With only three days to go for the start of the second Test against India, Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar is down with a viral infection and has been taken to a local hospital for a check up. Pakistan team media manager Ehsan Malik said that Akhtar has throat infection and fever. "

As Shoaib Malik feels the heat for his "uninspiring" leadership in the ongoing series against India, he has found support from former Pakistan teammate Imran Farhat who thinks the young captain has it in him to steer the unpredictable side. "At 25, I think Malik is very youn

BCCI office bearers will meet in Kolkata, on December 1, where Gary Kirsten's appointment as India's cricket coach could be ratified. "The BCCI office bearers will meet in Kolkata on December 1 where the issue of the new coach will certainly come up. The members would be briefed on al

Australian spinner Stuart MacGill may undergo a knee surgery, which is likely to rule him out for the four-Test series against India starting December 26. MacGill's knee problem has already ruled him out of domestic cricket. The 36-year-old, who is under fire after a lacklustre show in the

Indian pacer S Sreesanth's continued inability to "rein himself in" when under pressure could end up costing his side dearly during the upcoming cricket tour Down Under, feels Australian all-rounder Andrew Symonds. The burly right-hander, who had a series of confrontations with the

The Cricket Board today made it clear that it would not look beyond the list of applications when the new Team India coach is picked to accompany the side before it leaves for Australia. BCCI Secretary Niranjan Shah said today that the Board had received 20-22 applications and the coach sel

Former Pakistan captains today expressed anguish over the first Test defeat to India in New Delhi with Rameez Raja accusing some players of only playing to maintain their places in the team. Rameez said there was a need for radical steps to be taken to overhaul the Pakistan crick

Australian pacer Brett Lee's much-talked about Bollywood career is all set to take off next year when he lands in India to shoot for a cameo in a film titled 'Victory'. Although the details of the film are not yet known, a report in the 'Sunday Telegraph' said the tearaway pacer will do a d

Shoaib Akhtar has often been the troublemaker abroad but the enigmatic speedster's impeccable behaviour on the India tour so far has earned him a pat from Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Nasim Akhtar said the pacer was an "asset" to the team. Ashraf played down reports about

A convincing series triumph over Pakistan in the three-Test cricket series starting tomorrow would take India to third spot in the ICC Test championship table. A 3-0 or 2-0 series win over their arch rivals will lift Anil Kumble's team above South Africa to third place behind Austral

The match-up between Australia's bowling attack and India's star-studded batting line-up will decide the fate of the upcoming Test series Down Under, Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene has said. After the retirement of legends Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, the Aussie bowling has a new l

The 3-2 ODI series win over Pakistan has propelled India to fourth in the ICC one-day Championship table, overtaking Shoaib Malik's men, who have dropped a couple of rungs to sixth in the latest list. Mahendra Singh Dhoni's side is now just four rating points behind third-placed New Zealan

Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh was fined 20 per cent of his match fee for showing dissent at the umpire's decision of giving him out during the fifth and final cricket one-dayer against Pakistan here. The punishment was handed down by ICC match referee Roshan Mahanama following a hearing after

After failing to make much impact in the ODI series, flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi was today left out of the 14-member Pakistan cricket squad for the three-match Test series against India starting November 22. Apart from Afridi, three others -- Fawad Alam, Rao Iftikhar and Imran Nazir

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik today blamed his pace attack's below-par show for the loss against India in the fourth and penultimate one-dayer here. "We lacked in bowling. We gave too many runs with the new ball," he rued after losing the do-or-die match against India by six wickets

Pakistani fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has expressed desire to meet Bolywood star Sanjay Dutt, who is in a jail in Pune as both are said to be good friends. Shoaib's agents in India have conveyed his desire to Dutt's sister Priya and are making arrangements for the meeting, media reports said

The rebel Indian cricket league has succeeded in signing up two more Pakistan test players, Taufiq Umar and pacer Shabbir Ahmed. The two along with allrounder, Abdul Razzaq and Imran Farhat leave tonight for India to play in the ICL which kick off later this month. The joining of opener Tauf

Terming the fourth cricket one-dayer as a "crucial" match, middle order batsman Robin Uthappa said a confident India would like to clinch the series against Pakistan here tomorrow. Uthappa said the match could go either way but the Indians were deriving confidence from the fact t

In a gag order, Chief Selector Dilip Vengsarkar has been asked by the BCCI not to interact with the media, a few days after he was banned from writing syndicated columns. Vengsarkar, a former India captain who has often found himself in trouble for his comments in the media on selection ma

Former Pakistani captain Rameez Raja feels the ongoing one-day cricket series between India and Pakistan is lacking in intensity and playing fast bowler S Sreesanth could pep it up. Rameez rated the India-Pakistan matches above the Ashes but said the current one was not as exciting as it g

A buoyant India will look to wrap up the five-match one-day cricket series against Pakistan when the arch rivals clash in the fourth tie which promises to be another high-scoring tussle here tomorrow. India displayed excellent temperament to win the previous match at Kanpur and take 2-1

Fans can look forward to a run feast when India takes on Pakistan in the fourth cricket one-dayer here with the pitch curator promising a high-scoring game. Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association's Chief curator Samundar Singh Chauhan said he has prepared a perfect batting wicket for the match

Sri Lanka's state television Rupavahini will sponsor the country's cricket tournaments for the next five years. This would, however, not include the India-Sri Lanka Test series to be played in June next year, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) media manager Samantha Algama said. He said a

The national selectors will meet here this evening to name India's new Test cricket captain amid indication that Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be given the job in the longer version as well. With Sachin Tendulkar turning down the offer and suggesting that "a youngster" be given th

Veteran leg-spinner Anil Kumble today threw his hat in the ring and said he is ready to take over as India's next Test captain if selectors ask him to do so. The 37-year-old leg-spinner, a veteran of 118 Test and 271 one day matches, said leading India would be an honour for him but it was

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik today got a thumbs up from his coach Geoff Lawson who said the youngster was "getting better as a captain with every game". Lawson said both India and Pakistan have two young captains and they needed to be given some time to mature in their rol

Shoaib Akhtar may not have set alight the cricket series yet but the Pakistani speedster has already won an admirer in tennis ace Sania Mirza. Sania, in the city to watch the second Indo-Pak one day cricket match at Mohali tomorrow, said she liked Shoaib Malik and Shahid Afridi as well

Having gained the psychological advatage by easily winning the first match, a confident India go into the second cricket one-dayer against arch-rivals Pakistan here tomorrow, seeking to keep the momentum going with another convincing performance. The five-wicket triumph in the first one-da

The Indian Cricket League has unveiled the teams' colours and logos for its inaugural Twenty20 league to start later this month. Chandigarh Lions, Mumbai Champs, Kolkata Tigers, Delhi Jets, Chennai Superstars and Hyderabad Heroes are to take part in the tournament to be held at Panchakula. T

Salman Butt signalled his return to form with a belligerent 83 as Pakistan warmed-up for its cricket series against India with a facile six-wicket win against Delhi here today. After restricting the hosts to 213 for 9 in 50 overs, Pakistan romped home with 7.2 overs to spare with