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Tag: Shahid Afridi

  • Pakistan cricket team loses face in front of their fans: TO THE NEW analyses

    Pakistan cricket team loses face in front of their fans: TO THE NEW analyses

    MUMBAI: It’s just the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and it has gone from bad to worse for the Pakistan cricket team. Almost everything has gone against them starting from key players being banned from international cricket to losing two critical matches in the start of the tournament against India and West Indies that have brought them to the bottom of the Pool B Points Table. To add to this, they are now hit by fresh scandals like the fake retirement announcement of Younis Khan and their chief selector– Moin Khan doing the rounds of casinos post his team losing the match.

    TO THE NEW Digital, a digital services company carried out a detailed social media research on how these events have led to a total let down of the Pakistan cricket team in the eyes of their fans. The report analysed more than 105,648 mentions on various social channels like blogs, forums, news and Twitter and found a net negative sentiment of – 62 per cent against the team.

    The Pakistan’s Team Report Card clearly labels captain Misbah-ul-Haq for his bad decisions in both the matches and Sohail Khan for his bad bowling performance against West Indies as the top villains with a net negative sentiment of – 56 per cent and – 55 per cent respectively. The next on the card, are the undesired ones for Pakistan who have now aged a bit to fit into the team – Younis Khan with a negative sentiment of – 47 per cent and Shahid Afridi with a negative sentiment of – 43 per cent.

    Amongst the lineup of events that have pushed Pakistan to further criticism, Younis Khan’s fake news of retirement after the Cricket World Cup 2015 received the most negative mentions with a net negative sentiment of – 86 per cent and Moin Khan’s casino visit received 18,500 mentions across social media channels with a net negative sentiment of – 65 per cent. The onus now lies with the Pakistan team to turn the tables with their performance in the upcoming fixture against Zimbabwe on 1 March, 2015. 

    TO THE NEW Digital CEO Deepak Mittal said, “Social media sentiments are true reflection of how the audience reacts offline. Sentiment analysis on various social channels can help not only the national teams in Cricket World Cup to analyze the mood of their fans but the scope will also expand to events like IPL and EPL. This would definitely help clubs in these leagues to strategize their social positioning by identifying their true fan base, analyzing the kind of social media buzz that leads to positive and negative sentiments across their follower base.”

  • Jayawardene, Afridi, the most experienced players in ICC Cricket WC 2015

    Jayawardene, Afridi, the most experienced players in ICC Cricket WC 2015

    MUMBAI: Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and Shahid Afridi of Pakistan are in line to become the most experienced players in ICC Cricket World Cup history, after they were named in provisional squads for the tournament that starts on 14 February.

     

    The two players made their World Cup debuts at the ICC Cricket World Cup 1999, and have appeared in every event since then.

     

    While Jayawardene featured in the final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 and 2011, as well as the semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003, Shahid Afridi was a member of the Pakistan side that played the final at Lord’s in 1999. He captained Pakistan at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 where Pakistan reached the semi-final.

     

    If the two players are named in the final line-ups, likely to be announced around 8 January 2015, then they will join the exclusive company of Wasim Akram, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Aravinda de Silva, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Sanath Jayasuriya, Jacques Kallis, Imran Khan, Brian Lara, Muttiah Muralidaran, Thomas Odoyo, Ricky Ponting, Arjuna Ranatunga and Steve Tikolo, who have each played in five ICC Cricket World Cups to date.

     

    Pakistan’s Javed Miandad and India’s Sachin Tendulkar, with six ICC Cricket World Cups each, share the record for the most appearances at ICC’s pinnacle event.

     

    Interestingly, this will be the first ICC Cricket World Cup which will be held without either Javed Miandad or Sachin Tendulkar. Javed Miandad played from 1975 to 1996, while Tendulkar represented his country from 1992-2011.

     

    Miandad featured in semi-finals in 1979, 1983 and 1987, final in 1992 and quarter-final in 1996, while Tendulkar appeared in the 1996 quarter-final, and 2003 and 2011 finals.

    Besides Jayawardene and Shahid Afridi, seven other players are in line to appear in their fourth World Cup: James Anderson, Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Younis Khan, Robin Peterson, Kumar Sangakkara and Daniel Vettori.

     

    The United Arab Emirates (UAE), which is returning the ICC Cricket World Cup for the first time since 1996, has named the oldest and youngest players of the tournament in its 30-player provisional squad. Khurram Khan at 43 is the oldest players (born 21 June 1971) while Yodhin Punja, who turned 15 on 24 April 2014, is the youngest player.

     

     

    The provisional squads are:

     

    Australia (squad submitted but has opted not to release the names)

     

    Afghanistan – Afsar Zazai, Aftab Alam, Amir Hamza, Asghar Stanekzai, Dawlat Zadran, Fareed Ahmad, Fazal Rahman, Gulbadin Naib, Hamid Hassan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Izatullah, Javed Ahmadi, Karim Sadiq, Merwais Ashraf, Mohammad Mujtaba, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad, Najeeb Tarakai, Najibullah Zadran, Nasir Jamal, Nawroz Mangal, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shinwari, Shabir Noori, Shafiqullah, Shapoor Zadran, Sharafudin, Usman Ghani and Yamin Ahmadzai.

     

    Bangladesh – Abdur Razzak, Abul Hasan Raju, Al-Amin Hossain, Anamul Haque Bijoy, Arafat Sunny, Imrul Kayes, Jubair Hossain, Liton Kumar Das, Mahmudullah, Marshall Ayub, Masrafe Bin Mortaza, Mohammad Elias, Mohammad Mithun, Mohammed Sahid, Mominul Haque, Muktar Ali, Mushfiqur Rahim, Naeem Islam, Nasir Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Shabbir Rahaman, Shafiul Islam, Shakib Al Hasan, Shamsur Rahman, Shuvagata Hom, Soumya Sarkar, Taskin Ahmed, Taijul Islam, Tamim Iqbal and Ziaur Rahman.

     

    England – Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Gary Ballance,

    Ian Bell, Sam Billings, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Jack Brooks, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn, Harry Gurney, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Eoin Morgan, Stephen Parry, Samit Patel, Liam Plunkett, Boyd Rankin, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Taylor, James Tredwell, James Vince, Chris Woakes and Luke Wright.

     

    Ireland (squad submitted but has opted not to release the names)

     

    India – Varun Aaron, Ravichandaran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Shikhar Dhawan, Ashoke Dinda, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jadhav, Virat Kohli, Dhawal Kulkarni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Amit Mishra, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Parveez Rasool, Ambati Rayudu, Wriddhiman Saha, Sanju Samson, Ishant Sharma, Karn Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Manoj Tiwary, Robin Uthappa, Murali Vijay, Kuldeep Yadav and Umesh Yadav.

     

    New Zealand – Corey Anderson, Hamish Bennett, Trent Boult, Doug Bracewell, Neil Broom, Dean Brownlie, Colin de Grandhomme, Anton Devcich, Grant Elliott, Andrew Ellis, James Franklin, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Ronnie Hira, Tom Latham, Mitchell McClenaghan, Brendon McCullum, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Rob Nicol, Luke Ronchi, Hamish Rutherford, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Daniel Vettori, BJ Watling and Kane Williamson.

     

    Pakistan – Ahmad Shahzad, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti, Ehsan Adil, Fawad Alam, Haris Sohail, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal, Misbah Ul Haq, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Talha, Nasir Jamshed, Raza Hasan, Saeed Ajmal, Sami Aslam, Shahid Afridi, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Tanvir, Sarfraz Ahmed, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Younus Khan and Zulfiqar Babar.

     

    Scotland (24 player announced) – Preston Mommsen (captain), Kyle Coetzer (vice-captain), Richie Berrington, Frederick Coleman, Matthew Cross, Joshua Davey, Alasdair Evans, Hamish Gardiner, Gordon Goudie, Majid Haq, Moneeb Iqbal, Michael Leask, Matt Machan, Calum MacLeod, Gavin Main, George Munsey, David Murphy, Safyaan Sharif, Ruaidhri Smith, Robert Taylor, Andrew Umeed, Craig Wallace, Iain Wardlaw, Mark Watt

     

    South Africa – AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla (vice-capt), Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Imran Tahir, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Justin Ontong, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Vernon Philander, Andrew Puttick, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Mthokozisi Shezi, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne van Wyk and David Wiese.

     

    Sri Lanka – Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shaminda Eranga, Lahiru Gamage, Rangana Herath, Mahela Jayawardene, Dimuth Karunaratne, Tharindu Kaushal, Nuwan Kulasekara, Suranga Lakmal, Farveez Maharoof, Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Ajantha Mendis, Jeevan Mendis, Dilruwan Perera, Kusal Perera, Thisara Perera, Nuwan Pradeep, Dhammika Prasad, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ashan Priyanjan, Lakshan Sandakan, Kumar Sangakkara, Sachithra Senanayake, Ramith Rambukwella, Lahiru Thirimanne, Upul Tharanga and Kithuruwan Vithanage.

     

    United Arab Emirates (UAE) – Ahmed Raza, Ahsan Ali, Amjad Ali, Amjad Javed, Andri Raffaelo, Asadullah Shareef, Chirag Suri, Fahad Alhasimi, Faizan Asif, Fayyaz Ahmed, Irfan Sajid, Kamran Shahzad, Khurram Khan, K. Karate, Manjula Guruge, Mohammad Naveed, Mohammad Shahzad, Mohammad Tauqir, Nasir Aziz, Noor Ul Amin, Rohan Mustafa, Rohit Singh, Salman Farooq, Saqib Ali, Saqlain Haider, Shaiman Anwar, Swapnil Patil, Usman Mushtaq, Umair Ali and Yodhin Punja.

     

    West Indies – Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Dwayne Bravo, Sulieman Benn, Jonathan Carter, Sheldon Cottrell, Miguel Cummins, Narsingh Deonarine, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Leon Johnson, Imran Khan, Evin Lewis, Marquino Mindley, Nikita Miller, Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Veerasammy Permaul, Keon Peters, Keiron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Smith, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith and Jerome Taylor.

     

    Zimbabwe – Sikandar Butt, Regis Chakabva, Tendai Chatara, Brian Chari, Elton Chigumbura, Justice Chibhabha, Craig Ervine, Luke Jongwe, Neville Madziva, Tafadzwa Kamungozi, Hamilton Masakadza, Winstone Masakadza, Stuart Matsikenyeri, Timycen Maruma, Tinotenda Mawoyo, Natsai M’shangwe, Solomon Mire, Peter Moor, Tawanda Mupariwa, Cuthbert Musoko, Richmond Mutumbami, John Nyumbu, Tinashe Panyangara, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Brendan Taylor, Prosper Utseya, Brian Vitori, Malcolm Waller, Sean Williams and Cephas Zhuwao.

     

  • Film on Shahid Afridi in offing

    Film on Shahid Afridi in offing

    MUMBAI: Making films based on the life of cricketers is fast gaining ground in India. While Vidhu Vinod Chopra‘s Ferrari Ki Sawaari is said to be based on Sachin Tendulkar, two noted film producers of Pakistan are in the process of making a film on the country’s flamboyant cricketer Shahid Afridi titled Main Hun Shahid Afridi.

    Main Hun Shahid Afridi, to be made by Humayun Saeed and Shahzad Nasib entails the struggles and achievements of a simple boy who made it big in cricket through sheer determination and hard work.

    Directed by Osman Ali Raza, the film will also star Saeed himself.

    The film has been shot at popular stadiums in Karachi and Sialkot with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) being actively supportive. More than 50 per cent of the film has been completed, according to the producers.

    The film’s lead role is being played by a 19-year-old Noman Habib, who himself is an aspiring cricketer. Afridi, however, would not be making an appearance in the film.

    Earlier, UK-based filmmaker Faisal Aman Khan made a film on the life of cricketer turned politician Imran Khan.

    Afridi, 32, has played 27 Tests, 334 one day internationals and 46 twenty20 internationals for the Pakistani team.

  • Star News ropes in Afridi and Zaheer for ‘Wah! Cricket’

    MUMBAI: Star News has launched a show ‘Wah! Cricket’ for the on-going Indo-Pak cricket series. It provides updated happenings on and off the ground and forecasts right through the series under its umbrella program ‘Wah! Cricket’.

    The Hindi news channel has signed exclusive contract with Pakistani batsman Shahid Afridi and Indian pacer Zaheer Khan along with Sandeep Patil, Saba Karim and Arun Lal to be part of the show.

    Shahid and Zaheer will give viewers a hawk eye view on the feelings and temperament prevailing on the ground during post match analysis from the cricketers. The viewers will see an exclusive interview with the cricketers which will encapsulate behind the scenes, anecdotes, and trivia.

  • Zee to kick off Zee Carnival on 16 February in London

    Zee to kick off Zee Carnival on 16 February in London

    MUMBAI: Zee Network is set to host its annual event Zee Carnival 2007 at the Grand Hall, Olympia in London on 16, 17 and 18 of February.

    Zee Carnival’s main attraction is its catalogue of Bollywood star appearances. Expected to attract about 30,000 people across the three days, the line up consists of Priyanka Chopra and Esha Doel, along with Big Brother winner Shilpa Shetty who will provide a Live interview.

    In addition, Pakistani cricket sensation Shahid Afridi will be present and Himesh Reshmiya will be performing live. Zee’s soap stars including Jay Walia, Bani, Vidhya, Chandini and Nahar Singh and celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor will also be present. The carnival will also have about 125 stalls in various zones, inform an official release.

    The network states that the carnival will be highly publicised with “mammoth advertising campaigns including underground advertising all over the UK.”

    Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. senior vice president Ashish Kaul said, “Zee Carnival 2006 was a huge success. This year’s main attraction is the catalogue of Bollywood, television, cricket and musical stars appearance in the event.”