07/02/2026

SPORTS SATURDAY | FEB 7, 2026

27

Familiarity favours India Home ground advantage gives co-hosts upper hand to defend T20 World Cup title

FOCAL PARK SDN BHD (358698-H) NOTIS LELONG AWAM KENDERAAN UNTUK DILELONG SEPERTI SEDIA ADA TEMPAT & TARIKH LELONG : :Northern Region (Alor Setar, Butterworth & Ipoh) 12-02-2026 (Khamis) Pukul 11:00pagi TARIKH MELIHAT : SEBELUM TIGA HARI LELONG (Pukul 9:00pagi - 4:00petang) PERTANYAAN (Tel): Butterworth 04-3567972, Alor Seter 04-787 7972, Ipoh 05-5293971 FPAC - PELELONG BERLESEN : a) Mr. Chew Wooi Kok), b) Mr. Steven Lim Peng Seng (02241), c) Pn Hasniza Binti Abu Samah (01105) Alamat : 352, Permatang Tok Jaya Maklom Sg Dua 13800 Butterworth. : Lot 138-A, Batu 5 Jalan Langgar 05460 Alor Setar : PT51683, Jalan Jelapang, Kws Perindustrian Tmn Meru 30020 Ipoh SILA LAYARI LAMAN WEB KAMI : http://www.focalpark.com.my ENGLAND Test captain Ben Stokes has suffered a severe facial injury after being struck by a cricket ball. The 34-year-old all-rounder posted a picture on Instagram showing his right eye heavily swollen and bruised, a graze on his cheek and lip, and a bandage stuffed in his nose. “You should see the state of the cricket ball,” read Stokes’ caption of the picture, alongside a laughing face emoji. Stokes is back in England following a woeful Ashes tour, which ended with a 4-1 series loss to Australia last month. Although Stokes has made it clear he wants to continue to captain the red-ball side, his position remains uncertain amid an England and Wales Cricket Board review. England coach Brendon McCullum has labelled some of the ensuing fall-out from the Ashes “out of order”. Stokes is no longer a member of England’s white-ball set-up and won’t feature in the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka that starts this weekend. Notices SHORTS Sri Lanka urge Pakistan to reconsider SR I LANKA’ S cricket board yesterday asked Pakistan to reconsider its decision to boycott their first-round encounter with arch-rival India in the T20 World Cup co-hosted by the island. Pakistan decided not to play India on Feb 15 in Colombo to express solidarity with Bangladesh, who were excluded from the tournament after refusing to play their matches in India. Pakistan and India have not played bilateral cricket for more than a decade and meet only at global or regional tournament events. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) told the Pakistan Cricket Board that a boycott would result in a financial hit and also hurt the island’s tourism industry, which is still recovering from the 2022 economic meltdown. “Any non-participation will have wide ranging implications, including substantial financial exposure for SLC and the potential loss of anticipated tourism inflows,” the board said. It recalled that Sri Lanka had toured Pakistan to express solidarity and revive international matches there when other nations stayed away due to security concerns. “We urge you to take into account the exceptional circumstances, the enduring relationship between our two boards, and the broader interests of the game of cricket,” Sri Lanka Cricket said pleading with Pakistan to play their scheduled match against India. India start the T20 World Cup on home soil against the US today. Pakistan play their first match of the tournament, also today, in Colombo against the Netherlands. Stokes suffers facial injury

SATURDAY | FEB 7, 2026

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India’s Surya Kumar Yadav (centre) lifts the trophy as the team celebrates winning the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup final against South Africa at Kensington Oval on June 29, 2024. – REUTERSPIC

T OURNAMENT co-hosts India are banking on form and familiarity with conditions as they seek to be the first team to success fully defend the Twenty20 World Cup title in a tournament which finds itself in the eye of a geopo litical storm. India’s golden generation of cricketers – Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja – quit T20 Internationals immedi ately after their World Cup vic tory in the Caribbean two years ago in a coordinated exit that could have destabilised a lesser side. While the occasional banner pops up in the stands mention ing how much fans miss them in this format, the team look in safe hands. Suryakumar Yadav, who led the side in a triumphant Asia Cup campaign last year, has set tled in as captain and the world’s top-ranked T20 side have found new pillars. Opener Abhishek Sharma and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy lead the bat ters’ and bowlers’ charts respec tively. Boasting an explosive batting line-up and a clinical attack led by Jasprit Bumrah, India sent an ominous signal with their victory in the recent home series against New Zealand. Twice champions England looked in strong form as they whitewashed Sri Lanka in the recent T20 series in spin-friendly conditions. In Phil Salt and Jos Buttler, they have arguably the most lethal opening pair in this for mat, complemented by skipper Harry Brook’s six-hitting prow ess. England have gambled on Jofra Archer’s fitness by retaining the speedster and spinner Adil Rashid will play a key role in con ditions conducive to his craft. Perennial contenders Australia arrived with positives as well as uncertainties. Mitchell Marsh fronts a potent blend of experience and firepower in their batting order but fitness con cerns linger over the pace attack.

A combination of hamstring strain and an Achilles’ problem kept Josh Hazlewood out of the Ashes series against England as well as the recent T20 series in Pakistan but Australia expect the fast bowler to be fit – even if not at the start of the tournament. Pat Cummins has been ruled out, though, after failing to recover from a back injury, and Nathan Ellis also picked up a hamstring injury during the Big Bash League and was rested for the series against Pakistan. New Zealand also had to recalibrate their pace plans hav ing lost the services of Adam Milne, who has been replaced by the towering Kyle Jamieson. The Mitchell Santner-led side won the ODI series in India and the subsequent T20 series against the defending champi ons was a meaningful prepara tion ahead of their bid for a maiden World Cup title. South Africa, finalists two years ago, were also forced into late adjustments, replacing the injured Tony de Zorzi and Donovan Ferreira with Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs – a move designed to preserve top order stability while maintaining finishing power. At the other end of the spec trum, Italy will savour their World Cup debut, and being pit ted against the game’s traditional powerhouses in group matches could prove chastening for some of the less experienced teams. Scotland have been drafted in to replace Bangladesh, who refused to tour India citing secu rity concerns and demanded to play their matches in Sri Lanka instead. The International Cricket Council (ICC) dismissed Bangladesh’s safety concerns but geopolitical tensions are also threatening to rob the tourna ment of its biggest match. Pakistan, irked by the ICC decision on Bangladesh, have decided to boycott the Feb 15 group stage match against India – pulling the plug on the tourna ment’s most lucrative game on the broadcasting side. – Reuters

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