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The PCB’s governing board has endorsed its chairman Shaharyar Khan’s view to not play their home series against India in India. The board reaffirmed its stance and expected the BCCI to fulfill its agreement to play Pakistan in the UAE between December 8 and January 9.”The BoG has reaffirmed its position regarding the scheduled Pakistan-India series,” Shaharyar said after the meeting in Lahore. “BoG has restated that the BCCI has signed an agreement with the PCB to play the series in UAE. Under the circumstances the BoG insists that the BCCI should honour its pledge to play in the UAE. There is no reason to justify the BCCI asking the PCB to play the series in India because there’s no security issue involved playing the series in UAE.

Misbah, Younis appointed to PCB cricket committee

The PCB has announced the addition of Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan to the board’s cricket committee. This will be the first time that active players will be a part of the PCB committee.
“This is a very important decision that the Board of Governors has taken,” PCB chief Shaharyar Khan said. “Younis and Misbah will be offering their input purely on cricketing matters whenever they are available.”
Shaharyar said the decision was taken for the PCB to get a better understanding of the modern game. Misbah and Younis have both retired from the limited-overs cricket and only play for the Test side.

“They should adhere to that agreement and we should not go to India. So that’s what BoG discussed today and after that they have advised us. In reality where MoUs are signed, it’s not binding but there’s a legal opinion that it’s an agreement as you have given something against it.”A day after Shaharyar had revealed that BCCI president Shashank Manohar had offered to host Pakistan in India in December, he made it clear the bilateral series would only be possible if India toured the UAE. The BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur on the other hand had said the Indian government would not grant permission for India to play Pakistan in the UAE.Pakistan’s Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan had also expressed his disapproval regarding Pakistan playing in India. “This is not about money; it’s an issue that involves Pakistan’s dignity and honour,” he said. “Though the final decision is to be taken by the Prime Minister, I will oppose any tour to India under the present circumstances if it comes under discussion at a cabinet meeting or some other forum.”The PCB said it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the BCCI to play six bilateral series between 2015 and 2023. Four of those series will be hosted by Pakistan and the six tours will include up to 14 Tests, 30 ODIs and 12 T20s.”We won’t play against them,” said Shaharyar said, when asked what if the BCCI refuse to play in the UAE. “Some people think that if Pakistan doesn’t play against India, whether in UAE or in India, then we will go bankrupt. But we have not been playing for the last eight years and still we have survived. We won’t be getting a bonus, but it’s all right if you are not playing against us.”We will suffer a loss and we understand we have to tighten our belts and have to do downsizing but we have to pass through it. We have to sacrifice this because of the country but at the same time we are doing fine with our finances and can continue.”The MOU with the BCCI was a result of the PCB’s conditional support for the ICC revamp, a move pushed for by the BCCI, CA and ECB that restructured the power and revenue structure of the governing body. When asked if supporting the revamp was the wrong move, Shaharyar said commitments were made to be fulfilled at this level.

India Under-19s’ top-order struggles against West Indies Under-19s was not a new occurrence in the tournament that unveiled itself only in the World Cup final. An unbeaten Indian side that had nearly all its parts fall into place until now, was reduced to 50 for 5 within 18 overs.Against Ireland in the first match, India were 48 for 3 before Sarfaraz Khan rescued them with a knock of 74. Against New Zealand, India were 19 for 2 and Sarfaraz scored 74 again. India were chasing only 170 against Nepal and the top order showed signs of getting into form with their biggest opening stand of the tournament – 124. But the top-order troubles came back in the knockouts – 27 for 2 in the semi-final against Sri Lanka, when Sarfaraz rescued them with another fifty. In the final, Sarfaraz was again India’s sole source of resistance with a patient 51 when the batsmen before him fell for 1, 4, 3 and 7.While India’s initial matches in Mirpur had more seamer-friendly tracks compared to today, their position in the final was the worst of the lot in terms of wickets lost and the run-rate. If the West Indies pace attack had a reputation of carving through the opposition’s batsmen, the Indian line-up had also been resuscitating itself with major contributions coming from the middle order.But much was being put on Sarfaraz’s shoulders. He was India’s leading run-scorer by a distance, and the second-highest overall, with a tally of 355 runs; Rishabh Pant was next with 267. Pant’s form was on the rise with consecutive fifties and then a destructive hundred against Namibia. But if he was not performing, all the burden was falling on Sarfaraz. India’s third-highest run-scorer was Armaan Jaffer with 160 runs. While coach Rahul Dravid accepted there was some “carelessness” in the first few dismissals, captain Ishan Kishan believed some batsmen have had to make up for the others not scoring on particular days.”It wasn’t that we were relying only on him (Sarfaraz),” Kishan said after the final. “He’s a good batsman and in very good form. It’s not everyone’s day and whoever is in form takes more responsibility. Sometimes it happens that some players are not in form or wickets are falling early so the one who sticks around scores more, that’s the plan usually.”They bowled well in the right areas and got good help from the pitch, there was very good bounce. Pant’s wicket was not good for us and later I got a wrong decision from the umpire. These things are very crucial and we needed a partnership but didn’t get that otherwise the result would have been different.”Apart from a solid top-three combination, the Indian line-up needed a support system in the middle order they could fall back on, whether Sarfaraz was among the runs or not. The only thing he would rue would be that he scored five fifties in six innings but gave his wicket away instead of putting a price on it for the bowlers.”I think he’s had a very good tournament in terms of numbers and stats but I think if he’s honest with himself, he’ll know that he should have converted some of those into one or two hundreds,” Dravid said. “Today was a really good opportunity, he was batting really really well. Just an opportunity to bat right till the end and get us to a fighting total. He has got a lot of talent and he’s shown that in the tournament. And he’s not the only one. Some of them have been able to show it, some not so much. But it’s the starting of a journey for some. Experiences like these, tournaments like these will really help them.”Coach Rahul Dravid on Sarfaraz Khan – “I think he’s had a very good tournament in terms of numbers and stats but I think if he’s honest with himself, he’ll know that he should have converted some of those into one or two hundreds”•Getty Images

A weak link that did not hurt India till the final was the No. 3 spot. India had Ricky Bhui at that spot for their first three games. He started off with a steady 39 against Ireland but produced subdued performances against New Zealand and Nepal with scores of 1 and 7 respectively. The result was Bhui, one of the three Indian players to play the last World Cup, was dropped for a batting allrounder who had not even batted in the warm-ups – Anmolpreet Singh.Anmolpreet showed his mettle straightaway – 41 in the quarter-final and a pressure-soaking 72 against Sri Lanka when India lost the openers within 10 overs. But can you blame a new player for not scoring in the final when he had already scored in the previous two? To add to that, he faced the most unplayable delivery among the Indian batsmen in the final – an uncomfortable short ball that drew an edge for the wicketkeeper.”Earlier we always found a way to pull ourselves back,” Dravid said. “Maybe it was one match too many. See, the guys tried their best. I will not blame anyone. The effort that I saw in training, practice was top class. We batted first in every single game except against Nepal and they were pretty challenging conditions. Considering we were playing in the sub-continent, these were pretty challenging conditions especially with 9 o’clock starts here.”It wasn’t easy to bat but it was a great lesson for us going ahead that sometimes you have to bat in these conditions, sometimes you have to find a way to get through that. Really good lesson for the top three that conditions aren’t always going to be as flat as you experience in India and you have to fight your way through it, you have to have the technique and ability to get through to 20 overs and then cash in. Lessons and learning but can’t fault the effort.”India were also caught unaware by the alertness of West Indies wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach who stumped Pant off a fast bowler on the fourth ball of the match. It can be said that that moment started India’s downfall and spoiled their plans of seeing through the first few overs of the opening bowlers. Pant did not have his best day while wicketkeeping either. In a challenging defence of 145, he dropped Kacy Carty in the 41st over on 35 and West Indies were still 37 runs adrift from the target. Carty went on to score an unbeaten 51 and steered his team through several nervous moments.”It happens, catches get dropped,” Kishan said. “It’s not necessary that things will go your way every day. He (Pant) has given very good performances so far so it’s not that he had a bad day. We bowled well, if we had fielded well and taken our catches, the result would have been in our favour.”

	Shaun Marsh’s limited-overs form this season brought his long-awaited call-up into the Australia squad © Getty Images

Shaun Marsh has credited Western Australia’s decision to suspend him for two matches after a drinking session in November as the wake-up call he needed to set him on the path to his first tour with the national side. Marsh was chosen in Australia’s 14-man ODI squad that will visit the West Indies in June following his most prolific domestic season.The honour seemed a long way off when Marsh and his team-mate Luke Pomersbach were banned by their state after they were seen leaving a Fremantle nightspot in the early hours of a Sunday morning, when they should have been preparing for matches. “It was a big wake up call for me,” Marsh told .”I had fallen back into my old habits of going out. It was the turning point of my career I think. It was very disappointing to get dropped for that reason, and it is something I can look back on now and say was the turning point.”Marsh went on to finish the summer as the Warriors’ leading one-day run scorer with 318 at 39.75 and his Pura Cup collection of 663 at 60.27 was also impressive. He topped the competition run tally in the KFC Twenty20 with 290 at 58 and the efforts earned him the prize as Western Australia’s Player of the Year.Marsh, 24, celebrated his elevation to the national setup with his family, including his father Geoff Marsh, the former Australia opening batsman and coach. “It is a dream come true,” the younger Marsh said. “I have been dreaming about that phone call for a long time and to actually get it was an amazing feeling.”It has been a tough road, I have had to work pretty hard this season to get into the position. Dad was in as much shock as I was in, I didn’t believe it at the start – but the family were very happy and came round for a champagne.”Marsh spent plenty of time around the Australian dressing-rooms as a child and the experience gave him a glimpse of cricket at the highest level. However, he has also felt the burden of living with a famous name as he tried to establish his own position in the Western Australia top order.”I have had to live with it for the last seven years I have been in the state squad,” Marsh said. “But you learn with it and have to deal with it – it is not a problem now.”

In four weeks’ time, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) will hold their first women’s tournament in Malaysia. While Malaysia will have both the home advantage and the benefit of fitness – as many of their players are in the Air Force – plans are also taking shape in the UAE.Two former India players are on board to mould the first UAE women’s team. Pramila Bhat Sarangan and Smitha Harikrishna have a hard task – women’s cricket is a new sport to the country – so they are instilling such disciplines as practice at 6am and even just teaching the basics. “A flush of too much technique may be too much for them to handle,” Sarangan told . “We will be working hard on their physical fitness.”Most of the team are from the subcontinent, mainly from South India. Sarangan would like to see more representation from South Africans and English ex-pats.On a developmental level, she says: “If women’s cricket is to become popular in UAE, the game should be promoted at the schools level. Clubs should also be formed and matches should be organised regularly.”In the meantime, the two players to look out for Natasha Michael, a batsman, and the fast bowler Charvi Bhatt. They will be taking part in the week-long ACC tournament, which comprises 25-over matches, starts on July 11.

Jagmohan Dalmiya will appear before the Committee for failing to reply to the show cause notice © AFP

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has issued summons to Jagmohan Dalmiya, its former president, following his failure to reply to a show cause notice. He will face a Disciplinary Committee headed by Sharad Pawar, the current BCCI president, and includes Shashank Manohar and Chirayu Amin.”Dalmiya has been asked to appear before the Disciplinary Committee on July 26 at one o’clock (afternoon) in New Delhi,” Niranjan Shah, the BCCI Secretary said.The Board had issued a show cause notice to Dalmiya, asking him to furnish details of a transfer of Rs 40 crore (approx. US$85561498) from an Indian Overseas Bank account in Bhawanipur to the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), of which he is the president, between 1996 to 2005. After Dalmiya failed to reply to the notice, the Board debited the amount to CAB and also decided to withhold all subsidies to it.Earlier, the Board had alleged misappropriation of the 1996 World Cup funds by Dalmiya and filed an FIR at a Mumbai police station a few months ago. The case was subsequently transferred to the Economic Offence Wing of the Mumbai Police who interrogated Dalmiya and two other colleagues when he was at the helm of Board’s affairs.

Virender Sehwag: all set to have a crack at Shaun Pollock and co. © Getty Images

The three one-day matches between an Asia XI and an Africa XI to be held next month will be accorded official status. reported that the ICC granted the sanction to the games, to be held either in India or South Africa on August 17, 19 and 21, in a tournament which will be organised by the newly formed Afro-Asian Cricket Cooperation.The decision to make the games official will probably bother statisticians worldwide, but recently the ICC has moved away from conventional thinking in this matter – the one-dayers organised recently to aid the victims of the tsunami disaster were accorded official status, as will be the Super Series between Australia and Rest of the World in October.The Indian board had earlier requested their Sri Lankan counterparts to bring forward the dates of the triangular one-day tournament in Sri Lanka so that the players from both countries could play for Asia. With the Sri Lankan board agreeing to that request – the triangular will be held from July 30 to August 10 – the Asian line-up could include the likes of Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sanath Jayasuriya and Muttiah Muralitharan, along with other big names from Pakistan.The AACC, currently headed by Jagmohan Dalmiya, the Asian Cricket Council chief, has also decided that a series between Asia and Africa will take place on an annual basis, with the two continents alternating as hosts. The ICC has already agreed to this plan. According to the agreement, 70% of the net profits from the game will go to the host continent, 20% to the visitors, while 10% will be kept aside to help develop the game in both continents.

Who’s who in the disputeStephen Mangongo, the convenor of selectors in Zimbabwe, and Ozias Bvute, one of the directors of the Zimbabwe Cricket Union, have allegedly come to blows over the selection of the national team.Various news agencies have reported that both got into a heated argument in front of officials, security staff and guests at the Harare Sports Club after the final one-day match between Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.Bystanders say the row focused on a disagreement over the number of white players to be included in the national team for the first Test against Sri Lanka, which starts on Thursday. Mangongo reportedly wanted about eight whites in the squad, while Bvute thought only three or four should be included.A witness to the incident told Wisden Cricinfo said that the row was “much more serious than the statement indicates”, explaining that Bvute had Mangongo in a very strong arm-lock.The two men closed ranks, denied that blows had been exchanged, but did not dismiss suggestions that the disagreement had become physical. In a joint statement, issued by the ZCU, they said: “There were pertinent issues on the agenda and both of us had divergent views on those issues. In the heat of the argument obviously voices would be raised but the point remains that we were each trying to push home our point.”It is not true that punches were thrown and we can categorically say whatever physical confrontation there was did not amount to fisticuffs. The relationship between us remains cordial as it has always been.”

World Cup star Chaminda Vaas will miss Sri Lanka’s crucial first Sharjah Cupmatch against Pakistan on Friday.Vaas, who took a record 23 wickets at 14.39 during the World Cup, hasinjured his right landing ankle in practice.There is also a serious concern over the fitness of his new ball partner,Dilhara Fernando, who was unable to train on Thursday because of a soreback.”Chaminda (Vaas) is out and Dilhara was unable to bowl this morning,” saidteam manager Ajit Jayasekera.The management hopes that Vaas will recover in time for Sunday’s revengematch against Kenya.There is an outside chance that Fernando could still play but there is already concern that he has aggravated an old stress fracture.”He is being treated by the physio now and we will just have to see how thatgoes before we select the side tonight,” said JayasekeraWith the selectors having axed Pulasthi Gunaratne, their fifth seamer, SriLanka are now left with only the inexperienced Buddhika Fernando and PrabathNissanka as back-up.

A disappointed Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya blamed his batsmenfor not firing once again in their last round robin match of the CocaCola Cup which the home team lost to India today."It’s disappointing. The first 15 overs are very crucial and we lostthree wickets in the first ten overs and that’s where the game wentout of our hands."Sri Lanka’s strong batting line up has failed to provide the goods inthis tournament but the bowlers have been able to do the job for theSri Lankan captain. "In the previous games we had one batsmen whokept going. Either Russell, Marvan or me but today it didn’t happen,"he said.Right through this tournament, Sri Lanka has been sticking to the sixbatsmen policy. When asked as to whether they would deviate from thatpolicy in the final, the Sri Lankan captain said, "We want to persistwith the same combination. If we play seven batsmen, then we’ll beshort of an all rounder. I think we’ll stick to the six batsmenpolicy."Indian captain Sourav Ganguly meanwhile remained positive of a victoryin tomorrow’s game against New Zealand. "After today’s victory, we’vegot the same points as New Zealand. I am confident we can turn itaround in tomorrow’s match and book a berth in the final. We haven’tdone well against them in this tournament, but I am sure we can put upa much better performance."India started off poorly with the cream of their batting back in thepavilion with just 38 on the board. But at the end, they managed to gopast 225. "We lost a few very early wickets. But Yuvraj, Rahul andSodhi batted superbly to take us past 225," said Ganguly."When we had the wicket of Sanath Jayasuriya I knew we had the gamein our hands. Sri Lanka’s batting depends a lot on Sanath. If we gethim early that’s it," said the Indian skipper."If you look at Sri Lanka’s success rate, they’ve won most of theirmatches because of Sanath or Aravinda. One of them is not there,"remarked Ganguly.Man of the match Yuvraj Singh returned to form with a fine unbeaten98. The left-handed batsman has been shuffled between the opening slotand the middle order, but today when the team needed his services themost, he came good. However he seems to be content with whateverposition he bats. "I wouldn’t mind batting in the middle order oropening the innings. I play according to the team’s needs," he said.Yuvraj missed out on his maiden century by just two runs. At the endof the day reflecting on the innings, he said, "Yes, a hundred wouldhave been nice. I have not got one. I was unfortunate to slip on acouple of occasions while I was running. But once again that’s how itgoes. I don’t mind as long as we keep winning."

Leeds United have no new injury problems ahead of their Premier League clash with Liverpool on Wednesday night, Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed.

The Lowdown: Tough assignment for Leeds

The Whites lost 4-2 at home to Manchester United last weekend and their next assignment is one of the hardest imaginable, with a midweek trip to Anfield on the agenda.

Liverpool have found top form again in recent weeks and are back in the title race, so anything other than defeat for Leeds would feel like a huge bonus for the visitors.

Bielsa has been dogged by injuries to his squad throughout the campaign, but a revelation from the manager prior to the Merseyside clash offers some welcome news for the Elland Road faithful.

[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]

The Latest: Bielsa delivers positive injury news

Speaking to the media on Tuesday [via Yorkshire Evening Post], the Leeds manager confirmed that there were no new injury concerns among his squad going into the Liverpool match.

When asked about team news update and whether any new injury worries had arisen, Bielsa gave a succinct three-word reply: “None in particular.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-35/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: A welcome positive

This is undoubtedly positive news from a Leeds perspective, with as many players needed as possible for such a tough match tonight.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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While the likes of Liam Cooper, Patrick Bamford and Kalvin Phillips remain sidelined, the only question ahead of the Liverpool clash surrounds Robin Koch, who left the field with a concussion at the weekend and is meant to rest for six days afterwards.

Whether or not Bielsa has ruled out the German in his own head remains to be seen, but it would feel negligent to play him against Jurgen Klopp’s star-studded team if he is not 100%. The last thing Leeds want is for any physical concerns to be needlessly exacerbated.

In other news, a former player has bemoaned an injury update regarding one Leeds player. Read more here.