Asif hand injury cause for concern
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) does not regret allowing Mohammad Asif to play for the Delhi Daredevils in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), despite the latest injury the increasingly fragile pacer sustained in his right hand, which is likely to keep him out of the rest of the tournament. It is also possible that the injury keeps Asif from playing a full part for Pakistan in the tri-series tournament in Bangladesh from June 8. Asif split the webbing on his right hand in a game against the Deccan Chargers and has had stitches put in since, said a report on a cricket website.
Virender Sehwag, his Delhi captain, said after Monday's game, that Asif split the webbing while fielding. "He's getting fit. He has four stitches on his hand," Sehwag said. "The doctors told us it would be a week before we could open them. Let's wait and see."
The latest development is a further setback to Asif who has seen much of the sheen of a prodigious start in cricket taken away by a long-standing elbow injury. He has missed much of the last year, only returning to action against Bangladesh in the recent ODI series, having had surgery on his right elbow in Australia at the beginning of the year. Still, bowling with a protective brace on his right arm, there were concerns that he had returned too quickly, in an effort to be able to participate in the IPL in which he is the second-most expensive - and thus highly-paid - Pakistan player.
If the new injury does prevent him from playing for Pakistan in the tri-series, the PCB is likely to bear the brunt of criticism for allowing him to play in India, though an official insisted there was nothing wrong with Asif going to India and that the injury could've happened 'anytime, anywhere.' "We have been in touch with the doctors in India," a PCB spokesman said. "He has split the webbing but the stitches are in and will stay there for a week." The spokesman insisted, however, that the board was fortunate that Asif's elbow problem hadn't been aggravated. "We're lucky in that perspective that the more chronic problem - the elbow injury - hasn't worsened. His elbow is fine."
The PCB's approach to allowing their players to participate in the IPL appears to be in contrast to their approach towards county cricket. After a calamitous run of injuries to their fast bowlers last year, the PCB formulated a policy whereby they reserve the right to prevent a contracted player from playing for counties in England. Fast bowlers such as Asif and Umar Gul have not been allowed to take part in county cricket in order to protect them from potential injuries from a greater workload. No such problem exists with the IPL, however, says the spokesman. "The county workload, where you bowl 20 overs a day at times, and the IPL workload, where you bowl just four, is very different. There is not much chance of the workload being high in the IPL, so we don't see a problem with that. Obviously if a player was injured or there is a real fear of injury, we wouldn't allow a player to play in the IPL, but we don't see a problem otherwise," he said.
(c) The Daily Times
Pakistan board chief withdraws lawsuit against Akhtar
KARACHI (AFP) - Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Nasim Ashraf said Monday he had withdrawn a defamation lawsuit against Shoaib Akhtar after the banned fast bowler made a public apology.
The 32-year-old paceman was banned for five years last month for breaching the players' code of conduct by criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) when it did not offer him a central contract in January.
Ashraf and the PCB sued him for three million dollars after Akhtar alleged in an interview the day after the ban that the board chief had demanded payments from the bowler's contract to play in an Indian tournament.
"I have withdrawn the defamation case as my honour was vindicated after Akhtar apologised publicly and retracted his baseless allegations," Ashraf told AFP.
"I forgive him as it was a matter of principle," he added, with the PCB also withdrawing its suit.
Local media said that Pakistan's prime ministerial advisor on interior affairs, Rehman Malik, brokered the deal at a dinner in his house in Islamabad on Sunday night where Ashraf forgave Akhtar.
The civil court in Lahore had summoned Akhtar for a hearing on May 16.
Akhtar made his surprise apology last week in an apparent attempt to further his appeal against the ban.
A three-member appeals tribunal last week said that Akhtar was free to play abroad, but it said that it would make a final decision next month on the ban stopping him playing in Pakistan or for the national team.
Akhtar said his real fight was still on.
"I am pleased to have my ban suspended which has paved my way to play in India but the real task is ahead and that is to overturn the ban on me," Akhtar told AFP.
"I want to play for my country and bow out on a high. What has happened to me was disappointing but I want to fight the ban and will resume my appeal on my return."
(c) 2008 AFP
Yousuf to play for Lancashire
Karachi (PTI): As his Indian Premier League stint is not being possible due to some legal hassles, Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousuf has accepted a short five-week contract with English county Lancashire.
Ironically, Yousuf would be the substitute for Australia's Brad Hodge, who would be playing in the IPL on a five-week contract.
But Yousuf said Hodge, to his knowledge, was going to the West Indies with the Australian team in mid-May.
"Lancashire made a good offer and since I was not doing anything I accepted it after speaking to the Cricket Board."
The senior batsman, who has been dropped from Pakistan's Twenty20 squad, cannot play in the IPL despite signing a contract with them as he has been slapped with a damage suit by the rebel Indian Cricket League.
The IPL, in its case, has said that Yousuf first signed a valid contract with them and then walked away to sign up for the IPL. The arbitrator in Mumbai, who is hearing the case, is expected to give a final verdict by end of this week.
Yousuf said he did not know what was going to happen with the ICL case. "Our next assignment is the tri-series in Bangladesh so I thought why not go and play in county cricket and keep in form and touch," he said.
Yousuf will leave for England on Friday. Pakistan Cricket Board lawyer Tafazzul Rizvi, who is contesting the ICL case, told PTI he did not see bright chances of Yousuf being allowed to play for IPL this year.
"The only option we have if the verdict goes against us is to file an appeal in the Mumbai High court and we have already spoken to some lawyers there about this," Rizvi said.
(c) 2008, The Hindu.
Pakistan win Academy Cup final in Dhaka
DHAKA: Pakistan Cricket Academy defeated hosts Bangladesh Cricket Board Academy by 39 runs in the final, to win the triangular Grameenphone Academy Cup cricket championship, here at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur on Wednesday.
The Pakistan team, who batted first after winning the toss, were powered by a magnificent 107 by opener Khurram Manzoor as his team rattled up a score of 276 for six in the allotted 50 overs. Bangladesh were bowled out for 237 runs in 46.3 overs.
Islamabad's Raheel Majeed (43) gave Khurram a 62-run start in the first 10 overs. Khurram and skipper Khalid Latif later added 157 runs for the third-wicket stand. Khurram's 107 came off 141 balls with seven fours and two sixes.
Khalid got his 81 runs off a mere 79 deliveries with two fours and as many as five sixes.
All-rounder Ahmed Shahzad took three wickets for 35 runs in six overs with his leg-spin. Paceman Anwar Ali (2-44) and leg-spinner Yasir Shah (2-35) chipped in with useful wickets.
For Bangladesh, Nasir Hossain (52) and wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim (56) added 97 runs for the sixth wicket, but the last five wickets added only 20 more runs.
South Africa Academy were the third team in the competition.
(c) The News
Second hearing on April 26: Akhtar gets time to re-file appeal with additional grounds
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) three-member appellate tribunal, headed by former High Court judge Aftab Farrukh, has given seven days time to Pakistan's controversial fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar for adding any other points to his appeal after getting necessary documents from the board. The other members of the tribunal are former Pakistan Test cricketer Haseeb Ahsan and former federal minister Salmaan Taseer.
"Akhtar has requested the tribunal that he needs some documents from the PCB to add some more points to his appeal against a five-year ban for violating the players' code of conduct. We have given him seven days to complete this formality and then we will have the second hearing on April 26," Aftab told reporters after the first hearing of the appeal at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) here on Thursday.
Aftab said the tribunal would decide the case on merit after hearing both the parties. He said Akhtar's lawyer Abid Hasan Minto also attended the first hearing that lasted for more than one hour. Aftab refused to give exact time frame in which the case would be decided. "I cannot say how much time will it take to decide the appeal, but we will hear the case on day-to-day basis from the next hearing." He said the decision of majority of the tribunal would be considered as the final decision. The PCB was represented advocate Tafazul Hussain Rizvi.
The 32-year-old Akhtar hit out at the PCB in January this year after being omitted from a list of 15 players given central contracts. The fast bowler was already on two years' probation for hitting teammate Mohammad Asif with a bat just days before the start of the Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa last year. The PCB has also sent a Rs 200 million legal notice to Akhtar after the paceman accused board chairman Nasim Ashraf of victimizing him and trying to extort money from him and other members of the national team. Akhtar has said that if this appeal fails, he will also go through the courts in a bid to get the ban overturned. Akhtar is also facing questioning from the ICC over separate comments that he was offered money to under-perform in South Africa and India. Former captains Inzamamul Haq and Moin Khan are also considering legal action, after a local TV host claimed that Akhtar told him the pair had offered him money to under-perform as well.
(c)Daily Times
CDA approves land for first cricket stadium in Islamabad
ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority Thursday approved to allot 40 acres of land for constructing the first cricket stadium in the federal capital. This decision was taken in meeting of CDA board held here Thursday
A CDA official told The Post the authority has approved to allot 40 acres of land to Pakistan Cricket Board near Shakkar-pariyan for constructing the first state-of-the-art cricket stadium in the capital. Official said that according to contract with the PCB, 25 percent of built-up property would be given back to CDA and the civic agency would enjoy the profit of 25 percent property that would definitely include commercial buildings attached with the stadium.
He said the PCB was responsible for construction and it would complete the stadium within 5 years. He further said the PCB would construct the stadium in a joint venture with a group from UAE that pledged to build it like a cricket stadium of Melbourne, Australia.
The board rejecting the application of allotting attached additional land to industrial plots owners in sector I-9, decided that it would construct road on nearby nullah and would create eight more industrial plots. The plots would later be auctioned to private groups for purely establishing industrial units.
The CDA board also approved to construct two gymnasiums in the capital city and allocated two pieces of land in sectors F-8/1 and F-11. A Lahore based company M/S Shapes that would have lease for 20 years after completion would construct gymnasiums on Build-Operate-Transfer basis.
The said company was awarded contract from five pre-qualified firms form a pool of 20 firms that sent applications for the purpose. The CDA official disclosed the company, according to BOT, would be compelled to pay Rs 6 million to CDA for 20 years period of lease against both gyms.
(c)The Post Copy Rights Reserved
Banned Shoaib to seek justice in court
KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar vowed on Wednesday to seek justice in court if the country's cricket board rejects his appeal against a five-year ban.
"I will not go down without a fight. If the board rejects my appeal I will go to the High Court and Supreme Court to get justice," he told a news conference.
The troubled pacer was banned on Tuesday by the Pakistan Cricket Board on the recommendation of its disciplinary committee for repeated disciplinary violations.
The ban came while Shoaib, who has played 46 tests, was already under a two-year probation from the board which has given him seven days to file an appeal.
"I will definitely be filing the appeal in the next two days and will follow the PCB procedure. I feel I have been personally victimised by the board. If I have committed any violation of discipline I should be told about it," Shoaib said.
Some protesters had lined up outside the Islamabad press club when Shoaib arrived. Holding banners and placards in favour of the fast bowler, they lifted him on their shoulders when he came out of the conference.
Thanking the media and former test players for their support, Shoaib, who has a history of run-ins with the cricket authorities, said the whole of Pakistan knew he had been victimised.
"I have not done anything wrong, I haven't murdered anyone, then why such a harsh penalty?" he said.
"I am totally clueless about the reasons for this harsh ban. I think everyone is clueless about the board's actions."
Shoaib has been banned from playing for his country or in Pakistan but the board has allowed him to play for Kolkata in the Twenty20 Indian Premier League starting this month.
"I am going to play in the IPL. That's the only right thing to do now. And they (PCB) can't take away that right from me. But it is sad that I have to prepare for the IPL with his unjust ban on me," he added.
(c) Reuters 2008
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