Sports
Pakistan Star ‘Punished’ By PCB For ‘Virat Kohli-Babar Azam’ Take? Left Out Of Central Contract
Opening batter Fakhar Zaman, who recently criticised Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for dropping Babar Azam from the Test team, has been removed from the list of centrally contract players for the season 2024-25. After Pakistan’s heavy loss to England in the first Test against England, PCB’s new selection committee took a brave decision to drop out-of-form players, including Babar, from the squad for the remaining two Tests. However, Fakhar called out the PCB over the same with a lengthy post on social media.
Fakhar compared Babar’s run drought with India’s Virat Kohli, who went through a lean patch between 2020 and late 2022. Reacting to Fakhar’s omission from the list of centrally contracted players, fans suggested that the player has been penalised for supporting Babar.
Imagine dropping someone with the calibre that Fakhar has, that too on pitches that suit him, bouncy and quick in Australia, yes he could have been a bit more political but you can’t punish him for expressing his opinion by strapping him from the central contract.
— Hannan (@withhannan) October 27, 2024
Fakhar Zaman sacrificed his career for Babar Azam. He may never be able to play for Pakistan again@FakharZamanLive @babarazam258 pic.twitter.com/pN0ZA9fgaF
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) October 27, 2024
Fakhar brought this upon himself. He was under contract and he acted like a retired cricketer expressing his opinion over non selection of non performing Babar Azam. Stupid move.
Hopefully now Babar Azam will tweet for him https://t.co/WRryMlCngf
— LH (@Edwardian842) October 27, 2024
Meanwhile, during a press conference on Sunday, PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi addressed and clarified the reasons behind Fakhar’s omission from the central contracts list.
Naqvi confirmed that while the PCB had sent Fakhar a showcause notice, which is under review, the decision to remove him from the central contract list has been taken due to his fitness concerns.
“There is an issue regarding his tweet, but it is not important as his fitness Test. There is a one showcase notice pending on him. This is why we have not named in the central contracts list,” said Mohsin Naqvi.
“It cannot happen like that if selection committee is not playing one player, then the other players start tweeting to express their displeasure. Players are not allowed to function like this, and we will never allow that. The main issue with him is his fitness Test, that he was not able to clear,” he added.
Mohammad Rizwan was on Sunday named Pakistan’s ODI and T20 captain, replacing Babar Azam, as the selectors announced the squads for the white-ball tours of Australia and Zimbabwe beginning November 4.
Salman Ali Agha was made vice-captain for all future ODI and T20 international assignments.
Pakistan will play three ODIs and as many T20Is in their Australia tour, beginning with the first match in Melbourne (ODI) on November 4, and that will be Rizwan’s first assignment as captain.
Agha will lead the T20I side in Zimbabwe as Rizwan is rested under a workload management plan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement.
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Sports
Australia Great Wants Rahul Dravid In India XI For 3rd Australia Test? Gaffe On Live TV Goes Viral
File photo of Rahul Dravid© AFP
Legendary Australian cricket team batter Matthew Hayden made a hilarious gaffe on live air when he said that he wants Rahul Dravid instead of KL Rahul while talking about India’s team selection for the third Test match. Hayden was analysing India’s loss in the pink-ball Test and his fumble left Gavaskar in splits. The comment came after Gavaskar said that Rohit should not bat at No. 6 and return to opening the batting for India as he is already suffering from a lot of confidence due to his lack of form.
“I think he should come back to opening for the next Test because he likes the ball to come onto the bat. This innings, one can understand, because he hadn’t played for a while, and Rahul and Jaiswal had a 200-run partnership in the previous game. But Rahul can come down the order and face the second new ball. I’m being optimistic that India will bat so well in the next game that Rahul will take care of the second new ball,” he said.
Gavaskar wants Rohit to open, Hayden wants… Dravid back in the XI?? #AUSvIND | @StarSportsIndia pic.twitter.com/9nkbUFFv8X
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 10, 2024
Hayden was not on the same page as Gavaskar and we went to say that India should not make a hasty change to the playing XI. He also backed the “technically-sound” Rahul to continue as opener but ended up saying “Rahul Dravid” in place of “KL Rahul”.
“I’ll be slightly more stubborn. I will not be changing at this stage. I know you would like a better outcome inside the top three. But from what I saw in Perth, technically, Rahul Dravid is right there. He just needs to do it for a longer,” Hayden explained.
As soon as Hayden finished his analysis, Gavaskar taunted the Australia legend as he said – “I would love it if it was Rahul Dravid, as you said, but it is KL Rahul.”
Hayden was left in splits as he said that Dravid’s centuries at the Adelaide Oval “still haunts him”.
“Sorry, KL Rahul. My apologies. I was thinking of when he dominated here in Adelaide and got us smashed in 2003/04 series. That’s a nightmare I’m stull living,” he said.
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Sports
Rishabh Pant Turns ‘Babysitter’ In Australia As Adorable Interaction With Young Fan Goes Viral
When Tim Paine jokingly asked Rishabh Pant to babysit his children, it was seen by fans as a light-hearted moment of banter between the two cricketers. However, in a video that has gone viral lately, Pant can be seen at his playful best with the young daughter of a fan in Australia. As per the video, Pant was spotted at a mall in Adelaide, where the India wicket-keeper batter took time out to play with the fan’s daughter, in a wholesome interaction.
Watch: Pant’s adorable babysitting video with fan’s daughter
What a guy is this Rishabh pant yaar.
Today Rishabh pant spotted in a mall in Adelaide, There he met a fan And the way he playing with that fan’s little kid.pic.twitter.com/5G73YZIQem
— (@rushiii_12) December 9, 2024
In the video, Pant can be seen playing with the young girl, first when she’s in her pram and then taking her into his arms later on. A man – seemingly the young girl’s father – is seen enjoying the moment too.
During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2018/19, a moment of sledging turned into a joke between Pant and Tim Paine, with the latter jokingly asking Pant to babysit his children. Later, Pant would even take a picture with Paine’s children, with Paine’s wife Bonnie calling him the “best babysitter”.
India vs Australia, 3rd Test
Pant has failed to fully get going so far in the first two Tests. Despite looking sharp and aggressive, and playing his fair share of fancy shots, Pant has only managed a best score of 37 so far.
In the third Test, Pant returns to the ground where he became a legend. Pant was at the center of India’s victory at the Gabba in 2021, where he played a sparkling unbeaten 89 to help his team chase down a target of 328.
That Test also helped India seal a famous 2-1 series win over Australia, their second successive series win Down Under.
The ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy is evenly poised at 1-1, with both sides battling for a series win that will massively aid their chances of making the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final.
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Sports
Mikel Arteta Grapples With Arsenal’s Defensive Injury Crisis Ahead Of Monaco Game
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta© AFP
Mikel Arteta praised his Arsenal team for how they have coped with a punishing defensive injury crisis as he prepares his men to face Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Gunners are seventh in the new-look Champions League format after three wins in five matches — one place above the Ligue 1 team. But Arteta, whose men are also third in the Premier League, is juggling a lengthy injury list. Gabriel Magalhaes and Riccardo Calafiori, who both missed Sunday’s draw at Fulham, were absent from Tuesday’s training session, along with Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jurrien Timber and Thomas Partey. Right-backs Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu are still absent with knee injuries.
“We have to manage a lot of the players, so they’re probably not going to be fit for tomorrow and are a doubt,” Arteta said at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
“I still have 24 hours to make those decisions and hopefully the right ones…. In the ideal scenario, we have to be in charge to make those decisions because it’s forcing us to make it for the wrong reasons, but as well, we need to accept the reality and move forwards.”
Arsenal stumbled at the start of last month but won four straight games in all competitions before Sunday’s 1-1 draw.
But the Spaniard said he was happy with how his men were coping in the absence of a settled back line.
“The good news is that the team still reacts and plays in the way that we want and becomes so dominant, and we want to do that regardless of who plays and I think that belief is within the team and it’s really positive,” he said.
Arteta said there was an opportunity for defender Kieran Tierney to return — the 27-year-old Scotland international has yet to feature this season.
“He is ready and he’s training really well and he’s going to have an opportunity for sure with the way the team is looking at the moment,” he said.
“It’s for that reason and because he’s earned it as well with the way he’s behaved and the way he’s been with us.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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