PCB set to revamp Pak team management following Sri Lankan debacle

October 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Sri Lankan spinner Ajantha Mendis says no spinner can replicate his unique carrom ball that has bamboozled world's top batsmen including Sachin Tendulkar. Mendis, who will be turning out for Sri Lankan team Wayamba Elevens in the Champions League Twenty20, seems to have inspired other spinners like Amit Mishra and Piyush Chawla to develop their own mystery deliveries.

September 6th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday said that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was the mastermind behind the attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore on March 3. The Pakistan Prime Minister's statement was in complete contrast to what the Government had claimed before, that Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) was behind the attack.

September 6th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani said Sunday there were indications that the Tamil Tigers were involved in the March 3 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan. Gilani told reporters that investigators have got indications to suggest that the Tamil Tigers had financed the attack in which a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers was fired at by gunmen near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

August 19th, 2009 DUBAI - The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday confirmed that its Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) had received a report from the Australia team management concerning an approach to one of its players by a man suspected of links to illegal bookmaking. "There is no evidence of any illegal activity as a result of this approach, which took place following the second Test at Lord's in July, and the ICC would like to place on record its praise for the player approached and the Australia team management for reporting the issue," an ICC press release said.

August 13th, 2009 LAHORE - Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja has asked some of the senior players of the current team to bid adieu to international cricket in order to give youngsters more chances to perform. Raja said senior players should step down themselves rather than being axed from the squad after their lacklustre performance in just concluded Sri Lanka series.

August 12th, 2009 KARACHI - Pakistan's cricket management has done little to ensure that international teams return to the country in the aftermath of this March's terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is yet to even prepare a comprehensive plan aimed at reviving international cricket in the country, it was reported by The News Wednesday.

August 5th, 2009 KARACHI - Following the Pakistan cricket team's dismal ODI series loss to Sri Lanka, former Pakistani cricketers have called for a major overhaul in the national side. Sri Lanka won the five-match one-day series against Pakistan 3-0, after crushing Pakistan by six wickets on Monday.

July 19th, 2009 COLOMBO - Sri Lankan fast bowler Chaminda Vaas will retire from Test cricket after the third match against Pakistan in Colombo starting Monday. Vaas announced his retirement plan here Sunday, but said he will continue to play One-day Internationals and Twenty20 cricket till the 2011 World Cup.

July 4th, 2009 LAHORE - Criticizing the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for its unprofessional way of handling cricket issues in the country, former Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) director general Zakir Hussain Syed has said PCB officials have no knowledge about sports management. "Cricket affairs in Pakistan continue to be very poorly managed, and at times, one gets the impression that people at the helm of affairs have no clue about sports management concepts," The Daily Times quoted Syed, as saying.

July 4th, 2009 COLOMBO - Veteran Sri Lankan cricketer Chaminda Vaas has decided to retire from Test cricket, chief selector Asantha de Mel said Saturday. The 35-year-old left-arm bowler, who has served Sri Lanka at the top level for 15 years, will however be available for the One-Day Internationals (ODI) and Twenty20 cricket, the official said.

July 1st, 2009 KARACHI - The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has given the green signal to the security arrangements being made for the safety of its cricketers in Sri Lanka. Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, said Wednesday that he was personally satisfied with the security cover being offered to the national team which begins its 45-day tour of Sri Lanka June 29.

June 30th, 2009 LAHORE - The bus driver of the Sri Lankan cricket team, Meher Mohammad Khalil, who by his presence of mind and prompt action saved the lives of the Lankan cricketers during the Lahore terror strike, has said that he would be praying for Pakistan's victory during the forthcoming Test and one-day series between both the countries. Khalil has been invited by the Sri Lanka Cricket Board (SLC) to watch the series, but will not be able to visit Sri Lanka as he is going for a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

June 17th, 2009 LAHORE - Police have arrested the mastermind of the attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus outside the Gaddafi Stadium, according to CCPO Lahore Pervaiz Rathore. Naik Muhammad alias Zubair is described as the mastermind behind the gruesome attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in March which led to abandonment of all international cricket in Pakistan, including the 2011 World Cup.

June 10th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports has recommended criminal proceedings against all those security officials who showed incompetence and negligence when the Sri Lankan cricket team was attacked outside the Gaddafi Stadium. The members also asked the Interior Ministry to speed up their investigations to arrest all those terrorists who were involved in the attack.

May 30th, 2009 LONDON - Security concerns have forced members of the Sri Lankan cricket team, Muttiah Muralitharan and Kumar Sangakkara, to cancel their visit to Oxford University. Both the players along with team manager Brendon Kuruppu were scheduled to visit the Oxford Union debating society, but their visit was cancelled after a Times report claimed that over 20,000 Tamil civilians were killed during the final days of Sri Lanka's offensive against the Tamil Tigers, The News reports.