Connect with us

Sports

Faheem Ashraf tests positive for COVID-19

Published

on

KARACHI: Pakistan’s all-rounder Faheem Ashraf has tested positive for COVID-19 following his arrival at the Karachi team hotel, according to a statement issued by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Faheem will now undergo five-day isolation. However, his replacement will be announced in due course if needed.

The all-rounder will miss the second Test against Australia, said PCB. He also missed the drawn first Test in Rawalpindi due to a hamstring injury.

The second Test starts on Saturday in Karachi.

Faheem has blossomed as a Test all-rounder in the past two years, giving Pakistan much-needed balance in both batting and bowling.

He has so far played 13 Tests, scoring 632 runs with four half centuries and taken 22 wickets.

Faheem is the second Pakistan player to test positive for the virus after fast bowler Haris Rauf missed the first Test for the same reason.

Fawad Ahmed, Australia’s spin bowling consultant, also tested positive for COVID-19 last week.

Australia are playing in Pakistan for the first time in 24 years, having previously refused to tour over security fears.

The third Test is in Lahore from March 21-25. The tourists will also play three one-day internationals and a single T20I.

Australia’s first Test in Pakistan in 24 years ends in draw

Imam-ul-Haq cracked a century in each innings and his opening partner Abdullah Shafique hit a maiden hundred as Pakistan’s first home Test against Australia in 24 years ended in a tame draw in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.

Haq made an unbeaten 111 following up his 157 in the first innings, while Shafique finished on 136 as Pakistan were 252 without loss when the match ended without a result.

Australia scored 459 in reply to Pakistan’s first innings score of 476-4 declared.

Australia’s first Test on Pakistan soil since 1998 — they previously declined to visit on security grounds — was ultimately spoiled by a flat Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium pitch.

The second Test is set to take place in Karachi from March 12 to 16.

Pakistan

Sources claim that Babar was reappointed as the cricket team’s captain.

Published

on

By

Reappointing Babar Azam to lead the national squad upon the call of the newly-formed selection committee was decided by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday.

Sources claim that Babar will captain the Green Shirts in the upcoming five-match Twenty20 series against New Zealand, which kicks off on April 20.

After the team’s crushing defeat in the ICC World Cup 2023, Shaheen Shah Afridi was chosen as the white-ball captain, while Shan Masood was named the red-ball captain by the previous PCB administration.

The sources claimed that Babar’s appointment as captain was suggested by the selection committee. They said he will go to the Kakul training camp as captain.

Shaheen had chosen to step down, but his close friends urged him against it and to wait for the PCB’s decision, according to individuals close to him.

After guiding the team for four years, Babar resigned as captain of the national team in all formats in November of last year. After Pakistan’s poor performance in both the Asia Cup and the World Cup, where they were unable to advance to the semi-finals, he faced criticism for several months.

Although Babar was named Test and white-ball captain in 2020 and 2019, respectively, the side has neither won an Asia Cup nor an ICC championship while he has been captain.

Continue Reading

Latest News

It looks like Pakistan will choose Babar Azam as captain once more!

Published

on

By

Due to Pakistan’s appalling performance in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, the right-handed hitter resigned as captain of the team in all formats of the game. The team lost five of its nine group-stage games, preventing them from making it to the semifinals.

Sources claim that Babar Azam has been contacted by representatives of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), and a meeting with him is scheduled prior to his departure for Abbottabad, where he will join his teammates for a fitness camp at the military academy Kakul.

It is important to note that during a meeting with Zaka Ashraf, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the prolific batter announced his resignation.

The governing body said that Shaheen Afridi will captain the squad in the Twenty20 internationals after he tendered his resignation.

The talented player, who was named the T20I team’s captain in November, has only served as skipper for one series—five games in New Zealand—during which Pakistan lost 4-1.

His series defeat by New Zealand was followed by a terrible PSL season for the Lahore Qalandars, who managed only one victory in ten games.

Continue Reading

Pakistan

Australia releases the schedule for the White Ball Series versus Pakistan.

Published

on

By

In the summer of 2024–2025, the Pakistan Cricket Team will travel to Australia for a white-ball series. Six games in all, three ODIs and as many T20Is, will be played in the series between November 4, 2024, and November 18, 2024, at six different venues.

The Melbourne Cricket Ground will host the start of the three-match Dettol Men’s ODI series on November 4th, according to the itinerary that was made public. Next up are matches between Australia and Pakistan in Perth on November 10 and Adelaide on November 8, respectively.

Australia and Pakistan will play three matches in the Dettol Men’s T20I Series after November 14. In 2022, Pakistan played their final Twenty20 International match on Australian soil when the men in green competed in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final.

Cricket Australia releases the schedule for the Pakistan white ball series.

The Gabba in Brisbane will serve as the series’ launchpad. The action will next shift to Sydney Cricket Ground, where Pakistan defeated New Zealand in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final in their most recent Twenty20 International there. The tour’s last destination is Hobart, where the final Twenty20 International match is scheduled for November 18.

Complete itinerary: ODI Series

November 4: Melbourne’s MCG
November 8 at Adelaide’s Oval
Perth Stadium, Perth T20I Series, November 10

November 14: Brisbane’s The Gabba
November 16: Sydney’s SCG
18 November: Hobart’s Bellerive Oval
The last time Pakistan and Australia played an ODI series there was in 2016, and the host team won.

Continue Reading

Trending