Sami and Irfan named as replacements for Arafat and Gul
Defending champions Pakistan suffered a major blow less than a fortnight from the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean when Umar Gul and Yasir Arafat were both officially ruled out of the tournament, having failed to recover sufficiently from injuries picked up in the ongoing training camp. The names of fast bowlers Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Irfan were announced as replacements by Shahid Afridi, Waqar Younis and chief selector Mohsin Khan, though they have to be finally approved by Ijaz Butt, chairman PCB.
Gul’s loss will be a major one for the side. He has been their leading wicket-taker in both the 2007 and 2009 editions of the World Twenty20. His depth bowling was a key component of the 2009 success in particular, a record spell of 5-6 against New Zealand, sparking a turnaround in the team’s fortunes. He is currently the world’s leading wicket-taker in the format.
If both are approved by the chairman, Irfan’s will be one of the stories of the tournament and not only because he will be the tallest bowler there, and possibly one of the tallest ever: his official height, with typical confusion, is recorded as anywhere between 6’8" and 7’2". The left-arm paceman’s rise to national selection is nothing short of remarkable.
according to GEO PCB has contradicted Waqar's announcement of changes and have said Gul and Arafat are still part of the team.
I think PCB stands for Pathetic cricket board.
So true. I would not even call it a board.
.... which means Afridi (some posters were giving him too much credit here...) and the team management have already decided to open with Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt
didn't see the whole tournament but in the RBS T20 semifinal against Sialkot, Sami was clearly the best bowler in the match. and guys like Rana and Asif were also playing in the game. Sami bowled like a demon... yes, the pitch was helpful but none of Sialkot's bowlers were as impressive on an individual basis.
I was just being a bit sarcastic. Sami when he gets it right looks a class act. like the spell I mentioned above on the first day of Sydney test - this was the same test in which our pathetic batters failed to chase down a very gettable target of 176 in the final innings.
Sami was just awesome that morning and looked more dangerous than Asif. It is a shame that he does not bowl like that more often, lack of consistency/self-belief being his real problem
But batting is our main weakness and Shahzaib should have been preferred over a bowler
Too bad for Gul though in my opinion it is still not a big blow to Pakistan. I strongly feel that Pakistan were going to play either Asif or Gul (assuming that Aamer and Ajmal was are already confirmed in the final 11). And between Asif and Gul, I think the vote would have gone in favor of Asif.
Now lets hope that the first choice bowling attack of Pakistan comprising of Asif, Aamer, Ajmal, Razzaq, Afridi remains fit. Don't think that Sami or Irfan will get any chance. After his horrible performance in international cricket over the past many years, Sami has to do something really dramatic in domestic to make the cut.
Really happy for Irfan. As mentioned by OS in cricinfo this guy was followed and supported on another forum since last year. This guy looks like a great future prospect. Hopefully he will learn more from Waqar younis.
I cant believe that Ijaz Butt denied that Mohammad Ifran, when he could have been the surprise package for Pakistan. Instead Abdur Rehman gets selected whom we'll probably never play him unless Ajmal really has a bad day. I am disappointed but what else can you expect from the Pathetic Cricket Board.
re: Sami and Rehman named as replacements for Arafat and Gul
Umer Gull will surely be missed.
This Sami is different. He looks and acts a lot mature. His bowling has variation and pace. I am sure he will do really good if given chance. After the 2003 World Cup debacle, Sami is only one of few young newly introduced players who have actually shown some improvement. Let's hope he stays consistent and does not loose his focus.
Irfan might not have been picked because he wasn't part of the original larger pool of probables and the ICC might not have approved the selection. additionally, he might not have gotten the visa in time. plus there were questions about him even having a passport at all.
these were all points that have been mentioned here and there. so, ppl please go easy on Butt. not everything that goes wrong on this planet is his fault. :)
re: Sami and Rehman named as replacements for Arafat and Gul
^ I agree, I was just about to post that. There simply isnt enough time to get Irfan approved from the ICC as he wasnt in the intial 30 man squad and its not even known if he even has a passport and to get a visa for him. The other fast bowler avalible to the selectors out of the 30 man squad was Wahab Riaz and he is unfit, therefore there was no other fast bowler avalible. With Asif, Aamer and Razzaq gauranteed in the playing eleven, and Sami highly rated by Afridi for T20's I think we shud be alrite.
Goldenasif, Afridi has already mentioned in a couple interviews that Kamran Akmal and Hafeez will open for Pakistan with Umer Akmal or himself to follow at #3.
The speculation after Irfan’s name was removed as a selected replacement from the squad yesterday (19 April) was that this was because of two factors; Irfan’s inability to get a visa for the UK in time for the squad’s departure date, and more crucially, the fact that Irfan’s name was not included in the list of 30 probables announced by the PCB.
Of course, the visa issue was always a red herring as Irfan is scheduled to play league cricket in England shortly and already had his travel arrangements sorted for that, as confirmed by PakPassion.net yesterday.
On the second matter, PakPassion.net has just learnt from the ICC Media Communications **that the PCB never requested Irfan’s inclusion in the squad as a replacement. Further, PakPassion can confirm that there is no ICC requirement for selected players to have been included in the provisional 30 man squad. **
According to the ICC, “A player does not have to be in the provisional 30-man squad to be drafted into the final squad. The PCB did not request Irfan as a replacement. The two replacements requested are Sami and Rehman”.
This demonstrates that Irfan’s selection was never put forward by the PCB. Irfan’s acceptance would have had to go to the ICC Technical Committee for approval, but the ICC has confirmed to PakPassion that there was enough time for this process to have been completed well before the commencement of the World Twenty20.
If I remember correctly Razzaq was also allowed by ICC last year to play for Pakistan during T20 world cup although his name was not there in the final 30 man provisional squad.
