Mohammad Amir and his wife Narjis Amir have been blessed with a baby girl. This is the couple’s second child together – they have another daughter named Minsa.
The fast bowler took to social media to make the announcement and share that their newborn has been named Zoya Amir. Amir is the fifth cricketer to have welcomed a newborn after Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Yasir Shah this year.
Amir had earlier shared that his wife was expecting which is why he backed out of the England tour. In a Twitter update, Amir had said that due to the timing of the tour and the restrictions in place in the United Kingdom for those coming from abroad, left him with no choice but to back out of the tour.
He had said that he cannot leave his wife, “who is at a high-risk pregnancy alone here [in Pakistan]”.
Following the announcement, many of Amir’s colleagues sent in their best wishes for the new born.
Former India wicketkeeper Kiran More has recalled the time when Pakistani and Indian cricketers celebrated the festival of Holi together in Bangalore.
Pakistan toured India in 1986-87 for five Tests and six ODIs, and after the first four Tests ended in a draw, More’s mind harked back to the time when the players from both teams, except then Pakistani skipper and now prime minister (PM), Imran Khan, got together ahead of the final match in Bangalore and “painted the hotel red”.
“We were really fighting hard for that whole series, but in that Test match, I’ll never forget that Holi we played on the rest day, with the Pakistani team and Indian team,” More said on ‘The Greatest Rivalry‘ podcast.
“[It was] at Bangalore’s Westin hotel, I still remember. The whole hotel was painted red. The swimming pool, all the rooms, every corner of the hotel was painted red. And we had a great time. Both Pakistani and Indian cricketers were trying to get Imran Khan out of his room. He was the captain, and he was a shy character. We were also trying to get into his room to put colour on him.”
More further revealed how Javed Miandad kept the party going even after the Holi celebrations were done with. A day before the final Test, players of both teams had a ball, but despite repeated efforts, were unable to get a shy Imran out of his hotel room.
“He didn’t come out. Javed [Miandad] was instrumental in that Holi time, the whole day, we did Holi together, we had lunch together. Had bhangra music, there were a few friends of ours who joined that party. We had a great time, and next day, we were playing a Test match again,” More added.
“On the field, both teams wanted to win, and sledging was huge that time from both sides. Off the field, it was a great time that we had. I’ll never forget that Holi.”
The team arrived in England on June 30, where they will play three Tests and as many Twenty20 internationals, starting in the first week of August. The players, who tested negative for COVID-19 and travelled to England included Azhar Ali (captain), Babar Azam (vice-captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Ahmad, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Rohail Nazir, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, and Yasir Shah. Misbah-ul-Haq (head coach), Younis Khan (batting coach), Mushtaq Ahmed (spin bowling coach) and Waqar Younis also travelled with the team.
According to PCB, the squad will undergo a 14-day isolation period on arrival before continuing their preparations ahead of the first Test with two four-day warm-up matches.
Check out pictures from their training session below:
Babar Azam also shared pictures of himself at the practise and said that it felt great to be on the field again.
Great feeling to be on the cricket field again. I really missed it. Look forward to our historic series and praying that everyone gets back to their normal life soon. Keep shining and never give up. #RiseAndRisepic.twitter.com/MvTyuCFmx7
It is expected that the first Test will take place in Manchester in August but the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said the behind-closed-doors match schedule would be announced in “due course”.
A day after testing positive for coronavirus at Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Mohammad Hafeez says he has tested negative at a private facility.
On Tuesday, Hafeez was announced as one of ten Pakistani national cricket team players who tested positive for the virus as the entire 29-man squad due to fly out to England on June 28 underwent COVID-19 testing.
Hafeez, however, got himself tested from a different lab in Lahore for a “second opinion” for him and his family. That result, he said in a tweet, was negative.
All of PCB’s tests were conducted by Shaukat Khanum Laboratory.
Other players who tested positive for the virus include Fakhar Zaman, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, and Wahab Riaz.
Apart from the seven players, one support personnel — the masseur — also contracted the illness after the cricket body had 35 tests carried out for COVID-19 in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar.
Pakistan’s Test and limited-overs squads will tour England for three Tests and three T20 internationals.
England director of cricket Ashley Giles has said that the tour is expected to go ahead.
The board said that the the players had shown no symptoms until they were tested in Rawalpindi on Sunday ahead of the Pakistan men’s national cricket team’s tour to England.
According to a press release, the PCB medical panel is in contact with the three who have been advised to immediately go into self-isolation.
Imad Wasim and Usman Shinwari, who were also screened for the virus in Rawalpindi, tested negative and will travel to Lahore on 24 June.
The statement further added that “other players and team officials, barring Cliffe Deacon, Shoaib Malik and Waqar Younis, underwent tests at their respective centres in Karachi, Lahore, and Peshawar on Monday.”
Their results will be announced as soon as they are received.
“Until then, the PCB will not make any further comment,” added the statement.
Meanwhile, PCB on June 12, had announced a 29-player squad for three Tests and three T20Is against England to be played in August-September.
“An extended squad, including white-ball specialists, is being sent to England as the players, in accordance with series SOPs in the wake of COVID-19, will remain in England from start to finish,” stated a press release.
According to details, the Pakistan Cricket Team is scheduled to depart on June 28 for Manchester, before driving to Derbyshire for their 14-day quarantine period during which they will be allowed to train and practice. Apart from training and practicing, there will be intra-squad matches to compensate for the lack of practice matches due to non-availability of local teams as the ECB is yet to commence its domestic season.
Sri Lanka “sold” the 2011 World Cup final to India, the country’s former sports minister said on Thursday, reviving one of cricket’s most explosive match-fixing controversies.
Mahindananda Aluthgamage, who was sports minister at the time, is the second senior figure to allege the final was fixed, after 1996 World Cup-winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga.
“I tell you today that we sold the 2011 World Cup finals,” Aluthgamage told Sirasa TV. “Even when I was sports minister I believed this.”
Aluthgamage, sports minister from 2010 to 2015 and now state minister for renewable energy and power, said he “did not want to disclose” the plot at the time.
“In 2011, we were to win, but we sold the match. I feel I can talk about it now. I am not connecting players, but some sections were involved,” he said.
Sri Lanka lost the match at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium by six wickets. Indian players have strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Ranatunga, who was at the stadium as a commentator, has previously called for an investigation into the defeat.
“When we lost, I was distressed and I had a doubt,” he said in July 2017. “We must investigate what happened to Sri Lanka at the 2011 World Cup final.”
“I cannot reveal everything now, but one day I will. There must be an inquiry,” added Ranatunga, who said players could not hide the “dirt”.
Sri Lanka batted first and scored 274-6 off 50 overs. They appeared in a commanding position when Indian superstar Sachin Tendulkar was out for 18.
But India turned the game dramatically, thanks partly to poor fielding and bowling by Sri Lanka, who were led by Kumar Sangakkara.
Sri Lankan cricket has regularly been involved in corruption controversies, including claims of match-fixing ahead of a 2018 Test against England.
Earlier this month, the Sri Lankan cricket board said the International Cricket Council (ICC) was investigating three unnamed former players over alleged corruption.
Sri Lanka introduced tough penalties for match-fixing and tightened sports betting restrictions in November in a bid to stamp out graft.
Another former sports minister, Harin Fernando, has said Sri Lankan cricket was riddled with graft “from top to bottom”, and that the ICC considered Sri Lanka one of the world’s most corrupt nations.
Former Sri Lankan fast bowler Dilhara Lokuhettige was suspended in 2018 for corruption relating to a limited-overs league.
He was the third Sri Lankan charged under the ICC anti-corruption code, following former captain and ex-chief selector Sanath Jayasuriya, and former paceman Nuwan Zoysa.
Jayasuriya was found guilty of failing to cooperate with a match-fixing probe and banned for two years. Zoysa was suspended for match-fixing.
Mohammad Amir, who withdrew from Pakistan’s upcoming England tour, has revealed that he backed out from the tour because his wife is expecting.
The bowler, in a Twitter update, shared that due to the timing of the tour and the restrictions in place in the United Kingdom for those coming from abroad, left him with no choice but to back out of the tour. He said that he cannot leave his wife, “who is at a high-risk pregnancy alone here [in Pakistan]”. Amir and his wife Narjis are expecting their second child together.
Thank u exactly my point, I was willing to travel to UK after my child’s birth but because of the quarantine period its not possible.also the entire team for both series have to travel together end of this month so I cannot leave my wife who is at a high risk pregnancy alone here https://t.co/tM3jAD2Nx1
Journalists Zainab Abbas and Saj Sadiq supported Amir’s decision and said that his decision to withdraw makes sense.
Every decision does not need to be looked at as if it’s a conspiracy. I’m sure,if there was a solution it would have been looked at,but now due to COVID and quarantine rules it only makes sense to withdraw earlier on.
Mohammad Amir’s decision not to tour England is understandable – his wife is expecting so she can’t travel to UK, if he goes to UK after the birth & he has a 2 week quarantine period then the series will be over. Also the whole squad has to leave/travel together #Cricket#ENGvPAK
Other than Amir, Haris Sohail has also opted out of series citing family reasons.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had earlier announcedthat the team will travel to the UK to play a bilateral series in August and September.
Pakistan will bring a 28-man squad plus 14 player support personnel for three tests and three Twenty20 Internationals.
The PCB has yet to announce the squad, while the series schedule will be announced in due course.
Plans to hold a bio-secure national training camp in Lahore ahead of the England trip have been scrapped after taking into account the rapid growth of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan.
England is scheduled to host the first international series since the novel coronavirus pandemic, when they face West Indies in a three-test series without fans in attendance starting on July 8 at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
Former West Indies captain and honorary citizen of Pakistan Darren Sammy has revealed that he was subjected to racial abuse in the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) dressing room when he played for the franchise in the 2013-14 editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
After watching Hasan Minhaj’s latest segment, in which the comedian talks about anti-blackness in South Asian, the cricketer expressed his anger upon realising the meaning of the word ‘kalu’ which he says was used to refer to him and Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera when the pair played for SRH. However, he did not reveal who used to direct these slurs at him.
Following that, on Tuesday, Sammy released an Instagram video, saying those slurs came from players within the SRH camp and that he will be messaging them all to provide clarification and issue an apology.
“Knowledge is power. So recently I discovered a word that I was being called was not what it actually meant, I need some answers. So before I start calling out names I need these individuals to reach out and please tell me there’s another meaning to that word and when I was being called it, it was all in love,” read the post along with the video.
“I have played all over the world and I have been loved by many people, I have embraced all the dressing rooms where I have played, so I was listening to Hasan Minhaj as to how some of the people in his culture describe black people,” Sammy said in the video.
“This does not apply to everybody but I say this because of what I’ve experienced. After I found out a meaning of a certain word, I had said I was angry on finding out the meaning and it was degrading, instantly I remembered when I played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013-14, I was being called the exact the same word which is degrading to us black people,” he added.
Sammy said that at the time when he was being called with the word, he didn’t know the meaning and he thought it was not degrading as his teammates used to laugh every time whenever he was called with that name.
“I will be messaging those people, you guys know who you are. I must admit at that time when I was being called using that word, I thought the word meant strong stallion or whatever it is and I saw no problem. I did not know what it meant. Every time I was called with that word, there was laughter at the moment. Me being a team man, I thought hey teammates are happy, so it must be something funny,” Sammy said.
“So now you can understand my frustration and my anger when it was pointed out to me that it wasn’t funny at all. It was degrading. I will be texting you guys and I will ask you as to when you called me with that name, did you all mean it in any bad way or in a degrading way? You repeatedly called me that word over and over again, to the point that I was even saying, that’s my name,” he continued.
Sammy said he expects an apology from all those who called him that because he considered them his brothers and friends.
“I have had great memories in all my dressing rooms, so all those who used to call me with that word, think about it, let’s have a conversation, if it was in a bad way then I would be really disappointed,” he added.
“I have always been one to build up the relationship or build up a team, not bring it down,” he concluded.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBL-fuglF6o/
Meanwhile, an old social media post of India pacer Ishant Sharma has surfaced which has confirmed Sammy’s allegations.
Ishant had shared a group picture also featuring Sammy, on May 14, 2014, and used the word ‘kalu‘ for him.
Here you go! One of the culprits is @ImIshant Hope you get an apology call from him soon. ♂️ Or maybe the @BCCI might just have a word with you regarding a nice IPL contract which I’m sure you’d reject knowing how upright a person you are! pic.twitter.com/hdg1tEF0ps
The reaction from the West Indies all-rounder has come following the death of George Floyd, an African-American who last month died in police custody in the United States. Floyd, aged 46, died on May 25 after a police officer, held him down with a knee on his neck though he repeatedly pleaded, “I can’t breathe,” and “please, I can’t breathe”.
Not Prime Minister Imran Khan, neither Wasim Akram, nor Shahid Afridi – Mehwish Hayat’s favourite cricket captain is Inzamam-ul-Haq.
Sharing a picture of herself standing in front of the Wall of Fame at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, Mehwish said that she felt a” great sense of pride” seeing the cricketing legends through the ages. The actor added that her personal favourite cricket captain was Inzamam-ul-Haq.
A prolific batsman, Inzamam ul Haq was the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team from 2003–2007.
Waqar Younis has urged all-rounder Shahid Afridi and cricketer-turned-politician Gautam Gambhir to end their social media war and has called for India and Pakistan to resume playing cricket.
After being fierce on-field rivals, Pakistan’s Afridi and former Indian opener Gambhir have often been involved in heated social media exchanges over the troubled Kashmir region. Gambhir is now a lawmaker in the Indian parliament, while Afridi has his own foundation and is a vocal activist.
According to AFP, Waqar advised the pair to “calm down” in an online chat show.
“The banter between Gautam Gambhir and Shahid Afridi has been going on for a while now. I think they both got to be smart, sensible, and calm down,” said Waqar.
“It has been going on for way too long. My advice to them is to maybe catch up somewhere around the world and talk it out if you cannot really calm it down.”
India and Pakistan have not played a series since 2012-2013 and have hit a new peak in tensions over Kashmir, which they have fought over since their independence in 1947.
Waqar, 48, said a cricket series would boost relations between the arch-rival neighbours.
“I think that it would be the biggest hit of the world,” said Waqar. “I think Pakistan [and] India should play and should play on a regular basis to avoid depriving cricket lovers.”
Earlier, Shoaib Akhtar had also proposed a three-match Indo-Pak series to raise funds to help the governments of India and Pakistan fight the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.
