Pakistani Cricket Players: May 2011

Muhammad Yousuf Biography

Until his conversion to Islam in 2005, Mohammad Yousuf (formely known as Yousuf Youhana) was one of a handful of Christians to play for Pakistan. After a difficult debut against South Africa in 1997-98, he quickly established himself as a stylish world-class batsman, and a pillar of Pakistan's middle order, alongside Inzamam-ul-Haq. He is no sluggard, but gathers his runs through orthodox, composed strokeplay, unlike some of his colleagues who seldom hint at permanence. He is particularly strong driving through the covers and flicking wristily off his legs and brings with him as decadent and delicious a backlift as any in the game. A tendency to overbalance when playing across his front leg can get him into trouble. He excels at both versions of the game, and in one-day cricket can score 20 or 30 runs before anyone notices. He is quick between the wickets although not necessarily the best judge of a single. There had been questions about his temperament as batsman when the pressure is on, but between 2004 and 2005, he began to silence critics. First came a spellbindingly languid century against the Australians in Melbourne, as captain to boot, where he ripped into Shane Warne like few Pakistani batsmen have before or since. A century in the cauldron of Kolkatta followed but he ended the year with possibly his most important knock: a double century against England at Lahore so easy on the eye, you almost didn't notice it. With Inzamam missing through injury for parts of the innings, Yousuf displayed an unusual responsibility, eschewing the waftiness that has previously blighted him. In 2006, Yousuf truly came of age in a record-breaking year. He began by plundering India and continued in England, not just scoring under pressure, but scoring big. A double ton at Lord's was followed by another big hundred at Headingly and the Oval. He rounded off a fantastic year with four hundreds in three Tests against the West Indies, a feat that took him past Viv Richards's long-standing record of most Test runs in a calendar year and also saw him establish the record for most Test hundreds (9) in a year. With Inzamam nearing a natural end, the credentials of Yousuf as Pakistan's premier batsman are impressive.

Muhammad Yousuf

Shahid Khan Afridi Biography

Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi was born on 1 March 1980 in Khyber Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan, popularly known as Shahid Afridi, is a Pakistani cricketer and current One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 captain of the Pakistani national team in the international circuit. He made his ODI debut on 2 October 1996 against Kenya and his Test debut on 22 October 1998 against Australia.
Afridi is from the Afridi tribe of the Khyber Agency in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and hails from a Pashtun family. He is married and has two daughters, Aqsa and Ansha.
He is known for his aggressive batting style, and holds the record for the fastest ODI century which he made in his first international innings, as well as scoring 32 runs in a single over, the second highest scoring over ever in an ODI. He also holds the distinction of having hit the most number of sixes in the history of ODI cricket. Afridi considers himself a better bowler than batsman, and has taken 48 Test wickets and over 300 in ODIs. Currently Afridi is the leading wicket taker in the Twenty20 format taking 53 wickets from 41 matches.
In June 2009 Afridi took over the Twenty20 captaincy from Younus Khan, and was later appointed ODI captain for the 2010 Asia Cup. In his first match as ODI captain against Sri Lanka he scored a century however Pakistan still lost by 16 runs. He then also took over the Test captaincy but resigned after one match in charge citing lack of form and ability to play Test cricket; at the same time he announced his retirement from Tests. He retained the captaincy in limited-overs form of the game and led the team in the 2011 World Cup.
His general style of batting is very aggressive and attack oriented and has earned him the nickname "Boom Boom Afridi". Moreover, out of the six fastest ODI centuries of all time, Afridi has produced three of them. As of 27 February 2011, he has an ODI strike rate of 113.83 runs per 100 balls, the third highest in the game’s history. This attitude has been transferred to Test cricket as well, with Afridi scoring at a relatively high strike rate of 86.13. He has an approach to batting that can change the tempo of a game and inspire the mood of an audience, as shown when a mass exodus of spectators occurred in Pakistan in late 2005 following his dismissal from the crease.
Having started as a fast bowler, Afridi decided to start bowling spin after someone told him he was throwing. He modelled himself on Pakistan leg-spinner Abdul Qadir. Afridi began his career as primarily a bowler, however after scoring the fastest century in his maiden ODI innings more was expected of him with the bat. He considers himself a better bowler than batsman. While he is renowned for his aggressive batting, he is also a handy leg-spinner capable of producing a good mix of wicket taking balls.
He has over 300 International wickets, most of which are from the ODI format. While his stock ball is the leg break, his armoury also includes the conventional off break and a ‘quicker one’ which he can deliver in the style of a medium-pacer. He bowls at a high speed for a spinner, resulting in lesser turn, and relying more on variations in speed. He occasionally sends down a bouncer to a batsman, which is very rare for a spin bowler.

Shahid Khan Afridi

Pakistani Cricket Players

Monday 23 May 2011

muhammad yousuf biography

Shahid Khan Afridi Biography