Twenty20 World Cup 2007 Official Thread - All News here

[PanjabiSher]

[PanjabiSher]

Yousuf and Razzaq likely to be dropped


Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq are likely to be two big-name casualties from Pakistan's 15-man squad for the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa.

Though Pakistan don't announce their squad until next week, when results of dope tests taken on all 30 probables arrive, Yousuf and Razzaq are set to be sacrificed as Pakistan takes a punt and tests its younger talent and bench strength.

The uncertain position of Yousuf in particular, comes as a surprise, given his outstanding form only last year and a generally impressive record in ODIs. But his fielding, and an apparent desire to have more flexible batting options, might work against him.

"Though it is not finalised yet, the chances of Yousuf being selected for the squad are very unlikely. Younis Khan is there as an orthodox batsman and he is a good fielder too. We want to have some fresher, younger options who give us flexibility," a well-placed board source told Cricinfo.

Fawad Alam, the young Karachi all-rounder who has impressed during the practice matches, and Shahid Yousuf, the Sialkot middle-order batsman, are being touted as potential replacements. Both have enjoyed success during the domestic limited-overs season. Karachi batsmen Khurram Manzoor and Khalid Latif, the former U-19 captain, have also been keenly watched.
[Mohammad] Yousuf left the ongoing training camp yesterday and returned to Lahore, officially to be with his mother who is ill, though whispers have it that he was understandably upset once aware of the situation. Inzamam-ul-Haq, the former captain, has already said that any decision to drop Yousuf will backfire on Pakistan.

There is unlikely to be as much surprise if Razzaq is dropped. Though his often-devastating lower-order batting and handy medium-pace suggests he is ideal for Twenty20 matches, he has been a patchy international performer over the last two years. And ordinary performances in the training camp have not helped his cause.

"He hasn't stood out during these games," said the official. "He has struggled to score runs and his bowling has been really lightweight even given that the pitches are really flat. Plus, he has never been outstanding in the field and the feeling is we need to have alert, fresher legs out in South Africa."
Seven to eight places have already been decided, which still leaves almost half the squad to be picked but there is a nagging concern, among players, that Pakistan's hectic practice schedule is taking its toll.

Shoaib Akhtar, perennially embroiled in one fitness worry or another, is certain to go if fit. The bowler missed practice again through a minor neck strain, but the injury is not considered a serious one. Umar Gul also limped off after bowling nine balls in Wednesday's session and missed Thursday's with a foot injury, though again the management have said it is not serious.
This is the third training camp players have attended this summer. While the first, in Abbottabad, concentrated mainly on physical conditioning, subsequent ones have involved a series of practice Twenty20 matches. The squad was originally scheduled to play two matches a day in stifling Karachi heat, but on the insistence of the players decided on one game per day, with the occasional day of gym training thrown in.

One bowler confided, however, that it was too much and that bowlers in particular were lacking motivation on flat pitches in demanding conditions.

Cricinfo

[Cyborg]

Good thread mate. Lets hope everyone read an dun go around posting. This is very good idea bro. Love it. Thanks

[PanjabiSher]

well if they do than keep on merging them

[TahaBaba]

Twenty20 World Championship, South Africa
Umpires to remain calm at Twenty20
Ken Borland
July 30, 2007

Sachin Tendulkar is one of the big names missing the Twenty20 World Championship

The Twenty20 World Championship was launched amid much hype in Johannesburg last week, but the event has already lost a bit of gloss with the news that three leading Indian batsmen won't be taking part and the umpires will be their usual emotionless selves.

A daunting international schedule can be blamed for the absence of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, who have all decided to rest during the September 11-24 tournament, but the world's most flamboyant umpire, Billy Bowden, will be missing due to an ICC suspension.

Bowden is one of the umpires suspended for the Championship due to his involvement in the World Cup final fiasco in Barbados and his inimitable style certainly would have fitted in with the whole Twenty20 concept.

In South African domestic Twenty20 cricket, umpires have in the past exaggerated their signals, some bounding around in manic glee, but the umpires for the international event will go down a more conservative route.

"We obviously like everything to be high-tempo, but we would not want any umpire to feel out of their comfort zone. Locally, we have left it up to the umpire, but the Twenty20 World Championship has very much an international flavour and the ICC will tell umpires to officiate in their normal, stock-standard way," tournament director Steve Elworthy told Cricinfo on Monday.

Nine umpires - Mark Benson, Billy Doctrove, Daryl Harper, Asad Rauf, Simon Taufel, Steve Davis, Ian Howell, Nigel Llong and Tony Hill - have been appointed for the event. Bowden, Steve Bucknor, Aleem Dar, and Rudi Koertzen are the umpires the ICC have sanctioned following their mistakes in the World Cup final.

Tendulkar, Dravid and Ganguly announced last week that they would not be available for the tournament. But as the big opening day nears on September 11, Elworthy said he was thrilled with ticket sales thus far.
"We're very encouraged. A lot of the bigger matches have been sold out, such as the opening game, the semis, the final and a couple of the double-header days."

Ken Borland works for the MWP agency in South Africa
Cricinfo

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Last edited by TahaBaba; 08-09-2007 at 11:06 PM.

[Yorker_316]

Twenty20 World Championship, South Africa
Shoaib, Asif clear dope tests

Cricinfo staff
August 4, 2007

Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, the two Pakistan bowlers who returned positive dope tests last year, have cleared the latest tests held at the fitness and training camp in Karachi earlier this week.

"Akhtar and Asif are among 26 players who have cleared these tests for which we asked urgent reports from the World Anti-Doping Agency [WADA] accredited laboratory in Malaysia," Ahsan Malik, the Pakistan board's director of communications, told AFP.

The PCB had ordered dope tests for all camp attendees and had decided to hold back naming the squad for the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship until results were received. Both Shoaib and Asif were the focus of attention as they tested positive for the banned steroid nandrolone and were handed bans last year which were overturned later.

Malik said the PCB had expected all tests to be negative in accordance with its zero tolerance policy on doping. He also said that three players - Younis Khan, Danish Kaneria and Yasir Arafat currently involved in county cricket - were tested in England and the samples were sent to the same WADA-accredited laboratory as the rest of the squad.

The third and final fitness and training camp with special emphasis on the forthcoming Twenty20 World Championship concludes on Monday with the squad announcement expected next week as well.

Cricinfo

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Last edited by PanjabiSher; 08-06-2007 at 12:13 PM.

[Yorker_316]

Pakistan Captain Shoaib Malik Doesn't Find Twenty20 Cricket Batsmen-Friendly

The News Fri, 2007-08-03 15:40.

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik has said that Twenty20 cricket is not that 'batsmen-friendly', and it requires a good deal of hard work to get a decent score.

Malik believes that batters will have to put up an organised display if they want to leave a mark at next month's inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa.

"What we have realised in our practice Twenty20 matches is that the batsmen have to work hard to get good scores."
"I mean, if people think that this version of the game is batsmen-friendly they should think again," Malik said, adding, "We've seen that one good spell by a bowler can be a fatal blow to a team's chances in a Twenty20 match"

Like most of his team-mates, Malik also believes that Pakistan is among the favourites for the Twenty20 World Cup title alongside Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

"There is no doubt that Australia are the world's best team at the moment, but I believe Pakistan can beat them provided we are able to bring an improvement in our fielding," he said.

"I agree that fielding is our weak link but we are working on it," he added.

The News quoted him as saying, that Pakistan has a 'very good, match-winning bowlers' and expressed confidence about their good performance in South Africa.

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Last edited by PanjabiSher; 08-06-2007 at 12:12 PM.

[vish111]

Dhoni to lead Indian squad in South Africa
Cricinfo staff
August 7, 2007
Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been named captain of India's Twenty20 squad for the World Championship to be held in South Africa in September. Yuvraj Singh will be his deputy.
Belying speculation that they might not make the cut, Harabhajan Singh and Virender Sehwag also find themselves in the squad.

The squad was announced following a teleconference between Dilip Vengsarkar, chief of selectors currently in England with the Indian team, and the other four national selectors back home.

The selectors also announced a 15-member squad for the seven-match ODI series in England. The most notable inclusion was that of fast bowler Munaf Patel who missed the Test leg of the tour on fitness grounds. Munaf got the nod ahead of Sreesanth as the selectors opted for four specialist fast bowlers.

Twenty20 squad Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Ajit Agarkar, Dinesh Karthik, Gautam Gambhir, Robin Uthappa, Joginder Sharma, Yusuf Pathan, Piyush Chawla, Sreesanth, Irfan Pathan, RP Singh, Rohit Sharma

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Last edited by PanjabiSher; 08-07-2007 at 07:46 PM.

[Cyborg]

How come Dravid not playing 20/20?

[vish111]

dravid, tendulkar and ganguly opted out of the tournament

[PanjabiSher]

Yousuf and Razzaq omitted from Twenty20

Mohammad Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq have been omitted from the 15-man squad for the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa.

Misbah-ul-Haq, back in the side after three years in the wilderness, and Fawad Alam, the talented young allrounder, have been chosen as replacements while left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman, who took a hat-trick in the last of the practice matches in Karachi, also makes a comeback.

"Mohammad Yousuf is a world-class player. However, we have decided to give him a break because we want him fit and fresh for the following series and include some new faces for the South Africa tour," Salahuddin Ahmed, chief selector, said.

Yousuf was not disappointed at being left out of the team and was confident that it would not affect his long-term future. "Selection was in God's hands and I can't force myself into the team." When asked if he felt he could perform in this format of the game, Yousuf said: "You will have to ask the selectors".

While Misbah has not represented Pakistan for over three years, his record in the shortest version of the game, including an unbeaten century, impressed the selectors. Alam, the left-arm all-rounder, also had a phenomenal domestic Twenty20 tournament last year that included a half- century and a five-wicket haul in the final.

Shoaib Akhtar, who left the field during one of the practice matches due to dehydration and missed the following matches due to a neck strain, has been included in the lineup. "I can assure you that Shoaib Akhtar has recovered from the neck strain and is now fully fit."

The other notable absentees include Mohammad Sami and Yasir Hameed. While Sami's performance has improved of late, Yasir Arafat, who has had an impressive season with Kent, was preferred. "We have noted Sami's performance recently and decided to omit him and bring in Yasir Arafat