Army raids Umar Gul's house; arrests his brother

Pakistan Army commandos raided cricketer Umar Gul's house in Peshawar and arrested his brother on charges of harbouring a wanted militant, according to a media report on Wednesday. The fast bowler's brother, Meraj, was arrested with two other men on charges of providing shelter to his uncle, Haji Daly, believed to be an active member of the banned Lashkar-e-Islam, The Express Tribune reported.

A local resident told the newspaper that a team of commandos raided the house yesterday.

Two paramedics, Younas and Shakil, were among those arrested. They were moved to an undisclosed location.

An official of the local police station claimed Haji Daly was injured in an operation by armed forces at Bara in Khyber tribal region, and had fled to Peshawar and lived with Meraj for several days before leaving the city.

The Khyber Agency is a stronghold of the Lashkar-e-Islam.

"The injured man was brought to Hayatabad Medical Complex with two local paramedics who changed his bandages," the official said.

The injured man left the hospital without his identity being ascertained, he said.

Reports indicated that the two arrested paramedics are employees of a maternity home located adjacent to Gul’s house.

Gul's family owns the maternity home.

However, members of Gul's family declined to comment on the matter. A cousin of Gul confirmed that a raid had been carried out and three people were arrested.

Positive IPL news for Pakistan - Butt

Ijaz Butt, the former PCB chairman, has said that BCCI president and IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla has assured him that the Pakistan players will be readmitted into the IPL. Butt had met Shukla and former BCCI president Sharad Pawar last week in Delhi, in a meeting sanctioned by the PCB.

Butt had then briefed current Pakistan board chief Zaka Ashraf about the discussions at the Delhi meeting, as well as on all the past communications he had had with the BCCI during his three-year tenure as board chief that ended last October. The briefing was organised in view of Zaka Ashraf travelling to India on Saturday, for the IPL final in Chennai on Sunday.

"With the consent of the incumbent PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf, I met Rajiv Shukla and Sharad Pawar, and discussed the progress on the Indo-Pak cricketing relations," Butt told the Dawn. "In Delhi, Rajiv Shukla assured me that Pakistani players will be allowed to play in the next [2013] IPL edition."

During Butt's tenure, the relationship between Pakistan and India hit a low following the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Following those attacks, bilateral ties between the neighbours were severed, and Pakistan players have not been a part of the IPL since. Also, a team from Pakistan was not invited to participate in the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20). Earlier this month, progress was made on last point, with the BCCI - the CLT20's largest stakeholder - saying it would inform the tournament's governing council that it had no objection to a team from Pakistan participating. Later, Ashraf was invited to watch the IPL final by the BCCI.

"Both Rajiv and Pawar are my very good friends, and we are on good terms for a long time," Butt told ESPNcricinfo. "I, during my tenure [as PCB chief], was for the resumption of dialogues with the BCCI. There were some differences though, which I don't want to share or comment on, but in the end I had to try to have good relations with everyone.

"I have had a good meeting with Zaka during which we discussed a lot of aspects, and I have updated him on my talk with the BCCI officials. From what I can see, there is improvement at the government level and both countries are coming closer. So now it's up to both boards, they should engage in healthy dialogues to revive bilateral ties."

Ashraf before flying to India, spoke to the media, said he is hopeful of a fruitful visit. "Their invitation [to the IPL final] is a strong clue that both countries are moving towards having good relations," Ashraf told reporters at the Lahore airport. "This is rare, in the past no such invitation was extended. So I am hopeful that I will have a good meeting with the BCCI officials on the sidelines of the IPL final regarding the revival of bilateral ties."

© ESPN EMEA Ltd.

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Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi

May 13, 2012

First time I met a hero
I was about seven or eight years old. Shahid Afridi had come play for Abahani Limited, a Dhaka club. Akram Khan, my uncle, had got Afridi to Bangladesh. I could not believe my eyes. I was too young and too shy to say anything to him. He was a heartthrob in Bangladesh and one of the most popular international cricketers after he had scored the fastest ODI century. And here he was, in front of me. I love his dark hair and I tried copying his hairstyle for a while, but it didn't take off. I started to want to hit as far as he hits, and thanks to him I can hit some long balls out of the field.

First notable sledge
It happened when Bangladesh shocked India in a group match in the 2007 World Cup in Port-of-Spain. We were chasing a small target. Munaf Patel was bowling his second over. The first five balls I had not been able to take any run. The final delivery, Munaf pitched it wide of off stump. I stepped out, swung my bat and the top edge went over third man. Munaf was unimpressed and said that I needed to start playing some proper shots. I felt I must be doing something good to get a good international bowler giving me some verbal treatment. I felt good.

First time I took a bowler for granted
Again, this happened in the 2007 World Cup. After my match-winning half-century against India, I was confident. Perhaps, a bit over-confident, as I would find out against Bermuda in another group match. I thought I had faced better bowlers, so I blindly charged Saleem Mukuddem, a medium-fast bowler. I thought I would put him in his place. I stepped out and hit as hard as I could, but the top edge flew over point and third man charged in and took a brilliant catch. It taught me that you can never take anyone for granted in international cricket.

First dressing-down from a coach
It was a domestic first-class match for Chittagong against Sylhet. We had batted on the first day. The next morning I woke up late, at 9am. I drove desperately through the crowded streets of Chittagong to get to the ground, but by the time I got there, the first over had already been bowled. The Chittagong coach, Minhazul Abedin, looked at me in disbelief. I pretended I had been sick overnight, but I didn't get away: after I spent the rest of the day fielding, I was asked to run 20 laps for my mistake.

First time I batted right-handed
Rubel Hossain, the Bangladesh fast bowler, and I have always had verbal duels. He would say how he would easily get me out in the first over he bowled, and I would promise him I would thrash him out of the ground. In 2009 I was playing for Abahani Limited against Gazi Tank, Rubel's team. I had scored 160 and my confidence was high, so I decided the time was ripe to silence Rubel. I played a couple of balls right-handed just to surprise him. I was scared inside as he bowls at speeds of 140kph. I was lucky to escape unhurt!

Nagraj Gollapudi is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

Sialkot Stallions to play in CLT20

NEW DELHI: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Saturday gave go ahead to Champions League Governing Council to take decision on Pakistan team`s participation in the tournament.

Champions League Governing Council will meet on May 28 in Chennai.

The latest move will see Pakistan team Sialkot Stallions play in the Champions League T20. This will be the first time post 26/11 that a Pakistan team will play in the country.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)and some top cricketers have hailed the BCCI decision, which would go a long way in promoting cricket in the region.

Full SaQuad For Srilanka

Speaking to the media, PCB Chairman Zaka Ashraf announced that the Pakistani all rounder would be leading the team in the shortest format of the game, however Misbah ul Haq would remain captain for the One day International and Test formats. Hafeez would serve as the vice captain in these formats.

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board has appointed Mohammad Hafeez as the captain for the Twenty 20 (T20) format of the game during the tour of Sri Lanka.

Ashraf said that Misbah was consulted in all decisions made by the board.

“We are proud of you and will always be proud of you,” Ashraf said in praise of Misbah.

Speaking to the media Hafeez thanked the board and Misbah for giving him the opportunity to lead the T20 team.

“I will try my best to enhance the moral and image of the team.” Hafeez also praised former captains he had played under and said he would implement what he had learnt from them.

“His leadership qualities, calmness and honesty are exemplarily” Hafeez said while describing Misbah.

T20 Team: Khalid Latif, Ahmed Shahzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Umer Akmal, Shakil Ansar, Shahid Afridi, Yasir Arfat, Sohail Tanveer, Saeed Ajmal, Raza Hasan, Umer Gul, Haris Sohaib, Mohammad Sami, Hamad Azam, Nasir Jamshed.

ODI: Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umer Akmal, Sarfaza Ahmed, Shahid Afridi, Umer Gul, Rahat Ali, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Sami, Asad Shafiq, Ijaz Cheema, Azhar Ali, Imran Farhat.

Test: Mohammad Hafeez, Taufiq Umer, Azhar Ali, Misbah ul Haq, Younis Khan, Asad Shafique, Adnan Akmal, Umer Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Abdul Rehman, Mohammad Sami, Faisal Iqbal, Junaid Khan, Afaq Rahim, Mohammad Qayyum Dogar, Ijaz Cheema.

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