Latif confident of bright Afghan future

Afghanistan coach Rashid Latif said Thursday the future of cricket in the war-torn country was bright, citing progress shown by the under-19 team on their tour of Pakistan.

The Afghanistan junior team was in Pakistan to prepare for a tournament in Bangkok next month that serves as the qualifying round for next year's International Cricket Council (ICC) under-19 world cup.

Latif said the team's showing augured well for Afghanistan cricket.

"I am very pleased with the progress shown by the Afghanistan juniors and it proves that the country has good back-up players and gives me confidence about their future in the game," Latif, coach of Afghanistan's senior team, told AFP.

The team ended the Pakistan tour on Thursday.

The under-19 team will be pitted against Nepal, the United Arab Emirates, Thailand and Oman in Group B in Bangkok.

Hong Kong, Qatar, Malaysia, Singapore and Bahrain are placed in Group A of the event, from which two teams will qualify for the under-19 world cup.

Latif, who guided Afghanistan to a silver medal in last year's Asian Games, said there were quality players among the junior ranks.

"Afghanistan has very good players in the junior team as well as in the "A" team which is currently playing in Sharjah, so I am confident about the back-up and the only thing Afghanistan cricket needs is grounds and academies," said Latif.

Under Latif, a former Pakistan captain, Afghanistan also won the ICC Intercontinental Cup -- a first-class tournament for ICC associate members -- last year.

Former national coach Taj Malik said the juniors had shown great talent.

"It is very good to have such talent in the back-up and these players will go on and serve Afghanistan cricket in the future," said Malik.

Cricket is fast becoming one of the most popular sports in Afghanistan after refugees learnt the game's skills in camps in Pakistan in the late 1980s.

Last year Afghanistan played in the ICC's Division One for the first time, narrowly missing out on a place in the 50-over World Cup to be held in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh next month.

Alam confident of Pakistan’s come back against New Zealand

Pakistan’s cricket team tour manager, Intikhab Alam on Wednesday expressed his disappointment after the second one-day international (ODI) was washed out due to incessant rains.

Pakistan made a breezy start to their innings, reaching 31 without loss off 4.2 overs with Ahmed Shahzad racing to 25 off 16 balls and Muhammad Hafeez on four, when rain forced them off again less than 20 minutes after play began.

Speaking to a private news channel at Queenstown Events Center, Alam said the team is confident of making a strong comeback in the series against New Zealand.

“We will try to win the third one-dayer to level the 6-match ODI series,” he said.

All players, he said, will be given an opportunity to show their performance in order to finalize an ideal combination for the upcoming World Cup.

Amir says sorry to ICC

Pakistan’s young fast bowler Mohammad Amir has apologized to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for breaching International Cricket Council (ICC) ban.

Mohammad Amir, along with former test skipper Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif, has been suspended by the ICC on spot fixing allegations revealed by the British tabloid News of the World in August last year during Pakistan cricket team’s tour of England.As per the ICC ban, the player can’t take part in any form of cricket activity and can’t play a cricket match. ICC independent tribunal led by Michael Beloff, QC is due to announce the verdict of the suspended Pakistan trio on February 6 in Doha.

Mohammad Amir told the PCB official that he was unaware of the ban modalities and didn’t know that he can’t play even in a club match.The chief of Rawalpindi cricket association Naeem Akhtar has confirmed that Amir has apologized to the PCB for taking part in the cricket match on Monday at Rawalpindi cricket ground.

Afridi likely to be retained World Cup captain: Sources

KARACHI: Shahid Afridi is likely to be retained as the one-day captain for the ICC World Cup 2011 after Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ijaz Butt held discussions with the team management in New Zealand and chief operating officer in Lahore.

According to a well-informed source in the board, all indications show that all-rounder Afridi is likely to lead the side during the mega-event staring from February 19 to be held jointly by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

The source that Butt held a half an hour discussion with chief operating officer today after his talks with the team management in New Zealand.

"Butt himself is not in favour of having Afridi as captain and is more inclined towards Misbah-ul-Haq. Even Younis Khan wants Misbah as the skipper. But after getting all the feedbacks and suggestions the PCB chief knows that it would be a risky move to change the ODI captain at this stage and it would be better to continue with Afridi," the source disclosed.

The source also added that Butt and some other board officials have lost faith in Afridi over his attitude and repeated violations of the board instructions in recent months.

"Definitely, Afridi is not the favourite candidate for captaincy but even the team management has told Butt not to change the captain for the World Cup at this stage."

He said another factor weighing on the mind of Butt is that some of the senior players in the touring side in New Zealand including Shoaib Akhtar, Abdul Razzaq, Umar Gul are in favour of Afridi and want him to continue as the World Cup captain.

"The PCB Chairman has a difficult decision to make because he has to ensure there are no issues or conflicts within the team just before the World Cup," the source stated.

The source also informed that Butt is likely to announce the World Cup captain this week after some more deliberations in New Zealand.

He even indicated that Butt was facing pressure from the top over the captaincy issue.

"Most of the major sponsors who have invested lot of money in the tournament in Pakistan have already prepared their campaigns with Shahid Afridi as captain in their commercials. So they are concerned that any late change in the captaincy now would derail their campaigns and cost them millions of rupees in losses," the source said.

"These companies are also lobbying within the government to ensure that the Pakistan board does not change Afridi as captain for the World Cup."

The PCB has come in for severe criticism from a number of former players for delaying in naming the captain for the mega-event.

The former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq even felt that the delay had led to groupism within the team and could prove damaging for the team during the World Cup.