Sports
Najam Sethi set to replace Ramiz Raja as PCB chairman
The move to have Ramiz Raja ousted as the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board has been formally initiated by Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan who is also the Patron of the board. A new 14-member committee headed by Najam Sethi and including former Pakistan cricketers Shahid Afridi and Sana Mir will now be placed before the Pakistan cabinet for approval ending days of speculation about the future of the current board.
Raja’s position had been on flimsy grounds ever since Imran Khan was removed as Prime Minister in April this year. Raja, 60, was elected unanimously and unopposed as the board’s 36th chairman in September 2021 with the 1992 World Cup-winning captain nominating his former teammate on the PCB Board of Governors (BoG). During Raja’s tenure, Pakistan made the semifinals and finals of successive T20 World Cups, played the final of the Asia Cup and welcomed Australia and England to their shores, signalling the full-fledged return of international cricket at home.
Pending a legal vetting of the change, Raja will be replaced by Sethi, who has served as the head of PCB in multiple positions between 2003 and 2018. He was also the first chairman of the Pakistan Super League and oversaw the conception of the league in 2016. His committee will now have a four-month period during which they’ll be tasked with restoring the PCB constitution to its 2014 version.
One of the main reasons for the constitutional revamp is to have departmental teams like WAPDA, PIA and SNGPL back in the country’s first-class circuit. In the Imran Khan-ratified version of the constitution in 2019, the PCB chose to do away with the departments that have historically been associated with the game in the country so as to streamline the cricketing structure into six regional sides – Northern, Sindh, Central Punjab, Balochistan, Southern Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – mirroring that of Australia’s.
While the original move to abolish the historic structure in domestic cricket had its merits, the PCB was also criticised for the move for it rendered several cricketers employed by these departments jobless in a beat.
Meanwhile, Babar Azam’s position as captain of the senior men’s team is unlikely to be affected by the management restructuring just yet, even though murmurs of a change have grown since the team’s 3-0 whitewash by England in the just-concluded Test series. Historically in Pakistan cricket, a change in PCB administration has been followed by new leaders in the team but Azam has been named to lead the side for the forthcoming New Zealand series and will be expected to continue into the new year.
(Cricbuzz)
Delhi Capitals’ (DC) signing of Bangladesh fast bowler Mustafizure Rahman for the remainder of IPL 2025 has hit a snag, with the BCB stating that it hasn’t been approached for a no-objection certificate (NOC).
Usually, the IPL only announces signings after a player has received an NOC from his home board. According to its CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury, however, the BCB had yet to receive a request for one.
“Mustafizur is supposed to go with the team to the UAE according to the schedule,” Chowdhury told ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday. “We have not received any communication from IPL officials. I have also not received any such official communication from Mustafizur either.”
Mustafizur is part of the Bangladesh T20I squad that is due to play back-to-back away T20I series against UAE and Pakistan, both of which clash with the IPL. On Wednesday, hours after the IPL announced his signing as a replacement for Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mustafizur flew out to Dubai with the rest of Bangladesh’s squad.
Bangladesh are due to play two T20Is in the UAE on May 17 and 19, followed by five in Pakistan on May 25, 27 and 30, and June 1 and 3. Those two series are in conflict with the IPL; DC are set to play their last three league matches on May 18, 21 and 24, followed by the playoffs should they get there.
ESPNcricinfo has sought a response from DC on this development.
[Cricinfo]
Sprinter Aruna Dharshana who is undergoing treatments for an injury he sustained during the World Relays, is racing against time to recover for the Asian Athletics Championships which will be held in South Korea later this month.
The 400 metres specialist is one of the two sprinters slated to compete in the one lap race. He is also a key member of the men’s 4×400 metres and 4×400 metres mixed relays alongside Kalinga Kumarage.
“Currently Dharshana is undergoing treatments. We are hopeful that he will recover in time for the Asian Championships,” Dharshana’s coach Asanka Rajakaruna told ‘The Island’.
“Sri Lanka Athletics will conduct a fitness test before the Asian Championships. Hopefully he will be ready by that time,” said Rajakaruna.
Sri Lanka Athletics earlier said that a fitness test will be held to assess the strength of the 20 strong team selected for the biennial event.
Sri Lanka fielded only a mixed relay team for the recently held World Relays in Guangzhou, China where an injury to Dharshana cost them a chance to achieve a top performance and a probable ticket to the World Championships in Tokyo later this year.
Sri Lanka won a historic gold medal in the men’s 4×400 metres at the last edition of the Asian Athletics Championship in Bangkok Thailand where the team inclusive of Dharshana beat India to the second place with a new championship record time of 03:01.56 seconds.
Kalinga Kumarage who did the anchor leg and Dharshana are the only members from that gold winning team selected for the upcoming event.
Dharshana is the only Sri Lankan athlete to have clocked sub 45 seconds in the 400 metres after legendary Sugath Thilakaratne.
Dharshana and Kumarage hold the second and third places respectively in the list of fastest times achieved in the 400 metres by Sri Lankan athletes. Dharshana has a personal best of 44.99 seconds achieved during the last Olympic games.
by Reemus Fernando
110th Colombo Championships
Dinara de Silva bagged her second title of the Colombo Championships as she partnered Inuki Jayaweera to record straight sets victory in the women’s doubles final played at the Sri Lanka Tennis Association clay courts on Wednesday.
Dinara and Inuki beat Venuli Jayasinghe and Sandithi Usgodaarachchi 6-2, 6-3 in the doubles final.
Incidentally, it was the second title of the tournament for both Dinara and Inuki.
While Dinara won the women’s singles and doubles titles, Inuki was the winner of the mixed doubles and the women’s doubles.
Women’s doubles results
Semi-finals
Dinara de Silva and Inuki Jayaweera beat Dulkini Ranasinghe and Tania Doloswala 6-3, 6-2
Venuli Jayasinghe and Sandithi Usgodaarachchi beat Bovindee Imihamy and Siyara Devappriya 6-3, 6-0.
Quarter-finals
Venuli Jayasinghe and S. Usgodaarachchi beat Tuvini de Alwis and Hasali Gajaba 6-4, 5-7, 10-3.
Dinara de Silva and Inuki Jayaweera beat Nimasha Shehara and Arushi Thomas 6-1, 6-3.
Dulkini Ranasinghe and Tania Doloswala beat Diyansa de Silva and Lihini Jayakody 4-6, 6-3, 10-6.
Bovindee Imihamy and Siyara Devappriya received a walkover from Gehansa Methnadi and Akeesha Silva.
NOC issue, fixture clash put Mustafizur’s IPL participation in doubt
Presidential secretariat launches initiative to install sanitation facilities at fuel stations under “Clean Sri Lanka”
Financial assistance from the President’s Fund for next of kin of victims of the Kotmale bus accident disbursed through Divisional Secretariats
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