Category: Sport

To beat India in their crunch World Cup match, Pakistan must improve their fielding captain Sarfaraz Ahmed said after the team’s loss to Australia.

Pakistan were sloppy on field in the match against Australia as they conceded overthrows and were punished by Aaron Finch, who was dropped by Asif Ali at slip when he was on 33.

Finch went on to score 82 and built a 146-run opening stand with centurion David Warner to allow the champions to post a competitive total of 307.

“When two good teams play each other, the fielding can make a difference and we conceded runs due to lapses in fielding,” Sarfaraz told reporters. “If you want to beat the big teams, we can’t make such mistakes.

“Our fielding is not up to the mark and we will work hard on that before the India match. India are a strong team and if you continue to make the same mistakes then you won’t get an opportunity to win the match.”

Speaking about the loss to Australia, “We made good starts but didn’t build partnerships,” Sarfaraz added.

“The first few wickets were soft dismissals after the batsmen got set […] we lost three wickets in 15 balls and that was the turning point in the match.”

Pakistan play arch-rivals India next at Old Trafford on Sunday in a fixture where tensions always run high.

Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq has spilled the beans on how Mohammad Amir confessed to spot fixing.

According to Razzaq Amir had confessed to spot-fixing only after then ODI skipper Shahid Afridi slapped the fast bowler.

“He (Afridi) told me to leave the room but after a while, I heard the sound of a slap and then Aamir told the whole truth,” Razzaq was quoted as saying by PTI.

The maverick cricketer also blamed the then PCB set-up for bringing a bad name to Pakistan cricket.

“I thought instead of going to the ICC to prove its efficiency, the PCB should have instead directly taken the three players to the task despite their denials and sent them back home on some pretext. They should have banned them for a year or so. In the end, by not doing this, the PCB spoilt the image of Pakistan cricket worldwide.”

Razzaq, 39, also claimed that Butt was deliberately getting out and playing dot balls much before the scandal broke out in England.

“I shared my concerns with Afridi but he said it is just my Waham(misconception) and nothing is wrong. But when I was batting with Salman Butt during a match of the World T20 in West Indies, I was convinced he was letting down the team.”

Razzaq recalled he told Butt to take a single and give him the strike but he did not pay heed to his advise.

“I was surprised when he refused this strategy. When I realised what he was up to (something) I told him strictly to give me the strike. Yet every over he deliberately played two or three balls and then gave me strike. I got upset and felt the pressure and got out.”

Butt, Aamir, and Mohammad Asif were the three players eventually banned for a minimum of five years in early 2011 by the ICC’s anti-corruption tribunal after they were first suspended in September 2010.

Bangladesh Cricket Board spokesman Jalal Yunus said most of the team were bussed to the mosque and were about to go inside when the incident happened.

Bangladesh’s cricket team escaped unscathed after a shooting at a mosque in central Christchurch, an official told AFP on Friday.
Bangladesh Cricket Board spokesman Jalal Yunus said most of the team were bussed to the mosque and were about to go inside when the incident happened.

“They are safe. But they are mentally shocked. We have asked the team to stay confined in the hotel,” he told AFP.
Player Tamim Iqbal tweeted that it was a “frightening experience” and that there were “active shooters”.
“Entire team got saved from active shooters!!!” tweeted Tamim Iqbal. “Frightening experience and please keep us in your prayers.” Local media said there were multiple casualties at one mosque and that another had been evacuated. PTI/AFP

Srinagar, Dec 09: Top international cricketer Suresh Rain stressed for development of basic infrastructural facilities including an international cricket ground in Kashmir valley.

Suresh Raina said that he sees extra ordinary talent among the cricket loving youth in both Jammu and Kashmir divisions of the state but the government has to nurture their talent to help them represent national team.

Saying that India’s star batsman Sachin Tendulkar was the source of inspiration for him, Raina rated Brian Lara of West Indies and Waseem Akram, Inzimam-ul-Haq and Saeed Anwar of Pakistan as the best cricketers of the world.

Advising the cricket loving youth to play cricket both in morning and evening hours under the supervision of a cricket coach, Raina thanked the youth of Kashmir for the love, affection and cooperation they extended to him in making his cricket trip to Kashmir a success.

Suresh Raina interacted with the cricketers playing for Ranji Trophy cricket tournament. During his stay in Jammu he also met Director General Police Dilbag Singh and discussed with him issues concerning development of infrastructure facilities for cricketers in the state.

Srinagar: The World SnowShoe Championship -2019 was declared open officially on Friday in Val Di Non, Trento Italy with Kashmir SnowShoe athletes representing India in the championship.

The event in which athletes from 29 countries are participating got off to a grand start on Friday evening with representatives taking part in the march through old city of Trento followed by the official ceremony that involved a lighting and cracker show.

This year World SnowShoe Championship is being held as part of the 40th edition of La Ciaspolada race and is being conducted by Societa Podistica Novella under the auspices of World SnowShoe Federation (WSSF).

It is fourth time that the team of athletes from Kashmir representing SnowShoe Federation of India would be participating in the World SnowShoe championship. This year Federation has deputed four member team that includes two officials and one athlete. The format of the competition is such that even officials take part in the race and that applies to the Indian contingent from Kashmir as well. The Kashmir athletes included sports promoter Arif Laigaroo as manager, Gulzar Ahmad Khan as athlete, Mushtaq Bashir as athlete and Abid Hussain as World SnowShoe Federation official. The team is being sponsored by Heevan Retreat, Ahad Hotels & Resorts, J&K Bank, Mushtaq Group of Hotels and Kehwa Group.

Before the official ceremony, the contingent also attended the World Congress meet of WSSF and put their views and suggestions across to the delegates from around the world. The suggestions and views from the contingent focused on the promotion of the SnowShoe sport and activity in India and in the region of Kashmir.

“It is great opportunity for us provided by SnowShoe Federation of India (SSFI) to be part of this mega event. The opening ceremony was grand with lot of shows at display. The race is going to be held on January 6 and in it the organizers expect around 6000 athletes to participate,” said Mushtaq Bashir.

Arif Laigaroo said that he has not seen anything like this in Kashmir in which race of this magnitude was held.

“I have been part of many events in Kashmir but not on this scale. The people, organizers are committed to their goal and give everything to make it a success. They had started this race around 40 years ago and it has turned into World’s biggest SnowShoe race. I saw the pictures displayed during official ceremony and was delighted to see how from a humble beginning it has turned into a flagship race for World SnowShoe athletes,” he said.

“For the race they had no snow at all and it looked like world event will not happen. But then they joined together and worked hard to make it happen. They have brought snow from mountains and made a race course. It is big learning experience for me and the teammates,” he said.

Khan Gulzar who has been a national medal winning athlete is competing in his first World SnowShoe race and is focused on leaving a mark.

“It is first time to be part of the event and among the top athletes. I am focused on the race. My first aim is to complete the race as it is tougher than normal running. The course is of 10-kilometres involving gradual steep slopes and will be a challenge for athletes. I am thankful to SnowShoe federation of India President Mir Mudassar for providing me this chance to be part of the championship,” he said.

“I am also thankful to sponsors who made it possible for us to participate in this”.

SSFI President Mir Muddasar said that the Federation is focused on making SnowShoe activity popular in Kashmir and other parts of the India.

“We would like to field a big team and leave a mark at world events but we have been facing problems in getting visa for athletes. We are doing our bit in making the activity popular and with the passage of time will turn this activity into major one in our part of the country as well as other parts where you get the snowfall,” he said.

“More than sport we are focusing on it to be an everyday activity for us during winters. It will help us to develop tourism in various parts of state that get snow and not just Gulmarg,” he added.

After Parvez Rasool, another young cricketing sensation from Jammu and Kashmir, Umar Nazir, who made his first-class debut in 2013, has made a mark in the domestic cricket by becoming the highest wicket taker in qualifying round of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy this year.

Following his spectacular performance in the qualifying round of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Umar Nazir has along with Parvez Rasool now made it to the North Zone squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali T-20 tournament. The North Zone squad will be led by famous cricketer Harbhajan Singh. The states representing North Zone include besides J&K, Delhi, Himachal, Punjab, Haryana and Services.

The other members of the North Zone squad include Shikhar Dhawan, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Mandeep Singh, Rishabh Pant, Unmukt Chand, AR Pachera, Rishi Dhawan, Mayank Dagar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Pradeep Sangwan, Mohit Sharma and Ashish Nehra.

Two other young cricketers from J&K, Shubham Khajuria and Manzoor Dar have also been included in the squad as stand-by players.

The team was selected at a meeting of the North Zone Selection Committee held in New Delhi yesterday under the chairmanship of Nikhil Chopra. Selectors from North Zone associations – Ashender Kaul (JKCA), Rajesh Bawa (HCA), Ashok Thakur (HPCA), Wing Commander Deepak Ahluwalia (SSCB), Sarandeep Singh (Special Invitee) and Siddharath Sahib Singh (Convener) attended the meeting.

Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy is a T-20 domestic cricket championship, organized by Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), among the teams from Ranji Trophy. It is named after a famous Indian cricketer, Syed Mushtaq Ali. In a spectacular performance J&K won all the three qualifying matches against formidable Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Umar Nazir claimed 9 wickets in these matches.

The 2017 season of the Syed Mushtaq Ali T-20 Trophy is being played in inter-zonal format wherein five zones including Central Zone, East Zone, West Zone, North Zone and South Zone will compete in a round-robin tournament.

The North Zone will take on South Zone in their first match of the Trophy on February 12 at CCI, Mumbai.

Who is Umar Nazir 

Born on 23 November 1993 at Malikpora, Pulwama, Umar Nazir Mir is a right arm fast bowler playing for Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA).
At 6 feet 2 inches, Umar Nazir as come up as a gifted cricketer with an impressive track record. He has played 22 First Class, 10 T-20 and 4 List-A matches clinching 64 wickets.

Minister for Sports, Youth Services and Technical Education, Molvi Imran Raza Ansari and Secretary Spots Council, Waheed-ur-Rehman Parra have felicitated Umar Nazir for his splendid performance making debut in North Zone team.

The Minister in his congratulatory message to the team wished them success for qualifying for the knock-out stage.

Kashmir Magazine/Kashmir Today

Srinagar: In the absence of the announced appointed skipper Mithun Manhas, International cricketer of State, Parvez Rasool will lead J&K in the season opening Ranji trophy match against Kerala at the Bengal Cricket Academy Ground Kolkata on Thursday.
Mithun Manhas would be missing JK’s opening clash of the season, as he will be attending ill wife back home. In his place Parvez would be leading the side that was only announced on Wednesday. The 15-member JK side includes some of the known faces of State cricket. However, some of the players included have already raised eyebrows. One particular player in the star without having any solid domestic cricket behind him is centre of attraction right now. The other point of the criticism is the missing of talented young batsman Ahmad Banday who has been phenomenal in domestic circuit this season. To drop him and other talented players have not gone well with cricket fraternity.

In batting JK’s hopes would be resting on Ian Dev Singh, Shubam Khajuria and Parvez Rasool while as in bowling, Ramdayal Punia and Umer Nazir would be pick of the pace battery.
The announced 15-member JK includes Mithun Manhas ( captain) Parvez Rasool (vice captain), Ian Dev Singh Chauhan, Adil Reshi, Shubham Khajuria, Bandeep Singh, Puneet Bisht, Samiullah Beigh, Ramdayal Punia, Umar Nazir, Rohit Sharma, Amir Aziz, Zahoor Sofi, Pranav Gupta, Amir Sofi and Mohsin Mufti.
From this season, Ranji matches would be played on neutral venues. JK would be opening its campaign on Thursday against Kerala side at Kolkatta. Kerala would be lead by batsman Rohan Prem.

The bowling department will be led by pacer Sandeep S Warrier, Manu Krishnan, and Basil Thampi while Monish K, one of the highest wicket-takers in first-class cricket last term, will feature among spin-bowling options.
Kerala includes Rohan Prem (captain), Sachin Baby (vice-captain), Nikhilesh Surendran, Sandeep S Warrier, V A Jagadeesh, Basil Thampi, Bhavin Thakkar, Manu Krishnan, Jalaj Saxena, Robert Fernandez, Sanju V Samson, M D Nitheesh, Monish K, Vinod Kumar C V, Iqbal Abdulla.
The pitch is said to be green top that will help pacers. Both teams have balanced side that contains pacers. Team that will win toss will have advantage of exploiting the early help for pacers.

This is an occasion every parent should be proud of: Parvez’s father

Srinagar: The family of Parvez Rasool, who became the first player from Kashmir to play for Indian national cricket team, is jubilant for his inclusion in the playing eleven. Their happiness knew no boundaries when they saw Parvez on the playfield.

“We are extremely happy with Parvez’s success. Everybody is happy that he is playing his first international match today. We thank God for bestowing this upon us,” Ghulam Rasool Zargar, Parvez’s father said .

“This is an occasion every parent should be proud of,” he added.

Parvez’s home in south Kashmir’s Bijbehara buzzed with activity with every member of the family glued to the TV screen. “We are all watching him (Parvez) playing in the match. We are very happy with Parvez’s performance,” Aqib Rasool, elder brother to Parvez said.

Parvez took two wickets in his quota of ten over’s against Bangladesh in the first ODI of the 3-match series. He conceded sixty runs and took two key wickets of Anamul Haque and Mushifur Rehman, the Bangladeshcaptain, when both were looking to accelerate.

Rasool became the first player from Kashmir to play for Indian national cricket team with his debut againstBangladesh on Sunday.

Parvez was first included in the Indian squad in 2012 for Zimbabwe tour. However, he did not play any match on the tour and warmed the benches. The non-inclusion of Parvez in the playing eleven had irked Kashmir Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah.

“Really disappointed that Parvez Rasool hasn’t been given a game in Zimbabwe,” he had said on Twitter.

This year Parvez Rasool played three matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad in Indian Premier League . Sunrisers Hyderabad had bought Parvez at Rs 95 Lakh. Earlier, he also played for Pune Warriors in the 2012 edition of IPL and also took Jacques Kallis’s wicket in a game.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister also expressed joy after Parvez took his first international wicket. “So very happy for Parvez Rasool. He’s got his 1st ODI wicket with the dismissal of Anamul. Let’s hope this is the 1st of many, well done,” Omar tweeted.