Injured fast bowler Junaid Khan ruled out of World Cup
Islamabad: Pakistan fast bowler Junaid Khan has been ruled out of the World Cup after failing a fitness test on Monday. Shaharyar Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, says selectors will shortly decide who will replace the injured left-arm fast bowler. Junaid injured his hamstring during a training camp at lahore last month and did not accompany the team to New Zealand for the two-match one-day series. The selectors included right-arm fast bowler Bilawal Bhatti as replacement of Junaid for the tour of New Zealand. The PCB chairman says it's up to the selectors if they think Bhatti should replace Junaid for the World Cup or "they need a left-arm seam bowler."
Holders India to enter World Cup in second spot in ICC rankings
Dubai: Defending champions India will enter the 11th edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup in second spot behind leaders Australia. After failing to win a single game in the recently concluded tri-series, the Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side trail Australia by six points in the ODI rankings, according to an ICC media release. Australia, who won the tri-series after humbling England in the final, are comfortably placed at the top with 120 ranking points followed by India (114) and South Africa (113). With just a few more international matches left to go before the 50-over showpiece event kick starts on February 14 in Australia and New Zealand, the 14 competing teams are gearing up for the warm-up matches slated between 8-13 of this month. Meanwhile in the player rankings, India's Virat Kohli is at the number three spot in the batsman's chart with South Africa's AB de Villers and Hashim Amla at the No.1 and 2.
Johnson tells England to stop “dreaming”
Perth: Making an impactful return in the tri-series finale to send England packing, Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson said that the Eoin Morgan-led side would be "dreaming" if they believe that pressure will not be on them in their opening clash of the cricket World Cup. Returning from his month-long rest, Johnson, who took three wickets to help Australia humble England by 112 runs in the title clash yesterday, reacted to Morgan's comment of the pressure being more on the hosts when the two sides' clash on February 14. "Every team is under pressure. I think they [England] are dreaming if they think they are not under pressure," Johnson was quoted as saying in the Sydney Morning Herald. "It's a knockout situation and you have to win pretty much every game that is the way I see it. "It feels nice against any team, to be honest, when you can go out there and perform at your best and do the job that you have been put in the team for," Johnson said.