Asif fined in drug case

Karachi: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has fined pace bowler Mohammed Asif one million rupees ($10,250) for bringing Pakistan into disrepute, after he was detained in Dubai last year for possessing opium.

However, Asif would be considered for the Champions Trophy in South Africa, after he has completed a ban for a positive dope test, a senior board official said Thursday. “We don’t see any reason to keep him out of cricket once the ban ends,” Altaf said. “As far as his Dubai detention case is concerned he has been fined for that.”

Sanjay view

New Delhi: Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar has questioned the logic behind the on-going four-match one-day series in the Caribbean saying that with an already crammed international schedule such tours only add to the players’ exhaustion. “I think it’s a slightly ridiculous idea that you travel all the way to the West Indies and just play four ODIs, that too immediately after the World T20,” he said.

Javed appeal

Islamabad: Pakistan great Javed Miandad opposes any move to shorten Test matches from five days to four and wants the International Cricket Council to stop considering any changes to the duration of the traditional game. “Don’t make cricket a trash. Don’t kill the charm of Test match cricket,” Miandad said.

Team selection

Calcutta: The BCCI’s senior selection committee will meet at Chennai on Monday to select the team for the Emerging Players Tournament to be held in Australia from July 20, the board said Thursday. India take on the Australian Institute of Sport in a T20 match at Redlands CC in Queensland.

CAB summons

Calcutta: The CAB cricket committee will ask Ranadeb Bose and Ashok Dinda to appear before them on Monday. The committee is also expected to hear the version of eye-witnesses Sourav Sarkar and Wriddhiman Saha. The decision of the committee will be then referred to the working committee.

Signings

Calcutta: East Bengal Thursday roped in Deep Dasgupta, Shib Sagar Singh and retained the services of Bengal under-22 player Nilakanta Das. Eklakh Ahmed is likely to join Mohun Bagan.