26 Sports Tuesday, October 2, 2018 Pakistan, India square off over botched cricket agreement Pakistan recalls Hafeez for Australia Tests DUBAI: Pakistan and India squared off at the legal Dubai. India won that event while Pakistan failed to crease at a hearing at the International Cricket Council reach the final. headquarters in Dubai yesterday after the two sides Meanwhile, Pakistan’s national selection committee failed to honour a deal to compete in several bilateral yesterday recalled former opener Mohammad Hafeez series. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is demanding for the two-match Test series against Australia to rein- 70 million dollars in compensation from India, claiming force its batting following a failed Asia Cup campaign. that a memorandum of understanding signed in 2014 The 37-year-old was not part of the original 17- had guaranteed six bilateral series between 2015 and member squad announced last week, but after Pakistan 2023. However the Board of Control for Cricket in India suffered losses at the hands of arch-rival India and (BCCI) have said they are unable to play against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup the squad reached out to Pakistan until their government gives them permission Hafeez. and dismissed the agreement as not legally binding. The Pakistan failed to qualify for the final in the tourna- hearing is set to last until October 3. ment, which India won after beating Bangladesh by ICC’s chief executive David Richardson last week three wickets in Dubai on Friday. Pakistan had previ- urged the two nations to resolve the matter between ously nursed high hopes for Shan Masood in the ongo- themselves rather than seeking arbitration. “It is a mat- ing four-day match for Pakistan ‘A’ against Australia in ter between India and Pakistan. We would like the Dubai but he fell for just 14, forcing the selectors to resumption of ties between the two nations on a bilat- include Hafeez. “The national selection committee and eral basis,” said Richardson. the team management has decided to include Hafeez for “We will facilitate any settlement decision if we can. the two Tests against Australia,” said the Pakistan Other than that, it is up to the two nations.” India- Cricket Board in a statement. Pakistan ties, including sports and cultural contacts, The first Test against the Australians starts in Dubai plummeted after the 2008 militant attacks in Mumbai, on Sunday with the second outing scheduled to begin which New Delhi blamed on Pakistani militant groups. on October 16. Hafeez played the last of his 50 Tests File photo shows International Cricket Council chief executive David Richardson, left, addresses a news con- There has been just one bilateral tour since, when against England in Birmingham in August 2016. ference with Pakistan. Pakistan visited India to play two Twenty20s and three Last week he scored a double hundred in a domestic one-day internationals in December 2012 and January first-class match, catching the eye of selectors. Revised 2013. Pakistan and India continue to play each other in Test squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin,Yasir Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mir Hamza, international events, including last month’s Asia Cup in Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shah, Shadab Khan, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan. — AFP which runs the European Champions Cup and The Velodrome is run by football club Marseille and Marseille chosen to Challenge Cup, did not name any other bidders. British is used for big Top 14 games by Toulon. The stadium media had reported that English Premier League club hosted the 2010 Challenge Cup final when Cardiff Tottenham Hotspur, who are putting the finishing Blues beat Toulon. It has undergone several redevelop- Preparations for host 2020 European touches to a 62,000 stadium in North London, were ments since it opened in 1937, the most recent in 2014, interested. and has hosted matches in the 1938 and 1998 football Crown Prince rugby finals “While France is a traditional stronghold of the World Cups, the 1960, 1984 and 2016 European foot- great game of rugby, a European finals weekend in the ball championships and the 2007 Rugby World Cup. city of Marseille will be a whole new experience both It is scheduled to host games in the 2023 rugby annual shooting MARSEILLE: The 2020 European club rugby finals for local fans and for our loyal supporters who travel in World Cup. The first European Cup final was in Cardiff will be played at the Velodrome in Marseille on May 22 their tens of thousands year after year,” Vincent in January 1995, so this will mark the 25th anniversary tournament continues and 23, the competition organisers announced yester- Gaillard, the director general of the EPCR, said on the of the competition. The 2019 finals will be in Newcastle day. The European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR), organisation’s website. in northeast England. — Reuters By Abdellatif Sharaa KUWAIT: Kuwait Shooting Sports Club Secretary Homecoming offers Man General Obaid Al-Osaimi held a meeting with the City’s Sane chance to technical and administrative committees to check on the latest preparations for HH show Germany what the Crown Prince Sheikh Obaid Al-Osaimi Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber they missed Al-Sabah annual tournament. Al-Osaimi said he was satisfied with the preparations as things are LONDON: Manchester City travel to Hoffenheim today going as planned, and he gave instructions to pro- desperately needing a win to kickstart a Champions vide all that is necessary for the success of this League campaign that began with a shock 2-1 defeat to dear tournament that carries the name of HH the Lyon for the competition favourites. Crown Prince. There should therefore be no shortage of motivation He said the board of directors does not spare for Pep Guardiola’s men, but one member of the City any effort in supporting shooters of the national squad will be especially keen to make a big impression team, as well as juniors by bringing in the best back on German soil. Leroy Sane was one of the stars international lecturers and trainers to ensure mak- of City’s romp to a record 100 Premier League points ing the achievement that we are accustomed to. and the League Cup last season. The 22-year-old was He said there are several local and international crowned Young Player of the Year in England thanks to events Kuwait will participate in, including the 8th a stellar return of 14 goals and 19 assists in all competi- Asian Clay Targets Shooting and the 11th Rifle and Julian Nagelsmann tions. However, that still wasn’t enough to earn him a Pistol Championships to be hosted by Kuwait from place in Germany’s World Cup squad as Sane was sur- Nov 2 to Nov 12 with large participation from Asia. prisingly cut from Joachim Loew’s 23. HH the Crown Prince shooting tournament will tactics mid-match. Nagelsmann became a rising star in Sane may have had the last laugh as the defending start Wednesday to declare the shooting 2018/ German football when he was thrust from coaching Hoffenheim boss champions crashed out in the group stages-the first 2019 season open. Hoffenheim’s Under-19 team to being tasked with main- taining the senior team in the Bundesliga. time in 80 years Germany had fallen at the first hurdle. Nagelsmann plots to He was just 29 in February 2016 when he took The pace, direct running and eye for a quick shot at charge of Hoffenheim-a Bundesliga record for a perma- goal possessed by the former Schalke winger were all undo idol Guardiola nent head coach-with the team second from bottom. He traits missing from a laboured and predictable Germany only gained his coaching licence a month after his in Russia. appointment, but the precarious situation did not faze Yet, there was no time for Sane to feel vindicated as Marsh hundred gives SINSHEIM: Hoffenheim coach Julian Nagelsmann is the self-confident Nagelsmann. on his return to club duty he was similarly shunned by plotting to outsmart his idol Pep Guardiola when The former defender forged a strong team spirit, Guardiola, sparking doubts over his attitude off the Australia big lead in Manchester City attempt to get their Champions turning Hoffenheim from relegation contenders to field. “Sometimes you have the feeling with Leroy’s League campaign back on track by winning in Germany Champions League qualifiers within two seasons. body language that it is all the same whether we win or warm-up game today. At 31, Nagelsmann is the youngest coach in Despite his youth, Nagelsmann is street-wise with his lose. He has to improve his body language,” said Champions League history, and admits to being a a answers in press conferences and carefully cultivates Germany’s vice-captain Toni Kroos even as Sane was keen student of Guardiola’s methods. Now he hopes to his public image. recalled to Loew’s squad for last month’s Nations DUBAI: All-rounder Mitchell Marsh celebrated his thwart the Spanish master tactician in Hoffenheim’s first League opener against newly crowned world champi- elevation to joint Australia vice captain with a pun- home Champions League match in the club’s history. ATTENTION TO EYE-BROWS ons France. “He was fantastic for City last year but Pep ishing hundred yesterday as the touring batsmen “I don’t know if it it’s always an advantage to know Just as current Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has the same problem at the moment-he’s trying to get warmed up for the Pakistan Test series.