Cricket - Int News
ICC congratulates Asghar for a fine career
Aamir Ali Janjua
Dubai (October 31, 2021):-The International Cricket Council (ICC) has congratulated former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan for a superb career that has seen him play a crucial role in his country’s rise in international cricket.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has congratulated former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan for a superb career that has seen him play a crucial role in his country’s rise in international cricket.
The batter, who has been a part of all seven major ICC tournaments that Afghanistan have participated in, has announced his retirement from all formats of the game.
His final match came against Namibia in the Super 12 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 on Sunday.
ICC Acting Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said: “Asghar has been a great ambassador of the game and played a huge part in Afghanistan’s rise up the ranks in world cricket.
“He has played a pivotal role as batter and led his team astutely during his time as captain.
“On behalf of the ICC, I wish him all the best for the future and hope that he continues to be associated with the game in the years to come.
The 33-year-old finished his career having played 114 ODI matches, scoring 2,424 runs with a century and 12 half-centuries. He also scored 440 runs in six Test matches.
Asghar captained his country in their first-ever Test match against India in 2018 and at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2016.
At the time of his retirement, he holds the record for the most wins as captain in T20 internationals having led his team to victory in 42 games.
Concrete pitches help batsman to regain rhythm, says Lankan curator
BIPIN DANI
Sri Lanka's former pitch curator Jayananda Warnaweera was not surprised to see Australian opener David Warner regaining his form.
The 35-year-old left-handed batsman Warner, who was running out of form before the match against Sri Lanka, scored 65 runs (which included 10 boundaries) at Dubai Sports City (DSC) ground on Thursday.
Warner was not in the form even in the IPL also. He is understood to have practiced hard on concrete pitches in the UAE before the match against Lankans.
"Practising on a hard concrete wicket is always helpful because the ball comes faster on this pitch and it helps the batsman to regain his confidence", the 60-year-old Warnaweera, who has vast experience of working as a groundman in Sri Lanka said exclusively over the telephone.
"We don't have concrete pitches (in Srti Lanka) and I very well remember Kumar Sangakkara practicing on a turf wicket in Galle for three-four hours and it helped him a lot".
"Team India captain Virat Kohli also practices hard facing balls coming at a faster speed. The batsman can change his mind set up, tries to hit hard and gets well-adjusted to the timing".
PCB names officials for Pakistan-West Indies series
Hammad Ahmed Kayani
KARACHI (October 28, 2021):-Former Test cricketer and member of PCB’s elite panel of match referees Ali Naqvi will lead the playing control team in the three One-Day Internationals between Pakistan Women and West Indies Women at the National Stadium, Karachi on 8, 11 and 14 November.
The on-field umpiring responsibilities will be shared amongst Asif Yaqoob, Faisal Afridi and Rashid Riaz – all on the PCB’s elite panel of umpires.
The match officials’ appointments in detail are below:
8 Nov – 1st ODI. Rashid Riaz and Asif Yaqoob (on-field umpires) and Faisal Afridi (reserve umpire). Ali Naqvi (match referee)
11 Nov – 2nd ODI. Asif Yaqoob and Faisal Afridi (on-field umpires) and Rashid Riaz (reserve umpire). Ali Naqvi (match referee)
14 Nov – 3rd ODI. Asif Yaqoob and Rashid Riaz (on-field umpires) and Faisal Afridi (reserve umpire). Ali Naqvi (match referee).
Three female players test corona positive
Sports Reporter
Karachi (October 28, 2021):-Three squad members of the national women’s team participating in the pre-West Indies series camp at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre have tested positive for Covid-19.
These members tested positive in the routine Covid-19 testing yesterday and are under 10-day quarantine, which ends on 6 November.
The other squad members will remain in isolation till 2 November and undergo tests every alternate day, starting tomorrow, to stem any potential spread of the virus.
As per the PCB Covid-19 Protocols, all squad members had joined the bio-secure environment after returning two negative tests. These squad members had been vaccinated for Covid-19 in May.
Pakistan and West Indies will play three ODIs on 8, 11 and 14 November at the National Stadium.
Ben Stokes added to Ashes Squad
H Shah
MANCHESTER (October 25, 2021):-Durham all-rounder Ben Stokes has been added to the England Men's Test squad for the Ashes tour of Australia.
Stokes, who has been given the all-clear by his consultant and the ECB medical team to resume training following his second operation on a fractured left index finger, will depart with the Test specialists and the Lions on 4 November.
The 30-year-old is ready to return to competitive cricket following his break from the game at the end of July to prioritise his mental wellbeing. “I had a break to prioritise my mental wellbeing and I got my finger sorted,” said Stokes.
“I am looking forward to seeing my mates and being on the field with them. I’m ready for Australia.”
Managing Director of England Men's Cricket, Ashley Giles, added:
"Following a very successful operation on his finger and several conversations over the last few weeks between Ben and I, our medical staff and his management team, Ben called me to say he was ready to return to cricket and was excited about the prospect of playing a significant role in the Ashes series.
"Time and time again, Ben has demonstrated how important he is to the England team and having him available for the Ashes series is excellent news for all of us and, in particular, Chris (Silverwood), Joe (Root) and the rest of the players.
"Having not played for some time, we will move forward cautiously over the next few weeks to ensure he is fully prepared across all facets of his game.
"Ahead of a very busy period of cricket, we continue to remain mindful of the stresses on all our personnel, and our primary focus continues to be the wellbeing of all of our players and support staff."
England Men's Test Squad - Ashes Tour of Australia 2021-22:
Joe Root (Yorkshire) Captain
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Dom Bess (Yorkshire)
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
Rory Burns (Surrey)
Jos Buttler (Lancashire)
Zak Crawley (Kent)
Haseeb Hameed (Nottinghamshire)
Dan Lawrence (Essex)
Jack Leach (Somerset)
Dawid Malan (Yorkshire)
Craig Overton (Somerset)
Ollie Pope (Surrey)
Ollie Robinson (Sussex)
Ben Stokes (Durham)
Chris Woakes (Warwickshire)
Mark Wood (Durham)
England's Ashes tour of Australia 2021-22 Itinerary (subject to change):
8-12 December: 1st Test, Australia v England, Gabba, Brisbane
16-20 December: 2nd Test, Australia v England (D/N), Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
26-30 December: 3rd Test, Australia v England, MCG, Melbourne
January 2022 5-9 January: 4th Test, Australia v England, SCG, Sydney
14-18 January: 5th Test, Australia v England, Optus Stadium, Perth
LPL: Safexpay becomes co-owner of Kandy franchise
Sports Bulletin Report
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (October 21, 2021):-Safexpay has become c-owner of Kandy franchise for the second season of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) of the prestigious T20 tournament of the Islanders, says a press release.
Ravi Gupta, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Safexpay focused on solving the problems for businesses that need to either accept online payments from or make payouts to various stakeholders. Safexpay has a strong presence in India, UAE and Singapore.
Speaking about entering the LPL, Gupta said, "The Lanka Premier League garnered a lot of interest from some of the biggest stars and the cricket fans from around the world in the first season and therefore I am absolutely delighted to enter the tournament as the co-owner of the Kandy franchise this year. The Lanka Premier League is certainly going to grow and evolve into one of the most sought-after T20 leagues in the world and I am very excited to be a part of the success of the tournament in the upcoming years."
Speaking about the new venture, Tripathi said, "We are ecstatic to be a part of the Lanka Premier League as the co-owner of the Kandy franchise. The LPL has caught the imagination of cricket fans from around the world and we wanted to be a part of the amazing competition in the upcoming seasons. We are eagerly looking forward to engaging with the fans and having a cracker of a season."
Welcoming the new owners, Anil Mohan, Founder and CEO of Dubai-based production giant IPG, the official promoter of LPL, said, "It's a huge honour and privilege for me to welcome Safexpay Founder and CEO Ravi Gupta and Vernost Director Pankaj Tripathi as the owners of the Kandy franchise. I am certain that their passion for the game will bolster the Kandy franchise and also attract more fans to the Lanka Premier League in the upcoming seasons."
The new owners of the Kandy franchise are expecting to construct a strong team for the second season of the LPL in the Player's Draft, which is set to be held on 27 October 2021. Gupta said, "We will certainly try to acquire a well-balanced team in the Player's Draft." While, Tripathi expressed, "Hopefully the team performs to the best of its ability in the season and garners the desired results."
The inaugural edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) which was played in a bio-secure bubble at the Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium in Hambantota from November 26 till December 16, 2020, reached a cumulative audience of 557 million people through TV, digital-social space, and traditional media outlets.
Sponsors enjoyed a media evaluation (visibility) of $54.5m and title sponsor MY11CIRCLE enjoyed a ROI of 9.85x. Winner of the first edition of LPL Jaffna Stallions tops the valuation chart with $3.98m followed by Galle Gladiators ($3.82m), Dambulla Viikings (Now Dambulla Giants) ($3.54m) Colombo Kings ($3.44m) and Kandy Tuskers ($3.19m).
The LPL matches which were telecast live by Sky Sports, Sony Sports Network, Geo, PTV, and Willow TV in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, UK, US, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand saw 155 million people tuning in to catch live action. On social media, it achieved a reach of 218 million and LPL found 133478 mentions as the league came alive with each and every match with some scintillating performances on the ground.
West Indies Women to play three ODIs in Karachi
Hammad Ahmed Kayani
KARACHI (October 21, 2021):-West Indies Women will visit Pakistan for three One-Day Internationals in November. Karachi’s iconic National Stadium will host the matches on 8, 11 and 14 November, following which both sides will travel to Zimbabwe for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier to be held from 21 November to 5 December.
As part of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s efforts to increase the reach and viewership of the women’s sport, the three ODIs – which will start at 1000 – will be live-streamed through PCB’s YouTube channel around the world.
This will be Pakistan women’s third bilateral series in 2021 after they toured South Africa in January-February and West Indies in June-July. Stafaine Taylor’s West Indies will arrive in Karachi on 1 November for what is a reciprocal tour.
The top three of the 10 teams will qualify for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2022, which will be played in New Zealand.
PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja: “We are delighted to announce the West Indies women’s tour to Pakistan in November. This will be a great series for the promotion, publicity and growth of women’s cricket in Pakistan, besides also providing both sides excellent opportunity to prepare for the World Cup qualifier.
“West Indies women’s tour will be followed by their men’s side who will visit Pakistan for three ODIs and three T20Is in December. So, the Pakistan cricket fans can brace for some exciting and entertaining cricket in women’s and men’s cricket later this year.”
Meanwhile, the national women’s selection committee – which includes Urooj Mumtaz (the chair) and Asmavia Iqbal – has also announced an 18-strong squad for the upcoming three ODIs and the World Cup Qualifier.
Batter Javeria Khan will lead the contingent, which has been devised after considering the performances on the last two tours and the recent Pakistan Cup Women’s One-Day.
Pakistan Women for West Indies ODIs and World Cup Qualifier: Javeria Khan (captain), Aiman Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Anam Amin, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Iram Javed, Kainat Imtiaz, Maham Tariq, Muneeba Ali, Nashra Sundhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin and Sidra Nawaz (wicketkeeper)
Support staff: Fizza Abid (team manager), David Hemp (head coach), Arshad Khan (assistant coach), Kamran Hussain (assistant coach), Saboor Ahmad (strength and condition coach), Zubair Ahmad (analyst), Dr Riffat Asghar Gill (head physiotherapist) and Rabia Siddiq (physiotherapist)
The national women’s team’s camp for the series will begin from 23 October and will run till 5 November at the Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre, Karachi. At the conclusion of the camp, the team will shift to the team hotel.
West Indies series itinerary
1 Nov - West Indies women arrival
4-7 Nov – Both teams’ training and practice sessions, National Stadium
8 Nov – First ODI, National Stadium
11 Nov – Second ODI, National Stadium
14 Nov – Third ODI, National Stadium
16 Nov – Departure for Zimbabwe
Lanka Premier League starts from December 5, 2021
Abdul Jabbar Faisal
ISLAMABAD (October 18, 2021):-The Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2021 will start from December 5, 2021 at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (RPICS) Colombo, with the inaugural game scheduled to be played between Galle and Jaffna.
According to available information from abroad, the first round of the tournament, which will consist of 20 games will be played at the RPICS, Colombo before it moves into Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium (MRICS) Hambantota to proceed with the final round games.
The finals of the League will be played on the December 23, 2021 at the MRICS, Hambantota, whilst this year’s tournament has 24th December, as a ‘Reserve Day’ dedicated for the final.
The Lanka Premier League 2021 which is Sri Lanka’s topmost domestic tournament, with an international flavor, will consist of 24 games and will see the participation of topmost domestic and international cricketers.
The Final Round Games will see the top two teams in the points table playing the qualifier 1, whilst the 3rd and 4th placed teams on the table playing in the ‘eliminator.’
The winner of ‘qualifier 1’ will directly go into the finals, whilst the loser of the ‘qualifier 1’ will play against the winner of the ‘eliminator’ in the ‘qualifier 2’, and the winner of that game will go into the finals.
Schedule (First Match at 3:00 pm, Second Match at 7:30 pm)
December 5, 2021: OPENING CEREMONY and Galle vs Jaffna at RPICS
December 6, 2021: Dambulla Vs Kandy and Colombo Vs Galle at RPICS
December 7, 2021: Jaffna Vs Dambulla and Kandy Vs Galle at RPICS
December 8, 2021: Colombo Vs Dambulla and Kandy Vs Jaffna at RPICS
December 9, 2021: Rest & Practice
December 10, 2021: Dambulla vs Galle and Jaffna vs Colombo at RPICS
December 11, 2021: Galle vs Kandy and Colombo vs Dambulla at RPICS
December 12, 2021: Jaffna vs Kandy and Galle vs Colombo at RPICS
December 13, 2021: Galle vs Dambulla at RPICS
December 14, 2021: Kandy vs Colombo and Dambulla vs Jaffna at RPICS
December 15, 2021: Rest & Practice
December 16, 2021: Colombo vs Jaffna and Kandy vs Dambulla at RPICS
December 17, 2021: Jaffna vs Galle and Colombo vs Kandy at RPICS
December 18, 2021: Travel to Hambantota
December 19, 2021: Rest & Practice
December 20, 2021: Eliminator (3 vs 4) Qualifier 1 (1 vs 2) at MRICS
December 21, 2021: Qualifier 2 (looser QF1 vs won E) at MRICS
December 22, 2021: Rest & Practice
December 23, 2021: Final at MRICS
December 24, 2021: Final (Reserve Day) MRICS
FAF du Plessis to make first appearance in LPL
BIPIN DANI
Former South African captain Faf du Plessis will make its first appearance in the 2nd edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL), it is confirmed.
According to the highly placed sources in the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board, he is set to play for the defending champion Jaffna Kings team, formerly known as Jaffna Stallions.
Interestingly, the 37-year-old middle order batsman recently played the Indian Premier League (IPL) final and won the Player of the Match award for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) team.
"du Plessis has not been hired after the IPL final. He was in negotiations with the authorities much earlier but the clearance and confirmation was received on the day when he was adjudged the Player of the Match award for his 86 runs, which included 10 boundaries (7 fours and three sixes)", one of the sources, speaking exclusively over the telephone from Colombo, said on Sunday morning.
"du Plessis, who has not been a member of the South Africa team in the World Cup will be the first overseas icon of the franchise team".
The authorities have asked all participating teams to decide on pre-draft players and the list of the last year retained players.
Jaffna team owners are likely to retain captain Thisara Perera and Thilina Kandamby as their coach.
The team is likely to have few Pakistani players in overseas lists.
"We are keen to retain Shoaib Malik, who has now been added to the Pakistan squad for the T-20 World Cup. His performance was good last year also", the source attached with the management, added.
Jaffna Kings are also likely to retain the local players including Wanindu Hasaranga.
Suresh Raina: Indian players need to win it for Kohli
It will probably be his last time at this tournament as captain, so it's very important for him to make everyone believe we can do it and for us to get behind him.
India fans can't wait for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 to start for this reason. We have the players, we have the momentum - we just need to go out there and execute now.
All of our players have just played the Indian Premier League in the UAE and they have played themselves into top form with eight or nine games in this environment.
This gives India an edge on all other teams and makes them one of the big favourites to win the T20 World Cup in my opinion.
The conditions in UAE are very similar to what we play India and also in Pakistan. It's a good opportunity for the Asian teams to come and play their natural game.
We need to remember there are lots of other good teams in the tournament. Pakistan, Australia and England also look very good, and anything can happen in T20 cricket.
For me, the key to success for India's batting lies in the top three. Rohit Sharma is a gun player - he has a brilliant record at ICC events in the past and had a great IPL.
We need Rohit, KL Rahul and Virat to bat through to 15 overs and lay the platform. They can set the momentum for the India team by doing this.
There are lots of electric combinations in the middle order and obviously Rishabh Pant is going to play a key role there. Hardik Pandya is also very capable as a power hitter.
But if the top three are still there at that stage of the innings, there is no target that India can't chase.
My experience in the IPL was that the wickets in UAE and Oman will be very, very challenging when it comes to the mystery spinners.
That makes Varun Chakravarthy the main guy in the India bowling attack. He has showed he can exploit the pace of the pitches.
Varun has only played three T20Is but I'm not concerned by any lack of experience.
There is plenty of experience in this team, particularly in the seam attack.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar in particular leads the way when it comes to experience and knowledge of how to deal with the big games.
The inclusion of Shardul Thakur can also give extra strength to the fast bowlers that Virat has at his disposal.
We have been waiting for this T20 World Cup for a long time. It has been a difficult two years but I think we're about to see something special in the UAE and Oman.
Most Popular
