Sri Lanka will be looking for the elusive test match and series win when they tour India for a Three Test, five ODI and Two T20 match series from November to December 2009. The team arrive in India on November 8th for the 55-day tour.
Rana made his debut in Sharjah immediately after the disastrous 2003 World Cup, at which time he was competing with Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik and Azhar Mahmood for the allrounder's spot. Few backed him then despite some impressive early performances and he was dropped soon after, allegedly because of disciplinary problems. But now, with the continuing ambiguity over Shoaib Akhtar's part in the Pakistan team and injuries to other bowlers, Rana has worked his way back as spearhead of the ODI team. As with most Pakistan bowlers of pace, he can bowl a reverse-swinging yorker almost at will. His change of pace, as Virender Sehwag will testify, is another useful weapon. IBut his nous with the ball, his control over line and length and his absolute refusal to consider giving anything less than his all in the field has stood out. In 2005, he has been Pakistan's leading ODI bowler, impressing first in the VB series in Australia and then on the flatter, less responsive wickets of India and the West Indies. In his few Test appearances thus far, however, he has failed to impress, although it has never been through want of effort. Further Tests may still depend on a permutation of injuries, suspensions for dodgy actions and attitude issues, but there is no doubting his place and value in the Pakistan set-up now. As a lower-order, hard-hitting batsman, he has had little opportunity to impress at international level, despite his insistence that he is, in fact, a natural wicketkeeper batsman. And he gave up his first love, hockey, for cricket.
Full name : Rana Naved-ul-Hasan
Born : February 28, 1978, Sheikhupura, Punjab
Batting style : Right-hand bat
Bowling Style : Right-arm medium fast
Test debut : Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Karachi - Oct 28-Nov 1, 2004
ODI debut : Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Sharjah - Apr 4, 2003
The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 is a Twenty20 cricket tournament scheduled to take place in England in June of 2009. It will be the second World Twenty20 and will consist of 12 teams, contested by all Test-playing nations plus qualifiers (Ireland, Netherlands and Scotland)
The Champions Twenty20 League, formed with the official sanction of ICC will kick off in October 2008. Eight domestic teams from four nations will participate. Cricket Australia will partner the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket South Africa (CSA). The champion team in the Champions Twenty20 league will get US $5 million, which is the highest ever prize money for a cricket event.
Rana made his debut in Sharjah immediately after the disastrous 2003 World Cup, at which time he was competing with Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik and Azhar Mahmood for the allrounder's spot. Few backed him then despite some impressive early performances and he was dropped soon after, allegedly because of disciplinary problems. But now, with the continuing ambiguity over Shoaib Akhtar's part in the Pakistan team and injuries to other bowlers, Rana has worked his way back as spearhead of the ODI team. As with most Pakistan bowlers of pace, he can bowl a reverse-swinging yorker almost at will. His change of pace, as Virender Sehwag will testify, is another useful weapon. IBut his nous with the ball, his control over line and length and his absolute refusal to consider giving anything less than his all in the field has stood out. In 2005, he has been Pakistan's leading ODI bowler, impressing first in the VB series in Australia and then on the flatter, less responsive wickets of India and the West Indies. In his few Test appearances thus far, however, he has failed to impress, although it has never been through want of effort. Further Tests may still depend on a permutation of injuries, suspensions for dodgy actions and attitude issues, but there is no doubting his place and value in the Pakistan set-up now. As a lower-order, hard-hitting batsman, he has had little opportunity to impress at international level, despite his insistence that he is, in fact, a natural wicketkeeper batsman. And he gave up his first love, hockey, for cricket.
