Tag: Cricket

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(Cricket): HRCP alarmed by surge in blasphemy cases against Shia community

Lahore:The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is gravely concerned at the recent surge in blasphemy cases being registered against sectarian and religious minorities, particularly the Shia community, and the potential for ensuing sectarian violence. Anecdotal evidence suggests that over 40 such cases may have been registered under the blasphemy laws in the last month alone.

HRCP believes that the state has effectively abdicated its responsibilities under international human rights law by leaving those accused of blasphemy to the mercy of mobs, or trials that are marred by glaring legal and procedural flaws. It is well established that in most cases, those accused of blasphemy are eventually acquitted on appeal, but often after protracted periods in custody and trials that risk the lives of the accused, their lawyers and judges at the hands of organized far-right groups.

HRCP demands that the state uphold all citizens’ right to freedom of religion or belief. The police must also refrain from registering blasphemy cases so promptly, knowing full well the sensitive implications of doing so when such complaints are often fabricated and spurred on by personal vendettas.

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(Cricket): Iqbal Qasim resigns as PCB’s ‘Dummy’ Cricket Committee Chairman

Karachi: Former Pakistan cricketer Iqbal Qasim has tendered his resignation as Chairman of the PCB Cricket Committee saying that he can’t continue as a dummy chairman, who cannot recommend a deserving match referee.

PCB has accepted Iqbal Qasim’s resignation and will now announce his replacement in due course.

In his resignation on Thursday, Iqbal Qasim wrote: “(He was a) dummy chairman who cannot recommend a deserving match referee. It is painful to see injustice (being) done to cricketers who have played cricket, fulfill all criteria but suffering.”

The PCB, in its statement, said: “It is indeed sad that a cricketer of the calibre, repute and experience of Iqbal Qasim has voluntarily decided to step down. His services to cricket, both as a player and as an administrator, are outstanding. The PCB respects his decision and wishes him well for future.

“However, it was disappointing for the PCB to see its cricket committee chairman, instead of supporting meritocracy and respecting the decision of the independent panel, decided to resign after his ‘recommendation’ was not entertained.

“The PCB is also at pains to explain that when Iqbal Qasim accepted the offer to head its cricket committee on 31 January 2020, the role of the department sides had already been eliminated under the new PCB Constitution 2019, which came into effect on 19 August 2019.

“He had walked into the role knowing the framework and regulations under which the current PCB management was operating that had no space for the PCB-organized department cricket. Having worked in a corporate organization, the PCB had hoped Iqbal Qasim would understand, abide and value the constitution.

“Iqbal Qasim has remained a loyal servant to Pakistan cricket and we hope he will continue to offer his services in future, nevertheless.”

The PCB said that Cricket Committee, like the ICC Cricket Committee and the MCC World Cricket Committee, is an advisory body. Its remit is to advice the PCB Chairman on cricket-related matters, including but not limited to the performances of the national cricket teams and their managements, domestic cricket structure, high-performance centres and playing conditions.

The Committee has the powers to invite relevant personnel for its quarterly meetings to assist as part of its evaluation, assessment and recommendation process.

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(Cricket): PCB announces 208-match 2020-21 domestic schedule

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has unveiled 2020-21 domestic events calendar with a 208-match schedule on Friday.

In a major shift from previous years and taking into account the upcoming three white-ball global events, the PCB has decided to hold First XI matches of the National T20 Cup and Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament, and National U19 One-Day Tournament on a double-league basis. This will guarantee each side a minimum of 10 league matches in the three white-ball competitions before the top four sides in the senior events will progress to the semi-finals, followed by the final, and the top two sides in the juniors’ event progressing to the final.

The National T20 Cup will be the curtain-raiser of the season, with matches being held in Multan and Rawalpindi from 30 September to 18 October, while the National U19 One-Day Tournament will be played in Lahore, Muridke and Sheikhupura from 13 October to 2 November.

The National T20 Cup and the National U19 One-Day Tournament have been scheduled at the start of the season to enable all the top performers to have the opportunity to attract interest from the franchises prior to the HBL PSL 2020 draft in November.

The Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament will be played from 8-31 January, after which the domestic season will conclude with the PCB’s marquee event, the HBL Pakistan Super League 2021, starting in February.

Four-day first-class matches will start from 25 October and the event will conclude with the five-day final starting on 1 January. Second XI three-day matches will be played from 18 October to 13 December.

Due to Covid-19 precautions, travel for players and officials will be restricted for all Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches during the 2020-2021 season, resulting in all matches being played at grounds in Karachi. In addition, staging the tournament in Karachi will help mitigate the risk of bad weather conditions, such as fog and dew, seriously intervening in matches at that time of year.

While finalizing the domestic cricket calendar, the PCB has also taken into consideration the commencement of the holy month of Ramadan, which is likely to start around 15 April.

The schedule of events will be further populated after the confirmation of Boys U13 and U16 and women’s events, HBL PSL 2021 and home international series against Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Director – High Performance, Nadeem Khan: “In the uncertain Covid-19 situation, I am pleased that we have been able to put together a complete domestic cricket schedule, which is challenging but will contribute significantly in getting the best out of all the players that, in turn, will uplift the quality and standard of our home cricket.

“There has been a strategy and vision behind preparing this schedule, and the most notable is the increase in number of white-ball matches at the senior and age-group level. This has been done after taking into consideration our teams’ current international performances and rankings in white-ball cricket as well as to looking into the future, while also providing optimum chances to the deserving and budding cricketer to thoroughly show their mettle and impress the national selectors.

“The increase in number of matches will not only provide a fair and equal opportunity to all the talented players, it will increase their earnings – something that we have been very mindful and careful about since the revamp of the domestic structure.

“In the past few weeks, the High Performance and Domestic department has been flat out as evident from recent announcements, including appointment of coaches, domestic teams, match officials and now the schedule. This required full support of the logistics and operations team as together we remain committed in providing a comfortable and good environment to the players so that they can excel on the field of play.

“Now that the teams and schedule have been confirmed, I expect the respective coaches to start planning their season as usage and rotation of key players will be integral, also in the background that some of the star players may not be available throughout the season due to their international commitments. But this will surely provide other players with opportunities to step-up and take responsibility and make names for themselves.”

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(Cricket): Dawood Sports, Alamgir Gym cruise into cricket tourney semis

Karachi: Dawood Sports and Alamgir Gymkhana cruised into semifinals of the All Karachi Prof. Ejaz Ahmed Faruqi Invitation Cricket Tournament, which resumed on Thursday after a lapse of six months due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Dawood Sports thrashed Airport Gymkhana by eight wickets at TMC Ground in the second quarterfinal. Airport Gymkhana batted first and put on board 225-9 in 45 overs. Taha top scored for the side with 54 runs.

In response, Dawood Sports easily reached the victory total with eight wickets in hand – thanks opener Naveed Khan for his impressive and unbeaten 107-run knock. Azhar Shah contributed 73 runs.

In the third quarterfinal, Alamgir Gymkhana trounced Shameel Cricket Club by 193 runs at KCCA Stadium. Alamgir Gymkhana batted first and scored 295-8 in 45 overs. Opener Jahid Ali batted brilliantly scoring 96-ball 101 runs. Mohammad Ilyas picked three wickets.

Alamgir Gymkhana later bundled out Shameel CC for a paltry total of 102 runs in 33.2 overs. Ali Meher top scored for the side with 40 runs. Aylan Mehmood bowled well and grabbed four wickets cheaply for 17 runs. Hassan Khan took three wickets for 18 runs.