Twenty20 / Ed Hawkins / 14 April 2010 / 4

Things wouldn't be the same if Pakistan were not banning, fining or rowing with their players. The World Twenty20 holders may be beset with internal strife and injuries, but Ed Hawkins wouldn't have it any other way

Pakistan are in full-blown crisis lockdown mode. The sun will come up tomorrow. So nothing revelatory about either of those statements, then. The World Twenty20 champions have decided to prepare for the defence of their crown in the Caribbean by aiming both barrels at both feet and pulling the trigger.

Currently slumped in the corner nursing their wounds, Pakistan admittedly do not look much of a betting option in the West Indies at [11.00] and drifting. The board have humiliated the players and most of them aren't even fit. But so what? Such worries pale into insignificance compared to problems past.

Simply, Pakistan would not be Pakistan without a good old ding dong going on between players and board, players and coaching staff, players and players or, for the best possible results, an amalgamation of all three. This is a team which rarely arrive for a tournament or a Test series without turning the air blue first.

Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi, key cogs in last year's World Twenty20 win, had to be pulled apart in the dressing room in 2005 and it was no surprise that reports of more unrest in the camp surfaced during their march to glory. And who can forget Shoaib Akhtar doing his bit for team harmony by attacking new-ball chum Mohammad Asif with a bat? Pakistan are at their most dangerous when cornered like tigers.

The story line for the latest episode of the soap opera is as dramatic as one would expect. Mohammad Yousuf, not a Twenty20 player anyway, was banned indefinitely for being a disruptive influence, Rana Naved-al-Hasan has been banned for a year for undisclosed charges, Shoaib Malik gets the same amount of bird, the Akmal brothers have been fined for bad attitude and Shahid Afridi, the new captain after Younis Khan quit, also gets hit in the pocked for his infamous ball-biting.

There's more. As long as the charge sheet is the Pakistan injury list. Afridi (finger), Umar Gul (shoulder), Umar Akmal (side) and Fawad Alam (hand) have niggles and Yasir Arafat, is out of the competition with a calf injury.

Any normal international team would implode under the pressure of such disruption. Not Pakistan, however. If the bumps and bruises clear up, which they should, Pakistan will still be able to field the same XI, Malik and Younis apart, which beat Sri Lanka in the final at Lord's last summer to spark celebrations on the streets of Islamabad.

Twenty20 is a format which rewards natural ability rather than artificial intelligence, the sort of game plans and tactics which in 50-over cricket can often help a team to make more than the sum of its parts. See the overperforming New Zealand team of the last World Cup or the all-conquering Gloucestershire side of the late 1990s and early 2000s. Twenty20 is see ball, hit ball out of park. Or bowl six yorkers at the death of an innings. Talent. Nothing more. Pakistan have got it in abundance no matter who has fallen out with who.

With a win percentage of an astonishing 73 they are still A-roads ahead of every other international team. And despite their issues, the XI they are likely to be able to field in the Caribbean is balanced, and has the key bases covered.

At the top of the order they can choose from Shahzaib Hasan, Kamran Akmal, Afridi and Salman Butt to give them a fast start. Misbah-ul-Haq, star of the first T20 World Cup, and Umar shore up the middle order while Abdul Razzaq can launch the ball late and long; their bowling unit is second to none. Gul, Razzaq, Mohammed Aamer, Saeed Ajmal and Afridi were good enough a year ago. In short, little has changed.

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(4)

1. qfar | 14 April 2010

   and Shahid Afridi, key cogs in last year's World Twenty20 win, had to be pulled apart in the dressing room in 2005 and it was no surprise that reports of more unrest in the camp surfaced during their march to glory. And who can forget Shoaib Akhtar doing his bit for team harmony by attacking new-ball chum Mohammad Asif with a bat? Pakistan are at their most dangerous when cornered like tigers.

2. Ghazanfar | 14 April 2010

   What makes Yasir Arafat the best Twenty20 bowler in the world? I think you mistook him for Umar Gul, if I'm not mistaken...

3. iqbal durrani | 30 April 2010

   With the call back of Mohammad Hafeez who bowls spin too, and Mohammed Asif back into the side, Shahid Afridi with the fighting spirit, Pakistan in my opinion have a real good chance into the finals and they may retain the cup too

4. EdHawkins | 01 May 2010

   Ghazanfar, Arafat is the world's most successful Twenty20 bowler with 90 wickets acccording to Cricinfo

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