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LAHORE: The rising inflation has added to the woes of employees of the cash-strapped Pakistan Hockey Federation. They’ve gone unpaid for the last six months and one of their lower-grade employees, Mohamamd Sadiq, suffered from a heart attack. Sadiq is currently recovering in a hospital but making ends meet is becoming difficult day by day.
“We are coming to the office everyday with the hope that we will get some good news regarding our salaries,” one of the lower-grade employees told Dawn. “But we return disappointed everyday. Even the officers working in the PHF realise our miseries and most of them have stopped attending office to avoid seeing our needy faces.”
PHF president Tariq Bugti, recently given the reins of country’s hockey governing body by the Prime Minister, said he was trying to arrange for salaries of January to be disbursed.
“I am trying to arrange the funds to at least release the salaries to the employees for the last month, “ he told Dawn. “Another summary of Rs50.5million has been sent to the Prime Minister of Pakistan to clear all the dues of the players and the employees, but so far we haven’t received that special grant.”
Bugti added that his predecessor, retired Brig Khalid Sajjad Khokhar, had informed that the PHF has to pay Rs 80million to the players, their teams’ officials and the PHF employees. “The summary for the Rs50.5million grant in the pipeline,” he informed.
“As the bank accounts of the PHF are also being investigated by the FIA in the wake of the audit objections on the PHF’s accounts raised by the Auditor General of Pakistan offices, the operational process of the PHF’s bank accounts are disturbed,” added Bugti.
The glittering achievement of Russia in the team figure skating event at the 2022 Winter Olympics has been cast into doubt as the International Skating Union (ISU) announced the country's demotion from gold to bronze.
The surprising turn of events is a direct consequence of the doping ban handed to the then 15-year-old skating prodigy, Kamila Valieva.
Kamila Valieva's positive test for trimetazidine in December 2021 led to a four-year ban, officially confirmed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday. This has prompted the ISU to conduct a "re-ranking of the Team event" from the Beijing Games, resulting in the USA claiming the gold medal and Japan securing silver.
Unlike other sports, ISU regulations only permit collective disqualification in the event of a positive doping control during the competition, not eight weeks prior, as was the case with Kamila Valieva. The decision leaves Canada, originally finishing fourth, with a sense of disappointment as they missed out on the expected promotion to bronze.
The Figure Skating Federation of Russia expressed its categorical disagreement with the CAS decision in a strongly-worded statement. Valieva, in her defence, attributed her positive test to "contamination by cutlery" shared with her grandfather, who had been treated with trimetazidine.
The drug, usually prescribed for angina, has raised eyebrows in the sporting community due to its "numerous side effects," from "gait disorders" to "hallucinations."
Kamila Valieva's ban also raises broader questions about age-related confidentiality rules. Despite being under 16, her case has spurred the ISU to raise the lower age limit for its senior category from 15 to 17, citing concerns for the "physical, mental, and emotional health" of competitors.
The repercussions extend beyond medal standings, affecting the very fabric of age regulations within figure skating. The US skating team, now elevated to gold, envisions a unique scenario for the medal ceremony at the 2024 Paris Olympics, surrounded by the true Olympic spirit.
"We’ve thought about it," expressed Madison Chock, one of the nine Americans crowned as the 2022 Olympic team champions. "That would be the dream scenario."
KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has proposed to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to appoint a captain for the long term besides suggesting abolishing the vice-captain’s slot.
"PCB should announce the captain for two to three years so that the captaincy debate can come to an end," the 46-year-old expressed his views while speaking to journalists in the port city on Tuesday.
Advocating his proposed changes in the team’s structure, the former star cricketer asked the top cricket body to abolish the vice-captain’s slot for the Men in Green across all formats.
"There is no need to appoint anyone as vice-captain. If the captain is not available for any reason, assign the captaincy responsibility to a player who seems suitable," he added.
Afridi also expressed support for his former teammate Mohammad Hafeez, suggesting that he should be given more time in his role as Pakistan’s team director.
“[Mohammad] Hafeez has played a lot of cricket; he should be given more time [as team director],” Afridi stated. “If someone thinks that everything will change in one series, it is wrong thinking.”
Afridi also commented on Pakistan’s performance during the recent tours of New Zealand and Australia.
“We missed some opportunities during the New Zealand and Australia tours, failing to perform at our best level,” Afridi added.
He advised against making too many changes to the team ahead of the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to be played in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA).
“There should not be many changes to the squad before the World Cup. However, it is important to know when to rest or play a certain player,” he stated.
Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam is known for his relatively calm demeanour both on and off the pitch, however, the fans recently got to see his heated side.
Babar, who is currently in excellent form as he is representing Rangpur Riders during the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), got engaged in a heated argument with Durdanto Dhaka's wicketkeeper Irfan Sukkur in the 13th over of the Riders' innings.
The umpire and Dhaka captain Mosaddek Hossain approached Babar to calm him down, but he remained visibly upset with the wicketkeeper in general.
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It must be noted that this was Babar's second half-century of the competition as he guided his side to 183/8 via his 62-run knock.
Earlier, in his first BPL game, the 29-year-old played a crucial role, staying unbeaten with a well-executed 56 runs from 49 deliveries, featuring six boundaries, at a striking rate of 114.28.
The fans in Bangladesh are enjoying his presence and his stardom speaks for itself.
Earlier, a video went viral where the 29-year-old was going to the team bus, fans in huge numbers were standing right outside to see a glimpse of their favourite cricketer.
Full list of Pakistan players featuring in BPL 2024
Chattogram Challengers
Muhammad Haris, Mohammad Hasnain
Comilla Victorians
Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmad, Zaman Khan, Khushdil Shah, Naseem Shah
Durdanto Dhaka
Saim Ayub, Usman Qadir
Fortune Barishal
Fakhar Zaman, Mohammed Amir, Abbas Afridi, Shoaib Malik
Khulna Tigers
Faheem Ashraf
Rangpur Riders
Babar Azam, Ihsanullah
Sylhet Strikers
None
It must be noted that many Pakistan players have not received NOCs to feature in this tournament due to the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) rule of allowing players for only two leagues in a year.
MELBOURNE: Mitchell Marsh will captain Australia for their Twenty20 series against the West Indies with regular skipper Pat Cummins being rested, the country’s cricket board (CA) said on Wednesday.
Australia are hosting West Indies for three T20s between Feb. 9-13 as part of their preparations for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in the Caribbean and US in June.
Cummins and Mitchell Starc are being managed to prepare for Australia’s tour to New Zealand, which begins on Feb. 21, CA added.
“We see these matches as an opportunity to narrow down on those who may be part of the T20 World Cup squad later this year,” chair of selectors George Bailey said in a statement. “There are a further three T20 internationals in New Zealand following this West Indies series where we will continue to build towards the T20 World Cup as required.
“It is likely we will use the block of six games to provide opportunity to players in some different roles and positions. We will then be keeping a close eye on the Indian Premier League before choosing a World Cup squad.”
Squad: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Sean Abbott, Jason Behrendorff, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Short, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa.
No Pakistani player making the cut, the International Cricket Council (ICC) Tuesday announced Men’s Test and One-day International (ODI) teams of the year 2023.
The ICC Team of the Year acknowledges 11 outstanding individuals who impressed throughout 2023, whether with the bat, the ball, or their all-round exploits across the calendar year.
Australia's Pat Cummins has been named captain of the Test Team of the Year after leading Australia to their maiden World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 glory and took a total of 42 wickets throughout the year.
Cummins’ counterpart, Mitchell Starc also made his way to the team following impressive outings throughout the year with red-ball. Five Australian players were included in the squad, making the Aussies the most represented nation in the Team of the Year.
ICC also announced ODI Team of the Year which was dominated by Indian players, which came as no surprise as the Blues, despite losing the World Cup final to Australia, played the best cricket in the 50-over format.
India’s skipper Rohit Sharma was named the captain of the team due to his fantastic display throughout the year, amassing a total of 1255 runs in the year.
Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Mohammad Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Shami were the other Indians included in the ODI Team of the Year.
ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year:
Usman Khawaja, Dimuth Karunaratne, Kane Williamson, Joe Root, Travis Head, Ravindra Jadeja, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (C), R Ashwin, Mitchell Starc, Stuart Broad.
ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year:
Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Travis Head, Virat Kohli, Daryl Mitchell, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), Marco Jansen, Adam Zampa, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami.
ICC also announced the Men’s T20I and Women’s ODI and T20I Team of the Year 2023.
ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year:
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Phil Salt, Nicholas Pooran, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Mark Chapman, Sikandar Raza, Alpesh Ramjani, Mark Adair, Ravi Bishnoi, Richard Ngarava, Arshdeep Singh.
ICC Women’s ODI Team of the Year:
Phoebe Litchfield, Chamari Athapaththu (C), Ellyse Perry, Amelia Kerr, Beth Mooney (wk), Nat Sciver-Brunt, Ash Gardner, Annabel Sutherland, Nadine de Klerk, Lea Tahuhu, Nahida Akter
ICC Women’s T20I Team of the Year:
Chamari Athapaththu (C), Beth Mooney (WK), Laura Wolvaardt, Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Amelia Kerr, Ellyse Perry, Ash Gardner, Deepti Sharma, Sophie Ecclestone, Megan Schutt.
CHRISTCHURCH: Pakistan on Sunday won the final T20I match of a five-match series against New Zealand in Christchurch escaping whitewash by 4-1.
In the first four games, the Black Caps thrashed the Green Shirts.
Part-time offspinner Iftikhar Ahmed produced career-best figures of 3-24 as a weakened New Zealand batting lineup struggled against the turning ball and were skittled for their eighth-lowest T20 total.
Only opener Finn Allen (22) and Glenn Phillips (26) passed 20 as Pakistan claimed the last eight wickets for 39 runs in comfortably their best bowling display of the series.
Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz (2-18) was effective with the new ball, removing Rachin Ravindra and Will Young cheaply, while Shaheen Shah Afridi had something to cheer at the end of his maiden series as captain, taking 2-20.
New Zealand were missing three of their first-choice batters: Kane Williamson (knee injury), Devon Conway (Covid-19) and Daryl Mitchell (rested).
Earlier, it appeared the home side had done enough to push for a clean sweep when they restricted Pakistan´s batters with another disciplined bowling display.
Seamers Tim Southee, Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson all claimed two scalps, along with spinner Ish Sodhi.
Southee (2-19), the highest wicket-taker in T20 cricket, dismissed debutant Haseebullah Khan in the opening over and returned in the 13th over to remove the dangerous Fakhar Zaman, who had raced to 33 off 16 balls.
Top-scorer Mohammad Rizwan departed soon afterwards for 38 off 38, ultimately consigning Pakistan to the lowest first-innings score by either team in the series.