Afridi dismisses rumours of joining politics

Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi dismissed claims of joining any political party on Sunday making clear that he has no interest in the field. Afridi expressed the desire to focus on playing well for the national side. 

Afridi had gone to offer his condolences to the former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif on the death of his brother in Lahore. This visit fueled the speculation of Afridi's interest in politics. Television channels began airing news that 

that Afridi had joined the PML N party, which is headed by Nawaz Sharif.

However, Afridi immediately issued a denial insisting he had no plans to join politics. "I have not joined any party nor am I contesting the elections. Right now my focus is on playing for Pakistan and regaining my best form and fitness," Afridi quoted. 

He insisted that cricket is his passion and he wants to continue playing for a few more years, everything else can wait till later. "I have no political ambitions at this stage. I had gone to meet with Mian sahib to offer my condolences on the death of his brother," he added. 

Pakistan former Test captain Aamir Sohail had become the first cricketer to join the PML N couple of years back. 

Source :- http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/55122/afridi-dismisses-rumours-of-joining-politics

Pakistan's Asif, Butt fight spot-fixing bans

Pakistan cricketers Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif left for Switzerland Tuesday to fight to overturn bans imposed two years ago for spot-fixing. 

Captain Butt and fast bowlers Asif and Mohammad Aamer were banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for contriving to bowl deliberate no-balls during the Lord's Test between Pakistan and England in August 2010. 

Butt was banned for 10 years, with five suspended, Asif for seven years with two suspended and the then teenager Aamer for five years. 

The trio were also jailed by a British court over the scandal in November 2011. All three were released last year after completing half of their sentences. 

Aamer, now 20, decided not to pursue his appeal to the Swiss-based Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after pleading guilty to the charges in Britain. 

But Asif's appeal will be heard in the Lausanne court on Thursday, exactly two years and a day after they were banned, and Butt's on Friday. 

Source :- http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/54348/pakistans-asif-butt-fight-spot-fixing-bans

Pakistan must show mettle in SA: Misbah

Pakistan need to "stand up and be counted" against South Africa's pace attack in their series with the world's top-ranked test nation starting next month, captain Misbah-ul-Haq said on Friday.

"This series is one of the biggest challenges of my captaincy tenure but I am confident that we can pose a serious threat to South Africa," Misbah told Reuters.

The 16-member Pakistan squad leave on Sunday for a two-month tour that begins with a three-test series from Feb 1. Pakistan are touring South Africa for the first time since 2007.

"The coming series is very important for Pakistan cricket because we have mostly played our cricket in South Asia or the UAE since 2010," Misbah added.

"The last few years have been a big challenge for Pakistan cricket and the players have come through well most of the time. But this is a tour where we have to play our best cricket."

No test playing nation has visited Pakistan since March, 2009 when militants attacked the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.

No Pakistan players for BPL

Bangladesh cricket chiefs said Wednesday that Pakistan had refused to release any of its players for a Twenty20 competition which begins this week after a planned bilateral series had to be scrapped.

Pakistan had been due to host Bangladesh for a Twenty20 game and a 50-over match in Lahore this month in what would have been its first home internationals since a deadly attack on the Sri Lankan team bus nearly four years ago.

But the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) cancelled the tour, saying Pakistan was not safe for its players.

According to a BCB spokesman, Pakistan has now responded by preventing any of its stars from competing in the Bangladesh Premier League which begins Thursday.

"The chief executive officer of PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) called our CEO today and informed him that they won't allow Pakistani players to play in the BPL until we send our team to their country," spokesman Jalal Yunus told AFP.

"We've now decided to host the event without Pakistani players," he said, adding the BPL's seven franchises would now find replacements for the 26 Pakistani players they bought in the auction last month.

The move represents a major blow for the second edition of the BPL since Pakistani cricketers have a big following in Bangladesh.

Ajmal sweeps Pakistan's inaugural cricket awards

Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal won all the bowling honours at Pakistan's inaugural cricket awards ceremony, after he was controversially left off the International Cricket Council's awards list.

Despite bagging 72 wickets in 12 Tests from August 2011 to August 2012, the 35-year-old was not included in any of the ICC shortlists when they were announced in September, sparking outrage in Pakistan at the perceived injustice.

Pakistan's protest over the omission went unheeded, but at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) awards Saturday night Ajmal was declared best Pakistan bowler for 2012 in all three formats -- Test, one-day and T20.

Ajmal, who helped Pakistan rout then world number one Test side England 3-0 in the United Arab Emirates early last year, also won the PCB's special prize for best bowler of the year.

ICC gives support to cricket-starved Pakistan

Cricket's governing body will continue to support Pakistan in its efforts to bring back the international game, but much depends on the security situation, an official said Saturday.

International cricket has been suspended in Pakistan since terrorists attacked the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in 2009, leaving eight people dead and seven visiting players wounded.

It led foreign teams to shun tours to Pakistan due to security fears.

David Richardson, chief executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC) said Pakistan will continue to be supported.

"The ICC views Pakistan as a very important part of international cricket," Richardson told a media briefing in Lahore.

Saeed Ajmal unveils academy plan

Pakistan spinner Saeed Ajmal announced Thursday that he is setting up a cricket academy to find new talent and produce bowlers like himself to torment the world's best batsmen.

The 35-year-old is regarded as the best spinner in all three formats of the game, and was instrumental in Pakistan's rout of the world's then best Test team England in the United Arab Emirates last year.

He said the Saeed Ajmal International Cricket Academy, in the eastern Pakistani city of Faisalabad, will be free of charge to budding cricketers.

"I want to groom the enormous talent in the country and no fee will be charged in my academy because I don't want the players to suffer the ordeal I did in coming to this stage," Ajmal said at the launch.

Pakistan launches Twenty20 Super League

Pakistan announced Thursday that it would host a multinational Super League in March in hopes the Twenty20 competition can revive international cricket in the troubled country.

There has been no top-class international cricket in Pakistan since Islamist militants attacked the Sri Lankan team in March 2009, killing eight Pakistanis and wounding seven visiting players.

Foreign teams have shunned the country over security fears, leaving Pakistan to play its home series in England and the United Arab Emirates.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) plans to host a Twenty20 league on the lines of the glitzy, cash-rich Indian Premier League, which has featured more than 100 foreign players since its inception in 2008.

Pakistan players given a warm reception at home

Pakistan star batsman Nasir Jamshed, who tormented the Indian bowlers in the just concluded series, has forgotten to carry his man-of-the-series trophy with him.

Jamshed, who scored back-to-back centuries in the first two one-dayers in the series, and the victorious Pakistan team was accorded a warm welcome on Monday.

"In the rush to get to the airport I forgot my trophy but the team management says I will get it soon," Jamshed said.

"But the welcome we have got today is really out of this world and it shows just how important it was for us to win this series for the people," the left-hander said.

Jamshed said the two centuries he had made in the series had given him lot of confidence and self belief.

"But I will be talking to Inzamam-ul-Haq and Saeed Anwar again to get tips from them on how to further improve my batting," the opener said.

Wasim Akram's inputs helped me: Junaid Khan

The most impressive among the Pakistani pacers who made life difficult for Indian batsmen, Junaid Khan revealed that the legendary Wasim Akram's inputs about the host batsmen's "weaknesses" helped him get eight wickets in the just-concluded three-match ODI series.

"I have been a bowler who has relied on bowling outswingers consistently at a good pace. It was Wasim bhai (Akram) who told me to develop the incoming delivery which would be my weapon against the Indian right-handers," the 23-year-old Junaid said before leaving for Lahore on Monday.

"It's very natural for left-arm fast bowlers to slant it across the right-handers. Once a guy like Virender Sehwag gauges the length of the away-going deliveries, you can be murdered. When I did my homework, I found out that Sehwag has a problem with the ball that comes in.

"I then started working hard on that incoming delivery with our chief bowling coach Mohammed Akram," said Junaid, who has played 8 Tests and 16 ODIs for Pakistan.

Dhoni blames top order for loss

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni admitted that India will have to improve as a team after the hosts slumped to yet another series loss at home in Kolkata on Thursday.

An insipid India produced a pathetic display as arch-rivals Pakistan spanked the hosts by 85 runs in the second cricket one-dayer to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series at the Eden Gardens.

Even though Dhoni praised his bowlers for restricting Pakistan to 250, he came hard on India's famed batting line-up which has been struggling for sometime now and has been largely responsible for the team's forgettable results in recent times.

India vs Pakistan, 2nd ODI, Kolkata

India have won the toss and elected to field

From 141/1 to 250 all out, it has been a spectacular collapse from Pakistan. Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma bowled wonderfully in the middle overs as Pakistan lost momentum. Nasir Jamshed stroked his third ODI century but the rest of the batting capitulated. Both Jadeja and Ishant picked up three wickets as Pakistan were bowled out.

Pakistan are yet to lose an ODI against India in Kolkata. They have played 4 matches here and won all 4. Terrific effort this - 250 was not a great score but they proved once again that a superb bowling unit can do wonders in this format. Junaid Khan was the star once again and Umar Gul chipped in with a couple of top-order wickets as well. Ajmal, Hafeez, and even Shoaib Malik gave them good support as India's batsmen just capitulated. Dhoni made a half century and remained not out, but that was more of a message to the dressing room than anything else.

India 165-all out (48.0 Overs)
Pakistan 250-all out (48.3 Overs)

Pakistan won by 85 runs

Nasir Jamshed is the Man of the Match

India will bounce back, says Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar might have called time on his limited-overs career but he says his heart is still with the team and exuded confidence that India would bounce back in the ODI series against arch-rivals Pakistan.

"Even though I am not part of the team now, my heart is always with the team. I will support the team all the way. And I have no doubt that the team is going to bounce back in the series," Tendulkar said during his first interaction with the media after his retirement from ODIs.

"The team needs good wishes and support from all of us. They need good feedback from everybody so that they can play good cricket," he said, while also offering the countrymen good wishes in the new year.

No Pakistan players in BPL

The PCB has reacted furiously to Bangladesh's decision to not tour Pakistan for security reasons by stating that the Board will not release the players for the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

In a statement released by the PCB on Monday, it indicated that Bangladesh's refusal to tour Pakistan has affected the relationships between the two cricket boards.

The statement also read, "For the 2013 edition of the BPL, we have to see the commitments and engagements of our players before releasing them for the tournament. To associate the release the Pakistani players with Bangladesh tour to Pakistan does not hold any merit."

India vs Pakistan, 1st ODI, Chennai

Junaid Khan

Pakistan have won the toss and elected to field

India were 29/5 at one stage against a rampant Pak attack and also to battle the heat and humidity of Chennai. Dhoni never gave up and kept pushing himself on. Along with Raina initially and then with Ashwin later on, he has given India a great score to defend on this wicket.

Pakistan take a 1-0 lead in the series. Deservingly too. India did well to fight back from some tight situations. Dhoni did it with the lower order when they batted. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar led the way with the ball. They would lay some blame on a crucial umpiring error when Jamshed was adjudged not out on 24. Ashwin was guilty of overstepping and missed out on a wicket in the process. Yuvraj dropped Jamshed on 68. There was a flicker of hope for India when Ishant Sharma sent back Misbah-ul-Haq but Shoaib Malik steadied the ship. Jamshed went past his second ODI ton and helped Pakistan coast to a win.

Pakistan: 228/4 (48.1 Overs)
India: 227/6 (50.0 Overs)

Pakistan won by 6 wickets

The Man of the Match is MS Dhoni despite his hundred in a losing cause.

India vs Pakistan, 2nd T20I, Ahmedabad

Pakistan have won the toss and elected to field

The Indian batsmen have done their job this time. Yuvraj did the bulk of it. His career best score of 72 helped India recover from a tricky situation and finish strongly. Dhoni gave him very good support for a while and their stand was definitely one of the turning points of the innings. The wicket has stayed true and is very good for batting.

A cracking game of cricket and India deservedly level the series 1-1. Pakistan started off well and were kept in the hunt by some exceptional batting from their skipper Hafeez but Dinda ensured that India didn't have to worry by taking care of three crucial wickets.

Those 2 balls changed the entire complexion of the game. The ones that I'm referring to are the ones where first Umar refused the single and then he was bowled next ball. From then on it put immense pressure on Hafeez who succumbed. But still credit must be given to Dinda. He gave away 12 runs off his last two overs and took 3 wickets which ensured Ishant had enough in the tank for the last over.

India 192/5 (20 overs)
Pakistan 181/7 (20 overs)

India won by 11 runs

Yuvraj Singh is the Man of the Match for his 36 ball 72.

Hafeez is the Man of the Series for his back to back fifties.

India vs Pakistan, 1st T20I, Bengaluru

Yesterday was a thriller match between India and Pakistan after 5 year in India. Pakistan won the toss and elected to field. In this match from Pakistan Mohammad Irfan debut his career in T20 and he is the tallest ever international cricketer and also the tallest first class cricketer of all time. Also from India Bhuvneshwar Kumar debut his T20 career.

India get a slow start in first 3-4 overs in powerplay after Gambhir and Rahane settled their innings in strong position  for India. After 10th over India in Good position they were 75 for 0. Thats a good start for India. In next over Afridi get a breakthrough of Rahane he made 42 runs. After this wicket India never in the game. They lost 9 wickets in 56 runs. Gul gets 3 wickets and Ajaml gets 2 wickets. Gambhir make 43 and Rahane 42 runs, others players did not  play good cricket, they are in hurry to make a big target. In ends India sets 134 runs target.

Pakistan did not get a good start they lost 3 wickets on 12 runs, all three wickets taken by B Kumar. Hafeez and Malik settled  their innings well and take Pakistan to win. In ends Hafeez out after his outstanding fifty. Ishant and Kamran Akmal are going at each other. It has almost gone out of control. After this K Akmal trying to hit such as a big shot and he gone out. Pakistan need 10 runs in 6 balls. And Malik hit a six in overs 4th ball and they got 1st win on India in T20 history. Hafeez get man of the match award for his match winning fifty. Thats it :)

India vs Pakistan matches after 5 years in India

Five years after their bilateral cricket ties snapped due to the Mumbai terror attack, India and Pakistan are set to slug it out in what promises to be a high-voltage limited-over series starting with the first Twenty20 international here on Tuesday.

India and Pakistan, which last played a bilateral series in 2007, squared off in multi-national events several times after 2008 but for the first time, a Pakistani cricket team will be hosted for a series after the attacks.

Ajmal says he is ready to bamboozle Indians

Beginning the mind games ahead of the limited overs series against the arch-rivals, ace Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal says he is ready to bamboozle the Indian batsmen with a new variety of deliveries.

"I have some varieties up my sleeves for the Indian batsmen," he said.

Ajmal said the series will be a tough test for his side since India have a formidable batting line-up.

"For T20s and ODIs, they have a strong batting set up and it is going to be a challenge against them. It does not matter whether I am bowling to Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli. My aim is to get wickets for my team," he said.

Ajmal, who has remained among the top three bowlers in the ICC Test, ODI and T20I rankings since last year, said he was prepared to bowl on batting tracks in India.

"I have always believed that a quality spinner shows his class on such pitches against good batsmen," he said.

The spinner said he did not see the series as any revenge series for the defeats Pakistan suffered at the hands of India in the Asia Cup and World T20 this year.

"Every match is a new match. We have a good strong side and we know that beating India in India will be a significant achievement for us. So we are focusing on this series as a new series," he said.

Ajmal was all praise for uncapped off-spinner Adnan Rasool, who performed well in domestic cricket this season.

"This guy has loads of talent and he is the future Saeed Ajmal of the team. Head coach, Dav Whatmore is also impressed with him and I think he should get his chance in the Pakistan team soon," he said.

Madras High Court orders use of more sections

Ahead of the scheduled ODI between India and Pakistan on December 30, the Madras High Court on Tuesday, directed state government authorities to allow the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association to use three stands at the M A Chidambaram stadium here for public use during the match.

The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam, directed the respondents to permit TNCA to use 'I', 'J' and 'K' stands for the use of public through sale of tickets for the match.

Holding that the present permission has been granted only on consideration of the peculiar circumstances and taking note of the importance of the event, the bench said, "This permission granted shall not be treated as a precedent for any future matches and shall be confined only to the match scheduled on December 30."

It was stated that the match was to be witnessed by thousands of cricket fans, several hundreds of visiting fans and 50 delegates from Pakistan, including the chairman of the PCB.

TNCA had prayed for an interim injunction restraining authorities from interfering with the use of I, J and K stands in the stadium for the match.

Corporation of Chennai had issued a notice to lock, seal and demolish the stands, alleging that the construction of these stands was unauthorised and had been carried out without planning permission under Town and Planning Act, 1971.

The bench also stayed the conditions imposed by Additional Commissioner of Police (Traffic), Chennai, not permitting the use of I, J and K stands until further orders.

However, the bench said the ACP shall be entitled to impose other conditions for regulating the parking of vehicles during the match, and the TNCA shall comply with all such conditions scrupulously.

The bench said TNCA shall indemnify the authorities from any damage or claims that may occur on account of the permission granted to them to use the three stands.

The bench posted the matter after six weeks