Spin whiz Ajmal and Afridi to play in SA
SHAHID Afridi and Saeed Ajmal will brighten SA’s franchise T20 competition in January, and more Pakistani stars could be on their way.
The Knights have signed Afridi, who played five first-class matches and five one-day games for Griqualand West in 2003-04. In those 15 innings, he scored a century and three halfcenturies, and took 14 wickets at 30.00 in the first-class competition and five at 27.20 in the one-dayers.
Saeed Ajmal will play for the Titans, bolstering a spin attack that features Roelof van der Merwe and Shaun von Berg.
Sohail Tanvir is expected to undertake his third campaign with the Lions, while two more Pakistanis are thought to be in negotiations with franchises. — Telford Vice
SACHIN Tendulkar was in the news again this week — for two very different reasons.
First, the Pakistani Taliban slammed the country’s media for its praise of the Indian cricket legend, who retired last month after a glittering 24-year career.
Shahidullah Shahid, the main spokesman for the Tehreek-eTaliban Pakistan, said Pakistanis should get behind their embattled captain, Misbah-ulHaq, despite any failings he might have as a player.
Newspapers and TV stations across South Asia have been plastered with tributes to master batsman Tendulkar, who bowed out on November 16 as the world’s leading run-scorer in test and one-day cricket.
“Now someone should tell the Pakistani media and other Pakistanis that no matter how good Tendulkar is, they should not praise him, it is against Pakistani nationalism and against loyalty to the country,” said the Taliban.
As for Tendulkar, who has already helped sell apartments, concrete and even the health benefits of eggs, he began a new role — promoting toilets and hygiene.
Seemingly unruffled by the Taliban’s rant, the former Indian batsman was appointed Unicef’s ambassador for South Asia, helping promote sanitation in a country where more than half of the 1.2 billion population defecate in the open.
Tendulkar told a press conference it was a “second innings for him”, adding: “This innings is important and dear to me, so I will do my best here.” Karin Hulshof, regional director of Unicef, the UN children’s fund, said 681 million people lack toilets in South Asia.
In India about 640 million people lack toilets and defecate in the open, the country’s 2011 census data showed.
“Another statistic which baffles me, and I was disheartened to know, is that 1 600 children die everyday worldwide because of diarrhoeal-infected diseases,” Tendulkar said.
MAHELA Jayawardene has been rested for the limitedovers leg of Sri Lanka’s series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates this month.
Sri Lanka Cricket said in a statement this week that 36year-old Jayawardene, who has played 407 ODIs and scored more than 11 000 runs, had requested leave on personal grounds.
Left-handed batsman Kithuruwan Vithanage, who has played two tests but has yet to represent Sri Lanka in limitedovers cricket, was named as his replacement.
Sri Lanka play Pakistan in two T20 internationals in Dubai on December 11 and 13 before moving to Sharjah for the start of the five-match one-day international series. — Sapa-