SPORTS Thursday, 24 March, 2016
PCB to dismiss t20 CaPtain, Chief seleCtor, head CoaCh ISLAMABAD
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STAFF REPORT
HE Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to dismiss Twenty20 skipper Shahid Afridi, head coach Waqar Younis and chief selector Haroon Rasheed in view of the national team’s poor performance in Asia Cup and the ongoing World Twenty20. Per reports, former captain Ramiz Raja and star bowler Wasim Akram have been given the task to find a new coach for the team. Sources said the government has ordered initiation of a probe into Pakistan’s defeat after the PCB management expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of the head coach, chief selector and T20 captain.
They said that the team’s dismal play in important tournaments has shattered the cricket fans’ hopes. Pakistan team had constantly shown irresponsible performance in Asia Cup and were pulled out of the tournament after facing humiliating defeat at the hands of Bangladesh. Pakistan recovered from 28-4 to post 129-7, before Bangladesh reached a winning total of 131-5 in 19.1 overs. In World Twenty20, Pakistan were badly routed by arch-rival India at Eden Gardens and New Zealand at Mohali. Shahid Afridi had hinted towards his retirement, saying the next match may be the last of his career. In a talk after the World T20 match against New Zealand, Afridi said, “The next match may be the last of my career.”
Suarez says he won’t change his game on return from bite ban
Uruguay striker Luis Suarez said he will not change the way he plays, but will come back to international football with ‘moderation’ when he makes an expected return on Friday from a nine-match ban for biting. Suarez is set to face Brazil in a 2018 World Cup qualifier after sitting out nine competitive international fixtures for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the last World Cup in Brazil almost two years ago. The Barcelona player has managed to keep out of trouble for his club since the incident but said he will not change his aggressive style that has helped to make him one of the world’s deadliest strikers. “I am going to have the same attitude, I will still run, still pressure, still argue because no one is going to change the way I play,” he told reporters ahead of Friday’s match in Recife. “But with moderation, like I am doing now at Barcelona, being more intelligent about a lot of things, trying to take advantage of the situations life is putting in front of me… “The only thing I want to do is play with the national side again and enjoy the warmth of the fans.” Uruguay have enjoyed a good start to their qualifying campaign, winning three out of their four games to sit in second place in the 10-team table, behind Ecuador, the only side to win all of their games so far. After facing Brazil, Uruguay return home to play Peru next Tuesday.
Haroon rasHeed
FINA not aware of evidence of systemic doping in Russian swimming
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sHaHid afridi
FINA says it is not aware of any concrete evidence to substantiate claims of systematic drug use in Russian swimming made by The Times. The English newspaper published the findings of an investigation on Wednesday, alleging that Dr Sergei Portugalov, named in a World AntiDoping Agency independent commission’s report into systemic doping in Russian athletics and accused of supplying athletes with banned substances, also pushed performance-enhancing drugs on swimmers. Additionally, it was also claimed a coach was informed by a leader in Russian swim-
ming that the team had a “pharmacological laboratory on site” and two swimmers did not receive punishment having tested positive for EPO. Russian track and field athletes are banned from competition following the independent commission’s probe. “We have called on The Times to share with us any information they may have which might assist us in our primary objective of protecting clean athletes in swimming. “Any new allegations of doping in our sport, which are substantiated by evidence and which have not already been addressed, will be investigated as a matter of utmost urgency, because we have absolutely zero tolerance for the use of
performance-enhancing substances in swimming. “However, it should be noted that while FINA is not aware of any concrete evidence of systemic doping in Russian swimming, we have taken a particularly robust approach to our anti-doping procedures in relation to Russia and Russian competitions, in light of WADA’s recent investigation. “During the 2015 FINA World Championships in Kazan, Russia, 645 samples were collected for analysis by the FINA Doping Control Review Board, led by Professor Andrew Pipe, as part of the incompetition testing programme. These comprised 457 urine and 188 blood tests. There were a further 418 blood screenings as part of the Athlete Biological Passport programme. “These tests were analysed in the then-WADA-accredited laboratory in Moscow, under the supervision of independent observers from the WADA-accredited laboratories in Barcelona and London. “Following the results of the WADA investigation, FINA issued a directive to ensure the continued integrity of the testing programme.
Waqar Younis
BCCI secretary warns Afridi over issuing political statements NeW DeLHI AGENCIES
Indian cricket’s secretary Anurag Thakur on Wednesday warned Pakistan T20 captain Shahid Afridi to avoid giving political statements. Thakur, who is secretary Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), took note of Afridi’s statement during the toss of the crucial World T20 tie between Pakistan and New Zealand in Mohali. “We have a lot of support today. A lot of people from Kashmir have also come to support us,” Afridi had said, prompting the BCCI secretary to go public in condemnation of his words. “To give a statement like that is not politically correct,” Thakur said, adding: “A player should stay away from all this. That’s the reason why he was criticised in Pakistan.” The BCCI secretary referred to Afridi’s previous comments of “getting more love in India” that drew sharp criticism from former cricketers and people back home. Meanwhile, after suffering a defeat against the Kiwis, Afridi indicated at calling it a day when Pakistan face Australia on March 25. Pakistan lost to New Zealand by 22 runs. Batting first, the Kiwis posted a mammoth 180 to be chased down in 20 overs. The challenge proved to be insurmountable for the Pakistan team, which ended their run-chase with just 158 on the board for the loss of five wickets. With the victory, the Black Caps secured a berth in the semi-finals of the World T20, making them the first team to qualify.
DJOKOVIC BACKS OFF MONEY REMARKS AFTER SERENA, MURRAY FIRE SportS DeSk World number one Novak Djokovic backed off comments that men’s tennis players should make more than women on Tuesday as Serena Williams and Andy Murray led a stinging chorus of criticism at the remarks. A furious row over the gender pay gap in tennis erupted at the weekend, when Indian Wells tournament director Raymond Moore said women should get “on their knees” to thank male players for money in the sport. Djokovic fueled the controversy however after stating that he believed the pay gap was justified, adding that women go through “hormones and different stuff”. Williams, who has won 21 Grand Slam singles crowns to 11 for Djokovic, condemned the Serbian star’s remarks on Tuesday. “It has been, I would say disappointing,” Williams said. “I wouldn’t say my son deserved more money than my daughter because he’s a man. It would be shocking.”
Djokovic has a 17-month-old son, Stefan, but Williams openly wondered how he would explain himself to a future daughter. “He’s entitled to his opinion,” Williams said. “If he had a daughter, he has a son right now, he should talk to his daughter and say, ‘Your brother deserves more money than you.’ “I would never use sex to compare. We have so many great players, men and women, who have brought so much
vision to the sport. Every athlete works extremely hard. “If I had a son and a daughter I would never tell them one deserves more because of their sex.” Britain’s Murray even noted Djokovic’s notion that men should receive less than women if their matches were less well attended, citing an example of how many would show up to watch who if Williams and Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovski each had a match in
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a ticketed session. “I think there should be equal pay 100 per cent,” Murray said. “The whole thing doesn’t stand up. It depends on the matches day by day. The men’s game has had some great rivalries for the past few years. The whole of tennis should strengthen from that, not just the men’s game.” Djokovic later issued a statement on Facebook, offering a qualified apology for his comments, which he said had been made while he was affected by the “euphoria and adrenalin” of his win at Indian Wells. “I’ve made some comments that are not the best articulation of my view, and I would like to clarify them,” Djokovic said. “We all have to fight for what we deserve. This was never meant to be made into a fight between genders and differences in pay, but in the way all players are rewarded for their play and effort. “This was my view all along and I want to apologize to anyone who has taken this the wrong way.”