No decision on Pak players for IPL auction: GC Member

Mumbai: The IPL Governing Council has not taken any decision on whether to include or exclude players from Pakistan for the Indian Premier League's players' auction scheduled for January 8-9 next year, a member of the Twenty20 League's ruling body said.

"Anyone can write anything sitting in their room, but no such decision was taken at the meeting," a member of the IPL GC, who did not wish to be named, told PTI on Tuesday reacting to news reports that Pakistani players would be sidelined for the second year running.

Reports quoting a top but unnanmed official of the Cricket Board, that owns the cash-rich Twenty20 League, indicated that the IPL GC, which met here on December 5, decided to leave out Pakistan players from the auction in the wake of the International Cricket Council's probe into the match-fixing allegations against some Pakistan cricketers.

Prior to IPL-3 no franchise showed any interest in picking up Pakistan players at the auction held in January.

Eleven Pakistani cricketers were to go under the hammer but there were no takers for any of them.

The unsold players were Shahid Afridi, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Gul, Imran Nazir, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Aamer, Abdul Razzaq, Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, Saeed Ajmal and Sohail Tanvir.

Players from Pakistan took part in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008 but were denied permission to figure in the second season of the Twenty20 League in 2009 by their government following the November 26, 2008 terror strike in Mumbai.

Akram wants youngsters to fill PCB posts

London: Legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram is sick and tired of seeing retired old men at the helm of Pakistan cricket, and is convinced that this is the right time for the younger generation to come forward in a bid to bring the sport back on track in the country.

The former Pakistani captain believes that the change of guard could start with the appointment of a 'youngish' chief selector in place of Abdul Qadir, who has recently resigned from the position.

"What Pakistan need is the involvement of younger men, people in their thirties or forties who have played cricket in the modern era because they are the ones who will have the capability of make things right for the game," The News quoted Akram, as saying.

Without criticising Qadir, Akram said that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should appoint a chief selector from his (Akram’s) age bracket.

"It’s important for Pakistan cricket that the chief selector is a younger guy, who has extensive knowledge of modern day cricket. He should be fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the local cricketers with complete knowledge of players from rival teams.

"Selecting a balanced team is no child''s play and only a good professional can do the job," Akram added.

It is rumoured that former Pakistan captain Aamer Sohail is likely to take over as the next chief selector.

Akram also suggested that players like Moin Khan, who are actively involved in domestic cricket, could be ideal candidates for the job.

Akram, however, ruled himself out of taking the job because of his commitments as a television commentator, but offered his services as an advisor.

http://cricketnext.in.com/news/akram-wants-youngsters-to-fill-pcb-posts/41582-13.html

India thrash Pakistan in T20 warm-up match

LONDON: Rohit Sharma tore apart Pakistan's bowling attack with a 80-run blitzkrieg as India bulldozed their arch-rivals by nine wickets with three overs to spare in their final warm-up match of the ICC World Twenty20 on Wednesday night.

Chasing 159, Rohit and Gautam Gambhir (52 not out) raised 140 runs in just 16 overs for the opening stand to slam the door on Pakistan and India cruised to 159 for one in 17 overs to complete a facile win.

Rohit's was a sublime 53-ball knock, bejewelled with nine fours and two sixes. In contrast, Gambhir played the second fiddle to perfection and was unbeaten after a 47-ball knock that included five hits to the fence.

Earlier, Pakistan got off to a flier before suffering a mid-innings slump even though they eventually reached a competitive 158 for six, thanks to cameos from Ahmed Shehzad (25), Younis Khan (32), Misbah-ul Haq (37 not out) and Yasir Arafat (25 not out).

But with Gambhir getting his mojo back and Rohit continuing his purple patch, India's chase was off to a rollicking start and they never relaxed their grip.

Gambhir flicked the first ball from Umar Gul for a delectable four and ended the over in similar fashion.

Rohit, meanwhile, was not ready to be outshone.

Accordingly, Gul was hit over mid-on for a four, Yasir Arafat was dispatched in the stands for the first six of the match before copping two fours in his next over.

Shahid Afridi also found himself at the receiving end of Rohit's wrath when the batsman smote him over midwicket for a huge six.

Though Rohit eventually fell in the 16th over, by then it was just a matter of formality for India.

Earlier, Pakistan got off to a flier but India's disciplined bowling unit staged a remarkable comeback to restrict them to 158 for six.

Despite losing an early wicket, Pakistan cruised to 45 in just over four overs before losing three wickets without a single run added to the score.

After winning toss, Pakistan captain Younis Khan sent out teen twins Shahzaib Hasan (0) and Ahmed Shehzad (25) to open the innings but Hasan was back in the hut soon after Praveen Kumar's fifth legitimate delivery pegged back his off-stump.

Shehzad's too could have been a brief stay but Harbhajan Singh grassed a sitter at mid-wicket off RP Singh when the batsman was on five and India were made to pay for the clanger.

Shehzad shed all inhibitions and went after the Indian bowlers and suddenly it was raining boundaries at The Oval.

RP Singh copped two in the same over and Praveen didn't escape unscathed either as Shehzad pulled and drove with elan.

Shehzad's aggression proved contagious as Kamran Akmal (19) too started freeing his arms to good effect.

It was probably too good to last and Pakistan lost three wickets over five balls with Suresh Raina in the thick of action.

An airborne Raina first did a Jonty Rhodes to swoop on a ball and hit the stumps to remove Akmal and then placed himself under Shehzad's miscued skier in the same Ishant Sharma over.

Shahid Afridi's was a blink-and-miss stay as the swashbuckling right-hander bottom edged Irfan Pathan and Mahendra Singh Dhoni took a diving catch to remove him for a golden duck.

Shoaib Malik (14) started well before Pragyan Ojha snared the former captain in his first over and Pakistan were without their top half when the score reached 63.

Younis (32) and Misbah (37 not out) raised 50 runs in 7.3 overs but boundaries had dried up by then. Harbhajan got rid off Younis but Misbah and Arafat (25 not out) threw their bat at everything to push the score past the 150-mark.

http://cricket.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4614646.cms

Centurion may host Indo-Pak match during Champions Trophy

KARACHI: India may lock horns with their archrivals Pakistan in the ICC Champions Trophy at Centurion on September 26, according to the tentative itinerary for the tournament to be announced soon.

According to details, the match would be played at the same venue, where India had defeated Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup.

India has been clubbed with Pakistan, Australia and the West Indies in one group, while New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka and South Africa are in the other group.

According to the tentative itinerary, Pakistan will begin their Champions Trophy campaign against the West Indies on September 24 in a day-night encounter in Johannesburg. They would play Australia at the same venue on September 28.

The Champions Trophy was originally scheduled to be held in Pakistan in September-October last year but ICC postponed and eventually moved out the event of the strife-torn country due to security reasons.

Sources said that since the biannual Champions Trophy had already been delayed by a year, the ICC was contemplating not staging the tournament in 2010 and concentrating on the next Twenty20 World Cup in the West Indies.

TOI

Pak ICL players can play domestic cricket

Karachi: The Pakistani players, who were contracted with the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL), have been formally allowed by the PCB to play in the domestic cricket.

PCB lawyer Shan Gul said the board had banned all ICL-contracted players from playing domestic or international cricket in Pakistan, because the rebel league is not a legal tournament in its home base.

Gul is hoping to see the banned players in cricketing action soon and said, "Chairman board Ijaz Butt is also not in favour of ban on the players featured in the Indian Cricket League."

The board took the decision after the Sindh High Court suspended the ban on players last week.

PCB chairman Ejaz Butt then said that he wanted to follow a procedure before allowing players to play in the domestic cricket.

http://cricketnext.in.com/news/pak-icl-players-can-play-domestic-cricket/38177-13.html