Sunday 9 June 2013

Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal Biography

source(google.com.pk)
Full name Saeed Ajmal

Born October 14, 1977, Faisalabad, Punjab

Major teams Pakistan, Faisalabad, Islamabad Cricket Association, Khan Research Labs, Water and Power Development Authority

Playing role Bowler

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm offbreak





Saeed Ajmal, an offspinner, received a call-up to the Pakistan squad for the Asia Cup at the age of 30 after an impressive domestic season with Khan Research Labs in 2007-08, during which he took 38 wickets in 12 first-class matches at an average of 29 apiece, and 12 wickets in nine list A games. He made an immediate impression with his subtle variations, unafraid to use the doosra. But his career took off with a series of ODI performances that bewildered Australia in Dubai and Abu Dhabi; he gave away few runs and his doosra was nigh-on unreadable. The ICC called him for his action, though it was cleared soon after. The pressure didn't get to him and immediately after, he played a crucial role in Pakistan's drive to the 2009 World Twenty20 title, regularly bottling up the middle overs with Shahid Afridi. He ended the joint second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament, with an exemplary economy rate as batsmen around the world struggled to pick a big turning doosra or even cope with his changes in flight, pace and angle. Consistent performances in the ODI version have quickly earned him a reputation for choking the runs in the middle overs with clever variations.

Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal

Saeed Ajmal

Junaid Khan

Junaid Khan Biography

source(google.com.pk)


Full name Mohammad Junaid Khan
Born December 24, 1989, Matra, North-West Frontier Province
Major teams Pakistan, Abbottabad, Abbottabad Rhinos, Pakistan Under-19s
Playing role Bowler
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Left-arm medium-fast


At U-19 level Junaid Khan was among of a crop of the most promising young fast bowlers in recent years, alongside Mohammad Amir. Good pace and better stamina and an ability to move the ball around if the conditions are right, Khan finally made it to national contention when he was called up for Pakistan's 2011 World Cup squad as a late replacement for Sohail Tanvir.

Khan is from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and has built up an impressive domestic career with Abbottabad, for whom he debuted in January 2007. The record acquires greater sheen given that Abbottabad are among the weaker sides on the circuit. Those performances have led him to Pakistan A selection, for whom he has been impressive in two series now, never less than when taking nine wickets in a 'Test' against Sri Lanka A in Hambantota in September 2010.

Junaid Khan

 

Junaid Khan

Junaid Khan

Junaid Khan

Junaid Khan

Junaid Khan

Junaid Khan

Junaid Khan

Junaid Khan

Junaid Khan

Junaid Khan

Waqar Younus

Waqar Younus Biography

source(google.com.pk)

Waqar Younis Maitla is a former Pakistani right arm fast bowler in cricket and widely regarded as one of the best fast bowlers of all time.

He was best known in cricket for his ability to reverse swing a cricket ball at high speed when bowling at the cricket pitch. He took 373 Test wickets and 416 One Day International wickets during his career. He is considered to be the best exponent of the swing bowling delivery. Younis has the best strike rate for any bowler with over 200 Test wickets. He worked as a bowling coach with the national side from 2006 to 2007.

Younis was appointed as the coach of the Pakistan cricket team on 3 March 2010. His managerial contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board will take part in all forms of cricket, right up to December 2011, which will include all professional competitions, such as the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Early and personal life
Younis was born in Vehari, Punjab in Pakistan in a Jatt family. He was educated in Sadiq Public School in Bahawalpur in Pakistan, the Pakistani College (Pakistan Islamia Higher Secondary School) in Sharjah and the Government College University in Vehari. He was raised in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, where his father was a contract worker. He returned to Pakistan during his adolescent years and there, he started playing cricket.

He is married to Dr. Faryal Waqar Younis with a son Azaan Waqar and a daughter Maira Waqar and now lives in Castle Hill in Australia. Younis has also worked as a television sports commentator for the Nine Network in Australia and for Ten Sports in the United Arab Emirates.

Cricket and coaching career
Younis began his cricket career in Pakistan, playing for several First-class cricket clubs. However he suffered an injury when he had cut and removed his little finger on his left hand, after he had jumped into a canal. He recovered from this accident and went on to continue his sporting career. He was eventually discovered by former Pakistan captain, Imran Khan and was selected to be part of the national side. The turning point of his career happened in England, during the late 1980s and early 1990s, when he played for Surrey County Cricket Club. There he displayed excellent cricketing performances and attracted attention from the sporting public.

He made his International cricket debut for Pakistan against India on 15 November 1989, in the same match that Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar also made his debut. Younis took 4 wickets in the drawn match including the wickets of Tendulkar and Kapil Dev. He made an immediate impression with his speed and became known in the cricket media as "Wiki" or the "Burewala Express". Younis along with Wasim Akram opened the bowling attack regularly for Pakistan, becoming a feared and potent attack. His most recognized delivery was an inswinging yorker. At his peak, he developed into a very quick fast bowler and also became famous for achieving a hat-trick in a One Day International match against New Zealand in 1994. He won the English County Championship with Glamorgan in 1997. During the early periods of 2000, he stayed out of the Pakistan team for a brief period allegedly due to suspension and conflicts with bowling partner and captain Wasim Akram. His return to cricket came with him being appointed the captain of Pakistan, a position he held until his team failed to make an impact in the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He retired from cricket in 2003 after the Pakistan Cricket Board persistently ignored him for national selection.

In March 2006, he was appointed as the bowling coach for Pakistan. He resigned from this position on 6 January 2007 in protest against the Pakistan Cricket Board decision to retain him only for the Test series against South Africa and not for the subsequent series of five One Day International matches. He was re-appointed as Pakistan's bowling and fielding coach for their tour of Australia in December 2009. In February 2010, Younis was appointed the head coach of Pakistan after Intikhab Alam was sacked as coach, due to the low-level of performances of the national side during the tour of Australia earlier that year.

Waqar's first job as coach was to lead an inexperienced Pakistan side missing Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Shoaib Malik to the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 as a consolation though Waqar had two top-notch bowlers in Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif at his disposal. He guided the defending champions to the semi-final of the tournament before the were knocked out by Australia courtesy of a superb 60* by Mike Hussey who whacked three sixes in the final over to seal the victory.

The World Twenty20 was followed with the 2010 Asia Cup in which Pakistan lost to Sri Lanka by a narrow-margin as Pakistan's top order collapsed and it was Shahid Afridi who scored 112 to nearly guide Pakistan to victory. In the following match Pakistan lost narrowly against India courtesy of a six by Harbhajan Singh an the third ball of the final over. The following match was a dead rubber between Pakistan and Bangladesh and another Afridi century meant Pakistan scored 385 runs and they comfortably won the match by 139 runs

After this a tour of England followed with two Twenty20's against Australia and two Test matches. Pakistan won both Twenty20's comfortably and the first test saw Pakistan defeated by 154 runs. Pakistan rallied in the second test and for the first time in 15 years Pakistan defeated Australia in a Test match. Ironically the previous victory in 1995 was also courtesy of a superb bowling spell by Waqar Younis

This tour was followed by a controversial tour against England as Pakistan headed in to the final Test match needing to win it to level the series 2-2 the News of the World broke a story that Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Asif and captain Salman Butt were involved in Spot-fixing. This saw the three players temporarily suspended and Pakistan lost by an innings and 225 runs their biggest defeat in history. Low team-morale meant the next two T20 matches were won comfortably by England. Following an ODI series which Pakistan lost 3-2.

Waqar Younus

Waqar Younus

Waqar Younus

Waqar Younus

Waqar Younus

Waqar Younus

Waqar Younus

Waqar Younus

Waqar Younus

Waqar Younus

Waqar Younus

Imran Khan

Imran Khan Biography

source(google.com.pk)

Though his cricketing career was still in its early stages in the mid-1970s, Imran Khan's “love life" was a constant and he generally brought a 'special' girl with him to his matches, claims a biography of Pakistan's cricketer-turned politician. “One female undergraduate recalls having

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feigned an interest in the game ... just to be near him. Imran made it immediately clear to his companion that he was a man of no small ambition, displaying 'brass' which impressed her,” the book penned by acclaimed biographer Christopher Sandford said.

It claimed that Imran generally brought a 'special' girl with him to his matches, or even to watch him practice in the Parks nets. 

The 402-page biography noted that 56-year-old Imran, who had studied at Oxford University, was particularly fortunate to play his cricket at the Parks, a handsome, tree-lined ground that was only a short-walk from Keble. 

“In the summer term his practice was to go directly from his early morning tutorial to the playing field, returning home again for a late dinner. An Oxford team-mate named Simon Porter remembers him as 'more inherently gifted, obviously (but) also more driven' than his colleagues.

“It wasn't unknown for Imran to attract a 'small harem' of supporters to the ground for even the most insignificant fixture," the book claimed.  Another colleague remembers that, on losing his wicket in one inter-college game, Imran went straight to the area where "a blonde in a sports car was waiting for him. He jumped in, and that was the last we saw of him for two days," according to the biography.

A subsequent Oxford girlfriend, another blonde now called Karen-Wishart, thought Imran a 'physically beautiful' man whose charm was nonetheless limited in its scope. 

One evening the two of them went off together to 'a little flat above a fruit and veg shop' in the Oxford suburbs. Looking back on the episode years later, Wishart was left to conclude that Imran was a 'music and roses at night, pat on the bum in the morning' type, the biography said.

Imran Khan

Imran Khan

Imran Khan

Imran Khan

Imran Khan

Imran Khan

  Imran Khan

Imran Khan

Imran Khan

Imran Khan

Imran Khan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram Biography

source(google.com.pk)

Wasim Akram born 3 June 1966 is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricket, who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches.

Wasim Akram is regarded as one of the best fast bowlers in cricket history. He holds the world record for most wickets in List A cricket with 881 and is second only to Sri Lankan off-spin bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan in terms of One Day International wickets with 502. He is considered to be one of the founders and perhaps the finest exponent of reverse swing bowling.
The revolutionary nature of reverse swing initially resulted in accusations of ball tampering by cricket critics, although the skill of the reverse swing delivery has now been accepted as a legitimate feature of ability in cricket. Wasim Akram's later career was also tarnished with accusations of match fixing by critics, although these remain unproven.

On 30 September 2009, Akram was one of five new members inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Early and Personal Life

Akram was born in 1966, in Lahore, Pakistan.

He was educated in Islamia College in Lahore, where he played as an opening bowler and batsman. Like several other Pakistani cricketers during the 1980s, his inclusion into the national side was at the behest of a senior player in the team, which in Akram's case, was Javed Miandad.

Wasim Akram was diagnosed with diabetes at the peak of his career, but despite the initial psychological blow, he managed to regain his form and went on to produce fine cricketing performances. Since then he has actively sought to be involved in various awareness-raising campaigns for diabetes.

He was married to Huma Mufti, in 1995. They had two sons Taimur and Akbar, from their marriage of fifteen years. Huma died of multiple organ failure at Apollo Hospital in Chennai, India, on 25 October 2009.

International career

First-class cricket

In 1988 he signed for Lancashire County Cricket Club in England and went on to become their most successful overseas players. From 1988 to 1998, he opened their bowling attack in their ECB Trophy, Benson and Hedges Cup and National League tournaments. He was a favourite of the local British fans who used to sing a song called "Wasim for England" at Lancashire's matches. In 1998, with Akram as captain, Lancashire won the ECB Trophy and Axa League and finished second in the championship tournament despite losing only five matches in all competitions throughout the season. Apart from the National League second division title in 2003, this was the last time Lancashire won a trophy.

Test Cricket

Akram made his Test cricket debut for Pakistan against New Zealand in 1985 and in only his second Test match, he achieved 10 wickets in the match. A few weeks prior to his selection into the Pakistan team, he was an unknown club cricketer who had failed to even make it to his college team. He came to the trials at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in Pakistan, but for the first two days he did not get a chance to bowl. On the third day he got a chance; his performance convincing Javed Miandad to insist upon his inclusion in the national team. Wasim Akram was hence given an opportunity to play for Pakistan, without any significant domestic experience. Later that season he opened the bowling attack with Imran Khan, who became his mentor at and after the World Championship of Cricket in Australia.

In the 1987 Cricket World Cup, when Pakistan played against the West Indies, Akram bowled to Viv Richards in the late overs of the innings but Richards, who is regarded as the best batsman during that period, struggled against Akram's bowling performances.

Akram's rise in international cricket was rapid during the late 1980s. When Pakistan toured the West Indies in 1988, he looked to be the fastest bowler between the two sides. However, a groin injury impeded his career in the late 1980s. Following two surgeries, he re-emerged in the 1990s as a fast bowler who focused more on swing and accurate bowling.

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram