Gayle, Afridi, Gibbs among 33 overseas players in Sri Lanka T20 league

May 14, 2011 (Island Cricket): Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has secured the services of several prominent overseas cricketers, including the likes of David Warner and Shaun Tait from Australia and Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard from the West Indies for the upcoming Sri Lanka Premier League T20 tournament (SLPL).

Shahid Afridi, who will be captaining a team in the tournament, along with Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir and Umar Akmal represent some of the Pakistani talent on show.

As many as 12 Indian players are expected to feature in the tournament.

South Africa’s dashing Herschelle Gibbs and veteran Makhaya Ntini are amongst the other big names on show.

The first edition of the SLPL will get underway on July 19. All matches will be held at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Full list of overseas players:

Australia: David Warner, Shaun Tait, Callum Ferguson, Daniel Christian.

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal.

India: Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Manish Pandey, Manoj Tiwary, Munaf Patel, Paul Valthaty, Praveen Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Saurabh Tiwary, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar.

Ireland: Kevin O'Brien.

New Zealand: Daniel Vettori.

Pakistan: Imran Nazir Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz.

South Africa: Albie Morkel, Herschelle Gibbs, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Makhaya Ntini.

West Indies: Chris Gayle Danza Hyatt, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard.

Karachi players being deliberately neglected’

 
City Cricket Association (KCCA) secretary Professor Ijaz Farooqui, on Saturday, said that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selection committee is deliberately neglecting the players of the city.

Farooqui was addressing the media at Karachi Press Club in the backdrop of an unconvincing protest against the selection committee as a number of neglected players did not turn up and in spite of KCCA’s call while those who were protesting were hardly recognised names.

“The National selection committee has been deliberately neglecting the deserving players of Karachi,” Farooqui said. “They have used different ways to overlook them and discard those already in the national team.”

He added that the present board has failed in to complete their duties, which is imminent from the ‘spot-fixing’ controversy and Zulqarnain Haider’s mysterious escape.

Farooqui added that Pakistan cricket is suffering because of the dictatorial rule of Ijaz Butt. “Our cricket has suffered because of one man’s dictatorship,” he said. “Once the dictatorship starts objectivity ends.”

The KCCA has been raising their voice for sometime against the continuous snub of Test wicketkeeper batsman Sarfraz Ahmed, Khurram Manzoor, Danish Kaneria, Faisal Iqbal, Mohammad Sami, Fawad Alam, Khalid Latif and Sohail Khan.

The officials particularly pointed out that Sarfraz Ahmed, Danish Kaneria and Khurram Manzoor in particular should have been in the Test squad. “Sarfraz did so well and we all were thinking that he will be automatically selected for the longer format but shockingly Mohammad Salamn was picked up,” Farooqui said.

Farooqui, who has been very vocal in his criticism of the PCB, was recently given a show-cause notice by the board.

However, he said he will not be deterred by such notices and will continue to fight for the rights of the players. “We will continue to raise our voices in order to provide justice to our players,” he said.

“We wrote letters to the PCB about our reservations over the selection but the board did not pay any attention on the issue, which has forced us to come out on roads and protest.”

The PCB took an undertaking form from all the stake holders in which it was clearly mentioned that they will not be allowed to speak against the board, which the KCCA members agreed to.

When Farooqui was questioned as to why he was not resigning before criticising the PCB, he said: “ I’m defying it.”

KCCA’s double standards

The KCCA has been depicting a double policy. While they have been blasting the selection committee, they earlier presented souvenir to chief selector Mohsin Hasan Khan.

And Farooqui, in an attempt to clarify that stand, replied: “ It was a ray of hope that justice would be provided but that didn’t turned out to be the case.”

The association has been speaking loud against the murder of the merit but murdered it themselves earlier, when they placed Pakistan’s Division-I best batsman Ramiz Raja Jr in reserves of Sindh’s Pentangular Cup team, while Mohammad Sami was not even included in the group of 20.

When asked why KCCA failed to provide justice to its own players, Farooqui turned the topic by saying that if the debate of injustice will start then there are many players, who would come under discussion.

The KCCA secretary also came under fire on his association’s policy over staging the

Executive Council meeting eight days after announcement of Test squad for West Indies, which had no significance.

Meanwhile, the protestors chanted ‘anti-Ijaz Butt’ slogans; at the same time chanting ‘pro-Bukhari’ slogans.

Former Pak player arrested for IPL betting

 Former Pakistan Test off-spinner and current umpire Akram Raza has been arrested after police conducted a raid to bust a gang of bookmakers taking illegal bets on the ongoing Indian Premier League matches.

"We arrested seven men from a plaza in Liberty area in Gulberg today and one of them has been identified as Akram Raza a former Pakistan player," a senior police officer at the Gulberg police station said.

He said the police had got a tip off that a gang of known bookmakers was running a book on the IPL in the liberty area and conducted the raid.

"We recovered cash, mobile phones and many telephone numbers in India," he said.

He said the arrested persons including Raza had been lodged at the Gulberg station but not charged as yet.

Rampaul confident of winning 1st Test

 West Indies pacer Ravi Rampaul, who broke the back of Pakistan Saturday with two wickets in his opening over, believes they will be on course to victory in the first Test here Sunday after breaking the partnership between Misbah-ul Haq and Asad Shafiq.

After three days of gripping action, the first Test is poised for a close finish Sunday. Pakistan enter fourth day at 80/3 in pursuit of a victory target of 219. Pakistan off- spinner Saeed Ajmal took six wickets for a haul of 11 in the match that saw West Indies fold up for 152 in the second innings.

Rampaul, however, got the home team back in the game with wickets of Taufeeq Umar and Azhar Ali in his sensational opening over during Saturday's post-tea session. He took three for 27 in the first innings Friday.

"We are one wicket away from the breakthrough. We started really well and with the assistance the bowlers are getting from the pitch we believe we can win this match. The ball swung at the start of the innings and I was able to hit my areas. We will come back in the morning (Sunday) and run in hard at the Pakistan batsmen again," Rampaul said.

In recent months Rampaul has improved tremendously and he put it down to higher fitness levels.

In the World Cup, he took 5-51 against India in a brilliant spell in Chennai.

Earlier this month, in the Digicel One-day International Series against Pakistan, Rampaul took four-wicket hauls in the third match in Barbados and the fifth match in Guyana.

"Last year I had an injury in the Test match against South Africa. After that I spoke to the coach (Ottis Gibson) and he offered me some great advice. He told me I needed to improve my fitness levels and he also told me I could bowl a lot faster and be a major asset to the team.

"I did a lot of work in all areas of my game and came back with a new focus. I have been doing a lot of good work with coach Gibson and the work is paying off. My figures are improving and I'm enjoying my cricket."

SRI LANKA PREMIER LEAGUE T20 TOURNAMENT (SLPL) ANOTHER STEP FORWARD

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has secured the services of several prominent overseas cricketers, including the likes of David Warner and Shaun Tait from Australia and Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard from the West Indies for the upcoming Sri Lanka Premier League T20 tournament (SLPL).

Shahid Afridi, who will be captaining a team in the tournament, along with Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir and Umar Akmal represent some of the Pakistani talent on show.

As many as 12 Indian players are expected to feature in the tournament.

South Africa’s dashing Herschelle Gibbs and veteran Makhaya Ntini are amongst the other big names on show.

The first edition of the SLPL will get underway on July 19. All matches will be held at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

Full list of overseas players:

Australia: David Warner, Shaun Tait, Callum Ferguson, Daniel Christian.

Bangladesh: Tamim Iqbal.

India: Dinesh Karthik, Irfan Pathan, Manish Pandey, Manoj Tiwary, Munaf Patel, Paul Valthaty, Praveen Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Saurabh Tiwary, Umesh Yadav, Vinay Kumar.

Ireland: Kevin O'Brien.

New Zealand: Daniel Vettori.

Pakistan: Imran Nazir Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Wahab Riaz.

South Africa: Albie Morkel, Herschelle Gibbs, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Makhaya Ntini.

West Indies: Chris Gayle Danza Hyatt, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard.

PAKISTAN’S ZULQARNAIN HAIDER ASPIRING TO PLAY COUNTY CRICKET FOR LASHINGS

Pakistan’s renegade wicketkeeper, Zulqarnain Haider, is aspiring to play county cricket for the Lashings cricket club in future after getting clearance from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Talking to newsmen, Haider said, “I am in talks with the club in England and if given chance, I may return, this time with my family to London."

Meanwhile the English country is also keen to include Haider in their outfit, while talking to the media from London, the Chairman of Lashings, David Folb and the club’s media manager Fred Atkins said, “Yes, we are still interested if he plays for us, but he would need clearance from both the ECB and the PCB to play for Lashings. If he can get that we would be delighted to have him."

This week, Haider had revoked his retirement from International cricket and made himself available for selection in the national team. However, playing in the national team is easier said than done, because the PCB has made it very clear that the former wicketkeeper will have to present himself in front of a PCB integrity committee and answer some tough questions regarding his decision to dessert the national team in the middle of a series.

According to a PCB official, after facing the integrity committee, Haider will be given an opportunity to meet the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt and it is only then that he will be in a position to seriously start thinking of playing again for Pakistan.

Keeping this in mind, Haider has perhaps thought it best to try his luck in the English county which expressed interest in him when he reached London last year.

Last month, after living in self-exile for nearly five-months, the lanky wicketkeeper returned to Pakistan after meeting the interior minister of Pakistan, Rehman Malik, in London.

According to sources, the minister promised the player top notch security on his return to Pakistan.

After reaching his homeland on 25 April, 2011, Haider wanted to meet Ijaz Butt, however, no such meeting has been arranged between the two so far.

The 25-year-old Haider came under fire when he disappeared from the team hotel just before the last match of a One-Day series between Pakistan and South Africa in the United Arab Emirates in November, 2010.

He resurfaced later in the United Kingdom and revealed that he had received death threats from bookies who wanted him to lose the fourth and fifth match of the series. He was left with no option but to make a run for his life.

In the press conference, he also announced his retirement from International cricket and insisted that he wanted to spend the rest of his life in England.

Zulqarnain had also applied for asylum in the United Kingdom, but he revoked his application on his return to Pakistan.

As of now, he has been banned by the PCB from representing Pakistan in any format of the game. According to the board, the wicketkeeper is guilty of committing major disciplinary offenses.

If Haider wants to resume his cricket career, he needs to seek clearance from the PCB as soon as possible.  

SHANE WARNE APOLOGIZES FOR EXCHANGING HOT WORDS WITH SANJAY DIXIT

The Rajasthan Royals’ skipper, Shane Warne, has finally apologized for insulting the secretary of Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA), Sanjay Dixit, after his side lost an Indian Premier League (IPL) match on Wednesday.

The matter had gained publicity after the association decided to call up a meeting to look into the matter and evaluate whether strict action was needed to be taken against Warne.

After the meeting, the RCA finally decided to take action against the flamboyant Rajasthan captain and informed him about their decision.

Revealing the decision of the RCA, the Rajasthan Royal’s Chief Executive, Sean Morris said, “The player has accepted the action that we have taken and apologised for any distress caused." The Chief Executive refused to give any further details regarding the issue.

According to insiders, Morris also sent an e-mail to Dixit, informing him about the decision of the Franchise to take a disciplinary action against the player for his public outburst.

Dixit has requested the franchise to take strict action against the Australian who had insulted him publically for not giving the Rajasthan Royals a wicket of their own liking to play on.

Apparently Warne was upset after his side’s loss and questioned the reasons for not giving the home side a wicket that suited them better.

Defeats against Chennai and Bangalore have severely dented RR’s hopes for ending up at the top of the league table this year and have almost buried Warne’s dream to lead his side to their second championship title after 2008.

According to eyewitnesses, the debacle between Warne and Dixit was so intense that Royal’s owner, Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty, had to jump in to defuse the situation. Warne was heard by witnesses of calling Dixit an egoistic liar.  

Meanwhile, Dixit has accused Warne of pressurizing him to provide the Royals with a favourable wicket to play on in their home matches. According to reports, Dixit had provided Warne’s text messages to the BCCI and IPL management as evidence to his allegations.

On the hand, Warne has already announced that he will be bidding farewell to all forms of cricket after the conclusion of this year’s IPL.

NO PLANS TO PROVIDE TOP SECURITY TO AFGHAN CRICKET TEAM TOURING PAKISTAN

Refusing to learn from past mistakes, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) seems to be in no mood to provideAfghanistan’s national cricket team with state level security for their upcoming tour of the terror hit country, starting from May 24, 2011.

Talking to newsmen, an official of the PCB said, “It’s not a big series. We’re in touch with the local administrations and they’ve assured to provide security. The Afghanistan players are visiting Pakistan regularly to play local tournaments. We are not denying the importance of security but the security provided by local administrations would be enough.”

Afghanistan will be the first country to tour Pakistan after the 2009 terror attacks on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore, after which International teams declined any series in Pakistan.

The terror attacks injured seven Sri Lankan players while claiming the lives of eight Pakistanis. The tourists managed to escape from the jaws of death by the exceptional effort of the driver who drove the Lankan bus out from the danger zone.

The series was immediately called off and the Sri Lankans were flown back to their native country.

This debacle pressed the International Cricket Council (ICC) to strip Pakistan off their hosting rights of the ICC world cup 2011, which was supposed to be jointly hosted by Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Currently Pakistan has to play home events in a third country and so far the PCB has used England and theUnited Arab Emirates as venues for tournaments against other countries.

After nearly three years, with the arrival of the Afghan cricket team, International cricket will finally resume in Pakistan.

However, according to the current stance of the PCB, there is every possibility of another terrorist attack on the touring team which will be an international catastrophe for the country and might extend boycott from other teams to tour Pakistan.

The Afghan team is scheduled to play three One Day International matches against Pakistan ‘A’ in the cities of Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Abbottabad.

Abbotabad has become a suspected place after the world’s most wanted fugitive Osama bin Ladin was killed in a raid by US forces last week.

Playing an international event in such a location may attract unwanted attention and it is imperative for the PCB to provide the touring Afghan side with optimum security if they want to avert a disaster. 

How Afridi look like if he was Taliban commander ?

Note :- Friends this is just for fun .