Former captain Azhar Ali has expressed deep dismay over the ongoing crisis in Pakistan cricket following the team making wholesale changes to its squad on the ongoing Test tour of England, adding that the side has become consistent in the most negative way. Azhar's scathing assessment comes in the wake of severe fallout after heavy defeats at Headingley and Lord's, which saw head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and bowling coach Umar Gul being relieved of their duties and seven players sent home. The turmoil has drawn widespread criticism, with Shahid Afridi calling it ‘the most shocking decision ever' and Misbah-ul-Haq resigning as a selector in protest. "People used to say you could expect anything from Pakistan – that any team could turn up on any given day and either be 46 all out or win from nowhere. But we don't even do that inconsistency any more. We've become totally consistent – in the most negative way. “Cricket in Pakistan needs proper care and a vision tha...
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow would carry out more tests of the hypersonic Oreshnik ballistic missile in "combat conditions," a day after firing one on Ukraine.
"We will continue these tests, including in combat conditions, depending on the situation and character of the security threats posted to Russia," Putin said in a televised meeting with military chiefs.
Russia fired the new-generation missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro early on Thursday in a major escalation of the weaponry being deployed in the nearly three-year conflict.
The Kremlin boss also ordered the missile, which flies at speeds of Mach 10 -- 10 times the speed of sound -- to be put into serial production (mass production). Russia is developing similar advanced systems, he added.
"We need to begin serial production. The decision... has in effect been taken," Putin said, praising the "particular strength of this weapon and its power.
"The weapon system that was tested yesterday is another faithful guarantee of Russia's territorial integrity and sovereignty," he added.
Putin claimed no other countries in the world had such missile technology. While he conceded other states would soon develop them, he said: "That will be tomorrow, after a year or two. But we have this system now. That's important."
His choreographed meeting with the defence minister and those in charge of developing the missile came at the end of a week that has seen the Ukraine conflict escalate rapidly.
Putin said the firing of the Oreshnik missile was a direct response to Kyiv's forces using US- and UK-supplied missiles on Russian territory for the first time.
In an address to the nation on Thursday, Putin said Russia reserved the right to fire missiles at military facilities in countries whose weapons are being used by Ukraine -- specifically the United States and Britain.
from NDTV News- Special https://ift.tt/JuMTdk5
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