playing memberof the ICC, is also participatingin the 12-nation extravaganzastarting from September11. After featuring in theTwenty20 spectacle Pakistanwill have three series to play• against South Africa, Indiaand the world championsAustralia — followed by theAsia Cup in April 2008.The Twenty20 show willdefinitely see many hit-andrunstages with young fastbowlers steaming in to bowl,batsmen smashing the ballmercilessly all around thepark, and fielders diving tostop big hits from reachingthe boundary line; all thiswill be done in quick timewhich will minimise the traditional element of the game.Predominantly it will be adisplay of intuitive abilitiesinstead of organised cricket.The selection of the final15-member Pakistani squad,which heavily depends on afew stars, for the Twenty20event has been announced.Purely based on some concretereasons one thinks thatMohammad Yousuf’s exclusion• one of the all timegreat Pakistani batsmen – isjustified. He should avoidplaying in the shorter versionof the game both for the sakeof Pakistan and himself.Yousuf, currently ournational team’s top batsman,has touched new heights inrecent years due to hissupremely controlled battingwith a near-perfect blend ofdefence and belligerence,playing central roles in Pakistan’s victories on many occasions.After the world recordbreakingfeat last year,Yousuf has taken his tally ofruns to 6,553 in 75 Testswith the help of 23 centuriesand 27 half-centuries at ahighly appreciable average of56. Another noticeable characteristicin his record is fourdouble centuries, clearlydemonstrating his class.While in the ODIs too hisaggregate of 8,081 runs at41.02 in 242 games ispraiseworthy.So, instead of playing theTwenty20 Championship,Yousuf, who will turn 33 onAugust 27, and who still hasmore than a couple of yearsleft in him to play internationalcricket, should betterbe concentrating on Testsand ODIs – the standardforms of international cricket.And in the already busyschedule, Yousuf’s selectiveappearance for his teamwould also keep him fitterfor longer periods.Also, one feels that ShoaibAkhtar should not have beenin the Twenty20 side. Hisuncertain physical fitnesssince 1997-98 when he madehis international debut andbeing an express fast bowlermake his decision to involvehimself in the Twenty20Championship far morequestionable. If the speedstercan breakdown in a practiceTwenty20 game in Karachi,is this not a sign that heshould be utilised prudentlyby the captain, the team managementand the PCB? Is theTwenty20 world contestmore important than thetough, standardised and universallymore recognisedTest and ODI assignmentsagainst South Africa, Indiaand Australia, not to mentionthe Asia Cup?Even if Pakistan managesto win the Twenty20 WorldChampionship with Shoaibparticipating in it, who willbe the world’s best outfit ornumber one team? Of course,Australia!Now the bigger question:if Shoaib gets injured inSouth Africa what will bePakistan’s position in thechallenges against three topteams?Looking at his fitnessrecord, Shoaib, who hasturned 32, has not more thantwo or three years left in himto play top-level cricket. Heshould be advised to look forbig achievements and stayaway from mediocre contests.No doubt, a fully fitShoaib is nothing less than anightmare for batsmen, particularlyfor Indian batsmenwho don’t like pace at all.Having said that, as far asdiscipline goes, he better gethis act together.It is heartening to seeyoungsters like Fawad Alam,Mohammad Hafeez, YasarArafat and Misbahul Haqmaking it into the finalsquad, though Abdul Razzaq’sexclusion remains adisputable issue. RegardingPakistan’s likely weaknesswithout Abdul Razzaq andMohammad Yousuf in SouthAfrica it’s no surprise thatwith the likes of YounisKhan, Shoaib Malik, SalmanBu t t , Kamran Akmal ,Mohammad Asif and themighty Shahid Afridi, Pakistancould still manage togive a tough time to itsopponents.Pakistani cricketers recentturning down of lucrativeIndian Cricket League offershas shown that nationalcricket (read: duty) is theirtop priority. Good goingboys!