Pakistan

The tragic death of Bob Woolmer will still be in the memory when the team travels to its former coach’s country of residence for the ICC World Twenty20.

Facing pool matches against traditional rival India, which should be one of the highlights of the group stages, and Scotland, who it beat by five wickets when the two sides met in an ODI in June 2006, the priority for Pakistan will be to progress to the next round. That’s something it has failed to do in the previous two ICC events.

Without former captain Inzaman-ul-Haq, who retired from the ODI form of the game at the end of the CWC 2007, the team will be looking to rely on the likes of captain Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan for runs, as well as Imran Nazir, whose stunning 160 against Zimbabwe was one of the few highlights of its Caribbean adventure.

Shahid Afridi’s explosive batting is perfectly suited for the short form of the game, as he illustrated on his last visit to South Africa, when he scored what was the eighth fastest ODI fifty at Durban. He should be one of the players to watch at the event.

Pakistan will be also be hopeful of making an impact in the bowling department with the return of speedsters Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif, who missed the CWC 2007, to the side for South Africa.

Pakistan has enjoyed mixed fortunes in its previous Twenty20 Internationals, defeating England and losing to South Africa.

Three wickets for Abdul Razzaq helped restrict England to 144-7 at Bristol in August 2006, before Mohammad Hafeez’s 46 off 40 balls helped Pakistan to a five-wicket victory, although it was man of the match Afridi who stole the show with a stunning 28 off 10 balls.

However, Pakistan was to suffer an extremely heavy defeat against South Africa at Johannesburg in February 2007 when it was thrashed by 10 wickets.

Pakistan struggled to reach 129-8 off its 20 overs, which the home side then knocked off in just 11.3 overs with Graeme Smith scoring 71* off 11.3 overs.

Pakistan: Shoaib Malik (captain), Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Kamran Akmal, Fawad Alam, Yasir Arafat, Mohammad Asif, Salman Butt, Umar Gul, Mohammad Hafeez, Misbah-ul-Haq, Rao Iftikhar, Younis Khan, Imran Nazir, Abdul Rehman.