Pakistan team management says cricketer Haris Sohail was left “visibly shaken” after a ghostly encounter in a Christchurch, New Zealand, hotel room.
Sohail fled what he believed was “a supernatural presence” that shook his bed at the Rydges Latimer hotel, taking refuge in the room of a team coach after the encounter earlier this week.
Team manager Maveed Akram Cheeva said yesterday that Sohail, 26, phoned a member of the coaching staff to say he had been woken by his bed being shaken. The coach rushed to Sohail’s room and found him shaken and feverish.
Cheeva said management tried to persuade Sohail the fever might have caused a nightmare, but the player was adamant his experience was supernatural.
The hotel’s management says it knew of “no active ghost” on the premises.
Pakistan media reports said Sohail, an all-rounder who has played nine one-dayers and three Twenty20 internationals, was so “traumatized” by the experience he has been unable to train and was forced to miss a one-day warmup match against a New Zealand President’s XI.
Sohail took the field in a second warmup game in Christchurch yesterday, making 6 runs from 25 deliveries.
Cheema said Sohail was examined by the team doctor after his encounter and found to be in good health.
“He’s OK and he’s concentrating on cricket as he should be,” Cheema said.
“He had a fever. We think it was the fever that caused it, but the player still believes his bed was shaken by something and it was a supernatural something,” he added.
Sohail joins an elite group of international cricketers who have had ghostly experiences.
England fast bowler Stuart Broad switched rooms at London’s Langham Hotel last year after a ghostly experience.
Broad told the Daily Mail newspaper he had woken in the night and “all of a sudden the taps in the bathroom came on for no reason.”
“I turned the lights on and the taps turned themselves off,” he said.
“Then when I turned the lights off again, the taps came on. It was very weird,” he added.
Australia all-rounder Shane Watson fled to the room of teammate Brett Lee after becoming spooked in his own room at the Lumley Castle Hotel in England in 2005.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and