Posts for 'Controversies' Category

Pakistan's former captain, Imran Khan fears that the menace of spot-fixing in cricket could be a much more malignant problem then it is being perceived to be after the allegations and suspension of three Pakistani players in England.

Imran said in a television interview that he believed that spot-fixing/betting might be going on uninterrupted in many countries and was not just a problem confined to Pakistan cricket.

Read the complete story

Match Fixing Scandal: Tainted Pak Trio Will Meet Scotland Yard Today: Pakistan's tainted trio of Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir will on Wednesday face another round of questioning from the Scotland Yard for their alleged involvement in the 'spot-fixing' scandal that has rocked international cricket even as England's Players' body demanded their ouster from the Twenty20 and ODI series here.

The trio, which has been implicated in the scandal after a sting operation by a British tabloid, is set to be quizzed by the Scotland Yard for the second time but they are not in danger of being arrested, a Pakistan Cricket Board official said.

Read the complete story

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has kept the door open for former skipper Muhammad Yousuf who has been asked to rethink about his decision to retire in order to become part of the national team.

The PCB has already given relief to five of his teammates it penalized heavily in the aftermath of a disastrous tour of Australia last year and is anxiously waiting for Yousuf’s comeback.

After retracting the indefinite ban on former skippers Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan, Irfan Qadir, an independent arbitrator hearing appeals of the banned players, has asked the board to review Yousuf's ban so that he is "treated at par with the other players in these appeals”.

Read the complete story

 Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief selector Abdul Qadir has criticised the board for taking a 'U'-turn by revoking the one-year ban on all-rounder Shoaib Malik. Qadir said the PCB has once again put Pakistan cricket at risk by lifting the ban on Malik, who was banned and fined two million rupees for his poor show and creating a rift among players during the winless tour of Australia.

"It is not a good omen for Pakistan cricket. By taking such decisions, the board is only encouraging the players to move out of line," The Daily Times quoted Qadir, as saying. "But by taking a U-turn apparently because of political pressure, the board has once again put Pakistan cricket at risk," he added.

Read the complete story

Kaneria and pace bowler Mervyn Westfield are understood to be the two Essex players at the centre of the investigation which centres on the county's Pro40 League victory over Durham at the Riverside last September. Kaneria opted to miss the first three weeks of the new county season to play in Pakistan's Pentagular Cup domestic competition which finishes on April 27.

Essex sources have confirmed that they still expect Kaneria to arrive in England on April 29. Kaneria has denied involvement in spot-betting – manipulating passages of play during a game rather than fixing the result – though he is likely to face questioning by police if he does rejoin Essex.

Read the complete story

Pakistan's veteran batsman Mohammad Yousuf is expected to announce his retirement from international cricket in the shadow of the indefinite ban imposed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

According to Daily Jang, Yousuf will make a formal announcement to retire on Monday at a news conference in Karachi.

He further said 'it is not an emotional decision and he consulted his elders, friends and family members'. The Pakistan Cricket Board suspended Yousuf.

And Younis Khan for an indefinite period in wake of the series of infighting which impacted on the national team's performance during the series against Australia.

Yousuf was made captain after Younis quit the captaincy last year after the New Zealand ODI series in Abu Dhabi. Under his guidance.

Read the complete story

After slumping to their third consecutive defeat in the tournament, Kings XI Punjab skipper Kumar Sangakkara said poor start to their run chase cost his side the Indian Premier League match against Deccan Chargers here on Friday.

Chasing a competitive 171 for victory, Kings XI made a disastrous start to their innings, scoring just 27 runs for the loss of three wickets in the first six overs. According to Sangakkara, it made the difference between a victory and a defeat for Kings XI.

“The fielding and bowling was lot better. We executed our plans on the field well but it was the first six overs that cost us the match. But Pathan played a magnificent innings towards the end to keep us in,” Sangakkara said after the match. “Hopefully we can turnaround the results in the next games. The guys are working very hard,” he said.

Read the complete story

Senator Tariq Azeem Khan suggested in the Standing Committee on Sports that all-rounder Shahid Khan Afridi should be banned for five years from international cricket as his (Afridi) act humiliated the whole nation in the cricketing world.

The committee met on Monday in the chair of its chairman Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi here at the Parliament House.

Later, the committee constituted four-man sub-committee to look into the affairs of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) which is also headed by Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi.

Read the complete story

The 29-year-old Afridi, leading the team in the absence of rested captain Mohammad Yousuf, was caught by television cameras chewing on one side of the ball while walking with bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan in the fifth and final match at the WACA in Perth.

Under International Cricket Council rules any attempt to change the condition of the ball through illegal means is a violation of the players’ code of conduct and is liable to punishment.

The on-field and third umpires reported the incident to match referee Ranjan Madugalle who conducted separate hearings with team manager Abdur Raqeeb and Afridi before handing the player a two-match international Twenty 20 ban.

Afridi pleaded guilty and told AFP from Perth he was ashamed of the mistake.

“I am ashamed. I did it in the heat of the moment as the match was a close one, but I should not have done that, it's a serious offence,” Afridi said.

“I apologise to all and everyone involved in the match and to the fans around the world. This will never happen again."

Read the complete story

By trying to be injudiciously self-evasive, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and their sycophantic officer-bearers have started to trace their steps to fool’s paradise. Arrogance, hotchpotch policies, confused mix of even planning.

Abruptness, brazen lies contrary to the documentary evidence, intolerance to criticism, complete dearth of vision and plans for the future, unnecessary and often irrational justifications, paucity of authenticity and unabated self-denials, indignant enough to challenge common man’s rationality.

Pakistan cricket is vanishing into a dream, on course to ‘self destruction’ and ‘neo-fascism.’ Interesting it is that the infallible PCB chairman is recorded during a telephonic conversation to have committed saying that it was during his times that Pakistan won the Twenty20 World Cup in 2009 and also qualified for the semi-finals of the ICC Champions Trophy for the first time ever.

Pakistan qualified for the semi-finals twice before, once against New Zealand in Kenya in 2001-02 and th  other against the West Indies in England in 2004-05; I hope his representatives stop questioning the intellectuality of the often well-read people otherwise it is going to be a poor reflection on their abilities as ever.

Read the complete story