Category: Cricket

The newly added Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen have signed Australia ace all-rounder Glenn Maxwell ahead of the landmark season 11.

The signing was confirmed via the franchise’s official social media accounts.

“𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑳𝑨𝒀𝑴𝑨𝑲𝑬𝑹. 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑩𝑰𝑮-𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑮𝑬 𝑩𝑬𝑨𝑺𝑻. 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑿-𝑭𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑶𝑹. Impossible? That’s not a word in his dictionary,” the franchise wrote.

“Inevitable? Nothing but destruction. Hold onto your seats tight, the biggest show in #HBLPSL is about to begin,” it added.

This will be the talismanic batter’s first appearance in the PSL, having previously represented several teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Glenn Maxwell, 37, has extensive experience with 129 T20I matches and scored 2,897 runs at a strike rate of 158.42.

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Overall, he has played 502 T20s, amassing 10,986 runs at an average of 27.53, including eight centuries and 58 half-centuries. The right-hander has also recorded the highest score of 154.

For the unversed, Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen secured their place in the PSL after being acquired by Fawad Sarwar’s Kingsmen Group, who won the franchise rights with a bid worth Rs1.75 billion (approximately $6.25 million).

On the field, the franchise has begun shaping a competitive squad.

They retained promising talents Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Maaz Sadaqat, and Akif Javed, while also strengthening their lineup with the direct signing of Australian star batter Marnus Labuschagne for the upcoming season.

The team has also assembled an experienced coaching staff. Former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie has been appointed head coach, with Grant Bradburn set to serve as fielding coach under his leadership.

The landmark PSL 11 season is scheduled to begin on March 26, while the much-anticipated player auction will take place on February 11.

Hyderabad Houston Kingsmen squad:

Saim Ayub, Akif Javed, Maaz Sadaqat, Marnus Labuschagne (Direct Signing), Glenn Maxwell, Usman Khan, Mohammad Ali, Kusal Perera, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Hassan Khan, Shayan Jahangir, Ottniel Baartman, Hammad Azam, Riley Meredith, Sharjeel Khan, Asif Mehmood, Hunain Shah, Rizwan Mehmood, Saad Ali, and Tayyab Arif.

READ: T20 World Cup: Unbeaten Zimbabwe stun Sri Lanka in thrilling win

COLOMBO: Brian Bennett and Sikandar Raza starred for Zimbabwe in a resounding run chase against hosts Sri Lanka in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 here at the R. Premadasa Stadium on Thursday.

T20 World Cup surprise package Zimbabwe beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in Colombo Thursday to finish the group stage unbeaten and carry some winning momentum into the Super Eights.

Chasing 179 they finished 182-4 with three balls to spare against the co-hosts at the R. Premadasa stadium in Colombo.

Ranked 11th in the world, Zimbabwe upset former champions Australia last week.

They also beat Oman and shared the points when their game against Ireland was washed out on Tuesday.

Zimbabwe needed a tricky 65 off 36 balls when captain Sikandar Raza blasted 20 off an over from leg-spinner Dushan Hemantha, including two sixes and a four, to swing the match.

Raza and Brian Bennett added 69 off 40 deliveries for the third wicket and though Raza fell in the 19th over for 45, Zimbabwe eased to their target.

Opener Bennett batted through the innings to be 63 not out.

Needing eight off the final over, Tony Munyonga clubbed Maheesh Theekshana’s first ball for six to calm any Zimbabwe nerves before Bennett hit the winning boundary.

“We have trained for every situation. Then we have the right personnel to send in at the right time,” said Raza, who was named player of the match.

“We have got all those roles clear and that is why you see the confidence in the changing room.”

It was Zimbabwe’s second-highest successful run chase in T20 internationals.

After opting to bat first, Pathum Nissanka held Sri Lanka’s innings together again.

Nissanka had become the first centurion of the tournament against Australia on Monday, and he followed that up with a solid 62 off 47 balls.

It was his seventh fifty in T20 World Cups, equalling Mahela Jayawardene for the most by a Sri Lankan.

Sri Lanka scored 178-7 against Zimbabwe as both teams had their final run-out before they began their Super Eights campaign.

Both sides are looking to carry the momentum into the second phase of the competition in the match

Pathum Nissanka, who had become the first centurion of the tournament earlier this week, followed up with a solid 62 off 47 balls.

It was his seventh fifty in T20 World Cups, equalling Mahela Jayawardene for the most by a Sri Lankan.

Nissanka and Kusal Perera put together 54 off 30 balls for the first wicket.

He then shared a 46-run stand in 43 balls for the second wicket with Kusal Mendis.

Pavan Rathnayake cut loose during the death overs, posting 44 off 25 balls with three fours and two sixes.

Veteran leg-spinner Graeme Cremer was the pick of the Zimbabwe bowlers, finishing with 2-27.

Giant paceman Blessing Muzarabani took 2-38.

Sri Lanka open their Super Eights campaign against England in Kandy on Sunday, while Zimbabwe will face the West Indies in Mumbai on Monday.

READ: Unbeaten West Indies cruise past Italy to seal perfect group-stage run

KOLKATA: West Indies extended their dominant run in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 with a commanding 42-run victory over Italy in their final group-stage fixture at Eden Gardens on Thursday, finishing the round unbeaten.

Defending 166, the Caribbean bowling unit delivered a clinical performance to dismiss Italy for 123 in 18 overs.

Despite brief resistance, Italy never truly threatened the target. Ben Manenti top-scored with 26 off 21 balls, while JJ Smuts struck 24 and Anthony Mosca added a quick 19, but the chase lacked momentum against disciplined bowling.

Fast bowler Shamar Joseph led the charge with an impressive four-wicket haul, finishing with 4-30 in his four overs.

Matthew Forde supported brilliantly with three wickets, while Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein chipped in with two and one, respectively, to complete a dominant bowling display.

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Earlier, the West Indies endured a shaky start after being put in to bat. Opener Brandon King fell early, followed soon by Shimron Hetmyer, leaving the side struggling at 31-2 inside the powerplay.

Captain Shai Hope then anchored the innings alongside Roston Chase, with the duo stitching a crucial 64-run stand to stabilise the innings. Chase contributed 24 before departing in the 13th over with the score at 95-3.

Hope, however, continued to dictate the tempo, producing a composed half-century that formed the backbone of the West Indies’ total. He struck 75 off 46 deliveries, hitting six fours and four sixes, before falling in the later stages.

Sherfane Rutherford provided the late push with an unbeaten 24, while Matthew Forde added a quick 16 to lift West Indies to a competitive 165.

READ: Pakistan Hockey President Tariq Bugti resigns; Ammad Butt banned

DHAKA: Aminul Haque, the new sports minister of Bangladesh, has expressed his desire to quickly ease tensions with India following the national team’s absence from the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, stressing the importance of maintaining friendly ties with neighbouring nations.

Speaking on Tuesday after taking the oath with the new cabinet, Aminul revealed he had already opened dialogue with Indian officials.

“After taking the oath today, I met with the deputy high commissioner of India at the Parliament building. I discussed the T20 World Cup with him,” he said, describing the interaction as cordial and constructive.

“We want to resolve this issue quickly through discussions because we want to maintain friendly relations with all our neighbouring countries.”

Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the ongoing global event, jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka, after the previous government opted against sending the team to India amid geopolitical tensions.

The situation escalated when the Indian government reportedly asked Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) to remove Bangladesh pacer Mustafizur Rahman from their squad, eventually leading to Bangladesh’s exclusion from the tournament.

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In a positive development for the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), the ICC confirmed on February 9 that it would not face any penalty for refusing to play matches in India.

Additionally, the board has been granted hosting rights for an out-of-turn ICC event before the 2031 Men’s ODI World Cup, which Bangladesh will co-host with India.

Aminul reiterated his government’s broader vision of rebuilding ties.

“From sports to all other sectors, we want to build a sincere and cordial relationship with India,” he said.

“Because of diplomatic complications, we could not play in the World Cup. If those issues had been discussed and settled earlier, our team might have participated.”

Despite recent tensions, bilateral cricket remains on the calendar, with India scheduled to tour Bangladesh in September for three ODIs and three T20Is, a series originally planned for August 2025 that was postponed.

READ: Abhishek Sharma joins Saim Ayub on unwanted duck list

COLOMBO: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha has expressed confidence ahead of their Super Eight clash against New Zealand in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.

Pakistan will play their first match in the Super Eight against New Zealand on Saturday, February 21.

Speaking after the match, Agha emphasized batting in the opening overs of the game and highlighted the team’s strong finish in the final overs.

“I think it has to be a complete performance. I think we batted well in powerplay, we started really well in the powerplay, and in the middle, we put partnerships on, and then we finished well,” said Agha at the post-match presentation.

“Sahibzada has been outstanding. The way he’s been batting for us for the last six months, he’s just batting really well, and he scored 100 today. I’m very happy for him,” he said.

He also lavished praise on Usman Tariq, mentioning that their performance with the ball was effective and determined.

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“And when it comes to the ball, I think we were lethal, and we were ruthless. We bowled in the right area, whether it’s a fast bowler or a spinner. I think it was a complete performance for us,” Salman Ali Agha explained.

“Trust me, it’s tough. He is a tough bowler to face. Whenever I have played him in domestic, I find it very hard because he’s someone who’s very, very tough to pick, and then when he has a pause. It becomes very, very difficult.”

The 32-year-old concluded that Pakistan and New Zealand are playing good cricket, believing that if they continued performing at their current level in the next game, they would be successful.

“I think we have been playing really good cricket. New Zealand have been playing good cricket. So, I’m guessing it will be a good game. And I think the way we are playing right now, if we replicate that kind of performance in the next game, I think we’ll be fine,” the skipper concluded.

READ: India edge spirited Netherlands in T20 World Cup clash

AHMEDABAD: Shivam Dube’s all-round performance helped unbeaten India beat the Netherlands in their final group fixture of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 here at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

India posted 193-6 and then kept the Dutch down to 176-7 with spinner Varun Chakravarthy returning figures of 3-14 in Ahmedabad to stay unbeaten in their four matches in Group A.

But a tough test awaits the co-hosts at the same venue on Sunday when they face South Africa, who emerged top of a potentially tricky Group D that had New Zealand and Afghanistan.

India finished top of their group ahead of arch-rivals Pakistan, but need to fix holes in their batting, including the form of opener Abhishek Sharma, who fell for his third straight duck in the tournament.

Abhishek was bowled on the third ball by off-spinner Aryan Dutt after India elected to bat first at the world’s biggest cricket stadium.

India were teetering at 110-4 before Shivam Dube hit a counter-attacking 66 and put on a key stand of 76 with Hardik Pandya (30).

Several batters got starts but failed to capitalise as Ishan Kishan fell for 18, Tilak Varma made 31, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav contributed 34.

Dube kept calm and hit a few lusty blows, including two sixes and a four off off-spinner Colin Ackermann, reaching his fifty off 25 balls.

He and Pandya ensured India’s innings finished strong,ly although both were dismissed in the final over at the 110,000-capacity stadium, which had a turnout of over 68,000 fans.

Dube, who hit four fours and six sixes in his 31-ball knock, was caught by substitute fielder Tim van der Gugten on the boundary rope, with Pandya picking out a fielder in the deep off the final delivery by Logan van Beek.

Dutt returned impressive figures of 2-19 from his four overs.

In reply, the Dutch openers started cautiously before Max O’Dowd fell bowled for 20 off Chakravarthy, and Pandya dismissed Michael Levitt for 24.

Bas de Leede and Ackermann attempted to put the chase back on track in their stand of 43, but Chakravarthy broke through with his mystery spin.

He sent back Ackermann, for 23, and then bowled Dutt on the next ball, before the hat-trick was avoided by skipper Scott Edwards.

The ever-increasing run rate forced the Dutch to take risks and in the process lose their wickets as De Leede (33) fell to Dube and Jasprit Bumrah took down Edwards.

Zach Lion-Cachet (26) and Noah Croes, who made an unbeaten 25, hit regular boundaries in a desperate attempt to pull off a miracle but India had runs to play with and despite two dropped catches in the last over won the match.

READ: Abhishek Sharma joins Saim Ayub on unwanted duck list

AHMEDABAD: India opener Abhishek Sharma joined Pakistan all-rounder Saim Ayub on an unwanted list with his third consecutive duck in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.

Sharma, 25, was clean bowled without scoring against the Netherlands in India’s ongoing clash.

The dismissal mirrored his duck in the Pakistan fixture, where skipper Salman Ali Agha removed him in the first over

With this duck, Abhishek Sharma entered the list of players with the most ducks recorded in a single calendar year. Saim Ayub leads the record with six ducks, achieved in 2025.

Most T20I Ducks in a Single Year

6 – Saim Ayub (Pakistan, 2025)
5 – Chalermwong Chatphaisan (Thailand, 2024)
5 – Kushal Bhurtel (Nepal, 2024)
5 – Dharma Kesuma (Indonesia, 2025)
5 – Parvez Hossain Emon (Bangladesh, 2025)
5 – Abhishek Sharma (India, 2026)

The southpaw also became the third player in T20 World Cup history to record three ducks in his first three innings and only the second Indian batter to record three ducks in a row, matching Washington Sundar’s unwanted record from 2019-2020.

The southpaw also became the third player in T20 World Cup history to register three ducks in his first three innings and only the second Indian batter to do so in consecutive innings.

Three Ducks in First Three T20I WC Innings

Ashish Nehra (IND) in 2009

Roger Mukasa (UGA) in 2024

Abhishek Sharma (IND) in 2026

Nonetheless, India posted a strong 193-run total against the Netherlands, thanks to Shivam Dube’s 66 off 31, including six maximums and four boundaries.

At the time of filing this story, the Netherlands were 57-2 in eight overs with Bas de Leede and Colin Ackermann at the crease.

Note: A statistic in this story has been revised to correct an earlier error.

READ: Shadab Khan hits back at critics over India defeat

COLOMBO: Pakistan all-rounder Shadab Khan responded to criticism from former cricketers following the team’s loss to India in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, insisting the focus remains on the bigger goal of winning the tournament.

Speaking after the match against Namibia, Shadab reminded that they have achieved what many former cricketers could not — defeating India in a World Cup match.

“Criticism is not in our hands. Former cricketers have their own opinions. They were legends, but even they could not do what we have done. We have beaten India in a World Cup,” he said to reporters.

The skipper insisted the team remains focused on winning the tournament rather than dwelling on a single defeat that has dominated discussion.

“There has been too much talk about one match. It was a big game and we should have won it. We made mistakes that should not have happened. But our goal is to win the World Cup and we are following our process,” Shadab Khan added.

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He stressed that Pakistan are moving in the right direction and must continue the positives, particularly with the bat.

“We are on the right track. We need to continue the good things we have been doing. Our batting must carry on in the same way. Sahibzada Farhan is in good form,” Shadab said.

Looking ahead to the Super Eight stage, Shadab acknowledged the competition they will face from other teams.

“The Super Eight will be difficult. These will be high-pressure matches.”  “Ramadan has begun, and it will be like our 12th player,” he concluded.

Earlier, Pakistan defeated Namibia by a hefty margin of 102 runs to qualify for the Super Eight of the mega event.

The Green Shirts will play New Zealand, England and Sri Lanka in their Super Eight fixtures.

READ: Pakistan Super Eight schedule confirmed after Namibia rout

COLOMBO: Pakistan on Wednesday became the eighth and final team to seal a berth in the Super Eight of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 with a decisive 102-run win over Namibia.

Following Pakistan’s victory, the Super Eight lineups and fixtures are now confirmed.

Pakistan finished in second place in Group A with six points from four matches. The Green Shirts won three games and lost one against their bitter rivals, India.

The Super Eight will feature four teams, split into two groups. Group 1 will feature India, Zimbabwe, West Indies, and South Africa. Group 2 will have England, New Zealand, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Each team will play every other team in its group once. The teams will not carry over their group-stage standings.

The road to the semi-final will commence with the 2009 champions, Pakistan, taking on New Zealand on February 21 in Colombo.

They will then face England on February 24 in Kandy, while their last match will be against host Sri Lanka in Colombo.

The Super Eight stage will conclude with the final match between India and West Indies in Kolkata.

T20 World Cup 2026: Pakistan Super Eights schedule

February 21: New Zealand vs Pakistan – Colombo

February 24: England vs Pakistan – Kandy

February 28: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan – Colombo

Other Super Eight Fixtures

February 22: Sri Lanka vs England – Kandy

February 22: India vs South Africa – Ahmedabad

February 23: West Indies vs Zimbabwe – Mumbai

February 25: Sri Lanka vs New Zealand – Colombo

February 26: South Africa vs West Indies – Ahmedabad

February 26: India vs Zimbabwe – Chennai

February 27: England vs New Zealand – Colombo

March 1: South Africa vs Zimbabwe – Ahmedabad

March 1: India vs West Indies – Kolkata

READ: Sahibzada Farhan joins Ahmed Shehzad in elusive list

COLOMBO: Pakistan opening batter Sahibzada Farhan joined former batter Ahmed Shehzad in an elusive list with a century against Namibia in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 here at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground on Wednesday.

Farhan’s 100* off 58 balls with the aid of four sixes and 11 fours played a vital role in propelling Pakistan to a big total of 200.

After scoring a ton, the right-hander became only the second Pakistani batter after Ahmed Shehzad to score a century in the T20 World Cup.

Previously, Shehzad had scored a century against Bangladesh in the 2014 World Cup.

The century also took Farhan to the top of the runs chart in the tournament, accumulating 220 runs in four matches at an average of 73.33.

Overall, he is the fifth Pakistani batter to score a hundred in T20Is, joining the likes of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Haris, Ahmed Shehzad, and Hasan Nawaz.

Moreover, he also became the 13th batter to make a ton in the mega event, joining the likes of Chris Gayle and other notable players.

Opting to bat first, Pakistan made a brisk start as Farhan and Saim Ayub stitched together a quickfire 40-run opening stand in just over five overs.

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The partnership ended when Jack Brassell dismissed Ayub for 14 off 12 balls, an innings that included two boundaries.

Skipper Salman Ali Agha then joined Farhan at the crease, and the pair built a steady 67-run partnership for the second wicket, guiding Pakistan past the 100-run mark and laying the foundation for a big total.

Youngster Khawaja Nafay was promoted to number four but could only manage five runs before falling to Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus.

Farhan, however, continued to dominate. Joined by Shadab Khan, the duo added an unbeaten 81-run stand for the fourth wicket to propel Pakistan to an imposing total.

Shadab, after a cautious start, accelerated to finish on 36 off 22 balls, striking one four and three sixes.

READ: South Africa cruise past UAE to seal perfect group-stage run