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Pakistan will again seek the help of a sports psychologist to inspire them to repeat their Twenty20 World Cup success in the ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa.

Pakistani players had several counseling sessions with sports psychologist Maqbool Bari before heading to England where they upset a string of more-fancied sides to clinch the T20 World Cup in May.

The team faltered badly, however, immediately after during their recent tour to Sri Lanka where they lost both the Test and one-day series.

Fast bowler RP Singh has been included in India’s 15-man squad for the World Twenty20 in England in June. Reserve wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik and fast bowler Munaf Patel have been axed from the 16-member squad that played two Twenty20 internationals in New Zealand in February.

There were no surprises in the squad which was more or less was finalised after the national selectors held a preliminary meeting in Cape Town on April 24, in the presence of N Srinivasan, the BCCI secretary.

RP has been one of the IPL’s most successful bowlers, taking 12 wickets in six games for the Deccan Chargers at an average of 11.33 and economy rate of 6.27 runs per over.

Graham Napier is still trying to come to terms with what has been a whirlwind year as he has gone from a bit-part county player to an England international with a stop at the IPL on the way.

Napier was one of two uncapped players named in England’s ICC World Twenty20 as he gained reward for his memorable displays in last year’s Twenty20 Cup where he hit 152 against Sussex. That innings was enough to earn an IPL deal with Mumbai Indians and on the same day he earned his international call he was also told he would make his first appearance for Mumbai.

The PCB has included Abdul Razzaq, Naveed-ul-Hasan and Imran Nazir, all three of whom participated in the ICL, in the list of 30 probables for the World Twenty20 to be held in England in June. ICC approval will be required to field the three players in the tournament. The PCB had earlier gone along with the decision of the Sind High Court in February to temporarily lift the ban on 17 ICL-contracted players and permitted them to participate in domestic cricket. Razzaq, Naved and Nazir have been absent from the international scene for more than a year after opting to join the unauthorised league.

They said the India-Australia series was a summer of spite but, if you believe Robin Uthappa, it all began in the Twenty20 World Championship in South Africa. The Indian team were huddled in a team meeting ahead of the game against Australia when the way to tackle Australia’s aggression came up for discussion. “We said they [Australians] generally talk a lot,” Uthappa recalls. “We decided that if they start the sledging, we won’t sit back and take it. We will give it back. We won’t and didn’t initiate anything.”

Just weeks after the inaugural World Twenty20 final in South Africa, Misbah-ul-Haq once again came agonisingly close to taking Pakistan to a memorable win over old rivals India. And once again he choked when the time to deliver the killer punch came.

However, the 33-year-old batsman who is trying to consolidate his position in the Pakistan middle-order, is not fretting over it. “The important thing for us is that we won the match and are now even with India in the series,” said Misbah, who made a valuable 49 only to lose his wicket at a crucial time while trying to back paddle an Indian pacer with Pakistan still needing 39 to win.

When Muslims all over the world were celebrating Eid, Aussies were celebrating Indian slaughter in Nagpur. India, the Twenty20 World Champion has been ripped apart by the real world champions in this series. As usual, the hollow Indian aggression is proving the house of cards, the self-centered and self-beneficial of Sachin Tendulkar are unable to save Indian demise, and the attitude of Indian crowd is as usual obnoxious.

Due to the mud-slinging of both Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar, world is getting some very lesson-oriented interesting insight information about the grave situation of Pakistnai team coordination. The crack came when Shoaib Akhar entertained Mohammad Asif with the bat, just before the start of Twenty20 world cup in South Africa this year.

All the wrath fell on Shoaib Akhtar. He was sent back to Pakistan from South Africa, and was sacked from the national team. Even the patern-in-chief President of Pakistan General Pervez Musharraf asked Dr. Nasim Ashraf, the chairman of Pakistani Cricket Board (PCB) to take a strict notice of all this affair and ensure that it never happens again.

Pakistani cricketers were on Sunday showered with cash rewards at a reception hosted to celebrate the national team’s impressive performance in the inaugural World Twenty in South Africa.

Each of the 15 Pakistani players and their eight officials were given Rs 2.5 million each by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as a special bonus for reaching the final of the 12-nation spectacle.

Pakistan defeated top teams like Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand on their way to the final but lost by five runs to old rivals India in the title showdown on September 24.

Recent reports suggests that Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar has been marked for a stern punishment by Pakistani Cricket Board (PCB). This stern punishment is nothing less than ending his not-so-brilliant career forever.

In the recent meeting held in the head office of PCB, not a single board member including the chairman spoke in the favour of Rawalpindi Express, as Shoaib Akhtar is known, and every one was just livid about him. When PCB contacted the team mates, they were also apprehensive about the Shoaib’s attitutde, and even the manager of the team called Shoaib ‘a Psycho’. Former players have also been not seen speaking in the favour of the media-favourite speedster.