Karachi: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf, who was invited by the BCCI to watch the final of the Indian Premier League, on Saturday declined to attend the event citing his busy schedule at home.
"Zaka Ashraf is tied up in some commitments in Pakistan at the moment so he wouldn't be going to attend the final for which he was invited by the BCCI," the spokesman said.
Sources in the board said Ashraf had been advised to not visit India because of the spot-fixing scandal that had hit the mega-event last week.
"It was thought it would be better now for him to remain away from the IPL spotlight as other boards have also indicated their representatives will not be in Kolkata for the final," one source said....
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09:44 PM, May 25, 2013
Paris: Old foe Novak Djokovic and damp weather conditions are the most likely obstacles to claycourt machine Rafael Nadal's bid for a record-extending eighth French Open title over the next two weeks. Nadal, who last year beat Bjorn Borg's record of six Roland Garros crowns, has lost only one match on the Paris clay and has already won five titles on the slow surface this year. However, Serbia's Djokovic ended...
05:23 PM, May 25, 2013
Islamabad: Former President Pervez Musharraf on Friday approached the Islamabad High Court to challenge the rejection of his bail by an anti-terrorism court in a case related to detention of judges during the 2007 emergency in Pakistan. In a petition filed through his counsel Ilyas Siddiqui, Musharraf said that, being a former president, he could not be tried under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the charges levelled against him were bailable....
12:12 AM, May 25, 2013
Paris: Seven-time champion Rafael Nadal could face top-seeded Novak Djokovic in the French Open semifinals a year after they met to decide the title. Friday's draw for the clay-court Grand Slam tournament placed Nadal and Djokovic on the same half of the field, while Roger Federer could face David Ferrer in the other semifinal. Federer, the owner of a record 17 major titles including the 2009 French Open, will face...
06:01 PM, May 24, 2013
New Delhi: After 50 years of service, the phaseout of the MiG-21 will begin in 2017 as confirmed by Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne. It is expected to be replaced by the Light Combat Aircraft (LAC) Tejas. IAF operates about 80 (four squadrons) of these Russian-origin planes in its fleet and due to the recurring problems in their engines, it had to ground all of them after a crash. A...
10:47 AM, May 24, 2013
Mumbai: In a bid to increase competition and give "better incentives" to the players, the All India Football Federation plans to add four more teams to the existing 14 in the I-League next season. "The I-League as it stands today, we are going to add four new teams. We were thinking of two new teams but by the time the entire process goes through, we will be adding four new...
10:24 AM, May 24, 2013
Kolkata: The Left Front on Thursday asked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to respond to allegations by a senior West Bengal IPS officer about "corrupt practices" when she was the railway minister. "Serious allegations of corruption have been levelled by a senior and respected IPS officer from the state. We don't to want question her (Banerjee) integrity. But to keep that image intact the chief minister must come out with an...
04:26 AM, May 24, 2013
Madrid: Milos Raonic would probably not feature on most people's list of potential French Open champions but the two-metre Canadian with the booming serve has been working hard on his clay game in Spain and has the potential to cause an upset. The Montenegro-born 22-year-old, who will make his third appearance at Roland Garros next week, joined up with Spanish coach Galo Blanco at his 4Slam Tennis academy in Barcelona...
04:46 PM, May 23, 2013
London: Watching Rafael Nadal churn his way through the claycourt season over the past few weeks, it seems nothing much has changed since his French Open triumph a year ago despite a lengthy injury layoff. Titles in Barcelona, Madrid and Rome, where he dropped only three sets in the process, mean the 26-year-old is overwhelming favourite to lift the trophy for an eighth time at Roland Garros when play gets...
04:29 PM, May 23, 2013
New Delhi: A 40-year-old Delhi Traffic Police constable was killed by a speeding truck In Delhi on Tuesday morning, police said. The errant truck driver was arrested. Mahesh Anand, who was on his way to Delhi's Todapur traffic lines on his bike, was knocked down and crushed by the truck near east Delhi's Shastri Park area around 6.45 am, police said. Truck driver Alam, 22, was arrested, police said. The...
04:53 AM, May 22, 2013
Milan: Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis denies meeting former Chelsea coach Rafael Benitez on Monday but admits he is interested in selling Edinson Cavani to sign Manchester City's Edin Dzeko. Napoli is in the hunt for a new manager after Walter Mazzarri announced his departure. De Laurentiis says on Tuesday, "I didn't go to London to meet with Benitez ... it's true though that I've spoken with a lot of...
07:42 PM, May 21, 2013
On the UPA's fourth anniversary, ally NCP said the government dragged its feet on the sacking of Pawan Bansal and Ashwani Kumar. "The timing was perhaps wrong. There was no need to wait for things to go wrong," said Praful Patel. ...
04:47 PM, May 21, 2013
Lahore: President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday blamed national and international forces for his Pakistan Peoples Party defeat in the May 11 polls while the party's losing candidates held former premiers Yousuf Raza Gilani and Raja Pervez Ashraf responsible for the debacle. In a meeting with PPP ticket-holders of Punjab province at his private residence here, Zardari claimed some "international forces" did not want the party to come to power...
01:05 AM, May 21, 2013
Jammu: Attributing bird hits as one of the major causes of aircraft mishaps, the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Monday asked people not to throw waste in open, which attracts the avian population. "Birds strike is one of the major causes of aircraft accidents. People should not throw waste in open and keep their surroundings clean, so that the birds are not attracted," Wing Commander Amit Singh Gaharwar said at...
06:45 PM, May 20, 2013
Islamabad: Former military ruler Pervez Musharraf was on Monday granted bail by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court in connection with the 2007 Benazir Bhutto assassination case, but the ex-president will remain under house arrest. The granting of bail does not mean that 69-year-old Musharraf, who is currently being held at his palatial farmhouse on the outskirts of Islamabad, will be freed as he faces two other cases - detaining dozens of...
06:11 PM, May 20, 2013
Dhaka: Bangladesh on Sunday slapped a ban on political rallies for a month to maintain law and order in the wake of deadly protests by Islamists that left at least 28 people dead earlier in May 2013. "Some political parties have caused a law and order problem in the name of holding their programmes. Hence, no one would be allowed to hold any kind of rally for the next one...
02:40 AM, May 20, 2013
Karachi: Pakistan Cricket Board chief Zaka Ashraf has refused to comment on the spot-fixing scandal that has hit the Indian Premier League, referring to it as an internal matter of the BCCI. The PCB chief said that his board had taken a number of steps to prevent its players from getting involved in corrupt practises. "I can assure you that even when our team plays in the Champions Trophy next...
06:53 PM, May 19, 2013
Islamabad: In the backdrop of Nawaz Sharif's positive remarks on ties with India, powerful Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has suggested Pakistan's Prime Minister - designate to take gradual initiatives with utmost caution for improving relations with New Delhi, a media report said on Sunday. Kayani made the suggestion when he called on PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif, set to become Prime Minister for a record third term following his...
12:38 PM, May 19, 2013
Rome: Rafa Nadal beat Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych 6-2 6-4 to reach the Italian Open final on Saturday with a dominant performance that he described as emotional after his long injury absence. Nadal, who returned to action in February after seven months out with a knee problem, will have the chance to win his sixth title since his comeback when he faces either Roger Federer or Benoit Paire in...
11:49 PM, May 18, 2013
