Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik retires from ODI cricket after World Cup campaign
Shoaib Malik has announced his retirement from One-Day International (ODI) cricket after Pakistan failed to qualify for the World 2019 semi-finals but the all-rounder will continue to ply his trade in the Twenty20 format. Pakistan ended their World Cup 2019 campaign on a winning note after defeating Bangladesh by 94 runs at Lord's on Friday.
Shoaib Malik played three matches in the showpiece event. After Pakistan's heavy defeat to arch-rivals, India, the 37-year-old Shoaib Malik was heavily criticised and was later dropped from the side for the remainder of the tournament. Shoaib Malik represented Pakistan in 287 One-day Internationals (ODIs) and scored 7534 runs at an average of 34.55. The right-handed batsman also featured in 35 Test matches and scored three hundreds for his country.
"As I mentioned in my previous interviews that I am going to retire right after the World Cup and today was our last game. I am retiring from ODI cricket. I had decided a few years ago to retire on last Pakistan World Cup match. I am sad that I'll be leaving the format of cricket, I once loved but happy that I will have more time to spend with my family. This will also allow me to focus on T20s," said an emotional Shoaib Malik at the post-match press conference.
Shoaib Malik also thanked his teammates, coaches, his family, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) but "most importantly my fans, who I love you all".
In Pakistan's last encounter at World Cup 2019, Malik was again missing from the playing XI. Pakistan decided to field the same team that beat Afghanistan.
courtesy: ndtv.com
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Uncompromising stand against Bangladesh-origin Muslims swayed votes for NDA: Himanta
Guwahati (PTI): Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday asserted that his government's "uncompromising stand" in taking steps against Bangladesh-origin Muslims swayed people in favour of the BJP-led NDA in this year's assembly elections, resulting in the alliance securing a two-thirds majority.
He maintained that the NDA's win was a victory for the Assamese indigenous people and affirmed continuing developmental work in the state.
Addressing a press conference, Sarma said, "The double-engine government and unprecedented development the state witnessed in the last five years are among the main reasons for our victory."
"We had assured of securing the Assamese 'jati' (community) and took steps to deliver it. Assam progressed in the cultural and economic sectors. Our uncompromising stand against Bangladesh-origin Muslims also had an impact," he said.
The NDA swept to a third successive term in the state by securing 102 seats in the 126-member state assembly. The BJP won 82 seats, while its allies AGP and Bodoland People's Front bagged 10 each.
On Sarma predicting nearly exact numbers for the alliance before the results, he said the assessment was based on his connect with the people.
"I visited every assembly segment thrice before elections. I have a good mass connect system, which helped in my assessment," he said.
Sarma claimed that recommendations of the Justice (retd) Biplab Sharma committee on Clause 6 of the Assam Accord, which deals with constitutional safeguards for the indigenous Assamese population, were implemented by his government.
"It was because of it that the Assamese people won yesterday. It was not just a BJP victory," he asserted.
The CM claimed the NDA secured the support of all sections of people, including Gen Z, which was evident in the young faces fielded by the BJP emerging victorious.
He dismissed the charge that the BJP has an "outsider" among its MLAs, referring to Guwahati Central legislator-elect Vijay Gupta.
"Vijay Gupta is an Assamese. If he is a Bihari, we (ancestors) also came from Kannauj. We all have come from different parts. Mongoloids came from outside, Aryans came from outside. This outsider narrative has been created by you all (media)," Sarma said.
On the Congress' poor poll performance, he maintained that there were very few people in the opposition party who understood the sentiments of the Assamese people.
Otherwise, the Congress would not have brought singer Zubeen Garg's name in its manifesto or levied allegations against an Assamese woman, Sarma added, referring to the opposition party's charges of multiple passports and undisclosed foreign investments of his wife.
The CM also maintained that Raijor Dal could have won four-five seats had it not joined hands with the Congress.
The Congress and Akhil Gogoi-led Raijor Dal were part of a six-party opposition alliance that fought the elections together. Congress won 19 seats and Raijor Dal two, with the other allies drawing a blank.
"If Akhil Gogoi had not made the mistake, Sherman Ali Ahmed would have been his MLA today," Sarma said, referring to the expelled Congress leader who won as a TMC candidate after Raijor Dal refused him a ticket owing to the alliance.
On Gogoi being the only opposition MLA to win from a Hindu-majority seat, Sarma said, "It is the people of Sibsagar who decided who will represent them. On my part, it was the only Hindu majority seat where I didn't go to campaign."
"Akhil Gogoi should be kept in the assembly, else he will create chaos on the streets with his protests," Sarma said.
He also claimed that Gogoi had failed to make a single serious speech in the assembly during his first tenure as MLA and dubbed the Raijor Dal president a "comic relief" when the proceedings get dull.
