Former Afghan cricket coach to take UAE role

Former Afghanistan cricket coach Kabir Khan said Saturday he has agreed to accept a position as coach of the United Arab Emirates. "I have agreed to take over as UAE coach on a three-year deal and my target will be to help the team to the World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka in 2012," Khan told AFP from his hometown, Peshawar.
The 36-year-old, who played four Tests and 10 one-day internationals for Pakistan in the 1990s, guided Afghanistan to third-place finish in the ICC (International Cricket Council) Division One last year.
Afghanistan has narrowly missed out on a place in the 2011 World Cup (50 overs), to be jointly co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
But Khan managed to see the Afghanistan team through to the second edition of the World Twenty20, held in the West Indies earlier this year.
However, he resigned as coach after falling out with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) in August this year.
Khan said he had developed some problems with the ACB so he preferred to leave the job, handing it to former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif.
Khan said that the UAE team had tremendous potential.
"UAE team has played the World Cup (50 overs) in 1996 so the idea will be to help them qualify for the World Twenty20 and help them achieve good status.
"UAE has a lot of potential and the administration is also keen on improving the team, so I will do my best to help UAE regain their status at international level and there is enough talent to achieve that," said Khan.

Team management acted in professional way: Afridi

Pakistan one-day and Twenty-20 Captain, Shahid Afridi has said that Pak team management acted in a very professional manner to handle the crisis arisen from spot fixing allegations.“ Team manager,Yawar Saeed and assistant manager,Shafqat Rana handled the situation in a wise manner and supported the team during the entire tour of England,specially at the stage when three of its players were accused of spot fixing “,he said on Saturday.

Afridi spoke high about the team management and said in a hostile situation they did their best to calm down the situation and remained a source of inspiration for the team members.
“ It was not a easy tour ,it was tour which I will always remember in my career as things happened too fast against Pakistan team at a neutral venue as such never happened before in the past “,he said.
The Pak captain said whenever a team gets into a trouble situation it needs a big support from its team management and Yawar and Shafqat duly fit in the role and were always there to do their best as far their job was concerned.
He suggested that Pakistan Cricket Board should not rely or trust on India or other Asian countries as far mustering of support was concerned for solving its cricket related problems.
“ India never supported Pak cricket and expecting the same from it will not be a fair thought and efforts should be made to solve our problems by ourselves “,he said.
“ Even the other countries in our region did not lend a hand to lift us out of trouble and whenever there was a situation in which we badly needed the support of our regional countries we were left alone “,he said.
He said Pak team has the best players of one day and T-20 and they achieved excellence in the game by leading the country to success in shorter and shortest versions of the game  in recent years.
Afridi said he has no plans to reverse his decision of retirement from test cricket.” I have no interest to play test cricket and I want to concentrate on ODIs and T-20 “,he said.
The Pak captain said Zulqarnain Haider and Safraz Ahmed are full of talent as wicketkeepers and they have the potential to play the international cricket in place of Kamran Akmal who badly needs break to regain confidence.
“ Every player faces a situation of being in a bad patch in his career and this is high time for Kamran to take a break and to rejoin the team after getting back lost confidence and form “,he said.

Malik hopeful of selection against SA‎

Out-of-favour Pakistan allrounder Shoaib Malik has vowed to make a strong comeback to the national squad after being overlooked for the One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 series against England last month.

shoaiv malik who only regained his place in the Test squad after then-captain Shahid Afridi retired from the format after the first Test against Australia at Lord’s, lacked form and had only scored a single half-century in the last six Tests.
“Cricket is a game in which a player never feels complete,” said Malik. “Even if you’re performing well in your career, you still have to work hard and that helps one become a complete player. And that’s exactly what I’m concentrating on.”
The former captain also stressed on the need to give a player a fair chance to prove his mettle at the highest level.
“A player should know how many matches he’s going to play and should be given ample time to justify the opportunity. Once things are clear to him and he’s given a proper chance, then the result will be fruitful.”
Pool needed for World Cup
Malik also urged the national selectors to create a pool of players that they can shortlist the squad for the World Cup 2011 from. The tournament takes place in February and March next year in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
“It’s a huge event which every player looks forward to. To prepare for it, the captain, coach and selectors should make a list of players they want Pakistan to be represented by. They should then be given a proper chance ahead of the event with enough cricket.”

Asif steps over the wedding line

Pakistan paceman Mohammad Asif celebrated his wedding to childhood friend Sana Hilal in Lahore on Thursday. Asif, who is being investigated by British police in a major spot-fixing scandal, officially tied the knot in March but the celebrations were held in the capital of Punjab after Asif’s return from England last month.
The 27-year-old was one of three Pakistani players provisionally suspended by the International Cricket Council after a British tabloid claimed no-balls were delivered to order during last month's Lord's Test against England.
 The ICC is expected to form a commission to hear the case after Scotland Yard completes an investigation.
 “I hope marriage will be the turning point in my career and change my life in a positive way,” Asif was quoted as saying by local television channels.
 Several team-mates, including Test cricketers Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah-ul-Haq were reportedly present at the wedding festivities.
 “Asif is very relaxed and is hopeful that he will be cleared of any spot-fixing charges. He hopes that his wedding will bring luck for him,” said a family friend, who did not want to be named.
 Since his debut in 2005, Asif's career has been dogged by controversy.
 He twice failed dope tests and twice tested positive for a banned steroid.
 In 2006, he was banned for one year – a punishment overturned on appeal.
 But when he tested positive again in the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) season in 2008, his appeal against a one-year ban failed.
 He was then arrested at Dubai airport for possessing a banned drug while returning from the IPL.
 He was detained for 19 days and deported after police found the quantity of the banned drug “insufficient” to pursue a case.
 Further scandal came when actress and model Veena Malik claimed he owed her huge amounts of money.
 She also alleged that Asif was involved in match-fixing and was said to have handed evidence to the ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit earlier this month.

Younus plans to settle in England

A dejected former Pakistan skipper and stylish batsman Younus Khan is planning to settle in England permanently after getting no positive response from Pakistan Cricket Board .

Younus had developed differences with PCB chairman Ejaz Butt and his close friend Yawar Saeed on his principal stance and now he is paying the price for it from last nine months or so.

Younus was the captain of Pakistan cricket team which won the ICC World Twenty20 in England last year but since then he lost his control in the team and after 2-1 lost against New Zealand in ODI series played in UAE, he stepped down as captain of Pakistan cricket team

Younus looks to settle in Yorkshire where he had played a county season in 2007 and he had good memories with the team and the county. Younus has represented Pakistan in 63 test matches and 202 one day internationals.

Sources close to Younus Khan confirmed The Sports Encounter that Younus is very serious in shifting to England and he has already discussed the idea with his friends in England.

Younus also played for Nottingham County in 2005 and for Surrey in 2010

Pakistan ex-cricketer complains of death threat

Former Pakistan paceman Sarfraz Nawaz, who has campaigned against corruption in cricket, claimed Friday he had been threatened with death over allegations of match-fixing.

The 61-year-old said he had lodged a complaint with police in the usually sleepy capital Islamabad.

"While walking in a park in Islamabad last week, two men shouted from behind that I should stop giving statements and threatened to kill me if I turn round and look at them," Nawaz told AFP.

"I have lodged a report with the police and they are investigating," said Nawaz, who played 55 Tests and 177 one-day matches for Pakistan.
"I have never cared for any post, nor do I care for these threats. I will continue my fight against the corruption and am ready to contribute in efforts to free our beloved game of cricket from all such corruption."
The former paceman has levelled serious allegations against Pakistan and international players in the past.
Most recently and ahead of Pakistan's latest scandal-hit tour of England, Nawaz predicted some matches would be fixed and claimed that elements within the Pakistani team would be involved.
The tour was marred by spot-fixing allegations, with Test captain Salman Butt, fast bowler Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer accused of taking money for bowling deliberate no-balls in the Lord's Test against England in August.
Veena Malik, an ex-girlfriend of Asif, also claimed last month that she had received death threats after giving evidence of Asif's involvement in match fixing to International Cricket Council (ICC) officials.
The ICC is also investigating Pakistan's one-day match against England at The Oval after British tabloid The Sun claimed the scoring pattern of the visiting team was pre-arranged with the book-makers.
Nawaz said Pakistan needed to take major steps to end the controversy.
"Pakistan cricket has suffered badly and the only way to eradicate this malpractice is to take stringent measures otherwise it will continue to haunt us."

'Pakistan team needs a Hitler-like manager'

The National Assembly Sports Standing Committee Chairman Iqbal Mohammad Ali has called for a strict team manager to put an end to the scandals gripping Pakistan cricket during their off-shore assignments. “The team needs a manager like Hitler,” Ali told The Express Tribune. “He should be strict and should not favour any player. Only a manager of such quality can put the team on the right track during international series.” Ali believed that the spot-fixing scandal that marred Pakistan’s tour of England could have been avoided had the manager carried out his duties properly.
“Everybody knows Shahid Afridi informed the manger about his worries regarding Mazhar Majeed weeks before the scandal. The manager should’ve acted there and then.”
Yawar Saeed, who was team’s manager during the tour, has ruled himself out of taking up the position in the future and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is yet to name a new manager for the series against South Africa in the UAE due to take later this month.
“The board should select a competent manager who can handle the team properly and avoid such events in the future.”
PCB, team officials to be grilled on October 11
Ali added that the Sports Standing Committee has summoned the PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt, former team manager Saeed, coach Waqar Younis, assistant coaches Ijaz Ahmed and Aqib Javed, and the selection committee chairman Mohsin Khan on October 11.
“We will take their reports on the team’s performance in the Asia Cup and the England tour as well as the fixing allegations. There are many questions about selection which we will raise during the meeting including the omission of Younus Khan for the tour of England despite his need in the team.”

Younus ready to serve with same 'energy and passion'

Former Pakistan captain Younus Khan has confirmed his availability for the series against South Africa adding that he was ready to represent his country whenever needed.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) placed an indefinite ban on the former captain but, despite having the ban lifted by the PCB and the one-man tribunal, Younus remains out of favour with the board.
“I’m available for the national team whenever required and will play with the same energy and passion if given the chance,” said Younus in a television show before adding that he was carrying on with his normal training despite being snubbed by the PCB. “I’m spending time at the training ground where I practice to keep myself fit. I’ll also play for my team in the domestic season starting soon to in order to gain match form.”
The former captain also felt that it was time to run cricket matters properly and warned that the game could suffer like other sports if corrective measures were not taken soon.
“Pakistan has enormous talent but if things are not sorted out soon, cricket could suffer like hockey and squash. Look at [Mohammad] Amir who came into the sport without a strong background but still stunned the cricketing world with his performance. We have no dearth of talent and our future is bright. We just need to handle the affairs properly.”
Afridi feels Younus’ need
Pakistan One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi felt the team needs Younus and that there were no replacements available for a batsman of his calibre.
“Pakistan needs a player like Younus because currently no player can replace him,” said Afridi. “If somebody thinks he can replace Younus, he is mistaken.”
Pakistan will play two Tests, five ODIs and two Twenty20s against South Africa in the UAE series starting from October 26.
“Younus is an experienced player and will be required in the series against South Africa.”
Earlier, former captain Zaheer Abbas had also called for Younus’ inclusion in the squad for the UAE series saying that the batsman could take the team out of the current crisis it finds itself in

Kamran akmal should take a break, feels Afridi

Pakistan one-day and Twenty20 skipper Shahid Afridi has advised wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal to take a break from Test cricket before the 2011 World Cup. Akmal, who had a torrid tour of Australia earlier this year, got twice embroiled in match-fixing allegations.

“I know Kamran (Akmal) might not necessarily agree with my suggestion, but I think he needs to start focusing on one-day and T20 cricket for which he is a class player,” Afridi told Geo Super channel.

“I know he has struggled in recent matches because of which there is lot of pressure on him. But he has been working hard to improve his keeping, especially, against spinners. I think he needs to take a break,” Afridi said.

Asked about the continued absence of any Pakistani T20 squad in the lucrative Champions League, Afridi said India have never been supportive. “Leave alone the Champions League, tell me when has India ever supported Pakistan cricket?” Afridi said.

“The truth is we have always been there to support India, Sri Lanka or Bangladesh. But when time came for them to support us, they left us isolated. It is time we realised that Pakistan does not have many friends internationally and it is time we learnt to become self-reliant,” he added.