Connect with us

News

Pakistan cricketers to train with Army

Published

on

Pakistan’s cricketers are set to team up with another iconic institution of the country, the Pakistan Army, from March 25 to April 8 in a ten-day training camp.

The announcement was made by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday at a hotel in Islamabad while addressing several players. The camp will start roughly one week after the PSL ends, and Naqvi hopes it will help players get their fitness “up to speed.”

“When I was watching the matches in Lahore, I don’t think a single one of you hit a six that went into the stands,” Naqvi said. “Whenever a six like that was hit, I used to think a foreign player must have hit that. I have asked the board to make a plan that gets every player’s fitness up to speed. You’ll have to make a proper effort for that.

“We have New Zealand coming up, then Ireland, England and the T20 World Cup. I wondered, ‘When will we train?’ but there was no time. However, we’ve found a window, where we’ve organised a camp in Kakul (military academy) from March 25 to April 8. The Pakistan Army will be involved in your training, and hopefully, they’ll help you out.”

An intensive training camp in one of the few windows the players would otherwise have rested is likely to be unpopular, especially as it is preceded by six months of virtually non-stop cricket, and followed by several bilateral series leading up to the T20 World Cup.

Moreover, the camp coincides with the second half of the holy month of Ramzan, a time when most Pakistanis culturally tend to prioritise family or religious activities over work. The effectiveness of the camp is likelier made tricky by the fact most of the squad players will be fasting, with no food or water from sunrise to sunset unconducive to a rigorous boot camp.

There is, though, precedent for Pakistan cricket getting the military involved with training. Misbah-ul-Haq’s Pakistan famously organised a training camp with the military at Kakul academy before a Test series to England.When Misbah scored a hundred in the first Test, he celebrated by doing ten push-ups, followed by a military salute. The series was drawn 2-2, with Pakistan rising to the top of the Test rankings for the only time in their history.

‘Make Pakistan your first priority’

Naqvi also took aim at one of the thornier issues the board is grappling with, telling the players they needed to prioritise national commitments over the lure of T20 leagues. The matter was thrown into the spotlight when Haris Rauf declined to be part of Pakistan’s tour of Australia. Chief selector Wahab Riaz had publicly criticised Rauf, and two months later, the PCB terminated his central contract.

To illustrate the point, Naqvi invoked his own time as caretaker chief minister of Punjab, a role he held for over a year, and briefly alongside the PCB chairmanship. He said it was a sacrifice he made because of a desire to serve Pakistan.

“I’m not going to say you mustn’t earn money, or ask you to make sacrifices we are also not ready to make. But let me give you one example. One year ago, I was asked to become the chief minister of Punjab, and it caused me a financial loss in my business. I had to leave that aside and incur several extra costs. But I had a desire to represent Pakistan, and so I had to make that sacrifice.

“I will support you 100%, but I’ll just ask you to make Pakistan your first priority, and T20 leagues your second priority. It’s unfortunate when money becomes first priority and the country second. If you do that, then we might have a problem. We can even look at central contracts and bolster them further if you desire, but you must be available for Pakistan first and foremost.”

Pakistan are currently without a coaching set-up at the national level, and Naqvi briefly mentioned the PCB was in touch with potential options, saying no expense would be spared.

“We’ll try to make the best available for you,” Naqvi said. “I have told the PCB our job is not to save money or keep it hoarded away, but to spend it on cricket, from grassroots right through to the national team. The money will be spent on your fitness, training and coaches rather than keeping it locked away.”

(espncricinfo.com)

News

Assets of 02 police officers to be probed

Published

on

By

Assets of two prominent police officers are to be probed after authorities received a number of complaints, highly placed sources in the government say.

One officer in question is a DIG while the other is a SSP, reports add.

The Police Illegal Assets And Property Investigation Division are conducting further investigations.

Continue Reading

News

AG seeks CID probe into social media smear campaign against his staff

Published

on

By

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has opened a probe following a complaint by Attorney General Parinda Ranasinghe that his staff have been unduly targeted by false allegations on social media.

The AG’s instruction to the CID came after several of his staff complained to him over the allegation on social media.

Particularly targeted are senior AG’s Department officials awaiting promotions, sources said.

In one of the posts, a senior officer was accused of being supportive of granting bail to Thamil Makkal Viduthal Puligal (TMVP) leader Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, alias Pillaiyan, when his fundamental rights application over his arrest was taken up. During the hearing of the FR case, the matter of bail was not even considered, the sources said.

Another allegation was that in a case related to the suspended Police Chief Deshabandu Tennakoon, the AG prevented a senior officer from representing the department and instead sent a junior officer. However, on the particular day, the senior officer was indisposed, the sources said.

These allegations surface as the AG’s Department has filed more than 600 new indictments in High Courts so far this year, while the Bribery Commission has also referred several bribery and corruption cases to the AG for prosecution.

(sundaytimes.lk)
(This story, originally published by sundaytimes.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)

Continue Reading

News

19-yr. old dies after falling from elevator

Published

on

By

A 19-year-old youth has died after falling from a service elevator at a hotel in the Pannai area, in the Jaffna Police Division.

According to the police, the incident had occurred last night (June 21) and the deceased has been identified as a resident of Nirveli, Jaffna.

According to investigations, the youth was employed at the hotel and had been using the service elevator -intended for transporting goods.

Further investigations are underway.

This incident follows a similar case recently reported from a hotel in Moratuwa last week.

Related News :

19-yr.-old dies after hotel elevator collapses

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Sri Lanka Mirror. All Rights Reserved