Pakistan

The Pakistan cricket team has been struck by a viral infection in their World Cup camp in India, with several players affected by flu and high fever. Most are understood to be on the mend, but several did not attend Tuesday’s optional training session. Abdullah Shafique is currently in quarantine in his room with flu

“I think they’ve [India] got all bases covered and I’m looking forward to meeting them in the final again.” But he was frank in his assessment of where Pakistan fell short in Ahmedabad: timid with the bat, and possibly a little intimidated by the occasion that made them retreat “into their shells just a little

Babar Azam was in for a pleasant surprise when he walked in for the press conference on the eve of the big India-Pakistan match in Ahmedabad. A mild smile escaped his lips when the press officer announced that Shahid Hashmi, who yesterday became the only pressman from Pakistan here till now, would be asking the

Between awe at Pakistan’s top three and despair at a non-performing middle order over the last little while there’s only been room for an underwhelming kind of meh for someone who is, by some basic but compelling measures, arguably the world’s best ODI No. 4. Mohammad Rizwan has been hiding in plain sight for much

Despite the PCB announcing in February this year that left-arm spinner Asif Afridi was banned for two years – a suspension for anti-corruption code offences back-dated to September 12, 2022 – he is back playing the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in Pakistan. He played his first game since the ban from September 16, a few days more

Pakistan 345 for 4 (Rizwan 131*, Shafique 113, Madushanka 2-60) beat Sri Lanka 344 for 9 (Mendis 122, Samarawickrama 108, Hasan Ali 4-71) by six wickets Sri Lanka were served a harsh lesson in the realities of modern ODI cricket, as Pakistan hunted down a target of 345 – the highest-ever chase in a World

Grant Bradburn, the Pakistan head coach, acknowledged their powerplay batting hasn’t clicked yet in India, but it’s something the team isn’t losing sleep over just yet. Much of those top order questions stem from Fakhar Zaman‘s indifferent form. He has a highest of 33 in 11 innings since the unbeaten 180 he made against New

Big picture It seems bizarre, given this is a World Cup game, but just three weeks ago Pakistan and Sri Lanka played an ODI that arguably mattered more. They battled it out to the final ball of a knockout match at the Asia Cup, with Sri Lanka stealing the win and booking a berth in

PCB boss Zaka Ashraf has raised “serious concerns and alarm” about the continuing delay in visas being issued to Pakistan cricket fans and journalists to travel to the World Cup in India. Disquiet over the delays has been rumbling for a while in Pakistan, and the board has written to the ICC about the issue,

Pakistan 286 (Rizwan 68, Shakeel 68, de Leede 4-62) beat Netherlands 205 (de Leede 67, Singh 52, Rauf 3-43) by 81 runs It wasn’t the perfect performance but, at the moment, good enough will do for Pakistan, and good enough is exactly what they achieved. In a staccato showing where bursts of inspiration were interspersed

Mohammad Rizwan was at his jovial best soon after Pakistan began their quest for “unfinished business from 2019” with a win over Netherlands that seemed far tighter than the 81-run margin would suggest. He spoke of the warm hospitality, a familiar home-like feeling, the excitement of playing in different cities on his first tour of

Arshad Iqbal‘s double-wicket jolt in the opening over of Bangladesh’s innings had given Pakistan the early advantage in the chase, but Afif Hossain‘s 11-ball 20 and Yasir Ali‘s 16-ball 38 brought Bangladesh back. Yasir very nearly took Bangladesh home himself, but his dismissal in the penultimate ball of the game made it a do-or-die final

The BCCI is working hard on procuring visas for the Pakistani journalists waiting to travel to India for the World Cup, the ICC said after the PCB expressed its disappointment again over the delay in visa clearance for Pakistani fans and media. Around 60 Pakistani journalists are expected to make the trip for the World

The Men’s 2023 ODI World Cup is underway in India and will run from October 5 until November 19. Each morning we will round up the latest action and news from the event and bring you insights from our reporters on the ground. — Top Story: Saud Shakeel gets Pakistan off the mark despite Bas

Afghanistan 116 for 6 (Noor 39, Naib 26*, Minhas 2-11, Qadir 2-20) beat Pakistan 115 (Yousuf 24, Fareed 3-15, Qais 2-11, Zahir 2-20) by four wickets After being sent in, Pakistan were 44 for 1 at the end of the powerplay. Fareed removed Rohail Nazir in the seventh over before the two wristspinners, Qais and

The allure of watching young boys he first coached in 2016 become men of stature today is what got Mickey Arthur excited when he was approached to rejoin the Pakistan team as a director of cricket in April this year. And, after he took charge, one of the things he set about rehashing was their

After years of will-they-won’t-they, months of administrative bickering and weeks of visa uncertainties, the moment has finally arrived. Pakistan will take to the field in a World Cup match in India, Hyderabad the somewhat unassuming venue, Netherlands the slightly inauspicious opponents. It’s a gentle start rather than an explosive one, but it’s a start nonetheless,

Rohit Sharma pursed his lips and furrowed his brow. Sitting cross-legged on a white sofa in the banquet hall of the Gujarat Cricket Association Clubhouse, he threw up his hands to take issue with the line of questioning. “That’s not my job, sir,” he said. “Declaring all this is not my job.” He had been

Pakistan 160 (Jamal 41, Shukla 4-49, Ghazanfar 3-26) beat Hong Kong 92 (Hayat 29, Khushdil 3-13) by 68 runs Pakistan stuttered to 73 for 6 before their lower order salvaged their innings to post a strong total of 160 and their spinners bowled out Hong Kong for 92 to book a semi-final berth in the

The PCB and the Pakistan men’s team players have reached a landmark agreement on central contracts, ending several months of deadlock and uncertainty. For the first time in Pakistan, three-year contracts have been put in place – rather than the standard 12 months – along with a significant increase in player earnings, as well as

Pakistan may have endured a tumultuous Asia Cup campaign where they finished last in the Super Four stage, but Babar Azam was keen to remind everyone they were the top-ranked ODI side in the world just days earlier. And while Pakistan missed out on a semi-final spot at the last ODI World Cup, Babar was

Bangladesh 65 for 5 (Shorna 14*, Sandhu 3-10) beat Pakistan 64 for 9 (Riaz 17, Shorna 3-16) by five wickets Shorna Akter first ran through Pakistan’s lower-middle order and then did the needful with the bat when Bangladesh’s lower-middle order could easily have unraveled similarly to take her team to the podium at the Asian

The PCB has expressed its strong displeasure to the ICC over the delay in visas being issued to the Pakistan team, and warned of the adverse impact on the team’s preparations for the World Cup. With the team scheduled to fly out of Pakistan early morning on Wednesday, visas had still not been issued to

On the other hand, Sri Lanka got off to a decent start with Chamari Athapaththu using sweep shots to negate the spinners’ turn. After scoring two boundaries, she mistimed a slog sweep to hole out on 14 off 19 balls. Opener Anushka Sanjeewani also fell inside the powerplay for a 13-ball 15 but Harshitha Samarawickrama

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