Yep, it seems Pakistan has been, as John Madden puts it, ‘’stumbling and bumbling all around the twenty'’ lately.

And in case you don’t know squat what I’m talking about, THAT means the Pakistan Cricket national team is having a lot of problems lately heading for the 2007 Cricket World Cup.

First, they lose pace bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Asif. Both Pakistan Cricketeers, (can I call them Cricketeers?..) were ruled out of the World Cup because of injuries.

Shoaib Akhtar, who has played just one test and four one-dayers since last February due to fitness concerns, has been unable to recover from a knee injury that forced him to be sent back from South Africa last month.

Mohammad Asif, on the other hand, has been carrying a niggling elbow problem since that tour and the pair were receiving treatment in London but neither will be fit enough to participate in the tournament in the Caribbean, which starts on March 13.

‘’Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Sami will be sent as their replacements,'’ Pakistan Cricket Board chief selector Wasim Bari said.

The loss of Pakistan will definitely be a major problem for their Cricket national team. Hell, these guys were hoping to open up their tournament with a win over West Indies. Well, I guess you can throw that out the window now eh?

‘’It is a big blow for us, but I am confident that Yasir Arafat and Mohammad Sami will live up to the expectations,'’ Pakistan head coach Bob Woolmer said. ‘’They will join the team in a week’s time and we hope to overcome our injury problems with a united team effort.'’

And to make matters worse, it seems injured Mohammad Asif believes that the Pakistan cricket national team is being treated differently because of their Islamic faith. Yep, he actually believes that they are being treated unfairly because of their religion.

The Pakistan cricket national team sure has been under a lot of controversies lately huh? Pakistan were also under the spotlight when they forfeited the last Test with England at The Oval when they refused to take the field after umpire Darrell Hair had penalized them for ball-tampering, a charge of which they were later acquitted.

Jeez… And these guys will still be playing in the 2007 Cricket World Cup right?

Can Mohammad Asif still help Pakistan win the 2007 Cricket World Cup? Who will be the 2007 Cricket World Cup champions? Sports Interaction has the odds:

Australia 2.50

India 8.00

England 9.00

New Zealand 10.00

Want more odds? Visit OddsHQ for more Sports Odds and the best betting lines on some of today’s biggest sporting events.

Pakistan Cricket 2007 Cricket World Cup