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Zaka Ashraf continues to remain suspended
The suspension of Zaka Ashraf has been upheld by the Islamabad High Court. The court also ordained the inter-provincial coordination committee to appoint an interim chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Read More...Pakistan vs South Africa Preview
After both losing their first game of the tournament, Pakistan and South Africa will now face each other in a do or die situation, and hence it will extract the best out of these two teams, tomorrow. This 5th game of Champions Trophy will be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Read More...West Indies edge out Pakistan in Champions Trophy 2013
West Indies and Pakistan showed that one-day cricket doesn't require bit boundary hitting and mammoth scores, to produce an exciting contest, that has spectators sitting on the edge of the edge of their seats. Read More...Pakistan vs West Indies Preview
After winning their last warm-up matches, Pakistan and West Indies will now face each other in their first fixture of ICC Champions Trophy, tomorrow. The match will be played at the Kennington Oval in London. Read More...Zaka Ashraf suspended by High Court as PCB Chairman
The chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Zaka Ashraf has been suspended by the Islamabad High Court. The suspension has been ordered for adopting polluting and dubious means during the election of Ashraf. Read More...Asad Rauf returns to Pakistan
Pakistan umpire Asad Rauf, who has recently been put under investigation by the Mumbai Police, has gone back to Pakistan. Mumbai Police have been seeking Rauf to question him about the spot-fixing scandal that shook the IPL. Rauf officiated several matches in the Twenty20 tournament. Read More...Asad Rauf pulled from Champions Trophy
The ICC has withdrawn Pakistan umpire Asad Rauf from the Champions Trophy. As a result, Asad will not be able to officiate in any match in the tournament going to hold in England in June. Read More...Scotland VS Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Edinburgh
After registering their first victory on a long tour of England, Pakistan will now face Scotland in the 2nd and final match of the ODI series at Edinburgh. As was expected, their bowling rescued them in the end, after they were not up to the mark in their batting. Read More...Younis, Afridi retain PCB contracts
For this year, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced 30 central contracts. The contracts include 15 percent increment in the monthly retainership charge. Read More...Ashraf happy with PC election
Recently, Zaka Ashraf has been elected as the chairman of the PCB for next four years. The board admitted that the endorsement was done through a representation process, which was not quite a pure democratic one. However, the PCB said that it was in line with the recommendations of the ICC. Read More...Pakistan ICC World Cup 2011 Profile
Pakistan has the propensity to win in the most unlikely of scenarios.
Strength
Pakistan has the tendency to bounce off any adversity and often surprise the world in cricket. Their win in the 1992 World Cup was the biggest case in point. Everything looks dead and buried for the side in the middle of the tournament and they were one game away from being knocked out. Instead, they had not only lifted themselves well but also gone on to win that cup. The side has the propensity to win in the most unlikely of scenarios.
Weakness
One gets the sense that the side needs a leader who can bind the team together like glue. In Shahid Afridi, one may have a small percentage of what Imran Khan was once for the side, but they need something much more. Already Afridi has been involved in far too many controversies to be liked by all within the side and if there is the one issue that the side could have is their lack of unity.
Opportunity
Pakistan were going to host the World Cup along with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. And then the security situation deteriorated so badly in the country that not only were the hosting rights of the World Cup snatched away from them, but there has also not been too much cricket played in Pakistan since. The World Cup will be a perfect opportunity for the side to get together and gain some of the lost mileage back by stringing together some good results.
Threat
Often, the off the field issues have threatened to derail the Pakistani team. However, 2010 was an exception. Not only did the controversies had the better of the team, things had come to such a stand that there was a good chance that the Pakistan Cricket Board could have received sanctions from the ICC for allowing corruption to continue to rule the roost. Match-fixing is a big issue that could still exist and cause much concern amongst the fans.
Previous Record
Pakistan have won the World Cup once before and that came in 1992. Apart from that win, they have been the losing finalists in 1999 when they were crushed by the ruthless Aussies, while entering the semi-finals in 1979 and 1987. In 1996, they were eliminated by India in a quarter-final battle in Bangalore, while in 2003 and 2007 they were shocking ousters from the first round of the competitions. Unfortunately for them, they have never won against arch-rivals India in the World Cup.
Expected Captain
As things currently stand, Shahid Afridi will captain the side but one can never tell with Pakistan cricket. The PCB has already asked the ICC for approval for the list of players it can choose and it will be difficult to predict who gets to lead the side.
Players to look out for
Abdul Razzaq is the one all-rounder who has shown a sense of adaptability to any situation and he will be the one to carry his side’s hopes. Apart from Afridi, the other player who could do well is Umar Gul with his ability to bowl the yorker-length deliveries towards the end of the innings.