Pakistan

Pakistan have admitted they took a risk bringing Fakhar Zaman to the T20 World Cup after the batter was left on the verge of being ruled out of the tournament after aggravating the knee injury which had originally left him in out. Fakhar was a late addition to Pakistan’s 15-player squad when he replaced legspinner

Pakistan 95 for 4 (Rizwan 49, Glover 2-22) beat Netherlands 91 for 9 (Shadab 3-22, Wasim 2-15) by six wickets Pakistan’s fast bowlers proved too hot for Netherlands on a bouncy surface in Perth, giving them a comfortable six-wicket win and their first points of the T20 World Cup. Overwhelmed by the Pakistan bowling attack,

After their close defeats to India and Zimbabwe, Pakistan were left needing to win their remaining two matches and also hoping that India do them a favour by beating South Africa. Both Afridi and Shadab Khan said they were not thinking too much about the other results, and that the first two matches could have

Wasim Akram has opened up on his struggle with a cocaine addiction after his playing career ended, in his upcoming autobiography Sultan: A Memoir. Akram, Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker in both Test and ODI cricket, retired in 2003 after an 18-year international career, but continued to travel the world on commentary and coaching assignments. The cocaine

Big Picture Last-ball defeats in consecutive matches. Points column empty. Best two batters quiet. Players failing to hold their nerve in make-or-break moments. Pakistan have ticked all those boxes and, as a consequence, find themselves in a precarious position where their fate in this World Cup is not entirely in their hands anymore. What’s still

Pakistan captain Babar Azam conceded his team was “not up to the mark”, but backed the selection gamble to field a bowling heavy line-up after their T20 World Cup semi-final prospects nosedived with a one-run defeat to Zimbabwe at Optus Stadium in Perth. Just four days after a harrowing last-ball defeat to India at a

After such a harrowing defeat, amid such a surreal spectacle at a heaving MCG magnified by the entire cricket world watching, Pakistan captain Babar Azam had the difficult task of addressing his crestfallen players in the dressing room. Some players were slumped, others had their hands on their heads, trying to rationalise the absurdity of

Having progressed from the first round, Zimbabwe’s Super 12s opener against South Africa ended in farcical scenes as rain ensured the nine-overs-a-side fixture could not be completed. Zimbabwe coach Dave Houghton was critical of the officials’ decision to keep playing amid wet and slippery conditions as much debate ensued post game. “The game against South

The National Stadium in Karachi has been renamed the National Bank Cricket Arena after the PCB signed a five-year naming-rights deal with the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), a government-owned commercial bank. The stadium is on a 99-year lease from the federal government since 1980 and is the largest stadium in the country with a

The PCB has upgraded Peshawar Zalmi’s Haider Ali from the diamond to the platinum category for the upcoming eighth edition of Pakistan Super League, while Quetta Gladiators captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has been moved down from platinum to gold and Peshawar captain Wahab Riaz from platinum to diamond. Hasan Ali, who left Zalmi for Islamabad United

According to Anil Kumble and Stephen Fleming, the unbeaten 82 from Virat Kohli that sunk Pakistan in Melbourne had two standout characteristics. One, the ability to find boundaries at will in the second half and, two, the display of high fitness levels that are crucial to maximising run-scoring at a ground of MCG’s size. At

India 160 for 6 (Kohli 82*, Hardik 40) beat Pakistan 159 for 8 (Masood 52*, Iftikhar 51, Arshdeep 3-32, Hardik 3-30) by four wickets That front foot… Just the way it lunges at the ball… Even in this game… Even against these guys… Virat Kohli isn’t a man. He is a feeling. It’s why every

It swung wildly, one way now, the other way a moment later. Till it came down to 31 from 12. Haris Rauf. Just three from his first four balls. That made it 28 from eight. Advantage Pakistan. Hold on, said Virat Kohli. Bang, and bang, and it was 16 from six, to be bowled by

The Melbourne weather has had to tie itself in knots to usurp the chicken-and-egg situation between Pakistan’s middle-order issues and their opener’s slow strike rate to emerge as the biggest talking point in the lead-up to their first match of the T20 World Cup. That situation has got to the point where a journalist told

Former Pakistan captain Javeria Khan is set to return to the T20I side after 15 months, having been called up for next month’s home series against Ireland. The selectors have also called up uncapped offspinner Umm-e-Hani for the ODI-leg of the tour. Senior fast bowler Diana Baig has been ruled out of both series with

Pakistan batter Shan Masood has been taken to hospital after suffering a blow to the side of his head during a training session in Melbourne. He was struck by a stray shot off the bat from Mohammad Nawaz; as Masood was not batting at the time, he wasn’t wearing a helmet. Masood fell to the

His comments come after the BCCI secretary, Jay Shah, who is also the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, suggested that next year’s Asia Cup would have to be played somewhere other than Pakistan, given India “can’t go there”. In reply, the PCB had put out a statement saying Shah’s comments were made “unilaterally” and raised

The PCB has taken strong exception to Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president and BCCI secretary Jay Shah’s statement that the 2023 Asia Cup will be moved to a neutral venue since India were not going to travel to Pakistan. The PCB said the decision was made “unilaterally” and raised the prospect of an “impact” on

India will not travel to Pakistan for the Asia Cup in 2023, raising questions as to where the tournament might now be held. The development occurred on the day of the BCCI’s annual general meeting in Mumbai, where BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who is also the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president, suggested that next year’s

Two weeks ago, within hours of finishing a T20I series against England at home, Babar Azam and the other Pakistan players flew out to New Zealand for the last leg of their 2022 men’s T20 World Cup preparation. On Friday, within hours of winning the tri-series final in Christchurch, they were on the flight to

Earlier this year, Azam skipped the National T20 Cup to play for Barbados Royals in the Caribbean Premier League. He was, at first, not provided an NOC to travel to the West Indies but eventually got it. Azam did quite well in the CPL, scoring 257 runs including back-to-back fifties in qualifier one and the

For women, the pathway to Pakistan’s senior women’s team had till recently now been unclear, with no lines going down to the grassroots level, meaning a pool of only 30-35 competitive cricketers at the senior level. Women cricketers had two tournaments: three teams each playing the National T20 and ODI Challenge Cups. But the PCB

Fakhar Zaman, who had earlier been named in the reserves’ list, has been moved into Pakistan’s squad of 15 for the T20 World Cup. Usman Qadir, meanwhile, is now one of three travelling reserves – alongside Mohammad Haris and Shahnawaz Dahani – after failing to recover from a hairline fracture on his right thumb. Both

Sri Lanka Women 122 for 6 (Samarawickrama 35, Sanjeewani 26, Sandhu 3-17) beat Pakistan Women 121 for 6 (Maroof 42, Dar 26, Ranaweera 2-17) by one run Achini Kulasuriya bowled a stunning final over to help Sri Lanka beat Pakistan in the second semi-final and march into the final of the Asia Cup. Kulasuriya bowled

Liam Livingstone and Will Jacks are in contention to make their Test debuts after being included in England’s 15-man squad for their tour to Pakistan as spin-bowling allrounders. Alex Lees and Matthew Potts have become the first players dropped under England’s new regime, led by Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, while Stuart Broad misses the

A PCB statement on Tuesday said that Afridi will be available for selection for Pakistan’s T20 World Cup warm-up matches on October 17 [vs England] and October 19 [vs Afghanistan]. His match fitness will be assessed after that ahead of their opening World Cup match against India, on October 23 in Melbourne. “I am super

Pakistan 149 for 4 (Babar 79*, Shadab 34, Tickner 2-42) beat New Zealand 147 for 8 (Conway 36, Rauf 3-28, Wasim 2-20, Nawaz 2-44) by six wickets On a day where everything clicked into place for Pakistan, they swept aside New Zealand to cruise to a six-wicket win. A day after Bangladesh had been given

Pakistan 137 for 6 (Dar 56*, Deepti 3-27) beat India 124 (Ghosh 26, Sandhu 3-30, Dar 2-23) by 13 runs Pakistan recovered from a surprise defeat against Thailand and inflicted a thrilling 13-run defeat on India in their Women’s T20 Asia Cup clash at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. Allrounder Nida Dar led Pakistan’s charge

The PCB has announced the launch of women’s T20 league, with the inaugural edition set to run alongside next year’s PSL. There will be 12 games played, all of them in Rawalpindi, with the final due to take place on March 18 2023, the day before the Pakistan Super League final. The league will comprise

Thailand Women 117 for 6 (Chantham 61, Tuba 2-18, Dar 2-26) beat Pakistan Women 116 for 5 (Ameen 56, Tippoch 2-20) by four wickets Thailand pulled off one of the biggest wins in their still-young cricket history, beating Pakistan by four wickets in their Women’s Asia Cup match in Sylhet this morning. The stars of