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Ahmed Shehzad’s fifth ODI century set it up, but Pakistan needed special innings from Fawad Alam and Shahid Afridi to pull off their highest chase in ODIs and book a place in the Asia Cup final, against Sri Lanka

The Report by Mohammad Isam04-Mar-2014
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details0:00

Agarkar: Afridi unstoppable in this form

Ahmed Shehzad’s fifth ODI century set it up, but Pakistan needed special innings from Fawad Alam and Shahid Afridi, who blazed an 18-ball fifty, to pull off their highest chase in ODIs and book a place in the Asia Cup final, against Sri Lanka.Afridi ransacked 59 off 25 balls, hitting seven sixes during a 69-run stand for the sixth wicket with Fawad Alam that took only 5.3 overs. They resurrected a flagging Pakistan chase, after Bangladesh had surpassed expectations to post 326 for 3, their best ODI score. The game was decided with only one ball to spare.Bangladesh’s bowling and fielding let them down – they were sloppy on the boundary and Mushfiqur Rahim dropped Afridi on 52 in the final moments – and they failed to defend 300-plus for the first time in four attempts.Shahid Afridi came out hitting and helped Pakistan pull off their highest chase in ODIs•AFPPakistan’s chase was led by Shehzad, who made 103 off 123 balls, accelerating after a sedate start and adding 105 runs for the fourth wicket with Fawad at 6.70 per over. He fell in the 39th over, and after the curious promotion of Abdur Rehman as pinch-hitter failed, only Afridi could make or break the game. Pakistan needed 102 off 52 balls, and he smote the ball so hard and far during an assault that will not be forgotten by those at the Shere Bangla Stadium. Several faces in the crowd revealed anguish as Afridi bludgeoned the home side.Between overs 41.2 overs and 46.5, when he was finally run out, Afridi launched sixes over long on, extra cover, long off, midwicket and fine leg. Five of his seven sixes came in his first nine deliveries. His stand with Fawad came at 12.54 an over. He took the bowling and Mirpur by surprise. During the onslaught from Afridi and Fawad, Mahmudullah gave 16 in an over, Shakib 20, Shafiul 16 and Razzak 18 as the asking rate plummeted in the last ten overs.When Afridi was dismissed, struggling with cramp, Pakistan still needed 33 off 19 but Fawad stepped up, clouting Razzak twice over the midwicket boundary to kill the contest. The turnaround Afridi engineered had been so sudden because Pakistan had lost their way after a 97-run first wicket stand between Shehzad and Mohammad Hafeez, as three wickets fell for eight runs.Unlike their bowling that fell apart, however, Bangladesh’s batting had been impeccable. For the first time since the Fatullah chase against New Zealand in November last year, every batsman’s plans worked.Anamul’s century played the central role and he made sure Pakistan were denied early wickets. Despite his reputation as a shot-maker, his 132-ball knock was chanceless, and he played second fiddle during the early stages of his 150-run opening stand with Imrul Kayes, who rode his luck to score a half-century in his comeback game. Kayes was dropped on 0 in the first over and survived a close leg-before appeal in the seventh, but he still looked for boundaries. Anamul caught up with him, and the pair laid into Pakistan during two hitting sprees.Imrul struck Afridi for two sixes over midwicket while Anamul attacked Mohammad Talha, Pakistan’s best bowler from the match against India. In the 16th over, Anamul moved from 41 to 57 with three consecutive boundaries – a six, a four and another six – all with the pull shot. It ruined Misbah’s plans because Pakistan had already lost Abdur Rehman because he bowled three beamers before he had delivered a single legal delivery.It got worse when Saeed Ajmal and Afridi struggled too, and Umar Gul was poor in the slog overs. Anamul reached his hundred in the 39th over but got out soon after. He had laid the platform and then watched Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque reach fifties, and Shakib smash 44 off 16 balls after returning from a three-match ban. Bangladesh took 121 runs off the last ten overs but even that was not enough to survive a battering from Afridi.This loss will hurt Bangladesh as much as the one against Afghanistan did and they have only pride to play for in the final league game against Sri Lanka. Pakistan, on the other hand, were deserving finalists, having clinched last-over finished against both India and Bangladesh.

يستعد الفرنسي عثمان ديمبلي لمغادرة فريقه برشلونة الإسباني، والانتقال إلى باريس سان جيرمان الفرنسي.

وأفادت صحيفة “لو باريزيان” الفرنسية، أنه من المتوقع وصول ديمبلي إلى العاصمة الفرنسية باريس، اليوم الخميس.

وكشف التقرير عن موعد خضوع ديمبلي للفحص الطبي، حيث سيكون غدًا الجمعة، تمهيدًا لتوقيع عقود الانضمام لباريس سان جيرمان، للمواسم الخمسة المقبلة، حتى يونيو 2028.

وسيدفع باريس سان جيرمان قيمة الشرط الجزائي بعقد ديمبلي والبالغة 50 مليون يورو.

اقرأ أيضًا | برشلونة يرد على عرض باريس سان جيرمان للتعاقد مع نيمار

ويعود ديمبلي مجددًا إلى فرنسا، بعد سبع سنوات من رحيله من ستاد رين إلى بوروسيا دورتموند.

وتعد تلك الصفقة التاسعة لباريس سان جيرمان في انتقالاته الصيفية بعد ميلان سكرينيار وماركو أسينسيو، ومانويل أوجارتي، ولي كانج إن، ولوكاس هيرنانديز، وتشافي سيمونز(معار إلى لايبزيج)، وشير ندور، وأرناو تيناس.

Michael Clarke has been reprimand for making a DRS ‘T’ signal while captaining New South Wales against Tasmania

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2013
ScorecardSteve Smith’s valuable 63 pushed New South Wales towards a healthy lead•Getty ImagesMichael Clarke has been reprimand for making a DRS ‘T’ signal while captaining New South Wales against Tasmania.The incident occurred on the second day of the Sheffield Shield clash, when a Tasmania batsman was given not out when New South Wales claimed a low catch in the gully. Clarke then made the ‘T’ signal towards the umpire, which is used in international cricket to ask for the review system to be utilised.Cricket Australia has amended their code of behaviour to make it automatic dissent if a player, whether in jest or not, uses the ‘T’ sign during domestic cricket where the DRS is not available. Clarke admitted guilt and accepted match referee Daryl Harper’s proposed penalty of a reprimand so a hearing was not required.Clarke made 88 on the first day of the match, his first innings since the one-day series against England following a flare-up of his long-standing back problem, but had less success in his second innings – bowled for 7 by a delivery from Ben Hilfenhaus which nipped back – although the Blues were handily placed to claim victory after setting the Tigers a target of 295 which would be the highest total of the match.By stumps, the Blues had already claimed one wicket in the eight overs available with Josh Hazlewood removing Ed Cowan to leave the Tigers 1 for 18.The visitors had begun the day significantly behind in their first innings, but closed the gap as the final-wicket stand between Luke Butterworth and Sam Rainbird extended to 56, cutting the deficit to 49. They then chipped away at the beginning of the Blues’ second innings and when Clarke departed the home side were 3 for 77.However, Steve Smith (63) and Scott Henry (65) added 114 in 26 overs to stabilised the Blues’ position before the Tigers came back strongly to claim the final seven wickets for 54. The left-arm spinner Clive Rose and seamer Evan Gulbis took seven scalps between them.

Zimbabwe’s Select XI were asked to score the highest total of the match so far against Australia A when they were set a target of 241 to win the three-day match in Harare

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Jul-2013
Scorecard File photo – Zimbabwe’s hopes of chasing 241 rest on Hamilton Masakadza•AFPZimbabwe’s Select XI were asked to score the highest total of the match so far against Australia A when they were set a target of 241 to win the three-day match in Harare. As was the case in their first innings, their top order collapsed against the pace of Australia’s young quicks and they will have to rely on the lower order to restore respectability.They did a decent job of that earlier on the second day when they put on 60 runs to post a slight recovery from 82 for 5 overnight. Elton Chigumbura went without scoring and that proved a sign of things to come. He fell to Pakistani-born legspinner Fawad Ahmed, who ran through the tail.Malcolm Waller and Natsai Mushangwe shared a seventh-wicket stand of 31 but both were dismissed with the score on 113. Both succumbed to the pace bowlers, leaving Ahmed to deal with the remaining batsmen. He accounted for both Kyle Jarvis, whose score of 20 was the third-highest on the card, and Tendai Chatara to leave Zimbabwe’s XI 84 runs behind.Their bowlers made the day brighter, taking the first Australian wicket with the score on 11. Jarvis had Aaron Finch trapped lbw. David Warner’s Ashes ambitions took another knock as he managed just 11 while the runs came from Nic Maddinson and Alex Doolan.Partnerships were insubstantial apart from 55 between Doolan and Glenn Maxwell on a slow surface. Legspinner Mushangwe was among the wickets and claimed three while Elton Chigumbura accounted for the lower order as Australia lost their last six wickets for 21 runs.With their bowling having done a fine job in dismissing Australia A for 156, it was up to Zimbabwe’s batsmen to show some temperament but they could muster very little. Vusi Sibanda was out in the second over – bowled by Gurinder Sandhu – and Sikandar Raza followed in the next over. Zimbabwe were 1 for 2 and in a familiar position of strife.Brendan Taylor failed to make an impression in the match, out for 5, and the day ended with Waller also dismissed for 6. Hamilton Masakadza was still at the crease but will have to see off Ahmed and marshall the middle and lower order if Zimbabwe have any chances of registering an unlikely win.

Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has suggested that the playing futures of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif will be determined by form when they have served their ICC bans

Umar Farooq18-Apr-2013Zaka Ashraf, the PCB chairman, has suggested that the playing futures of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif will be determined by form when they have served their ICC bans which were upheld on Wednesday by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.After hearing the CAS verdict, Butt himself said he saw no reason why he should not return to professional cricket – and even Test level – after he sees out the remain period of his minimum five-year ban, although there are a further five years suspended if he does not comply with anti-corruption training. Butt will be 30 when his ban is complete, while Asif will be 32.Now Ashraf has given a clear indication that the Pakistan domestic game will be open to the pair to try and rebuild their careers but warned about further transgressions.”The punishment which the ICC has given they have to serve it,” Ashraf told reporters in Lahore. “Then we will include them in first-class domestic cricket and see how they perform and the selectors will further decide their fate, but there is no room for another such debacle yet again.”The whole world is a global village and the notes on anti-corruption are being exchanged everywhere in the world. I think for any player now it will be difficult to do match-fixing. If he does it he will destroy his future and bring bad name not only to him but for his country.”The third player involved in the 2010 spot-fixing case, Mohammad Amir, did not contest his five-year ban at CAS and has previously spoken about his desire to resume playing in 2015 when the punishment is complete.

دخل رياض محرز، لاعب فريق مانشستر سيتي، تاريخ الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز بعد حسم لقب البطولة موسم 2022/23.

وخسر آرسنال اليوم أمام نوتينجهام فورست بهدف دون رد، في الجولة السابعة والثلاثين من البطولة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. كاراجر: ما قدمه آرسنال لم يكن كافيًا.. وجوارديولا رفع المعايير لمستوى عالِ

وتوَج مانشستر سيتي بذلك بلقب الدوري الإنجليزي، الموسم الحالي، قبل 3 مباريات من نهاية مشواره في البطولة.

وأصبح رياض محرز بذلك اللاعب الإفريقي الوحيد الذي يحقق لقب الدوري الإنجليزي 5 مرات في مسيرته.

وتمكن محرز من تحقيق لقب الدوري الإنجليزي مرة مع ليستر سيتي، قبل تحقيقه 4 مرات مع مانشستر سيتي.

وتجاوز محرز بذلك الإيفواري ديدييه دروجبا الذي حقق لقب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز 4 مرات في مسيرته الاحترافية.

كذلك أصبح محرز هو اللاعب العربي الوحيد الذي يحقق ذلك الإنجاز المميز في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي.

The PCB has said the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the organisers of the BPL had not followed the correct procedures with regards to signing Pakistan players

Umar Farooq16-Jan-2013ICC regulations on domestic cricket events

Clause 32A.4 reads: “Each Member shall ensure, to the greatest extent permitted by applicable law (as determined in the reasonable opinion of the Member), that no foreign player participates in any domestic cricket event under the jurisdiction of the Member unless such foreign player holds a valid no-objection certificate from the relevant Member.
And for the avoidance of any doubt, the relevant Member is the only body capable of granting a no-objection certificate for a foreign player. Accordingly, all such applications must be made directly to the relevant Member and not to any other third party.”

The PCB has said the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) and the organisers of the BPL had not followed the correct procedures with regards to signing Pakistan players, and has given that as the reason for their non-participation in Bangladesh’s Twenty20 league. The Pakistan players, the PCB said, had been auctioned in Dhaka without permission and without any intimation from the BCB.”There are great embarrassments when boards are bypassed and players approached directly,” a PCB spokesman said. “This was regrettably felt by BCB when they approached PCB at the last moment for release of the players for their league.”As per practice and procedures in vogue, a home board has to approach the visiting players’ parent board seeking release of its players for their domestic cricket competitions. In BPL’s case, BCB, their representatives or the players’ agents were in contact directly with the Pakistan players and PCB was kept out of this process. Even the auction of Pakistan players at BPL was done without PCB’s prior permission or intimation.”As many as 60 Pakistan players registered for the BPL auction but only 26 were sold to the seven franchises, but without the necessary No Objection Certificates (NOCs) from the PCB. The players had submitted their applications with an NOC from their department team instead.However, apart from the issues with protocol, the withdrawal of Pakistan players is also centred on the standoff over a Bangladesh tour to Pakistan.”The BCB committed to tour Pakistan in March 2012, this initiative was also supported by ICC,” the PCB said. “But in an incident unprecedented in the history of world cricket, a court issued stay orders against a mutually agreed tour. The BCB promised again to tour Pakistan on January 10 but backed off once again. The BCB needs to take a step forward in reciprocation.”The PCB, historically, has been extremely supportive of BCB. On request of BCB the PCB released its players for the first edition of BPL in 2012. The PCB also supported Mustaf Kamal’s candidacy as vice president of ICC.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the first Test between India and New Zealand in Hyderabad

The Preview by S Rajesh22-Aug-2012Match factsThursday, August 23
Start time 0930 (0400 GMT)Cheteshwar Pujara is in contention for a place in the Indian middle order•WICB

Big pictureIndia are without Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman; New Zealand are without Daniel Vettori. The last time an India-New Zealand Test was played without any of these three players was in November 1995, in Cuttack. Apart from Sachin Tendulkar, none of those – from either team – who played in that Test are playing international cricket today.
Neither team has had a happy time in Test cricket over the last year. Both India and New Zealand are in a state of flux, which makes this series more meaningful than might have been otherwise. (Between them, the two teams have lost seven of their last ten Tests.) For India’s young batsmen, it’s a wonderful opportunity to stake a permanent place in the middle order, instead of only being seen as replacements when the top stars are unavailable. Cheteshwar Pujara, Suresh Raina and S Badrinath will be fighting for two spots, but this series will probably be the easier part of the challenge, given that England and Australia will tour next, followed by a series in South Africa in 2013.Meanwhile, the Indian bowling attack is searching for answers too, after poor performances in Australia and England. Ishant Sharma hasn’t proved his fitness after his ankle surgery, while R Ashwin needs to show he can exercise control over long spells in conditions conducive for batting. Good performances by these players won’t guarantee long-term selection, but failures in this series will seriously hurt their chances, given that stiffer challenges will follow.New Zealand are coming off a demoralising defeat in the West Indies, and this series will be the first assignment for their new coach, Mike Hesson, who has taken over from John Wright. Several aspects of their game were disappointing in the West Indies, which means Hesson and the rest of the team management have a huge task ahead of them. The batting has been consistently patchy, with even senior players not contributing often enough.The bowling attack, apart from Chris Martin, is inexperienced. Experts have suggested that Vettori’s absence might not mean much since he hadn’t taken too many wickets recently, but he would have offered New Zealand much greater control in stemming the runs against batsmen who’re used to scoring quickly in familiar conditions. These will be tough conditions, and tough batsmen to bowl against for the inexperienced Jeetan Patel and Tarun Nethula, which suggests the seamers will have take greater bowling responsibilities this time around.Form guideIndia LLLLD (Most recent first)
New Zealand LLDLDWatch out forBrendon McCullum returns to the ground – and the batting position – where he notched up his highest Test score of 225. Consistency hasn’t been his greatest virtue, but opening the batting will give him a better chance to get his eye in against the quick bowlers, before the spinners come on to bowl, especially in the subcontinent. Compared to his overall average of 36.36, McCullum averages 45.13 when he opens the batting. If he gets a start, the Hyderabad crowd could be in for some entertainment.Cheteshwar Pujara last played a Test match in January 2011, in Cape Town, before a knee injury sidelined him for much of the year. Since his return, he has shown form and hunger, topping the run-charts for the A team in the West Indies earlier this year. He is treating this as his second debut in Test cricket, and with places up for grabs in this Indian middle order, Pujara will want to make sure he doesn’t miss out.Pitch and conditionsChris Martin said on the eve of the Test that the conditions in the nets were pretty good for seam bowling – the pitches had reasonable carry and the ball swung a bit in humid conditions. If that’s the case in the Test as well, the seamers could play a prominent role, especially in the early part of the Test. However, Dhoni was confident the pitch would take turn, and also suggested there’d be some bounce available to the spinners because of the red soil. Given New Zealand’s historical problems against spin, India will look to their spinner(s) to do a fair amount of damage.Team newsWith Laxman and Dravid not around, India’s middle order will have a new look, with Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara certain to play. The choice for the No.6 slot will be between Suresh Raina and S Badrinath, but given that Raina was the original choice in the squad, he should probably make the cut ahead of Badrinath; besides, Raina’s off-spin will also be useful in Indian conditions. India will also have to decide between a bowling combination of three fast bowlers and a spinner, or a two-and-two combination. Given that the opposition is New Zealand, MS Dhoni might be tempted to go in with two specialist spinners.
India (probable) 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Virender Sehwag, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Sachin Tendulkar, 5 Cheteshwar Pujara, 6 Suresh Raina, 7 MS Dhoni (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Zaheer Khan, 10 Ishant Sharma/ Pragyan Ojha, 11 Umesh Yadav.New Zealand have announced that McCullum will open the batting, which means they’ll have to change their opening combination. Daniel Flynn has opened in two of their last three Tests, but could drop down to No.3 or No.5. Ross Taylor has confirmed that James Franklin will play, batting at No.6 and offering a fourth-seamer option. It’s unlikely they’ll play more than one specialist spinner, and Patel, the offspinner, will probably be preferred over the uncapped legspinner, Nethula. Whichever one plays, he’ll have a tough job trying to replicate the control that Vettori would have achieved had he been in the team.New Zealand (probable) 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Brendon McCullum, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Ross Taylor (capt), 5 Daniel Flynn, 6 James Franklin, 7 Kruger van Wyk (wk), 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Jeetan Patel/ Tarun Nethula, 11 Chris Martin.Stats and trivia Fifty percent of the Tests between India and New Zealand have been drawn (25 out of 50). Only India versus Pakistan has a higher draw percentage (38 out of 59). McCullum is one of only two overseas batsmen to score a second-innings double-century in India. Andy Flower is the other. In the last 16 years, only once have both Dravid and Laxman not been part of an Indian team. That was against South Africa in Nagpur in 2010, a match India lost by an innings and 6 runs. Sachin Tendulkar has remarkably similar stats against New Zealand both home and away. In 11 home Tests against them, he averages 49.28; in as many Tests in New Zealand, he averages 49.52.For more stats, click here.Quotes”We have Virat, Raina and we already have Sehwag there, he will most likely stand in the first slip. I don’t think we will be short of fielders who field at slips.”
“It [the pitch] had reasonable carry, enough bounce for us to challenge the edge. And it has been humid. The ball has swung [in the nets], and I think it is a better one than the ball we used in the West Indies that tended to not swing for very long.”

Neil McKenzie played a lot alongside Mark Boucher for South Africa and as rain prevented action against Yorkshire he spoke about his former team-mate

Ivo Tennant at West End11-Jul-2012
ScorecardNeil McKenzie suggested keepers will now consider wearing helmets more often•PA PhotosThe rain that stair-rodded down on Southampton prevented anything other than the toss taking place. Hampshire won and will take the field against Yorkshire when play does eventually start in a match in which Neil McKenzie, the former South Africa batsman, will open the innings against Steve Harmison, the former England bowler who is now an honorary Yorkshireman. To confuse matters further, they were once, briefly, team mates at Durham.This, though, was far from McKenzie’s mind in the West End atrium. Like all his countrymen, he has been shocked by the eye injury sustained by Mark Boucher, his friend and colleague since they represented South Africa at Under-19 level.McKenzie was in touch with Boucher after his freak injury at Taunton earlier this week and was told immediately that serious damage had been sustained. “Obviously every wicketkeeper suffers a few injuries but the only one I can remember him having was when he cut himself with a biltong knife,” he said. “Normally he wears sunglasses to keep in and that obviously would have prevented the injury. Each wicketkeeper will now assess whether helmets should be worn all the time in the same way that batsmen do.”These things happen for a reason and we all knew this was going to be Mark’s last tour. How good was he? David Richardson, his predecessor, played in about a third of the number of Tests he has been involved in and he wouldn’t have played for as long as he has and been called ‘Guinness’ after the record book, for no good reason. His catching contributed a great deal to the number of wickets taken by Allan Donald and Makhaya Ntini. He was a powerhouse figure at the back.”Mark wanted to play for two more years for Cape Cobras, which would not have affected his family life. I am not sure whether he will want to stay in the game as he is a silent partner in a few business ventures and obviously the most important thing is that he regains his full sight. From the point of the view of the series between England and South Africa, it was already very finely balanced in terms of personnel.”McKenzie, who came to England with South Africa on their last two tours and has played in 58 Tests, will appear for Hampshire until at least early August, depending on how long Michael Carberry takes to recover from a knee injury suffered in net practice. He has never particularly wanted to open the innings, but did so for his country as there were no positions available in the middle order, and will do so now for Hampshire because this, too, is where the vacancy has occurred.”The glory boys can come in at three and four,” he joked. “Giles White, the Hampshire coach, asked me how I viewed this and I am happy not to upset the continuity in the middle order. I have a family in South Africa but will willingly come back next year if I am wanted.”

Umar Akmal, the Pakistan batsman, has said he needs to bat higher up the order to covert his double figures scores to three figures.

Umar Farooq30-Apr-2012Umar Akmal, the Pakistan batsman, has said he needs to bat higher up the order to covert his double figures scores to three figures. He scored his only ODI hundred three years back in Sri Lanka and has pressed for the chance to make more when Pakistan return to the country in June.Pakistan’s ODI line up is currently in transition with Umar moving around the middle order. He has been tried from No 3 to No. 7 with most of his success coming at No 6, where he has scored 935 runs in 28 matches at 40.65, and at No. 5, where his record stands at 811 in 21 matches at 40.55.But Umar believes that a rise in the order will improve his record and he is making no secret about his ambition.”It’s a matter of the batting order that I’m not able to score a hundred,” Umar told reporters in Lahore. “When I am batting down the order, sometimes I have to bat in a crisis when the top order has stumbled and sometimes I get fewer overs to bat otherwise I have the tendency to score in three figures.”Apart from the first three, Pakistan are flexible with their batting order, sending in batsmen accordingly to the state of the game. Umar said: “If I bat at the top of the order, mainly at No. 4, then it would be easy for me to extend my innings and convert my 30 and 40-odd scores to a hefty innings.”I am doing all the necessary training with the coaches in the Academy and playing club matches to apply my learning. I am building myself to get ready for the Sri Lanka series where I had a wonderful debut. I am setting my target to be the man of the series.”Umar, 21, scored his maiden ODI hundred in his third match of his career while, on the third day of his debut Test, he hit a century, becoming only the second Pakistani to score a hundred on debut away from home.He has gone on to play 63 ODIs and 16 Tests so far, but reaching a hiundred has been a rare instance for him since his hugely-impressive debut in 2009. His Test place is still uncertain though has an assured place in limited-over squad.