Author: ali.hassan

KARACHI: Pakistan captain Babar Azam, who is set to represent former champions Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight has his sights set on trying something new with the bat in this year’s marquee league.

While talking to a press conference here ahead of their anticipated clash against hosts Karachi Kings, Babar revealed that the right-handed batter did some experiments with his batting style amid practice and is determined to execute them in the PSL season 8.

“I’m trying something new in batting. I have done some experiments in practice and will try to replicate them in the upcoming matches,” said Babar.

Zalmi’s newly appointed captain Babar, who was previously linked with the Kings, is excited to play against his former PSL franchise, stating that playing against each other is a different kind of fun.

“We [Zalmi] have a match against Karachi Kings, who have a very strong bowling attack. I was associated with Karachi Kings as a family for six years but playing against each other is a different kind of fun,” said Babar.

“This is my first year with the Zalmi so my goal is to win,” he added.

Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar further commented on the lineups of all PSL teams, stating that all sides look solid on paper while also sharing that he will be reviewing the performances of the players.

“The PSL 8 is starting today so I would like to say best of luck to all the teams. I think, on paper, all sides look really good,” Babar shared.

“I will also be reviewing the performance of some players,” he concluded.

The eighth edition of Pakistan’s marquee league is all set to kick off with a grand opening ceremony today in Multan followed by the inaugural match between defending champion Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans.

Babar-led Zalmi, on the other hand, will play their first game against home side Kings on February 15 in Multan.

READ: PSL 8: Hafeez to replace injured Ahsan Ali in Quetta Gladiators’ squad 

KARACHI: Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez will play for Quetta Gladiators in the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League in place of injured Ahsan Ali. 

According to the sources, Hafeez will join the Gladiator’s squad in the coming few days after opener Ahsan picked up a knee injury.

The right-handed batter, who represented Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars in the earlier editions of the PSL, went unpicked in the drafts for PSL 8.

The 42-year-old amassed 1596 runs and scored nine fifties in PSL at an average of 27.51.

The eighth edition of Pakistan’s marquee league is all set to kick off with a grand opening ceremony today in Multan followed by the inaugural match between defending champion Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans.

Quetta Gladiators, on the other hand, will play their first game against Multan Sultans on February 15 in Multan.

READ: President Wasim Akram joins Karachi Kings camp for PSL 8

KARACHI: The most-followed franchise of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Karachi Kings raised up preparations for the upcoming eighth edition of the marquee league as they hold their first training session under sunlight.

According to the details, the Kings, which continued to assemble with the arrival of their roped-in foreign players, held a rigorous training session at the National Bank Cricket Arena on Sunday.

📸 Highlights from our fourth training session.#YehHaiKarachi | #KingsSquad | #HBLPSL8 pic.twitter.com/ydunCzjYww

— Karachi Kings (@KarachiKingsARY) February 12, 2023

 

Former English cricketer Ravi Bopara, who represented Kings in the inaugural edition of the PSL, started his maiden stint as the franchise’s batting coach in the training session.

Meanwhile, veteran middle-order batter Shoaib Malik did not participate in the training session, while Australia’s wicketkeeper batter Matthew Wade has joined the Kings’ squad hours after his arrival in the country.

Furthermore, the sixth-ranked T20I bowler – South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi – has also checked in here on Sunday afternoon and is likely to join the squad in due course.

Taking to Twitter, the Kings announced the arrival of the South African spin sensation as the former champions “are assembling”.

“We are assembling! Tabraiz Shamsi arrives in Karachi,” wrote Kings.

We are assembling! Tabraiz Shamsi arrives in Karachi. 🛬

Welcome @shamsi90! 🤝#YehHaiKarachi | #KingsSquad | #HBLPSL8 pic.twitter.com/k4O55tbAwu

— Karachi Kings (@KarachiKingsARY) February 12, 2023

 

It is pertinent to mention here that PSL season 8 will kick off on February 13 in Multan with a grand opening ceremony followed by the curtain-raiser between defending champions Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans.

The Kings, on the other hand, will play their first match on February 14 against Babar Azam-led Peshawar Zalmi at National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi.

READ: ‘Doors are open for Amir,’ says Chief Selector Haroon Rasheed

KARACHI: Australian fast bowler Andrew Tye reached Karachi on Saturday to join the Karachi Kings squad for the upcoming eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League, starting from February 13.

England’s Ravi Bopara, who played for Karachi Kings in the earlier seasons of the PSL, also arrived in the city today to take up his new role in the team as assistant batting coach.

“Excited to be back here in Pakistan and I am very excited to be part of Karachi Kings’ camp,” said Bopara in a video message shared by Karachi Kings on Twitter after his arrival.

Our assistant batting coach @ravibopara arrives in Karachi. Good to see you back in the camp Ravi. 🤝#YehHaiKarachi | #KingsSquad | #HBLPSL8 pic.twitter.com/5zsrzcusqR

— Karachi Kings (@KarachiKingsARY) February 11, 2023

Earlier, Bopara’s compatriot Tom Kohler-Cadmore landed in Karachi as well and joined the Peshawar Zalmi team.

It is pertinent to mention here that PSL season 8 will kick off on February 13 in Multan with a grand ceremony followed by the opening match between defending champions Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans.

Karachi Kings, on the other hand, will play their first match on February 14 against Babar Azam-led Peshawar Zalmi at National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi.

READ: Spinners shine as India crush Australia by an innings

KARACHI: Peshawar Zalmi’s honorary President Inzamam-ul-Haq has expressed his complete faith in the new skipper, Babar Azam, saying he will definitely fulfil the role which is required by the team.

Babar, who is the latest edition to the Peshawar Zalmi squad, will lead the side in the upcoming eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League, starting from February 13.

“With each passing Babar’s performance is getting better and better,” said Inzamam while speaking to the media during Peshawar Zalmi’s practice session, here on Friday.

“Every player no matter how great he is has his own weak links and sometimes these minor flaws remain intact throughout his career” he added.

Inzamam, however, heaped praises on Babar for his solid batting roots and termed him the best batter in every format.

“He fits in the role that we want, that is why he is picked by the Peshawar Zalmi,” he maintained.

Pakistan’s all-format skipper and Peshawar Zalmi’s incumbent captain, is the highest run-getter in the PSL with 2413 runs in 38 matches, averaging a whopping 42.33.

It is pertinent to mention PSL season 8 will kick off in Multan with a grand opening ceremony match followed by the inaugural match between defending champions Lahore Qalandars and 2021 champions Multan Sultans.

Peshawar Zalmi, on the other hand, will play their first game on February 14 against Imad Wasim-led Karachi Kings at National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi.

READ: Ravindra Jadeja’s alleged ‘ball tampering’ video sparks controversy

KARACHI: Pakistan wicket-keeper batter Kamran Akmal has announced his retirement from all forms of professional cricket. 

Akmal, who is currently serving as a temporary batting consultant for Peshawar Zalmi, said he would no longer be part of the Pakistan Super League as a player in order to shift focus to newer roles.

Recently, the 41-year-old was also named chairman of the selection committee constituted by the PCB to conduct U13, U16 and U19 trials for the selection of regional and district teams.

“I will not be able to play cricket anymore because of my new responsibilities as a selector and a coach,” he said while talking to the media on Tuesday.

Akmal, who last represented the national side in April 2017, with his latest announcement called time on both his international as well as domestic career.

The right-handed batter gathered 6871 runs across formats during his international career spanning around 15 years. He has six Test and five ODI centuries to his name.

He is also the PSL’s second highest-run getter with 1972 runs in 74 innings. He has scored three centuries, the most by any batter in the league.

READ: Kamran Akmal retires from all forms of cricket

KARACHI: With Pakistan Super League season 8 now just six days away, Karachi Kings will set up their camp in the home city on Thursday to finalize their preparations for yet another exciting tournament.

According to the details, Karachi Kings’ players will start reporting for the megaevent from tomorrow and the team will hold its first training session at National Bank Cricket Arena on February 9.

Skipper Imad Wasim will report at the Karachi Kings camp on Thursday while head coach Wasim Akram will join the side a few days later.

It is pertinent to mention here that the mega event will kick off in Multan on February 13 with a grand ceremony followed by the opening encounter between defending champions Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans.

Karachi Kings, however, will play their first match of PSL 8 against Babar Azam-led Peshawar Zalmi on February 14 at National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi.

The side will play their five matches at home before flying out for the second leg in Lahore and Rawalpindi.

Karachi Kings Squad: 

Imad Wasim (C), Sharjeel Khan, James Vince, Mathew Wade (WK), Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Tayyab Tahir, Andrew Tye, Qasim Akram, James Fuller, Tabraiz Shamsi, Imran Tahir, Mohammad Umar, Muhammad Akhlaq, Mohammad Amir, Mir Hamza, Aamer Yamin, Irfan Khan, Ben Cutting

READ: ‘We have more match winners this time’ says Karachi Kings captain Imad

CAPE TOWN: The captains of all 10 teams including Pakistan’s Bismah Maroof participated in the trophy unveiling ceremony of the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023, scheduled to commence on Friday.

According to the details, the glittering trophy for the mega event was unveiled at the waterfront here, which was attended by all the captains.

Right-handed batter Bismah, who represented Pakistan in the trophy unveiling ceremony will lead the side in the upcoming mega event with the green shirts set to start their campaign against arch-rivals India on Sunday (February 12).

Taking to Twitter, the International Cricket Council (ICC) shared the ‘picture perfect’ of the participating teams’ captains with the trophy.

Picture perfect 😍

Which captain is leading their side to the ICC Women’s #T20WorldCup 2023 title? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/ioUhKngxVP

— ICC (@ICC) February 4, 2023

 

It is pertinent to mention that green shirts will start training for the mega event today in Newlands.

PAKISTAN’s ITINERARY:

February 12: Pakistan vs India
February 15: Pakistan vs Ireland
February 19: Pakistan vs West Indies
February 21: Pakistan vs England

Pakistan’s Squad: Bismah Maroof (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Fatima Sana, Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shams, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Tuba Hassan.

READ: Balochistan Police appoints Naseem Shah as an honorary DSP

KARACHI: For the first time a national football and judo championship for visually-impaired athletes will be organized in the country this month. 

The First National Blind Football and Judo Championship will commence on February 10 here at the Naya Nazimbad Sports Complex.

Blind athletes from all parts of the country will participate in the event, said Salman Ilahi, who heads a local NGO working for the welfare of visually-impaired individuals.

According to the details, the football event at the championship will be a five-a-side tournament with five players on each team, four infield players and one goalkeeper.

The infield players will be totally blind – classified as B1 – while the goalkeeper can be either a B3 (partially sighted) or a fully sighted player.

The football, however, will be equipped with rattles to produce a sound while it moves.

READ: NZ chief selector expects Boult to play ODI World Cup

KARACHI: The 5th National Women’s Amateur Golf Championship will take place from February 3 to 5 here at DHA Country and Golf Club.

According to the details, the three-day-long golf championship will feature as many as 60 talented golfers from the country,

The national golfers will have the opportunity to improve their World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) as the championship is being organized by keeping the rankings in mind for the first time.

The upcoming championship will be held in three different categories, zero to 12 handicap players will compete in 54-hole in category A, while in the B category, 13 to 24 handicap golfers will play 36-hole.

Whereas, senior amateurs and junior under-14 girls will participate in 9-hole competitions.

Speaking on the occasion, tournament director Humera Khalid asserted that Women players are actively participating in the promotion of the game and showed great interest towards the championship.

“The championship is being played with the full support of the PGF and the SGA, which has also introduced the WAGR ranking,” said Humera.

“The championship is being held successfully for the fifth year in a row, with women players actively participating in the promotion of the game. There has been an overwhelming response from women golfers from across the country to play the event,” she added.

It is pertinent to mention that the top national golfers Hamna Amjad, Prakha Ejaz, Ramsha Ejaz, Daniya Saeed, and Abiha Saeed will be in action in the upcoming National Amateur Golf Championship.

READ: Saudi Arabia wins bid to host 2027 Asian Cup