Author: shahzad.malik

The Afghanistan men’s cricket team on Monday, reached here to participate in the upcoming ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2023, scheduled to commence on August 30.

According to the details, the team landed at Allama Iqbal International Airport under tight security measures and was subsequently taken to the hotel.

Chief Traffic Police Officer (CTO) Lahore Mustansar Feroze led the cavalcade and guided the team safely to a local hospital here via Shahrah-e-Quaid-e-Azam, formerly known as Mall Road.

Notably, the Afghanistan Cricket Board’s Selection Committee on Sunday, announced a 17-member squad for the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2023, scheduled to run from August 30 to September 17 in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Najibullah Zadran, who missed the recently concluded Pakistan Series due to a knee injury has been included in the lineup and is expected to recover from the injury prior to the start of the event.

Meanwhile, Shahidullah Kamal, who had replaced him in the three-match ODI series against Pakistan, has been left out of the Asia Cup squad.

All-rounder Karim Jannat who played his only ODI in 2017, has managed to make the cut for the Asia Cup, as Azmatullah Omarzai has been ruled out of the competition due to a side strain.

Mohammad Saleem Safi and Abdul Rahman, two fast bowlers, who were also part of Afghanistan’s recent home ODI series against Pakistan, have retained their spots in the lineup, however, Fareed Ahmad and Wafadar Momand have been left out of the squad for the Asia Cup.

Sharafuddin Ashraf, a left-arm spin bowling all-rounder, who last played for Afghanistan last year has also been included in the team as a reserve spinner.

Afghanistan Squad for the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2023

Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Abdul Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem Safi and Fazal Haq Farooqi.

READ: Pakistan team reaches Multan for Asia Cup 2023

Pakistan have made an addition to their squad for the Men’s ODI Asia Cup 2023. Left-handed batter Saud Shakeel has been added to the 17-member squad.

Following Saud Shakeel’s inclusion in the national squad, Tayyab Tahir has been demoted to the travelling reserves.

Notably, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) unveiled an 18-member squad for the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan.

The 18-member squad was then supposed to be trimmed down to 17 as Saud was only picked for Afghanistan ODIs.

The Babar Azam’s side will arrive in Multan on Sunday, 27 August, and will rest the next day.

The team management has provided relaxation to the players who participated in the Lankan Premier League. Babar, Imam-ul-Haq and Naseem Shah will travel to Lahore on Sunday and join the side on Monday evening.

The players will train on Tuesday, 29 August, at the Multan Cricket Stadium from 1630 till 1930. Before the start of the session, the Pakistan captain will hold a pre-series media conference.

This year’s Asia Cup will kick off with host Pakistan taking on Nepal in the curtain raiser on August 30 in Multan.

Pakistan will host a total of four matches including a Super 4s fixture.

India’s group stage matches including the anticipated clash against Pakistan, scheduled on September 2, will be held in Kandy while the rest of the Super 4s matches, including the final will be played in Colombo.

The arch-rivals Pakistan and India will come face to face again on September 10 in Colombo if both manage to qualify for the Super 4s.

Like the previous edition, the Asia Cup schedule holds a possibility of treating the cricket fans with a maximum of three Pakistan-India matches in a single tournament if both arch-rivals, in a first, simultaneously qualify for the final.

The upcoming edition of the Asia Cup features six teams, divided into two groups, the top two teams from each group will then qualify for the Super 4s. The continental event will run from August 31 to September 17.

Hosts Pakistan are placed in the same group as arch-rivals India and Nepal while the other group includes defending champions and co-hosts Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The Asia Cup 2023 will be played in the ODI format and will serve as an opportunity for the Asian teams to bolster their preparations for the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup.

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi and Usama Mir

Traveling reserve: Tayyab Tahir

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BUDAPEST: Commonwealth Games (CWG) Gold medalist Arshad Nadeem on Friday secured his place for the final of the ongoing World Athletics Championship in Budapest, as well as, the Paris Olympics in 2024.

Arshad Nadeem started off the qualifying round of the javelin throw event with a 70.63m throw in his first attempt, while in his second attempt, he threw his javelin at a distance of 81.53 meters.

However, the Automatic qualifying mark for the final of the World Athletics Championship was 83 meters, while the benchmark for the Paris Olympics was 85.50 meters.

Arshad Nadeem breached both benchmarks in his third attempt with an amazing 86.79-meter throw, consequently qualifying for both events.

Meanwhile, his Indian counterpart Neeraj Chopra also qualified for the World Athletics Championship final and Paris Olympics with an 88.77-meter throw in his first attempt.

They will now meet in the finals of the World Athletic Championship on August 27.

Arshad Nadeem talked about the match with Neeraj Chopra, before departing for Budapest to participate in the ongoing event.

“It is expected to be a good match with Neeraj Chopra in World Athletics,” he said.

He also gave an update about his fitness and thanked the President of the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) Major General (Rtd) Muhammad Akram Sahi for supporting him while he was nursing his injury.

“I am fully fit and will try to perform well,” said Arshad Nadeem. “I have trained hard for the event after getting fit,”

“I am grateful to Federation President General Akram Sahi for supporting me in difficult times,” he added.

It is worth mentioning that Arshad Nadeem was declared fit for the World Athletics Championship earlier this month by the medical board, after being ruled out of the Asian Athletics Championship, due to an injury to his left knee.

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LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board on Thursday, announced Pakistan Shaheens’ squad for the 19th Asian Games, set to take place in Hangzhou, China, from 28 September to 7 October.

Young all-rounder Qasim Akram will lead Pakistan Shaheens in the tournament, to be played in T20 format.

20-year-old Qasim, has till date featured in 20 first-class matches and 40 T20 matches and also captained Pakistan U19 in the ICC U19 World Cup in 2022. In the 15-member squad, there are eight players who have already represented the Pakistan men’s team at the international level.

The players who have represented Pakistan at the international level are Aamir Jamal (2 T20Is), Arshad Iqbal (1 T20I), Asif Ali (21 ODIs, 55 T20Is), Haider Ali (2 ODIs, 33 T20Is), Khushdil Shah (10 ODIs, 24 T20Is), Mohammad Hasnain (9 ODIs, 27 T20Is), Shahnawaz Dahani (2 ODIs, 11 T20Is) and Usman Qadir (1 ODI, 23 T20Is).

Also, eight players in the 15-member squad, Aamir Jamal, Arafat Minhas, Arshad Iqbal, Omair Bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Rohail Nazir, Shahnawaz Dahani and Sufiyan Muqeem have been associated with the Shaheens side recently. Since May 2023, Pakistan Shaheens have toured Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Australia.

In Zimbabwe, Shaheens whitewashed Zimbabwe A in the two four-dayers, but lost 4-2 in the 50-over matches to Zimbabwe Select. Shaheens later won the ACC Men’s Emerging Asia Cup in Sri Lanka in July, beating India A by 108 runs in the final. However, they finished as runners-up in the six-team Top End T20 Series in Darwin, Australia earlier this month.

As per the tournament’s rule, Shaheens will feature in the event from the quarter-finals stage scheduled to take place on 3 and 4 October. The semi-finals will be played on 6 October, while the final will take place on 7 October. The match for Bronze medal will also take place on Saturday, 7 October.

Pakistan men’s team won a bronze medal in their maiden and only appearance in the Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China, in 2010.

Pakistan Shaheens squad:

Qasim Akram (captain), Omair Bin Yousuf (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Arafat Minhas, Arshad Iqbal, Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Khushdil Shah, Mirza Tahir Baig, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Akhlaq (wk), Rohail Nazir, Shahnawaz Dahani, Sufiyan Muqeem and Usman Qadir

Non-travelling reserves – Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan Niazi and Mubasir Khan

Player Support Personnel – Shahid Aslam (head coach-cum-manager), Umar Rasheed (bowling coach), Hanif Malik (batting and fielding coach) and Hafiz Naeem ul Rasool (physiotherapist)

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BIRMINGHAM: Pakistan blind cricket team registered a thumping seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh to claim back-to-back wins in the ongoing International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) World Blind Games on Tuesday.

Bangladesh, opting to bat first, could raise 137/6 in the allotted 20 overs despite Arif Hossain’s cautious half-century.

Bangladesh got off to a dismal start to their innings as they lost half of their side in the seventh over with just 37 runs on the board.

Following the slump, Arif Hossain and skipper MM Rashid launched an astounding as the pair knitted a 97-run partnership.

Hossain spearheaded the sixth-wicket stand and notched up his half-century in the process while Rashid rotated the strike before Badar Munir removed him in the final over.

Rashid scored a cautious 31 off 33 deliveries with the help of three boundaries.

Hossain, on the other hand, carried his bat all the way through with a 56-ball 60 and top-scored for Bangladesh.

Badar Munir and Matiullah led the bowling attack for Pakistan with two wickets each while MS Zaib made one scalp.

Set to chase 138, Pakistan blind cricket team comfortably chased down the total for the loss of just three wickets and 49 balls to spare.

In the pursuit, Pakistan too, had a dismal start as they lost three wickets for 33 runs in the third over after Matiullah (15), Naimat Ullah (1) and Kamran Akhter (0) perished cheaply.

With the side reeling at 33/3 inside the powerplay, Riasat Khan was then joined by Badar Munir at the crease and the pair knitted a match-winning partnership.

The duo of Riasat and Badar dominated the Bangladesh bowlers and launched a counterattack with belligerent hitting before steering Pakistan blind cricket team to a convincing victory in the 12th over.

Riasat Khan top-scored for Pakistan with a 35-ball 60, hitting a boundary while Munir scored 41 from 26 balls, laced up with three boundaries and a six.

Notably, this was Pakistan blind cricket team’s second consecutive victory in the ongoing World Blind Games as the green shirts edged arch-rivals India by 18 runs in their campaign opener.

Pakistan next face Australia in their third match on Wednesday (Today).

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The Pakistan Cricket Board, as part of its continuous effort to unearth women cricketers at the grassroots level, will hold nationwide women’s cricket trials, across eight cricket academies from 23 to 31 August. These trials will provide an exceptional platform for talented female cricketers from various age categories to showcase their skills and progress to the higher levels of the game.

The trials will be conducted by the National Selection Committee, which comprises of chairperson and former Test cricketer Saleem Jaffar, former international cricketers Asmavia Iqbal and Marina Iqbal. The trials will be conducted for three age groups: U19, in which players who are born on or after 1 September 2004 are eligible; emerging and seniors categories.

The trials will help the selectors identify talent and select squads for Pakistan emerging and Pakistan U19 teams. Pakistan’s emerging side will compete against West Indies emerging team at home in October this year, while Pakistan U19 will feature in a triangular event involving Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in Bangladesh in January 2024.

Head of Women’s Cricket Tania Mallick: “We have recently awarded first-ever domestic contracts to 74 women cricketers, setting the tone for a brighter future in women’s cricket. With the nationwide trials, we are eagerly poised to bring in a new wave of talented individuals forward.

“We have a great and exciting amount of women’s cricket events ahead, and these trials will help us identify splendid talent that the selectors can consider for the national teams’ squads.”

The following is the schedule of trials in eight academies.

• Hanif Mohammad High Performance Centre, Karachi – 23 August
• Inzamam-ul-Haq High Performance Centre, Multan – 23 August
• Women Sports Stadium, Bahawalpur – 24 August
• Kinnard College for Women, Lahore – 24 August
• Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi/Islamabad – 28 August
• Qayyum Stadium, Peshawar – 29 August
• Abbottabad Stadium, Abbottabad – 30 August
• Bugti Stadium, Quetta – 31 August

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Commonwealth Games (CWG) Gold medalist Arshad Nadeem left for Hungary along with his coach Salman Butt on Sunday to participate in the ongoing World Athletics Championship in Budapest.

Arshad Nadeem before leaving, trained hard in his last training session under the supervision of his coach in Lahore.

The qualifying round of the javelin throw event of the World Athletics Championship will be held on August 25, meanwhile, the final of the Javelin Throw event will be held on August 27.

While talking to the media before his departure, Arshad Nadeem gave an update about his fitness and training.

“I am fully fit and will try to perform well,” said Arshad Nadeem. “I have trained hard for the event after getting fit,”

He also thanked the President of the Athletics Federation of Pakistan (AFP) Major General (Rtd) Muhammad Akram Sahi for supporting him while he was nursing his injury.

“I am grateful to Federation President General Akram Sahi for supporting me in difficult times,” he added.

He also talked about the match with his Indian counterpart Neeraj Chopra.

“It is expected to be a good match with Neeraj Chopra in World Athletics,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Arshad Nadeem’s coach Salman Butt also showed satisfaction with his training.

“Arshad is returning to international events after a year, his fitness is satisfactory and he will try to perform well,” said Salman Butt.

“Our job is to work with full dedication, while, the result is in the hands of Allah,” he concluded.

It is worth mentioning that Arshad Nadeem was declared fit for the World Athletics Championship earlier this month by the medical board, after being ruled out of the Asian Athletics Championship, due to an injury to his left knee.

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LAHORE: The Chief Secretary and Ministers of the caretaker Punjab government, on Friday, assured the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) representatives of infallible arrangements for the upcoming Asia Cup matches in Lahore and Multan.

PCB management committee chairman Zaka Ashraf along with PCB officials met the representatives of Punjab’s caretaker government including the adviser to caretaker CM Punjab, Wahab Riaz, at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore.

During the meeting, both parties assured to provide the best facilities to the cricket fans during ACC Asia Cup matches to be held in Multan and Lahore.

Punjab government as well as PCB expressed their commitment to provide the fans with the best yet smooth security arrangements so that they can enjoy the game at their best.

The meeting took place in an excellent environment and both sides ensured to resolve all the past issues amicably. It was also decided that a new mechanism should be formed to make sure that future affairs must be conducted smoothly.

Notably, during Najam Sethi’s tenure earlier in the year, a deadlock emerged between the PCB and the caretaker Punjab government over the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight’s Lahore and Rawalpindi leg security expenditures.

The Punjab government demanded PCB pay off PKR 500m to make security arrangements for the second leg of the ongoing extravaganza. At the same time, the cricket board was adamant about not paying the stipulated sum.

This year’s Asia Cup will kick off with host Pakistan taking on Nepal in the curtain raiser on August 30 in Multan.

Pakistan will host a total of four matches including a Super 4s fixture.

India’s group stage matches including the anticipated clash against Pakistan, scheduled on September 2, will be held in Kandy while the rest of the Super 4s matches, including the final will be played in Colombo.

The arch-rivals Pakistan and India will come face to face again on September 10 in Colombo if both manage to qualify for the Super 4s.

The upcoming edition of the Asia Cup features six teams, divided into two groups, the top two teams from each group will then qualify for the Super 4s. The continental event will run from August 31 to September 17.

Hosts Pakistan are placed in the same group as arch-rivals India and Nepal while the other group includes defending champions and co-hosts Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.

The Asia Cup 2023 will be played in the ODI format and will serve as an opportunity for the Asian teams to bolster their preparations for the upcoming ICC Men’s World Cup.

READ: Nahida Khan appointed manager of Pakistan women’s cricket team

Former international cricketer Nahida Khan has been appointed as the manager of the Pakistan women’s team for the forthcoming South Africa women’s series, which is set to commence in Karachi from 1 September.

Nahida has been appointed for the South Africa series only, while Ayesha Ashhar will return as the team manager for Asian Games.

Nahida Khan, 36, who represented Pakistan in 120 matches, scored 2,014 runs and took one wicket.

In a brief coaching stint, Nahida worked as the assistant coach of Blasters in the Pakistan Cup Women’s Cricket Tournament held in Karachi from 19 May to 4 June.

Previously, she deputised head coach Taufiq Umar’s Amazons side, which won the Women’s League exhibition matches 2-1 against Super Women in March.

In the team management, Nahida will be joined by another former international cricketer Kamran Hussain, who will replace Saleem Jaffar as bowling coach.

Notably, Nahida Khan announced her retirement from international cricket in June 2023, 14 years after making her ODI debut in Bogra, Bangladesh against Sri Lanka on 7 February 2009.

She became the only female cricketer from Balochistan to represent Pakistan as she represented the national women’s team in 120 international matches, scoring 2,014 runs and taking one wicket.

She also represented Pakistan in three 50-over World Cups (2013, 2017 and 2022) and in four T20 World Cups (2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018).

Mauhtashim Rashid, who had previously worked as head coach of the women’s team, is named interim head coach of the national side for South Africa and the Asian Games after Mark Coles resigned from the post last week.

Player support personnel: Nahida Khan (manager), Mauhtashim Rashid (interim head coach), Kamran Hussain (bowling coach), Taufiq Umar (batting coach), Muhammad Asfand Yar (strength and conditioning coach), Zubair Ahmed (analyst), Rifat Asghar Gill (physiotherapist) and Syed Nazir Ahmed (media manager).

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LAHORE: Six Pakistan internationals (men and women) cricketers are among the 30 participants who have registered for the six-day Level 2 Cricket Coach course.

The course will be held at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore from 18 to 23 August.

Pakistan international players include Aimen Anwar (8 ODIs, 37 T20Is), Imran Butt (6 Tests), Javeria Khan (116 ODIs, 112 T20Is), Javeria Rauf (4 ODIs, 13 T20Is), Mansoor Amjad (1 ODI, 1 T20I) and Sajid Khan (7 Tests).

The Level 2 course participants will be taught on advance coaching skills which include how to deduct errors and rectify them through video analysis.

This also includes work on communications skills, mental and physical strength, nutrition, planning and creating plans to help players graduate to the next level.

The course will be conducted by NCA coaches Shahid Aslam, Rahat Abbas Asadi, Imran Abbas, Rao Iftikhar Anjum, Mauhtashim Rashid, Umar Rashid, Saqib Faqir and Yasir Malik.

At the conclusion of the course, the participants will be given three months to complete their assignments. The successful participants will be awarded Level 2 coaching certificates.

Participants (in alphabetical order): Adnan Raees, Ahmed Ali, Aiman Anwar, Altaf Ahmad, Arun Lal, Atiq-ur-Rehman, Ayaz Hussain Jamali, Haroon Ahmad, Haziq Habib, Imran Ali, Imran Butt, Jahangir Mirza, Jahanzaib Khan, Javeria Khan, Javeria Rauf, Khaqan Arsal, Mansoor Amjad, Mansoor Khan, Mohammad Zahid, Muhammad Saleem, Mujahid Hamid, Rahim Baz Khan, Saeed Bin Nasir, Sajid Khan, Shahid Ali, Shahid Saddique, Shoaib Zikria, Snober Gul, Zafar Ali Katper and Zaka-ur-Rasheed.

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