Afridi among eight Pak players fined for partying late

February 13, 2015

Sydney, Feb 13: Eight Pakistan players, including maverick former captain Shahid Afridi, have been fined for breaching a team curfew ahead of their crucial World Cup game against India, sources told AFP today. They have also been warned that a repeat offence will see them kicked out of the tournament which starts on Saturday.

Afridi fined

"Eight of the Pakistan players, which also included former captain Shahid Afridi and opener Ahmed Shehzad, were fined 300 Australian dollars (USD 230) after they came late to their Sydney hotel on Sunday," sources in the Pakistan team told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The eight players include senior all-rounder Shahid Afridi, opener Ahmed Shehzad, Wahab Riaz, Haris Sohail.

The official said the players had gone out for dinner with a friend in Sydney before the warm-up game against Bangladesh.

"After dinner, they went for an outing and returned to the hotel late. They have been fined 300 Australian dollars each."

The players had returned to the hotel about an hour after the curfew timings set by the manager.

But a source told PTI that the matter became serious when some pictures of Afridi were posted on a social network site and a prominent local Pakistani Australian informed the team management that Shehzad had got into an argument with a Pakistani fan at a club.

The players are understood to have apologised and have promised not to repeat the offence.

The team management, headed by manager Naveed Cheema, a former military man, claimed the players arrived 45 minutes late after a night out. "These players went with their friends for dinner but came back late," said a team source.

Team management have told the players that if such a breach was repeated, they will be sent home on the first available flight.

Pakistan are placed in Group B of the 14-team World Cup which starts in New Zealand and Australia from Saturday.

Pakistan play their first group game against arch-rivals and title-holders India in Adelaide on Sunday. Pakistani players have a history of off-field discipline problems.

Three key players -- Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer -- were caught in a spot-fixing scandal in England in 2010. The trio was accused of taking money to orchestrate deliberate no-balls during the Lord's Test. All three were banned for five years by the International Cricket Council. They, along with their agent Mazhar Majeed, were also jailed in UK.

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Agencies
January 23,2020

Aurangabad, Jan 23: An FIR has been registered against three people including former cricketer Mohammed Azharuddin for allegedly duping a travel agent, Mohammad Shadab, of more than Rs 20 lakh.

However, Mohammad Azharuddin has refuted allegations and said: "I strongly rubbish the false FIR filed against me in Aurangabad. I am consulting my legal team and would be taking action as necessary."

Azharuddin's personal assistant Mujeeb lives in Augurangabad and has good relations with the travel agency of Shadab.

The travel agent alleged that Mujeeb asked him to book some flight tickets but did not pay the amount.

The police have booked the three under Section 406, 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code.

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News Network
April 21,2020

New Delhi, Apr 21: India skipper Virat Kohli on Tuesday said people seem to have become more compassionate while coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and hoped the sense of gratitude towards frontline workers like doctors and police personnel remains even after the crisis is over.

Speaking in an online class organised by "Unacademy", Kohli and his actor wife Anushka Sharma spoke at length about the challenges they faced before tasting success.

"The one positive out of this crisis that we as a society have become more compassionate. We are showing more gratitude to the frontline workers in this war, be it police personnel, doctors or nurses.

"I hope it stays this way even after we overcome this crisis," said Kohli with Sharma seated next to her.

Kohli said the pandemic has taught the world a very important lesson.

"Life is unpredictable. So, do what makes you happy and not get into comparisons all the time. People have a choice now how to come out of this phase. Life is going to be different after this," said the skipper.

For Sharma, the pandemic has forced people to care about the basics in life.

"There is a learning in all of this. Nothing happens without a reason. If the frontline workers were not there, we would not have access to basics," she said..

"This has taught us that no one is special than the other. Health is everything. We are more connected as a society now," she added.

During the session, Kohli was asked about the moment when he felt most helpless.

"I felt nothing was working for me when I was not picked for the state team initially. I cried the whole night and asked my coach 'why did I not get selected'?" he responded.

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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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