India’s government has refused permission to send a cricket team for a full tour of Pakistan early next year following the deadly Mumbai attacks, Indian television reported yesterday.
The tour was canceled amid a government probe into Pakistani links to the assaults on the country’s financial capital by heavily armed militants that left nearly 200 people dead.
The NDTV and CNN-IBN news channels, quoting unnamed government sources, said the matches were also unlikely to be played at neutral venues.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) declined to comment on the reports, saying its request for a security clearance for the tour was pending with the government.
India were scheduled to play three Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 match during the five-week tour from Jan. 13 to Feb. 19.
It was to be the fifth bilateral series between the two countries since 2004, when cricket ties resumed after a 15-year gap because of political tensions between the warring neighbors.
The tour was first put in doubt earlier this month when the Indian government denied permission to the national junior hockey team to visit Pakistan.
Australia canceled a Test tour of Pakistan in March and the International Cricket Council put off the high-profile Champions Trophy there in September because of security concerns.
The BCCI is also waiting for England to confirm next week’s two-Test tour of India after the last two one-day internationals were canceled and the tourists returned home following the Mumbai attacks.
■ AUSTRALIA VS N ZEALAND
STAFF WRITER
Score at the close of play on the third day of the second Test in Adelaide, Australia:
• New Zealand 270 all out & 35-0
• Australia 535 all out
The 2025 International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Mr Universe Chinese Taipei competition began yesterday at Xinzhuang Gymnasium in New Taipei City, with more than 150 athletes showcasing their physiques. It is the first time in 16 years that the IFBB has held a competition in Taiwan, the last being the 2009 World Games in Kaohsiung. The professional bodybuilding contest is bringing together athletes from Taiwan and 16 other countries, including Malaysia, Japan, the US, France and Mexico. IFBB Chinese Taipei president Hsu An-chin said in an interview yesterday that the event came to Taiwan thanks to his lobbying efforts at last
Top seeds Alexander Zverev of Germany and American Coco Gauff on Tuesday advanced to the third round of the Canadian Open after both players were pushed hard by their opponents. World No. 3 Zverev, playing in his first match since his first-round loss at Wimbledon, was far from his best, but emerged with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 win over Adam Walton under the lights in Toronto. Momentum shifted firmly in Zverev’s favor when he won a 52-shot rally in the first set tiebreak and he sealed the win on a double fault by the Australian in the second set. “It was a very
Cycling great Marianne Vos won the opening stage of the women’s Tour de France with a brilliant late attack on Saturday. The 38-year-old Dutchwoman overtook her Visma–Lease a Bike teammate Pauline Ferrand-Prevot approaching the line, and then held off Mauritian rider Kim Le Court in the closing meters of a grueling uphill finish. Ferrand-Prevot looked set to win the stage, but the Frenchwoman attacked too early from 600m and could not withstand the late surge from Vos, who punched the air with her left fist as she crossed the line. Moments later, Vos hugged an exhausted-looking Ferrand-Prevot, the Paris-Roubaix winner. “I didn’t know if
TAIWANESE EXITS: Fellow Australian Christopher O’Connell joined Tristan Schoolkate as a winner following his 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Tseng Hsin-chun Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate on Monday dispatched rising Brazilian talent Joao Fonseca 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 at the ATP Toronto Masters, ensuring a breakthrough into the world top 100. The 24-year-old from Perth moved to 98th in the ongoing live rankings as he claimed his biggest career victory by knocking out the ATP NextGen champion from November last year. Schoolkate, son of a tennis coach, won his first match over a top-50 opponent on his sixth attempt as he ousted the world No. 49 teenager from Brazil. The qualifier played a quarter-final this month in Los Cabos and won through qualifying for his
RSS