Pakistan pacer Umar Gul announces retirement from all forms of cricket
Karachi: Veteran Pakistan pacer Umar Gul on Saturday announced he will retire from all forms of cricket after the ongoing National T20 Cup, ending an international career spanning 17 years.
The 36-year-old Gul, who played his last match for Pakistan -- an ODI -- in 2016, featured for the Balochistan team in the National T20 Cup, which ends on Sunday.
His side lost to Southern Punjab in Rawalpindi on Friday to be out of the reckoning for the semifinals.
"With a very heavy heart and after a lot of thinking, I have decided to bid farewell to all formats of cricket after this National T20 Cup," Gul wrote on his Twitter handle.
"I have always played for Pakistan with all my heart and 100 percent of hard work. Cricket is and will always be my love and passion but all good things have to come to an end," he added.
Gul could barely hold back his tears as his Balochistan teammates gave him a guard of honour.
The pacer was diagnosed with a stress fracture of the lower back in 2004 after taking a five-for against India in a Test in Lahore and some years ago, he also suffered a knee injury, which hit his career badly.
The Peshawar-born Gul made his international debut in an ODI in 2003. He played his first Test that year itself. His last Test was against South Africa in 2013.
From 47 Test matches, Gul took 163 wickets at an average of 34.06. He also claimed 179 wickets from 130 ODIs, besides 85 wickets from 60 T20Is.
"Praying that the future will hold much more for me. Secondly, I would like to thank @TheRealPCB and all the coaches and people who have been a part of my cricketing journey. Special thanks to media, my fans and followers who made it all worthwhile n supported me at all times," he said.
Gul, who is serving as a member of the Pakistan Cricket Board's Cricket Committee, said he would like to contribute to the sport in other capacities.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed my cricket, which has taught me the values of hard work, respect, commitment and determination.
"During this journey, I have had the pleasure of meeting numerous people who have helped and supported me in some way. I want to thank all those people as well as my teammates and peers for their support," the PCB quoted him as saying.
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India has enough oil stock to weather West Asia crisis; coverage in place for 6-8 weeks
New Delhi (PTI): India holds sufficient crude and fuel inventories to meet domestic demand for petrol, diesel, and other fuels for six to eight weeks, top government sources said, cushioning the country against any short-term supply disruption amid escalating military conflict in West Asia.
About half of India's crude and LPG imports transit the Strait of Hormuz - the key energy chokepoint that has seen disruptions following US and Israeli attacks on Iranian government, military and nuclear facilities. Iran warned shipping away from the strait, and insurers withdrew coverage, effectively halting tanker movements.
A top oil ministry official, who wished not to be named, said the government is monitoring the situation "on a daily and hourly basis" and is confident of navigating through the crisis that by some estimates may last a week or ten days.
While the country has crude oil stocks to last 25 days and fuel to last a similar duration, contingency plans - including using stockpile in strategic petroleum reserves, commercial stocks, and diversified sourcing from the US, Russia, West Africa, and Latin America - will ensure continuity even if the crisis lasts longer.
While immediate shortages are unlikely, rising crude prices and higher freight and insurance costs could impact India's import bill and inflation.
Separately, the ministry in a statement said Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri "briefed the media on the country's preparedness in the current circumstances" and it was informed that "the country is well stocked with crude oil and inventories of key petroleum products including petrol, diesel and ATF to deal with short-term disruptions arising from the Middle East."
It, however, did not give details of the stocks.
"The Ministry has established a 24×7 control room to continuously monitor the supply and stock position of petroleum products across the country," it said.
"At present, the government is reasonably comfortable in terms of stocks. Safeguarding the interests of Indian consumers remains the highest priority. Based on continuous monitoring, the government is cautiously optimistic that phased measures can be taken, if required, to further mitigate the situation."
India is the third largest importer, fourth largest refiner, and fifth largest exporter of petroleum products globally.
"It was further apprised that in the last few years, India has ensured both availability and affordability of energy for its population by diversifying its sources. Indian energy companies now have access to energy supplies that are not routed through the Strait of Hormuz.
"Such cargoes will remain available and help mitigate supplies that may be temporarily affected enroute through the Strait of Hormuz," the statement said.
The official said that while this year crude sourced from the countries that use the Strait of Hormuz is above 50 per cent due to a drop in Russian cargoes, the average over the past couple of years has been 40 per cent. The remaining 60 per cent is not shipped from the Strait.
Crude oil -- the raw material that is turned into fuels like petrol and diesel in refineries -- in storage tanks, pipelines and on ships in transit is enough to meet the country's requirement for 25 days. Besides, there are stock of fuel in refineries, deposits, pipelines and other storage facilities that could meet demand for a similar duration, he said.
On top of this, there is crude oil stored in underground strategic reserves.
The country's commercial crude oil stocks, including strategic petroleum reserves at Mangalore, Padur, and Visakhapatnam, total around 100 million barrels. This, along with additional refined product inventories, provides a substantial buffer against short-term disruptions.
"We are in a reasonably comfortable situation," the official said.
The official said India was looking to import LPG even before the Iran crisis broke out last weekend. An issue with the pipeline in Saudi Arabia, the principal supplier of LPG to India, had created a deficit of 120,000 tonnes.
"There are a large number of producers, and we are tapping them," the official said.
With imports via the Strait of Hormuz averaging roughly 2.5 million barrels per day -- about half of India's just over 5 million bpd total crude imports -- these combined reserves could theoretically cover around 40-45 days of imports in a crude disruption scenario, he said.
Additional refined product inventories would extend effective coverage further.
However, the immediate impact will be on prices. Brent, the global benchmark, crossed USD 80 per barrel, roughly 10 per cent more since the Iran crisis. For India, higher prices means higher import bill.
India spent USD 137 billion on crude oil imports in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2025. During April 2025 to January 2026 - the first ten months of the current fiscal year - it spent USD 100.4 billion on imports of 206.3 million tonnes of crude oil.
The United States and Israel launched military strikes on targets in Iran over the weekend. Tehran retaliated with missiles and drones aimed at Israel and countries hosting US forces, including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
Media reports suggest the conflict has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key conduit for global energy flows. Roughly one-third of the world's seaborne crude oil exports and about 20 per cent of liquefied natural gas shipments transit the narrow waterway.
India, the world's third-largest oil importer, imports roughly half of its crude needs through the narrow Strait. Its mainstay liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplier in Qatar also uses the strait to ship the fuel to India.
In case of closure, India can tap suppliers in West Africa, Latin Amercia and the US to make up for the shortfall from the Middle-East. India could also tap Russian oil to make up for the deficit.
India had agreed to wind down purchases of Russian oil as part of a trade deal with the US - a deal which now sits in limbo after the US Supreme Court struck down US President Donald Trump's country-based tariffs.
