Australian cricketer Khawaja finally gets visa to tour India

MELBOURNE the aSSociated pReSS

Pakistan-born Australia cricketer Usman Khawaja was cleared to join the national squad for a tour of India after his visa issues were cleared up ahead of his rescheduled departure on Thursday.

Cricket Australia said Khawaja was flying out of Melbourne, more than a day later than planned, after having to wait for his visa to be approved.

The other members of Australia’s 18-man squad were granted entry to India in time to take flights on Tuesday and Wednesday to their training camp in Bangalore.

It is not the first time Khawaja, who was born in Islamabad, has faced visa challenges when trying to enter India. In 2011, the top-order batter took to social media to say he had not been permitted to enter the country because he was not born in Australia.

Babar Azam aiming to achieve dream milestone at HBL PSL 8

LAHORE Staff RepoRt

Pakistan captain, Babar Azam is aiming to achieve his dream of scoring a century in HBL Pakistan Super League, in the upcoming eighth edition. “It is a dream for me to score a century in the HBL PSL as I already have two T20I centuries and a few more in different leagues. I am positive about achieving the three-figure mark in this HBL PSL, and hoping the right time comes soon for a big score,” said Babar in a press release by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Babar is also excited to lead a new franchise, Peshawar Zalmi, after having played for Karachi Kings for last six seasons. “A new franchise, and a new season, this HBL PSL edition holds added significance for me and I am looking forward to making a good start in this journey,” he said. “Sharing the dressing room with different players throughout – one season with Islamabad United and six seasons with Karachi Kings – has helped me a lot. You learn a great deal when you interact with other players, getting to know about their mindset, training regime and the way they handle different situations,” he added. 2021 champions Multan Sultans will host reigning champions Lahore Qalandars in the opening match on 13 February, while Peshawar Zalmi will travel to Karachi where they will take on Karachi Kings on 14 February.

Raja blames PCB for ‘banning’ him as cricket commentator

on Wednesday, Khawaja posted a popular meme on Instagram along with the hashtags “stranded”, “dontleaveme”, “standard” and “anytimenow.”

The 36-year-old Khawaja hasn’t played in India in any of his 56 Test matches dating back to 2011, although he has played other formats of cricket there. He has undergone a career revival since returning to Australia’s Test lineup during the Ashes series win over England in January of last year following an almost three-year absence.

He posted centuries in each innings of his Test recall in Sydney and has added three more hundreds, including an unbeaten 195 against South Africa last in Sydney last month, and five big half-centuries in 11 matches.

The four-Test series against India begins in Nagpur next Thursday. The second Test is set for New Delhi starting February 17, the third on March 1 in Dharamsala and the final test beginning March 9 in Ahmedabad.

‘Smoothman’ Gill: India’s new run machine

Shubman Gill’s prowess as an opener was never in doubt, but his first Twenty20 ton has got people talking about him as the next Virat Kohli, an all-format run machine for India.

Gill scored 126 in just 63 balls in a crushing 168-run series-clinching win over a hapless New Zealand on Wednesday. It was just his sixth T20 appearance.

Despite being gifted with all the shots, the 23-year-old has not yet cemented a place for India in all formats, playing no part in last year’s T20 World Cup.

Gill hit a match-winning Test ton in Bangladesh in December and his maiden oDI double-hundred in January. That knock gained him the moniker of “Smoothman Gill” — for his free-flowing shot-making — from batting great Sunil Gavaskar.

T20 skipper Hardik Pandya praised Gill after the pair put on 103 runs for the fourth wicket in India’s 234-4, which paved the way for the biggest T20 win between two Test teams.

“He will achieve greater heights in his career for sure because of not what he did today but because of his work ethic and the honesty towards his game,” Pandya told the Indian cricket board’s website.

Gill’s unbeaten knock, laced with 12 fours and seven sixes, was the highest T20 score by an Indian, overtaking Kohli’s 122 not out.

Gill also became only the fifth Indian batsman — including Kohli and current captain Rohit Sharma

— to record centuries across all three formats.

‘Come of age’

“He has come of age,” former India opener Wasim Jaffer told ESPNCricinfo. “There was no denying the fact that he had conquered Test (cricket) a little bit, one-Day for sure.

Today’s knock proves what a fantastic player India has found.”

Jaffer added: “He is a three-format player and after Virat Kohli, he is the next big batter that’s going to come good.” Gill had put New Zealand’s bowling to the sword in the preceding oDIs as well, scoring 360 runs — the joint-most in a bilateral three-match series, alongside Pakistan skipper

Babar Azam.

When you are representing your country, I don’t think there is any kind of fatigue,” Gill said after his T20 masterclass at the world’s biggest cricket ground in Ahmedabad.

“I always wanted to play for India and being fortunate enough to play all the three formats, it is a blessing.”

Later in a chat with Pandya, the young batsman, who hails from a family of farmers in the northern state of Punjab, said he owed much of his success to his father. “I think the way I practise and the way my dad made me practise… 90 percent of the credit should to go to him because it was his vision,” said Gill.

Ramiz Raja has revealed that the new PCB regime under Najam Sethi had banned him and was forcing him to apologise for his recent statements against the new Management Committee, in order to allow him into the commentary panel of HBL Pakistan Super League. In a question and answer session with fans on his YouTube channel, a fan asked Raja whether he will be doing commentary in HBL PSL 8. “They want me to apologise to them first and give an application for commentary, then they will review it. Do you think I will do that? ” Raja replied. Raja, after his ouster from PCB, had said that political interference in cricket is not justified and was not happy with his removal from the top post. “There should be no political interference in cricket. The government of Pakistan removed a Test cricketer from chairmanship of PCB just to accommodate Najam Sethi. This is a highly disrespectful way of treating your cricketers,” said Raja.

“This Najam Sethi is tweeting 2:15am at night that Ramiz Raja has been sacked, start congratulating me. I have played Test cricket, this is my field, and it hurts to see these people from outside cricket trying to act like a Messiah. I know that their motives are noncricketing. These people are here for the limelight,” the former player further added.

As Arthur’s backup, Yasir Arafat to serve as head coach of Pakistan team

LAHORE

Staff RepoRt

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is set to hire former cricketer, Yasir Arafat, as the new bowling and assistant coach of Pakistan men’s team. According to sources, after discussions with Mickey Arthur, who is set to be appointed the team’s director, it was decided that Arafat would also serves as the head coach in Arthur’s absence. It must be noted that despite assuming the team’s director position, Arthur will not be with the team during international series that will take place during the English county season, as he will continue to work as the full-time coach for Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Pakistan will tour Sri Lanka in July for two Tests and take part in Asia Cup in September. Arthur is expected to be unavailable for these assignments, but will join the team for the 2023 World Cup in India and the Australian tour later this year. Arafat recently became the first Pakistan Test cricketer to complete the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) level 4 coaching course. He announced this on Twitter, thanking the Pakistan Cricket Association (PCA) for their support and the coaches who helped him achieve this milestone.