Afridi as the polio celebrity champion

 

The government just nominated the Pakistani cricketer, Shahid Afridi as the polio celebrity champion who declared his intentions of ensuring that no child in Pakistan is left unvaccinated and is paralyzed by Polio.

Afridi joined hand for the cause of polio eradicated initiative in Pakistan and signed a MoU (Memorandum of understanding) with the spokespersons of Prime Minister’s Monitoring and Coordination cell for Polio eraditcation, Rotary international, UNICEF and WHO.

Bill gates, the owner of Microsoft made a post on his facebook page regarding the Pakistani cricketers valiant effort which read, “Great to have support of leading Pakistani wicket taker Shahid Afridi, who recently joined Rotary’s “This Close” campaign to support the fight to end polio.”

It is truly grand that our cricketers and various other several celebrities too are making efforts to make this homeland of ours a better place.

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Afridi announced his retirement In

Shahid Afridi, the Pakistan allrounder, has said that he may consider retiring from ODI cricket to give selectors a chance to build a strong, young team for the 2015 World Cup being held in Australia and New Zealand.
He said that he would reassess his future after the team returned home from Sri Lanka in mid-July. "People expect a lot from senior players, so I must sincerely review my performance [in ODI cricket]," Afridi told ESPNcricinfo. "I want to step aside for new players [to come through], so that Pakistan can build a good team for the 2015 World Cup. But I must, first, check if anyone is ready to take my place in the team, so that my retirement won't be unfair to the team."

Afridi, who was dismissed for scores of 2, 17, 0 and 9 in the ODIs against Sri Lanka, said that even if he retired from ODI's, he would still continue playing the Twenty20 format. "[I had decided that] the day I became a burden to cricket I would walk away [from the game]. I am considering [whether or not to retire from ODIs] and would consult some senior players and friends before making a decision. But even if I retire from ODI's I will continue to play Twenty20 cricket."

Pakistan were shoddy in the field, in the ODI's, with several dropped catches and missed run-out opportunities, allowing Sri Lanka to gain the upper hand. Afridi attributed the 3-1 series loss to poor fielding. "Fielding has been our weakness ever since I started playing cricket," he said. "We didn't play as we expected, but Sri Lanka were strong in their own conditions. They used the conditions very well."

In the past Afridi had announced his retirement on a number of occasions. First, in 2006, he decided to take a temporary sabbatical from Test cricket to concentrate on ODIs. Then in 2010, he announced his Test retirement after Pakistan lost the first Test against Australia at Lord's. A year later he announced a "conditional" retirement from international cricket to protest against the way he was "humiliated" by the PCB, who had stripped him of his ODI captaincy.

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Kumar Sangakkara has fractured his right hand knuckle

Sangakkara out for four to six weeks.

Kumar Sangakkara has been ruled out of cricket for four to six weeks after a fracturing his finger during the third ODI against India in Colombo. The injury means that Sangakkara will not be able to take part in the inaugural season of the Sri Lanka Premier League that starts on August 11, apart from missing the remaining two ODIs against India.
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Pak cricketers irked by PCB's ban on playing Ramazan tournaments

Karachi, July 28 : The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) policy of not allowing the World Twenty20 probables to play in Ramazan tournaments is irritating players who want match practice under their belt before future international events.
The PCB has stated that permission will be given after the One-Day International (ODI) squad is announced for the Australia series in the UAE.
However, several players have urged the PCB to let them have valuable match practice instead of training alone.
“Playing matches and being on the field is very different than training on your own or in the nets. Matches bring the best out of a player and we need this practice before future tours,” a senior member of the Pakistan squad told The Express Tribune.
Several national team players have said that the televised tournaments will also increase their chances of making a strong impression on the selectors and help them make the cut.
“The ODI squad against Australia is yet to be announced so if any player performs outstandingly, he will definitely leave an impact on the selectors,” said another player.
Ramazan T20 tournaments also allow Pakistan internationals to earn substantial amounts of money as they are given match fees and a monthly salary from clubs and departments to play as guest players.

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ICC denies its clearance was required to select Kamran Akmal in Pak team

Islamabad, July 28: The International Cricket Council (ICC) has said that Kamran Akmal was always eligible for selection in the Pakistan team and that they did not need to issue any clearance for his inclusion in the squad.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf had earlier said that the PCB had sought permission from the ICC for Kamran''s selection.
According to Ashraf, the selectors were given the go ahead to select Kamran after getting the nod from the ICC.
However, the ICC’s media and communications chief Colin Gibson was quoted as saying that selection of players for the Pakistan team was the sole responsibility of the PCB.
“The ICC has not issued any form of clearance to the PCB for the selection of any of its players and like all others who are not suspended for any reason from participating, Akmal remains eligible for selection for the Pakistan national cricket team should Pakistan decide to select him,” The Daily Times quoted Gibson, as saying.
Selectors sidelined Akmal after his name surfaced during the spot-fixing trial in London last year prompting suspicions about his links with bookmaker, Mazhar Majeed.
However, Akmal was recalled for the team’s upcoming Twenty20 assignments after he made a final appearance before the PCB’s integrity committee.

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