Rohit's men start overwhelming favourites but Shaheen, rain pose threat
Pakistan's legendary cricketer Imran Khan has stressed the need for his country's side to play ' correct combination' to succeed while maintaining that the nation has 'enough talent'.
The International Cricket Council might have confirmed that the tainted trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamir can return to cricket after the expire of their bans, but a divided house seems to have emerged in Pakistani cricket.
Disgraced Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif is anguished and disappointed that some former cricketers are against the idea of letting players banned for spot-fixing return to the game after being reformed and rehabilitated.
Involving the tainted trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir will be 'extremely dangerous' for the reputation of the inaugural Pakistan Super League (PSL), former captain Ramiz Raja has said.
It remains to be seen if he gets a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the BCCI, which has maintained a tough stance in not allowing Indian cricketers to participate in T20 leagues such as BBL, CPL and BPL.
Sunil Gavaskar picked Pakistan as the favourites against India in the marquee match of the ICC World T20 to be played at the Eden Gardens on Saturday. India, who were the overwhelming favourites to win the title before the start of the mega event, were humbled by New Zealand in their opening match while Pakistan pummeled Bangladesh in their opener. "After the loss to New Zealand, India will be under far more pressure against Pakistan. I feel Pakistan start as favourites for the game on Saturday," Gavaskar told NDTV. Gavaskar said the highly awaited match will be about Indian batting versus Pakistan bowling as usual. "It is still pretty much Indian batting versus Pakistan bowling. However, with the way Indian bowlers have performed recently, they also won't be easy to tackle either. Ashwin (Ravichandran) is bowling well and so is Nehra (Ashish), ever since he has made a comeback. Then you have Jasprit Bumrah. So it will be a test for Pakistani batsman.
Sarfaraz says Pak ready for World Test Championship challenge
The report said the use of debit cards would allow the ICC Anti-Corruption sleuths to keep trackof all financial transactions during the tournament by players, team and match officials.
Pakistan's tainted pace bowler Mohammad Asif described former India stars Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman as technically the best batsmen he bowled to in his roller-coaster career.
World cricket's most intriguing rivalry will once again be renewed when India take on an unpredictable Pakistan with rehabilitated pacer Mohammad Aamir being the focus of attention in a round-robin league encounter of the Asia Cup T20 tournament, in Mirpur, on Saturday.
BCCI might be keen on organising a tri-series involving Pakistan and Sri Lanka in India later this year, but Pakistan Cricket Board's caretaker chairman Najam Sethi said he would be more interested in reviving bilateral cricketing ties between the two nations.
Banned Salman Butt was asked by the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit to appear for a hearing.
A vacation bench of Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala also requested the high court consider the plea for the grant of compensation to Mohammad Latief Magrey for the death of his son Aamir Magrey.
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A miffed Pakistan Twenty20 captain Shahid Afridi abandoned a press conference midway in Lahore on Wednesday after he had a verbal spat with a reporter leading to a partial protest by the media demanding an apology from the flamboyant all-rounder.
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The Pakistan Cricket Board has rubbished claims by banned Test leg-spinner Danish Kaneria that he was discriminated against by the board because he is a Hindu.
Pakistan's disgraced cricketer Salman Butt has tendered a personal apology to his former captain Shahid Afridi when they crossed paths at the national cricket academy in Lahore.
Disgraced Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif took a step further towards his rehabilitation when he subamitted a written apology to the Cricket Board (PCB) and also agreed to cooperate with authorities on the spot-fixing issue.
The PCB banned Shehzad for violating anti-doping regulations after he tested positive for a prohibited substance in May and his suspension was scheduled to end on November 10.
Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen has joined the chorus of players who believe tainted Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir should be banned for life for his role in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal. Amir will return at Lord's six years after he deliberately bowled no balls at the same venue during a Test in 2010. Pietersen was among the England team that played against Pakistan at that Lord's Test in August 2010 and the 36-year old believes anyone caught spot or match fixing should not be allowed to play the game again.
The Jammu and Kashmir police on Monday said they have arrested five 'hybrid' terrorists of the proscribed Lashkar-e-Tayiba outfit, three of whom were allegedly involved in the killing of a sarpanch in Baramulla district last month.
"I am concerned but I don't think wickets itself are a reflection of performance. Take for example, India pacer (Mohammed) Shami's case in England. He bowled well but couldn't get wickets. I have spoken to him (Aamir) and told him that he is our strike bowler and has to pick wickets too. Hope he does that tomorrow," Sarfraz told reporters.
Injuries to key players such as skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rohit Sharma is giving them the jitters but India would still be firm favourites when they take on a depleted and struggling Sri Lanka in their penultimate league encounter of the Asia Cup Twenty20 cricket tournament, in Mirpur, on Tuesday.
Bhat said the terrorists were planning to target the Army's Agniveer recruitment rally, which concluded in Pattan's Hyderbeig on Thursday.
Pakistan's banned former captain Salman Butt has finally admitted his unconditional involvement in the spot fixing scandal that shook world cricket in 2010 in a bid to get some relaxation from the International Cricket Council (ICC) when his five-year ban ends in September.
Religious rights of every person are subject to "public order", the Supreme Court said on Monday while dismissing the plea of a man seeking to exhume the body of his son, who was dubbed a terrorist and killed in an encounter in Kashmir in November 2021, so the family could conduct his last rites in the same graveyard.
The T20 World Cup 2020 scheduled to be held in Australia later this year must not be postponed in haste since the mega-event is the best product to highlight cricket once activities resume in the post-coronavirus world, Pakistan head coach and chief selector, Misbah-ul-Haq said. Misbah said though logistics is a huge challenge due to the prevailing circumstances, the authorities must deliberate enough before arriving at a decision over the T20 World Cup to be held in October-November this year.
Former Pakistan spinner Danish Kaneria on Saturday accused Shahid Afridi of treating him unfairly all through his career and blamed him for a rather short limited overs career. Kaneria, only the second Hindu to play for Pakistan after his maternal uncle Anil Dalpat, took 261 wickets in 61 Tests at an average of 34.79. However, he only played 18 ODIs between 2000 and 2010.
Aamir, 25, who worked as a driver, and his brother Hashim, 16, set out from Ghaziabad on Wednesday to check on their elder brother Shairuddin in Gokalpuri, one of the focal points of the violence. The two never reached Shairuddin's place.
India have a perfect mix of world class performers and that makes them hot favourites at the upcoming World Twenty20, former batsman Virender Sehwag has said.
PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan has slammed the team's performance at the Asia Cup but admitted it was too late to make sweeping changes ahead of the World Twenty20 this month.
The jury is still out on whether Pakistan pacer Mohammad Aamir, who returned to international cricket after serving a five-year ban for his role in spot-fixing, should have been allowed to return to cricket but Indian vice-captain Virat Kohli is 'happy' to see the talented left-arm pacer back.
Mohammad Amir confessed to spot-fixing only after then ODI skipper Shahid Afridi slapped the fast bowler, while Salman Butt was involved in corruption much before Pakistan's ill-fated tour of England in 2010, claimed former all-rounder Abdul Razzaq.
India are eyeing a place in the final after three wins in as many matches, while Pakistan will look to step up their game in the Super Four match, after a scare against Afghanistan.
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.
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