Author: Shahid Hashmi

The 2023 ICC ODI World Cup in India is likely to start on October 5 and end on November 19, reported a cricket website on Tuesday. 

According to ESPNcrininfo, BCCI has finalized 12 venues for the marquee event with the final set to be staged at the world’s biggest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.

The 10-team tournament will comprise 48 matches, including two semi-finals and a final.

The venues shortlisted for the event include Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Indore, and Rajkot.

“The BCCI has not specified venues for any games as yet, or the two or three cities where teams will play the warm-ups. The delay in finalising the venues is due to the complications posed by the monsoon season receding at different points in different parts of India.” said the news report.

Moreover, it added the ICC, which usually announces World Cup schedules at least a year in advance, has been waiting for the BCCI to get clearance from the Indian government regarding two key issues, visa clearance for the Pakistan team, and getting a tax exemption for the tournament.

“At the ICC’s quarterly meetings last weekend, held in Dubai, the BCCI is learned to have assured the global body that visas for the Pakistan contingent will be cleared by the Indian government,” it said.

It may be noted that the two South Asian rivals have not played each other since early 2013 outside the ICC and ACC tournaments. The relations between the two cricket boards reached a stalemate following India’s decision not to send their team to Pakistan for Asia Cup later this year.

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LAHORE: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee on Saturday hinted at slight changes in New Zealand’s tour of Pakistan, scheduled in April 2023.

Sethi while addressing the media here at Gaddafi Stadium, responded to a question regarding the schedule of New Zealand’s white-ball tour of Pakistan in April and stated that slight changes have been made, keeping the political situation into account.

“A schedule was designed earlier but we have made some changes to it. The New Zealand series will go ahead and probably minor tweaking has been done to it,” said Sethi.

“Initially it was bound to start from Karachi and then shift to Lahore and so on. So, those certain changes have been made. But, I think everything is on target,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention that New Zealand will tour Pakistan in April this year to play a five-match each T20I and ODI series.

The T20I series will take place from April 13th to 23rd while the ODI series is scheduled from April 26th to May 7th.

National Bank Cricket Arena, Karachi will host the first four T20I matches, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore will host the fifth T20I and the first two ODIs, while the remaining three ODIs will be held at Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi.

READ: ‘Mickey Arthur’s matter is in final stages,’ says Najam Sethi

LAHORE: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee Najam Sethi provided a much-anticipated update on the possible return of former national head coach Mickey Arthur, stating that the negotiations are in the final stages.

While addressing a press conference here on Monday, Sethi shared that his discussion with Arthur is in the final stages and the decision will be made soon.

“If there was any sort of compulsion to take Mickey on board then we would have done that already. It is getting delayed because I’m listening to your voices and conveying it to Mickey that our media is raising questions and you should answer them,” Sethi told the journalists.

“How will you do it? How many times will you come here? How will you manage long distances? Who will be the head coach? Is he competent enough, for you’re nominating to be the head coach? Can’t we find a better option? All these discussions are underway and are in the final stages,” Sethi continued.

“So, the thing is that the decision will be made soon. Mickey and I are in the final stages just like I said last time. I’m not getting answers to my questions, similar to what you are asking me.

“So, he’s answering and we’re analyzing the situation. So, let’s see,” Sethi concluded.

It is worth mentioning that Arthur coached the national men’s side between 2016 and 2019. During his tenure, Pakistan won their last major ICC title – Champions Trophy 2017 – and also rose to the top spot in the T20I rankings.

The South African coach was then removed from the position following Pakistan’s fifth-place finish in the Cricket World Cup 2019.

READ: ‘I have a meeting with Jay Shah amid ICC Board Meeting,’ shares Sethi

LAHORE: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee Najam Sethi on Saturday, revealed that he will be meeting Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah in the ICC Board Meeting to discuss the deadlock about this year’s Asia Cup and World Cup participation.

Sethi interacted with the media here ahead of the closing ceremony of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight and provided the latest update regarding the long-running conflict between PCB and BCCI.

“Tonight after the award distribution ceremony, I am going to Dubai for ICC Board Meetings which will start tomorrow morning which is about Asia Cup, World Cup and Champions Trophy,” shared Sethi.

“I have taken the official stance and some things will be done on negotiations there. So, for now, I can’t comment further regarding this matter as I want to be aware of all the options there” he added.

Sethi then further disclosed that the legal opinion regarding Pakistan’s stance on the conflict has also been noted. Whereas, the PCB officials have several formal and informal meetings scheduled with ICC officials, BCCI secretary Jay Shah and ACC senior members.

“Our meetings are scheduled there with ICC officials. Some are formal and some informal. We have a formal and informal meeting with Jay Shah as well,” shared Sethi.

“I had a discussion with some of the senior ACC members and I made them aware of my reservations and the issues we are facing. So, by the will of Allah, we will take up the issues and try to find honourable and good solutions,” he concluded.

Notably, the upcoming edition of the Asia Cup and Pakistan’s participation in the Men’s ODI World Cup has been in jeopardy after BCCI refused to tour Pakistan for the aforementioned tournament on political grounds.

The BCCI has maintained their stance of not touring Pakistan for the Asia Cup, while the PCB is adamant that if they do not, then Pakistan might not travel to India for the World Cup in October-November.

READ: ‘Will try to add two more teams in next PSL,’ says Najam Sethi

LAHORE: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee Najam Sethi expressed his strive to expand the Pakistan Super League (PSL) by adding two more teams in the next edition.

Sethi held a press conference here at Gaddafi Stadium to reflect on the ongoing PSL 8 which will conclude with a blockbuster final between Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans and hinted at the cricket board’s plans for the next edition.

“If you ask me what are our plans for the next PSL, keeping it brief my strive is to add two more teams. But obviously, this decision is subject to the approval of the franchises and is impossible without doing the homework,” said Sethi.

“That is because if any franchise suffers a loss by the addition of two more franchises then it is not a good thing to do. It must be a win-win situation for everyone. So I’m doing homework on this.

“We had a brief discussion with the franchises and after the conclusion of this PSL, we will formally start consulting them the next month about the addition of teams and the model after the completion of 10 years.”

The PCB chief further commented on the future of the upcoming Pakistan Women’s League and shared the officials are considering three options for the inaugural event.

“There are multiple opinions regarding the Women’s League, one is that it should be held in September and should be stand-alone. The second is that it should be organized simultaneously with the next PSL to reduce the cost and the third issue is that to whom the franchises should be sold,” shared Sethi.

“Whether the first option should be the existing male franchise owners or it should be completely stand-alone and different. But I must tell you if we are planning to feature four to five teams then we already have enough interest that you assume all five franchises have been sold out,” Sethi added.

“Such is the interest in the Women’s league, especially from the abroad, from overseas Pakistanis. So, our problem is not to sell the team but to develop our players,” he concluded.

READ: All-round Qalandars down Zalmi to set up PSL 8 final clash with Sultans 

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board fined Islamabad United’s Colin Munro for hitting the stumps with his bat after he was bowled out during the first Eliminator of the Pakistan Super League season 8 on Thursday. 

“Munro has been charged 10 per cent of his match fee for a level 1 breach of the HBL Pakistan Super League Code of Conduct,” said PCB in a media release on Friday.

It added; “Munro was found to have violated article 2.2 which deals with abuse of cricket equipment or clothing, ground equipment or fixtures and fittings.”

The left-hander hit the stumps with his bat after he was bowled by Salman Irshad during Islamabad United’s 12-run defeat against Peshawar Zalmi in the do-or-die match.

Munro pleaded guilty to the charge and accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Roshan Mahanama. The charge was levelled by on-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Faisal Afridi, third umpire Alex Wharf and fourth umpire Rashid Riaz.

Following their sensational win yesterday, Babar-led Zalmi now face Lahore Qalanadars in the second eliminator later today at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The winner will meet Multan Sultans in the PSL final on Saturday.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s stand-in captain for the upcoming three T20Is against Afghanistan, Shadab Khan, has voiced his reverence to all-format skipper Babar Azam, calling himself a “Wazir”(minister) who represents the King in his absence. 

Speaking at a post-match press conference on Thursday after his side Islamabad United lost to Peshawar Zalmi in the first eliminator of the Pakistan Super League season 8, Shadab said Babar was rested and since he was not there his minister would represent the monarch in his place.

“He is not former but our current captain” replied Shadab when a journalist called Babar, ‘former captain’.

“He is resting and since I am his Wazir, I will be in charge while he is not there” he added.

Talking about his team’s defeat in the knockout game of the tournament, Shadab said although they made a good comeback in the middle overs, the damage had already been done in the first 10 overs.

“As a captain and as a player, I believe the first 10 overs cost us the match” he expressed.

“Although we made a good comeback in the last 10 and restricted them, credit goes to their bowlers especially Aamer Jamal and Salman Irshad the way they bowled.”

“Babar has a vast captaincy experience in T20s, he made some good bowling changes in the latter half of our innings,” he added

“We lost back-to-back wickets after 10 overs and as a team, we could not put out our best”

Commenting on the bilateral T20I series against Afghanistan later this month in Sharjah, Pakistan’s stand-in captain for the forthcoming task hoped that people would see exciting cricket since he is leading a young and fresh-look team.

“It’s a good opportunity for the young players to prove themselves. In fact, it is also a chance for us as well to test our bench strength” Shadab said

He added that the Green Shirts had to play fearless but smart cricket, saying, “in modern-day cricket, you have to be both, fearless and smart,

“Because when you play fearlessly, there are more chances of failure. But when you are smart plus fearless, your success ratio increases” he concluded.

READ: Babar Azam becomes fastest to 9000 T20 runs

 

ISLAMABAD: Islamabad United captain Shadab Khan continued to support his team’s fearless approach despite suffering the heaviest defeat of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) history. 

On Thursday, United lost their second clash against Lahore Qalandars in the ongoing PSL season 8 as they were bundled out for a meagre 107 while chasing a massive 227, giving defending champions a resounding 119-run victory.

“These failures are bound to happen when you are going with a fearless approach,” said Shadab in a post-match press conference, adding, “I will still back my team and this approach.”

He elaborated that the team had won a number of high-scoring matches with their attacking approach and it was not possible to win each and every game.

“We have chased targets above 200 in the last three matches. You cannot chase without such an approach. In fact, it’s not necessary that you chase 200 every day, especially against such quality bowling.”

United’s captain, however, did not shy away from accepting the loopholes in teams’ bowling and hoped that it would come back in the next matches.

“Our bowling has been conceding 200 runs consistently which I believe should not be the case,” he said.

Moreover, Shadab added that people should not demand modern-day cricket from the Pakistan team if they were not willing to accept the failures.

“When you ask a player or any team to score 200 (in T20s), there are higher chances of failures. But, as a nation, we do not accept it. We want modern-day cricket and at the same time not ready to accept failures, which is not possible” he said.

When asked about the nature of pitches in the PSL which saw bowlers not getting any kind of help, Shadab believed although the bowlers suffered at these wickets but gave the spectators the kind of entertainment they wanted to see.

“Crowd want to see sixes and fours. No one wants to see the dot balls. I think these days if you do not offer such entertainment to the crowd why would they bother to come to the stadiums,” he maintained.

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RAWALPINDI: Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam seemed a bit disheartened over the loss of his team despite scoring a mammoth 240, which also included his maiden PSL century, against Quetta Gladiators on Wednesday. 

Babar said his side’s bowling was not up to the mark in the game and they conceded more than 12 runs per over throughout the innings.

“We couldn’t bowl up to the expectations,” said Babar in a post-match conference after Gladiators sealed a comfortable eight-wicket victory over Zalmi in a high-scoring match of the Pakistan Super League season 8.

Quetta’s hard-hitting opener Jason Roy was invincible as he smacked a phenomenal 63-ball 145 to single-handedly crush Zalmi in the match.

“We applied everything in our bowling. But he (Jason Roy) was simply outstanding” confessed Babar.

However, Zalmi’s captain did not shy away from accepting their own mistakes with the ball and shared the blame equally on both – Roy’s blitz as well as Zalmi’s poor bowling – for the defeat of his team.

“We could not execute what we planned. You can say it was fifty-fifty. 50 per cent credit goes to his (Roy’s) innings and 50 per cent to our own bad bowling” he said.

“It is not just he played extraordinarily but we made mistakes too,” he added.

Furthermore, Babar stated that the next two matches will be crucial for the Zalmi following this defeat, as they currently sit on eight points in the standings and need at least one victory in two matches to qualify for the playoffs.

“We will sit and discuss where we can improve. God willing, we will try to score 280 in the next match” he quipped.

Moreover, Pakistan all-format captain Babar also lauded his opening partner at Zalmi, Saim Ayub, who has impressed with his superb batting performances and picturesque shots in the tournament.

The left-hander scored 74 from 34 balls in the match before scoring 36-ball 68 the other day against Lahore Qalandars.

“The way Saim batted, it was outstanding,” said Zalmi captain.

“As a captain of the Pakistan team, I have my eyes on every top performer in the league,” remarked Babar when asked whether he was keen to give Saim a breakthrough in the national team after watching him closely.

He added all the players performing at the PSL needed to establish themselves a bit more.

“It is too early to comment on T20 World Cup 2024” he replied to a question about incorporating the top PSL performers in Pakistan’s T20I side before the mega event next year.

“We should not haste and hype the players so quickly. Let them perform for some more time” he concluded.

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ISLAMABAD: Islamabad United captain Shadab Khan has accepted his team’s batting failure in the last game against Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League season 8, attributing the collapse to the players’ fearless approach. 

“When you demand modern-day cricket from the player such failures may also happen,” said Shadab on Tuesday at a press conference.

The skipper claimed he was well aware of the possibility that his team’s batting lineup could also crash someday owing to their attacking approach.

“I was saying this from last year that a day might come when we will be all out under 100. And that day has come,” he commented on United’s one-sided loss against Qaladars on Monday when they were bowled out for 90 while chasing 201.

“We have to accept their failures too when we demand a fearless approach from the players. And as a team, we are accepting this” he added.

With six points, United currently sits third on the points table after five games and will play their first home game in the tournament when they face Karachi Kings in Rawalpindi on Friday.

Commenting on the Kings’ bumpy journey so far in this PSL, Shadab did not shy away from calling them a ‘big franchise’ which knew how to come out of such pressure situations.

“We have to give our best in the field against them (Karachi Kings),” he asserted.

Moreover, recently-married Shadab also opined on the dip in his performance in the current PSL season, saying it has nothing to do with a new chapter of his life.

READ: Iftikhar Ahmed likens Babar criticism to ‘a sin’