Former South African skipper Shaun Pollock on Wednesday said if poor performance was criteria for handing out bans to Pakistani cricketers then the punishment is a "bit harsh".
Contrary to Mohammed Yousuf's assumption that Twenty20 cricket would eventually destroy Test cricket, Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi says it has actually made the five-day games more result-oriented.
Afridi reckoned a good start could take the 1992 champions all the way to the July 14 final at the Lord's.
The red corner notice was issued on the request of the CBI against seven accused in the hijacking of the Indian Airlines plane from Kathmandu to Kandahar in southern Afghanistan on December 24, 1999 -- Yousuf Azhar, Ibrahim Athar, Sunny Ahmed Qazi, Zahoor Ibrahim, Shahid Akhter, Sayed Shakir and Abdul Rauf, they said.
Even as confusion looms large over the death of Shahid Bilal, India's most wanted terrorist, a close aide of his has revealed that Bilal along with Abu Hamza had planned the attack on the Indian Institute of Science.
India and Pakistan meet in their opening World Cup match at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday. Ahead of what promises to be a thrilling contest here's a fact-file on the teams.
In a nail-biting finish, Hyderabad Heroes kept their nerves to snatch a six-run win in the first of the best-of-three finals of the ICL Twenty20 tournament played under floodlights in Panchkula on Friday night. Chasing 144, Badshahs needed 12 runs in the final over which was bowled by former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, who bowled three wides.
The SIT has secured important leads about the role of Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami's south India chief Mohammed Abdul Shahid alias Bilal.
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
'Mulk gets a lot of things right, including its vision of the country as a place where underneath the punctilious, forced-secular surface there are volatilities waiting to go off,' says Sreehari Nair.
Bangladesh defeated Pakistan by five wickets to qualify for the final of the Asia Cup.
Images from the Asia Cup T20 cricket match between India and Pakistan on Saturday.
A day after the National Investigation Agency filed a chargesheet against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar in the Pathankot attack, India took on Pakistan at the United Nations and called on the hostile neighbour to leave behind its ways of terrorism, with the warning saying that, "what you sow will bear fruit".
In its short history, Pakistan has become a geography synonymous with terror.
The five-member team will be given a detailed presentation before they visit the attack site on Tuesday.
The Maharashtra government's decision to hand over all the cases against underworld don Chhota Rajan to the Central Bureau of Investigation has not gone down well with the Mumbai Police with several senior officials criticising the move stating that it has raised doubts over their ability.
'We have never had a policy regarding Pakistani artistes working in India.' 'We welcome them with open arms and that remains the official policy of the Indian government, including the current dispensation.'
Their arrival itself was mired in drama and a mercurial Pakistan would look to bring the focus back on their cricket when they take on an enigmatic Bangladesh.
The test identification parade of the 6 persons arrested in connection with Japanese tourist gang rape in Gaya will be held by Friday, a city court on Tuesday ruled.
The World Twenty20 build-up has been far from ideal for Pakistan but captain Shahid Afridi said his team is in a positive frame of mind even though it needs to be more disciplined in executing strategy. Pakistan could win only two matches during last month's Asia Cup, a debacle that came close on the heels of a limited-overs away series loss to New Zealand. Afridi said his side has been guilty of deviating from plans and this shortcoming will have to be overcome when it takes on Bangladesh (March 16) and India (March 19) in the opening two matches here. "We are missing that (execution of plans). But I don't think we should live in the past. If we play to the team plan, we would do well," Afridi said in a press conference on Sunday. "The first game is always very important. You take rhythm from the first match. We will try to take the rhythm from the first match. The pitch and conditions suit us. Both the matches will be very important," he added.
At a press conference organised in Mumbai by the Jamiat Ulama Maharashtra (Arshad Madani), which provided them free legal aid, the acquitted also demanded action against officers for prosecuting them. Five of the six accused -- Adam Ajmeri, Mufti Abdul Qyyum Mansuri, Mohammed Salim Shaikh, Abdulmiyan Qadri and Altaf Hussain -- were present at the press conference.
A resurgent Indian hockey team, with its penetrative attack and solid defence, can actually challenge for the top spot in the Champions Trophy.
A much-vacant mall in a sleepy industrial park is all that's left of the amount allegedly owed by Mangla Shree Properties against 0.2-mt sugar deliveries
An National Investigation Agency court in Punjab on Tuesday issued proclamation notice against Pakistan-based terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed's chief Maulana Masood Azhar and three others, asking them to appear before it on March nine in connection with last year's brazen attack on Pathankot IAF base.
India paid the price for costly blunders at crucial junctures to suffer a nerve-wracking one-wicket defeat at the hands of arch rivals Pakistan, who rode on Shahid Afridi's brilliant cameo to virtually assure themselves a berth in the final of the Asia Cup in Mirpur on Sunday.
The fresh Red Corner notice was issued after the National Investigation Agency secured an 'open-ended' non-bailable warrant against Azhar and Rauf for allegedly conspiring to carry out terror strike on the strategic Indian Air Force base at Pathankot on the intervening night of January 1 and 2.
The National Investigation Agency on Monday filed a chargesheet in the Pathankot airbase terror attack, naming Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar and three others of his organisation as accused.
The special court issued the arrest warrant after weighing the evidence presented by the NIA.
A five-member JIT from Pakistan reached Pathankot on Sunday to carry out a probe into the attack at the IAF base at Pathankot.
Rajneesh Gupta has some interesting numbers from the match. Check them out.
Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and veteran pacer Ashish Nehra on Friday did not come for Indian team's pre-match day training after being advised rest ahead of the crucial Asia Cup T20 game against Pakistan, in Fatullah on Saturday. While Dhoni is suffering from back spasms, the injury-prone Nehra has his own specific training programme, which is different from the general team routine. Dhoni had played through pain against Bangladesh but back spasms need adequate recovery time, which is specifically the reason he has been given 48 hours to recuperate before the Pakistan match. His cover Parthiv Patel had his first training session but had precious little do as he did not get to bat in the main nets. Unless Dhoni's physical condition deteriorates further, Parthiv's chances of playing are minimal. There was one interesting sight during the training session on the match-eve. Both India and Pakistan trained adjacent to each other inside the main stadium at the Khan Saheb Osman Ali Stadium and trained at the same time between 4-6:30 pm local time. However, during the entire two and half-hour training session, no pleasantries were exchanged between the members of the two sides.
Jolted by the shock loss to New Zealand in the opening game, India will be fighting a survival battle quite early in the tournament when they take on arch foes Pakistan in what is being seen as the marquee clash of the ICC World Twenty20 in Kolkata on Saturday. The hosts, who started clear title-favourites, were in for a blow in the first match itself when New Zealand's spinners bamboozled their famed batting line-up on a turning Nagpur track. As a result, the world No.1 side is staring at an early elimination should it lose to Pakistan in the high-voltage game at the Eden Gardens. As is the case with most India-Pakistan contests, this game too has been preceded by its share of drama. The match was originally scheduled to be held in Dharamsala but was shifted here after the Himachal Pradesh government expressed inability to provide security to the Pakistan team owing to protests by ex-servicemen and their families.
Says he knew of SMS exchanges between bookmaker and players before the scam broke out
With the five-member Joint Investigation Team from Pakistan having reached Pathankot to begin probe into the terror attack on the Indian Air Force Base, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday slammed the centre for 'welcoming' the team which also has a member from the Inter-Services Intelligence, saying that Lashkar-e-Tayiba chief Hafiz Saeed could also be a part of the team and no one would know.
Virat Kohli scored an imperious century to steer India to a thumping 76 runs victory over Pakistan in their opening World Cup match at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday. After putting up an imposing 300 for seven, they shot out their arch-rivals for only 224 to begin the defence of their crown on a rousing note.
Images from the World cup match between India and Pakistan at Adelaide.
Images from Pakistan's 129-run victory over the UAE in Wednesday's World Cup Group B match in Napier.
The 2015 World Cup so far has been treat for batsmen and spectators alike. Big scores have become synonymous with this edition of the mega event. So, while some shots sailed over the boundary line, others were opportunities, disguised as catches for fielders. Fielders had to lunge, go full stretch and focus to pocket those catches. Rediff.com presents you a chance to treat your eyes to those beautiful catches that made for plain, super cricket moments.
Pakistan's ambassador to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi launched a verbal dual against India.
India plans to provide the probe team from Pakistan access to all witnesses in the Pathankot terror attack case but not security personnel from the National Security Guard or the Border Security Force.
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