PCB supporting Misbah to lead against SA next month

Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq has received full backing of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) caretaker chairman Najam Sethi to lead the team in the challenging series against South Africa, scheduled to begin in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Oct 14.

Misbah, who despite his fine performances with the bat, has come under fire for losing a Test and a One-day International to the lowly-ranked Zimbabwe in the recently-concluded series.

The seasoned batsman, in his meeting with Sethi, expressed his deep concern over the scathing criticism from critics following the Zimbabwe tour, well informed sources told Dawn.

PCB does not believe his (Misbah’s) performance played any negative role in the two defeats on the Zimbabwe tour and he should not worry too much about it.

It may also be mentioned here that even the newly-appointed manager, former Test captain Moin Khan, in his report to the PCB has suggested that Misbah needs to bring some change in his attitude but he is otherwise a fine captain.

“I can’t hold their bats to make them play sensibly all the time but I feel that with me batting for longer hours and steering the team out of crisis, the rest of the batsmen should also get inspired to play longer innings,” Misbah was quoted as saying in the meeting.

He advised the chairman to consider in-form players for the South Africa series and to strictly select them on their performance at the domestic and international level.

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7.7 magnitude earthqauke strikes Pakistan

A 7.7 magnitude earthquake has struck Pakistan, with its epi-center located in Balochistan. 

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Two people are confirmed dead in Awaran, Balochistan as a result of the earthquake.

Officials from the Met office say major damage and loss of life was averted as the center of the earthquake is located in a remote area.

They have however warned of after-shocks of up to 5 magnitude.

Relief goods will be provided from Quetta for affected areas in Balochistan.

It is an 8-10 hour drive by road to provide relief goods to Awaran, Balochistan.

It is confirmed that the roofs of two schools have collapsed in Awaran. No loss of life has been reported as yet.

People in cities and towns across Sindh and Balochistan are now returning back to work and into their homes, Express News reports.

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Another Milestone crossed by PAKISTAN-Hatf-VII (Babur) Radar Avoidance Missile

The Hatf-VII (Babur) is a low-flying, terrain-hugging missile with high maneuverability, pin point accuracy and radar avoidance features.

The test was witnessed by Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Khalid Shamim Wynne, Director General Strategic Plans Division Lieutenant General (Retd) Khalid Ahmed Kidwai, Commander Army Strategic Force Command Lieutenant General Tariq Nadeem Gilani and Chairman National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) Muhammad Irfan Burney, senior officers and from the armed forces and strategic organizations, scientists and engineers.

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Faisalabad Wolves-Visa Granted for CLT20 2013

The Faisalabad players had dispersed on Thursday evening from their training camp and went home assuming they would need time to pack if the visas were issued. The PCB also told that the visas had neither been issued nor denied but On Friday, the PCB asked the players to report at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore because the visas had been obtained, a Faisalabad player told.

The players are scheduled to depart in two batches; those in Lahore are due to leave on Saturday while three players in the Pakistan national team - Misbah-ul-Haq, Saeed Ajmal and Ehsan Adil - are due to fly from Zimbabwe on the completion of the current series. The last day of the ongoing second Test in Harare is on Saturday.

Faisalabad will be only the second Pakistan team to take part in the Champions League and the first in India - Sialkot Stallions competed in the 2012 tournament in South Africa. They play their first match on September 17 in Mohali against Otago Volts.

A team from Pakistan had been invited for the first edition in 2008 but that tournament was postponed because of the terror attacks in Mumbai and no further invitation was issued to Pakistan until 2012.

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Champions League T20 : Faisalabad Wolves denied visa

The prevailing political tensions between India and Pakistan has meant that Pakistan’s T20 champions, the Faisalabad Wolves, will not be travelling to India for the Champions League Twenty20 tournament that gets underway on the 17th of September. With less than a week to go, sources told that visas will not be granted to the team for the tournament. Government sources said that security concerns have led to the decision. Faisalabad, the only Pakistan team to participate in this year’s CLT20, were scheduled to play their first qualifying match on the 17th September in Mohali. Meanwhile, sources in the BCCI close to the development have told that the qualifiers will be played with the other three teams only. A senior source in the government told said, “As a matter of abundant precautions taking into account security requirements, it was felt that at the current juncture, it would not be possible to provide necessary security arrangements. Therefore, it was advised that security necessary couldn’t be provided, and thus visas are unlikely to be issued.”

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