Sports
Hopes slim for India-Pakistan series: PCB chief
Islamabad: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Khan has said that India’s Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj did not discuss resumption of cricketing ties with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during her visit here.
PCB was hoping Swaraj, who arrived here on Tuesday for the Heart of Asia regional conference, would give the green light to the series after a prolonged uncertainty.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is also waiting for the Indian government to give the go-ahead to the series.
A limited overs series — three One-Day internationals (ODIs) and two T20Is — was agreed to between the two boards and was scheduled to start in December 15 in Sri Lanka but ran into trouble as the Indian government is yet to decide on it even as Sharif has given permission for it.
“We were hoping for some positive development finally but it is very disappointing that cricket was not discussed in the meeting between the Indian Foreign Minister and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif,” Khan was quoted as saying by The Dawn paper on Wednesday.
“The prospects of organising a series now seem very bleak and we stand to lose at least $50 million under the current scenario.”
The PCB chairman gave BCCI a December 7 deadline to decide on the series hoping for a positive response.
Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of a climate change conference in Paris last week.
Making arrangements for the series — which could run from December 17-January 3 — would be “challenging” at such short notice, Khan said, “but we will do it once we get clearance from the Indian government.”
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.