16th June 1999, I was sitting right behind the end a certain Shoaib Akhtar was bowling. As he walked up to his run up, my father shouted Pakistan Zindabad and the whole stand got in full voice. Shoaib ran in and bowled a peach of a Yorker to the New Zealand captain, Stephen Fleming. That was my first, of many, live memories off the Rawalpindi Express. 

Before that World Cup semi-final, at Old Trafford I had seen Shoaib bowl a few times. Most memorable was his introduction to Rahul Dravid and then Sachin Tendulkar in Kolkata earlier the same year.  A young Shoaib bowled two balls in a row that can only be bettered in comparison by Wasim Akram's heroics in the 1992 World Cup final. Sheer pace and unrivalled energy that was never seen before was at show as India was silenced. 

That World Cup in 1999 was unique. Pakistan played some kamikaze cricket and it can be argued that Shoaib was the showman off the team. Oozing sheer class and youthful exuberance, Shoaib dominated the World of cricket in that edition. He catapulted Pakistan into the final, where Pakistan was outclassed by the Australian team but what was always remembered was the cricket played by Pakistan. For the sake of comparison, the modern Barcelona team in football with Messi in full flow was Pakistan and Shoaib in that World Cup. 

An even better performance with the ball for Pakistan helped them clinch the 3 match series as Australia lost the 2nd ODI by 7 wickets.

Pakistan's under 19s got there preparation for this years Under 19 World cup underway with a fantastic 6 wicket win over Australia.

Pakistan has named their Twenty20 squad for the Australian series and the World Championship that follows that. I for one was not best pleased with its look. Iqbal qasim left a couple of flaws to my liking, though now that the dust has settled it’s high time to back the players selected and will Pakistan on. Pakistan reached the final of the inaugural World Championship, in 2007, but were beaten by arch-rivals India. The Younis Khan led side in 2009 went one better as they secured Pakistan a major world tournament. The third and most recent one was held in the West Indies in 2010. Michael Hussey inspired Australia to knock Pakistan out in the semi-final stage. Australia were then completely outplayed by England in the final. Here is a low-down on the Pakistani 15 man squad and their chances of success this time around in Sri Lanka.

Player analysis:

Mohammad Hafeez:

The skipper off the new look Pakistani team and someone Pakistan will have to look at for both experience and performance. Hafeez has been one of the best all-rounders in world cricket. He has grown in stature within the team and his batting will be the key for Pakistan. When you add his consistent off-spin and his excellent fielding to the mix he would have to perform to his full capabilities for his nation to have any chance. 

Nasir Jamshed:

Jamshed is an aggressive opener who should not have been dropped when he initially was. Compact and also elegant, Jamshed is a typical left handed batsman. When he made his comeback in the Asia Cup many eyebrows were raised, though he answered his critics with a fruitful tournament. A finger injury ruled him out of the recent series against Sri Lanka but his comeback now will be vital to his career and his team’s prospects.

Imran Asghar of KheloPakistan had the opportunity to speak to Pakistan Under 19 star Mohammad Nawaz. The interview was arranged by a good friend of the website, Sunny Sheikh, who I would like to thank wholeheartedly. Mohammad Nawaz is an all-rounder that bats in the middle order as well as bowls left arm orthodox spin. Hailing from Rawalpindi, Nawaz seems destined for a long and illustrious career. This is what happened when Imran spoke to the upcoming star. 

As the much anticipated announcement of the 15 man squad to represent Pakistan in the T20 series against Australia and T20 World cup has been made. Let's have a look into how particular old faces made there returns to the side.

By imran Asghar

Pakistan have named their squad for the Australian series along for the World T20 Championship, due later this year. Surprisingly Pakistan named the full squad 32 days before the deadline and before, teams like England, have named their preliminary squads of 30.

Mohammad Hafeez has retained the captaincy and there are recalls for Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal and Imran Nazir. Abdul Razzaq comes back after a injury ruled him out of the England ODI's earlier this year. Kamran Akmal makes his comeback after Pakistan's ICC World Cup exit at the hands of India in 2011. Imran Nazir has a recall after over 2 years.  

Glenn Maxwell has recieved his first international call up and will join the returning faces of Callum Ferguson and Cameron white who have also attained a recall after a year.

Arch rivals who have produced one of sports most most greatest rivalries over the years will finally excluding an ICC event get to play each other in a full series this December after 5 long years.