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PAKISTAN WIN WORLD CUP 2009!!

Younus Khan declared captain of ICC World T20 squad
Updated at: 1823 PST, Monday, June 22, 2009

LONDON: International Cricket Council has announced World Twenty20 cricket squad, declaring Younus Khan as its captain.

The squad consists of four Pakistan, three Sri Lanka, three South Africa and two West Indies players.

Indian and Australian cricketers have failed to find a place in the World Twenty20 squad released by ICC in London on Monday.

Besides Younus Khan as skipper of the team, the other Pakistani players who have been selected for the team are all-rounder Shahid Afridi, wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal and paceman Umar Gul.


Sri Lanka's Tillakratne Dilshan, player of the tournament, named as an opener alongwith the West Indies Chris Gayle while South Africa Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers included for the middle-order.

West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, teenage South Africa paceman Wayne Parnell and Sri Lanka spinner Ajantha Mendis complete the line-up, with Sri Lanka's Lasith Malinga as the 12th man.

ICC’s World Twenty20 squad:

Jacques Kallis (SA), AB de Villiers (SA), Shahid Afridi (Pak), Kamran Akmal (Pak), Chris Gayle (WI), Tilakratne Dilshan (SL), Mohammed Younus Khan (Pak, Skipper), Dwayne Bravo (WI), Wayne Parnell (SA), Umar Gul (Pak), Ajantha Mendis (SL), Lasith Malinga (SL)

Younus Khan declared captain of ICC World T20 squad - GEO.tv
 
I dedicate victory to nation and Woolmer: Younus
Updated at: 0812 PST, Monday, June 22, 2009
I dedicate victory to nation and Woolmer: Younus

LONDON: Pakistan captain Younus Khan dedicated the victory in the World Twenty20 Cup to the nation and the late coach of the team Bob Woolmer.

Stylish middle-order batsman Younus, who played no part in a Pakistan run-chase where Shahid Afridi's unbeaten 54 saw the side home with eight balls to spare, also announced he was retiring from Twenty20 internationals.

He was addressing at the press conference after Pakistan lifted the World T20 Cup here at Lord’s on Sunday.

"I am retiring from T20 internationals," Younus said after Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets.

"I am now 34, I am old for this kind of cricket. The good thing is we have a couple of good youngsters like Shahzaib (Hasan) and Ahmad Shahzad."

Younus, set to continue his Test and one-day international career, also paid tribute to former Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer, who died shortly after the team's shock loss to Ireland during the 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean.

"This final must go to Bob Woolmer," said Younus. "He was very good with us from 2005, especially with my cricket. He was a very nice guy and a father figure for us.

"I'm captain because all the time he was chatting with the chairman and selectors saying 'Younus should be the next captain."

This was the first time Pakistan had won a major international one-day tournament since Imran Khan's side lifted the 1992 World Cup in Australia.
I dedicate victory to nation and Woolmer: Younus - GEO.tv
 
Win, best father’s day gift: Afridi’s father

Monday, 22 Jun, 2009 | 04:34 PM PST |

KARACHI: Pakistan's swashbuckling all-rounder Shahid Afridi on Monday became the toast of the troubled nation after his performance with both bat and ball lifted his team to World Twenty20 success.



The 29-year-old rose to the occasion at the tournaments' key moments, with successive half-centuries in the semi-final and final and taking three crucial wickets -- performances which earned him two man-of-the-match awards.



Afridi hit an unbeaten 54 to help Pakistan successfully chase down a modest 139-run target set by Sri Lanka in the final at Lord's on Sunday.



Hundreds of fans gathered on Monday at Afridi's house in the southern port city of Karachi, keen to congratulate his family.



‘I am the proudest of all the Pakistani fathers because my son has given me the best gift on father's day,’ said Afridi's father Sahibzada Fazl-ur Rehman.



‘What I always tell him is that he should play for the country and for the people who adore him. I am elated that he gave the whole nation moments of happiness,’ Rehman added.



Afridi, who hails from the tribal Khyber district in the North West Frontier Province, is the most popular Pakistani player, especially among ethnic Pashtuns in the northwest area troubled by Taliban-linked violence.



‘I am really happy, Afridi played an excellent innings. I feel proud of my country,’ said Abdul Jalal, a young student displaced by fighting in the northwest who is now living in a cramped refugee camp.



Afridi is equally popular in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city.



‘We are delighted for the Pakistan team winning the cup and the joy is doubled because Afridi was man-of-the-match,’ said Shirin Khan, a vendor who sells tea in the commercial Saddar area.



When not playing cricket, Afridi works with the Islamic Relief Fund and often visits the United States to drum up funds for people displaced by Taliban violence and army offensives in his insurgency-stricken home region.



‘Why is he the most popular Pakistani player? He has a heart of gold ... so apart from his cricketing abilities he is loved for his deeds,’ said Khan.



The all-rounder also helped with relief work in the aftermath of the 2005 earthquake in Pakistan, visiting far-flung areas with aid workers.



‘Whenever I have time, I go for relief work and it gives me immense pleasure and satisfaction. It touches me how people suffer and if I can do anything for them it's great,’ Afridi has said.



Afridi's batting form had dwindled since the inaugural World Twenty20 in South Africa two years ago where he finished as ‘player of the tournament.’


Pakistan, however, lost the final to India by a five-run margin.


He was also part of Pakistan's team which lost to Australia in the 50-over World Cup final at Lord's in 1999.
 
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