Pak board not to punish Asif

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided not to take any disciplinary action against troubled pacer Mohammed Asif, even if he is penalised by the drugs inquiry tribunal of the Indian Premier League (IPL) for his alleged doping offence in the inaugural edition of the Twenty20meet.

“It is like double jeopardy. You can’t punish a man twice for the same crime. If the IPL tribunal does not clear him from the doping offence obviously he is going to face a long ban and the PCB does not come into the picture,” a senior PCB official said. It was learnt that the PCB had rejected Asif’s plea for the release of his central contract payments this year.

Tanvir irks PCB

Karachi: Sohail Tanvir has irked the PCB for holding an unauthorised press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday night. Addressing the media Tuesday night, Tanvir urged the Indian cricket team to tour Pakistan despite last week’s Mumbai mayhem that killed nearly 200 people.

ACC meeting

Colombo: Cricket bosses of Asian countries will meet here on Friday to discuss the impact of the Mumbai terror attacks on the sub-continent’s cricketing calendar.

Although the Mumbai carnage is not listed in the agenda, the issue is likely to come up for discussions when the top officials of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh meet for the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting.

Feroz in lead

Jamshedpur: Calcutta’s Feroz Ali Mollah, established a one-stroke lead after firing a blistering seven-under 65 in the first round of PGTI’s Rs 20 Lakh sixth Tata Open on Wednesday.

Mollah made his way to the top of the leaderboard with the help of seven birdies. Ajeetesh Sandhu came up with a round of six-under 64 at the Golmuri golf course to be placed second.

Badminton

Gutnur: All India Junior Major ranking Badminton tournament will be held here from January 3 to 8. As many as 1000 players are expected to participate in the events in the different age-groups.

David return

Paris: Striker David Trezeguet said he could come back from international retirement, five months after announcing he was quitting the France team. “I didn’t want to quit the national team,” Trezeguet said.

Salgaocar win

Margao: Goa’s Salgaocar Sports Club on Wednesday beat Raghav Football Club of Gurgaon 2-0 to win the India leg of the 4th (U-15) Nike Manchester United Premier Cup. They qualify for the world finals in Manchester.

Jelena in doubt

Sydney: World No. 1 Jelena Jankovic is doubtful for the Sydney International tournament despite earlier confirming her entry, organisers said on Wednesday.