Author: shahzad.malik

LAHORE: Right-arm pacer Diana Baig has returned to the national side after missing out home series against Ireland as Pakistan announced ODI and T20 squads for next month’s tour of Australia and the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup, scheduled in February 2023. 

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday named 15-member Women’s squads for the upcoming overseas assignment in Australia, where Pakistan will play three ODIs and as many T20Is before heading to South Africa for the megaevent.

“Bismah Maroof will continue to lead the Pakistan Women’s team in both assignments.  The squads were finalised after deliberations by Asmavia, interim head coach Saleem Jaffer and captain Bismah,” said PCB in a media release.

Besides Diana, who was rested for the three ODIs and three T20Is against Ireland at home due to shoulder injury, spinners Sadia Iqbal and Tuba Hasan are also included in the squads after being ruled out of the Ireland series due to hand and index finger injuries.

“The ODI series against Australia is very crucial, the expectations are high as we have won five of the six ICC Championship matches and our aim is to qualify directly for the 50-over World Cup,” said Chief selector Asmavia Iqbal.

“We have relied more on the senior players in the formation of the squad for the World Cup and we expect them to use their experience on the field and get positive results for the team,” she added.

The Women’s T20 World Cup will take place from February 10 to February 26 in South  Africa while Pakistan’s tour of Australia is set to commence on January 16, 2023.

Pakistan ODI squad for Australia series:

Bismah Maroof (c), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Ghulam Fatima, Kainat Imtiaz, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin and Sidra Nawaz (wk)

Travelling Reserves: Aimen Anwar, Javeria Khan and Tuba Hassan

Pakistan T20I squad for Australia and ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, South Africa:

Bismah Maroof (c), Aimen Anwar, Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Naseem, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Javeria Khan, Muneeba Ali (wk), Nashra Sandhu, Nida Dar, Omaima Sohail, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wk) and Tuba Hassan

Reserves: Ghulam Fatima, Kainat Imtiaz and Sadaf Shamas

Australia Tour Schedule: 

16 January – First ODI at Allan Border Field, Brisbane

18 January – Second ODI at Allan Border Field, Brisbane

21 January – Third ODI at North Sydney Oval No.1, North Sydney

24 January – First T20I at North Sydney Oval No.1, North Sydney

26 January – Second T20I at Blundstone Arena, Hobart

29 January – Third T20I at Manuka Oval, Canberra

ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 Pakistan fixtures

12 February v India at Newlands, Cape Town

15 February v Ireland at Newlands, Cape Town

19 February v West Indies at Boland Park, Paarl

21 February v England at Newlands, Cape Town

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LAHORE: Former Pakistan Test cricketers Javed Miandad and Rashid Latif gave lectures in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Level 3 Coaching Course here on Friday.

According to the details, the ICC Coaching Course is underway here at the National High-Performance Centre where two legendary cricketers of Pakistan participated and shared valuable tips with the participants.

Legendary batter Miandad shared valuable information regarding batting coaching with the participants, while former captain Latif lectured on wicketkeeping coaching.

It is pertinent to mention that numerous former cricketers including Imran Farhat, Taufeeq Umar, Zulfiqar Babar and Mohammad Yousuf were among the participants in the ongoing Coaching Course.

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LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is considering shifting the first Test of the upcoming three-match home series against England to Karachi in light of the ongoing political unrest in Rawalpindi, sources claimed.

According to the details, following the current political situation in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, the PCB is considering amending the venue of the first Test between Pakistan and England, scheduled to commence on December 1.

The consideration came in light of Pakistan Tehreek-e- Insaf’s (PTI) long march that is likely to reach the capital in the third week of November.

Meanwhile, England’s Test squad is likely to land in Islamabad on November 27 to lock horns with the hosts in the three-match Test series.

Consequently, Karachi is being considered to be the backup venue to host the opening Test, while the city is also scheduled to host the third Test.

Furthermore, according to a PCB official, no decision has been made to alter the schedule; only the change of location is being considered, and even that decision will only be made after consultation with the government and all stakeholders.

“No decision has been taken to change the schedule, Plan B option is definitely under consideration,” a well-placed source in PCB told.

“The decision to alter the venue will be taken after consultation with all stakeholders and the government’s advice. The change in schedule will be announced after the approval of the government authorities.”

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LAHORE: Nida Dar starred with a brilliant all-round performance to help Pakistan women’s team beat Ireland by six wickets in the second Twenty20 international to level the three-match series by 1-1, here at Gaddafi Stadium on Monday.

Middle-order batter Ayesha Naseem smashed a quickfire 25 not-out off 12, hitting two sixes and four to take the Green Shirts home while chasing 119 in a rain-reduced 17 overs per side game.

The Player of the match, Dar,  grabbed two wickets before she went on to score 25-ball 28 to steer his side to a commanding position in the game.

Opener Javeria Khan, however, top-scored for the side with a cautious knock of 35 off 39 while she stitched an anchoring 46-run partnership with Dar for the third wicket to frustrate the Irish bowlers.

Earlier, Pakistan bowled superbly in the first innings after they opted to field first, reducing the visitors to 118/7 in the allotted 17 overs.

Nashra Sandhu and Nida Dar stormed through the middle order, with each bagging two wickets and stuck Ireland to a low total despite a flourishing start.

For Ireland, opener Amy Hunter remained the top-scorer with her skilful knock of 36 off 39 while no 3 batter Orla Prendergast contributed 20 off 17. Rebecca Stokell, however, played a late cameo scoring 17 off 12 laced with two boundaries. 

It is pertinent to mention here that the two teams will face each in the T20I series decider and last fixture of the Ireland Women’s tour of Pakistan on Wednesday (November 16) at the same venue.

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LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has put the tickets on sale for the first Test between Pakistan and England, scheduled to take place at Pindi Cricket Stadium from 1-5 December.

According to the details, the ticket pricing for the four VIP enclosures – Imran Khan, Javed Akhtar, Javed Miandad and Azhar Mahmood – has been set at PKR500, while for the Premiere enclosures – Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Miran Bakhsh and Yasir Arafat – the price has been kept PKR250 each day.

The tickets have been made available online on Wednesday (October 2) at 1000 PST. The tickets can be purchased via www.bookme.pk, over the telephone (0092 313 778 6888) or through the box office and M&P outlets.

It is pertinent to mention that England last toured Pakistan for the Test series in 2005. The two teams will lock horns in a three-match Test series from December 1 to 19.

Besides Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi, Multan and Karachi will host the second and third Test respectively.

The ticket prices for the remaining two Tests will be announced in due course.

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LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday, revealed the player draft pick for the upcoming eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), defending champions Lahore Qalandars will make the first pick.

According to the PCB, the Pick Order was decided through a random draw at the Pakistan Cricket Board offices and participated by representatives of the six franchises.

The winner of the 2019 edition, Quetta Gladiators and 2021 champions Multan Sultans will have second and third picks respectively.

The champions of the 2022 edition, Karachi Kings will make the fourth pick, while two-time champions Islamabad United will have the fifth pick.

The 2017 champions Peshawar Zalmi, on the other hand, will make the last pick in the draft.

🚨 HBL PSL 8 Draft pick order 🚨

Read more: https://t.co/91cu9WQyY1 #HBLPSLDraft pic.twitter.com/lsthkuE4mm

— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) October 31, 2022

 

The next 17 rounds were decided through a special statistical tool.

It is pertinent to mention that PCB renewed the local player categories on Wednesday (October 26), whereas, further details about PSL 8 draft will be announced in due course.

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LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has unveiled the commentary and presenter panel for the upcoming women’s series between Pakistan and Ireland, former captain Sana Mir included.

In a press release, PCB revealed that former Irish cricketer and renowned commentator Andrew Leonard will also be commentating in the upcoming series.

Former captain Sana will only commentate amid the WT20I series, scheduled for 12, 14 and 16 November.

Marina Iqbal, Ali Younis, Andrew Leonard, Sikander Bakht and Shah Faisal, on the other hand, will commentate through the tour from November 4 to 16.

Ireland Women’s cricket team’s tour to Pakistan also includes a three-match ODI series, scheduled from November 4 to 9. The series is a part of the ICC Women’s Championship.

Gaddafi Stadium will host all six tour matches, while entry for spectators to the stadium will be free and four enclosures namely Fazal Mahmood, Imran Khan, Rajas and Saeed Anwar will be open for fans.

Series Schedule

4 November – First ODI
6 November – Second ODI
9 November – Third ODI
12 November – First T20I
14 November – Second T20I
16 November – Third T20I

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LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) renewed the local player categories for the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), scheduled to commence on February 9, 2023.

Following renewal, the categories of some players have been upgraded which include Multan Sultans’ Shahnawaz Dahani and Shan Masood (both Gold to Diamond), Islamabad United’s Mohammad Wasim Junior (Gold to Diamond), Peshawar Zalmi’s Haider Ali and Mohammad Haris (Diamond to Platinum and Silver to Gold respectively), Quetta Gladiators’ Mohammad Nawaz and Naseem Shah (Diamond to Platinum and  Gold to Diamond respectively).

Whereas, United’s Hasan Ali and Zalmi’s Wahab Riaz, were both demoted from Platinum to Diamond category, while Gladiators’ Sarfaraz Ahmed was demoted from Platinum to Gold, Sultans’ Sohaib Maqsood and United’s Faheem Ashraf both demoted from Diamond to Gold.

The PCB has also opened the registration window for foreign players.

Foreign Player Registrations open 📢

Local Category Renewals for HBL PSL 8 👇

Read more:https://t.co/6n0xVrr3Tb#HBLPSLDraft #HBLPSL8 pic.twitter.com/WPTTkxSEQI

— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) October 25, 2022

“The teams will now put forward relegation requests for the players before finalising retentions. After relegation requests are floated, all teams are given an opportunity to meet the player’s base category. If the player’s base category is not matched, the player may be relegated to a category below his base category,” the PCB said in a press release.

“U23 players cannot be part of a squad as an Emerging player for more than two years unless they have played nine or less matches in those two years.

“The player lists have been shared with the six franchises for the tournament to be played across four venues from 9 February to 19 March 2023.”

Teams’ squads after categories renewal

Karachi Kings

Platinum: Babar Azam and Imad Wasim
Diamond: Mohammad Amir
Gold: Amir Yamin, Mir Hamza, Sahibzada Farhan, Sharjeel Khan, Usman Shinwari
Silver: Mohammad Ilyas, Muhammad Imran Jr, Rohail Nazir, Umaid Asif
Emerging: Faisal Akram, Mohammad Taha, Qasim Akram and Talha Ahsan

Islamabad United

Platinum: Shadab Khan and Asif Ali
Diamond: Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim Jr
Gold: Azam Khan, Danish Aziz, Faheem Ashraf, Musa Khan, Waqas Maqsood, Zafar Gohar, Zahid Mehmood
Silver: Athar Mahmood, Mohammad Akhlaq, Nasir Nawaz
Emerging: Mohammad Huraira, Mubasir Khan and Zeeshan Zamir

Quetta Gladiators

Platinum: Mohammad Nawaz
Diamond: Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah
Gold: Ahsan Ali, Mohammad Irfan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal
Silver: Ali Imran, Ghulam Mudassar, Hassan Khan, Khurram Shahzad
Emerging: Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Ashar Qureshi and Mohammad Shahzad

Peshawar Zalmi

Platinum: Haider Ali
Diamond: Shoaib Malik and Wahab Riaz
Gold: Aamer Jamal, Amad Butt, Arshad Iqbal, Hussain Talat, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Haris, Sohail Khan, Usman Qadir
Silver: Ali Majid, Khalid Usman, Mohammad Amir Khan, Mohammad Umar, Salman Irshad, Sameen Gul, Tayyab Tahir
Emerging: Arish Ali Khan, Sirajuddin and Yasir Khan

Multan Sultans

Platinum: Mohammad Rizwan
Diamond: Khushdil Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shan Masood
Gold: Anwar Ali, Imran Khan Snr, Rumman Raees, Sohaib Maqsood
Silver: Rizwan Hussain
Emerging: Aamer Azmat, Abbas Afridi and Ihsanullah

Lahore Qalandars

Platinum: Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi
Diamond: Mohammad Hafeez
Gold: Abdullah Shafique
Silver: Ahmad Daniyal Latif, Akif Javed, Imran Randhawa, Kamran Ghulam, Maaz Khan, Sohail Akhtar, Zeeshan Ashraf
Emerging: Syed Faridoun Mahmood and Zaman Khan

MELBOURNE: Pakistan left-handed batter Shan Masood returned to the team hotel here after being hit on the head during the national team’s scheduled training session on Friday.

Earlier, a ball hit Shan on the right-hand side of his head during Pakistan’s net session at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) after which he was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

As per the latest development, however, Shan has returned clear medical tests and consequently shifted back to the hotel.

“The left-handed batter sustained minor swelling from the blow but neurological observations are normal,” said PCB.

It is pertinent to mention that Shan will remain under observation and will have a concussion checkup on Saturday.

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LAHORE: Left-handed batter Fakhar Zaman has replaced leg-spinner, Usman Qadir, in the 15-member squad of the men’s cricket team for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Friday.

Following the conclusion of the T20I Tri-series in New Zealand, the PCB has made one change to their final squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup, starting from October 16 in Australia, as left-arm batter Fakhar and leg-spinner Usman are swapping places.

The substitution was made as Usman failed to recover from a hairline fracture on his right thumb, which he sustained amid the historic T20I series against England.

The leg-spinner, therefore, will not be considered for selection before October 22.

Despite Usman’s exclusion from the 15-member squad, the leg-spinner would still accompany the national team in Australia as he is a part of the travelling reserves.

Fakhar, on the other hand, will join the national contingent in Brisbane along with ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi and will be available for selection in green shirts’ two warm-up matches against England (October 17) and Afghanistan (October 19).

The team management will assess the left-handed batter’s fitness during the warm-up matches.

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood.

Travelling reserves: Mohammad Haris, Shahnawaz Dahani and Usman Qadir.