Cricket

When the glitz and the glamour of the build-up to the Indian Premier League makes way for cricket action today, past form will not count for much. Defending champions the Rajasthan Royals could find it tough this time around, starting with their opening clash against Bangalore Royal Challengers in the second match of a double ... Read more

Soft-spoken, laid back and a reluctant orator, former Test captain Mohammad Azharuddin hardly fits the image of the archetypal boisterous Indian politician. Yet Azharuddin is the latest entrant in a growing list of former cricketers sucked into the election whirlpool by political parties hoping their star status in cricket-mad India will translate into votes. Other ... Read more

National skipper Mohammad Ashraful finished among the top 10 batsmen in the Dhaka Premier League thanks to his solid performance in the Super League phase, revealed the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Ashraful hammered four successive half-centuries in five matches of the Super League to add 285 runs to his 258 from the 10 games of the ... Read more

Promising batsman Shamsur Rahman caught the eyes of none other than Sri Lankan great Sanath Jayasuriya during the just concluded Premier Division Cricket League. And there was a genuine reason in the eulogies as the elegant Mohammedan right-hander not only finished as the highest run-getter in the country’s most coveted competition with 677 runs in ... Read more

India were on the brink of their first series win in New Zealand since 1968 after the hosts lost four second-innings wickets still needing 450 runs for victory in the third Test in Wellington on Monday. New Zealand were struggling at 167 for four when bad light stopped play almost an hour early on the ... Read more

KARACHI: Pakistan on Monday took a giant stride towards recalling their Indian Cricket League (ICL) rebels by including three of them in a 30-man preliminary squad for the 2009 World Twenty20 Championship to be held in England in June. Seasoned all-rounder Abdul Razzaq, fast bowler Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and opener Imran Nazir are the three ICL ... Read more

Pakistan include controversial pacer in 15-man squad for series against Australia KARACHI: Controversial pacer Shoaib Akhtar made yet another comeback on Monday when he was named in a 15-man squad for the one-day series against Australia in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Chief selector Abdul Qadir said that Shoaib has completely recovered from a knee injury ... Read more

India cricketer and former captain Rahul Dravid has broken the world record for the number of catches in Test matches by an outfielder. When Dravid helped to dismiss the New Zealand batsman Tim McIntosh on Monday it was his 182nd catch in a Test career going back to 1996. Dravid’s landmark was reached on the ... Read more

Sri Lanka rewarded a Pakistani coach driver with 21,800 dollars for his role in protecting the island’s cricket team during last month’s gun and grenade attack in Lahore in a ceremony held at Colombo. Meher Mohammad Khalil was hailed as a hero for driving the team to safety after their coach was attacked by suspected ... Read more

Surjo Torun completed a near fairytale run in the Premier League in dashing style when they handed champions Abahani a four-wicket defeat at the BKSP in Savar yesterday. The victory for the Dhanmondi lightweights against their heavyweight neighbours meant that they finished runners-up, a success they have never achieved before in the coveted domestic club ... Read more

Indian Premier League Ash in Mumbai colours Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful left the capital yesterday with a promise to live up to his billing as a ‘pocket dynamo’ for his star-studded side Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) that starts in South Africa from April 18. The exciting right-hander might have scored only ... Read more

Bangladesh Cricket Board on Saturday named the preliminary squad for the Twenty20 World Cup in June with left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak returning to the national fold after serving a ban for suspected bowling action. Razzak, the man-of-the-match in Bangladesh’s last Twenty20 international, has been inducted into the squad that included as many as 10 uncapped ... Read more

It was nothing but a formality and Abahani faced little trouble to complete it as they defeated Bangladesh Biman by three wickets to clinch the hat-trick championship in the Dhaka Premier Cricket League on Friday. But their win was largely overshadowed by national batsman Roqibul Hasan, who smashed an unbeaten 171, the highest individual innings ... Read more

Abahani Limited emerged champions in the Metropolis Premier Division Cricket for the third time in a row with one match to spare as they beat Biman Bangladesh by three wickets at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium (SBNS) in Mirpur on Friday. In the day’s other matches, riding on a blistering ton by opener Raquibul Hasan, Mohammedan ... Read more

ANI Colombo: Sri Lankan cricket captain Kumar Sangakkara has said the terrorist attack on the team bus outside Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium has changed the players’ approach forever. Sangakkara said now players would first assess security arrangements and talk to their families before committing themselves to any tournament. He told the BBC it was a miracle ... Read more

Melbourne: Spin legend Shane Warne said it’s a shame that the Indian Premier League had to be shifted to South Africa and felt “it won’t be the same” in the rainbow country. Warne, who led underdogs Rajasthan Royal to title victory in the first edition, said it would not be possible for South Africa to ... Read more

Staff Correspondent Tamim Iqbal came out of the shell to smash 164 and help Abahani avenge their first phase defeat to Gazi Tanks with a massive 114-run victory in the Super League of the Dhaka Primer League on Monday. With this win at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Abahani maintained a four-point lead over their nearest ... Read more