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Indian Mobile Ad Market Grows by 1.5 Billion Views in Just 90 Days
NEW DELHI (SI): InMobi, one of the world’s largest independent mobile ad network, revealed that the Indian mobile ad market grew by 1.5 Billion between October 2010 and January 2011. The finding is part of InMobi’s January 2011 Mobile Insights Report-India Market, the largest monthly report of its kind. Smartphone impression growth of 44 percent helps drive market growth. Smartphones mobile ad share is now 14 percent of the Indian market representing over 1 Billion impressions monthly. Commenting on the study, James Lambert, VP Global Research and Marketing at InMobi, says: “2011
has initiated a massive global consumer transition to high-quality smart devices. This trend will define the next phase of mobile advertising growth for InMobi with smart phone impressions becoming the majority of our inventory globally”. Indian mobile ad market grew by 27 percent gaining well over 1.5 Billion monthly impressions in just 90 days. Smartphone impressions grew by over 44 percent but now representing over one Billion monthly impressions. Advanced phones represent 6.3
Billion monthly impressions. With 15 percent growth in its impressions share Nokia continues to be the top operating system in India with 34.5 percent impression share. Android,
iPhone and RIM now comprises of 1.3 percent of the total market. With a 0.3 percent of impression
share the Apple iPhone is just now entering the market. With 59 percent market share Nokia continues to be the top manufacturer in India, followed by Samsung with 24 percent impression share. These two competitors account for 83 percent of total impressions served in the Indian mobile market. Sony Ericsson, LG and Micromax followed by Nokia and Samsung on the top manufacturer’s list. Comments Atul Satija, VP and Managing Director - Asia Pacific
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at InMobi: “The India mobile ad market continues to grow at a rapid pace. The sheer quantity of monthly impressions highlights the opportunity for advertisers to reach the masses via mobile media. Further, a 44 percent growth in Smartphone impressions and 3G networks rollouts indicate the future acceleration of media consumption in the region”. The Indian OS share in the market for the month of January 2011, Nokia OS had 34.5 percent, Symbian OS had 24.8 percent, and Android has only 0.7 percent while iPhone and RIM OS had 0.3 percent respectively.
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Women Push Sales of Unisex Scooters
Mumbai (HT): The motorbike, the preferred rugged ride of young men, has competition and if latest figures are anything to go by, the scooter has zoomed past it, powered by women. The demand for the unisex scooter — the one without gears and clutch — has outstripped demand. Scooters sold faster than motorcycles in 2010-11, clocking 40% against the bikes’ 27%, industry executives said. As many as 1.9 million scooters were sold last fiscal, apparently with an extra push from women. Honda’s Activa, which tops the sales, has a waiting period of a year,
said dealers in Mumbai. “This supply shortage is across India. The new plant, which will come up in August, will help us meet demand,” said NK Rattan, head of marketing, Honda Motorcycles and
Scooters India (HMSI), which has a 45% market share. Despite making close to 650,000 Activas, HMSI is facing a backlog of 200,000. The 40% growth rate would be sustained for some time, said HS Goindi, president, marketing, TVS Motors, whose three models sold 425,000 units last year. “With demand growing, we, too, are facing some manufacturing constraints.” Hero Honda’s Pleasure clocked an unprecedented 360,000, while new entrant Mahindra & Mahindra saw its sales more than double to 158,733 in the last fiscal.
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Fukushima Disaster May Delay Jaitapur Nuclear Project
By Charu Sudhan Kasturi NEW DELHI (HT): The Fukushima crisis may lead to a delay in setting up India’s largest nuclear power complex at Jaitapur in coastal Maharashtra, French firm Areva that is providing reactors for the project has concluded in an internal report. In its preliminary assessment of the impact of the radiation leak from the Fukushima plant on the global nuclear power
sector, the French multinational has said it expects “a potential delay linked to the Jaitapur site safety re-assessment”. This is the first time that Areva or the government has hinted at a possible delay in the 9,900-MW Jaitapur project, which has been facing protests from locals even before Japan was devastated by its worst natural disaster last month. Under the present schedule, the
first phase of the Jaitapur plant — consisting two reactors — is to be commissioned by 2018-19, with the second phase ready by 2021-22 and the final phase set for commissioning by 2025-26.
coast, measuring 9 on the Richter Scale, damaged the normal power supply at the Fukushima plant on March 11 before tsunami waves triggered by the earthquake damaged the backup power supplies.
Fukushima Nuclear Plant, Japan
“The reassessment will be based not just on the causes of the Fukushima disaster but on the lessons learnt from the successes and failures in controlling the ongoing crisis,” a senior atomic energy official said. Commenting on the basis of the concern over the possible delay, Areva India chief managing director Arthur de Montalembert said the company drew its conclusion based on the Prime Minister’s call “for a safety review of both existing and planned nuclear power plants in India.” A giant temblor off the Japan
Though the reactors shut down on their own, failed power systems meant the heated core could not be cooled, leading to hydrogen explosions. The Jaitapur project — aimed at setting up six nuclear reactors in three phases — will increase India’s nuclear power capacity by more than twice the country’s current nuclear power capacity of 4,700 MW. India and France signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the project in December last year during President Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit here.
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This Week That Age April 5, 1621 - Mayflower sails from Plymouth on a return trip to England. April 5, 1974 -Then tallest building, World Trade Center opens in NYC (110 stories) April 5, 1991 - US begins air drops to Kurd refugees in Northern Iraq. April 6, 1889 - George Eastman places Kodak Camera on sale for 1st time. April 6, 1906 - 1st animated cartoon copyrighted April 6, 1912 - Electric starter 1st appeared in cars April 6, 1919 - Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi orders a General Strike. April 6, 1925 - 1st film shown on an airplane (British Air) April 6, 1938 - Teflon invented by Roy J Plunkett. April 6, 1954 - TV Dinner was 1st put on sale by Swanson & Sons. April 6, 1980 - Post It Notes, introduced. April 6, 1985 - Bombay beat Delhi by 90 runs to win the Ranji Trophy final. April 7, 1934 - In India, Mahatma Gandhi suspended his campaign of civil disobedience April 7, 2001 - Mars Odyssey is launched. April 7, 2003 - U.S. troops capture Baghdad; Saddam Hussein’s regime falls two days later.
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Ex-Atomic Energy Regulator Gopalkrishnan Opposes N-deal With U.S.
NEW DELHI (SI): The India-U.S. nuclear deal should be scrapped as there is no justification, technically or economically, for importing over the next two decades American light water reactors to generate 40,000 MW of electricity, former Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) chairman A. Gopalakrishnan said. Gopalakrishnan said the U.S. wanted to revive its moribund nuclear industry by selling its reactors to India and eventually stop this country’s indigenous nuclear program, which successive prime ministers had been nurturing for decades to utilize thorium resources through fast breeder reactors. The nuclear deal, signed in October 2008, gained momentum after Manmohan Singh became the prime minister in 2004, he said. Throughout the years of deliberations on the India-US nuclear deal, the AERB was also kept out of the loop and not even consulted on the safety and reliability of reactors to be imported, he said. The prime minister’s office (PMO) spearheaded an informal alliance of few key politicians,
American and Indian corporate sectors and their federations interested in profiteering from the Indian nuclear power business, along with a coterie of top-level officials, who collectively helped the prime minister all along to
A. Gopalkrishnan
make a baseless case for import of reactors, Gopalakrishnan said. “This collective (group) also successfully kept parliament and the people of India deliberately in the dark throughout this decisionmaking process, under the cover of the Official Secrets Act, which is unnecessarily being applied to this civilian nuclear power sector, mainly to hush up the irrational
policy decisions and questionable financial deals between the government and the corporate business houses,� he said. The central government has never presented a document on India’s nuclear power policy for debate, notwithstanding repeated demands from various quarters, including parliament, he said. The prime minister stated March 29 that India owed its capabilities in all the scientific and technological aspects associated with nuclear reactors to “the success of the indigenous three-stage program whose foundation was laid by Dr. Homi Bhabha�. Indian PHWRs were the most efficient plutonium producers, far superior to the high burn-up light water reactors (LWRs) which the department of atomic energy (DAE) was planning to import, said Gopalakrishnan. “We have complete mastery of PHWR technology, with three generations of engineers and scientists who have been trained in all facets of related activities, with existing full capabilities for its manufacture and fabrication within Indian industries.�
Gopalakrishnan pointed out that with proven indigenous expertise of having designed, built and operated 17 PHWRs up to 540 MWe capacity, besides another four 700 MWe PHWR under
construction. “Today we have the inherent indigenous ability to further extend the PHWR designs to 1000 MWe rating.
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india
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Chopper Weddings and Other Luxury Trappings Some leaders of the community speak out against ostentation and dowry
By Megha Singh (Outlook) No wedding can escape the mandatory post-mortem in India. So when it came to what is being touted as India’s most expensive wedding—costing Rs 100-250 crore, depending on the version one believes—it’s no sur surprise that the autopsy has been just as large-scale. And if you’re wondering what wedding, then you clearly haven’t had your dose of masala news channels and trashy supplements this month. They had all gone to town on the March 4 nuptials of Lalit, son of Kanwar Singh Tanwar, the richest candidate to contest the 2009 Lok Sabha elections with a declared net worth of Rs 155 crore, with Girls like Pinki worry about the pressures big weddings impose PhoYogita, daughter of former Sohna to: Tribhuvan Tiwari MLA Sukhbir Singh Jaunapuria. Especially because the event was marked by such indulgences as Neha by their owners on such festive oc- approval at a mahapanchayat. The Dhupia’s dance to Sheela ki jawani casions as a wedding or the birth of self-regulatory proposals include reand, more prominently, the gift of a a child. Even the much-cited Rs 2.5 stricting the number of guests to 100 lakh for the barber who attended on each from the bride’s and the groom’s helicopter in dowry. For the upwardly mobile Gujjar the Tanwars pales before the Alto and sides, no display or use of firearms, parcommunity, to which the two families Santro cars that other barbers have liquor, no disc jockeys or dance par ties and no cash gifts of more than belong, such fancy weddings are not a received as bakshish in the past. So what, then, caused such a furore Rs 101. Those who don’t follow rarity. Ritzy vehicles and farm estates that the Gujjars living in and around the guidelines, the leaders warn, are are standard presents at these occasions. A morning walk around the Delhi and bordering regions in Ut- likely to face social boycott. Clearly, much of the outrage is villages in Delhi NCR’s Chhatarpur tar Pradesh and Haryana are up in area will show you long lines of Mer Mer- arms, organising panchayats and ma- coming from the community’s less cedes, Audis and Porsches parked on hapanchayats to condemn this affair? wealthy members, wondering what the roads for exhibition before traffic This week, some community leaders could possibly outdo a helicopter, and forces them back inside high-gated came up with a 10-point advisory concerned about the exhibitionism of estates. Several have been received for marriages, soon to be put up for it all. “Others give big gifts too, but
Poorer Gujjars are irritated by the kind of attention the Tanwar wedding has brought to the community
quietly. This kind of declaration leads to a race of one-upmanship,” says Satbir, a local cement trader and resident of Jaunapur village, from where Yogita’s family hails. His friends, too, worry that the wedding has misrepresented the financial status of residents of this village, thus dooming those with daughters to marry off to unfair dowry demands. What’s coming through in their concerns is the differing priorities and world-views of those within this traditionally pastoral and agrarian community who, with their large tracts of land, have zoomed straight to the top of the high-spending heap by cashing in on the soaring prices of farmland, and those taking a more plodding route to gentrification. Money makes its presence felt in their villages at all levels—you can’t help but notice that even the simplest middle-class Gujjar home offers you plastic, prepackaged glasses of mineral water. But there are obvious differences
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of scale. And so, villagers like Satbir worry about the image Gujjars are building for themselves among Delhi’s educated. “Wouldn’t they look down on this ludicrous display of wealth and, perhaps, deny the community greater integration into social and professional life?” they say. Others have useful suggestions to offer, in a somewhat critical spirit. “I would have rather built a school with all that money,” says the mother of young Pinky Tanwar, a young, soonto-be-married girl. Interestingly, awareness about the need for education for both the sexes is pleasantly high; indeed many are quick to blame lack of education for the propensity of rich Gujjars like the Tanwars towards crass materialism. However, not all Gujjars share this view. Satbir’s own daughter, a Std XII student, says, “The Jaunapurias had the money so they gave their daughter a dream wedding. What’s wrong with that?” It’s also quite evident that a disturbingly high number of young men are aspiring for a wedding on this scale for themselves. Babloo, the son of a local kirana shop owner, will settle for nothing less than an item number from Priyanka Chopra and a “racing car”. It’s not an issue that the community has just begun to grapple with. The problem of ostentatious weddings and big dowries began to stare at the Gujjars a decade ago, when continued on page
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Poonam’s Bare Only for Team India
NEW DELHI (HT): She may or may not get to strip for the Men in Blue, but young model Poonam Pandey has sure got a lot of media attention as well as lucrative offers from international magazines that want her to pose naked. The aspiring actress, who has grabbed headlines for stating that she will bare all if Team India wins the World Cup, has been flooded with offers from foreign glossies. But she has rejected them saying she will strip only for the Indian team. “So far she is flooded with many offers from India and world wide. Right from Indian reality shows to international magazines. More than that, she got a huge half million dollar offer from an international magazine to pose nude for their cover, but she rejected it as the act to go nude was only meant for team India to get home the World Cup and not to make fame and money. She is on cloud nine as India won the cup,” said Poonam’s
MARK THE BALL • Contest # 13
manager Vipin M. The 19-year-old was one of the top eight contestants of Gladrags’ model hunt contest last year. According to Vipin, the model has been getting threatening calls from moral police and she is avoiding taking calls or talking to anybody in person unless she gets an approval from BCCI. Poonam made her controversial offer on Twitter just before the semifinal in Mohali. But later she made a statement saying she would only do so if BCCI permits. On Friday she sent an official letter to the board, saying going naked for the team would have a “therapeutic” effect on Team India and help them win. In the letter, she wrote: “..I want India to win the Cricket World Cup 2011 and am willing to go the extra mile to do anything so that India wins the World Cup. I am ready and willing at any place and time of the Indian teams choos-
ing to go in the nude to boost their sporting spirit to perform better. She also cited “many studies conducted by various universities abroad which confirms and infers that such performances/expectations boost and inspire people to perform better in any field, be it sports or otherwise. Even medical books on psychology and psychiatry confirms this”. The model made a “humble request” to be allowed to “perform in the privacy of the Indian cricket team’s dressing room or any other place of your choosing”. She suggested “a foreign land like Paris in France, so that the Laws of India - if a hindrance, shall not apply”. It would act like a “private therapeutic per performance with a psychologist’s presence” and “cannot be an offence under any law for the time being in force if the team members have no objection and the BCCI gives the go ahead”.
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india
Latest Fashion: Chopper Weddings
The head-turner at the grand wedding of Lalit Singh Tanwar was the chopper his bride’s family gave the couple Photo: Tribhuvan Tiwari continued from page
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Delhi’s borders began to expand to the adjoining farmlands that swiftly began to turn into residential and commercial property. The winds of change caused lifestyle changes, and in 2003, Gujjars belonging to the Bhadana gotra held a mahapanchayat (for all gotras), laying down strong laws and punishments like social excommunication to curtail dowry. While the practice was not banned per se (this was seen as unrealistic), the idea was to impose a sense of restraint. “However, it hasn’t really worked, especially since it is evident with such weddings that a lot of the community leaders themselves have
double standards,” says J.P. Tanwar, a one-time associate of Kanwar Singh and now leader of the Anti-Corruption Morcha. There is also a political subtext here. Gujjars demanding Scheduled Tribe status for their community are concerned that such weddings can only harm their cause. It makes little difference to the rich among them, but it affects those who have middle-class aspirations and dreams of a sarkari job. With agriculture no longer an assured means of livelihood, a small percentage of Gujjar boys—and hearteningly, according to community leaders, a larger percentage of Gujjar girls—are looking for voca-
tions and swelling the ranks in MBA institutes, dentistry colleges and the like. And so it seems that for the Gujjars, the winds of change are blowing in not one but many directions. Some want progress, others flaunt regressive social practices. Naysayers of consumerism find themselves overtaken by the drivers of swanky white cars. Some take pride in matching the strides of Delhi’s flashiest, others lament fading ideals. And so, a new chopper flies in the skies overhead, waiting to be outdone, rumour has it, by a larger 8-seater helicopter at the wedding of another prominent Gujjar a few months down the line.
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Tatas’ Dialog to Bring Internet to TV KOLKOTTA (SI): Telecom service provider Tata Teleservices (TTSL)
announced the launch of DIALOG, a product that enables customers to connect to the internet on their television set. Customers can access the internet without a desktop or laptop, transforming the TV set into a multimedia
device with the help of DIALOG. “We are launching the product first time in the country simultaneously in Chennai and Kolkata. We will take three months for the testing period and after that we will go for an all-India launch of DIALOG in the first quarter of FY11,” TTSL national sales head Abhijit Sanyal said here at a press meet. “In today’s day and age, the television set is a common and essential commodity in all households-we will help our customers experience the unique proposition of turning on their televisions to access the internet, check their e-mails, watch streaming video and listen to online music,” said Sanjiv Sinha, Regional Head (East) and Chief Operating Officer of Tata Teleservices Limited CDMA Operations in Kolkata.
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SportS
Troubled IPL Hopes for World Cup Stardust
NEW DELHI (TOI): The Indian Premier League cricket bandwagon rolls into action on Friday with or organisers hoping India’s World Cup victory last weekend will help the competition regain some of its lost sparkle. This year’s edition - spread over 51 days and comprising 74 matches across 13 venues - will be the first after the ousting of its outspoken founder Lalit Modi, who was forced out last year under a cloud of corrup-
tion allegations. The tournament’s future had looked in doubt amid claims of corruption, money-laundering and tax evasion, as well as secret deals to hide teams’ real owners and even links to India’s criminal underworld. But a massive PR exercise by the Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI) has ensured the IPL has kept its date with fans, as well as sponsors and advertisers hungry for their share of the huge commercial pie. IPL chief executive Sundar Raman dismissed fears that cricket fans in India, still recovering from celebrations after Saturday’s victory over Sri Lanka in the World Cup final, could suffer sporting overload. “The success of the Indian team in the World Cup has made it (IPL) more interesting,” Raman said, saying the tournament would “carry on from where the World Cup ended”. “Fans are already into cricket and
celebrating India’s victory. We are confident of building on the success of the last edition.” This year’s IPL, the fourth time it has been held, will have two new teams in Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Pune Warriors, taking the total number of franchises to 10. The opening game will feature Chennai Super Kings, led by victorious Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and the Kolkata Knight Riders, owned by Bollywood superstar
Shah Rukh Khan. The IPL revolutionised the sport when it burst onto the scene in 2008 with a high-octane blend of inter international star players, scantily-clad cheerleaders and Bollywood glamour. Using the short Twenty20 form of the game, IPL matches are usually three-hour events packed with music, delirious crowds and countless television advertisements. Everything from the time-out to the drinks break is sponsored by companies, earning Indian cricket authorities millions in revenue. This year’s tournament has been robbed of some of its sheen after top Australian players Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke, Mitchell Johnson pulled out despite the riches on of offer. Most of England’s stars, notably big hitter Kevin Pietersen, will also be absent either due to international commitments or injuries, as will Pakistan’s cricketers, who were again
ignored. The top foreign talent on offer will be mostly from South Africa Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn - or retired greats such as Australian duo Shane Warne and Adam Gilchrist. “IPL is made of an eclectic mix of talent from all around the world,” said Raman. “The absence of a few players does not take away anything from the tournament. “There are a significant number
of Indian players and so it does not matter if an X, Y or Z player is not around.” The fourth edition is likely to see IPL bosses reduce the decadent postmatch parties, which were blamed by some for India’s failure in the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean last year. The much-discussed cheerleader jobs - all taken by Western women in previous editions - might be given to locals who will don traditional Indian outfits in place of barely-there miniskirts, local media reports say. Amid cricket fever in India after the World Cup victory, many fans say they are looking forward to the IPL as a chance to see their heroes from the national side back in action. “The gap between the IPL and the World Cup is very little, but I feel in a country like ours one can never get bored of watching cricket,” said Amital Prasad, a 28-year-old sales manager.
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Another Record?
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68 Million Watched World Cup Final NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Team India’s victory at Wankhede will not only go down in history as one of the greatest cricketing victories for the country, but also as one of the most viewed sporting events on television ever. An unprecedented 67.6 million people watched the gripping final that had most Indians at the edge of
on to TV to see the big win. Viewer Viewership increased almost four times on Saturday.’’ According to aMap, 64% of cable and satellite homes watched the Men in Blue clinch the World Cup. The average viewership rating for the final was 13.6, which peaked at 21.4 during the end of the match—higher than the high-voltage Indo-Pak encounter at Mohali. However, most industry watchers will wait for the TAM ratings that most media agen-
their seats. The number of viewers on Saturday—according to the data collated by audience measurement agency aMap—has surpassed the Indo-Pak semi-final that was per perhaps the most anticipated match of the tournament for the subcontinent audience. The number of viewers for the semi-final was 67.3 million. The other semifinal—Sri Lanka vs New Zealand—paled in comparison with only 32 million viewers. Incidentally, TRP viewership for India matches leaped from 3.7 before the quarterfinals to 6.4. About 53 million watched the India vs Australia clash in the quarter-finals. aMap vice-president Jinita Shah said, “Yesterday’s viewership broke all records. Every Indian was glued
cies subscribe to for a full analysis. The aMap data, though, is an indication of the unprecedented viewership that the final clocked. The average time spent recorded on the match was an impressive 187 minutes. “The World Cup finals will break all records possible as far as cricket viewership or any other programme in recent times is concerned. Peaks could touch ratings of 40 and average would be higher than 30. Considering India won and it happened in India while the contests were well fought, this World Cup has given the sponsors the biggest returns compared to other years,” said Ajit Varghese, MD of Maxus, which bought media for brands like Vodafone, Fiat, Nokia and Hero Honda among others.
By hiM iMan ManShi hi Dhawan & SaM aMi MiD iDha SharM harMa Ma
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Razzaq, Kamran Axed for West Indies ODIs and T20s
By eSPncricinfo Staff (Cricinfo) Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal have been axed from Pakistan’s combined ODI and Twenty20 squad for the upcoming tour of West Indies, while senior players Umar Gul and Younis Khan have been rested. Shahid Afridi remains in charge of a team that will feature a new wicketkeeper, Mohammad Salman. The Test squad will be named at a later date and it is expected that Gul and Younis - the former had asked selectors for a rest from the limited overs portion of the tour - will return. Kamran’s wicketkeeping has been a source of concern for some time now, though various selectors have persisted with him in the belief that his batting provides the side with flexibility. But a poor World Cup campaign, with bat and gloves - the low hit in the game against New Zealand where he dropped centurion Ross Taylor three times, including twice early on, as well as fluffs in games against Sri Lanka and the semi-final with India have finally proved too much. Coach Waqar Younis had hinted that it was time for a new wicketkeeper to be blooded, and Salman got the nod. With 103 first-class games to his name, the Karachi-born Salman, 29, has been on the fringes of selection for a while. A few years ago he was thought by many to be the best wicketkeeper in the land though in recent times, he had been overlooked behind Sarfraz Ahmed, Zulqarnain Haider and Adnan Akmal. “He is the best of the lot,” Rashid
Kamran Akmal’s woes behind the stumps have cost him a place in the Pakistan side © AFP
Latif, former Pakistan captain and wicketkeeper, told ESPNcricinfo. Salman was Latif’s deputy at Allied Bank Limited (ABL) in 2000 and worked with him later as well. “He came into ABL as my deputy wicket keeper and I worked with him then. After that we both joined Port Qasim Authority team in 2006, me as coach and Salman as a main wicketkeeper. He is an athletic man and a good batsman too for all formats.” Though the Test squad has not yet been announced, it is likely Kamran’s younger brother Adnan will retain his
Annam
spot in the side as the wicketkeeper. Pakistan have also embarked on a search for a new allrounder, with the highly-rated Hammad Azam drafted in to replace Razzaq. The veteran Razzaq had a strange World Cup, playing all matches but almost as a spare part in the XI, taking only five wickets and making 104 runs. He did not complete his quota of 10 overs even once, and managed only a single half-century, though he usually batted as low as number eight. He was often given the new ball, but taken off after short open-
ing spells to make way for Gul and the spinners. After the first couple of games, he had expressed a desire to play a larger part in Pakistan’s World Cup campaign, but continued to play a peripheral role. Azam was a central figure in Pakistan’s last U-19 World Cup campaign and was selected in the squad for the World T20 in the Caribbean last year, but he did not feature in a single game. “At the moment there’s no place for Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal in the team,” chief selector Mohsin
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Khan told reporters. “We want to try out few youngsters and that’s why we have picked those players who have performed outstandingly in the domestic circuit.” Left-hand opening batsman Taufeeq Umar, who recently worked his way back into the Test side, is another surprise inclusion for the shorter for formats. Aizaz Cheema, the 31-year-old seamer who plays for Punjab, has also received a call-up to replace Gul. Cheema has 221 wickets from 62 first-class matches, and will tussle for the new ball with Wahab Riaz, Tanvir Ahmed and Junaid Khan. Usman Salahuddin, another youngster who made an impression at the Under-19 level, also got the selector’s nod for the tour. Salahuddin scored 927 runs in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy last year and will fight for a middle-order spot. The tour kicks off with a warm-up game from April 18, while the only Twenty20 will be played on April 21 in St Lucia. The five-match ODI series will begin on April 23, and the Test leg of the tour will commence on May 12. Squad: Shahid Afridi (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Ahmed Shehzad, Taufeeq Umar, Usman Salahuddin, Misbah-ul-Haq, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal, Abdur Rehman, Saeed Ajmal, Tanvir Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Hammad Azam, Aizaz Cheema and Mohammad Salman (wk) Reserves: Rameez Raja (jnr), Sadaf Hussain, Asif Zakir, Sohail Khan, Zulifqar Babar
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