LAHORE: The Sindh Sports Minister Dr Mohammad Ali Shah will be disqualified automatically if he submits his nomination papers for the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) elections, the date for which has already been extended until May 21.
“The Election Commission has already informed the KCCA regarding Pakistan Cricket Board’s rules for the nomination of the elections,” Sami Khan told The Express Tribune. “Anyone who is an MNA, MPA and Senator will not be able to play any role in the city’s cricket association and this rule has is applicable all across the country.”
The Express Tribune has learnt that Dr Shah, who is currently the president of the KCCA, is likely to submit his nomination paper for the same spot. “I can’t say anything until or unless he submits the nomination paper but if he does he automatically gets disqualified as per the ruling.” Earlier, former president of the Lahore City Cricket Association Aamir Khan Rokhari, who was also an MPA, was disqualified under the same rules but he instead moved to court and sought a stay order against the ruling.
But in the wake of a surprise ruling by the PCB, several clubs deemed Rokhari’s campaign to be over and therefore the zonal groups in Lahore joined other groups.
Published in the Express Tribune, May 11th, 2010.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Bari lauds team’s qualification
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) chief operating officer Wasim Bari expressed his concerns over Pakistan’s fielding but believed that credit must go to the team that somehow bounced back in time, in the World Twenty20 to qualify for the semi-finals.
“It’s a young team,” said Bari, at a press conference for the announcement of the official sponsors of Pakistan Cricket. “Although performance, as yet, is not satisfactory.” Bari however admitted that Pakistan, despite being world champions of the format, have failed to make the impact that was expected of them. “I am just afraid of Pakistan’s fielding,” said Bari. “If we look at Australia, they have a strong pace attack and are the best fielding side, two things which helped them so far.
But when we look at Pakistan, though have a high quality spin attack, but are missing the fielding factor.” Pakistan so far, have had an unconvincing performance throughout their campaign to defend their tile but Monday’s victory against South Africa and England’s timely triumph over New Zealand pushed Pakistan into the semi-finals. Now Pakistan will face Group F wunners. “Performance was below expectations,” admitted Bari, “Once the chips are down, it’s always difficult to take a step back.”
Selection blame game
Bari further clarified that the PCB will not take any action against Shahid Afridi’s recent statements, following the team’s defeat to New Zealand but endorsed the idea of having a proper review system to rate various elements of the team’s performance after the end of tournaments.
Afridi had said that he had not been consulted while the team was selected as the captain and coach were announced after the final squad was picked. “This is not the right time to do anything (against any player). I agree that there should be a review system but it should not be launched in the middle of any event.”
Published in the Express Tribune, May 12th, 2010.
“It’s a young team,” said Bari, at a press conference for the announcement of the official sponsors of Pakistan Cricket. “Although performance, as yet, is not satisfactory.” Bari however admitted that Pakistan, despite being world champions of the format, have failed to make the impact that was expected of them. “I am just afraid of Pakistan’s fielding,” said Bari. “If we look at Australia, they have a strong pace attack and are the best fielding side, two things which helped them so far.
But when we look at Pakistan, though have a high quality spin attack, but are missing the fielding factor.” Pakistan so far, have had an unconvincing performance throughout their campaign to defend their tile but Monday’s victory against South Africa and England’s timely triumph over New Zealand pushed Pakistan into the semi-finals. Now Pakistan will face Group F wunners. “Performance was below expectations,” admitted Bari, “Once the chips are down, it’s always difficult to take a step back.”
Selection blame game
Bari further clarified that the PCB will not take any action against Shahid Afridi’s recent statements, following the team’s defeat to New Zealand but endorsed the idea of having a proper review system to rate various elements of the team’s performance after the end of tournaments.
Afridi had said that he had not been consulted while the team was selected as the captain and coach were announced after the final squad was picked. “This is not the right time to do anything (against any player). I agree that there should be a review system but it should not be launched in the middle of any event.”
Published in the Express Tribune, May 12th, 2010.
Pakistan allows banned Malik England county stint
KARACHI — Pakistan cricket authorities Tuesday said they will allow banned former captain Shoaib Malik to feature in a Twenty20 tournament in England next month.
Malik who is serving a one-year ban imposed by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over discipline issues, has signed to play in a Twenty20 tournament for Lancashire county next month.
PCB chief operating officer Wasim Bari said Malik had been granted permission.
"We have cleared Malik to play in England as it doesn't conflict with Pakistan duty and currently Malik is also banned," Bari told AFP.
Malik is among seven top Pakistani players who were banned and fined by the PCB on the recommendation of an evaluation committee, set up to look into the team's on and off-field problems during a tour of Australia between December and February.
The committee, which also investigated discipline problems in the team on the preceding tours of the United Arab Emirates and New Zealand, held a month-long inquiry before recommending fines and bans.
Pakistan lost all three Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 match on the Australia tour, which was also marred by disciplinary problems.
Malik along with all-rounder Rana Naved-ul-Hasan was banned for one year and fined two million rupees (24,000 dollars). Two other former captains, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, were banned for an indefinite period, while Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal were heavily fined.
The banned players were allowed to feature in domestic events in Pakistan and other countries.
A one-man tribunal comprising a retired high court judge is hearing appeals by the players. The next hearing is set for May 15.
Malik, who recently married Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, said he was delighted by the Lancashire opportunity.
"When Lancashire approached me to come and play for them I didn't hesitate in saying yes. I love playing cricket in England and the opportunity to play with a club of Lancashire's reputation was too good to pass up," Malik was quoted as saying by British newspapers
Malik who is serving a one-year ban imposed by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) over discipline issues, has signed to play in a Twenty20 tournament for Lancashire county next month.
PCB chief operating officer Wasim Bari said Malik had been granted permission.
"We have cleared Malik to play in England as it doesn't conflict with Pakistan duty and currently Malik is also banned," Bari told AFP.
Malik is among seven top Pakistani players who were banned and fined by the PCB on the recommendation of an evaluation committee, set up to look into the team's on and off-field problems during a tour of Australia between December and February.
The committee, which also investigated discipline problems in the team on the preceding tours of the United Arab Emirates and New Zealand, held a month-long inquiry before recommending fines and bans.
Pakistan lost all three Tests, five one-dayers and a Twenty20 match on the Australia tour, which was also marred by disciplinary problems.
Malik along with all-rounder Rana Naved-ul-Hasan was banned for one year and fined two million rupees (24,000 dollars). Two other former captains, Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf, were banned for an indefinite period, while Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal were heavily fined.
The banned players were allowed to feature in domestic events in Pakistan and other countries.
A one-man tribunal comprising a retired high court judge is hearing appeals by the players. The next hearing is set for May 15.
Malik, who recently married Indian tennis star Sania Mirza, said he was delighted by the Lancashire opportunity.
"When Lancashire approached me to come and play for them I didn't hesitate in saying yes. I love playing cricket in England and the opportunity to play with a club of Lancashire's reputation was too good to pass up," Malik was quoted as saying by British newspapers
Saturday, May 8, 2010
KCCA election: Dr Shah’s future bleak, Bukhari enjoys majority support
By Ubaid-ur-Rehman Awan
KARACHI: Karachi City Cricket Association 7th Zone KCCA Central Election will be held from May 21 at the National Stadium.
According to sources Sindh Minister for Sports and KCCA acting President Dr Muhammad Ali Shah will not be eligible to take part in the election as the rules of Karachi Cricket Board state that no MPA or MNA can take part in the elections held at district or provincial level.
Despite of that, KCCA has nominated Dr Shah for the post of president, Siraj-ul-Islam Bukhari as secretary and Mehdi Hassan as treasurer.
On the other side, Zone 5 Chairman Khalid Nafees will not take part in the up coming election. Instead of him, Ifthikhar Alzaman Khan who currently serves as the treasurer will contest election for the office of Chairman.
KCCA Zone 4 faces an interesting situation, presently in this Zone S M Adil is Chairman, Mussarat Hussain is the secretary and Ateeq Siddiqui is the treasurer; the upcoming election might see the ‘current regime’ up against each other. Sources suggest that the zonal chairman wants to maintain the current setup for the next term.
However, the treasurer, Ateeq Siddiqui doesn’t seem happy with this decision as he has his eyes set on the post of the secretary of the zone. Sources further revealed that if a deal between the chairman and Ateeq Siddiqui doesn’t work out, Ateeq may join hands with other clubs and erect a separate panel against the chairman.
Presently Zone 4 has 36 registered clubs which are all accepted by PCB and the majority of these clubs are not satisfied with the performance of Secretary Mussarat Hussain because of his lack of interest in the zone’s matters.
No major changes are expected in other zones of KCCA. In Zone 1 Umer Siddiqui is nominated for chairman, Aftab Ahmed Khan for secretary and Shahid Rashid for treasure.
In Zone 2 Prof Ejaz Farooqui will be nominated for the office of chairman, Jamil Ahmed for the post of secretary and Afzal Shari is for treasurer.
In Zone 3 Raziq Urf Musheer Rabbani will contest for the office of chairman, Abdul Hameed Khatri for secretary and Afzal Qureshi Khan is nominated for treasurer.
In Zone 6 present chairman Akram Khan, secretary Azam Khan and the treasurer Muhammad Saleem will contest for the same posts. KCCA Zone 7 office bearers may also remain the same.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Match fixing common in ICL, says former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif
LONDON, May 6 (Reuters) - Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has been told that "a large number" of matches in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL) were fixed.
"I've personally been told by some ICL players that a large number of matches in that league were definitely fixed," Latif said in an email to Reuters.
"Even in the IPL (Indian Premier League), every now and again you watch a match and feel that there is something odd happening."
The governing body of Indian cricket dismissed Latif's allegations on Thursday when made aware of them by Reuters.
"BCCI rubbishes these allegations. We will not even react to this sort of allegation, It is totally rubbish," N. Srinivasan, Secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), said.
OUTSPOKEN CAMPAIGN
The unofficial ICL included a Twenty20 World Series tournament comprising mostly former international players.
Unlike the lucrative IPL Twenty20 series, it was not sanctioned by the International Cricket Council and most of its players were banned by their national boards.
The 2008-09 World Series was abandoned after the attacks in Mumbai in November 2008 and there have been no matches since.
Latif, 41, played 37 tests for Pakistan between 1992 and 2003 but is better known for his outspoken campaign against corruption in cricket.
He gave evidence to the inquiry held by Justice Malik Mohammad Qayyum into match-fixing after which Pakistan captain Salim Malik was banned for life in 2000.
Two other international captains, South Africa's Hansie Cronje and India's Mohammed Azharuddin, were also banned for life for match-fixing.
Latif said the amount of money available in Twenty20 cricket was damaging the game.
"There also is a worry that players are being paid so much, situations may arise where ultimately the result doesn't matter to them," he said in Wednesday's e-mail.
"These are not clubs who have discovered them or groomed them, these are clubs that simply pay them a lot of money. There is little loyalty.
"There are so many games in an IPL season -- with more to come with new franchises -- that the number of dead, irrelevant games will increase and this is where bookies thrive.
"Who knows what their reach is? If the owner of a franchise is approached and promised good money for his team to lose an irrelevant game, he tells his players to lose the game and they don't care because they get paid huge amounts anyway.
"The stake is so high who would blow the whistle? In any case the IPL was resistant to the presence of the anti-corruption unit at the first season of the IPL. Why?
"Cricket has been damaged before when too much money has floated around the game and it can be damaged again.
"Ultimately, in this kind of environment, where controls are loose, regulation is weak, there is enough money floating about to make people weaker and prone to looking the other way, it is not so difficult to see the dangers that are present. It would be foolish not to see them."
Monday, May 3, 2010
AIPS top brass accepted visit Pakistan
By Zahid Farooq Malik
Sec General
Pakistan sports writer’s federation (PSWF)
Islamabad: This was perhaps a great success for Pakistan that in the first time in the history of the AIPS Pakistan, Pakistan sports, and Pakistani sports journalist was discuss in the Congress. Before i came here ANTALYA i sent the request that in these circumstances Pakistan , Pakistan sports and the problems which Pakistani sports journalists are facing must be on agenda, so they are very kind that that give us 10 minutes for the presentation and five minutes Q/a.
So in the first time Pakistan was on agenda. I give the presentation round about 20mintes and after that 15 minutes for Q/A. I brief them in my presentation , about the glories of the Pakistani athletes, success of our heroes , about hockey, cricket, squash, snooker, about janshir jhangir, azam khan hashim khan, about yousuf, and try to brief them all about Pakistan, the mega events, like cricket , hockey , squash world cups, and more events which Pakistan holds in past and near past,
About the boxing event, tour the Pakistan race,brief them the current situation and also try to tell them that Pakistan was in famous among the international community for the sports, now unfortunately we are known about terrorism ', i also brief them the problems which are facing Pakistani sports journalists about the accreditations, the visa problems and the communication gap between international media originations and the sports journalists.
A large number of the offices bearer of the IOC FIFA the London Olympics, the Singapore games and rest of international sports bodies were their and they happy and quit satisfy after the presentation. they assure that they will write positively. the Q/A was interesting after the Srilanken team attack and the Peshawar press club attack and other media person who was the targets of the terrorists was the main focus. And i am very much happy that in the history of the Pakistan i am very much succeeding to convince the international sports community.
They all promise that they will write positively and help Pakistan sports and the sports journalists in all cases. i also invite to the president and the secretary General of the AIPS and other officials of the AIPS to visit Pakistan which they accepted exceptionally.
Sec General
Pakistan sports writer’s federation (PSWF)
Islamabad: This was perhaps a great success for Pakistan that in the first time in the history of the AIPS Pakistan, Pakistan sports, and Pakistani sports journalist was discuss in the Congress. Before i came here ANTALYA i sent the request that in these circumstances Pakistan , Pakistan sports and the problems which Pakistani sports journalists are facing must be on agenda, so they are very kind that that give us 10 minutes for the presentation and five minutes Q/a.
So in the first time Pakistan was on agenda. I give the presentation round about 20mintes and after that 15 minutes for Q/A. I brief them in my presentation , about the glories of the Pakistani athletes, success of our heroes , about hockey, cricket, squash, snooker, about janshir jhangir, azam khan hashim khan, about yousuf, and try to brief them all about Pakistan, the mega events, like cricket , hockey , squash world cups, and more events which Pakistan holds in past and near past,
About the boxing event, tour the Pakistan race,brief them the current situation and also try to tell them that Pakistan was in famous among the international community for the sports, now unfortunately we are known about terrorism ', i also brief them the problems which are facing Pakistani sports journalists about the accreditations, the visa problems and the communication gap between international media originations and the sports journalists.
A large number of the offices bearer of the IOC FIFA the London Olympics, the Singapore games and rest of international sports bodies were their and they happy and quit satisfy after the presentation. they assure that they will write positively. the Q/A was interesting after the Srilanken team attack and the Peshawar press club attack and other media person who was the targets of the terrorists was the main focus. And i am very much happy that in the history of the Pakistan i am very much succeeding to convince the international sports community.
They all promise that they will write positively and help Pakistan sports and the sports journalists in all cases. i also invite to the president and the secretary General of the AIPS and other officials of the AIPS to visit Pakistan which they accepted exceptionally.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Hockey coach quietly confident of new-look team
KARACHI: The new-look Pakistan hockey team is all set to face the seven-team challenge in the forthcoming Sultan Azlan Shah Cup, scheduled to be played from May 6-16 in Ipoh, Malaysia.
Although the chief coach and team captain have already asked the nation not to expect miracles from them right away, one cannot help associating renewed hopes from the new-look side. With a new team management, a new captain, new goalkeepers and several fresh recruits in the side, the fans as well as the critics are expecting some kind of a positive outcome from the squad.
As it is, the team can only improve from the rock bottom 12th position attained in last month’s World Cup in New Delhi, which was easily the darkest hour of Pakistan hockey. “Yes, this is not the same team that failed so miserably in last month’s World Cup.
There has been a 70 per cent change in the side with the infusion of fresh blood but it will be unfair to expect much from the boys so soon,” said Chief Coach Khawaja Junaid while speaking to Dawn on Saturday. “Of course,” he added, “Like the rest of the six teams in the event, we are also going to enter the competition with a positive outlook.
We want to win gold, too, but there are the ground realities that prevent us from thinking big. Pakistan, after all, is still recovering from the World Cup fiasco. But having said that, I can also say that I feel confident of better performance from the young talent in the side,” he said.
Asked if there would still be a chance for the seniors, who have been left out for Azlan Shah, to make a comeback after the tournament, the chief coach who has been upgraded from the coaching assignment of the junior team said that it depended on how well the green shirts performed in the event. “If we manage to make a mark in the competition, then there will be a level of competence that the seniors will have to match in order to make a comeback,” he pointed out. “If they can do that, they are welcome back. Another positive side of that happening would be that we get to increase our pool of national team players,” he said. “And if nothing else, the experience of Azlan Shah would increase the boys’ confidence level as the exposure while playing with the big teams will be good for them,” he added.
About his new captain, fullback Mohammad Imran, coach Junaid said he was perfectly capable of leading the Pakistan side in the event. “Imran is a very confident and capable young man. He is a brilliant fullback and penalty-corner specialist as well. I’m sure he won’t let the team miss Sohail Abbas in Malaysia.” The team leaves for Malaysia in the wee hours of Monday. Besides Pakistan and hosts Malaysia, the other teams taking part in the event are Australia, China, Egypt, Korea and India.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Imran Shah and Imran Butt.
Fullbacks: Mohammad Imran (captain), Aamir Shahzad and Kashif Ali.
Halfbacks: Mohammad Irfan, Fareed Ahmed, Mohammad Rasheed, Zeeshan Ali and Mohammad Tauseeq.
Forwards: Waqas Sharif (vice captain), Shafqat Rasool, Abdul Haseem Khan, Mohammad Zubair, Mohammad Rizwan, Abdul Qayyum Dogar, Kashif Ali and Umar Bhutta.
Officials: Khawaja Junaid (chief coach), Ajmal Khan Lodhi (coach), Ahmad Alam (assistant coach), Faiz-ur-Rehman (physio) and Nadeem Khan Lodhi (video analyst).
Although the chief coach and team captain have already asked the nation not to expect miracles from them right away, one cannot help associating renewed hopes from the new-look side. With a new team management, a new captain, new goalkeepers and several fresh recruits in the side, the fans as well as the critics are expecting some kind of a positive outcome from the squad.
As it is, the team can only improve from the rock bottom 12th position attained in last month’s World Cup in New Delhi, which was easily the darkest hour of Pakistan hockey. “Yes, this is not the same team that failed so miserably in last month’s World Cup.
There has been a 70 per cent change in the side with the infusion of fresh blood but it will be unfair to expect much from the boys so soon,” said Chief Coach Khawaja Junaid while speaking to Dawn on Saturday. “Of course,” he added, “Like the rest of the six teams in the event, we are also going to enter the competition with a positive outlook.
We want to win gold, too, but there are the ground realities that prevent us from thinking big. Pakistan, after all, is still recovering from the World Cup fiasco. But having said that, I can also say that I feel confident of better performance from the young talent in the side,” he said.
Asked if there would still be a chance for the seniors, who have been left out for Azlan Shah, to make a comeback after the tournament, the chief coach who has been upgraded from the coaching assignment of the junior team said that it depended on how well the green shirts performed in the event. “If we manage to make a mark in the competition, then there will be a level of competence that the seniors will have to match in order to make a comeback,” he pointed out. “If they can do that, they are welcome back. Another positive side of that happening would be that we get to increase our pool of national team players,” he said. “And if nothing else, the experience of Azlan Shah would increase the boys’ confidence level as the exposure while playing with the big teams will be good for them,” he added.
About his new captain, fullback Mohammad Imran, coach Junaid said he was perfectly capable of leading the Pakistan side in the event. “Imran is a very confident and capable young man. He is a brilliant fullback and penalty-corner specialist as well. I’m sure he won’t let the team miss Sohail Abbas in Malaysia.” The team leaves for Malaysia in the wee hours of Monday. Besides Pakistan and hosts Malaysia, the other teams taking part in the event are Australia, China, Egypt, Korea and India.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Imran Shah and Imran Butt.
Fullbacks: Mohammad Imran (captain), Aamir Shahzad and Kashif Ali.
Halfbacks: Mohammad Irfan, Fareed Ahmed, Mohammad Rasheed, Zeeshan Ali and Mohammad Tauseeq.
Forwards: Waqas Sharif (vice captain), Shafqat Rasool, Abdul Haseem Khan, Mohammad Zubair, Mohammad Rizwan, Abdul Qayyum Dogar, Kashif Ali and Umar Bhutta.
Officials: Khawaja Junaid (chief coach), Ajmal Khan Lodhi (coach), Ahmad Alam (assistant coach), Faiz-ur-Rehman (physio) and Nadeem Khan Lodhi (video analyst).
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