Monday, 2 May 2011

Umar Gul

Umar Gul Biography
Umar Gul(born 15 October 1984 in Peshawar) is a Pakistani cricketer who has played ten Test matches and 25 One Day Internationals for Pakistan as a specialist fast bowler. However, injury has prevented him from a long international career, as he was out of cricket for an entire season after his international debut. Gul was first called up for the team in April 2003, playing four one-day matches at the Cherry Blossom Sharjah Cup against Zimbabwe, Kenya and Sri Lanka, where he took four wickets, and he was in and out of the one-day team after that tournament. However, he played the whole of the 2003 04 home series against Bangladesh, making his Test debut and taking 15 wickets in the three Tests, and took the second-most wickets of any Pakistani bowler in the series, behind Shabbir Ahmed with 17. However, Shoaib Akhtar, who took 13 in third place, only played two of the Tests. Gul was retained for the ODIs against Bangladesh, taking a List A best five for 17 in nine overs in the third match, and ended with 11 wickets in the 5 0 series win. However, he could still not command a regular spot, playing three of Pakistan's nine next ODIs before finally getting dropped after one for 36 against New Zealand. He played two Tests after that, however, taking four wickets in a drawn Test against New Zealand before coming in as replacement for Shabbir Ahmed in the second Test of the three-Test series against India. After coming on as first-change bowler, Gul dismissed Virender Sehwag with his second over, and then bowled unchanged for 12 overs either side of lunch to take five Indian top order wickets - including Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, who both had Test batting averages above 50, as did Sehwag. Gul finished with five for 31 in his spell, earning him commendation from Cricinfo journalist Dileep Premachandran, who praised his \"control of line and length\", and he was also named Man of the Match despite conceding runs at five an over in the second innings in a nine-wicket win. However, Gul was then ruled out of the third Test with a back injury which kept him out of cricket for an entire year. He returned to play two games at the 2004 05 Twenty20 Cup, and played some matches for Pakistan A and a Pakistan XI in warm-up games before the Test matches against England the following season, but he was not selected for the matches and has instead played three matches with Peshawar at the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Gul was selected in Pakistan squad for the 2006 tour of England as a replacement to the injured Shoaib Akhtar. Gul had signed a one year contract with Gloucestershire to play in 2007, but the Pakistan Cricket Board failed to give them their permission. Gul appeared in all three of Pakistan's group matches in the 2007 World Cup taking four wickets with an economy rate of 3.13, only Shane Bond of those to deliver 100 balls was more economical. He also appeared in all of Pakistan's matches at the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 taking 3/15 of 4 overs in the semi-final victory over New Zealand. He took three wickets in the final to finish as the tournament's leading wicket-taker. In February 2008, Gul signed with the Indian Premier League and was drafted by Shahrukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders franchise for US $150,000. He played in six matches, taking 12 wickets at an average of 15.33, including a player of the match award in Kolkata's final game in which Gul took 4-23 and scored 24 runs from 11 balls. In December 2008 Gul signed with the Western Warriors to compete in the Australian domestic 2008-09 KFC Twenty20 Big Bash tournament. He performed very well in his debut match for the Warriors, taking 4 wickets for 15 runs in a losing side.
Umar Gul

Umar Gul

Umar Gul

Umar Gul

Umar Gul

Umar Gul

Umar Gul

Umar Gul

Umar Gul

Umar Gul

Umar Gul Bowling for Western Australia T20
Umar Gul Rocks West Indies

Salman Butt

Salman Butt Biography
Salman Butt (born October 7, 1984 in Lahore, Pakistan) is a Pakistani cricketer who regularly opens the batting for his national side in both Test and ODI matches. He made his Test debut on September 3, 2003 in the 3rd test against Bangladesh, and a year later made his ODI debut against West Indies on September 22, 2004. He started in the Under-17s and quickly progressed through to Under-19 level, although at the time he was much younger than the age limits suggest, making his senior debut for Lahore Whites in 2000 aged only 16. His talent was noticed immediately, which led to him being given a place in the Pakistan A team against England soon after. However, instead of rushing straight for the limelight of international cricket, he got his head down and consolidated by playing consistently for his region and the youth teams, until the Pakistan selectors finally drafted him in 2003. After his debut, Butt was dropped and struggled to regain his place due to some stiff competition for the openers' spots. He returned for the Champions' Trophy in 2004 and scored his first fifty for Pakistan in the Paktel Cup against Sri Lanka. He was not yet particularly famous. In the ODI against India on 13 November 2004, as Pakistan chased down 292, he formed partnerships first with Shoaib Malik, putting on 113, and subsequently with Inzamam-Ul-Haq. Despite having to retire hurt for seven overs due to severe cramp, he returned to steer Pakistan home, finishing on 108 not out. Yet 2005 saw little improvement, and doubts circulated about his defensive technique causing him to yo-yo in and out of the side. But things started looking up again during the winter Test series against England, in which he scored a century and two fifties with a more cautious attitude to his innings-building the he had previously shown.


Salman Butt

Salman Butt

Salman Butt

Salman Butt

Salman Butt

Salman Butt

Salman Butt

Salman Butt

Salman Butt

Salman Butt