Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram Biography

Wasim Akram born in Lahore, Punjab is a former Pakistani cricketer. He was a left-arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman, who represented the Pakistani cricket team in Tests and One Day Internationals. Widely regarded as one of the finest fast bowlers ever, Akram holds world records for the most wickets taken in both ODIs (502) and List A cricket (881), and was one of the pioneers of reverse swing bowling. The revolutionary nature of reverse swing initially resulted in accusations of ball tampering, although reverse swing has now been accepted as a legitimate feature of the game. Akram's later career was also tarnished with accusations of match fixing, although these remain unproven.

Wasim retired in 2003, after a brief spell with Hampshire in England. Since then, Wasim has taken up commentary and can currently be seen as a sportscaster for the ESPN Star network, and is also running shows on ARY Digital. He is married to Huma Mufti, daughter of Mr. Humayaun Mufti. Wasim and Huma have two sons from their marriage of fourteen years. Wasim has also appeared in Fuzon video as a model.

Wasim Akram

Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar Biography

Shoaib Akhtar is a former professional cricketer who played testes and One Day International matches for the Pakistan national team in ICC organized events. He has been dubbed as The Rawalpindi Express after the place where he was born and he is arguably the fastest bowler the world of cricket has ever seen, easily clocking 150 km/hour on many occasions. He became the first man to bowl a delivery over 100 miles/hour or 161.3 km/hour, which is the fastest delivery ever bowled in the history of cricket against England.

Moreover, not only did he achieve a speed of 100 miles/hour on his delivery, he achieved it twice during one single match and that is something that makes him very unique in the world of fast bowlers. His prowess lay in being able to bowl fast and precise Yorkers as well as quick bouncers and these abilities made him one of the greatest as well as most feared bowlers of all time, the likes of which had not been seen in international cricket since the times of Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Jeff Thompson, Dennis Lillie, Malcolm Marshall and the likes – players who depended on raw pace to pick up wickets.

However, Shoaib Akhtar was also a very controversial figure and it followed him wherever he went. It has been said that he was very selfish and not a team man. The Pakistan team management once sent him home from Australia in the middle of a series because of an alleged poor behavior on his part. In 2006, he was perhaps involved in the biggest controversy when WADA found Shoaib Akhtar guilty of taking performance enhancing drugs and the ICC banned him from playing cricket. This ban was however lifted and he returned to the Pakistan national side the following year and almost immediately, got himself banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board or the PCB for fighting with team mate and fellow opening bowler Mohammad Asif during a training session.

He was selected to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders for the inaugural IPL but injuries blighted his season and he played only a handful of matches. Akhtar was so injury prone that he only managed to play a total of 46 tests and 163 One Day Internationals in his 12 year international career, taking a total of 425 wickets in all. Shoaib Akhtar, in spite of all his short comings, is truly a legend of the game and no matter what happens, cricket will always remember this flamboyant star.

Shoaib Akhtar

Muhammad Amir

Muhammad Amir Biography

Muhammad Aamir (born 13 April 1992) is a Pakistani left-arm fast bowler, hailing from Gujar Khan, Punjab. He is a highly thought of young prospect, making his international debut at the age of just 17 at 2009 World T20 and played in every match in the process of helping Pakistan win the World Cup. Aamir was youngest player to be competing in the tournament.His debut was against England. He is mainly noted for his whippy action which generates notably quick pace and swing. Aamir was first picked out as a pace prospect by the renowned Pakistani fast bowler Wasim Akram at a pace camp back in 2007. Aamir, then 15 years old, went on a tour of England with thePakistan U19 side and was one of the leading bowlers, taking regular wickets at a low average. Aamir then played in a tri-nation tournament featuring Sri Lanka and England, he again excelled with his pace and swing bowling. Due to injury he played only a limited part in the U19 World Cup in Malaysia in 2008. In March 2008 he made his domestic debut for the Rawalpindi Rams whilst also representing theNational Bank of Pakistan. His debut domestic season resulted in him taking 55 first-class wickets for NBP. He took a lot of top order wickets and those of players in the national side. This strong domestic form resulted in him being selected for the 2009 Twenty20 World Cup. In the final of the Twenty20 World Cup Aamir bowled a wicket maiden in the opening over of the match, taking the wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan who was later named player of the tournament. Pakistan legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram expressed his concerned for the future of Pakistancricket in the current security situation but says the talent is still being produced in his country. “We all, every Pakistani, is worried,” Akram said in the weekly ICC Cricket World audio show. “Until some teams eventually start touring Pakistan then only Pakistancricket will flourish. There’s a lot of talent there. We showed that during the ICC World Twenty20. Talent is very much there but first and foremost, they have to play more cricket,” he further said.Pakistan recently introduced a 17-year old Mohammad Aamir in the ICC World Twenty20 and his brilliant show in the tournament has drawn munificent praise and earned him a maiden call up to the Test team for the series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan Cricket Board handed a central contract of category ‘C’.

Muhammad Amir

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Shoaib Akhtar

Shoaib Akhtar Biography

Shoaib Akhtar is a former professional cricketer who played testes and One Day International matches for the Pakistan national team in ICC organized events. He has been dubbed as The Rawalpindi Express after the place where he was born and he is arguably the fastest bowler the world of cricket has ever seen, easily clocking 150 km/hour on many occasions. He became the first man to bowl a delivery over 100 miles/hour or 161.3 km/hour, which is the fastest delivery ever bowled in the history of cricket against England

. Moreover, not only did he achieve a speed of 100 miles/hour on his delivery, he achieved it twice during one single match and that is something that makes him very unique in the world of fast bowlers. His prowess lay in being able to bowl fast and precise Yorkers as well as quick bouncers and these abilities made him one of the greatest as well as most feared bowlers of all time, the likes of which had not been seen in international cricket since the times of Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Jeff Thompson, Dennis Lillie, Malcolm Marshall and the likes – players who depended on raw pace to pick up wickets.

However, Shoaib Akhtar was also a very controversial figure and it followed him wherever he went. It has been said that he was very selfish and not a team man. The Pakistan team management once sent him home from Australia in the middle of a series because of an alleged poor behavior on his part. In 2006, he was perhaps involved in the biggest controversy when WADA found Shoaib Akhtar guilty of taking performance enhancing drugs and the ICC banned him from playing cricket. This ban was however lifted and he returned to the Pakistan national side the following year and almost immediately, got himself banned by the Pakistan Cricket Board or the PCB for fighting with team mate and fellow opening bowler Mohammad Asif during a training session.

He was selected to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders for the inaugural IPL but injuries blighted his season and he played only a handful of matches. Akhtar was so injury prone that he only managed to play a total of 46 tests and 163 One Day Internationals in his 12 year international career, taking a total of 425 wickets in all. Shoaib Akhtar, in spite of all his short comings, is truly a legend of the game and no matter what happens, cricket will always remember this flamboyant star.

Shoaib Akhtar

htar

Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq Biography

Full name Abdul Razzaq

Born December 2, 1979, Lahore, Punjab

Current age 31 years 41 days

Major teams Pakistan, Asia XI, Hampshire, Hampshire 2nd XI, Hyderabad Heroes, ICL Pakistan XI, Khan Research Labs, Lahore, Lahore Lions, Middlesex, Pakistan International Airlines, Surrey, Worcestershire

Also known as Abdur Razzaq

Batting style Right-hand bat

Bowling style Right-arm fast-medium

Profile:

Abdul Razzaq was once rapid enough to open the bowling and remains composed enough to bat anywhere, though he is discovering that the lower-order suits him nicely. His bowling – the reason he was first noticed – is characterised by a galloping approach, accuracy, and reverse-swing. But it is his batting that is more likely to win matches. He boasts a prodigious array of strokes and is particularly strong driving through cover and mid-off off both front and back foot. He has two gears: block or blast. Cut off the big shots and Razzaq gets bogged down, although patience is his virtue as he demonstrated in a match-saving fifty against India in Mohali in 2005. Just prior to that he had also played a bewilderingly slow innings in Australia, scoring four runs in over two hours. When the occasion demands it though, as ODIs often do, he can still slog with the best of them: England were pillaged for a 22-ball 51 at the end of 2005. and then again for nearly 60 runs in the last three overs of an ODI in September the following year.

Best Performance Videos of Abdul Razzaq

Abdul Razzaq 46* off 18 Balls

Abdul Razzaq

Waseem Akram

Waseem Akram Biography

Claim to Fame: Pakistani cricket fast bowler

DOB: June 3, 1966

Diabetes Type: 1

Regarded by many to be the greatest left-handed fast bowler in the world, Wasim Akram is known for being the face of cricket and a pioneer in reverse swing bowling. Highly respected by his contemporaries for an impressive career, ornamented by an ICC Cricket Hall of Fame induction and with various records broken, Akram is not free from controversy. Accused of ball tampering and match fixing, the cricket champ has struggled to maintain his reputation.

Born in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan to a middle-class family, Akram attended Islamia College where he performed as an opening bowler and batsman. Displaying tremendous talent and flair in Test cricket, Akram attracted the attention of Pakistani All-rounder, Imran Kahn. Kahn would become Akram’s close friend and mentor at the World Championship of Cricket in Australia.

Throughout the 80’s Akram’s fame grew and the cricket world was forced to take note of the talent that Kahn observed in the young bowler. However, in 1988, Akram suffered a pulled groin, the first of many injuries that would slow his development as an athlete and hinder his career. However, in the early 90’s, Akram appeared on the scene recovered and with a faster, more deliberate bowling swing that made the world focus on him again. At the 1992 Cricket World Cup, Akram’s new style of swing proved deadly and the Pakistan National Team won the tournament. The success of the group and the leadership abilities of Akram garnered him the title of “captain,” a distinction he held until his retirement in 2003 after accusations of match fixing arose.

Following his retirement, Akram found himself as a sports commentator for ESPN and other networks, reporting on a number of sports, not just cricket. However, in 2010, Akram entered back into the world of cricket as bowling coach consultant for the Kolkata Knight Riders and as a couch for a number of training camps. The former cricket champ also found great support and gratification in his work as diabetes advocate and spokesperson for Accu Chek. Akram, who was diagnosed with type I diabetes in 1997, speaks openly about his illness and is determined to use his fame to promote awareness and break the stereotype that diabetes can’t be controlled. Akram, in an interview with Complete Wellbeing, stated,” I wanted to help people become aware of the disease and what is available to deal with it. I took 250 wickets after I was diagnosed with diabetes. I monitor my sugar levels every second day before breakfast and after lunch. If I am stressed about something I check my sugar to see how it is affected by stress. As I am in the know about what affects my sugar levels, I am more able to control it.”

Waseem Akram

Imran Nazir

Imran Nazir Biography

Imran Nazir an other gift of Allah for the Pakistan in the cricket player’s team. But the distrust was that as he offers more genuine promise than most. He is predominantly strong off the back foot, loves forcing all the way through the covers. His hostile behavior towards his cricket passion has had him made as a one-day player. In the initial period of his entrance he couldn’t perform well in his first few Tests.

Ultimately, on the other hand, Glenn McGrath and Co noticed his method and deficient of footwork rather cruelly in two Tests matches against Australia. The preference of Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar moved him upward level, which enhance his career charm and He became National squad against South Africa in 2006-07 because of the consistency in performances in in-land matches. And he was selected for World Cup 2007 team on his volatile performance 39-ball 57-scores, but his three failure match series won’t polish his performance and become a slight decline of his image in the Pakistani people. Over all his performance made him one of the best fielders in the Pakistan cricket team, so he is considered as to be the 1st Pakistani to flip-flop (while intercepting a square cut).

His career-best performance of 160 adjacent to Zimbabwe in the World Cup retained him for the following such tours to Abu Dhabi and Scotland whereas Imran also is being elected for Pakistani cricket training camps. Then he was selected in Twenty20 World Championship and rewarded by a “Central Contract” in July 2007 before representing Pakistan in the home ODI series in opposition to South Africa. Later-on he coupled with the unsanctioned Indian Cricket League and performed very well for the Lahore Badshahs, but when the PCB pardoned players to have severed ties with the ICL, Imran Nazir was soon called back into the ODI side.

Imran Nazir