KHI 27-05-2012_Layout 1 5/27/2012 2:34 AM Page 18
Sunday, 27 May, 2012
No lightning from Bolt, as Jelimo fires broadside Page 21
Dar becomes Asia’s highest match umpire
Cricketers get 25pc pay increase in new contract LAHORE
t LAHORE StAff RepoRt
Pakistan’s outstanding umpire Aleem Dar has now achieved another landmark for him and his country as he became the Asia s No 1 umpire to supervise most matches. Dar achieved this landmark after standing in 74th match of his International career between England and West Indies on Friday (today). Dar has broken the record of Indian umpire Venkat Raghav who served in 73 matches in his career. Talking to media, Dar said that he was able to achieve this record because of the support from his family and friends. Umpiring is my passion and I would continue to do it, he said. Dar has now also become the world’s no sixth umpire to supervise most matches.
cricketers upset after comedians ridicule them LAHORE StAff RepoRt
Senior cricketers of the Pakistan national team were left fuming and unhappy at a function of the Pakistan Cricket Board after comedians ridiculed them before a live audience. Captain Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal in particular conveyed their feelings to the board officials before leaving the function, which was organised by the PCB on Friday night to honour the team that won the Asia Cup in Bangladesh in March. PCB media manager, Nadeem Sarwa, meanwhile, was quoted as saying that no player was upset with the jokes of the comedians who were hired by the PCB marketing manager Asif Jamal for the function. "No player left the function early or protested. I myself had dinner with some of the players. It was all light hearted stuff," Sarwar said. However, sources close to both the players as well as Pakistan's Geo Channel confirmed that they were unhappy and Misbah, Afridi and Akmal had left early as a mark of protest. Sources said the cricketers got upset when the comedians ridiculed some of them in front of the audience.
StAff RepoRt
HE Pakistan Cricket Board in its fresh central contract has enhanced the players salary by 25 percent and awarded 42 players the centr5al contract for the next term. The players have been awarded contracts in four categories with 21 having being included in the category A, B and C. Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal have been awarded category A contracts by the PCB for the calendar year 2012. Mohammad Sami, who had been picked in Pakistan's teams all three formats for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka after being sidelined for two years, has not received a contract. Afridi had not figured in last year's list of central contracts as he was in the middle of a spat with the PCB then. Umar Akmal has been moved up from category B. There are no other changes to the top category: Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Umar Gul, Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman are the others in the premier bracket. Shoaib Malik, who was not given a contract last year, has been awarded a category B contract, while Abdul Razzaq, who was in the second bracket last year, has been cut from the list. Fast bowler Aizaz Chemma has made the biggest jump, moving from the stipend category up to category B. In all, 21 players have been given full-fledged contracts, while 21 players have been placed in the stipend category. Chairman PCB M. Zaka Ashraf announced the award of Central Contracts at the dinner held in honor of the Pak-
istan teams victory in the 2012 Asia Cup. Chairman PCB had announced a 25 % increase in the Retainer-ship amount for all categories and a 10 % increase in the Match Fee. This is the first increase in Central Contracts in 3 years. Commenting on the Awarding of Central Contracts Chairman PCB said, “We are pleased to announce the Players Central Contracts for 2012. After 3 years we have increased the fees payable to the
Players which we hope will be a morale boost for them. We have also given recognition to those players who have distinguished themselves with consistent performances in the Domestic Circuit. We have also recognized U-19 players in the Central Contract list and this will serve as a huge encouragement for them.” tHe 2012 pcb ceNtRAl coNtRActeD plAyeRS by cAtegoRy ARe AS folloWS: cAtegoRy A: Misbah-ul-haq, younis khan, Umer Gul,
Muhammad hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul rehman, Umar Akmal cAtegoRy b: Shoaib Malik, taufeeq Umer, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Junaid khan, Aizaz cheema cAtegoRy c: Sarfraz Ahmad, Adnan Akmal, hammad Azam, wahabriaz, Imran Farhat, Faisal Iqbal, Nasir Jamshed. StIpeND: Sohail tanveer, khalid Latif, Sharjeel khan, Shakeel Ansar, haris Sohail, raza hasan, Ahmed Shahzad, Usman Salahuddin, Ayub Dogar, Imran khan, Bilawal Bhatti, Awais Zia, Shahzeb hasan, Muhammad khalil, Anwar Ali, Afaq rahim, Bismillah khan, Babar Azam, Sami Aslam, Zia Ul haq, Usman Qadir.
I've been assured of Pakistan players participation in next IPL: Ijaz Butt LAHORE StAff RepoRt
Stating that he had a fruitful discussion with the Indian Premier League chief Rajiv Shukla, former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ijaz Butt said that he has been assured that the Pakistani players' would be allowed to take part in the next edition of the IPL. According to a reports, Butt briefed his successor, Zaka Ashraf on the discussions he had with Shukla and former BCCI president and current ICC chief Sharad Pawar, recently in New Delhi during his visit to India. "Rajiv Shukla has assured me that Pakistani players would be allowed to take part in the next IPL," Butt said. "I held the meetings with the BCCI officials with the consent of the PCB
chief and have briefed him accordingly," he added. The PCB had urged Butt to hold discussions with the Indian Board (BCCI) on resumption of the cricketing ties between the two nations. Butt said that the recent announcement by the BCCI that Pakistan would be allowed to send its Twenty20 champions team for the Champions League was a good progress and had made him believe that the discussions were moving in the right direction. Ashraf, who will himself be leaving for India on Saturday to watch the IPL final in Chennai scheduled on Sunday after the BCCI extended an invitation to him, told the media that the visit would be a good opportunity to discuss the resumption of bilateral ties with the Indian officials. "Things have been moving in the right direction in recent times and
the recent thaw will pave the way for resumption of bilateral ties," he said. "The BCCI has already taken the first step by including our team in the Champions League. And during my visit to India negotiations are expected to happen on the resumption of bilateral ties as well," Ashraf added. Ashraf said that Pakistan could offer the BCCI to host a bilateral series at a neutral venue if the Indians refuse to send their team to Pakistan on security grounds. "The BCCI may also host Pakistan but whatever decision is taken it will be in best interest of Pakistan cricket," said Ashraf. Interestingly, Shukla during a recent private visit to Pakistan had made it clear that whenever a bilateral series will be held it would either be
in India or Pakistan and not in any neutral venue as that would serve no purpose to either of the country.
Samir storms into Aegon British Tour semis LAHORE StAff RepoRt
Pakistan’s Davis Cupper Samir Iftikhar kept his winning streak intact when he upset 4th seed ATP ranked and seasoned player James Ireland 63, 7-5 to reach the semi-final of the Aegon British Tour Cardif Championships being held at Welsh Tennis Center Cardiff UK. He will meet number 1 seed, British number 12 Richard Bloomfield who is formerly 176th and currently is
371th on ATP world rankings. Both players held serves till the 3 /4 when Samir broke Ireland with magnificent back hand down the line passing shot to lead 5/3 and finished the first set by holding serve with authority. The 2nd set went to 5 games all as both players held serves and were engaged in long baseline rallies. Ireland tried to give tough resistance but was broken in the 11th game and Samir held his serve to clinch the set and match. It is pertinent to mention that this is first professional men’s
event for 19 year old Dual British Citizen Samir iftikhar for which he had to qualify. “I am very pleased with my performance and the tough NCAA Intervarsity Tennis Circuit has really helped me improve my game and the previous 2 wins have given me lots of confidence that I can compete against big guns and seasoned players at ATP Tour,” Samir said. “I know that I am playing 370th World Ranked Player who was top 176th and is very experienced but I will go all out to cause upset and
bring laurels to my adapted country.” Aegon British Tour provides a circuit of tournaments designed to compliment the International Calendar giving up and coming players the opportunity to gain experience in their quest to become professional tennis players as well as those already competing on the international stage. Similar to the WTA Tour and ATP Tour, the top players on the leaderboard after all tournaments have been played are invited to the end of year Masters.