Imran welcomes resumption of Indo-Pak cricket ties

July 18, 2012

imran

Karachi, July 18: Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan today welcomed the decision to revive the bilateral cricket ties with India, saying the on-field contest between the two nations was good for the sport.

"I welcome India's decision to revive cricket with Pakistan. Anything which can bring both the countries to negotiations and normalcy is very good and we must appreciate that," Khan told reporters.

"The prospect of India and Pakistan playing against each other is a good news for international cricket," he added.

India and Pakistan last played in a bilateral series in 2007 as the cricketing ties between them froze following 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack.

The BCCI's Working Committee yesterday decided to invite Pakistan for a short ODI series in December this year.

Khan said an India-Pakistan match is all about some high-voltage cricket and emotions running very high.

"The Indo-Pak matches are special because of the high tension and whoever deals with that extreme pressure comes out winner," said the 1992 World Cup winning team captain.

"That semi-final in Mohali is a good example of the tension and the excitement. India committed a lot of mistakes in that match but they won because Pakistan did more mistakes in comparison and that's why they lost," he said.

There have been several attempts by the Pakistan Cricket Board in recent months to convince the BCCI for a resumption as the contests featuring the two arch-rivals are a huge hit with fans and generate good revenue.

The thaw in the relations was evident much earlier when the BCCI invited Pakistan's domestic Twenty20 champion Sialkot Stallions to participate in the Qualifying Tournament of Champions League Twenty20 to be held in South Africa later this year.

The process actually started last year during the World Cup semifinal clash between the two sides in Mohali where Prime Ministers of both the countries were present and even met each other on the sidelines.


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News Network
May 18,2020

Karachi, May 18: Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan believes it is at least five years too early to compare Virat Kohli and Babar Azam as the Indian skipper has proven himself in "every kind of situation" and the latter has not.

"Virat Kohli is far more experienced than Babar. He has at least five years more experience of top cricket and he is at the peak of his career," said Younis, Pakistan's leading run-getter in Tests.

"Kohli has far more exposure than Babar and he has been in every kind of situation and proven himself. No one gets 70 international centuries like that and this are proof of his class and abilities. He has scored runs in every situation and all opposition."

Younis said said Babar still has a long way to go.

"Babar has been in top cricket for just around five years. He has got a very impressive batting average across all three formats and he is getting better by the day.

"You see him batting and you can see he has got the same qualities that Kohli had at the start of his career."

Besides amassing 70 international hundreds, 31-year-old Kohli averages more than 50 in all three formats. The India skipper has scored more than 20,000 runs while 25-year-old Babar has 6680 runs across formats though the Pakistan limited overs skipper has played significantly lesser number of games.

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Agencies
June 8,2020

New Delhi, Jun 8: Indian pacer S Sreesanth has slammed England all-rounder Ben Stokes for questioning MS Dhoni's intent during a World Cup match, saying that the former captain will end Stokes' career.

Stokes in his book titled 'On Fire' had questioned Dhoni's intent during India's 31-run defeat at the hands of England in the premier tournament last year.

"For Ben Stokes, I will only say that you should pray that Dhoni does not play against you in the future. Dhoni does not forget things easily," Sreesanth said during a Live session on Helo.

"I wish Stokes all the best for whenever he faces Dhoni again, be it IPL or an England vs India match. You must be earning in millions now, Dhoni Bhai will end your career. Dhoni will strike the ball everywhere and he (Stokes) can never dismiss Dhoni. Before he (Stokes) opens his mouth, he should make sure to wear a helmet," he added.

Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding had also come out in support of Dhoni and said that the wicket-keeper batsman wanted to win the match against England.

"Well, people will write anything in books these days, because people are a lot more free with their opinions and when they are writing books, they need to be making headlines at times," Holding had said on his official YouTube channel.

"...It was not the game that India had to win, but I don't think anyone can say that was a team tactic to lose the game. I watched that game and it appeared to me as if India weren't putting up their 100 percent, but I realised it was not the case when the expression on MS Dhoni's face told me that he desperately wanted to win, so I do not think it was a team decision to not try to win," he had added.

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News Network
July 5,2020

Colombo, Jul 5: Sri Lanka batsman Kusal Mendis was on Sunday arrested for knocking down a pedestrian while driving, police said.

Mendis hit a 74-year-old man, killing him in the wee hours, in the Colombo suburb of Panadura.

He is to be produced before a magistrate later today, police said.

The 25-year-old wicket-keeper batsman has represented Sri Lanka in 44 Tests and 76 ODIs. Mendis was part of the national squad which had resumed training after the Covid-19 lockdown.

Sri Lanka's international assignments, including a tour by India, have been cancelled due to the pandemic.

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