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.
Pakistan have made a number of changes in their ODI squad for the short home series against Zimbabwe, recalling seniors such as Shoaib Malik and Muhammad Sami in the 16-member side.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif came out with a Sunday night statement condemning the action of Indian security forces.
The blast occurred in the remote Hub region in Lasbela district where devotees were attending a Sufi dance called "dhamaal" at Dargah Shah Noorani shrine.
Raag Desh is one of the best films of the year, Sreehari Nair raves.
'It will be a long time before we will see the likes of Vajpayee again.'
India on Friday made it clear to Pakistan that it should not go ahead with the meeting of its NSA Sartaz Aziz with Hurriyat representatives in New Delhi when he comes to hold talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval, saying it will not be "appropriate".
'Who will cast me?'
'It's all about how many Instagram followers you have, which ramp you're walking on,' the actress who is sensational in Sacred Games tells Rediff.com's Ronjita V Kulkarni.
'If one is saying the Modi government makes me feel insecure or will put me in jail if I say anything against him, do not worry, as he won't do any such thing.'
'Openness is a great weapon in the armoury of more open societies. That's why the fight with Pakistan isn't just about India be six times bigger, but equally bitter and insecure Pakistan,' argues Shekhar Gupta.
Negotiations between the embattled Pakistan government and protesters on Monday made "some progress" even as opposition leader Imran Khan stuck to his demand of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's resignation to end the 26-day political impasse that has paralysed the nation.
The death toll is feared to rise with women and children casualties in the deadly blast.
Pakistan's Punjab province Home Minister Shuja Khanzada was on Sunday assassinated along with eight others when a suicide bomber blew himself up at his house in Shadi Khal village in Attock district.
'Against the backdrop of difficult administrative, political and economic problems, Imran's temperament and staying power will be the subject of intense expectation and public scrutiny,' says Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan Desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
An invitation by Pakistan High Commissioner Abdul Basit to all the Kashmiri separatist leaders "for consultations" in Delhi ahead of Indo-Pak foreign secretary-level talks has touched off a controversy with the Bharatiya Janata Party calling it "most unfortunate" and "old tactics".
Nine foreign tourists from China, Russia and Ukraine, along with a Pakistani guide were killed in an unprecedented attack by militants who stormed a hotel near one of the world's highest mountains in a remote area of northern Pakistan, officials said on Sunday.
The blaze broke out in the kitchen located at the ground floor of the Regent Plaza hotel at the city's Shahrah-i-Faisal and spread across the six-floor building, trapping nearly 100 hotel guests in their rooms.
A look at the top tweets from your favourite Bollywood celebrities.
'Pakistan's main objective will be to shepherd India toward resumption of talks, preferably with American monitoring.'
Signs of a possible solution to the political crisis engulfing Pakistan emerged on Tuesday with the embattled government saying it has reached an agreement with Imran Khan's party on most of their demands, except that of Premier Nawaz Sharif's ouster which it said is non-negotiable.
The primary aim for the Rohit Sharma-led India against minnows Hong Kong would be to get their combination right before the big game against Pakistan on Wednesday.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is the country's richest parliamentarian with assets of over Rs 1.43 billion, according to data released by the Election Commission of Pakistan.
Pakistan's parliament on Wednesday became the new battleground in the ongoing political turmoil with pro-government leaders and lawmakers of Imran Khan's party accusing each other of undermining democracy, even as protesters returned to the negotiating table.
The biggest success of Nawaz Sharif's visit to India is that it will lessen mistrust between the two countries, writes Amir Mateen from Islamabad.
A news report in daily Pakistan Today quoted an unnamed JIT member to say that the attack was nothing but 'vicious propaganda' against Pakistan as Indian authorities did not have any evidence to back their claims.
Chris Gayle joined Hashim Amla and Sachin Tendulkar as only the third batsman in the history of ODI cricket to score centuries against 11 different countries, while Shimron Hetmyer hit his maiden century as the Windies defeated the United Arab Emirates by 60 runs in their opening Group A fixture of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2018 at the Old Hararians in Harare on Tuesday.
Pakistan's powerful army chief has stepped in to mediate between the embattled government and the protesters seeking resignation of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, bringing the military back into the centre stage and signaling a possible end to the high-political drama.
Opposition leader Imran Khan's political party on Monday decided to withdraw its lawmakers from the National Assembly and all provincial assemblies except Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, piling pressure on beleaguered Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to quit, even as efforts by the ruling PML-N to reach out to anti-government protesters failed.
Kashmiri separatist groups on Sunday met Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's advisor Sartaj Aziz here, drawing a sharp reaction from Bharatiya Janata Party which said the government is committing a "diplomatic blunder" by allowing this.
'From his persistent fuelling of pan-Hindu nationalism to pandering to narrow Gujarati chauvinism, Rambo rides again, using fair means and foul -- and often foul -- to gain the battleground,' says Sunil Sethi.
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.
'If I have become a star with limited talent, I think of myself in these 25 years. I need to believe that people have given me so much, they expect some of it back.' Shah Rukh Khan gets reflective.
The great pity is that Mr Siddiqui has a remarkable, even inspiring, story to tell, feels Sunil Sethi.
Mirwaiz Farooq, who is also a Muslim religious head, feels that the Friday meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in Lahore has given a fresh hope not only to people of the two nations but to the entire South Asian region.
For the past, blame the Congress. For the present, blame the Congress. For everything, blame the Congress. But for your future, vote BJP.
Congress on Monday demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi "break his silence" over the alleged "provocative" statements by the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders in connection with the Dadri lynching, saying that not doing so would suggest that they had his "approval".
'India's worst fears have come true because the Pakistan investigating team has, obediently and dutifully, done its masters' bidding by giving a clean chit to Pakistan, the Jaish, the ISI and all other well known actors,' says Rajeev Sharma.
'What we are today witnessing is the final act of the Pakistani army trying to retain its turf,' argues Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
Both sides will discuss the ongoing incidents of ceasefire violations at the border, the resolution of which will be given topmost priority