Pakistan

Pakistan’s plans for a pre-World Cup team bonding trip to Dubai have been cancelled as the team was on Friday still awaiting visas to travel to India. The Pakistan squad were due to fly to the UAE early next week and stay for a couple of days before flying to Hyderabad, ahead of their first

Pakistan have also brought in an extra legspinner in Usama Mir, who made his ODI debut earlier this year against New Zealand but was not part of the Asia Cup squad. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Wasim Jnr make up the remainder of Pakistan’s pace attack, while Mohammad Haris is among the reserves.

Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah is likely to miss the entire World Cup after scans revealed an injury to his right shoulder that is worse than was initially suspected. The PCB is understood to be seeking a second opinion, but scans from tests in Dubai appear to show the injury could rule him out for

Babar Azam has raised the possibility that Naseem Shah may not recover in time to take part in Pakistan’s opening games at the World Cup in India. While the PCB has not made public any timeline for Naseem’s recovery from a right should injury, Babar appeared unsure as to whether Naseem would be fit for

Neither Rauf nor Naseem batted in Pakistan’s chase against India, which ended on 128 for a 228-run defeat, which affected Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for the Asia Cup final. They must now beat Sri Lanka in their final Super Four game. In case the weather forces an abandonment, Sri Lanka will go through to the

If this is the kind of positive spin that can only come from a member of the coaching staff, that is because, it is. Pakistan head coach Grant Bradburn described the match as a “gift”, not only for giving Pakistan a sighter of the challenge India pose, but also because it brought his own team’s

Haris Rauf won’t take the field against India on Monday’s reserve day in the Asia Cup Super Four game in Colombo after feeling “a little discomfort in his right flank” on Sunday’s scheduled match day. Only 24.1 overs were bowled on Sunday before rain pushed the game into the spare day. The extent of Rauf’s

Both the quick bowlers picked up injuries during the Super Four clash against India over Sunday and Monday. Rauf felt “a little discomfort in his right flank” on Sunday, which prevented him from taking the field on Monday, while Naseem went off in the 49th over of India’s innings on the reserve day with an

A Dutch court has sentenced former Pakistan batter Khalid Latif to 12 years in prison after he was tried in absentia for urging people to murder Dutch far-right leader Geert Wilders. The court ruled that statements by Latif should be regarded as incitement to murder, sedition and threat. Latif lives in Pakistan and has not

For much of this World Cup cycle, it is Pakistan’s top three with the bat who have generated the most encouraging headlines. But ahead of their second meeting against India in just over a week, the focus is now firmly on the three with the ball. “I feel very proud of the fast bowlers I

There is a reserve day for the Pakistan vs India match, though – the only Super Four game to have that luxury. However, the umpires will try to achieve a result on the match day itself. In case there is a delay or an interruption, the hours of play can be extended by 90 minutes.

Pakistan suffered an injury scare in the first Super Four match of the Asia Cup, with key fast bowler Naseem Shah going off the field with an injury to his right arm. He returned to the field shortly after, following treatment from the physio. The incident occurred in the seventh over of Bangladesh’s innings while

Shaheen Shah Afridi, back in full flow, has been in red-hot form at the Asia Cup, especially when he nipped out Rohit Sharma, Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja on his way to returns of 4 for 35 against India. That’s moved him up four spots to No. 5 on the bowlers’ list. Haris Rauf

Pakistan 150 for 5 (Maroof 39, Sekhukhune 2-24) beat South Africa 144 for 5 (Wolvaardt 72, Sandhu 2-16, Iqbal 2-25) by six runs South Africa were still in the 151 chase till the 19th over with Laura Wolvaardt batting on 72 off 53 balls before Iqbal had her caught. The visitors, needing 18 off the

Despite overcast skies and the threat of rain, India won the toss and decided to bat against arch rivals Pakistan. Babar Azam said Pakistan would also have batted first had they won the toss. India went for the option of a seam bowler who can bat at No. 8, which meant Shardul Thakur pipped Prasidh

Pakistan will be going into their final Group A match of the Asia Cup, against India on Saturday in Pallekele, with the same side that beat Nepal in Multan on Wednesday. It is the second time Pakistan have opted to name their line-up a day early, a practice that is set to continue throughout the

Big picture: The biggest Asian rivalry If someone tells you there are bigger rivalries than India vs Pakistan at the 2023 Asia Cup, do not trust them. Of late, the Afghanistan vs Pakistan and Sri Lanka vs Bangladesh games might have been spicier on the field, and nastier off it, but the history – both

Toss Pakistan chose to bat vs Nepal Babar Azam won the toss in the opening match of the 2023 Asia Cup and opted to bat first on what he called a “dry and shiny” Multan pitch that looked full of runs. Nepal are making their Asia Cup debut and their captain Rohit Paudel said it

Sidra Ameen and Muneeba Ali have earned promotions in the PCB’s new central contracts with Ameen promoted from Category C to A. She is one of just three women in the highest category of the PCB’s central contracts, with Nida Dar and Bismah Maroof retaining their places in Category A. Muneeba, who scored Pakistan women’s

Big picture – a massive occasion for Nepal Nepal are making their Asia Cup debut. They are meeting Pakistan for the first time in any format. It’s a massive occasion for them, a day of celebration no matter how things pan out on the field. Nepal’s very presence at this Asia Cup is validation of

Multan Sultans will become the first T20 franchise in Pakistan with a female general manager, replacing the departing Haider Azhar with journalist Hijab Zahid. It will make Zahid, who presently works at Grassroots Cricket, one of the only female general managers of a T20 franchise anywhere in the world. Sultans, who have reached the final

Saud Shakeel has been added to Pakistan’s squad for the 2023 Asia Cup. Tayyab Tahir, who had initially been named in the 17-member squad, misses out but will be part of the traveling reserves. Shakeel has only played five ODIs so far but made an impressive start to his Test career. He has amassed six

Toss Pakistan chose to bat vs Afghanistan Pakistan won the toss and, as has been the theme of this series, elected to bat first against Afghanistan as the teams moved to Colombo for the third and final ODI. Since they have already sealed the series 2-0 and with their first Asia Cup fixture just four

A total of 360 cricketers, from 18 regional teams, are going to be offered PCB domestic contracts for the 2023-24 season in Pakistan, nearly double the number of contracts they had offered over the last few seasons. Twenty of the players will be offered the A+ category, and the remaining 340 in categories A to

TossAfghanistan chose to bat vs Pakistan Afghanistan won the toss and chose to bat in the second T20I against Pakistan in Hambantota on Thursday. Pakistan lead the three-match series 1-0 after a crushing 142-run win in the opener on Tuesday. Afghanistan made two changes to the XI that played in the first match with Rahmat

Qasim Akram will captain Pakistan at the Asian Games, where the men’s team will play for a gold medal in – T20 – cricket between September 28 and October 7 in Hangzhou, China. With World Cup preparations in full swing, Pakistan have, as expected, named a young, second-string squad, with Asif Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Shahnawaz

Political developments could make their impact felt on the PCB yet again after Pakistan’s Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) ministry sent a note to the Prime Minister’s office that places the spotlight on the future of PCB head Zaka Ashraf. The letter references guidelines issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan, asking to “ensure immediate termination of

47.1 overs Pakistan (Imam 61, Iftikhar 30, Mujeeb 3-31, Nabi 2-34, Rashid 2-42) vs Afghanistan Playing against Afghanistan, Pakistan perhaps knew the threat that spin trio Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi possessed. But they couldn’t quite come out unscathed when faced with the challenge. Mujeeb, Rashid and Nabi shared seven wickets between

Nearly two months after the end of their previous central contracts, the Pakistan players and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are close to signing off on fresh contracts. There is optimism that all players will sign them this week and, if not, almost certainly before the Asia Cup starts on August 30 after a number

Pakistan fast bowler Wahab Riaz has announced his retirement from international cricket, ending a 15-year career for his country. He will, however, continue playing franchise cricket. Wahab played 27 Tests, 91 ODIs and 36 T20Is for Pakistan and last turned out in national colours back in 2020. He picked up 83 wickets in Test cricket