Sports Bulletin

By BIPIN DANI Vijay Singh Yadav, the security guard at Dwarikesh SugarIndustries was officiating his duty in Bareilly when heard the news about her daughter Meghna Singh's inclusion in the Indian women's team.   The 27-year-old right-arm medium pacer and the lower order batsman has been selected in the India women's team for the tour of Australia. She has been chosen for all three formats of the game. "My family is in Kotwali Dehat (District Bijnor) about 200 km away from my posting in Bareilly. Only for some official work I have come home and will be celebrating the inclusion of my daughter in the Indian team with my family members today before I return for my work in the evening", the father added. Meghna's grand-father is a retired Police sub inspector. Meghna is the eldest among five siblings. Her younger sisters-Garima, Pratiksha and Riddhi are graduates and postgraduates. The youngest brother Prabal Pratap is studying now. The mother, Reena Singh, is working as ASHA in the health department. "Meghna could not complete her graduation because she had to remain very busy playing the game and we have no regrets for that", the father added.   "Meghna's family has struggled a lot in life. Meghna's hard work has finally been rewarded. She used to come for training at our academy", the coach Lakshraj Tyagi said. Former India player Rita Dey has been Meghna's mentor. "She is a very simple and casual girl. She made her passport only last year when she was selected to play in the women's IPL in Dubai", Rita Dey says.   

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Kingston, Jamaica (August 25, 2021):-Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq has tested positive and, as such, will not depart for Lahore with his side later today (Wednesday). Misbah, who is asymptomatic, will now undergo a 10-day quarantine, following which he will depart for Pakistan. Misbah was the only Pakistan squad member who failed two pre-departure PCR tests. All other members will leave Jamaica as per schedule later today (Wednesday). The PCB is constantly in touch with Cricket West Indies who have confirmed that Misbah will be shifted to another hotel for the 10-day quarantine with a medical specialist assigned to look after his health and wellbeing.

By BIPIN DANI Sri Lanka's one more cricketer has migrated to the USA on Tuesday. The 28-year-old wicket-keeper batsman Lahiru Milintha, who has played 66 First Class matches, reached North Carolina with his wife on Tuesday early morning. Speaking exclusively over the telephone from the USA, he says, "I will be playing for the Morrisville Cardinals team in the Minor Cricket League (MiCL) this year". This is the first year of the League in the USA and all matches are played on weekends. "Half of the tournament is over", he said. Interestingly, Lahiru Milintha is the sixth SriLanka-born cricketer in this tournament. The other five Sri Lankans are : Sehan Jayasuriya, Amila Aponso, Roy Silva, Gayan Fernando and Ravindu Gunasekera. Ravindu Gunasekara has played for the Canada national team also. He will be in Lahiru's team in the MiCL. Morrisville Cardinals' next match is on Saturday, 28th August against Orlando Galaxy. Jayasuriya, Aponoso and now Lahiru are keen to settle in the USA and ambitious to play for the USA national team in future. They, however, have to reside in the USA (ICC's mandatory requirement) for three years to be eligible to play for the USA.

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT Islamabad (August 25, 2021):-The International Cricket Council (ICC) today have confirmed that Turkey have withdrawn from the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Europe Qualifier supported by Dream 11 as the necessary approval and travel documentation required due to COVID-19 restrictions for the team was not able to be secured from the Turkish Sports Ministry. The event due to start tomorrow in La Manga, Spain will now see the Qualifier be played as five-team tournament with a revised fixture list below. Action from the five-day tournament will be available to fans from across the world through the live stream, details here. ICC Regional Development Manager – Europe, Andy Wright said: “It is with great regret that Turkey will not be taking part in the Europe Qualifier at La Manga. We have been in communication with the Federation over the past month to provide any assistance to secure their arrival into Spain in time for the event and would like to thank the Federation for their efforts in trying to secure the documentation. “We have worked closely with the remaining participating teams and the event will now be played as a five-team tournament. We are looking forward to seeing play getting underway tomorrow in what is still set to be a very competitive event.” The revised fixtures are: 26 August 2021 - Netherlands v Scotland (10:30); Ireland v Germany (10:30); France v Netherlands (15:30) 27 August 2021 - Germany v France (10:30); Ireland v Scotland (10:30); Netherlands v Germany (15:30) 28 August 2021 - Rest Day 29 August 2021 - France v Ireland (10:30); Scotland v Germany (10:30) 30 August 2021 - Netherlands v Ireland (10:30); Scotland v France (10:30)

SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT ISLAMABAD (August 25, 2021):-Left-handed batter Fawad Alam and left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi have achieved career-best positions in the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Player Rankings after helping Pakistan win the second Test against the West Indies in Kingston to draw their two-match ICC World Test Championship series 1-1. Alam’s unbeaten 124 in the first innings has helped him shoot up 34 places to 21st position. Shaheen has gained 10 slots to reach eighth position after a 10-wicket match haul that helped seal a 109-run victory and won him the Player of the Match award. Fawad, who has struck four centuries since his return to Test cricket in August last year, had a previous best of 47th position attained in May this year while Afridi’s 18th position before this Test was his highest. Shaheen, who also finished as the Player of the Series with 18 wickets, had started the series in 22nd position. Captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, the two Pakistan players ahead of Fawad in the batters’ list, have also gained. Babar’s scores of 75 and 33 have helped him advance one slot to seventh position, two below his career-best fifth position in August last year, while Rizwan is back in the top 20 with scores of 31 and 10 not out. Left-arm spinner Nauman Ali is another one to gain in the latest weekly update to the men’s rankings that is carried out across formats on Wednesdays. His three-wicket haul in the second innings has helped him progress from 48th to 44thposition. For the West Indies, all-rounder Jason Holder has advanced six places to 37th among batters with scores of 26 and 47. Fast bowler Jayden Seales, the most successful after Shaheen with 11 wickets in the series, has moved up four slots to 54th after his three first innings wickets.

SPORTS DESK Islamabad (August 23, 2021):-England seamer Mark Wood has been ruled out of the LV= Insurance third Test against India with a jarred right shoulder. Wood sustained the injury on the fourth day of the second Test at Lord’s and will not be fit to play at Emerald Headingley starting on Wednesday. He will remain with the squad in Leeds and will continue his rehab with the England medical team. The 31-year-old will be assessed at the end of this Test match.

SPORTS REPORT Lahore (August 21, 2021):-A pre-season training camp for men’s white-ball players will commence on Sunday at the National High Performance Centre with practice matches to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium. The camp will be supervised by the NHPC coaching and support staff, led by Head of International Player Development Saqlain Mushtaq. Twenty-six players will take part in the camp for which the players will start assembling later today. Throughout the camp, the prevalent Covid-19 SOPs will be observed. During the camp, the players will work on their fitness and cricketing skills with a special emphasis on their preparation for the hectic white-ball international cricket season which begins next month. White-ball players returning from the West Indies will be asked to join the camp after a few days of rest. White-ball players to participate in the camp: Arshad Iqbal (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Danish Aziz (Sindh), Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Haris Rauf (Northern), Hussain Talat (Southern Punjab), Iftikhar Ahmed (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Imad Wasim (Northern), Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan), Khushdil Shah (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper)(Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Hasnain (Sindh), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab), Shadab Khan (Northern), Sharjeel Khan (Sindh), Sohaib Maqsood (Southern Punjab). Additional players to help during net sessions and practice matches: Abrar Ahmed (Sindh), Ahmed Bashir (Central Punjab), Imran Randhawa (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Ilyas (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Imran (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Muhammad Akhlaq (Central Punjab), Raza Ali Dar (Central Punjab), Rohail Nazir (Northern), Zeeshan Ashraf (Southern Punjab). Camp schedule – first week: 22 August – Scenario-based 50 over practice match 23 August – Fitness and Strength and Conditioning session in the afternoon 24 August – Scenario-based 50 over practice match 25 August – Skill practice session 26 August – Fitness, Strength and Conditioning session in the afternoon 27 August – Scenario-based 50 over practice match

By BIPIN DANI Two days after India's historic win against England at Lord's, our captain Virat Kohli and his gorgeous wife Anushka Sharma paid a visit to a vegetarian restaurant Tendril Kitchen- London. "We were very happy to host them", the owner, who is also the main chef of the restaurant Rishim Sachdeva, speaking exclusively over the telephone from London, said. "We are a very new restaurant and have only been operational at this site in central London for 4 months and obviously they were the first celebrities to have tasted at our place". How did they come to know about this restaurant ? "Well, they googled and checked it online. Anushka mentioned that they loved the pictures and the reviews. They immediately booked the table and we were happy to host them". "Ours is a vegetarian and mostly the vegan foods are served. Virat and Anushka are vegetarians and liked the food here". Previously, this Delhi-born Indian owner was working in Mumbai (Olive restaurant), where Shah Rukh Khan used to come often and invited the chef to teach him the cooking items.  "I didn't discuss cricket with Kohli but our discussions mainly were on food, our sourcing of ingredients etc. We also talked about clean and healthy food habits and how vegetarian / vegan food is good for the planet and our own health".   "We also do a tasting menu, where you get a bit of everything from the menu. They loved everything and finished each and every plate". Kohli did recommend this restaurant to his team mates as well and the next day Indian spinner R. Ashwin was the visitor of this restaurant. "Obviously we treated them as our special guests", the owner signed off.

BIPIN DANI The current political tension in Afghanistan will not hamper Afghan cricketer Rashid Khan's performance on the field, believes Biju George, who till last year was his coach with the Sunrisers Hyderabad IPL team. Speaking exclusively to DC over telephone, he says, "Rashid Khan and Nabi's performance will not be affected. I have known these players well. They are thorough professionals and will overcome situations". Rashid Khan is currently playing for Trent Rockets team in The Hundred in England. The captain of the T-20 side has also been named as part of the team for the upcoming series against Pakistan in Sri Lanka. (The bilateral series is yet to get the green signal due to the current scenario.) "Rashid Khan will play the IPL. He is mentally tough though the current situation in Afghanistan will obviously be a concern for him and his family," says Biju. "We are not sure whether the Taliban are cricket-lovers, but Rashid and Nabi are national heroes and everyone in their country respects them," he added.  Meanwhile, Rashid Khan has begun raising money through crowdfunding to help his countrymen in this dire situation. In a recent Instagram story, he urged netizens to offer financial support to his country using a link. He said thousands of innocent people, including children and women, were losing their lives every day and their properties destroyed. "Don’t leave us in chaos. Stop killing Afghans & destroying Afghanistan. We want peace,” he tweeted. "The players and their families are safe in Afghanistan", the Afghanistan Cricket Board CEO Dr. Hamid Shinwari said.

SPORTS REPORT Lahore (August 20, 2021):-The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today announced coaches for the 42 sides across six Cricket Associations for the 266-match 2021-22 domestic season. The appointments have been made after carrying out a 360-degree comprehensive performance review process, keeping in view the needs of the upcoming players across all rungs of the game and to further upskill the coaches by challenging them in different environments. A number of coaches who had favourable performance assessments are rewarded with promotions, while some coaches have been awarded the opportunity to step up to head coaching at various levels. The coaches were primarily assessed around two key objectives ·       Putting their team in contention to win ·       Development of players After leading Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to all three titles – Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, National T20 Cup and Pakistan Cup – in the 2020-21 season, former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has been tasked with leading the coaching staff of Central Punjab’s First XI, which includes former Pakistan internationals Akram Raza and Humayun Farhat – both promoted to First XI from Central Punjab’s Second XI coaching set-up – as assistant and fielding coaches. Shahid Anwar, who coached Central Punjab First XI in the last season, has been appointed as the head coach of Southern Punjab First XI. His staff includes Aizaz Cheema and Irfan Fazil as assistant and fielding coaches. For the 2021-22 domestic season, Abdul Rehman has moved to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after heading the Southern Punjab coaching staff. The seasoned coach is joined by Riffatullah Mohmand and Muhammad Siddiq as his assistant and fielding coaches. Ijaz Ahmed Jnr is appointed as the head coach of Northern’s First XI team. Ijaz, a former international batter with more than 13,000 runs and 171 scalps in first-class cricket, has coached Central Punjab First XI in the 2019-20 domestic season. He is joined by former Pakistan fast bowler Samiullah Niazi, who was the assistant coach of Central Punjab First XI last season, and Fahad Akram, who earns promotion to Northern First XI after serving as assistant coach of the Cricket Association’s U19 team last season, as a fielding coach. Former Pakistan batters Basit Ali and Faisal Iqbal will continue in their roles as head coaches of Sindh and Balochistan First XI teams. At Sindh, Mohammad Masroor replaces Iqbal Imam, who moves to Southern Punjab Second XI as a head coach, as the assistant coach and Hanif Malik, last season’s Sindh U19 assistant coach, has earned a promotion and will be the fielding coach of the First XI team. Balochistan’s assistant coach, along with the head coach of Southern Punjab’s U19 and U16 sides, will be appointed following a merit-based, robust recruitment process. Hussain Khosa will continue as Balochistan First XI’s fielding coach. The 360-degree review process was carried out by Grant Bradburn, the head of high performance coaching at the National High Performance Centre, following which he submitted his recommendations to Director – High Performance, which were subsequently approved by the Chief Executive. Grant Bradburn: “It is very important that we continue to upskill our coaches by providing them constructive feedback regularly, while challenging them in different environments, which we are hopeful will continue to grow our coaches to become contenders for Pakistan roles in the future. “This will not only help us in boosting our pool of Pakistan coaching candidates, but also develop strong self-reliant players by learning from multiple coaches who are ready to take on different challenges from the early stages of their careers. “Abdul Razzaq had a fantastic debut season as a head coach and as such he has been asked to take up the coaching role of the Central Punjab’s side. This move will bring new challenges for Razzaq and I have no doubts that he will embrace them. “The same logic was behind our decision to appoint Shahid Anwar and Abdul Rehman, who are the two experienced, valuable assets in our coach pathway, with the Southern Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sides, respectively. Under the guidance of Shahid, Central Punjab scripted one of the most incredible tales in first-class cricket by staging an epic comeback in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy to share the silverware with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Under Rehman, Southern Punjab played the final of the National T20 Cup after putting up a miraculous run-chase in the semi-final and he had been with the side for two years. “Basit Ali and Faisal Iqbal coached the First XI teams for the first time in the last season and have been given another season with Sindh and Balochistan as they continue to build their sides. We remain invested in supporting them, while they establish themselves as coaches who can create a winning environment, while exposing our players to rich learning.” Director – High Performance Nadeem Khan: “I want to congratulate everyone who has been appointed as a coach for what promises to be an exciting and action-packed 2021-22 domestic cricket season. These merit-based appointed have been made after considering the demands of our ever-evolving sport. “Many coaches have earned promotions based on their performances in the 2020-21 season. As it is the case for the cricketers, this set-up also provides a clear pathway to the coaches to graduate to the top-level as we continue to strive to develop a strong pool of coaching staff. “This year, there is also an increase in the number of coaches at the domestic level with every Cricket Association fielding two U19 and U16 teams. This move will continue to generate opportunities for former cricketers, after we appointed coaches for the 93 City Cricket Association teams, to remain attached to the game by taking up coaching roles, which is in harmony with our objective to create more and more employment opportunities for our former cricketers. “To further challenge our coaches at the top-level, we have shuffled the First XI coaching panel. As it was promised last year that the PCB will continue to benefit from Ijaz Ahmed Jnr’s vast experience, he has returned to First XI coaching set-up as the head coach of Northern after that position was vacated by Muhammad Wasim following his appointment as the chief selector of our national men’s side. “I am hopeful that these changes will further enhance the quality of cricket at top-tier and we will continue to expand and strengthen our pool of coaches.” The team managers will be announced in due course. Cricket Association coaches (2021-22 domestic season) Balochistan First XI – Faisal Iqbal (head coach), To be appointed (assistant coach), Hussain Khosa (fielding coach) Second XI – Habib Baloch (head coach), Shoaib Khan (assistant coach) U19 Red – Aslam Sheikh (head coach), Mazhar Deenari (assistant coach) U19 Blue – Hussain Khosa (head coach), Aqil Baloch (assistant coach) U16 Red – Raj Hans (head coach), Sher Hassan Jogazai (assistant coach) U16 Blue – Shoaib Khan (head coach), Qamar din (assistant coach) U13 – Aman ullah Dehpal (head coach), Barkat Ali (assistant coach) Central Punjab First XI – Abdul Razzaq (head coach), Akram Raza (assistant coach), Humayun Farhat (fielding coach) Second XI – Wasim Haider (head coach), Aamir Sajjad (assistant coach) U19 Red – Humayun Farhat (head coach), Khurram Shehzad (assistant coach) U19 Blue – Muhammad Ashraf (head coach), Ashraf Ali (assistant coach) U16 Red – Muhammad Ashraf (head coach), Intikhab Alam (assistant coach) U16 Blue – Humayun Farhat (head coach), Mansoor Amjad (assistant coach) U13 – Khurram Shehzad (head coach), Faisal Khan (assistant coach) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa First XI – Abdul Rehman (head coach), Riffatullah Mohmand (assistant coach), Muhammad Siddiq (fielding coach) Second XI – Aftab Khan (head coach), Muhammad Aslam Qureshi (assistant coach) U19 Red – Saqib Faqir (head coach), Muhammad Siddiq (assistant coach) U19 Blue – Sajid Shah (head coach), Shoaib Khan (assistant coach) U16 Red – Muhammad Siddiq (head coach), Saqib Faqir (assistant coach) U16 Blue – Jamaluddin (head coach), Waqar Ahmed (assistant coach) U13 – Waqar Ahmed (head coach), Ahmed Said (assistant coach) Northern First XI – Ijaz Ahmed Jnr (head coach), Sami Ullah Niazi (assistant coach), Fahad Akram (fielding coach) Second XI – Fahad Masood (head coach), Afaq Raheem (assistant coach) U19 Red – Hafiz Majeed (head coach), Fahad Akram (assistant coach) U19 Blue – Kamran Khan (head coach), Jawad Hameed Haq (assistant coach) U16 Red – Saeed Anwar Jnr (head coach), Tahir Mehmood (assistant coach) U16 Blue – Raheel Majeed (head coach), Hafiz Majeed (assistant coach) U13 – Mujahid Hameed (head coach), Haseeb Azam (assistant coach) Sindh First XI – Basit Ali (head coach), Mohammad Masroor (assistant coach), Hanif Malik (fielding coach) Second XI – Ghulam Ali Ansari (head coach), Zafar Iqbal (assistant coach) U19 Red – Azam Khan (head coach), Hanif Malik (assistant coach) U19 Blue – Tahir Mehmood (head coach), Syed Mohtashim Ali (assistant coach) U16 Red – Zafar Iqbal (head coach), Asim Rizvi (assistant coach) U16 Blue – Saeed Bin Nasir (head coach), Naeem Tayyeb (assistant coach) U13 – Rizwan Qureshi (head coach), Abid Ali Qureshi (assistant coach) Southern Punjab First XI – Shahid Anwar (head coach), Aizaz Cheema (assistant coach), Irfan Fazil (fielding coach) Second XI – Syed Iqbal Imam (head coach), Zahoor Elahi (assistant coach) U19 Red – Bilal Ahmed (head coach), Azhar Shafiq (assistant coach) U19 Blue – To be appointed (head coach), Irfan Fazil (assistant coach) U16 Red – Zulfiqar Babar (head coach), Rehan Rafiq (assistant coach) U16 Blue – To be appointed (head coach), Bilal Ahmed (assistant coach) U13 – Masood Anwar (head coach), Aamer Atta (assistant coach).