Cricketer Sohail Tanvir says he thought his career was over

LONDON, Dec 3 (APP): Left arm medium fast bowler Sohail Tanvir feared that his cricket career was over following his serious knee injury but his inclusion in Pakistan team for Test and T20 squads for the tour of New Zealand has appeared to put him back in line of business. Speaking to the UK-based website PakPassion.net , he spoke of his relief at seeing his name for the upcoming tour. "It's been a very tough journey and I've had to put in a tremendous amount of hard work to recover from the knee injury," stated the 25 year old winner of the inaugural Player of the Tournament award at the Indian Premier League.

"It's been nearly 8 months of pain, recovery, rehabilitation, setbacks and then finally the relief of receiving the go ahead to resume my career. At times it's been a very lonely journey and difficult experience. Recovering from this serious injury has been a huge relief for me."

Tanvir had been ruled out of cricket after undergoing surgery on his knee in Australia. The knee injury curtailed Tanvir's international career and also resulted in him pulling out of a contract with Victoria during last year's Australian domestic season.

"I went to Australia for a career saving surgery on my left knee.

However, even after the surgery and during the rehabilitation process, at one stage I thought my cricket career was over. I was on crutches for 2 months after the operation and I couldn't even walk, so playing cricket was far from my mind."

Tanvir has made a full recovery and has taken 18 wickets in three Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches for Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited, at an average of just over 26 and is comfortable with his levels of fitness and his current form.

"I'm feeling fully fit and happy with my form. I feel I've been bowling well and am confident that I can do well in New Zealand. It was important to start playing first class cricket and take some wickets. I'm hopeful that the good domestic form can continue in international cricket."

Tanvir - who started out as a left arm spinner, before reverting to left arm medium pace bowling - last represented Pakistan in November 2009 in a Twenty20 international in Dubai against New Zealand.

The bowler who has represented Pakistan on 48 occasions was selected for the recent series versus South Africa in the UAE, providing he could prove his fitness. However he was not included in the final touring party and explained that the decision not to travel to the UAE was taken after advice from the medical staff.

"The medics advised me not to play in the series in UAE, as the wickets were not going to be bowler friendly and they suggested that I would be better served continuing my comeback in first class cricket and then playing in the more bowler friendly conditions in New Zealand. I wasn't going to argue with the doctors and took their advice on board and decided to carry on playing in domestic cricket."

Afridi not happy with axing of Kamran, Malik from NZ tour

KARACHI: Pakistan's one-day captain Shahid Afridi on Friday questioned national selectors' decision to drop senior players Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal from the squad for New Zealand tour, saying that it would affect preparations for the 2011 World Cup. 

"I am definitely not happy with the way we are preparing for this mega event. I think we need to have experienced players like Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik in the team (for the New Zealand tour)," Afridi told reporters. 

The outspoken all-rounder said that the media should ask the Pakistan Cricket Board and selectors why Kamran and Malik were not included in the squad. 

"I think the media should ask the board because we need experience players for a major tournament like the World Cup and you can't expect to go into such a big event with a young and inexperienced side," Afridi said. 

The national selectors ignored senior players Kamran, Malik, Rana Naved and Danish Kaneria while announcing the Test and Twenty20 teams for the New Zealand tour starting this month. 

Afridi also urged the selectors to announce a pool of players for the World Cup as soon as possible so that the players could gel together and start preparing for the mega event. 

"We need to work with a pool of players as soon as possible," he said. 

Afridi declined to make any predictions about how Pakistan would perform in the World Cup next year being held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. 

"In modern day cricket, it is very difficult to make any predictions about who will win the World Cup. I know people don't have much expectations from us in the World Cup but I am positive about our performance and I will back my players to do well, even the younger ones," he stated. 

Asked about the exclusion of Mohammad Yousuf from the Pakistan Twenty20 and Test squads for the New Zealand tour, the flamboyant all-rounder was quick to point out that the senior batsman did not deserve a place in the T20 team while as far as why he was not selected in the Test team, he (Afridi) had nothing to do with Test cricket. 

Asked about bookmaker Mazhar Majeed's claims of having ties with Pakistan players, Afridi pointed out that he had no issues at all since he had never done anything wrong in his cricket career. 

"When I have done nothing wrong why should I be worried about Mazhar Majeed is saying or has to say I am not bothered at all."

Pakistan not fully ready for World Cup, says Afridi

KARACHI — Pakistan's one-day captain Shahid Afridi said Friday he was not fully satisfied with preparations for next year's World Cup, acknowledging low expectations of victory.

Afridi expressed reservations in the light of problems that have dogged Pakistan's recent tours with players disciplined and dragged into damaging spot-fixing allegations.

"I am not 100 percent satisfied with the team's preparations for the World Cup," Afridi told reporters at a local function.

"We've had problems on every tour, and although there aren't high expectations (of winning the World Cup), as captain I'm positive and will keep on motivating the team," said Afridi.

His comments came one day after manager Intikhab Alam said Pakistan was capable of winning the World Cup -- to be jointly hosted by Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka from February 19 to April 2.

Key players Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammed Aamer -- suspended by the International Cricket Council (ICC) over spot-fixing charges during the Lord's Test against England in August -- are unlikely to make the team.

The trio appear before an ICC commission next month and face the prospect of severe punishment, including lengthy bans.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) also failed to clear wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal and all-rounder Shoaib Malik for the upcoming tour of New Zealand, reportedly because of suspicions of fixing.

"You should ask the PCB and selection committee about why Kamran and Malik were not picked," said Afridi.

"Both are good players and have been doing well in domestic matches."

Pakistan has until December 19 to select a provisional 30-man World Cup squad which should be trimmed down to 15 by January 19.

Afridi said Malik was dropped from previous tours to help him win back form.

"I think he would have learnt from his mistakes," said Afridi of Malik, who was Pakistan's captain from April 2007 to January 2009 but has suffered some shortcomings in his game.

Both Malik and Kamran have expressed disappointment at not being picked.

Pakistan play three Twenty20, two Tests and six one-day on their tour of New Zealand starting December 26 -- their last assignment before the World Cup.

Pakistan is placed in Group A of the 14-team competition along with defending champions Australia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Canada, New Zealand and Zimbabwe.

India, South Africa, Bangladesh, England, the West Indies, Ireland and the Netherlands are in Group B of the event, which runs from February 19-April 2.

Pakistan among top contenders

LAHORE - Pakistan Test captain Mibahul Haq has said Thursday that Pakistan players would give their best despite unending controversies surrounding his team. 

Speaking at the unveiling ceremony of World Cup 2011 here at the Royal Palm Golf and Country Club, he said that it was disappointing that no World Cup matches were being played in Pakistan. He said every team likes to play on its home ground and in front of its home crowd. It was sad that Pakistan did not get this opportunity. 

He said morale of the players was still very high and despite losing key players, his side would give its opponent run for their money. 

To a question, Misbah said that New Zealand series would serve as a good preparatory tour for the World Cup. He also said that there was unity in the team and every player would make his contribution. 

The event was attended by Pepsi’s leadership team, imminent media personalities, stars from the Pakistan cricket team, the Music Industry of Pakistan, senior officials from the PCB and cricket legends of Pakistan. 

Speaking at the event, Country Head Pepsico Pakistan Jehanzeb Q Khan and Director Marketing Pepsico Khurram Koraishy reiterated Pepsi’s commitment towards reviving the game in Pakistan. The speakers mentioned that the resounding success of the recent Pepsi-PCB Cricket Star Campaign was also a testimony to this commitment. They hoped that the coming of World Cup trophy would serve its purpose of fuelling the cricket fever in Pakistan, leading on to the commencement of the championship. 

Earlier, Pakistan manager Intikhab Alam said he was confident his players could win the World Cup next year to make up for the country’s loss of hosting rights. 

“Unfortunately, we were deprived of hosting World Cup matches but I’m confident my players have the ability to win the trophy,” Alam said at a ceremony unveiling the trophy to be awarded in 2011. 

Pakistan was one of the four original hosts of the 10th World Cup, but an attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore last year forced the International Cricket Council (ICC) to strip them of hosting rights.

China likely to be Pakistan's neutral sports venue for cricket

Cricket Board (PCB) is considering China as a neutral venue for its international cricket events as the foreign teams are not willing to visit Pakistan due to security threats, sources told Xinhua on Friday.

According to PCB sources, Pakistan’s former captain and legendary batsman Javed Miandad presented a written report suggesting the board management to take special steps to finalize China as a neutral venue for international cricket matches.

“We should take immediate and solid steps to decide this issue soon before the time passes away,” warned Miandad, PCB director and Pakistan’s cricket ambassador to China.

The future of cricket is very bright in China, a country with a big population, said Miandad, adding that Pakistan should help China technically to establish cricket infrastructure and new stadia. He also suggested sending a group of former players as a coaching team to China to train the Chinese youth.

Cricket is the most famous game in Pakistan but the countrymen could not have a single chance to watch any cricket match in their home grounds since March 2009. The foreign cricket teams refused to visit Pakistan after March 3, 2009 when some unknown terrorist ambushed the bus of Sri Lankan cricketers on their way to ground for a match in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore. Attackers tried to kidnap the bus but driver controlled the nerves and luckily drove away the bus from the site safely. At least eight people including six policemen were killed in cross firing. Besides many Pakistanis, seven Sri Lankan players were also injured in the attack. The Sri Lankan team canceled its tour and went back to Colombo on the very next available flight.

Pakistan was the co—host of the cricket world cup 2011 along with India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka but in the wake of the 2009 attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team and refusal from teams, the International Cricket Council (ICC) decided to strip Pakistan of its hosting rights.

Pakistan was supposed to hold 14 matches, including one semi-final but now eight of Pakistan’s matches have been awarded to India, four to Sri Lanka and two to Bangladesh.

With this decision PCB lost the revenue of millions of dollars and also an opportunity to boost up cricket culture in the country.

Seeing all these matters and predicting future problems, PCB started to think on the lines to have a secure, reliable and permanent neutral venue.

Sources revealed that as a first attempt to work on these lines Pakistan would put its weight on the Chinese side on Dec. 12 in Dhaka where China would make a bid to host the 2012 Asia Cup in Guangzhou, the venue that hosted the first-ever Asian Games cricket tournament in November.

If China succeeds to get the hosting rights of the event, it will be the first major international cricket event in China. And Pakistani authorities said giving the Asian Cricket Cup hosting rights to China will make the rout clear to announce its neutral venue.

Syed Ashraful Haq, chief executive of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), also confirmed that the Chinese Cricket Association had “expressed its interest” in hosting the 2012 Asia Cup.

“If our ACC board agrees, China will have its first full-fledged, major international tournament,” Haq told Cricinfo, a famous cricket website.

The ACC board will meet on Dec. 12 in Dhaka to decide the venue for the Asia Cup among Guangzhou, Dhaka and either Dubai or Abu Dhabi.

“If you ask me where it should go, I don’t know. My board would have to decide but it would be good if it is played in a non-traditional place to enhance the profile of the place and to boost up cricket awareness,” Haq added.

ACC authorities will also consider taking cricket out of traditional venues to new markets or new areas.

Ijaz Butt, PCB chairman, praised the quality of grounds and facilities provided in the cricket stadium in China.

According to sources, Butt had been astonished by the quality of the ground and facilities provided in the cricket stadium in China and expressed his wish to make a venue for one of Pakistan’s offshore international games.

“PCB is planning to arrange its Test matches in first phase,” sources said.

T20 international cricket tournament in the Asian Games was held at the Guangdong University of Technology, where the ground has an 80-meter boundary and seven pitches which suits international standards.

Afridi unhappy with World Cup preparations

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has expressed his dissatisfaction over team’s preparations for the upcoming mega event, World Cup 2011.
Speaking to media, star all-rounder said that the team’s preparation has been disturbed due to recent controversies.
“The team is under severe pressure due to un-ending controversies engulfing Pakistan cricket,” he said.
“I have not done anything illegal that is why British agent Mazhar Majeed has not mentioned my name in spot-fixing scandal.” SAMAA

Imran Farhat wants clarification from Mazhar Majeed

The Pakistan team has been under fire for a long time. There have been many controversies surrounding the team and the players. The man that had been in the spotlight for the past few months, Mazhar Majeed, has once again raised eyebrows. Imran Farhat, the Pakistan opener has been named as one of the seven cricketers with whom Mazhar Majeed had been working with. This claim was made by Mazhar Majeed in a latest video that came out on Tuesday on a private TV channel in Pakistan. Imran was not impressed with this footage which was on the media last Tuesday and has threatened to take legal action against Mazhar Majeed. Imran Farhat was dropped from the Pakistan team for the New Zealand tour due to poor batting performances against England and Australia. He was selected for the South African series but good performances from the openers Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar forced the selectors to drop Farhat from the team.

There may be a possibility of Mazhar Majeed taking the name of Imran Farhat by mistake but it is still quite early to predict. This information will be confirmed from Mazhar Majeed. Farhat has been in talks with his lawyer in London and after discussing the case, the player has decided to send a legal notice to Mazhar Majeed. The player would want a clarification from Majeed as to why his name was taken. Farhat also said that the name may have been taken by mistake. If that has happened the player would like a correction from Majeed that what he said was either incorrect or his name was mentioned by accident.

The footage which came on air was presented by the ICC against the suspended trio of Pakistan Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir. It was presented on the suspension hearing which was held in October. After the hearing the players remained provisionally suspended by the ICC until further progress on their case. The trio was upset with the decision but the ICC claimed to have enough evidence to stay with the decision which was made after the Test series loss against England.

Imran Farhat had been struggling throughout the season. He had been given chances in all three formats of the game but was unable to cement his place in the team. Averaging just a shade below 32 in test matches, Farhat has three centuries to his name in the 39 matches he has played until now. His one day average is almost the same being just below 31 in 37 matches he has played so far. He also has one century to his name in this format of the game. He has been unable to make a mark in the T-20 matches at the international level and has no good performances in the five matches he has featured in until now.

Issues like these have surrounded the Pakistan cricket team for the past year. The wicketkeeper Zulqarnain Haider also claimed that he would announce the names of those involved in spot fixing. He was a member of the team which toured UAE for the series against South Africa. He traveled to England claiming he had security concerns and received life threats from an unknown person.

The picture would be much clearer once Mazhar Majeed responds to the lawyer of Imran Farhat. It might be that his name would have been mentioned in some other context or it may have come up by mistake. Pakistan would like to get its name clear of all the controversies before the World Cup. The team can ill afford to face any more issues which would halt their World Cup preparations

Favouritism rules the roost in PCB

ISLAMABAD - The PCB has announced the names of the probables for the upcoming series against New Zealand starting by the end of this month. There is no surprise for the cricket lovers in the selection of squad, as one thing is sure that the International Cricket Council is poking nose into PCB’s team selection-related matters. PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt is looking helpless in playing his due role. During the team’s tour to England, three players including the then captain Salman Butt, Muhammad Aamir and Muhammad Asif were spotted baselessly in a match-fixing scandal by a British tabloid, The News of the World, which is not the authentic paper to be trusted upon. If someone is accused of any wrongdoing, then it is the responsibility of the accuser to prove its claim in the court of law. But in this case nothing has been proved so far despite lapse of around three months. This looks a politically motivated move against the top Pakistani players who can turn the whole situation of the match individually, especially the match-winning bowlers Muhammad Aamir and Muhammad Asif. Both the players are the backbone of Pakistani bowling line-up, as the playing Pakistani bowlers are yet to fill their gap. As a matter of fact, their absence was witnessed against the Proteas where the bowlers struggled hard to bowl them out. This is a highly condemnable act of both PCB and ICC, as the latter suspended the players immediately without giving them time to prove their innocence and the former didn’t defend its key players wholeheartedly and rather succumbed to ICC pressure. The ICC shows double standard, if a Pakistani player is accused of doing something wrong, he is penalised without any hesitation and if an Indian player does the same, he is allowed going unpunished just because the influence of the BCCI, as one can see in the example of Suresh Riana who was caught red-handedly in Sri Lanka with a suspicious lady who had close links with the bookies. This is an unjustified act by the ICC, whose primary role is to apply rules without discrimination