Author: mashooque.malhar@gmail.com

Australia have dropped opener Nathan McSweeney for the remainder of the Border-Gavaskar Test series. McSweeney, who debuted in the series opener in Perth, has scores of 10, 0, 39, 10*, 9 and 4 in the three Tests so far. He makes way for 19-year-old New South Wales opener Sam Konstas. Konstas was in the running to take up the spot left vacant by David Warner ahead of the series, but the management preferred to go with McSweeney at the start.Konstas will walk into the dressing room on the back of an unbeaten 73 he scored against India A last month, and a 107 in the pink-ball warm-up game for the Prime Minister’s XI. He followed this up with a 88 for New South Wales against Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield earlier this month as well as a 27-ball 56 for Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash League just three days ago.”Sam gets a call up to the Test squad for the first time. His style of batting offers a point of difference and we look forward to watching his game develop further,” Chair of Selectors George Bailey said.

A breakthrough to the Champions Trophy impasse is finally here and it will be played in a hybrid model. The long-winding dispute, which has prolonged for over a month as the International Cricket Council (ICC), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sought consensus, finally ended with parties agreeing that all India-Pakistan games in the current cycle of 2024-27, going forward, will be played in a neutral country.”This will apply to the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 (Pakistan), ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 (India) and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 (India and Sri Lanka),” the ICC said in a statement on Thursday. It effectively means the India-Pakistan game in the 2026 Twenty20 World Cup will be played in Sri Lanka, rather than in India.It remains uncertain which will be the neutral country for the Champions Trophy — UAE or Sri Lanka. While the PCB, the designated host of the eight-team championship, appears to favour Sri Lanka, logistical convenience may ultimately tilt the decision towards the UAE. The ICC said the final schedule will be announced soon.If the decision sways in favour of UAE, Dubai will host the India-Pakistan game. The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) is believed to be waiting for the final clearance from the ICC and the PCB. There are grounds in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah too but the ECB officials say if they are allotted the CT matches, the big India-Pakistan game will be in Dubai, considering the size of the venue. The UAE is expected to host upto 5 of the 15 matches, including three India league matches and two knockout games.Meanwhile, the ICC has allotted a new global event of the next cycle to Pakistan. “In addition, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has been awarded hosting rights of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028, where neutral venue arrangements will also apply. Cricket Australia has also been awarded hosting rights for one of the senior ICC women’s events during the period 2029 to 2031,” the ICC said.The Champions Trophy controversy snowballed into a major crisis after the BCCI announced that the Indian team would not travel to Pakistan for the matches, tentatively scheduled from February 19 to March 9. This triggered a tripartite standoff involving the ICC, BCCI, and PCB. With Jay Shah assuming the role of ICC chairman during this period, it became the responsibility of the BCCI secretary to resolve the impasse.© Cricbuzz

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Daily Room Charges & ICU/CCU Charges (inclusive of meal charges wherever applicable)
Operation Theatre Charges
Surgeons / Consultant’s fee
Anesthetist fee
Pharmacy / Surgical Items
Diagnostic tests
Endoscopies, Angiography, Thallium Scan, MRI & CT-Scan (on out-patient setting when advised by the relevant physician/surgeon).
Day Care Surgeries (without the condition of 24 hours in hospital) e.g. cataract, Hernia, POP etc.
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INTRODUCTION OF ALFALAH HEALTH INSURANCE:Health Insurance Scheme of Alfalah Insurance Company is an exclusive Group Medical Insurance Program specially designed for organizations to take care of Health related concerns of their employees & their family members. We offer diverse health plans designs pared with variety of innovation and consumer directed options. In addition to this, we have a well-established Health Insurance Department comprising of Doctors, Pharmacists and other supportive staff backed with a state of the art IT platform. The staff in the Health Insurance department has vast experience of health insurance and able to serve the insured members with best possible healthcare at affordable cost. You’ll find the right mix for your employees need to facilitate your organizations to maintain affordable Health care system with economy in efforts and cost.Group Medical Insurance covers medical cost of Indoor patients (IPD), Outdoor patients (OPD), Surgical treatment, Maternity, Dread Diseases & Specialized Investigations as per organizations’ choice and requirements.ALFALAH HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE:Alfalah Insurance Company can help you by offering its health insurance products as mentioned here under to overcome health related unpredictable events of life.1. Hospitalization Cover (Basic Cover)Medical Expenses will be covered/ reimbursed as per policy terms & conditions incurred up to the specified limit as in the Table of Benefits on account of the following.Daily Room Charges & ICU/CCU Charges (inclusive of meal charges wherever applicable)Operation Theatre ChargesSurgeons / Consultant’s feeAnesthetist feePharmacy / Surgical ItemsDiagnostic testsEndoscopies, Angiography, Thallium Scan, MRI & CT-Scan (on out-patient setting when advised by the relevant physician/surgeon).Day Care Surgeries (without the condition of 24 hours in hospital) e.g. cataract, Hernia, POP etc.Accidental Treatment including treatment of fractures & dressing of lacerated wounds etcPre-admission and Post-hospitalization Benefits (expenses incurred outside the hospital lead to actual hospitalization, up to a limit specified, mentioned in the Table of Benefits).