India ODIs and T20s 2012/13 Away
Full tour of South Africa 2013 away
ICC Champions Trophy 2013 (England)     
Full tour of West Indies away 2013
Host South Africa 2013

Host Sri Lanka 2014
Tri Series in Bangladesh 2014
ICC World T20 2014 (Bangladesh)
Tests vs. Australia at home 2014
Host New Zealand 2014 

                                                                           In the first singles match of Day-4 , it was the six-time World Tour Finals champion Roger Federer up against the freshly crowned Paris Masters 2012 champion David Ferrer. Both Ferrer and Federer had won their opening matches and the winner of this encounter was to move straight through to the semi-finals of the tournament.The match begun and it was Ferrer who got off to the better start with  3 break points against Federer's serve in the opening service game of the match. But Federer managed to hold on to his serve and then broke Ferrer immediately to run off with a 3-0 lead before giving the break up to see the scoreboard go tick 3-3. Both men then fought hard for the first set but Roger was the one who maintained his composure longer enough than the Spaniard to get hold of the first set.

By: Muhammad Asif Khan

More than a century ago when the game of Cricket came into being it was just Test Cricket on display. In other words the quantity of overs was unlimited yet the quality of the game was spot-on. Later, after decades a faster version was introduced with a limited number of overs to do the act. In this scenario the players were forced to invent new ways to excel. Here again the quality of the game was not compromised very much. However, no so far ago, the fastest version of the game was launched – Twenty20 Cricket – and this is the point from where everything seemed to have taken a fresh turn. In this format the quantity of overs is lesser than the other versions hence the players remain on their toes all the time.

During the early days of the ODI cricket, the emergence of the World Series Cricket – organised by Kerry Packer – came as a jolt as it was seen as a factor which divided players’ loyalty towards their national team. The storm triggered by the lucrative venture was somewhat controlled but it surely left it’s footprints on the minds of the people associated with the game of Cricket. That , to me, was the beginning of the extravagance present in the modern-day state of affairs.

All such activities are fine as long as they  do not dent the essence of a particular sport. People at the helm back in the late 70s put a lid on the World Series, however they could not have done anything about it’s recurrence in the form of Indian Premier League (IPL) in the last decade. An Indian, Lalit Modi took the baton from Kerry Packer and with extraordinary amount of money-flow the league was more than mouth watering for players around the globe. Even the Cricket administrators did not put their foot down this time around and gave their consent to the trend-setting Indian Premier League.

On the whole, there is not much for Pakistan to lose. They should back themselves & stick with what’s been

working so far in achieving phenomenal consistency & not panic if they go 1 or 2 down, instead considering the wider perspectives.

South Africa defeated us 2-0 in 2002/03 and 2-1 in 2007 here with a weaker side than they have now. We are a better side now than we were then in terms of togetherness, on-field discipline, leadership, professionalism, batting solidity, spin threat, however we are weaker in areas such as fast bowling which is usually the way to go here.

By: Muhammad Asif Khan

Right from coming into being, the game of cricket has taken a lot of turns for its betterment because with the passage of time the focus, on the sport, as also increased which is the very reason the administrators kept on pushing for innovations.

Amongst the modern introductions, coaching staff for a team is also considered as a must, almost all the teams have a set of professional coaches and trainers to serve the purpose and Pakistan is no exception in this regard. Unlike yesteryears, this department is taken care of very seriously and relevant qualification – coaching courses etc – is seen as mandatory for the individuals chosen for the coaching job.

The question is that if the world is doing so, then why shouldn’t the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) hit the same course? The answer is why not, but first of all the concept behind the ideology of having separate coaches is to be understood. Other teams are doing fine with this methodology but why heavy duty coaches have not been able to deliver the good in Pakistan so far? From Richard Pybus, Bob Woolmer, Geoff Lawson to Dev Whatmore and Julian Fountain the end result has not been satisfactory. Why, what is the reason for it?

If a player, even after reaching the top level, does not know the basics of the game then there are two possible issues to confront with. Either the domestic structure is not producing quality players or the selection process is not transparent. However in whatever case the national team rather the national cause is suffering for sure.

Or there might be a third possible reason, which could not be ruled out. Probably we are not putting right persons at the right place? And this is exactly the point I would like to address here.

By Muhammad Asif Khan 

A few weeks back I received a text message which said “the best day to propose to a girl is April 1st”. You know why? Because If she accepts then it’s your luck, otherwise just shout “April Fool!” Harmful jokes apart, but generally the culprits, in such acts on the day (April 1), are not taken to task and the reason is the non-serious of the environment. So it finally comes down to the intentions and the motive of the action. 

Ok, moving out from April to reach the period between July and August this year when a TV channel from India started fooling a few people in the name of serving a genuine purpose. They exposed a few faces — through thrilling footage — who were ready rather greedy to crush the dignity of the game of cricket under their feet. That was indeed a good job and should be appreciated. 

But, does the India TV action only fall into the category of sensationalism or is it actually a great service to the game and its followers? I myself am not clear on this as yet. I may be naïve, therefore don’t have answers to the following silly questions. So please help me out. Let me make it clear that I am not at all trying to favour any umpire featured in the footage shown by the TV but the intentions of the TV station had left enough room for suspicion, for me at least. 

The environment created by the India TV, during the sting operation, was real or surreal, serious or non-serious? Since, the questions and the ‘surreal’ environment were hypothetical, then why those — on the on the other side of the Skype — were caught on their words not actions?

Shahid Afridi has had a tough 2012, it seems that everything he has done has resulted into a negative effect for him. Not since pre 2007 has Afridi seen such a lean patch in his performances - especially with the ball in his hand. 

Afridi has always been a controversial character - if not a shocker with the bat then one usually comes with some of his statements. Lately though, Afridi has stayed quite and concentrated on his cricket. He has seen his recent failings and tried to rectify them. It's a different case that his body language on the pitch has looked of a worried and unsettled person.

The last few days I have seen a change though. All of a sudden he looked more relaxed when speaking to the press ahead of the two T20's against these world XI's. He hit the nail on the head when he criticised the press for having a cheat like Salman Butt sitting ridiculing Pakistani players while they are on International duty. The media has a responsibility to help the players and not make it harder for them. Someone had to stand up and it was Afridi; I'm 100% behind him on this. He also said he was going to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj - something that will relax him. After all the only quality time that surpasses time with family is the time you have one on one with the Almighty.

By Muhammad Asif Khan

Money and Corruption go hand in hand and Cricket is the game in which a lot of money is poured in hence the aspect of corruption can’t be ruled out. Every now and then the resurfacing of corruption scandals is indicative of the fact that the game had continuously been under the shadow of this menace. Even the Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC), David Richardson went on to say that the game was seen speciously. 

The International Cricket Council (ICC) did form its Anti-Corruption and Security unit (ACSU) back in 2000 with an idea to put a lid on the malpractice but in reality the fixing phenomenon is on the rampant even after the formation of the controlling mechanism – the ACSU. It means that there is some thing wrong in the methodology which is being practiced by the ICC and it needs to be altered. 

Right from the word go the ACSU is monitored by ex-police officials who must have been brilliant in their respective fields but Cricket is a different ball game altogether. The ACSU’s emphasis seems to be only on educating players and concerned about the menace etc as the officials are experienced in their field of enforcing law. They can keep vigilance on players’ off-the-field movement however detecting a dubious act by an individual on the field is next to impossible.

Pakistan won the 2011 event against England in the final with Razzaq leading the side. In 2010 they were runners up to Australia in the final. This year will be the 18^th time the event is running since first going ahead in 1992 & now turning into an annual event since the start of the decade. Pakistan has played 8 finals, winning 5. England is the other stand out team, playing 9 finals and winning 5. Umar Akmal was awarded the player of the tournament in the 2011 event & will feature for the defending champions in this year’s event as well.