Yusuf Pathan gets banned of 5 months for doping

Yusuf Pathan was punished with a back-dated ban of 5 months on Tuesday for a doping violation. Significantly, his ban will end on January 14, having started on August 15 last year. The 35-year-old was banned after he inadvertently ingested a prohibited substance, which can be commonly found in cough syrups.

Thereby, Pathan will be available for the Indian Premier League (IPL) players’ auction on January 27 and 28 after not being retained by the Kolkata Knight Riders.

The Baroda cricketer had provided a urine sample as part of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) anti-doping testing programme during a domestic Twenty20 competition on March 16, 2017, in New Delhi.

His sample was subsequently tested and found to contain Terbutaline, which is a specified substance and is prohibited both in & out of competition in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) prohibited list of substances.

“On October 27, 2017, Mr Pathan was charged with the commission of an Anti-Doping Rule Violation (ADRV) under the BCCI Anti-Doping Rules (ADR) Article 2.1 and provisionally suspended pending determination of the charge,” said a BCCI statement on Tuesday.

“Mr Pathan responded to the charge by admitting the ADRV and asserting that it was caused by his ingestion of a medication containing Terbutaline that had been mistakenly given to him instead of the medication prescribed for him, which did not contain any prohibited substance.”

In his response, Pathan released a statement saying that he was confident of being cleared of deliberate usage and vowed to be more careful in future.

“Competing for India and my home state Baroda has been a matter of immense pride and encouragement for me and I would never act in any manner to bring my motherland or Baroda, in any kind of disrepute,” Pathan said.

“In hindsight, I should have been more careful and checked the status of the medications with BCCI’s dedicated anti-doping helpline.”

BCCI statement

The BCCI gave details of the violation adding that they are satisfied with Pathan’s explanation.

“The BCCI is satisfied with Mr Pathan’s explanation that he had taken Terbutaline inadvertently to treat an Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) and not as a performance-enhancing drug. Having considered all of the evidence and taken expert external advice, the BCCI has accepted Mr Pathan’s explanation of the cause of his ADRV, and on that basis has agreed that a period of ineligibility of five months should apply, together with the disqualification of certain results,” said the BCCI statement.

“Under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.3, Mr Pathan is entitled to the full credit against that period of ineligibility for the provisional suspension that he has been serving since 28 October 2017. In addition, there is discretion under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.2 to back-date the start date of the period of ineligibility still further on account of Mr Pathan’s prompt admission of his ADRV upon being confronted with it by the BCCI, and under BCCI ADR Article 10.10.1 on account of the delays in the results management in this case that are not attributable to Mr Pathan. In all of the circumstances, the five-month period of ineligibility will be deemed to have started to run on 15 August 2017 and end at midnight on 14 January 2018.”

Pathan has played 57 ODIs and 22 T20s for India and has represented Rajasthan Royals and Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Philander takes six as South Africa beat India in first test

CAPE TOWN – Seamer Vernon Philander took career-best figures as rampant South Africa claimed a 72-run victory over India on a gripping fourth day of the first test on Monday.

 

Set 208 for victory, India were skittled out for 135 in 42.4 overs in their second innings on a lively wicket with Philander the chief destroyer, recording figures of 6-42 for his first five-wicket haul in tests since 2013.

India had looked to seize control of the test when they bowled South Africa out for 130 in the morning session, but found the home attack on the seamer-friendly wicket too much of a challenge.

After day three had been a washout, 18 wickets fell in 64 overs on Monday, all going to seamers.

South Africa resumed on 65 for two, but were only able to double their score before they lost their last eight wickets.

Mohammed Shami (3-28) and debutant Jasprit Bumrah (3-39) were the pick of the Indian bowlers and there were two wickets for Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2-33).

Only an attacking 35 from De Villiers stemmed the tide to a degree before he was the last man out.

South Africa, without injured seamer Dale Steyn who will miss the rest of the series with a heel problem, weathered a first-wicket stand of 30 for India in reply, before the wickets began to fall at regular intervals.

Shikhar Dhawan (16) sparred a rising deliver from Morne Morkel (2-39) to gully.

Philander picked up his first wicket as Murali Vijay (13) edged to third slip.

Cheteshwar Pujara (four) became Morkel’s second victim with the score on 39, before Indian captain Virat Kohli (28) took the attack to the South Africans.

He was undone playing across a straight delivery from Philander.

Rohit Sharma (10) was bowled off the inside edge by Philander before the tourists’ first-innings hero Hardik Pandya edged Kagiso Rabada to De Villiers in the slips.

Rabada claimed the wicket of Wriddhiman Saha (eight) with the last ball before tea.

Philander then took three wickets in four balls to seal victory after a seventh-wicket stand of 49 between top-scorer Ravichandran Ashwin (37) and Bhuvneshwar Kumar (13 not out) had briefly sent jitters through the Newlands crowd.

South Africa are hosting India in a three-test series this month, with matches to come in Pretoria, starting on Saturday, and Johannesburg.

Reuters

India blind cricketers to play in UAE amid tensions with Pakistan

Dubai : The Indian blind cricket team left for the United Arab Emirates today to take part in the World Cup after failing to secure permission to play in neighbouring Pakistan.

The fifth edition of the tournament starts Sunday and ends on January 21, with Australia and the West Indies also to be based in UAE due to security concerns.

India had been due to play archrivals Pakistan, who they beat in the 2014 Blind Cricket World Cup final, in Faisalabad on Monday.

But instead Pakistan has arranged for India’s games to be played in Ajman and Sharjah in the UAE because of tense relations between the nuclear-armed countries.

The fifth edition of the tournament starts Sunday and ends on January 21, with Australia and the West Indies also to be based in UAE due to security concerns.

The Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI) told AFP it had to make the last-minute schedule change because the Indian government did not respond to its request for permission to go to Pakistan.

“We are yet to receive any official communication from them. Till they write to us we are not allowed to go. So all our matches are shifted to Dubai (Ajman),” CABI president G K Mahantesh said.

“If we reach the final then it will be shifted from Lahore to Sharjah,” he said late Friday before leaving with the team.

Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) expressed disappointment over the Indian foreign ministry’s silence on the event.

India and Pakistan’s senior cricket teams have not played a bilateral series since 2013 because of the tense political climate.

However Pakistan’s blind cricket team travelled to India for last year’s inaugural Twenty20 World Cup that was won by the host nation.

India won the 50-over World Cup for the Blind in 2014 in Cape Town, beating Pakistan in the final.

AFP

Pakistan Don’t Need to Beg India to Play Cricket: Javed Miandad

Karachi: Ex Pakistan’s captain and legend batsman Javed Miandad has called on Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to forget about playing India in the near future and instead focus on improving the game’s structure.

“They don’t want to play with us so be it. Our cricket will not die if we don’t play with India. We should move on and forget about them,” Miandad told the media at a function in Karachi.
The veteran of 124 Tests said there was no need for the PCB to “beg” the BCCI for bilateral matches.

“They haven’t played against us since the last 10 years, so what? Has our cricket gone down? no we have done well. The Champions Trophy win is an example. Cricket cannot die in Pakistan. We have also survived without international cricket at home since 2009,” he pointed out.

India and Pakistan have not played bilateral cricket since 2012 owing to political tensions between the two countries after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The former captain urged the PCB to manage its finances better.

“Today the PCB is financially stable but there is a need for proper accountability of where the money that comes from the ICC is spent.

“There is a need to reduce the administrative expenses of the board and get rid this army of advisors, consultants and employees. The PCB can easily function without paying such heavy salaries to an over-sized staff,” he said.

Pakistan won Silver in Asian men’s Netball Championship, Gold goes to India

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Mudassar Arain, President, Pakistan Netball Federation (PNF) has informed that 5th day of Asian Men’s Netball Championship 2017, the following matches were played for 3rd Position and Grand Final Match.

Final match was played between Pakistan and India teams. After trilling finish India won the match by 51-50 goals and secured 1st position, while Pakistan got silver medal in this mega event. Pakistan dominate in first three quarters by scoring, 13-11(1st Quarter), 25-23 (2nd Quarter), 40-36 (3rd Quarter) and finish the last quarter by 51-50 goals in favor of India.

3rd Position match was played between Singapore and Malaysia team. Singapore the won by 50-48 goals and secured 3rd position.

Pakistan Netball team will coming back to the Karachi Airport at 3:30 pm on Monday.

Zafar Iqbal Awan, Chairman, PNF, Mudassar Arain, President, PNF and Muhammad Riaz Secretary, PNF congratulation to Pakistan Netball team for winning Silver medal in Asian netball Championship 2017.

In what can be considered a thrilling encounter, the Indian national netball team has managed to overcome arch-rivals Pakistan in the finals of the Asian Netball Championships by the narrowest of margins.

The Indian side ended up victors by a scoreline of 51-50 and hence beat Pakistan, closing out brilliantly to lift the coveted trophy. India have never before won the tournament, making this particular victory against their bitter rivals even sweeter.

The encounter was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the round robin format pitted India against Pakistan earlier on in the competition as well where Pakistan were victorious.

India were not considered big favourites to achieve victory in the tournament, but battled it out across various stages of the competition to finally reach the final. Of all the Asian teams involved in the tournament, Pakistan led the way comprehensively with a total of 16 points and a win over India. India were second overall with 13 points, their defeat coming at the hands of their arch-rivals.

In the final, however, the tables turned and India put in a spirited performance till the very end where they held their nerve and managed to scrape through and realise a famous win against their age-old rivals.

Hockey and cricket generally come to mind when an Indo-Pak sporting rivalry is mentioned but this time Netball grabbed all attention.

Cricket – Famous British singer TAZ supporting Peshawar Zalmi

London –

The famous British singer, composer and actor Tarsame Singh Saini (TAZ) Stereo Nation is now a Zalmi. Here is his exclusive message for PSL champion team fans. Peshawar Zalmi officially invite him to watch and support Peshawar Zalmi in the upcoming edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) to be played in UAE and Pakistan in February/ March 2018.

 Here is the video link

AIBA Youth Women’s World Boxing Championships come to a close in Guwahati

A total of 160 boxers from 31 countries began the week-long tournament, which also made available four quota places for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.

Guwahati – Sunday witnessed ten thrilling finals of the 2017 Women’s Youth World Championships in the north-east India city of Guwahati, at which Russia, Kazakhstan, USA and South Korea topped the podium along with the hosts India whose boxers dominated the lighter weight categories. A total of 160 boxers from 31 countries began the week-long tournament, which also made available four quota places for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires.

Light Flyweight (48kg)
The day’s first final saw Indian southpaw Nitu looking to stay in close to her opponent, Kazakhstan’s Zhazira Urakbayeva, but it wasn’t until the second round she could really let her hands go, successfully landing some accurate blows against her technically excellent opponent. Urakbayeva was able to work her way back into contention, but Nitu’s patience paid off, and as the Referee raised her hand, the crowd erupted in celebration of their first gold of the day.

Flyweight (51kg)
India’s Jyoti Singh had only recently moved up to Flyweight (51kg), but took the rest of the field in Guwahati by storm to earn gold and crown an impressive campaign. Having recently defeated Russian 17-year-old Ekaterina Molchanova in the final of the Golden Gloves of Vojvodina Women’s Youth Tournament three months ago, Singh looked relaxed meeting her once again, and it was her quick-fire combinations in the opening round that set her on course for victory. Those aggressive attacks continued as the bout wore on, and victory brought both gold and a place at the 2018 Youth Olympics in the Argentina capital.

Bantamweight (54kg)
Sakshi Choudhary proved to be one of the outstanding performers in Guwahati, the Junior World Champion adding the Bantamweight Youth title to her CV in impressive fashion with victory over England’s Ivy-Jane Smith. The two boxers spent much of the first round probing for weaknesses in the other’s defences, Smith looking well organised and efficient with her jabs, but it was Choudhary who raised the tempo most effectively as the bout wore on, crowning an excellent tournament with a hard-earned gold medal.

Featherweight (57kg)
India’s Shashi Chopra made it an incredible four straight golds for India when she edged a tight contest against Vietnam’s lone competitor in Guwahati, Do Hong Ngoc. The Vietnamese boxer went into the final unbeaten this year and looked focused from the opening seconds, stifling Chopra’s attacking instincts early on. The 18-year-old Indian found her rhythm in the second round, however, her jabs finally clicking and finding their target with increasing regularity. Ngoc tried valiantly to outscore her opponent, but the split decision went to Chopra and India had their fourth gold medallist of the day.

Lightweight (60kg)
Italy’s EUBC Junior Champion Vittoria De Carlo had put together an excellent run to reach the Lightweight final in Guwahati, but South Korea’s Im Ae Ji proved to be a tricky target as her footwork repeatedly got her out of trouble. As De Carlo committed more energy to her attacks, Ji was able to counter effectively, and at the end of the three rounds, it was South Korea who were able to celebrate their first ever gold in the competition, De Carlo’s compensation coming in the form of a berth at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

Light Welterweight (64kg)
India’s Ankushita Boro grew up just 200km from Guwahati, and the Assam spirit flowed through her as she recorded a famous world title win. Russia’s Ekaterina Dynnik struggled to assert herself on the tie despite some early pressure, and by the start of the final round, Boro looked relaxed and in control. The 18-year-old Indian used her height advantage and kept her distance, picking off Dynnik as she advanced to secure an emotional gold and send the crowd into raptures.  

Welterweight (69kg)
United States’ Citlalli Ortiz looked to have her tactics straight against  Russia’s tall Natalia Sychugova, closing her down and not allowing her to express herself from the first seconds of their Welterweight final. The US boxer, who took up the sport in 2008 at the age of just 8, used all that experience to establish her superiority, and her impressive stamina as the contest drew to a close helped ensure a well-deserved gold for the American.

Middleweight (75kg)
Russia’s Anastasia Shamonova went into the Middleweight final against England’s Georgia O’Connor as Junior World and Youth EUBC Champion, and exuded confidence against the tough and talented English boxer. With just one defeat in her career, there were notably few openings in the Russia defences for O’Connor to exploit, and the latest win for the ever-impressive Shamonova saw gold and a place at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games assured.

Light Heavyweight (81kg)
Russia’s EUBC Youth Champion Anastasia Rybak was faster out of the blocks than Araylym Begdilda at the start of their Light Heavyweight final, the Russian apparently realising that her best chance would come with an early finish against her talented opponent. Begdilda’s neat footwork kept her largely out of trouble, however, with a big right at the end of the first round shaking Rybak and, despite a late rally from her opponent, it was Begdilda who edged the split decision to earn the gold.   

Heavyweight (+81kg) 
The Russian team was able to turn the tide at Heavyweight, however, with Junior World Champion Kristina Tkacheva over-powering Kazakhstan’s Dina Islambekova to record a stylish victory. Tkacheva delivered an inspired middle three-minute period to take the contest away from her opponent, and had enough left in the tank to keep the Kazakh at bay as the bout drew to a close and earn the Russians their second gold in Guwahati. 

 

Cricket – Shoaib Akhtar and Virender Sehwag to lock horns in ice cricket

St. Moritz – Shoaib Akhtar and Virender Sehwag, the two legends and once rivals, are all set to go face-to-face, and this time in ice cricket. According to the reports, the match would be taking place at the frozen lake in St. Moritz, Switzerland, which also has a beautiful background of the Swiss Alps. The tournament is scheduled to be played on the 8th and 9th of February.

While the sport was introduced in 1988, it would be the first time international cricketers like Sehwag and Shoaib Akhtar will be playing in the country. Both readily agreed to take part in the tournament. However, it’s not only Sehwag and Akhtar who are taking part in the tournament.

Few well known International cricketers like Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, Lasith Malinga, Mahela Jayawardene, Michael Hussey, Daniel Vettori, Nathan McCullum, Grant Elliot, Mohammad Kaif, Monty Panesar and Owais Shah will be part of the tournament as well.

Former Indian opener Sehwag says that he never expected to play cricket on ice.

“I never thought playing cricket on ice was possible but now that it is happening, I wanted to experience it. It won’t be serious cricket but it would still be a challenge to play on ice. Five minutes to be honest. Cricket is not popular in Europe but with this initiative, we can make an impact. And playing on ice does sound very interesting,” said Sehwag.

“I was still playing First-Class cricket in 2015 so it was not very difficult to play those matches. Now since I have stopped playing the game completely, it will be a challenge to get into the groove. But there will be no pressure to win or lose. Also, now that I am retired I don’t need to take anyone’s permission including the BCCI,” he stated.

‘Kohli marry me’: Message from a Pakistani policeman just showed love has no boundary or gender

Lahore – The recently-concluded three-match T20 series between Pakistan and World XI marked the return of international cricket to Pakistan after a long, long time.

While the headlines were rightfully grabbed by the players on the field, one couldn’t help but notice how the home supporters were missing the presence of Indian cricketers in the World XI team.

Fans from across the border shared their warm feelings towards the likes of Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni by taking to social media before the series started. Some fans even took up for Kohli when certain Twitter users tried to demean the Indian captain.

During the last of the three T20s on Friday, there was another example of how Kohli is firmly in the thoughts of Pakistani cricket fans. A supporter in the stands at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore held up a tongue-in-cheek poster that read: “Virat Kohli ko ammi se ijazat nai mili.”

As it turns out, though, in that very game, there was another sight on display that absolutely amazed one and all. A Pakistani policeman, on duty at the stadium, was spotted proudly displaying a poster that read: “Kohli Marry Me.”

Well, this is truly one incredible example of how Virat Kohli transcends every possible boundary and is loved by fans all over the world.

Cricket – Pakistan wants U-19 Asia Cup to be moved out of India to ‘neutral’ venue

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday said it wanted the upcoming Under-19 Asia Cup to be moved out of India to a neutral venue due to security concerns.

India is scheduled to host the tournament in November in Bangalore but a top PCB official said given the present diplomatic situation between the two countries, it would request the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) to relocate the venue at its meeting later this week at Colombo.

“We will be taking up this issue with the Asian Cricket Council when its development committee meeting is held in Colombo this weekend,” the PCB official told PTI.

He said the PCB didn’t want its players to go through the tensions of not knowing whether they will be able to travel to Bangalore for the event or not.

“In recent times visas have been refused to number of Pakistani sporting teams and we don’t think the conditions in India are conducive for our team to play there,” he said.

Shaharyar Khan, who completed a three-year tenure as PCB chairman this week, is set to take over as chairman of the ACC at the weekend meeting.

Najam Sethi, who is set to be elected as Shaharyar’s successor on Wednesday, confirmed that Pakistan wanted the Under-19 Asia Cup to be shifted out of India.

A reliable source within the PCB said the Board had now decided to take a tougher stance on ties with India.

“After the BCCI recently made it clear it didn’t want the Pakistan emerging team in the tri-nation series in South Africa, the PCB has also decided to adopt a tough line now with Indian Board,” the source said.

He said the South Africans had invited Pakistan to replace the Australian side in the tri-series but instead had to opt for Afghanistan following resistance from the BCCI.

He said Pakistan would also take up the issue of the venue for the planned Asia Cup senior tournament next year in March-April at the ACC meeting.

The official said that the Asia Cup was a very important event for development of junior players and could be held anywhere in the region but not India.

Diplomatic tensions between the two nations have prevented the neighbours from playing a bilateral series since 2007, apart from Pakistan’s tour to India in 2012-2013 when they played a short limited-overs series.