World Cup squads: Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal ignored by Pakistan

January 7, 2015

Shoaib Malik

Karachi, Jan 7: Senior players Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal were ignored while fast bowler Sohail Khan made a comeback after nearly three years in wilderness in Pakistan's 15-member squad for the ODI World Cup in Australia and New Zealand starting on February 14.

The six member selection committee, after intense deliberations with captain Misbah-ul-Haq and head coach Waqar Younis in Karachi, decided not to repose confidence in stalwarts such as Malik and Akmal who have been in prime form this domestic season.

Instead the selectors have put their confidence in a bunch of young players to spearhead Pakistan's campaign in the World Cup.

Among the 15, batsmen Sohaib Maqsood and Haris Sohail and bowlers Junaid Khan, Muhammad Irfan, Sohail Khan, Ehsan Adil and Yasir Shah have yet to play in Australia or New Zealand.

"We have picked a balanced squad without any personal likes or dislikes and we considered all options without any grouses," chief selector, Moin Khan told at a news conference at the national stadium.

He said the selectors had decided to lay faith in the youngsters keeping in mind the conditions, climate, opposition and travel schedule of the team in the World Cup.

Sohail Khan, a right-arm fast bowler, has appeared in just two Tests and five One-day internationals and his last appearance for Pakistan was in Zimbabwe in 2011 but he has been in outstanding form this domestic season for Port Qasim Authority.

"There was a close tie between Sohail and the experienced Muhammad Sami as the selectors felt the team required an out and out fast bowler for the conditions in Australia and New Zealand," one selector said.

Sohail took six wickets in a match of the ongoing Pentangular Cup on Tuesday in Karachi.

Moin said the selectors had decided to go with a battery of pace bowlers while the spin department would be headed by experienced allrounder Shahid Afridi. .

"We have picked leg spinner, Yasir Shah because he has lots of potential," Moin said.

Shah had just played a single ODI also in 2011 in Zimbabwe but was outstanding against Australia and New Zealand in the recent Test series in the UAE taking 27 wickets.

It is after a long time that Pakistan will go into a major ODI event with two leg-spinners.

"This is the best possible squad from the available resources, and the selectors believe it has the requisite talent and skill-set to recapture the World Cup Down Under after 22 years", Moin said.

Moin said Pakistan would miss the bowling of Saeed Ajmal and Muhammad Hafeez due to suspensions on them for suspect actions but the available resources were also adequate for the event.

Shah ended with 27 wickets in the five Tests against Australia and New Zealand recently in the UAE.

Moin said Hafeez could still be cleared to bowl in the World Cup as he is still working hard on correcting his action and there was one month left before the World Cup.

"We have time as we play two ODIs in New Zealand before the World Cup," he added.

Hafeez has made the squad as a specialist opener in the final squad.

"We have picked only two specialist openers while wicketkeeper, Sarfaraz Ahmed will be the reserve opener when required," Moin added.

Pakistan's qualifying group includes India, West Indies, South Africa, Ireland, Zimbabwe and UAE.

Pakistan World Cup squad: Muhammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (Capt), Haris Sohail, Umar Akmal, Sohaib Maqsood, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Junaid Khan, Muhammad Irfan, Sohail Khan, Wahab Riaz, Ehsan Adil and Yasir Shah

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News Network
July 24,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 24: Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, who was earlier banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for breaching the Anti-Corruption Code, on Friday, said that people are bound to make mistakes and the important thing is that how well they make a comeback.

Shakib was banned from all forms of cricket on October 29 last year after he accepted the charges of breaching the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code. He will be able to resume international cricket from October 29, 2020.

"You have to be honest. You just can't lie to the people and pretend different things. Whatever happened has happened. People are bound to make mistakes. You are not 100%. The important thing is how well you can comeback from those mistakes. You can tell other people not to make those mistakes. Tell them the path so that they never take those paths," Shakib told Deep Dasgupta in a videocast hosted by ESPNcricinfo.

The 33-year-old all-rounder said he has seen many controversies ever since he was first made captain in 2009. He had trouble with the board chief, selectors and the media, mainly about selectorial decisions and not being made permanent captain between 2009 and 2010.
He believes those experiences have changed him as a person over time.

"I think [it's] combination of both [controversy following him, and vice versa]. I got the responsibility so early in my career, I was bound to make mistakes. I was captain when I was 21. I made a lot of mistakes, and there are so many things that people think about me. Now I realise that it was my fault in some areas, and in some I was misunderstood. But I get it completely. It is part and parcel in the subcontinent," Hasan said.

"Of course I will try to minimise [my mistakes] as much as I can, but by the time I got married, and now I have two kids, I understand the game and life better. It has made me a calmer person than I was in my twenties. I have changed quite a lot. People won't see me doing a lot of mistakes now. My two daughters changed my life completely," he added.

Shakib is likely return to international cricket during Bangladesh's proposed Test series against Sri Lanka in October. 

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News Network
March 12,2020

Miami, Mar 12: The NBA has suspended its season "until further notice" after a Utah Jazz player tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, a move that came only hours after the majority of the league's owners were leaning toward playing games without fans in arenas.

Now there will be no games at all, at least for the time being. A person with knowledge of the situation said the Jazz player who tested positive was center Rudy Gobert. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the team confirmed the test.

"The NBA is suspending game play following the conclusion of tonight's schedule of games until further notice,'' the league said in a statement sent shortly after 9:30 p.m. EDT. "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.''

The test result, the NBA said, was reported shortly before the scheduled tip-off time for the Utah at Oklahoma City game on Wednesday night was called off. Players were on the floor for warmups and tip-off was moments away when they were told to return to their locker rooms. About 30 minutes later, fans were told the game was postponed ``due to unforeseen circumstances."

Shutdown for two weeks?

Those circumstances were the league's worst-case scenario for now -- a player testing positive. A second person who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity said the league expects the shutdown to last a minimum of two weeks, but cautioned that time-frame is very fluid.

"It's a very serious time right now," Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "I think the league moved appropriately and prudently and we'll all just have to monitor the situation and see where it goes from here."

The Jazz released a statement saying a player -- they did not identify Gobert -- tested negative earlier Wednesday for flu, strep throat and an upper respiratory infection. That player's symptoms diminished as the day went along, but the decision was made to test for COVID-19 anyway. That test came back with a preliminary positive result.

"The individual is currently in the care of health officials in Oklahoma City," the Jazz said, adding that updates would come as appropriate.

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News Network
July 16,2020

Kolkata, Jul 16: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Wednesday went into home quarantine after his elder brother and Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint secretary Snehasish Ganguly tested positive for Covid-19.

Snehasish, a former Bengal first-class player, has been admitted to the Belle Vue hospital in Kolkata after his COVID report came positive.

"He was suffering from fever for the last few days and his test report came positive today. He's been admitted to Belle Vue Hospital," a CAB official said.

"The reports arrived late in the evening. As per health protocols, even Sourav will have to be in home quarantine for a stipulated period," a source close to the BCCI President added.

Snehasish had shifted to their ancestral house, where Sourav is based, in Behala after his wife and in-laws at his Mominpur residence tested positive for the dreaded virus.

The former India captain was, however, unavailable for a comment on the development.

Recently, during an interview to India Today, Sourav had spoken about how life around him has changed, making people more vulnerable.

"My brother visits our factories everyday and he is more at risk," the former batting star had said

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