Sports

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has no concerns if India refuses to take part in the World Cup match between the two sides, national team captain Sarfraz Ahmed said on Thursday. The arch-rivals are set to meet in Manchester on June 16 but the blockbuster clash is in doubt with India having threatened it will boycott the match due to diplomatic tensions between …

Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s uncharacteristic outburst against a controversial umpiring decision led to the Chennai Super Kings captain being fined 50 percent of his match fee in Thursday night’s Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Jaipur. Hailed as ‘Captain Cool’ during his trophy-laden years as India skipper, an unusually fired-up Dhoni stepped onto the field to remonstrate with umpire over a …

KARACHI: The April talks have now been delayed till May, and they will only prolong the football crisis in Pakistan. The joint FIFA/AFC fact-finding mission to Pakistan, that was due to come later this month to meet with the stakeholders and decide on a way forward to extricate the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) out of the situation it finds itself …

Yangon: Football-obsessed Myanmar teen Kaung Khant Lin roots for Manchester United, worships star Lionel Messi and was honoured as the best player in a recent tournament. But the 16-year-old expertly navigates the pitch with just one leg and a crutch, the only disabled footballer on his team. “Whenever I play football, I forget about my legs and I play as …

New Delhi: Asian shot put champion Manpreet Kaur has been banned for four years by India´s anti-doping agency after failing a series of drug tests in 2017. Kaur, 29, will lose the gold medal she won at the 2017 Asian Championships with her suspension backdated to July 20 that year. “Manpreet has been suspended for four years,” National Anti-Doping Agency …

LONDON: Virat Kohli was Wednesday named as one of Wisden´s Five Cricketers of the Year and also became the first player to win the award for leading cricketer in the world in three successive years. The India captain put to bed questions over his ability to thrive in English conditions last year, topping the Test run charts with 593 runs …

MUMBAI: West Indies are replete with match-winners but consistency will be key to their success in English conditions at this year’s World Cup, batting great Brian Lara has said. Teeming with tearaway fast bowlers and aggressive batsmen, West Indies were once considered invincible and won the opening two editions of the World Cup in 1975 and 1979. Their glory days, …

LONDON: With the completion of their domestic title defences seeming a formality, Barcelona and Juventus can now focus on the Champions League with both sides in action on Wednesday in the first legs of their quarter-final ties. Both are on the road with Barca travelling to Old Trafford to face Manchester United and Juve facing Ajax in Amsterdam. The quarter-finals …

KARACHI: Former Test captain and fast bowling legend Wasim Akram has slammed Pakistan cricket team for eating biryani ahead of the World Cup starting on May 30. Wasim feels the Pakistan players are not concerned about their diet and are eating junk food before a crucial tournament. The Pakistan cricketers are often seen attending parties where they are feasted with …

Lionel Messi has a history of terrorising Manchester United but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes it is not impossible to stop the Barcelona star inflicting more damage in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final. Messi scored in both of Barca’s Champions League final victories over United, in 2009 and 2011, and is hungry to win the competition for a fifth time after crashing …