Babar Azam says Shaheen Shah Afridi will be rested for at least two ODIs against Netherlands

Pakistan captain Babar Azam has said the team is looking to manage Shaheen Shah Afridi's "long-term workload and health" as he recovers from a knee injury, with the aim of getting him ready in time for the Asia Cup.

"We're taking a couple of doctors on the way to take care of Shaheen," Babar said at a press conference before Pakistan's departure for the Netherlands. "We're looking long term at his fitness and health. We want him to play a game against Netherlands if he's fit and be ready for the Asia Cup. Our combination is quite good. In T20s the middle order responded well to challenges."

With Hasan Ali dropped from the side, that opens the door for lesser experienced fast bowlers to make their mark in the Netherlands, especially as Babar believes the conditions on offer will be similar to what England throws up, and therefore presumably suitable to fast bowlers. Haris Rauf, Shahnawaz Dahani, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Wasim are all part of the travelling contingent, and expected to be heavily involved in the three ODIs.

There will be particular interest in who Pakistan pick as their opening bowling pair, an area where, Afridi's reliable brilliance aside, Pakistan have been unsettled in the ODI format. Each of Rauf, Dahani and Wasim have taken the new ball at some point or another, and since the 2019 World Cup, so have Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Amir and Usman Shinwari. Haris and Hasan, who have been tasked with this responsibility most regularly aside from Afridi, have the worst economy and strike rate with it. In Afridi's absence, that will be a weakness Babar hopes to address properly.

"Our fast-bowling bench strength is excellent," he said. "They've now got an opportunity to showcase their skills. This is how you expand your pool. I support Hasan Ali because he's a team man. Yes, he's not in form, but it's not like he has to prove anything. Domestic cricket is coming up. He'll play that and make a strong comeback hopefully.

"We have 11 trump cards. Each of them can be matchwinners on their day. I have faith in every one of them, whether batters of bowlers. I think the conditions will be similar to England. The weather will be cooler. We practiced with the air conditioning on indoors, perhaps that helps simulate the conditions! We couldn't practice much because of the rains, but we got a practice match in, which gives you a good sense of conditions."

Babar also appeared to pour cold water on murmurs of a return to the side for veteran Shoaib Malik ahead of the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup, emphasising the importance of backing young players who had been assigned to replace him.

"The team has been announced after discussions with everyone. We met with the coach and chief selector and did what was best for Pakistan. There are matches immediately after Netherlands, so it's unlikely there will be time for changes.

"When senior players leave the side, those replacing them need focus. Hafeez and Malik were huge players and we'll miss them a lot, and players like Asif Ali, Khushdil Shah and Iftikhar need to fill their boots. We want to give them plenty of matches and confidence, and these players have performed. We're also looking to utilise Shadab Khan's batting, because batting depth is very useful in T20 cricket now.

"We're not going to just rest our senior players, we'll play with a combination of senior and junior players. There are important Super League points at stake which we can't lose. I'm going to the Netherlands for the first time, too. If things go badly after we field young players, we'll cop criticism then, too. Everyone won't be happy with our decisions, but we have to do what's best for Pakistan cricket."

Babar, or indeed any of his team-mates, may want for nothing or need no introduction in Pakistan, but that is emphatically not true of other athletes in the country who happen to pursue a sport not called cricket. Babar paid rich tribute to Pakistan's most successful athletes at the Commonwealth Games, where the country came away with a gold medal each in weightlifting and javelin throwing. He called on increased support to athletes across sports, bemoaning the facilities they enjoyed as being "not good enough".

"I was very proud to see Noah Dastagir and Arshad Nadeem win gold medals. There's so much respect for how much hard work they put in. You cannot praise them enough. But you need to give them better facilities. I saw the conditions they were practicing in, and I think that was unacceptable. When you give the athletes better facilities, they'll win many more gold medals."

Danyal Rasool is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo. @Danny61000

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/babar-azam-says-shaheen-shah-afridi-will-be-rested-for-at-least-two-odis-against-netherlands/?feed_id=9670&_unique_id=62f57ad24f0e5

SC Sets Aside Bail Condition Imposed on Azam Khan, Says Disturbed About New Trend

The Supreme Court Friday set aside a condition imposed by the Allahabad High Court while granting bail to Samajwadi Party MLA Azam Khan and said it is “disturbed” about the new trend where courts are referring to matters which are “unrelated” to the consideration of bail pleas. The apex court set aside the condition imposed by the high court which had directed the District Magistrate of Rampur in Uttar Pradesh to take possession of land attached to the Jauhar University campus in Uttar Pradesh.

Observing that it is becoming a “pattern now,” that unrelated matters are taken into consideration while dealing with bail pleas, a bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and J B Pardiwala said the courts must confine it to the applicant and the case before it. “We are getting such order repeatedly. Only two days back, we had the occasion to set aside similar order,” the bench observed.

“It is becoming a pattern now. In bail and anticipatory bail, you confine it to the bail applicant and the case before you. How can other matters be relevant? This is a new feature which we are noticing from different orders,” it observed. While setting aside the bail condition imposed by the high court directing the District Magistrate to take possession of the land, the apex court retained the other conditions which were relevant for the grant of bail to Khan, who is the Chancellor of Mohammad Ali Jauhar University.

“This is yet another matter where we find that the high court has referred to matters which are unrelated to the consideration of prayer for bail relating to the crime registered against the concerned accused,” the bench said. It noted that Additional Solicitor General (ASG) S V Raju, appearing for the state, has urged the court to impose additional conditions that Khan be directed to refrain from entering Rampur district during the bail period. “We are not impressed by this submission,” the bench said.

During the arguments, the ASG urged the bench to impose a condition that Khan should not enter Rampur district for at least six months as the witnesses are there and he is a very influential person. The apex court said the authorities, acting upon the observations made in the high court judgement, had initiated action including sealing of certain premises as noted in a May 18 communication.

“All actions taken by the revenue authorities or state authorities in reference to the observations made in the impugned bail order dated May 10, 2022, be deemed to have been effaced from the record,” it said. However, the bench said it would not preclude the competent authority to initiate action independently based on other tangible material, information/documents, or evidence available to initiate action under the concerned legislation, including in respect of the management and properties of the university.

“In terms of these observations, we direct the joint magistrate/deputy district magistrate to take immediate steps for unsealing the property referred to in the communication dated May 18, 2022,” the bench said. It observed that the high court, having noted the stand taken by the applicant before it, ought to have dealt with only those aspects of the matter and not ventured into issues that were completely unrelated to the consideration of prayer for bail.

The bench, while retaining the other conditions imposed by the high court, observed that these conditions shall operate during the bail period and Khan must adhere to them. “Mr. ASG we should tell you that we are disturbed about this trend,” the bench orally observed. The top court disposed of the pleas, including the appeal filed by Khan against the May 10 order of the high court.

During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Khan, referred to the condition imposed by the high court directing the District Magistrate to take possession of the land and said the apex court had on May 27 stayed it. The ASG said Khan should not be granted bail as there are allegations of encroachment upon government land. The bench said the state has not challenged the grant of bail to Khan.

“You are making half-hearted attempts,” the bench observed, adding, “We will set aside this part of the order.” On May 27, a vacation bench of the top court stayed the high court’s bail condition imposed on Khan directing the District Magistrate to take possession of the land attached to the Jauhar University campus. It had said that prima facie the bail condition imposed on Khan was disproportionate and sounds like a decree of a civil court. On May 10, the high court while granting interim bail to Khan directed the Rampur District Magistrate to take possession of the enemy property attached to the campus of Jauhar University by June 30, 2022, and raise a boundary wall with barbed wire around it.

It had said that on completion of the mentioned exercise of taking possession of the land to the satisfaction of the DM, Rampur, the interim bail of Khan shall be converted into regular bail. On May 19, the top court while exercising its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution granted Khan (73) interim bail in an alleged cheating case paving way for his release from prison.

Khan, who is an MLA from Rampur Sadar constituency, was lodged in the Sitapur jail of the State for more than two years. An FIR was lodged at Azem Nagar police station in Rampur against Khan and others in 2019 for alleged grabbing of enemy property and misappropriation of public money of more than hundreds of crores of rupees.

Read all the Latest News and Breaking News here

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/sc-sets-aside-bail-condition-imposed-on-azam-khan-says-disturbed-about-new-trend/?feed_id=272&_unique_id=62daed9185ce7