On this day in 2009, Pakistan won their first-ever T20 World Cup title. They defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the final at the Lord’s Cricket Ground to become the new champions in the shortest format of the game. Two years before their triumph, Pakistan lost an ICC T20 World Cup Final against India in South Africa.
A lot of players who were heartbroken after the T20 WC 2007 Final were ecstatic after the Men in Green lifted the trophy two years later in England. Now that 14 years have passed since that game, in this listicle now, we will look at Pakistan’s playing XI from the final and where those players are now.
Batters – Kamran Akmal (wk), Shahzaib Hasan, Younis Khan (c), Fawad Alam and Misbah-ul-Haq
Kamran Akmal opened the batting for Pakistan with youngster Shahzaib Hasan. Akmal raced to 37 runs off 28 balls, while Hasan managed 19 runs off 23 deliveries. Hasan did not have a long career and played his last game in 2010, whereas Akmal recently retired and works as a cricket expert now.
Younis Khan captained Pakistan in that tournament. He has retired and works as a coach now. Even Misbah-ul-Haq has retired and tried his luck in coaching and commentary after retirement. Fawad Alam is still active in international cricket and domestic tournaments.
All Rounders – Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik and Abdul Razzaq
Shahid Afridi scored a match-winning half-ton for Pakistan in that big game. Afridi works as a selector and also plays in Legends League Cricket now. Shoaib Malik is yet to retire from international cricket, whereas Abdul Razzaq has tried his luck in coaching and commentary after retirement.
Bowlers – Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Amir
Umar Gul and Mohammad Amir led Pakistan’s pace attack in the big game against Sri Lanka. Both bagged one wicket each. Both have now retired. While Amir still plays in some T20 leagues, Gul has become a coach. Saeed Ajmal was Pakistan’s main spinner. He bowled an economical spell of 0/28 in the final. Ajmal has a YouTube channel now.
