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‘Don’t jump the gun’: Pakistan’s cricket chief responds to criticism on ‘dead pitch’

Ramiz Raja, former Pakistan's national cricket team captain and newly elected Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), gestures as he addresses a news conference in Lahore, Pakistan, on September 13, 2021. (REUTERS/File)
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Updated 10 March 2022
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‘Don’t jump the gun’: Pakistan’s cricket chief responds to criticism on ‘dead pitch’

  • Acknowledging that Pakistan should ‘massively redo’ its pitches, Ramiz Raja says it will not happen by waving a magic wand
  • The PCB chairman calls Australia the ‘powerhouse’ of cricket, says Pakistan cannot be in an experimental mode with them
Updated 10 March 2022
Shahjahan Khurram

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja responded to critics on Wednesday regarding the batting-friendly Rawalpindi pitch during the first Test match against Australia while asking them not to “jump the gun” since the upcoming contests would have plenty of exhilarating cricket.
The first match of the Pakistan-Australia Test series in Rawalpindi left many fans disappointed after it ended in a draw. The flat track had a lot to offer to batters, though bowlers on both sides were found struggling.
Pakistan’s information minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain also criticized the PCB for preparing a “dead pitch” for the “historic” match, saying on Twitter that he was “extremely disappointed” by the outcome of the match.

Pakistan declared at 476/4 while Australia were dismissed at 459 runs in the first innings. The hosts scored 252 without a loss in the second innings before all five days of the match were consumed and the contest ended in a draw.
“Only one match has taken place [until now] so don’t jump the gun,” said the PCB chairman in a video message disseminated through the board’s social media accounts. “A lot of cricket is still left [in the series].”


Raja acknowledged that Pakistan needed to “massively redo” its pitches. However, he recalled that Pakistan’s cricket season had already started when he was appointed to his current position last year and it was not possible for him to immediately focus on the task.
He informed the PCB was working on transforming Pakistani pitches, adding that soil experts would work on them once the cricket season was over.
“We will redo 50-60 pitches all over Pakistan … once our [cricket] season ends in March or April,” he added.
Raja said while he understood fans’ frustration at the first Test match ending in a draw, he added the PCB did not want to “play into Australia’s lap” by making bouncy pitches “just for the heck of it.”
He maintained that Pakistan’s opening pair of bowlers had been disturbed due to Hassan Ali and Faheem Ashraf’s injuries.
The PCB chairman also pointed out that Pakistan went into the first Test with a “brand new” opening pair, considering Abdullah Shafique had played only a few Test matches and Imam-ul-Haq was just returning to the squad.
“So, when your opening bowling and batting pairs are disturbed, you take chances accordingly,” he said. “We didn’t even have a leg-spinner as Yasir Shah was unfit. We went into the Test match as an under-sourced squad of 15 men.”
Defending the need for batting-friendly pitches, Raja described Australia as the “powerhouse” of modern cricket, adding they were coming to Pakistan after decimating England in the Ashes series.
“We couldn’t have gone into an experimental mode so quickly,” he said while pointing out that Pakistani batters performed well despite the outcome of the first Test.
“Fans need to understand that we will try our best to make this a result-oriented series, but we can’t wave a magic wand to make pitches green at once,” he said, adding that Pakistan needed to defeat Australia and adopt a strategy with caution to make that happen.
“The strategy that makes sense [for this series] is that there should be low bouncy tracks, where reverse swing, bowled out and lbw decisions come into play,” he added.

 

 

Topics: PakistanvsAustralia Pakistan Cricket Ramiz Raja PCB Chairman

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Pakistan can serve as bridge between China and US, says Islamabad’s envoy to Washington

Updated 5 sec ago
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Pakistan can serve as bridge between China and US, says Islamabad’s envoy to Washington

  • Relations between the US and China have been strained over the past several years as both world powers seek to increase their global influence
  • The complex US-China rivalry impacts Pakistan as it navigates its strategic partnerships with both while grappling with a prolonged economic crisis
Updated 5 sec ago
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan can help bridge differences between the United States (US) and China, Islamabad’s envoy to Washington said on Thursday, amid the South Asian country’s efforts to strike a balance in its ties with the two world powers.
Relations between the US and China have been strained over the past several years as both world powers seek to increase their global influence in several domains. The two nations have often had disagreements over trade, Taiwan, the South China Sea and China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
Pakistan maintains a delicate balance in its relations with China and the US. While aligned with the US for military cooperation and counter-terrorism efforts, Islamabad has strengthened economic ties with Beijing through initiatives like the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
In a talk delivered at the University of California, Pakistan’s Ambassador to Washington Rizwan Saeed Sheikh underscored the strength of Pakistan-US relations and highlighted the role of the Pakistani-American community in fostering mutual growth, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“Pakistan has the potential to serve as a bridge between China and the United States,” Sheikh was quoted as saying at the event.
The statement came hours after the Pakistani Foreign Office said its relations with key longtime ally China would remain “unaffected” by Donald Trump winning the US presidential election
“Pakistan’s relations with China are all-weather,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during a weekly press briefing when asked if Trump’s victory will affect the country’s China policy.
“They are strategic and a source of stability in our foreign policy.”
Baloch said Islamabad does not even need to consider the possibility that its relationship with China will be affected by any domestic development in another country.
The complex US-China rivalry impacts Pakistan as it navigates its strategic partnerships with both world powers while grappling with a prolonged economic crisis.
“Our relations with the United States are decades old, and we look forward to further strengthen and broaden Pakistan-US relationship in all fields,” Baloch said.
“As the Deputy Prime Minister said in a tweet yesterday, we look forward to fruitful and mutually beneficial cooperation between Pakistan and the United States.”
Pakistan and the US cultivated strong defense ties during the Cold War days yet their relationship was also tested by divergent priorities on various issues.
In recent years, Washington and Islamabad’s ties deteriorated as the former suspected the latter of supporting the Taliban in their 2021 takeover of Kabul, allegations which Islamabad rejected. Tensions rose further in 2022 when former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan accused the Biden administration of orchestrating his ouster via a parliamentary vote, a charge the US denied.
Pakistan, under PM Shehbaz Sharif’s two separate stints as prime minister in 2022 and 2024, has actively sought to improve its relations with the US.

Topics: Pakistan US Ties Pakistan China Ties CPEC Donald Trump

Pakistan parliamentary panel passes bill proposing three-year jail term for preaching Zionism

Updated 10 min 30 sec ago
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Pakistan parliamentary panel passes bill proposing three-year jail term for preaching Zionism

  • Draft law proposes imprisonment and fines for individuals involved in preaching and displaying symbols of Zionism
  • Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state
Updated 10 min 30 sec ago
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Senate Standing Committee on Interior has this week approved a bill proposing a three-year jail term and fines for individuals involved in propagating Zionism or displaying the movement’s symbols.
Zionism emerged in the late 19th century as an ethnic and religious movement but later converted into a political movement for the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel through the colonization of land outside Europe, which is Palestine. 
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
The anti-Zionism bill approved by the Senate committee on Thursday was introduced in the upper house of parliament by Senator Dr. Afnan Ullah Khan, a lawmaker from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party. He has tabled the bill as a private member, which means its approval does not signify government policy. This bill will become law only if it is passed by both houses of parliament, Senate and National Assembly, with majority vote.
“Whoever knowingly or intentionally is engaged in the preaching of Zionism to incite and provoke hatred in society shall be punished with three years imprisonment, or with forty thousand rupees ($145) fine or with both,” says the draft law.
“Whoever knowingly or intentionally display symbol of Zionism to spread hatred and cause a disturbance in public peace shall be punished with two years imprisonment, or with thirty thousand rupees ($108) fine, or with both.”
Being a Muslim state, the bill says, Pakistan “should never allow display of symbols depicting Zionism for spreading unrest in Pakistan.”

Topics: Pakistan senate

Three-year-old girl sues Punjab government as smog crisis worsens in Lahore

Updated 57 min 28 sec ago
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Three-year-old girl sues Punjab government as smog crisis worsens in Lahore

  • Record air pollution has triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, school closures, stay-at-home orders in Lahore
  • On Friday, Lahore, home to 13 million people, had the worst air quality of any city in the world, according to IQAir
Updated 57 min 28 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: A three-year-old girl in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore has sued the government of the Punjab province as record-high air pollution levels have triggered hundreds of hospitalizations, school closures and stay-at-home orders in the city, which has been enveloped in a thick, toxic smog since last month.
On Friday, Lahore, home to 13 million people, had the worst air quality of any city in the world, according to IQAir, a Swiss air quality monitoring company.
Research shows children exposed to high levels of smog may suffer from reduced lung capacity, pneumonia, bronchitis and other lung infections and more asthma attacks and worse symptoms than adults. 
“Under Article 9-A of the Constitution, the government is obligated to provide citizens with a clean and healthy environment,” said the petition filed by three-year-old Amal Sekhera, who appeared in court with her mother Mehek Zafar on Thursday. 
Sekhera said she was seeking justice for herself, her friends and the future generations as children and the elderly were the most badly hit by air pollution and smog. She also criticized the Punjab government for failing to protect fundamental rights guaranteed by the constitution of Pakistan.
The Lahore High Court issued notices in response to the petition to the Punjab government, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the City Traffic Police. The hearing has been adjourned till Nov. 12, with the court instructing the government to ensure the presence of the provincial secretary of the Environment Protection Department and the director general of the EPA in court at the next hearing. 
Authorities earlier this week shut down schools in Lahore and said 50 percent of government employees in the city were told to work from home until next week. On Wednesday schools in 18 surrounding districts were also shut. Marriyum Aurangzeb, a senior minister in the Punjab province, has urged residents to voluntarily wear face masks and avoid unnecessary travel, and said that “otherwise, the government will be forced into a complete lockdown.” 
Authorities in the city have already banned barbecuing food without filters, as well as the use of motorized rickshaws, and wedding halls must close by 10pm. The government has also said it was looking into methods to induce artificial rainfall to combat the pollution, which has been sending patients to hospitals and private clinics complaining of coughs and burning eyes.
“Tens of thousands of patients suffering from respiratory diseases were treated at hospitals and clinics in a week,” Salman Kazmi, vice president of the Pakistan Medical Association, told media on Thursday.

Topics: Pakistan Smog smog Lahore Smog

Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar

Updated 08 November 2024
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Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar

  • Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title for 3rd time
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif promises to set up world-class facilities for sportsmen
Updated 08 November 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated Pakistani cueist Muhammad Asif for winning the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Snooker Championship in Qatar for the third time, Pakistani state-run media reported on Thursday.
Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title in a thrilling final on Nov. 6. He outclassed Ali 5-3: 70-25, 7-87(84), 82(56)-8, 106(106)-08, 82-12, 43-91(58), 0-118 and 93(80)-4.
“Asif made the entire nation proud by winning the international championship for the third time,” PM Sharif was quoted as saying by the Radio Pakistan broadcaster. “The talented youth of Pakistan are highlighting the country’s name in the fields of sports.”
The IBSF, founded in 1971, is the governing body for billiards and snooker worldwide. It represents 85 member countries and is recognized by the World Confederation of Billiard Sports and the International Olympic Committee.
Asif, 42, first won the IBSF World Snooker Championship in 2012 and went on to win it again in 2019. His victory ties him with India’s Pankaj Advani who has also won the World Snooker Championship thrice.
The Pakistan prime minister said Asif’s family and coach also deserved recognition, adding that providing quality facilities to Pakistani players was top priority of his government.
“The government is making all possible efforts to provide international standard facilities to the players,” he added.
 

Topics: snooker world snooker champion Muhammad Asif Pakistani snooker player

China, Pakistan discuss advancement of rail, road and economic zone projects under CPEC

Updated 08 November 2024
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China, Pakistan discuss advancement of rail, road and economic zone projects under CPEC

  • The discussions included sections of Main Line-1 railway project, Karakoram Highway as well as Gwadar port and economic zone
  • Beijing has invested over $65 billion in energy, infrastructure and other projects as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor
Updated 08 November 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: China and Pakistan on Thursday discussed advancement of key infrastructure and economic projects under the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the Pakistani government said, with the two sides also discussing security of Chinese nationals working in Pakistan.
CPEC, a part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, aims to connect China to the Arabian Sea through a network of roads, railways, pipelines and ports in Pakistan and help Islamabad expand and modernize its economy.
The discussions on key CPEC projects were held during Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Jiang Zaidong’s meeting with Pakistani Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, according to Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID).
On the occasion, the Pakistani planning minister emphasized the need for concrete mechanisms to ensure smooth and effective implementation of bilateral projects.
“Both sides deliberated on advancing key projects, including the Karachi-Hyderabad section of Main Line-1 (ML-1) and Karakoram Highway (Thakot-Raikot Section) project, and agreed to accelerate the projects’ timely execution,” the PID said in a statement.
“Regarding the Gwadar Port and Free Zone, both sides expressed a mutual commitment to ensuring the continued development of Gwadar in a holistic manner.”
The meeting came two days after a security guard at a factory in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi shot and injured two Chinese nationals before fleeing, police said.
Last month, two Chinese nationals were killed in a suicide bombing near the international airport in Karachi. In March this year, a suicide bombing killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in northwestern Pakistan as they headed to the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in the country. In 2022, three Chinese educators and their Pakistani driver were killed when an explosion ripped through a van at the University of Karachi. A blast on a bus killed 13 people in north Pakistan in 2021, including nine Chinese nationals.
China, breaking with tradition, publicly spoken out against security threats to its workers and nationals living in Pakistan, where hundreds of them work on Beijing-funded projects linked to CPEC.
Iqbal assured the Chinese ambassador the safety of Chinese citizens was a top priority of his government.
“Pakistan will continue working closely with China to ensure the security of Chinese citizens, projects, and institutions,” he was quoted as saying by the PID.
Ambassador Jiang expressed gratitude for Pakistan’s comprehensive engagement and said the Chinese side was ready for collaboration in areas of agriculture, mines and minerals, industrial cooperation, according to the PID.
Iqbal shared that his ministry was in coordination with the National Development and Reform Commission of China to arrange high-level workshops to bring together experts from both sides to outline the future direction of CPEC’s second phase.
China has lately shown willingness for the second phase of CPEC and has given assurances for the establishment of five new corridors, including that of growth, livelihood, innovation, green economy and open regional inclusive development.
 

Topics: China Pakistan ties CPEC Ahsan Iqbal

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