter. It was reported in Pakistani newspaper Dawn that the Asian countries promised to hold fundraising events for West Indian cricket during the 2007 Cricket World Cup, which may have influenced the vote.[10] However, I.S. Bindra, chairman of the monitoring committee of the Asian bid, denied that, saying that it was their promise of extra profits of US$400 million that swung the vote their way.[11]

The ICC was so impressed by the efficiency of the Trans-Tasman bid that they decided to award the next World Cup, to be held in 2015, to them.[12]

Australia and New Zealand last jointly hosted the Cricket World Cup in 1992.

Format
The tournament featured 14 teams, the same number as the 2011 World Cup, giving associate and affiliate member nations a chance to participate.[13]

The format was the same as the 2011 edition: 14 teams take part in the initial stages, divided into two groups of seven; the seven teams play each other once before the top four teams from each group qualify for the quarter-finals.

On 29 January 2015, ICC reinstated the use of the Super Over for Cricket World Cup Final match if the match finished as a tie.[14][15]

Qualification

Highlighted are the countries to participate in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.
  Qualified as full member of ICC
  Qualified via WCL or qualifier
  Participated in final stage of the qualifying process, but did not qualify
Main articles: 2011–13 ICC World Cricket League Championship and 2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier
Per ICC regulations, the 10 ICC full member nations qualify for the tournament automatically. Immediately after the 2011 World Cup, it was decided that the next tournament would be reduced to only feature the 10 full members.[16] This was met with heavy criticism from a number of associate nations, especially from the Ireland cricket team, who had performed well in 2007 and 2011, including victories over Pakistan and England, both full member nations. Following support shown by the ICC Cricket Committee for a qualification process,[17] the ICC retracted their decision in June 2011 and decided that 14 teams would participate in the 2015 World Cup, including four associate or affiliate member nations.[18]

At the ICC Chief Executives' Committee meeting in September 2011, the ICC decided on a new qualifying format. The top two teams of the 2011–13 ICC World Cricket League Championship qualify directly. The remaining six teams join the third and fourth-placed teams of 2011 ICC World Cricket League Division Two and the top two teams of 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three in a 10-team World Cup Qualifier to decide the remaining two places.[19][20]

On 9 July 2013, as a result of a tied match against the Netherlands, Ireland became the first country to qualify for the 2015 World Cup.[21] On 4 October 2013, Afghanistan qualified for their first Cricket World Cup after beating Kenya to finish in second place behind Ireland.[22]

Scotland defeated the United Arab Emirates in the final of the 2014 Cricket World Cup Qualifier and both teams qualified for the last two spots in the 2015 Cricket World Cup.[23]

The 2013 ICC World Cricket League Division Three was a cricket tournament which took place from 28 April to 5 May 2013 in Bermuda. It formed part of the ICC World Cricket League and qualifying for the 2015 World Cup.

Nepal were the pre-tournament favourites,[1] but they lost against USA and Uganda in their first two matches. On the other hand USA and Uganda made solid starts. Uganda remained unbeaten in their first four matches to comfortably secure one of the two available places in the 2014 World Cup Qualifier.

In the fifth round of the league, three teams remained in contention for the second qualifying spot,[2] USA having won 3 out of 4 and Bermuda & Nepal both having won 2 out of 4. USA could guarantee progress by defeating Bermuda, but for Nepal to proceed, they had to defeat Italy by a heavy margin and also rely on a Bermuda victory over the USA. In the end, exactly that happened and Nepal went through to the 2014 World Cup Qualifier over USA and Bermuda on net run rate.[3]

The 2007 Cricket World Cup was contested between 16 of the 97 countries that are members of the International Cricket Council. The 11 teams with One-Day International status at the time of drafting qualified automatically for the World Cup. Meanwhile, the 86 other members of the ICC played off in a series of tournaments to capture one of the remaining five spots in the World Cup.

2018 season[edit]

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad

Ahmed Shehzad