Busy politician Imran Khan says NO to PCB invitation for India tour

By Bipin Dani

MUMBAI, India (TheSportsNEXT) November 19, 2012: Pakistan's World Cup winning captain Imran Khan has excused the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for its invitation to tour India on the occasion of the Pakistan cricket team's tour in December this year.

This was revealed by Zaka Ashraf, the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, while talking exclusively with TheSportsNEXT.com on Monday.

The PCB has decided to send ten former cricket legends to India on the occasion of the revival series between the two nations.

Speaking with TheSportsNEXT.com’s correspondent from Lahore, Zaka Ashraf said, "So far, we have only received a letter of rejection offer from Imran Khan. He (Imran) has been a very busy politician and owing to his busy commitments he has expressed his unavailability. Still, we are persuading him to make it".

At 39, Imran Khan led his team to Pakistan's first and only World Cup victory in 1992.

In April 1996, he founded and became the chairman of a political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf which mean Movement for Justice. In the same year, through worldwide fundraising, he founded the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre.

Last year, he was due to deliver Dilip Sardesai memorial lecture (initiated by Sardesai family a year after the former India batting star expired) in Mumbai. However, owing to his busy schedule he could not make it.

"We have many legends in the country and his place will be taken by some other great", Ashraf added.

Hanif Mohammad, Imtiaz Ahmad, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Mushtaq Mohammad, Javed Burki, Wasim Bari, Intikhab Alam and Sadiq Mohammad are the other players who will be sponsored for India trip.

"These players will be good will ambassadors for Pakistan cricket and can help in improving the cricketing relations between the two countries. It was decided to invite two players for each venue", Zaka Ashraf signed off.

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Get Well Soon, PCB chief tells extremist Bal Thackeray

By Faisal Adnan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) November 15, 2012: Despite of a hardline approach by the extremist Hindu leader Bal Thackeray, Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chaudhry Zaka Ashraf sent him a “Get Well Soon” message on Thursday.

As per the local media reports, the extremist Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray has demanded the Indian government to do away with Pakistan’s tour to India next month

However, PCB chief sent positive vibes through his Get Well Soon message for the hardliner politician who is in struggling in a critical condition in a Mumbai hospital.

Zaka Ashraf told reporters, “I have sent a message of get well soon to Mr. Bal Thackeray. Our religion and our Prophet Mohammad (SAWW) taught us that we should wish everyone good health and life and following that I have wished him well and sent him a bouquet.”

Bal Thackeray and other extremist Hindu activists have been demanding vociferously to cancel the limited overs series between Pakistan and India urging the New Delhi-incumbent Congress-led government to keep away from reviving cricketing ties until Pakistan brings perpetrators of 2008 Mumbai Attacks to justice.

The New Delhi had severed all sporting ties with Pakistan following the deadly attacks which left 166 people killed.

Zaka Ashraf urged Bal Thackeray to play his role in defusing tension between the nuclear-armed bitter neighbors. He said, “I hope that Mr. Thackeray gets well soon and plays his part in bringing the two nations together by supporting both the teams during this series”.

Pakistan is due to play two Twenty20 Internationals and three One Day Internationals during the course of their two weeks long tour to India after a gap of five years.

Pakistan cricket team, which will land in Indian capital on December 22, will take on the home side in first Twenty20 International in Bangalore (Bengaluru) on December 25 followed by the second T20I in Ahmedabad on December 27. The Twenty20 series will be followed by One Day International series which will have both teams featuring three ODIs in Chennai, Kolkata, and New Delhi on December 30, January 3, and January 6, respectively.

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PCB picks 10 legends for tour of India

By Babar Malik

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (TheSportsNEXT) November 3, 2012: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) picked Saturday a 10-man delegation of former cricketing legends, who will represent Pakistan as goodwill ambassadors during tour of India in December.

The selected players include Hanif Mohammad, Imtiaz Ahmed, Majid Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Mushtaq Mohammad, Imran Khan, Javed Burki, Wasim Bari, Intikhab Alam and Sadiq Mohammad.

PCB selected players on the basis of their debuts in 50s, 60s, and 70s and said it would continue the process in the times to come.

The PCB issued a statement Saturday which explained the legends selection criteria. It stated, “These players will be goodwill ambassadors for Pakistan Cricket and can help in improving the cricketing relations between two countries”.

However, nothing good in Pakistan cricket comes without a controversy or blame-game. Some of the cricket journalists and former cricketers have criticized on their selection of legends which ignored legends like Asif Iqbal, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Rashid Latif, Moin Khan, and Javed Miandad.

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BCCI gets home ministry clearance for Pakistan tour

By Abhishek Manroa

NEW DELHI, India (TheSportsNEXT) October 31, 2012: The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) said Tuesday that it has received clearance from India’s home ministry regarding Pakistan’s upcoming high-profile tour to India.

The BCCI and Indian home ministry officials held a meeting on Tuesday where the green signal was awarded to the most-anticipated series in the cricket world.

After the official go-ahead the Pakistan cricket team will play three One Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals in India in December. Pakistani cricketers will arrive here on December 22.

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