Fans Diary

Biography of David Beckham

David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE (born May 2, 1975) is an English professional footballer who currently plays for Real Madrid. Beckham was named as a member of Pelé’s FIFA 100. In addition to his success on the pitch, Beckham has been recognized by Time as one of 2004′s Time 100 (Heroes & Icons), as well as an elite global advertising brand. Beckham was already a crowd-pleasing star for Manchester United when he married Spice Girls star Victoria Adams (“Posh Spice”) in July of 1999

Beckham is the fifth most capped English player of all time, has twice been the runner up in the FIFA World Player Of The Year Award in 1999 and 2001 and in addition to being the only Englishman to score in three different World Cups, is also only the ninth player in World Cup history to score twice from direct free kicks. He was captain of the English national team from 15 November 2000 to July 2, 2006.

Beckham’s career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first first-team appearance in 1992, at the age of 17. While with Manchester United he played a key role in their dominance of the FA Premier League in the 1990s and early 2000s, being pivotal in accomplishing The Treble of the League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League in 1999. He left the club to become only the third Englishman to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, after Laurie Cunningham and Steve McManaman.

In 2006, after England’s quarter-final exit at the World Cup in Germany, he stood down as captain and he was then succeeded by Chelsea captain John Terry. Beckham was dropped from the England national team selected by coach Steve McClaren on 11 August 2006.

On 10 January 2007 Real Madrid Sporting Director Predrag Mijatovic announced Beckham would leave the club in mid 2007. On 11 January 2007, Beckham agreed to a move to the MLS team LA Galaxy on a 5 year contract beginning on 1 July 2007, after his current deal with Real Madrid expires. Late Monday (15 January), after speculation in the U.K. and Spanish press on a possible early exit for Beckham from Real Madrid, MLS Commissioner Don Garber denied that his league was attempting to secure an early MLS debut for Beckham.

Biography of Edwin van der Sar

Edwin van der Sar (born October 29, 1970 in Voorhout, Netherlands) is a Dutch football player who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for Manchester United in the English Premier League.

Career

Van der Sar began his career at FC Foreholte (Voorhout’s local football team), then moving to VV Noordwijk, where he was spotted for Ajax. For Ajax he was part of the team who won the UEFA Champions League in 1995. He went on to play for Juventus, and then in 2001 he moved to the English Premiership with Fulham. On June 5, 2005 he moved Premiership club Manchester United in a transfer for an estimated sum in the region of £2 million, signing a two year deal. The exact transfer amount involved was undisclosed.

Van der Sar made his international debut in June 1995 against Belarus. He has been in goal for all three recent eliminations from major competitions due to penalties: Euro 96, 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.

During the penalty shootout, at the end of the Euro 2004 quarter-final against Sweden, van der Sar saved a penalty from Olof Mellberg. That save gave Arjen Robben the chance to win the game for the Netherlands and hand them their first victorious shootout ever.

Van der Sar has a similar style to the Brazilian goalkeeper Claudio Taffarel, specialising in “goalkeeper as sweeper” roles, making him the ideal keeper for attack-minded sides. Like Taffarel, he can spot an unmarked team mate deep in his opponent’s half, and deliver an unexpected accurate drop kick to him, which can lead to a dangerous counter attack.

Edwin van der Sar has represented the Dutch national team 110 times and following Holland’s qualification for the 2006 World Cup is on track to break Frank de Boer’s Dutch record of 112 caps.

Honours

Dutch League: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998

Dutch Cup: 1993, 1998, 1999

League Cup: 2006

Champions League: 1995

European Super Cup: 1995

Intercontintental Cup: 1995

Biography of Wasim Akram

Wasim Akram (born June 3 , 1966 in Lahore Pakistan) is widely recognized as the best left arm fast bowler that the cricketing world has ever seen. An extravagantly talented cricketer , he was , and remains , a controversial character.

Contents

1 Controversial Career

2 One Day Success

3 Retirement

4 International Record

Controversial Career

At his best , Wasim Akram was the finest fast bowler of his generation. There were few skills of the fast bowlers armory which he did not have at his disposal: in addition to his genuine pace , pin point control of line and length and seam position he had complete control over both outswing and inswing. He is also credited with being the first to master reverse swing , and by the end of his career was producing it almost at will.

Wasim was one of Lancashire’s most successful overseas players ever. From 1988 to 1998 , he spearheaded their attack in their Nat West Trophy , Benson & Hedges Cup and Sunday League winning sides. He was that good local fans used to sing “Wasim for England”.

With a very deceptive ball-concealing action , Wasim was gifted with a very effective bouncer and an equally impressive yorker. In partnership with Waqar Younis , he terrorised international batsmen in the 1990s. In 1992 frustrated with the great performance against the English batsmen , the English press started accusing them of ball tampering. Akram brought a libel action against the two former cricketers responsible , Allan Lamb and Ian Botham , and won substantial damages. Vindicated , the duo continued to display and improve the art of reverse swinging a cricket ball. The allegations continued to dog both men; a situation that was not helped when Akram’s mentor , Imran Khan , later admitted doctoring balls using a bottle top during his career but only in practice matches.

More serious allegations came later in his career. At a 1996 Cricket World Cup , a number of opposing players , alleged that Akram , along with teammates Salim Malik and Ijaz Ahmed had attempted to fix the results of unimportant matches. All three were suspended by an iterim enquiry of the Pakistan Cricket Board , but later exonerated and reinstated. Further match fixing allegations against the Pakistani team arose again in 1999 , while Akram was captain , but remained unproven.

He was the natural successor to Imran Khan as Pakistan’s leader and captain , but the match-fixing controversies of the 1990s harmed him , blunting his edge and dimming his lustre. Never a true all rounder (he averaged only 23.62 with the bat) , he was sometimes accused of being lethergic with the bat. He did silence his critics in October 1996 when he plundered a monumental 257 out of a total of 553 against Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura.

One Day Success

Wasim is considered the greatest bowler of any kind in one day international cricket. He was also the first bowler in cricketing history to take more than 500 wickets in one-day internationals. A fast , furious bowler at the start of a game , he grew most devastating towards the end , when he could get the old ball to reverse swing. His swinging yorkers or toecrushers were legendary and fetched him a remarkable number of wickets.

Wasim was instrumental in Pakistan’s famous World Cup victory in 1992 in Australia. He also captained Pakistan with success. The high points of his captaincy were the 1994 victory in the World Series in Australia and in 1999 , when Pakistan reached the World Cup final for the second time. The low point being the World Cup 1996 in Pakistan and India ,when he had to pull out of the crucial quarter final match against India , due to a shoulder and back injury. Critics again accused him of having done this to make illegal monetary gains.

He was Pakistan’s top bowler in the 2003 World Cup taking 19 wickets in 7 matches. After the 2003 World Cup when Pakistan failed to reach the top 8 group , eight players were sacked by the Pakistan Cricket Board including Akram himself , Waqar Younis , Shahid Afridi , Abdul Razzaq , Saqlain Mushtaq , Azhar Mahmood and Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Retirement

Akram retired in 2003 , after a brief spell with Hampshire County Cricket Club in England. Controversies still followed Wasim and he has been recently accused of buying a car and then not paying for it and was sued for having modelled in a Indian Whisky advert , and coaching at the Indian cricket team in the preparations for a home series against Pakistan.

Wasim is married to Huma Mufti , daughter of Mr. Humayaun Mufti. Huma and Wasim have 2 sons from their marriage of 10 years.

International Record

In his test career , Akram took 414 wickets (a Pakistani record , and 7th all time) , at an excellent average of 23.62 , and scored 2898 runs , at an average of 22.64. In one-day internationals Wasim was again a force to be reckoned with , taking a record 502 wickets in 356 appearances , scoring 3717 runs along the way.

 

Biography of Ronaldinho

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira (born March 21, 1980 in Porto Alegre), commonly known as Ronaldinho or Ronaldinho Gaúcho, is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Italian Serie A club A.C. Milan and the Brazil national team.

Ronaldinho, Portuguese for “little Ronaldo”, is known in Brazil by the nickname Ronaldinho Gaúcho, in order to distinguish him from Ronaldo, who was already called “Ronaldinho” in Brazil. Ronaldo simply went by his first name upon his move to Europe, thereby allowing Ronaldinho to drop the “Gaúcho” and remain simply as Ronaldinho.

He has played for Paris Saint-Germain, and FC Barcelona, with whom he won his first Champions League in 2006. He became a Spanish citizen in January 2007.

Ronaldo de Assis Moreira was born in Brazil. His mother, Miguelina, is a former babysitter who studied to become a nurse. His father, João, was a shipyard worker and footballer for local club Esporte Clube Cruzeiro (not to be confused with Cruzeiro EC), and suffered a fatal heart attack when Ronaldo was eight. After Ronaldo’s older brother, Roberto, signed with Grêmio, the family moved to a more affluent home in Porto Alegre, which was a gift from Grêmio to convince Roberto to stay at the club. Roberto’s career was ultimately cut short by injury.

Ronaldo’s football skills began to blossom at an early age, and he was first given the nickname Ronaldinho because he was often the youngest and the smallest player in youth club matches.He developed an interest in futsal and beach football, which later expanded to organized football, and his first brush with the media came at the age of thirteen, when he scored all 23 goals in a 23-0 victory against a local team. Ronaldinho was identified as a rising star at the Egypt 1997 under-17 world championship, in which he scored two goals on penalty kicks.

Ronaldinho’s career began with the Grêmio youth squad under head coach Celso Roth, who only played him due to immense pressure from team supporters. He made his senior side debut during the 1998 Copa Libertadores. In 2001, Arsenal F.C. expressed interest in signing Ronaldinho, but the move collapsed after he could not obtain a work permit, because he was a non-EU player who had not played enough international matches. He considered playing on loan with Scottish Premier League side St Mirren F.C., which never happened due to his involvement in a fake passport scandal in Brazil. Ronaldinho ultimately signed a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain FC.

During the 2001-02 season, PSG manager Luis Fernandez claimed that Ronaldinho was too focused on the Parisian nightlife rather than football, and complained that his holidays in Brazil never ended at the scheduled times. In 2003, less than two years into his PSG stint, Ronaldinho made it clear he wanted to leave after PSG failed to qualify for any European competition.

Ronaldinho turned down a £25.5 million offer from Manchester City to join Italian giants A.C. Milan on a three-year contract, after he was purchased from Barcelona for €21 million.With the number 10 already occupied by teammate Clarence Seedorf, he selected 80 as his jersey number, because 1980 was his birth year. Ronaldinho scored his first goal for Milan in a 1-0 derby victory over Internazionale on September 28, 2008, and his first brace was in a 3-0 win over Sampdoria on October 19, 2008. He scored a 93rd-minute match-winner against Sporting Braga in the UEFA Cup group stage on November 6. His subsequent spectacular goal in the UEFA Cup against Portsmouth helped Milan to a 2-2 draw, having been 2-0 down at the time.

Biography of Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Mahendra Singh (MS) Dhoni pronunciation (born July 7, 1981 in Ranchi, Jharkhand) is an Indian cricketer. He is an aggressive right-handed batsman and wicketkeeper. He is currently ranked number four in the official ICC cricket rankings for batsmen in Limited over internationals.

He was picked to play for the Indian cricket team in December 2004 and has been a regular member of the Indian one-day international team since then. His success in the limited overs format has also secured him a Test spot, and he is rapidly becoming one of the most famous & marketable icons in India, noted for his shoulder length hair.

Dhoni (affectionately known as Mahi), made his debut for Jharkhand in the 1999-2000 season as an eighteen year old. He started off his career with modest performances at the local level. He was noticed by the national team selectors in 2004 after his performances in first class tournaments such as the Deodhar Trophy and the Duleep Trophy. Dhoni was selected to represent India ‘A’ on a tour of Kenya and his performances were good enough to win him selection in the Indian national team, making his one-day international debut against Bangladesh in Chittagong in December of that year.

Dhoni’s best performance for India thus far was an unbeaten score of 183 off 145 balls against Sri Lanka at Jaipur on 31 October 2005, equalling the second best score by an Indian in ODIs. It was also the highest innings recorded by a wicket-keeper, and the highest number of sixes in an innings for a wicketkeeper with ten (all-rounders Sanath Jayasuriya and Shahid Afridi have hit 11). He also broke Saeed Anwar’s record of most runs scored off boundaries by scoring a total of 120 runs off 4s and 6s eclipsing the previous record of 118. [1] This has broken the record for the highest individual score for a team batting second. This has also established the new Indian record of number of sixes in a match, overtaking previous record holders, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly (both hit seven 6′s in a match). Earlier, in 2005 he scored 148 against Pakistan in Vishakapatnam, in his fifth one-day international; the score came off only 123 deliveries.

At the end of the year Dhoni was rewarded a BCCI contract, starting with a B-grade contract.

Dhoni’s current batting average in ODIs is just over 50 (as of April 2006), the highest by any Indian player with more than 20 innings. With a career ODI batting strike rate of more than 100 he remains the only batsman with the unique double of a 50+ average scored at more than a run a ball. Currently, Dhoni has one of the highest strike rates in the world (103.00 runs per hundred balls). With 44 sixes in 38 ODI innings, Dhoni has hit more sixes than he’s played international matches.

Following his good one-day form against Sri Lanka, he ousted Dinesh Karthik in December 2005 as the Indian Test wicketkeeper. He made his maiden Test century against Pakistan in the 2nd Test at Faisalabad in January 2006, reaching the landmark in just 93 balls. Dhoni’s career batting average at the end of the ODI series against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi stands at 52.76, which is the fourth highest for any batsman having scored at least 1,000 runs in one-day internationals, behind Australians, Mike Hussey Michael Bevan, and Englishman Kevin Pietersen. [2]

However, in the third Test against England, Dhoni attracted some criticism when losing his wicket after playing an injudicious shot. India went from 75-3 to 100 all out to lose the match .

Just after the 2006 Test match Loss against England,which resulted in a 1-1 levelled series, Dhoni requested for more crowd support and he was obliged with the same, the team going to win the ODI Series that followed the Tests, his fans seem to be increasing by leaps and bounds and is received to a a rousing reception whenever he comes into bat.

As of 22th April 2006, Dhoni ranks number one in the ICC ODI rankings for batsmen, overtaking Australian skipper Ricky Ponting for the top ODI spot.

Records

On 31st October 2005 Mahendra Dhoni scored 183* runs of just 145 balls, accompanying that there are a list of records which he broke

He hit 10 Sixes, the most by an Indian in an Innings, and the second highest in ODI cricket (The highest is 11 by Sanath Jayasuriya and Shahid Afridi)

He broke Adam Gilchrist’s record of 172 for the highest score made by a wicket keeper

He is the second highest in scoring maximum runs in boundaries after Herchelle Gibbs of South Africa

In this match Kumar Sangakkara also made a century, making it the first match in which both wicket keepers scored a century

He has an average of 48.89 giving him the 4th highest average in the world overall

The highest Indian average

Highest average for a wicketkeeper.

2nd Highest average among those who have made more than 1200 runs in one day international cricket

Highest strike rate among the top 5 averages

He has a strike rate of 100.96 giving him the sixth highest strike rate overall

The highest by an Indian

The 4nd highest among players who have made more than 1000 runs in International Cricket

In April 2006 Dhoni was briefly ranked No.1 in the ICC one day Batsmen’s ratings. He is currently ranked No. 4 after a poor series in the West Indies.

Biography of Rahul Dravid

Rahul Sharad Dravid was born on 11 January 1973 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India, is one of the most experienced cricketers in the Indian national team, of which he has been a regular member since 1996. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian cricket team in October 2005 and resigned from the post in September 2007. Dravid was honored as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2000. Dravid was also awarded the ICC Player of the Year and the Test Player of the Year at the inaugural awards ceremony held in 2004.

Dravid started playing cricket at the age of 12, and represented the state at the under-15, under-17 and under-19 level. Rahul’s talents were first spotted by former cricketer Keki Tarapore who was coaching at a summer coaching camp at the Chinnaswamy Stadium. He went on to score a century on debut for his school team. Along with the batting, he was keeping wickets. However, he later stopped keeping wickets on advice from former Test players Gundappa Vishwanath, Roger Binny, Brijesh Patel and Tarapore.

He was selected to make his Ranji Trophy debut in February 1991 against Maharashtra in Pune (while still attending college at St. Joseph’s College of Commerce in Bangalore), alongside future Indian teammates Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath, scoring 82 in a drawn match after batting in the No. 7 position. His first full season was in 1991-92, when he scored two centuries to finish with 380 runs at an average of 63.3, and was selected for South Zone in the Duleep Trophy.

Known as the Wall due to his ability to bat for long durations, and Jammy due to his endorsement of Kissan, a jam company, and also because his father worked for Kissan, Dravid holds multiple world cricketing records. He is the second Indian batsman, after Sachin Tendulkar, and the third international player to have scored more than 12,000 runs in Test cricket. On 14 February 2007, he became the sixth player in the history of world cricket and the third Indian, after Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, to score 10,000 runs in ODI cricket. He is the first and the only batsman to score a century in all ten Test playing nations. With more than 199 catches, Dravid currently holds the world record for the highest number of catches in Test cricket. Dravid has also been involved in more than 80 century partnerships with 18 different partners and has been inolved in 19 century partnerships with Sachin Tendulkar — a world record.

Dravid was born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh into a Maharashtrian Deshastha family living in Karnataka. His paternal ancestors were Iyers from Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu.He grew up in Bangalore, Karnataka. He has a younger brother, Vijay. Both the brothers grew up in a simple middle class atmosphere. Dravid’s father worked for Kissan, a company known for producing jams and preserves and thus he earned the nickname Jammy from his teammates at St. Joseph’s Boys’ High School, Bangalore. His mother, Pushpa, was a professor of Architecture at Bangalore University. Rahul Dravid has a degree in commerce from St Joseph’s College of Commerce Bangalore, Karnataka. On 4 May 2003, he married Dr. Vijeta Pendharkar, a surgeon from Nagpur and on 11 October 2005, their son, Samit, was born. On 27 April 2009, Vijeta gave birth to their second son, Anvay.

Dravid had a disappointing start to his career making his debut in one-dayers against Sri Lankan cricket team in the Singer Cup in Singapore immediately after World Cup in March 1996, replacing Vinod Kambli. Subsequently, he was dropped from the team, until he was picked again for the tour of England.

He then made his debut in the Second Test against England along with Sourav Ganguly,when Sanjay Manjrekar got injured after the first Test match on that tour.

Dravid was top run scorer in the 7th World Cup(1999), scoring 461 runs. He is the only Indian to score two back to back 100′s in World Cup’s.He scored 110 vs Kenya and followed it with a masterly 145 vs Sri Lanka in Taunton in a match where he kept wickets later.He was vice captain during 2003 World cup where India reached the final, serving his team in the dual capacity of batsman and wicket keeper to accommodate additional batsman, a move that paid huge dividends for India. Dravid was the captain during 2007 cricket world cup in West Indies, where Indian cricket team had a dismal campaign.

Biography of Yuvraj Singh

Yuvraj Singh was born on 12 December 1981 in a Punjabi Jat family from Chandigarh, India, is a cricketer from India, and the son of former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star Yograj Singh. He has been a member of the Indian cricket team since 2000 (ODIs) and played his first Test match in 2003. He was the vice captain of the ODI team from late-2007 to late-2008. At the 2007 World Twenty20 he hit six sixes in an over against England’s Stuart Broad—a feat only performed three times previously in any form of senior cricket, and never previously in an international match between two Test cricket nations.

Yuvraj first came to attention when he captained the U-19 Punjab cricket team in the final of the Cooch-Behar Trophy against Bihar U-19s, in which he scored 358. He then gained selection for the U-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in January 2000, where he was part of a team lead by Mohammed Kaif which won the tournament. Yuvraj was subsequently selected in 2000 for the first intake of the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.

Yuvraj made his One Day International debut against Kenya at Nairobi in 2000, at the ICC KnockOut Trophy. He showed his potential in his second ODI which was against the Australians where he scored a quickfire 84 off 82 balls against a quality pace attack consisting of bowlers like Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie. However, after a lean run of form, he was dropped for the one-dayers against Australia in India in early 2001, but returned later in the year and helped India to victory in a match in Sri Lanka with an unbeaten 98.

Yuvraj made his Test debut against New Zealand in Mohali in late 2003 in front of his home crowd in Punjab due to the absence of regular captain Sourav Ganguly in the No. 6 position. He was omitted upon Ganguly’s return but got another opportunity in the Test team in the 2004 Tour to Pakistan, when Ganguly was again injured. He scored his first Test century in a losing effort against Pakistan in the second Test at Lahore. When Ganguly returned for the third Test, Akash Chopra was dropped and it appeared that the Indian selectors wanted to give him a regular place in the team.

He was subsequently played as Virender Sehwag’s opening partner, but after two poor matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, he was dropped in favour of Gautam Gambhir. He was recalled to the Test team, batting in the No. 6 position for the away series against Zimbabwe in August 2005 after Sachin Tendulkar was sidelined with tennis elbow. He then retained his position in the Test team after Ganguly was axed following a row with coach Greg Chappell. He scored a second Test century in the third and final Test in Pakistan in the series in January 2006, which India again lost. However, Yuvraj has struggled subsequently in 2006, failing to pass 50 in six Tests against England (two, both at home) and the West Indies (four, all away from home). His injury in late 2006 allowed the return of former captain Ganguly to the team, who subsequently top-scored in the series.

On 19 September 2007 against England in the ICC World Twenty20 Super 8 match held at Kingsmead in Durban, he hit 6 sixes in an over up against Stuart Broad. This helped him to reach the fastest fifty ever in Twenty20 game, off just 12 balls and also the fastest in any form of international cricket. This was the fourth time that six sixes had been hit in one over in senior cricket, the first time in Twenty20 cricket, and the first time in any form of international cricket against a bowler from a test playing nation. (Garfield Sobers and Ravi Shastri did it in first class matches, and Herschelle Gibbs did it in a 2007 Cricket World Cup match against Dutch bowler Daan van Bunge.) He has also hit the longest six of the tournament:119 meters off of Australian bowler Brett Lee and currently is the world’s leading 20-20 batsman in terms of strike rate. Yuvraj was awarded a Porsche 911 car for his 6 sixes achievement by the Vice President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Lalit Modi. Yuvraj also received Rs.10,000,000 (US$252,716) in cash from the BCCI for his splendid performance in the tournament.

Yuvraj was signed by Microsoft to be a brand ambassador for the Xbox 360 video game console when it was launched in India in 2006. He appeared in advertisements for the console alongside Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar. Codemasters’ cricket video game Brian Lara International Cricket 2007, was released with his endorsement in India, titled “Yuvraj Singh International Cricket 2007″ The Bollywood animated film, Jumbo features cricketer Yuvraj Singh’s voice therefore starting his career in Bollywood. The upcoming animated full length feature film Captain India features Yuvraj Singh as the main protagonist.

Biography of Waqar Younis

Waqar Younis Maitla was born on November 16, 1971 is a famous Pakistani cricketer from Burewala, Punjab, and one of the best bowlers ever. He attended Pakistani College, Sharjah and Government College, Vehari. Playing as a fast bowler, he took 373 Test wickets and 416 wickets in One-day Internationals. He debuted for Pakistan against India on November 15, 1989. It is noteworthy that Sachin Tendulkar debuted in the same match. His most lethal weapon was the in-swinging yorker, which he managed to produce at will and with a high degree of accuracy, as experienced first-hand by plenty of county batsmen who were unfortunate enough to face him at his peak.

Waqar formed one half of the legendary fast bowling partnership with Wasim Akram. At his peak, most were of the view that there was no better bowler, especially with regards to wicket-taking ability and being penetrative. His tendency to aim for the stumps earned him the highest strike rate of all time, among the bowlers with 200 or more wickets. His blistering pace and toe-crushing yorkers put the fear of God in the batsmen. Much was expected of him but he stayed out of the team for quite a long time to do his talents and fans justice because of his controversial conflicts with once bowling partner and captain Wasim Akram. His comeback, however, came with him being appointed the Captain of the national side – which he remained so till his side failed to make an impact in the 2003 World Cup. He was forced to retire as the Pakistan Cricket Board persistently ignored him for national selection.

He is now married with a son and a daughter. Recently, he has become a television cricket commentator for Australia’s Nine Network since a series against Australia and Pakistan.

Waqar Younis is cited alongside Wasim Akram, Alan Donald and Glenn Mcgrath as the most lethal as well as fastest bowlers of the 90s. While his contemporaries, Donald and Mcgrath, played most of their cricket on the fast and bouncy tracks of South Africa and Australia, backed up by the spectacular fielding sides, Waqar Younis, on the other hand, had to contend with the slow and docile tracks of the sub-continent. Backed by a fielding side that had nothing so distinguished to write about.

An astonishing number of Waqar’s wickets have been clean bowled or have come from leg-before decisions showing how much he has had to depend on his own efforts to get his batsmen. He will be known for his attacking bowling as against the “line n’ length” bowling of the most of his peers.

Biography of Imran Khan

Imran Khan (Mohammad Imran Khan Niazi, born November 25, 1952) was a Pakistani cricketer (1971-1992) and captain of the Pakistani cricket team. He is currently a member of the National Assembly, the lower house of the Pakistani parliament.

Khan is seen as Pakistan’s finest ever all-rounder and, along with Garfield Sobers, Kapil Dev and Ian Botham, one of the greatest of all time. He made his Test debut against England at Birmingham in 1971 at the age of 18 where his performance was not impressive. He took his maiden Test wicket three years later, in 1974, in another tour of England. In the same year, he made his ODI debut also against England at Nottingham. His first 4 wicket haul in Test cricket came in 1976 against New Zealand at home. He scored his maiden Test fifty at Karachi in the same series.

Imran Khan’s transformation from a raw erratic medium pacer to a fast bowler of genuine pace took place during the 3 test series in Australia in 1976-77. He took 12 wickets in the 3rd test match at Sydney to help secure an unexpected win for Pakistan. Subsequently, Imran Khan joined the Kerry Packer cricket where under the guidance of John Snow and Mike Proctor, he harnessed his fast or seam bowling skills.

Following a turmoil in Pak leadership in early 1982, Imran took over the captaincy from Javed Miandad. At the same time, he reached the peak of his career as a fast bowler and an all-rounder, topping both the bowling and batting averages against England in 1982 and then devastating the formidable Indian batting lineup at home in 1982-83 by taking 40 wickets. During a period of just over a year, he had taken 88 wickets in 13 test matches. However, his career took a severe blow after the test series against India in 1982-83, when he suffered from a stress fracture in the shin that kept him out of cricket for more than two years. A short while after returning to cricket in 1985, Imran took over the captaincy of Pakistan and during the next six years, captained Pakistan to series wins in England, India, as well as a creditable draw in West Indies. As a captain, his biggest achievment came in the twilight of his career in early 1992 when Pakistan won the cricket world cup under him.

In 88 Test matches for his country, Khan scored 3807 runs and took 362 wickets (3rd best by a Pakistani after Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis) at an average of 22.81 runs per wicket (the best by a Pakistani). He took 10 wickets in a match 6 times, which is the highest by a Pakistani. He captained his country for 48 matches. In first-class cricket, he took more than 1000 wickets at an average of 22.32 runs per wicket.

Khan went to school in Lahore and then attended the Royal Grammar School Worcester and Keble College, Oxford where he was also Captain of the Oxford University Cricket team in 1974. He comes from a cricketing family with two of his cousins Javed Burki and Majid Khan also having played test cricket for Pakistan.

He was married to Jemima (aka Haiqa) Khan who is the daughter of the late British billionaire Sir James Goldsmith. Jemima Khan embraced Islam before she married Khan. They announced their divorce on 22 June 2004.

Since retiring from Pakistani Test cricket, Khan has been devoting most of his time to the Shaukat Khannum Memorial Hospital, a state-of-the-art charitable Cancer Hospital that he established using donations in Lahore. In recent years he has started a socio-political movement in Pakistan known as ‘Tehrik-i-Insaf’ or ‘Movement for Justice’ and ran for office in the National Elections. He became a Member of Parliament for Mianwali in the October 2002 elections.

Amongst his honours include being awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz in 1993 by the Pakistani government, Honorary Fellow of Keble College, Oxford and Wisden Cricketer of the Year 1983.

Imran Khan is now a politician, admired for his sincerity and criticised for his confused political stand on different issues. Imran Khan was appointed as Chancellor of the University of Bradford from 28 April 2005. He was in the news after Newsweek alleged that his “reading out aloud” their article describing the Quran desecration played a part in the frenzy that followed.