India Pakistan Cricket News April - May 2007
India vs Pakistan Friendship Cup at Glasgow 2007
Prince Charles invites India and Pakistan to Scotland for ODI match
May 18, 2007
Prince Charles has invited arch rivals India and Pakistan to play a one-day international charity match in Glasgow on July three to celebrate 60 years of independence from Britain.
Tri-Series in Bangladesh in 2008-09
India to play Tri-Series in Bangladesh in 2008-09
May 20, 2007
India have agreed to play a tri-series in Bangladesh with Pakistan as the third side in 2008 or 2009.
The matter was discussed at a meeting between the BCCI top brass and their counterparts in the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday night.
"We have agreed to play the tri-series in Bangladesh. I think it can be played in 2008 or 2009," BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah said on Sunday.
"We have to make some adjustments to the ICC calendar. BCB has readily agreed to all the conditions put before them," Shah said.
Shah is part of the high-level BCCI delegation, led by its president Sharad Pawar, which visited the port city at the invitation of the BCB to watch the second Test between the two countries.
The BCCI official said India was prepared to host Bangladesh for a full series in the near future.
"We are very much willing to call them. We want to help them. That`s the reason we have agreed to play the tri-series. Bangladesh is welcome to India," Shah said.
India have undertaken bi-lateral tours thrice to Bangladesh ever since the latter became a Test playing nation. However, Bangladesh are yet to play any ODI or Test match on Indian soil.
Meanwhile, Shah said the BCCI would also take the opinion of the senior cricketers of the Indian team before finalising a new coach for the national squad.
On Saturday, Sachin Tendulkar said the board should consider players` views before appointing a new coach.
The seven-member coach selection panel, headed by Pawar and including three former India captains - Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri and Srinivas Venkataraghavan - would meet in Bangalore on June 4 to take the final call.
"The decision may not come that day itself. We may need four or five days," Shah said.
India have been without a full-time coach since Greg Chappell resigned from the post after India's disastrous performance in the latest edition of the World Cup.
BCCI subsequently appointed Shastri as a stop-gap cricket manager for the team's ongoing tour to Bangladesh.
Outgoing Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore has emerged as a hot contender for the job, after he expressed his interest and held preliminary discussions with Shastri on Wednesday.
Pawar, however, insisted that he had not spoken to Whatmore during his trip.
Shah said the BCCI officials did not hold any discussions here with the players on the contracts issue, which has been hanging for for quite some time.
The board has formed a two-member committee, comprising BCCI's Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty and vice president Shashank Manohar to talk to the players on their reservations about certain provisions in the contracts that seek to introduce a performance-oriented payment system.
The meeting is slated to be held after the Indian cricketers return home from Bangladesh.
Pakistan Appoints New Cricket Captain
Apr 20, 2007
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed young all-rounder Shoaib Malik as the new captain of the national team on Thursday.
The all-rounder is replacing former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq who resigned during the World Cup after the defeat to Ireland and the loss of Coach Bob Woolmer.
Malik, 25, has played 18 Tests and 137 one-day internationals for Pakistan.
Vice captain Younis Khan refused to the captaincy because he was one of the players the public humiliated upon their arrival back from after being knocked out of the World Cup. But great batsman Mohammad Yousuf showed interest in the job.
Many other players were candidates for the post. Great aggressive batsman Shahid Khan Afridi, all rounder Abdul-Razzaq and fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar were also in the running.
Malik has been accused of betting on cricket, especially by former cricketer Sarfaraz Nawaz. In the aftermath of Pakistan's World Cup exit, a serious media fight opened between them. They have both threatened to take each other to court but so far, it has just been a war of words.
Cricket fans in Pakistan have different views about Malik's appointment but most are in favor of it. But almost every one who does favor Malik also has a soft spot for great master batsman Muhammad Yousaf.
PCB sources said the board wished to give the team a new start -- that is why the right-handed batsman and useful off-spinner was preferred to more recognized names like Mohammad Yousuf.
There is some speculation that Muhammad Yousaf had been ignored because of his overt religious activities.
Malik will have to face the pressure of leading many senior players who wanted the position. His first task will be three one-match series against Sri Lanka in May in Abu Dhabi.
First introduced in world cricket in 2001, Malik has been playing for Pakistan International Airlines. He has batted in a variety of positions, has made 3,524 runs in 137 ODI matches and has a 33.56 average, including 21 fifties and five centuries. He also taken 104 wickets and made 48 catches.