Cutting News

Newly-appointed head coach of Pakistan cricket team Mickey Arthur will take charge of his duty at the conclusion of the on-going Indian Premier League (IPL) later this month.
The post of the Pakistan head coach was left vacant after former Test speedster Waqar Younis resigned following Pakistan’s disastrous World T20 performance in India.
Arthur became Pakistan’s fifth overseas coach. Before him, Richard Pybus of England has served the Pakistan team in 1999 and 2002-03. Bob Woolmer, another British, was in charge of the Pakistan cricket team from 2004 till his death in 2007. Aussie Geoff Lawson also coached Pakistan from 2007 to 2008 and Dav Whatmore from Australia performed duties as Pakistan’s head coach for two years from 2012 to 14.
The upcoming England tour where the Pakistan team will play four Tests, five ODIs and a solitary Twenty20, will be Arthur’s first coaching assignment.
South Africa-born Arthur, who expressed his intention to handle the Pakistan cricketers strictly, has accepted probably the toughest task of his coaching career.
Though Arthur has over 15 years international coaching experience in his kitty, yet the Pakistan bunch of cricketers are set to give him a different kind of challenge to deal with. The Pakistan cricket team, which is known as world’s most unpredictable side, has a long history of disciplinary issues, both on and off the field.
Controversy is not a new word for Pakistan cricket. The Pakistan cricketers are quite consistent in making headlines for wrong reasons, rather than performance.
Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shahzad, Shahid Afridi, Sharjeel Khan, Yasir Shah have been quite ‘busy’ in creating troubles for the team management through their erratic attitude in recent months. Arthur will have to utilize all of his ‘weapons’ to keep the Pakistan cricketers under control.
It is pertinent to mention here that Mickey was sacked by Australia for being too strict with the players but he had done a great job with the South African team.
It’s pertinent to mention here that Pakistan has tried every kind of coaches – young, old, local and foreign etc but nothing proved fruitful. It means, the situation has exceeded all limits and now only a true professional approach with strict rule and regulations can revive Pakistan’s fortunes in cricket.
Arthur had a successful run as South Africa's head coach. He took over as head coach of South Africa in 2005, when the Proteas were ranked third among Test-playing nations and sixth in the one-day format. Four years later, South Africa was ranked No.1 in both formats. Under Mickey, South Africa won Test series in India, England and Australia in 2008.
He was appointed head coach of the Australian cricket team from 2011-2013 and won 10 of his 19 Tests in charge.
Arthur also performed coaching duties in the Caribbean Premier League, Bangladesh Premier League and Pakistan Super League.
A look at Pakistan’s previous cricket coaches:
Mushtaq Mohammad
Former captain Mushtaq Mohammad coached the Pakistan cricket team in the 1980s.
Intikhab Alam
Intikhab Alam, who played in 47 Tests and four ODIs from 1959 to 1977, was the coach/manager of Pakistan’s World Cup winning team in 1992. In October 2008, Intikhab was once again named manager/coach of the Pakistan cricket team by the PCB, a day after Australian Geoff Lawson was sacked as the national coach of Pakistan.
In 2009, Intikhab was in charge of the team when Pakistan won the Twenty20 World Cup title by defeating Sri Lanka in the final at Lord’s.
Javed Minadad
Miandad was first appointed coach in September 1998. Under his reign Pakistan defeated India in India, won a tri-series in India, the Asian Test Championship and  the 1999 Sharjah Cup. Strangely, Miandad faxed his resignation to the PCB in late April 1999, just before the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
In 2000, Miandad was reappointed as  coach. During his second reign, Pakistan won the Test series in Sri Lanka. Pakistan lost the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal under his reign. Miandad was removed in April 2001 after Pakistan lost the ODI series in New Zealand.
After Pakistan's dismal show in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, another cleanup operation was undertaken by the PCB, naming Rashid Latif as captain and Javed Miandad as team coach in March 2003. During this reign, Miandad won the home Test series against South Africa. Pakistan lost the home ODI series to India in 2004 and following the loss of the Test series, Miandad was shown the door in June 2004.
Richard Pybus
Richard Pybus was approached and hired four times by Pakistan from 1999 to 2003. Firstly, he was asked to work with the national cricket team only for the 1999 Cricket World Cup.
He was again invited to coach the Pakistan team full-time during the later half of 1999 on a two-year contract but he was sacked prematurely after Pakistan lost the Test series to Australia. Pybus re-joined Pakistan for a third time in September 2001.
PCB Chairman General Tauqir Zia appointed Pybus to coach Pakistan for a fourth time in September 2002 after a series of poor results. His last tenure ended on a disappointing note in the Cricket World Cup 2003 where Pakistan were eliminated in the first round.
Mohsin Khan
Former opening batsman Mohsin Khan was appointed as interim coach of the Pakistan team in October 2011 while the PCB formed a committee to search a certified coach. Under Mohsin, Pakistan outplayed strong England by 3-0 in the Test series in the UAE.
Mohsin Khan was removed as interim coach once Dav Whatmore was selected as Pakistan's permanent coach in early 2012.
Dav Whatmore
Davenell Frederick ‘Dav’ Whatmore was appointed Pakistan head coach on March 4, 2012, for a two-year term. His first assignment was a successful one as Pakistan lifted the Asia Cup after beating Bangladesh in the final. He left the coaching position when his contract ended in 2014.
Moin Khan
Former captain and wicketkeeper Moin Khan was appointed the new head coach of the national team on February 11, 2014, replacing Dav Whatmore for a brief period.
Jeff Lawson
Lawson was appointed as coach of the Pakistan cricket team for two years on July 16 2007. In October 2008, Pakistan Cricket Board’s then chairman Ijaz Butt stated Lawson's contract would not be renewed once his term finishes in April 2009 but he was sacked on October 24, 2008 even before his signed tenure.
Bob Woolmer
Robert Andrew Woolmer was appointed coach of the Pakistan team in 2004. Under Woolmer, Pakistan team drew Test rubber 1–1 against India in 2005 and won the ODI series 4–2. Pakistan also beat England in a home series under Woolmer in 2005.
In the next series against India, Woolmer's side was victorious in the Test series, winning it 1–0; however, the side lost the ODI series 4–1. Pakistan then beat Sri Lanka 2–0 in a 3-match ODI series and achieved a third consecutive Test series win with a 1–0 win in a 2-match Test series with Sri Lanka.
On March 18, 2007, Woolmer died mysteriously in Jamaica, just a few hours after the Pakistan team's unexpected elimination at the hands of Ireland in the 2007 Cricket World Cup. Woolmer was found dead in his hotel room at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel.
Waqar Younis
Waqar Younis was appointed as the bowling coach for Pakistan team in March 2006. He resigned from this position in January 2007 in protest against the PCB’s decision to retain him only for the Test series against South Africa.
He was re-appointed as Pakistan's bowling coach for their tour of Australia in December 2009. In February 2010, Younis was appointed the head coach of Pakistan after Intikhab Alam was sacked as coach.
Waqar's first job as coach was to lead an inexperienced Pakistan side in the 2010 ICC World Twenty20. He guided the defending champions to the semifinal of the tournament before they were eliminated by Australia. Waqar eventually stepped down as Pakistan coach in August 2011 citing personal reasons.
In May 2014, Waqar was reappointed as the head coach of the Pakistan cricket team for a period of two years, commencing from June 2014.
Waqar resigned from the position of head coach of the Pakistani Cricket team, on April 4, 2016, after poor performance in the World T20.

The national kabaddi team provided the Pakistan nation with a much-wanted sigh of relief when they outplayed archrivals India in the final of the 6-Nation 3rd Asian Kabaddi Championship on Friday (May 6) at the POF, Wah.
The Pakistan team defended the title quite comprehensively defeating India by 50-31 in the presence of a mammoth crowd. Pakistan remained undefeated in the six-nation affair which was played under the single league system.
It was the first major international sports championship during the last one decade, particularly after an infamous terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009.
The tournament was a rare chance for Pakistan to host a multinational sport event at home. Pakistan sports enthusiasts whole-heartedly welcomed the guest teams and demonstrated wonderful discipline throughout the tourney. It’s pertinent to mention here that Pakistan hosted very few international events that too bilateral or individual in any sport due to security fears during the first 15 years of the 21st century.
The tournament is also considered part of efforts initiated jointly by Pakistan and India to revive the traditional form of kabaddi in the region.
The event, which was jointly organised by the Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) and the POF Sports Control Board, was watched by thousands of spectators who braved security checks to reach the ground inside the Wah Cantonment near federal capital Islamabad.
Chairman POF Wah, Umar Mehmood Hayat, and Director General of Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), Dr. Akhtar Nawaz Ganjera, also witnessed the thrilling finale.
It may be recalled here that India had defeated Pakistan in the final of the maiden edition of the Asian Championship staged in Iran in 2011.
In the second edition in 2012 held at Punjab Stadium Lahore, Pakistan defeated India in the final after the neighbouring team forfeited the last five minutes of the game for alleged biased umpiring.
However, this time the decider ended without any controversy with Pakistan dominating the title clash throughout. The Pakistani players gave complete respect to their opponents and it was a highly friendly gesture shown by all the teams as a neat and fair game of kabbadi was witnessed during the 5-day grand event.
In the final match, after having strong 24-15 lead in the first half, Pakistan started the second half from where they had left the first and continued to dictate terms. The Indians had no answers to the power and agility of their counterparts.
The hosts kept their dominance both in attack and defence with raider Rana Atif doing a spectacular job by scoring a few superb points. The Indian stoppers remained helpless in coping with the agile raider as he was never grabbed during his scores of raids in the thriller. Waqas Butt and Bilal Mohsin also raided superbly, scoring a few precious points for the home team.
Pakistan kept the lead well intact as they led 35-24, 37-25, 42-29, 43-29, 44-29, 45-29 before sealing a 50-31 victory.
Earlier, in the first half, a tough fight was witnessed, with Pakistan keeping their dominance right from the start till the end.
Pakistani raiders Waqas Butt, skipper M. Irfan Mana and Lala Obaidullah dominated the proceedings with their effective raids which the Indian defenders were unable to cope with. And particularly Waqas grabbed several precious effortless points in the jam-packed stadium.
India's top raiders Sandeep, Manoj Kumar and Gagandeep Singh did their best to narrow the gap but the Pakistani defenders did a fine job to foil most of their efforts.
Pakistan led 4-2, 12-7, 17-9, 20-13, 22-15 and at half-time the hosts were leading 24-15. Iran clinched the third position with three wins. They overpowered Afghanistan 57-14 in their last league outing.
Earlier, Federal Minister for Defense Production Rana Tanveer Hussain and POF Chief Lt-Gen. Omer Mehmood Hayat inaugurated the Third Asian Kabaddi Championship in a colourful opening ceremony.
Six teams including hosts Pakistan, India, Iran, Afghanistan, Nepal and Sri Lanka were in race to win the coveted title.
Holders Pakistan were off to a flying start when they defeated Iran in their first game of the 3rd Asian Kabaddi Championship on May 2.
The Pakistani raiders and defenders put Iran under terrific pressure right from the start. In the first half Pakistan were leading 29-12. In the second half too, the hosts kept the visitors under tight control, never allowing them to fight back, and sealed a comfortable 47-22 triumph.
Skipper Musharraf Javed, Rana Atif, Mohammad Maroof and Shafiq Chishti did a fine job for the defending champions.
Pakistan recorded their second victory when they whipped Sri Lanka without any trouble by 56-23. Under floodlights, the hosts kept control over the game right from the first whistle till the last.
Pakistan's prominent raiders including former captain Shafiq Chishti, M. Maroof and Waqas Butt did a fine job and the Sri Lankan stoppers were unable to prevent them from crossing the central line in the stipulated 30 seconds.
Waqas was playing in the event after having stayed away from international action for a couple of years due to fitness issues. World-class stopper Sajjad Gujar and vice-captain Musharraf Janjua also remained impressive in the defence.
In the first half, Pakistan were leading 30-6. In the second half Pakistan kept their dominance overs the Sri Lankans and sealed a comfortable 56-23 victory.
Title favourites Pakistan and India registered their third successive wins when they downed Afghanistan and Nepal, respectively, in their third round matches of the 3rd Asian Kabaddi Championship.
Pakistan crushed Afghanistan 43-13. Pakistani raiders and stoppers completely dominated the game, never allowing the Afghanis any chance of retaliation. India crushed minnows Nepal 48-16.
Pakistan registered their fourth consecutive win when they blanked minnows Nepal 41-18 in their fourth game of the 3rd Asian Kabaddi Championship.
It was a one-sided affair with the hosts dominating the whole proceedings right from the first whistle. The Pakistani raiders and defenders had a fine practice ahead of their vital showdown against arch-rivals India.
India also defeated Iran 43-30 to record their fourth victory on the trot. Iran showed great commitment on the field but their rivals were too strong.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Kabaddi Federation (PKF) Secretary M. Sarwar told this scribe that holding the 6-Nation Men’s Asian Kabaddi Championship was a remarkable achievement especially in the present circumstances. “The floodlight event became the first major international sports competition in Pakistan during the last seven years,” he added.
Sarwar said it was a great accomplishment to convince five foreign teams to visit Pakistan for the Asian kabaddi event. “We are pretty optimistic that Pakistan will be able to host other major international sports events after the kabaddi championship,” he hoped.
Replying to a question, Sarwar said though there were tough opponents like India and Iran, yet Pakistan had bright victory prospects in the championship. “We had world class players like Shafiq Chishti, Musharraf Janjua and Irfan Mana etc. in our team and that’s why we were quite upbeat about our title winning chances and thanks God, our players lived up to the expectations of the entire nation,” he concluded.

The first round ouster of the national cricket team in the just-concluded World T20 Championship in India triggered a country-wide criticism against the players, team officials and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) office-bearers as well.
Pakistan cricket enthusiasts observed some of the worst performances from the national cricket team in recent months, first in the Asia Cup in Bangladesh and then in the World Cup T20 in India.
A series of wholesale changes in the Pakistan team, team management and PCB setup has also been started following the pathetic show in the World T20 Championship where the Pakistan team could win only one match out of four games.
The captain, head coach and selection committee have been sacked and more “notable” dismissals are expected in the coming weeks.
According to reliable sources, the office of sitting chairman PCB, Shaharyar Khan, is also under threat and he could be the first high-profile casualty in the current PCB setup. “PCB chief has been intimated by the powers concerned to resign or wait for the next orders in days to come,” a source said.
In the first major development, the Pakistan Cricket Board disbanded the national selection committee and removed T20 captain Shahid Afridi and head coach Waqar Younis against the backdrop of poor performances of the team in the T20 Asia and World Cup tournaments.
The above-mentioned removals were made by the PCB chairman after studying the report prepared by a special committee on the team’s poor performance in the Asia Cup and the ICC World T20.
After reviewing the report of the special committee, the chairman immediately disbanded the selection committee headed by former Test batsman Haroon Rasheed.
Former captain Waqar Younis also “resigned” from his position and the PCB has initiated the process of inducting a new coach for the Pakistan team. For this purpose a panel comprising Wasim Akram and Rameez Raja has been formed to assist the board in finding a replacement for Waqar at the earliest.
It may be recalled here that Wasim was also included in a similar panel which had picked up Waqar Younis as head coach in 2014.
Waqar said Pakistan Cricket Board's failure to implement his recommendations after 2015 World Cup and the “leak” of his confidential report after the team's disastrous run at the World T20 played a big role in his decision to quit his post three months before his contract expires.
The 44-year-old took the job for the second time in 2014, having previously held the post in 2010-11.
He made a formidable partnership with Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq to lift the team to number two in the Test rankings late last year, a spot they had previously attained in 2006.
The fast-bowling legend, however, failed to reverse Pakistan's fortunes in the game's shorter formats, with the team ranked a lowly 7th and 8th in Twenty20 and One-day Internationals, respectively.
In his leaked report, Younis criticized the Pakistan Cricket Board's decision to not give him a say in the selection process and blasted the captaincy of Shahid Afridi.
Waqar believed that Pakistan lost the Asia Cup and the World T20 due to the poor captaincy of Shahid Afridi. “On several occasions, I had made it clear that Shahid Afridi was not performing with the bat, ball or as a captain but I was not listened to”.
Veteran all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who was appointed T20 captain till the ICC World T20 2016, was also shown the door. However, the allrounder has expressed his intention to continue playing the shortest format of international cricket.
Though Afridi has had the honour to lead the Pakistan team in all three formats of the game, he could not produce encouraging results in any format.
After Pakistan team’s disappointing performance in the World T20 in India, Afridi took to Facebook to ask forgiveness from cricketing fans all over the country for what he termed his failure to meet the nation’s expectations.
Afridi and veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik both scored less than 100 runs in 4 matches and failed to take responsibility when the side needed it.
Afridi was also “off colour” with the ball as well and his side failed to make their presence felt at the world event and crashed out in the group stage.
Pakistan team manager Intikhab Alam in his tour report termed Afridi a “clueless” captain in the wake of the team’s early exit from the series.
Alam heavily criticised the T20 skipper for his poor on-field tactics and off-field behaviour that threw the national cricket team into undue controversies.
Afridi has been a fan favourite since he burst onto the scene in 1996, striking a 37-ball century against Sri Lanka in only his second match, to set a world record that was unbeaten for 17 years.
He became known as a bowling all-rounder in the second half of his career and was instrumental in Pakistan's early successes in Twenty20 including their 2009 victory.
Wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed has replaced Shahid Afridi as captain of Pakistan's Twenty20 team.
Sarfraz, 28, played in all the four World Twenty20 matches but batted lower down the order throughout the tournament despite having a good strike rate of 120.24 in 21 Twenty20 internationals.
Sarfraz also led Quetta Gladiators in Pakistan's first professional domestic Twenty20 league PSL in February before losing to the Misbah-ul-Haq-led Islamabad United in the final.
After being appointed as the captain of the Pakistan T20 side, Sarfraz thanked the skippers he played under since his international career kicked off in 2007. The wicketkeeper played during the captaincy tenures of Shoaib Malik, Salman Butt, M. Yousuf, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq.
The board also decided to appoint a psychologist and a dietician for the players. It’s important to note that the special committee has described the fitness of the players as a major issue in the poor performance of the Pakistan team.
The national side's next assignment is an away tour to England which kicks off in July this year and will consist of four Tests, five ODIs and a one-off Twenty20 match. Pakistan is likely to play only three T20 internationals in the remainder of 2016, one against England and two against the world champion, the West Indies.

Caribbean cricket enthusiasts will never forget April 3, 2016 and Kolkata’s Eden Gardens cricket venue where the West Indies clinched their first women’s and second men’s World T20 titles on the same day.
West Indies thrashed England by four wickets in the men’s final on Sunday night and their female team outplayed the strong Australian outfit by eight wickets in the afternoon at the same venue.
It is the first time in cricket history that the male and female cricket teams of a country captured World T20 titles in the same year, day and ground.
However, it was not the maiden example of playing the World T20 Championship title clash by male and female teams of a country. Previously Australia performed this feat in 2010, when their male and female cricket teams reached the final match in the West Indies. On that occasion, Australia’s men’s side surrendered to England in the final whereas the women’s team emerged winners against New Zealand.
West Indies men also set a unique record of winning the double crown in T20 cricket. They became the first side to win the World T20 title twice, first time in 2012. They were also the first team to win two ODI World Cups as well.
In the men’s final encounter, West Indies’ lower-order batsman Carlos Brathwaite sealed the second title for his team with some incredible hitting. He hammered four towering sixes off Ben Stokes’ first four balls of the final over to chase the target of 156 for the loss of six wickets with two balls left.
Chasing a rather difficult target, West Indies began their innings on a disappointing note losing three wickets for just eleven runs.
However, Marlon Samuels and Dwayne Bravo came to the rescue and took the score to 86 before Bravo departed after hitting 25 with a six and a four.
Samuels and Bravo added 65 runs for the fourth wicket and then two more wickets fell as the West Indies reached 107 for six.
Now they needed 49 runs from 27 balls with Samuels still at the crease as Brathwaite joined him and they were in no mood to give up the chase.
They added 54 runs from 25 balls, for an unbeaten fifth wicket stand, to finish it after Brathwaite hit four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes in the final over.
When Ben Stokes was tossed the ball for the final over of the match, the West Indies needed 19 runs for victory. Marlon Samuels, 85 not out, was still there but at the non-striker’s end. Perhaps, England felt this was a good thing but strongly-built Brathwaite shattered all English plans through some ruthless hitting.
In the previous two matches Stokes had been so effective when bowling the death overs. The mighty right-hander stood tall in the crease and swung. Poor Stokes sought the yorker but he could never find it.
David Willey claimed three wickets for 20 and Joe Root got two for nine for England.
Earlier, England being sent into bat, managed to reach 155 for nine after a disastrous start losing three early wickets for just 23 runs.
However, Joe Root and Jos Buttler rescued the team from collapse with a 61-run fourth wicket partnership and later Willey slogged a quick fire 21 with two sixes and a four. Root made 54 off 36 balls with seven fours while Buttler scored 36 off 22 balls with three sixes and a four.
West Indian pacers Brathwaite and Bravo captured three wickets each for 23 and 37, respectively, while leg-spinner Samuel Badree took two for 16.
The Caribbean women’s team also became the World T20 champions on the same day. The West Indies women, who made their maiden appearance in the final match, shattered the Aussie women’s dream of winning their fourth successive World T20 title.
Chasing a rather tough target of 149, West Indies completed their eight-wicket victory, with three balls remaining, against the three-time Women’s World T20 champions.
Openers Hayley Matthews and skipper Stafanie Taylor with a remarkable 120-run stand paved the way of for an easy win for the West Indies.
The latter batters, Britney Cooper and Deandra Dottin needed just 29 runs from 26 balls to win and they achieved it in 23 balls.
Matthews, who was declared the Player of the Match, made 66 off 45 balls with three sixes and six fours while Taylor, who was named Player of the Series, scored 59 runs off 57 balls with six boundaries.
Earlier in the semifinal clash, late replacement Lendl Simmons, with unprecedented knock of 82*, led West Indies to a nail-biting seven-wicket win in the last over against India on March 31 at Mumbai.
Highly fluky Simmons was caught twice at the Wankhede Stadium, on 18 and 50, but both times the bowlers had overstepped for no-balls and he made the hosts pay dearly for their mistakes as the West Indies cruised to nerve-wrecking triumph.
The West Indies lost veteran duo Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels early in their reply, but opener Johnson Charles kept them in the hunt with a 36-ball 52 and a third-wicket stand of 97 with Simmons.
The right-handed Simmons plays for Mumbai in the Indian Premier League and was only called into the squad two days ago as a replacement for the injured Andre Fletcher. He cracked seven fours and five sixes in 51 balls and added an unbeaten 80 with Andre Russell for the fourth wicket to take the West Indies home with two balls to spare.
Indian stylish batsman Virat Kohli continued his rich vein of form by smashing an undefeated 89 to guide India to 192 for two after they were put in to bat first.
Kohli also began nervously, twice going close to being run out, but made the opposition pay for failing to take their chances. He struck 11 fours and a six in his 47-ball knock.

The sixth edition of World Twenty20 Cricket Tournament has already begun with the eight-team qualifying round in India from March 8, 2016. After the qualifiers, the 10-team main round will be played from March 15 to April 3, 2016. The first match of the main draw was played between India and New Zealand at Nagpur.
Hosts India and top ranked Test and ODI team Australia, launched the World Twenty20 as favourite teams. It’s interesting to note that Australia, the winners of five 50-overs World Cup titles, could not clinch a single world title in the shortest format of the game in their previous five attempts.
Pakistan’s ICC Elite Panel umpire Aleem Dar, who created history last month with his 100th Test match appearance in South Africa, bagged yet another feat in the first qualifying round match of World T20.
On March 8, the match between Zimbabwe and Hong Kong was his 30th in World T20 tournaments, the most by any umpire. Previously, Australian Simon Taufel had the honour with 29 T20 internationals. Till the filing of this report, Dar has stood in 32 matches of World T20s. Overall, he has officiated 38 T20 Internationals, the most by any umpire in the world.
West Indian master blaster Chris Gayle and Pakistan T20 skipper Shahid Afridi can also achieve such honours in the remaining matches of the ongoing grand event.
Gayle, who has scored 807 runs in 23 matches of World T20s, requires 210 more runs to cross the aggregate of 1,016 runs set by retired Sri Lankan great Mahela Jayawardene. Keeping in view his glorious form, it is expected that he will gather the required number of runs comfortably.
Pakistan T20 captain Shahid Afridi, who has grabbed 35 scalps in 30 matches, is only four wickets short of the rare feat. Right now, Sri Lankan pacer Lasith Malinga topped the list with 38 wickets followed by Saeed Ajmal with 36 wickets.
 A brief history of ICC World T20 tournaments:
 The inaugural ICC World Twenty20 tournament was played in a South Africa in 2007. India emerged winners in a nerve-wrecking title clash against Pakistan at Johannesburg.
The tournament was a huge success. It had everything required for top quality entertainment, including the world's best players and packed out stadiums. The tournament got underway with a stunning display of power hitting from Chris Gayle against South Africa. He hammered 117 off 57 balls including 10 sixes.
The stunning victories of minnows Bangladesh and Zimbabwe against mighty opponents the West Indies and Australia, respectively, also grabbed extraordinary attention across the cricketing world.
M. Ashraful of Bangladesh showed great talent, spanking a 20-ball half-century to humble the West Indies by six wickets. Ashraful broke Jayasuriya's record (23 balls) for the fastest T20 half-century, but Yuvraj upstaged him later in the tournament. Chasing the Windies tally of 164/8, Ashraful came into bat at 28/2 and punished Windies bowlers Darren Powell, Rampaul and Dwyane Bravo to set up an upset win for his team.
Zimbabwe thrashed Australia by five wickets which remains their finest win in T20 cricket. Zimbabwe first had Australia reeling at 19/3 with Hayden, Gilchrist and Ponting back in the dug-out. Chasing Australia's moderate tally of 138/9, Zimbabwe were well on course before wobbling a bit towards the end. Needing 12 runs off the last over, Zimbabwe sneaked home by virtue of 4 leg byes with just one ball remaining.
Yuvraj Singh's 6 sixes off Stuart Broad was another unforgettable happening of the inaugural World T20. Yuvraj’s whirlwind performance left pacer Broad and England shell-shocked.
India were 171/3 at the end of the 18th over. Yuvraj was batting on 14 off six deliveries when Broad came on to bowl the 19th over. As six consecutive sixes flew into the stands and beyond, the southpaw batsman entered history books by lashing the fastest half-century in T20 off just 12 balls. His every shot one was sweetly timed and went off the middle of the bat.
India, of course, went on to win the match by 18 runs and capped it off by winning their maiden title by beating Pakistan in the final. The final match went down to a final-over thriller, with Pakistan needing six from the last four balls but India eventually triumphed as Misbah-ul-Haq's attempted scoop landed in the hands of Sreesanth at short fine-leg.
England were the hosts of second edition of World T20 in 2009. Pakistan, the finalists of inaugural event, emerged winners under the captaincy of stylish batsman Younis Khan.
It was a competition full of surprise victories, as favourites fell at the hands of underdogs. The hosts, England, set the ball rolling in the first match of the tournament as they were embarrassed by Netherlands in a last-ball thriller. Australia were dominated by the West Indies, largely thanks to a thunderous innings by Chris Gayle, as he hit 88 off 50 balls, including some of the largest sixes seen in England.
South Africa hadn't lost a group stage match going into the semi-finals against Pakistan, but Shahid Afridi produced a match-winning performance with both bat and ball. He blasted his way to 51 and bagged two wickets for 16 runs to secure victory.
The final at Lord's was a repeat of a group stage match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Pakistan managed to remove dangerman Dilshan, the Player of the Series, without scoring, which had a big impact on the Sri Lanka innings. Sangakkara put up a fight scoring an unbeaten 64, but his team could post a meagre target of just 138. Afridi once more showed his magnificent form, hitting an unbeaten 54 and won the trophy with 8 balls to spare.
Pakistan’s reign as World T20 champions remained only little over 10 months instead of two years due to some scheduling problem faced by the ICC. Pakistan won the title on June 21, 2009, at Lord’s, but after less than a year, England were crowned next World T20 champions on May 16, 2010 at Bridgetown, Barbados. New champions England outplayed their arch-rival Australia by 7 wickets in the title clash.
England proved the surprise package, winning their first major limited-overs trophy with a comprehensive victory over Australia in the final. The Australians had provided amazing fireworks in the semi-final when Pakistan appeared on course for a second final, only for Michael Hussey to smash 26 from five deliveries to win the game with a ball to spare.
It was a gallant knock from a gallant Aussie. It looked over and out for the Aussies at 144/7 as they still needed 48 runs off the last 17 balls to beat Pakistan and make the final. Mike Hussey along with Mitchell Johnson plundered 18 runs off the 18th over and 16 from the 19th, leaving Australia needing 18 off the final over from Saeed Ajmal. After Johnson took a single, Hussey smacked Ajmal for two consecutive sixes and a four to tie the scores before hitting another six to seal an amazing victory.
The next World T20 event was staged in Sri Lanka in 2012, when the West Indies emerged triumphant against hosts Sri Lanka after a see-saw final.
The tournament heralded the West Indies' resurgence in the global game as they danced their way to a first World title since 1979. Middle order batsman Marlon Samuels struck one of the best T20 performances - 78 off 56 to seal victory in the final. It wasn't a faultless campaign, but they avenged their group losses to Australia and Sri Lanka in the knockouts.
Sri Lanka's consolation came in the form of Ajantha Mendis, who took 15 wickets, the most in a World T20 including 6/8 against Zimbabwe, the best figures in T20s. Brendon McCullum of New Zealand became the only man to score two international T20 hundreds.
Two years later, Bangladesh hosted the 5th World T20 Championship. Now it was Sri Lanka’s turn to clinch the title against former champs India in the 16-team tournament.
Veteran duo Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene marked the event as their T20 swansong. Both the veterans played key role throughout the tournament and ultimately won the first world title for their country in 18 years. Sri Lanka handed India a 6-wicket thrashing in the title clash.

The inaugural Asia T20 Cup concluded on March 6, with India’s title triumph against hosts Bangladesh at Mirpur. This is the first time the Asia Cup was held in the T20 format and India proved why they are the No.1 side in T20 Internationals. It is worth-mentioning here that India has already won five 50-over Asia Cup titles, the most by any Asian team.
India finished their unbeaten run in the Asia Cup with a strong 8-wicket title winning performance in the final. Bangladesh fought hard in phases, but a victory with six balls to spare and eight wickets in hand is a pretty emphatic one in the end. Indian batsmen Shikher Dhawan and Virat Kohli contributed an invaluable 94-run partnership in the title victory.
After Dhawan got out, MS Dhoni, the Indian ODI and T20 captain, promoted himself up the order and finished the match in grand style. He scored 20 off just 6 balls with 1 four and two huge sixes. Dhoni had played only nine balls in the tournament.
On the other hand, the Pakistan cricket team remained completely listless throughout the tournament barring a few positive performances.
Pakistan suffered morale-shattering defeats against old rivals India and hosts Bangladesh to crash out of the race to qualify for Asia Cup final.
Their performance in the tournament was near catastrophic and ignited calls from all quarters for drastic changes in the Pakistan line-up for the all-important World T20 assignment in India.
Responding to demands, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a Special Committee that will help the Board carry out a post-mortem of the Asia Cup debacle.
The committee includes Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq, ex-Test skipper Younis Khan, former Test spinner Iqbal Qasim, Shakil Sheikh (Chairman PCB Cricket Committee) and Subhan Ahmed (PCB’s COO).
Afridi’s role as captain came under scrutiny after Pakistan controversially dropped Wahab Riaz for Anwar Ali in the game against Bangladesh. It was also observed that Afridi went missing from training sessions and skipped meetings with the coaching staff.
Pakistan’s defeat against lowly-ranked Bangladesh could be termed as the biggest shock of the event. The host side outplayed Pakistan by five wickets and confirmed a berth in the title clash.
Pakistan recovered from 28-4 to post 129-7, before Bangladesh reached a winning total of 131-5 in 19.1 overs. Mahmudullah secured victory with a deep mid-wicket boundary.
Mahmudullah was unbeaten on 22, but Soumya Sarkar (48) provided the platform for the victory.
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir had figures 2-26 and kept his side's hopes alive until Mashrafe Mortaza (12 not out) hit him for two consecutive boundaries in the 18th over.
With 18 runs needed in the last two overs, fast bowler Mohammad Sami conceded two no-balls, one of which Mahmudullah cut past the point to hit the boundary. It left Bangladesh needing just three runs to win in the last over.
Mahmudullah, who was at the crease during Bangladesh's two-run defeat by Pakistan in the 2012 Asia Cup final, then hit a boundary to the wild delight of the home cricket enthusiasts.
However, Sarkar's run-a-ball 48 against a high-quality Pakistan attack, despite losing Tamim Iqbal for seven and in-form Sabbir Rahman for 14, was the key to Bangladesh's success.
Earlier, Sarfraz Ahmed led Pakistan's recovery with an unbeaten 58. He and Shoaib Malik, who scored 41, combined in a 70-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Electing to bat first, Pakistan was 28-4 after 10 overs, before the duo counterattacked to give the bowlers a decent total to defend.
Bangladesh fast bowler Al-Amin Hossain claimed 3-25 and caused the early damage for Pakistan, helped by his new-ball partner Taskin Ahmed, 1-14. Left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny finished with 2-35.
Against the UAE, though, Pakistan managed to win the match, but their victory can’t be called a comfortable one. Shoaib Malik and Umar Akmal each scored a half-century as Pakistan survived early innings jitters to beat the United Arab Emirates by seven wickets in the Asia Cup in Dhaka.
Set a modest target after their bowlers had restricted the UAE to 129-6, Pakistan lost three wickets in 17 runs before Malik and Akmal saw them home with solid batting.
Malik made 63 off 49 balls while Akmal added 50 off 46 balls as the pair added 114 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket partnership to steer Pakistan to 131-3 with eight balls to spare. UAE captain Amjad Javed took all three Pakistan wickets as he trapped Sharjeel Khan leg-before for four before inducing an edge from Khurram Manzoor's bat for a duck in his first over.
Pakistan were in danger when Mohammad Hafeez gave a catch to Fahad Tariq at cover for 11 in Javed's next over but Malik and Akmal staved off a further collapse with some cautious batting mixed with calculated aggression.
Shaiman Anwar made 46 off 42 balls for the UAE after the minnows suffered a similar collapse at the start of their innings. Pakistan's pace bowling trio of Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Irfan each claimed a wicket apiece in their respective first spell to leave the UAE struggling with 12-3.
Pakistan's batting finally came good as they successfully chased down a competitive total against Sri Lanka to win by six wickets in an inconsequential final round robin league encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20.
Batting first, Sri Lanka posted a decent 150 for four, riding on a century opening stand between TM Dilshan and Dinesh Chandimal.
In reply, Pakistan produced a collective batting performance to win the match in 19.2 overs. Umar Akmal (48 off 37 balls) and veteran Shoaib Malik (13 not out) added 56 runs in 6.1 overs to take Pakistan home.
Akmal's innings had four boundaries and two huge sixes.
Left-hander Sharjeel Khan hit five boundaries and a six, in his 31 off 25 balls as he added 35 quick runs for the second wicket with Sarfraz Ahmed (38).
Sarfraz was the only Pakistan batsman who played consistent cricket in the tournament. After 25 against India and 58 against Bangladesh, Sarfraz's 37 came off 28 balls with six boundaries as he set up the game nicely for Akmal and Malik to provide finishing touches.
Akmal hit a brilliant six to level scores but was dismissed to an outstanding catch by Thisara Perera. It was left to Malik to hit the winning runs but was lucky as the mid-off fielder dropped a dolly.