Sports

Let’s not isolate Pakistan

Published

3 years ago

2023/05/14

Abdul Hafeez Kardar played Test cricket for India before partition and became Pakistan’s first Test captain. During his stint as Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board, he pushed Sri Lanka’s case for Test status

by Rex Clementine

Our leaders have so much to learn from Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who was Prime Minister three times having become the first female PM in the world in 1960. During the height of the cold war, with several countries showing alliance with either the US or Russia, she sensibly adopted a non-aligned policy and hosted the non-aligned summit in 1976 with the participation of 86 nations.

In a cricketing world that is becoming increasingly divided, we can do well by borrowing a leaf out of Mrs. Bandaranaike’s book. Officials have given Pakistan the cold shoulder by turning down their proposal to play the Asia Cup in a hybrid model whereby the event will be played in both Pakistan and UAE.

India will not travel to Pakistan due to the political differences between New Delhi and Islamabad but letting India play their games in UAE was something that could have been agreed upon.

Sri Lanka have commuted between Dubai and Lahore on previous instances when playing Pakistan like it happened in 2017 when Thisara Perera skippered the side. That UAE is too hot in September is also a lame excuse as the 2018 Asia Cup was entirely played in UAE in the month of September. Furthermore, when Sri Lanka successfully ended Pakistan’s unbeaten run in UAE in Test match cricket in 2017, that series too took place in September and October. Finding excuses to isolate Pakistan and satisfy India will not serve us good in the longer run.

When you are playing in Australia, you end up in the flight for more than five hours if you are travelling between Perth and Melbourne. So, what’s the fuss about a three- and half-hour flight between Lahore and Dubai!

It is true that no one wants to stand up to India these days and Sri Lanka has learned harsh lessons in the past trying to do so. It’s fine to be friendly with India but not at the expense of Pakistan, who has been one of our strongest allies over the years.

Abdul Hafeez Kardar, who had played for India before partition was the first Test captain of Pakistan and he later went onto become the President of PCB. It was he who aggressively pushed Sri Lanka’s case for Test status.

Mr. Kardar wasn’t a mere talker. He was leading by example too. He initiated the Ali Bhutto Trophy, a reciprocal series between the under-19 sides of both nations. The legend of Ranjan Madugalle was born there, not so much for his batting but his spin bowling.

SLC also benefited immensely when Mr. Kardar offered scholarships to local coaches and curators to go and learn the trade in Pakistan. The fact that Sri Lanka were granted Test status in 1981 was largely due to his untiring efforts and former board secretary Neil Perera, now in his 90s, would vouch for this.

The people of Pakistan are also the friendliest. When you land at the airport and when the immigration officer sees your passport, there’s a pleasant welcome and if your reason for travel is cricket, there’s a polite smile too. The first question is not how long you are going to stay in Pakistan, but how is Aravinda de Silva doing these days!

The same hospitality is given to you at the hotels, at restaurants and even during taxi rides. Fans can get a glimpse of the support our players get in Pakistan if they watched the 2008 Asia Cup final played in Karachi – the famous Ajantha Mendis game where he took six for 12 against India.

Sadly, that was the last multi-nation event Pakistan hosted. However, cricket has gradually returned to the country. PCB has been able to host their T-20 league tournament PSL successfully while England and Australia went there last year to play Test match cricket. A multi team tournament played there will be more than a welcome move and we should not put a spoke in the wheel to abrupt things.

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Sineth Jayawardena, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth in Sri Lanka squad for Pakistan T20Is

Published

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2026/10/2

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Vijayakanth Viyaskanth celebrates a wicket with his team-mates [SLC]

Opening batter Sineth Jayawardena has charged into the Sri Lanka T20I squad for the series against Pakistan, while Vijayakanth Viyaskanth has claimed the legspinner’s spot in the absence of the injured Wanindu Hasaranga. Seam-bowling allrounder Chamindu Wickremesinghe has also been named, as has batter Sahan Arachchige, while seamer Binura Fernando makes a return.

Omitted from the the squad were the likes of batter Charith Asalanka, fast bowler Dilshan Madushanka, ambidextrous spinner Tharindu Rathnayake, and batting allrounder Janith Liyanage.

Fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera was named in the squad, but his participation is subject to fitness.

Jayawardena, 21, has got his call-up because of an outstanding recent run in domestic T20s. In the past month, he has struck 101 off 52 and 82 off 32 for Tamil Union Cricket Club in the club T20 competition. He has played a single T20I, at the ongoing Asiad, but otherwise has never been part of a full-strength Sri Lanka side.

Others, such as Wickramasinghe, Arachchige, and Viyaskanth have earned their call-ups through years of performance at domestic level. Each of these players has appeared in T20 internationals for Sri Lanka before, but with the national team having had little success in this format in 2026, this inclusion represents their best chance yet to embed themselves within the side.

The three T20Is, which are all set to be played in Rawalpindi, will begin on October 9.

Sri Lanka squad :
Kamil Mishara, Sineth Jayawardena, Kusal Mendis (capt.), Lahiru Udara, Sahan Arachchige, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Dunith Wellalage, Maheesh Theekshana, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Binura Fernando, Nuwan Thushara, Eshan Malinga, Dushmantha Chameera (subject to fitness)

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Bronze at stake as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka look to bring cheer to Asian Games contingents

Published

11 hours ago

2026/10/2

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Litton Das will hope to end his barren run of scores across formats [Cricinfo]

At the end of a wretched week in Nisshin, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have something real to play for: an Asian Games bronze.

Both teams have a point to prove. Bangladesh recovered well from a poor start in their semi-final against Pakistan, thanks to Towhid Hridoy’s efforts with the bat, but their bowlers couldn’t defend 111 in a 13-overs-a-side game, and Mustafizur Rahman was taken to the cleaners in one of his rare poor outings in T20Is.

But at least they ran Pakistan close. In the other semi-final, India ran riot over Sri Lanka, bowling them out for 45. Sri Lanka had a second-string side on the field, but they wouldn’t have bargained for the basic mistakes they made, like the three run-outs in their innings.

Bangladesh, who can call on most of their first-choice players, start the third-place match as clear favourites, but the testing conditions at Nisshin can even up contests that look one-sided on paper. And both teams will have the motivation of bringing joy to contingents that have endured mostly barren Asian Games campaigns.

After a run-less Australia tour where Litton Das made three ducks in a row in the Test series, he was out for 2 against Pakistan. Litton faced just three balls, off which he attempted two reverse-sweeps, the second of them costing him his wicket. It was a perplexing innings on a pitch that offered a lot of turn and awkward bounce. Sometimes it’s hard to say if a batter is really out of form when he’s made a string of low scores, but Litton, who has led Bangladesh impressively in this format over the last couple of years, will want to break out of this run quickly.

Sahan Arachchige couldn’t quite muster up a captain’s performance against India, especially after his top three batters fell for ducks. He scored 9 before falling to a sweep shot against Axar Patel. He had earlier taken two wickets with his offbreaks. The 30-year-old allrounder now has the chance to put together a better show and inspire his team to the bronze.

Both teams could test their bench strength in the bronze-medal match.

Sri Lanka (probable): Sineth Jayawardena, Lasith Croospulle, Sohan de Livera (wk), Nuwanidu Fernando, Sahan Arachchige (capt), Ashen Bandara, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanuja Sahan, Tharindu Ratnayake, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Binura Fernando.

Bangladesh (probable): Tanzid Hasan, Saif Hassan, Litton Das (capt), Parvez Hossain Emon (wk), Towhid Hridoy (c), Mosaddek Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Aliss Al Islam/Nasum Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Mustafizur Rahman/Hasan Mahmud.

[Ceicinfo]

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Wanderers to host 2027 men’s ODI World Cup final as well as India vs Pakistan

Published

12 hours ago

2026/10/2

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Australia are the ODI World Cup defending champions [Cricinfo]

The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg will host the 2027 ODI World Cup final, as it did in 2003, as well as the marquee match between India and Pakistan on October 10 at next year’s tournament. Wanderers, South Africa’s biggest ground with a capacity of over 30,000, has been preferred over Newlands in Cape Town, an iconic ground because of its mountain backdrop.

Newlands will instead host the opening match between India and defending champions Australia on October 7. So, a re-match of the 2023 final kicks off the group stage of the 14th edition of the tournament. Prior to that, the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek will stage the Super Series, a three-team preliminary round which will decide which side makes it to the 12-team main event. Newlands gets a semi-final as well on November 17, with the other knockout game scheduled to take place in SuperSport Park in Tshwane (Centurion) on November 18. Zimbabwe, the co-hosts, are getting five games in the World Cup group stage and they play all of them at home.

The 12 teams – two of whom have yet to be decided – will be divided into two groups of six. Afghanistan, Australia, India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe and one of the qualifiers make up Group A. Bangladesh, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and the other qualifier make up Group B. The two qualifiers will come from a 10 team tournament early next year, with the winner advancing to the group stage and the losing finalist and two losing semi-finalists to play the Super Series. A venue for the qualifiers has yet to be established but it is likely to be played either in South Africa or Namibia. The top eight teams besides the co-hosts in the ICC rankings on September 30 this year gained automatic qualification to the World Cup.

The World Cup will be staged between October 2 – to commemorate the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, who spent two decades working as a lawyer in South Africa – and will conclude on November 21. The semi-finals and the final will have a reserve day.

South Africa, the co-host in group B, begin their campaign against New Zealand – a re-match of the 2026 T20 World Cup semi-final – at Newlands on October 9. Zimbabwe, the co-host in group A, will face Afghanistan in Bulawayo on October 11 to start their journey.

The top three teams of each group will move into the Super 7 phase, with the better fourth-place finisher across the two groups taking the seventh spot. Several teams already have their designations for the Super 7 phase and there is a chance of a second India vs Pakistan game in Cape Town on November 7.

A1: India
A2: Australia
A3: Pakistan
AB4: England
B1: New Zealand
B2: South Africa
B3: Sri Lanka

If either Bangladesh or Afghanistan or any other team who are not seeded, get through their groups, they will assume seeding of the seeded team that gets knocked out.

In addition to hosting the preliminary round of the World Cup, Windhoek will host three group games, two of them involving 2019 champions England. The newly constructed Mosi-oa-Tunya Stadium in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe got the final game of the group stages – India vs Zimbabwe on October 24 and three Super 7 matches. According to the ICC’s pre-seeding, these will be India vs Australia on October 28, Pakistan vs England on October 30 and Australia vs New Zealand on November 1.

There will be five matches played at Durban, including the final one of the Super 7 between A1 (India) and B3 (Sri Lanka) on November 14. In all there are 12 venues – Windhoek in Namibia, Victoria Falls, Harare and Bulawayo in Zimbabwe and Cape Town, Paarl, Johannesburg, Tshwane (Centurion), Bloemfontein, Durban, KuGompo City (East London) and Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth).

[Cricinfo]