Pakistan karate team captain Shahzaib Rind slapped Indian captain Rana Singh during a pre-match press conference held in preparation for Karate Combat 45. The main event will take place tonight in Dubai.
Shahzaib and Rind started inciting India-Pakistan hostility. Soon things took a turn for the worse as Rana Singh abused Shahzaib Rind and also spoke highly obscene things about his mother.
Shahzaib and Singh got into a scuffle after coming face to face and had to be separated by security personnel at the press conference.
The popularity of combat sports is growing at an impressive rate with each passing year and the wave of popularity has spawned a wave of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) promotions.
The Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has identified four bookmakers from Mumbai and Jaipur during Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, expelling them both from the stadium.
According to reports, the bookies were kicked out of the president’s box at the Wankhede Stadium during a match between Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians, while two other bookmakers were kicked out of the Jaipur Stadium during a match between Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals.
Bookies gain access to stadiums during most matches to eliminate the time lags often seen in live broadcasts, an activity infamously known as ‘pitch sliding’.
In 2013, IPL was rocked by a major spot-fixing scandal where three Rajasthan Royals players were detained and eleven bookies were also arrested in the case. This resulted in two IPL franchises, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, being banned for two years and played a major role in tarnishing the league’s reputation.
The allotment of passes in luxury boxes is a serious concern following the incident, while there is still no legislation to prevent bookies from ‘pitch sliding’ in a country where betting is illegal.
The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) has announced that the National Women’s Football Championship has been postponed.
The decision to postpone the league was made after feedback from several clubs about the dates clashing with the academic activities and championship dates. The National Football Championship was scheduled in Karachi from May 5 to 21.
PFF said that It was a difficult decision. The next schedule will be announced soon after consultation.
Former Australian batsman Stuart Law has been appointed as the head coach of the United States cricket team.
Stuart has been appointed as the coach for the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup.
Stuart has represented Australia in one Test and 54 ODI matches. Law has played first-class cricket for Queensland, and in England.
Law said in a statement that he is very excited to be selected for USA Cricket.
On the other hand, Australian all-rounder Glenn Maxwell will also play American Major League Cricket, joining Washington Freedom along with Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head and Steve Smith.
Major League Cricket will start on July 4 after the T20 World Cup, while Glenn Maxwell has taken a break from the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to mental and physical fatigue.
Former Pakistan cricketers including Kamran Akmal, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Gul and Abdul Razzaq got stuck at the Dubai airport after flight operations were severely affected due to devastating rains in the Gulf metropolis.
The flight supposed to carry Pakistan’s former cricketers had been further delayed.
The four former Pakistani players have been at Dubai Airport since 1 pm Wednesday. All the passengers including the players have now been told to take a flight tomorrow morning.
According to the schedule, the players were to leave Dubai for Houston at four o’clock in the evening on Wednesday.
Former captain of the Pakistan cricket team, Misbah-ul-Haq, was angry with the attitude of Emirates Airlines and wrote on X, “It’s strange that you @emirates start boarding process and after two hours suddenly tells everyone to go back as the flight iscancelled. People are made to stand in lines with children for hours and hours for nothing at the end. Worst behaviour of an airline ever in my life.”
“First we were asked to board, then after two hours the flight was canceled, people were standing in queues with children for hours, waiting for us for 30 hours. The situation is understood, but if an honest answer is not given, then anger comes.”
Kamran Akmal retweeted the tweet and wrote, “Disappointing service by @Emirates at DXB.”
A 75-years-old has been broken due to torrential rains in the states of UAE including Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.
The Esports World Cup (ECW) has announced a huge prize pool of $60 million (Pkr 1650+ crore). This is a big jump from the $45 million prize pool at the Gamers8 event in 2023. It shows that esports tournaments are getting bigger and more important worldwide. With such a big prize, the competition is going to be tough as players and teams compete for their share of the money.
The Esports World Cup is getting ready for a big event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this summer. Organizers from the Esports World Cup Foundation have announced big plans for an eight-week gaming tournament, aiming to make it the biggest esports event ever.
The EWC will bring gamers, publishers, and fans together worldwide for intense competition in 19 esports games. From Apex Legends to Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2 to Fortnite, League of Legends to TEKKEN 8 and PUBG mobile top clubs will compete in Riyadh for the biggest prize pool in esports history.
The Esports World Cup will hold 20 separate tournaments, each with its own rules and format, over eight weeks. These tournaments make up the Club Championship, where organizations will compete for the title of Club Champion. With each club’s performance in various games being crucial, the competition will be intense and diverse, showcasing skills and strategies across esports.
The prize pool distribution for the Esports World Cup is as follows:
Over $33 million allocated across the 20 individual game tournaments. Half of the total prize pool will be distributed among the teams competing in individual tournaments. $1.1 million reserved for MVP awards, recognizing standout participants in each tournament. A $50,000 MVP award will be granted to an outstanding participant in each tournament. Additionally, $7.6 million will be awarded to teams and players who successfully qualify for tournaments at the ESWC. $20 million will be allocated to the top 16 teams participating in the Club Championship.
Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma has expressed his desire for an India-Pak Test series.
Talking to Michael Vaughan in a podcast, Sharma said, “Test matches between Pakistan and India will be very spectacular. Pakistan is a great team, Pakistan’s bowling is very good.”
The Indian ace predicted that such a series would be a close contest, especially if it is in outdoor conditions. “I am in favor of a formal series between Pakistan and India.”
“My opinion is based on pure cricket and nothing else, the India-Pakistan match will be a good match with bat and ball.”
Earlier, Cricket Australia had shown interest in hosting a series between India and Pakistan.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has taken a decision on the participation of star batsman Virat Kohli in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Rumors alleging that Virat Kohli will not be included in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup had been circulating for a while. However, now the Board has decided to include the master batsman in the squad for the T20 World Cup starting in America and West Indies from June.
The report said that Kohli wanted clarification from the selection committee. During a meeting between captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, it has been decided that Kohli will participate in the event and also open the inning with Rohit Sharma. Kohli has batted most of his career at No. 3 but has a great record as an opener as well.
Earlier, questions were being raised regarding Virat Kohli’s participation in the T20 World Cup and his strike rate was also being criticized. Recently, Virat Kohli came under criticism for scoring the slowest century in the match against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The women’s cricket team of Vanuatu, a country in the Oceania region, has resorted to collect donations to participate in the International Cricket Council (ICC) event.
Vanuatu is scheduled to participate in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers in Abu Dhabi but lacks funds to upgrade the team’s equipment.
Vanuatu qualified for the Global Qualifiers by defeating Japan in the East Asia Pacific Qualifiers.
Teams from the Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Ireland, UAE, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Scotland, USA and Uganda are participating in the global qualifiers which started on April 25.
According to the report, the team needs six to seven thousand dollars for better equipment, but the Vanuatu Cricket Association requested funds from the public to collect the money.
The Vanuatu Cricket Association has created a fundraising link on the GoFundMe portal and so far $3,000 have been collected.
The amount required is equivalent to one match fee of any international cricket team player.
Pakistan cricket team’s middle order batsman Umar Akmal has said that after Allah, he has hope only from the Sharif family.
During an interview on Samaa on Monday, Umar Akmal said, “Everyone has personal connections. I am thankful to Nawaz Sharif and Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz for always giving me time.”
Umar Akmal complained, “There were some problems in my life which bothered me, I was not allowed to play cricket for a long time. The seniors in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are getting personal with me. I showed my performance to Maryam Nawaz and requested her to give me a chance. If I get a chance, I will make a comeback in international cricket.”
In August last year, Umar Akmal went to London to meet former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, where while talking to the media, he said that Sharif’s return will improve cricket and he has made a request that will hopefully be accepted soon.
Umar Akmal last represented Pakistan in a match against Sri Lanka in 2019.
