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Former Sri Lanka Under-19 cricket team captain Dhammika Niroshana was reportedly shot dead at his residence late on Tuesday night.
According to media reports, the former captain was home with his wife and two children when the incident occurred.
Police have sent the body for autopsy while further investigations are underway. He has been killed with a 12-bore gun; the police reached the spot as soon as the incident was reported.
Australian chief selector George Bailey has clarified that David Warner is not part of his plans for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
The selector has firmly closed the door on David Warner’s return to the Champions Trophy in 2025, saying, “You never know when someone is joking. Warner has had a great career, and it couldn’t have been better for him.”
He said, “Regarding this team, its transfer journey is going on with some different players. We will no longer consider David Warner as his career is over; we will select the squad keeping that in mind.”
A few days ago, Warner insisted that he would keep the door open for a return to the Champions Trophy, but Bailey has now made it clear that the aggressive opener will not be in Pakistan with the Australian team.
The left-handed batsman had announced his retirement from ODI cricket earlier this year on the occasion of the farewell Test against Pakistan.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed Australia’s Tony Hemming as the Chief Curator.
The Board’s statement said, “Tony Hemming has been appointed for two years. He will prepare pitches for the Test series against Bangladesh and England and for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2025.”
Tony will arrive in Lahore on Wednesday to take over the new responsibility. The pitch curator has more than 40 years of experience in pitch preparation.
Former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh has apologized for a video he made after defeating Pakistan Champions in the final.
He shared the video on Instagram along with Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh and Gurkeerat Mann, in which they were mimicking disabled people.
After the video went viral on social media, it drew criticism from disability rights advocates who accused the cricketers of mocking disabled people, after which the video was removed.
Harbhajan Singh has also apologized, writing on X, “After winning the championship in England, social media users are criticizing our recent videos of ‘Toba ‘Toba’. I want to make it clear to them that we respect every individual and community. This video was made due to fatigue after playing cricket continuously for 15 days, stopping criticism and keeping everyone happy.”
India defeated Pakistan by five wickets in the final of World Champions of Legends.
Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Mohsin Naqvi has announced major decisions to improve cricket and team performance.
According to Geo, Naqvi presided over a three-hour meeting at the National Cricket Academy (NCA), during which various suggestions for improving cricket were reviewed.
The board also included Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie in the selection committee. Fitness tests have been made mandatory for every player every three months.
The central contract amount will not be reduced for now; the period of the central contract will be for one year. Performance and fitness will be reviewed every year in different categories of the contract. The inclusion of the players will be as per the prescribed procedure, and the players who meet the fitness and performance criteria will get an opportunity to move forward.
Chairman PCB said, “There will be no compromise on discipline, and there will be a zero-tolerance policy against players who violate discipline. The team should have unity and agreement; grouping players will not be tolerated, and the management will take strict action.”
He said, “My recommendation about any player should not be accepted for violation of discipline. We will build high-performance centers in Islamabad and Peshawar.”
“Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie are fully empowered, have full confidence in them, have given them a free hand, hope both will deliver excellent results and present the final report in this regard.”
Muhammad Yusuf, Asad Shafiq, Usman Wahla and Nadeem Khan have been responsible for reviewing the domestic contract.
New Zealand-based former Pakistani Test cricketer Khalid Ibadullah has passed away at the age of 88.
Khalid represented Pakistan in four Test matches from 1964 to 1967 and was the first Pakistani batsman to score a century on his Test debut, a record made in 1964 against Australia in the first Test match played in Karachi.
The former Test cricketer was born on December 20, 1935 in Lahore and was known as Billy in cricket circles in England. He was associated with the English county Warwickshire for a long time.
Mohammad Haris has been appointed the Pakistan Shaheens white ball team captain.
During this tour, from 4 to August 18, Pakistan Shaheens will also play two 50-over matches and a top-end T20 series with nine teams.
Mohammad Haris last captained the Pakistan Shaheens in the ACC Men’s Emerging Asia Cup 2023, which was held in Colombo. In the final, the Pakistan Shaheens successfully defended the title by defeating India by 128 runs.
Pakistan Shaheens are already in Darwin, where they have to play two four-day matches against Bangladesh A, which will be played from July 19 to 22 and from July 26 to 29.
The Pakistan Shaheens’ squad, led by Muhammad Haris, includes a strong lineup of players such as Abdul Faseeh, Arafat Minhas, Arif Yaqub, Faisal Akram, Haseebullah, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Jahandad Khan, Kashif Ali, Muhammad Harira, Muhammad Imran Jr., Umair bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Shahnawaz Dhani, and Usman Khan.
Spain once again took the reins of European football after defeating England. With a 2-1 victory in the Euro Cup 2024 final, Spain became the most successful team to win the Euro Cup four times.
Neither team could score in the first half of the final in Berlin, Germany, but in the second half, the game picked up, and both teams attacked each other. Nico Williams scored a goal in the 47th minute to give Spain the lead, which England’s Cole Palmer equalized in the 73rd minute.
Just before the end of the game, Mikel Oyarzabal put the ball into the net to give Spain the lead again. Spain’s second goal in the 86th minute proved to be the decisive goal, with Spain becoming the champions of Euro 2024.
This is Spain’s fourth Euro title, making it the team with the most European Championship wins. England also became the first team to lose two consecutive Euro finals.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to limit the No Objection Letter (NOC) for national cricketers playing all three formats. The policy aims to protect all format cricketers from injuries and fatigue. Due to continuous cricket this year, the NOC policy is now further restricted.
The policy for all format players was decided in a meeting between Chairman Mohsin Naqvi with Head Coaches and the International Department.
From the Bangladesh series next month to the Champions Trophy 2025, the Pakistan team has to play nine Tests, 14 ODIs, and nine T20 matches.
Naseem Shah has also not been issued a NOC for ‘The Hundred League’. Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan have contracts for the Global T20 League, but Global T20 has not yet been approved by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Players’ NOCs will be considered after the ICC’s approval. The Global T20 League is scheduled in Canada from July 25 to August 11. PCB’s policy is to play two foreign leagues along with the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
If the Indian cricket team does not agree to come to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, the International Cricket Council (ICC) will have to consider other options.
Pakistan is all set to host the the Champions Trophy in February 2025. Eight teams will participate in the ICC tournament but the Indian team has not yet confirmed its participation.
If the Indian cricket team does not participate in the tournament in Pakistan, then it is possible that Sri Lanka will be included in the series in place of India.
Sri Lanka finished ninth in the group stage of the 2023 ODI World Cup points table, which means they do not qualify for the Champions Trophy.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) may request the ICC to host the tournament in Sri Lanka or UAE as proposed for the Asia Cup 2023 edition.
The Asian Cricket Council had accepted a hybrid model with Pakistan and Sri Lanka co-hosting the tournament but this is unlikely to happen for the Champions Trophy.
Two days ago, Indian media claimed that the Indian team would not go to Pakistan to play next year and that the event would be held under a hybrid model, but the BCCI has denied these claims.