Ruing that his career has been plagued by scores of controversies, banned Pakistani pacer Shoaib Akhtar today said he would like to focus on the forthcoming tour of India instead of fretting over the spoilt past. "Although no cricketer wants to be banned and fined, I am happy that t

Pakistan's temperamental fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was today banned for 13 ODIs and fined Rs 34 lakh by the Pakistan Cricket Board disciplinary committee for hitting fellow paceman Mohammad Asif with bat. The PCB disciplinary committee announced that Shoaib had breached the code of c

Having managed to halt the Australian juggernaut in its tracks at Chandigarh, India will seek to carry the momentum when they go into the fifth cricket one-dayer here tomorrow, hoping to level the seven-match series. The eight-run victory over Ricky Ponting's men and the semi-final

Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, one of Pakistan's most prolific batsmen with a record 25 Test centuries to his credit, today announced his retirement from Test cricket, bringing the curtains down on an illustrious career spanning over 16 years. The second Test against South Africa beg

Former all-rounder Lance Klusener has hit out at Cricket South Africa for its "crazy decision" of threatening to ban him from the playing in the domestic matches to prevent him from joining the Indian Cricket League. "It's a crazy decision. It would deprive the young playe

Although the BCCI says that appointing a coach for the Indian cricket team is not necessary at the moment, vice-captain Yuvraj Singh feels the post should not be left vacant for long. The left-hander, who exhibited his exquisite form during India's title triumph in the Twenty20 World Cup i

Australian captain Ricky Ponting, yet to fully recover from hamstring injury, is doubtful starter for the first one-day cricket match against India at M Chinnaswamy Stadium here tomorrow. "We are not 100 per cent sure but he is very close to playing tomorrow," stand-in skipper

Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik today described his team's close defeats against India as sheer bad luck and said the players were high on morale as they were not lacking in cricketing terms. "Man to man both teams were equal in strength and balanced. Team to team we fought on an even k

Pakistan Cricket Board has announced a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh for each player of its team for making the summit clash of the ongoing Twenty20 World Cup. "The PCB Chairman has announced 500,000 each for the players for winning the semi-final. Obviously if we win the final there will be

With his aggressive approach to batting and his penchant for hitting sixes, they said his game would be ideally suited to the Twenty20 format and true to form, Shahid Afridi has not disappointed as he sits on top of the Player of the Tournament ladder at the World Championship. But the 27-y

The Indian team today heaved a sigh of relief with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni exuding confidence that Yuvraj Singh will be fit for tomorrow's semifinal against Australia in the Twenty20 World Championship. Yuvraj missed the Super Eight encounter against South Africa yesterday due to an e

Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and decided to bat first as India, sans star middle order batsman Yuvraj Singh, go into a do-or-die match against South Africa in the Twenty20 cricket World Cup here today. After his heroics in yesterday's win against England which kept alive India's semif

The Australian cricket team breathed a huge sigh of relief today when captain Ricky Ponting was cleared for the upcoming seven-match one-day series in India. Cricket Australia's National Selection Panel confirmed that Ponting, who suffered a hamstring strain during the ongoing Twenty20 Wor

Just two appearances with the Indian team has made paceman Ishant Sharma wise enough to understand the rigours of international cricket and the teenager is ready to wait to be "best prepared" for a long career at the highest level. The 19-year-old Delhi bowler, who has played one

Just two appearances with the Indian team has made paceman Ishant Sharma wise enough to understand the rigours of international cricket and the teenager is ready to wait to be "best prepared" for a long career at the highest level. The 19-year-old Delhi bowler, who has played one

After Morne Morkel had rocked New Zealand with a four-wicket haul, Justin Kemp blunted the Kiwi attack with a buccaneering unbeaten 89 as South Africa romped home to a six-wicket to keep alive its semi-final hopes in the Twenty20 cricket World Cup here today. Chasing 154 to win, the hosts

The Pakistan team has put its celebrations on hold despite registering exciting wins over Sri Lanka and Australia in the Twenty20 World Championships in South Africa. Pakistan reached the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup after back to back wins over Sri Lanka and Australia, who p

Sachin Tendulkar today skirted the issue of captaincy of the Indian cricket team saying he did not have much to say on it. "I don't have much to say about the issue of captaincy. I am not allowed to do so," Tendulkar, one of the strong contenders for the job, told reporters on th

Sweating it out in practice sessions, seeking tips from seniors, finetuning technique -- Mohammad Kaif has tried everything and is now banking on divine intervention for a comeback into the Indian cricket team. "Allah ne chaha to wapas aunga (God willing I will comeback)," Kaif t

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is set for a challenge of leading a virtually inexperienced team in the World Twenty20 Championships as India has played just one international match in the shortest version of the game. Dhoni on his debut as a captain, however, can draw inspiration from the one-off ma

Juggling captaincy, wicket-keeping and batting is no kid's play but Rahul Dravid has immense faith in Mahendra Singh Dhoni and feels the swashbuckler with flowing tresses can lead India to World Twenty20 triumph in South Africa later this month. Dravid said he had advised Dhoni to keep

Virender Sehwag has decided to rein in his natural agressive instincts a bit so as not to throw away good starts as in the past when he re-enters the international cricket arena through the Twenty20 World Cup starting in South Africa in two days' time. "I have been doing yoga training

Wicketkeepers are ideal to double up as captains in the shortest version of cricket as they can take split-second decisions with ease, said Indian team's manager Lalchand Rajput as he justified Mahendra Singh Dhoni's promotion as skipper for the forthcoming Twenty20 World Cup. Brushing asi

Former Pakistan great Javed Miandad has held country's cricket Board responsible for the increasing incidents of indiscipline by players, specially Shoaib Akhtar, who was today recalled from South Africa after he hit Asif with a bat during net practice. "I hold the Board responsible f

Pakistan cricket today plunged into a fresh controversy with fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar being recalled home from the World Twenty20 Championships in South Africa for hitting fellow paceman Mohammad Asif with a bat. The Pakistan Cricket Board took a serious note of the incident which occurred

While Australia remains his favourite to win the inaugural Twenty 20 World Cup, former speedster Dennis Lillee has predicted major upsets at the event starting next week in South Africa. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a press meet, the fast bowling guru termed the latest version

The Australia A cricket team would continue with their tour as per the schedule despite the twin blast that rocked the city of Rawalpindi today, Board officials said. Shafqat Naghmi, chief executive of the Pakistan Cricket Board, said the Australians had not expressed any concerns and were

Pacer Irfan Pathan today said his emphasis on improving batting would not adversely affect his bowling. "I consider batting as my plus point and shall continue to strive to become a good all-rounder," he said on the sidelines of a function here. Pathan also refuted a suggestion tha

Pakistan cricket coach Geoff Lawson believes that the battle in the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup was open and no team was favourite to win the trophy in South Africa next month. Lawson also said any team, which wished to win the tournament would have to excel in all departments of the game

India presented themselves with a nice gift on the eve of 60th anniversary of Independence, as their first series win in England in 21 years pushed them to third place in the ICC Test Championship table. The 1-0 success against England in the three-Test series earned Rahul Dravid's men fiv