Sports

KUALA LUMPUR: Qatar stressed that the 2022 World Cup remains at 32 teams as FIFA chief Gianni Infantino piled on pressure to expand the tournament to 48 and share it with other Gulf countries. Speaking at the Asian Football Confederation Congress, head organiser Nasser Al-Khater said Qatar was still planning for 32 and that studies about adding another 16 teams …

Angry English Football League chiefs have condemned a fresh outburst of alleged racism in several matches this weekend. Championship side Brentford confirmed a season-ticket holder was arrested following a claim of abuse by Derby midfielder Duane Holmes in Saturday´s 3-3 draw at Griffin Park. Wigan, also in the second tier, have reported a sickening message was sent to wing-back Nathan …

HYDERABAD: West Indies paceman Alzarri Joseph enjoyed a dream Indian Premier League (IPL) debut  claiming  beast ever figures of 6-12  to break Pakistan’s Sohail Tanveer’s 8-year-old record. The Caribbean fast bowler created history in his IPL debut  for Mumbai Indians  as he went past the previous best bowling effort of Pakistan´s Sohail Tanvir for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL´s inaugural …

LONDON: Manchester City´s quest for a quadruple of trophies remains intact after Gabriel Jesus´s solitary early goal was enough to see off Brighton 1-0 and reach the FA Cup final on Saturday. Pep Guardiola´s men will return to Wembley to face either Watford or Wolves on May 18 for what they hope will be the chance to clinch the first …

India set their sights on qualifying for the 2026 World Cup as Praful Patel became their first representative on the powerful FIFA Council on Saturday. Patel, one of six Asian delegates elected to the Council at the Asian Football Confederation Congress, said the World Cup was the next big step for India after making great strides in recent years. India’s …

KABUL: Afghanistan replaced long-serving One-day International captain Asghar Afghan with Gulbadin Naib on Friday, less than two months before this year’s 50-over World Cup in England and Wales. Afghan, 31, took over the team’s captaincy in 2015 after Mohammad Nabi had stepped down following the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Under his leadership, the war-torn South Asian country …

ISLAMABAD: Head of Pakistan Cricket Board’s Cricket Committee Mohsin Khan on Friday said the national team was lacking specialised opening pair which the former Test opener termed would be a major drawback in the World Cup starting on May 30. Talking to a private news channel, Mohsin reckoned the team’s middle-order batting could not be settled due to which only …

LAHORE: After failing to convince the patron-in-chief of Pakistan Cricket Board, Prime Minister Imran Khan over the proposed model of domestic cricket structure which comprised eight regional teams at the top and as many regional sides in the Grade-II and with a sponsorship role for the departments, the PCB think-tank has decided to formulate a new model on provincial basis …

Colombo: Cricket´s world body on Thursday charged suspended former Sri Lanka fast bowler Dilhara Lokuhettige over three new match corruption accusations. The 38-year-old Lokuhettige is the third Sri Lankan to be charged with breaching the International Cricket Council´s anti-corruption code following cases against former captain Sanath Jayasuriya and former fast bowler Nuwan Zoysa. Lokuhettige — suspended since November over alleged …

PESHAWAR: Chief Selector Pakistan Cricket Board Inzamam-ul-Haq and former Test cricketer and wicket-keeper batsman Rashid Latif Friday announced the names of the 55 probables for the forthcoming Under-17 Talent Hunt Program of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in cricket. This was stated by Director Operations, Directorate of Sports KP Syed Saqlain Shah while talking to APP here on Friday soon after giving detail …