PCB mulls lifting ban on ICL

Karachi: First it was Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and now it could be the turn of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to defy the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and grant reprieve to players banned for taking part in the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).

According to sources, legal advisors and officials of the PCB were working on finalising a way to lift ban on its ICL players.

“The main issue facing the PCB is that since the powerful Indian cricket Board is dead against the ICL and the players who have signed up for it, it has to tread carefully without annoying the Indian Board,” one source said.

Heroes win

Calcutta: Hyderabad Heroes beat Lahore Badshahs by eight runs in the second final of the ICL 20s in Ahmedabad on Saturday.

Chasing a victory target of 159, the Badshahs were bundled out for 150 in 19.1 overs. The third final will be played on Sunday.

Brief scores: Hyderabad Heroes 158/7 in 20 overs (J. Maher 56, Naved-ul Hasan 2/33) vs Lahore Badshahs 150 in 19.1 overs (S. Yousuf 51; N. Boje 2/30). Hyderabad Heroes win by 8 runs.

Islam recalled

Dhaka: Bangladesh have recalled left-arm pacer Sajedul Islam to the squad for a two-match Test series against South Africa starting next week, a Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) official said on Saturday.

The Squad

Mohammed Ashraful (Capt.), Mashrafe Mortaza, Tamim Iqbal, Zunaed Siddique, Shakib Al Hasan, Mehrab Hossain Jr., Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Shahadat Hossain, Sajedul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Mahbubul Alam, Roqibul Hassan, Imrul Kayes.

Suspension

London: The reasons behind the mysterious suspension of Chris Cairns and Dinesh Mongia from the Indian Cricket League (ICL) will be revealed in the next couple of weeks, ICL executive board chairman Kapil Dev has said.

ODI insured

Kanpur: The Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) has got the third one-dayer between India and England insured for a whopping Rs 3.15 crore to cover for any untoward incident, including a possible terror attack, during the match at the Green Park stadium here.

T20 in US

Karachi: The Cricket Council of the United States is planning to hold a Twenty20 tournament, pitting club teams from North America and countries like India and Pakistan against each other from April 4 to 12 next year

Shoaib ban

Karachi: Shoaib Akhtar is likely to be cleared by the Lahore High Court of the 18-month ban imposed on him by the PCB as the board is apparently no longer interested in pursuing the appeal.

Jeev up

Sentosa: Jeev Milkha Singh rose to tied fifth place before bad light left him stranded with four more holes to go while Arjun Atwal crashed out of the $5 million Barclays Singapore Open here Saturday. Gaurav Ghei climbed to the provisional tied 13th place. Jyoti Randhawa lay tied 38th at three-over 216.