Everybody starts from scratch again, except the defending champions who do so with more pressure as a result of that status

Osman Samiuddin30-Apr-2010Watching Shahid Afridi lead will be one of the compelling sights through the tournament, for if he gets it right, the rewards could be big•Richard Heathcote/Getty ImagesPakistan have gone through more in their short ten-month reign as Twenty20 world champions than most sides would in their four-year reign as 50-over world champions. Given the shortened format, perhaps that is logical.Typically much has happened since those beautiful summer days last year but typically also little of it will matter coming in. Everybody starts from scratch again, except the defending champions who do so with more pressure as a result of that status.They come bearing a new look, with a new captain at the helm, though the succession from Younis Khan to Shahid Afridi wasn’t ultimately as smooth as it should’ve been. The right choice has nevertheless been arrived at; Afridi was Pakistan’s most galvanizing force last year and their most critical. His record as captain is pristine: runs, wickets and three wins out of three. Watching him lead – aggressive of course, maybe impatient too – will be one of the compelling sights through the tournament, for if he gets it right, the rewards could be big.Other nips and tucks don’t bode so well. The enforced absence of Umar Gul cannot possibly be measured. He is the format’s best fast bowler, one of the men around whom the side is built. Nobody can bowl the kind of over he did in the semi-final against South Africa last year, to Jacques Kallis and JP Duminy, six out of six yorkers, six runs, game nearly over in the 17th.And though not quite as deep a blow, Shoaib Malik leaves a fair-sized hole. In this format at least, his is precisely the calm head that succeeds. Last year he was mostly peripheral, but when it mattered, he played two superbly cool, mostly forgotten innings in the semis and thefinal, vital in their own way.Like last year, Pakistan should be fresher than many, having not taken part in the IPL again. Their training camp in Lahore was tough, but the injustices of missing out in the IPL – this time as the world’s best players – will drive them doubly.Twenty20 pedigree
Top-notch: Pakistan are the best side in the world not only because they won the tournament last year and almost did it in 2007, they have the best winning percentage by some distance. Twenty-two of their 30 games have been won. In this most unpredictable of formats, that says something. There is a formula to it; their fast bowlers attack, their spinners choke and attack and their batting makes do.Strengths and weaknesses
The flexibility in the squad is immense and it offers crazy variety to their bowling attack. They have five allrounders (not including Kamran Akmal) so that even if they choose to play three fast bowlers in their XI, they can still rely on four spinning options and still not mess their batting up too much. And in a tournament where spin is expected to play a big role, Afridi, Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman are well-equipped to figure big. The middle order, however, looks a little thin. Misbah-ul-Haq and Umar Akmal, in fact, are the only specialist middle-order batsmen in thesquad, so extra pressure on any one of Fawad Alam, Hammad Azam and Abdul Razzaq. The fielding isn’t hot, though it didn’t stop them last year.Key men
A frightening amount of pressure rests on Shahid Afridi, as captain, possibly upper-order batsman and middle-overs choker. Ball-biting aside, responsibility has generally fit him well. Of late he has batted with far greater thought than for many years and his bowling is at a heady peak. If he fires, the rest of the side will not be able to help but be taken along with him.Mohammad Aamer made a name for himself during last year’s tournament and has since gone from strength to strength in all formats of the game. In the absence of Gul, Aamer’s role may well be tinkered with, or broadened. On evidence, he has the mind and skill-set to do it.X-factor
Pakistan have made a habit of unleashing new talent onto the world stage in this format. Sohail Tanvir was the one in 2007 and Aamer came through last year. Mohammad Irfan, the near 7ft tall left-arm fast bowler, could’ve been the story of this tournament but Hammad Azam might make itthrough instead. Azam broke out during the U19 World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year, scoring crucial runs to take Pakistan to the final. He is an unusually canny finisher and a handy enough bowler to impress coach Waqar Younis in training.Vital stats
Misbah-ul-Haq may have had a poor tournament last time round, but he remains one of the format’s leading run-getters and has the second-highest average (46.27) of anyone who has over 300 runs and has played 10 matches or more.The two top leading wicket-takers in the world are both Pakistani: Afridi and Gul.