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GEELONG: Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan endured a forgettable start to his Big Bash League (BBL) journey, managing just four runs on debut for Melbourne Renegades against Brisbane Heat at the GMHBA Stadium on Monday.

Rizwan, the former Pakistan white-ball captain, walked in at number three after opener Josh Brown was dismissed for 15 in the fourth over by Xavier Bartlett.

Tasked with stabilising the innings, Rizwan partnered Tim Seifert at the crease but struggled to settle into the rhythm of the contest.

While Seifert looked fluent, Rizwan found it difficult to rotate the strike and build momentum.

He laboured to four runs from nine deliveries and perished on the tenth ball he faced, attempting to slog Patrick Dooley over the leg side.

The shot lacked timing and elevation, resulting in a straightforward catch for Max Bryant, bringing an early end to his stay at the crease.

Paddy Dooley gets the wicket of Muhammad Rizwan!

Having played one match previously for the Heat in BBL|11, it’s a first wicket in teal for Dools in his comeback game 🩵 #BBL15 pic.twitter.com/6C0YaX2VTc

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) December 15, 2025

Rizwan’s modest return came just a day after another Pakistan superstar, Babar Azam, also endured a tough initiation into the BBL.

Representing the Sydney Sixers in the tournament opener against the Perth Scorchers on Sunday, Babar managed only two runs from five balls.

Opening the innings, Babar lost his partner, Daniel Hughes, on the second delivery before cautiously getting off the mark later in the over.

The right-hander struggled to impose himself and was eventually dismissed by Brody Couch, failing to clear mid-on, where Laurie Evans completed a comfortable catch.

After Babar’s early exit, the Perth Scorchers went on to secure victory, powered by Cooper Connolly’s aggressive 59 off 31 deliveries in the curtain-raiser of BBL 15.

READ: Pakistan-Bangladesh all-format series likely to be rescheduled: sources

Pakistan’s all-format tour of Bangladesh is expected to be moved to a different window as both boards look to avoid a scheduling clash with the 11th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), sources confirmed on Sunday.

As per the existing Future Tour Programme (FTP), Pakistan were slated to tour Bangladesh in March-April 2026 for a full bilateral series, featuring two Test matches, three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 Internationals.

However, the original window now appears untenable after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi announced earlier on Sunday that PSL 11 will run from March 26 to May 3 next year.

The overlap has prompted discussions between the two cricket boards, with a rescheduling of the Bangladesh tour emerging as the most likely outcome.

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A Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) source confirmed that the series will be shifted to an alternative window while making it clear that the tour’s structure will remain intact.

“The series will be rescheduled. The two boards are in discussions,” the source said, adding that the number of matches will not be reduced under any circumstances.

The source also indicated that adjustments could be made within the limited-overs leg of the tour, with ODIs and T20Is potentially being reshuffled to suit the new schedule.

An official announcement is expected once consultations with the PCB are finalised.

READ: Sachin Tendulkar shares heartfelt message after meeting Lionel Messi

MUMBAI: Legendary Indian batter Sachin Tendulkar shared a heartfelt message on social media following an unforgettable meeting with Argentina’s FIFA World Cup-winning superstar Lionel Messi at the iconic Wankhede Stadium on Sunday.

Messi, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, arrived in Mumbai earlier in the day as part of his GOAT India Tour 2025, with the city’s stop emerging as the centrepiece of his visit.

The atmosphere at Wankhede in the evening was electric, as chants of “Messi, Messi” rang around the stadium when the Argentine great walked out alongside Inter Miami teammates Luis Suárez and Rodrigo De Paul.

The reception reached another level when Tendulkar, Mumbai’s own sporting icon, joined Messi on the field, triggering thunderous applause from the packed stands.

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The moment symbolised a rare convergence of greatness, with both legends synonymous with the iconic No.10 jersey and celebrated for redefining excellence in their respective sports.

Tendulkar presented Messi with his India No.10 jersey from the historic 2011 World Cup triumph, a gesture that drew loud cheers from fans.

Soon after the meeting, Tendulkar took to his official X account to share his joy.

“Must say, today was a 10/10 day Leo Messi 😉,” Tendulkar wrote, alongside a picture of him handing over his No.10 Team India jersey to the football icon.

Must say, today was a 10/10 day Leo Messi 😉 pic.twitter.com/L6AaYY1PdL

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) December 14, 2025

Beyond the star-studded exchange, Messi and his teammates also spent time on the pitch with young girls from Maharashtra’s grassroots football initiative, Project Mahadeva.

The budding footballers shared a once-in-a-lifetime experience as they passed the ball around with Messi watching closely and joining in.

The celebrations continued as Messi and his teammates took turns kicking footballs into the crowd, each effort drawing louder roars from the stands.

Project Mahadeva was later officially unveiled by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis alongside Messi, with the Chief Minister thanking the Argentine star for inspiring the next generation and expressing hope that these young players would one day feature in a FIFA World Cup.

Actor Tiger Shroff, who is associated with the initiative, was also present and met Messi on the field.

READ: Rodrygo nets winner as Real Madrid edge past Alaves

Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo struck goals to earn Real Madrid a tense 2-1 win at Alaves in La Liga on Sunday to potentially keep coach Xabi Alonso in his job.

Second-placed Madrid trimmed league leaders Barcelona’s advantage back to four points and recorded only their third victory in the last nine games across all competitions.

After a home defeat by Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday, Spanish media reported that anything but a victory would cost Alonso his position.

After Mbappe’s superb opener, Carlos Vicente pulled Alaves level in the second half, but Rodrygo secured the visitors a much-needed victory at Mendizorroza Stadium.

Alonso was able to bring his key player, Mbappe, back into the side after he could only watch the defeat by City from the bench because of a painful knee.

The coach also handed a debut to Victor Valdepenas at left-back, with both Alvaro Carreras and Fran Garcia suspended, and Ferland Mendy one of several players out injured.

Mbappe appeared to be feeling his knee and also hobbling in the first few minutes, but, despite that, he was the game’s most influential player.

The forward had a shot deflected wide and then fired narrowly over as Alaves sat deep and tried to keep the 15-time European champions at bay.

By the time Mbappe opened the scoring in the 25th minute, his discomfort seemed to have cleared up.

Released by Jude Bellingham, Mbappe drove towards goal at full tilt and whipped a shot into the top right corner for his 17th league goal of the campaign.

England international Bellingham then blasted home from close range, but his strike was ruled out for handball.

Needing to fight back, Alaves moved on to the front foot and took control of the game before the break, almost pulling level.

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Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a fine save with his head, even if he knew little about it, to deny Pablo Ibanez from close range.

Los Blancos were dangerous again soon after the interval, with Alaves goalkeeper Antonio Sivera saving well from Mbappe and then Vinicius Junior.

Real came to rue those misses when Vicente pulled Alaves level after 68 minutes.

The forward got in behind Antonio Rudiger, controlled former Madrid midfielder Antonio Blanco’s chipped pass and whipped a shot past Courtois.

Eduardo Coudet’s side almost took the lead when Vicente’s low cross from the right was nudged wide by Toni Martinez, who was nudged off-balance by Raul Asencio’s pressure.

Instead, Madrid pulled back in front, with Vinicius breaking in down the left and crossing for Rodrygo to finish from six yards out.

It was the Brazilian’s second goal in two games after going the previous 32 matches without finding the net, and a tense Alonso celebrated wildly, knowing that his future could depend on it.

Vinicius had appeals for a penalty turned down as he fell under a challenge from Nahuel Tenaglia, and Bellingham came close in stoppage time as Madrid tried in vain to ease their nerves by putting the game to bed.

Third-place Villarreal’s visit to Levante was postponed because of a weather warning in the Valencia region.

Real Oviedo, 19th, sacked coach Luis Carrion after a 4-0 hammering at Sevilla.

On Saturday, champions Barcelona beat Osasuna 2-0 to win a seventh straight La Liga game and ensure that they will lead the table into 2026, regardless of what happens in the final round of fixtures before the winter break.

READ: England make one change to Playing XI for third Ashes Test

England paceman Gus Atkinson was axed, with Josh Tongue replacing him in the playing XI for the third Ashes Test against Australia in Adelaide starting Wednesday as the tourists fight to stay alive in the series.

It was England’s only change, with off-spinner Will Jacks keeping his place ahead of Shoaib Bashir.

Atkinson struggled in eight-wicket defeats at Perth and Brisbane, clobbered for 236 with just three wickets to show for it.

Tongue was named Monday for his seventh Test to complement a pace attack led by Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and skipper Ben Stokes.

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Bashir was considered England’s number one spinner leading into the tour, but he was overlooked in an all-pace attack for Perth, then Jacks got the nod in Brisbane.

Jacks only bowled 11.3 overs at the Gabba, taking 1-34, but was composed with the bat, cracking a gritty 41 in the second innings in a 96-run stand with Stokes.

England kept their same top seven, with the under-performing Ollie Pope fending off Jacob Bethell to retain his place at number three.

England Playing XI for third Ashes Test

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith, Will Jacks, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue

WATCH: Sachin Tendulkar gifts iconic No.10 India jersey to Lionel Messi

Virgil van Dijk wants Mohamed Salah to stay at Liverpool despite the Egyptian star’s incendiary rant about the club, but the Reds captain admits he does not know what will happen over the next few weeks.

Salah came off the bench against Brighton on Saturday for his first appearance since claiming he had been “thrown under the bus” by the club following last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Leeds.

The forward also said in the same interview at Elland Road that he had no relationship with Liverpool manager Arne Slot, who had named him as a substitute for three straight games.

Salah was then omitted from the midweek Champions League trip to Inter Milan, a 1-0 win for Liverpool, but he was back in action as a first-half substitute against Brighton.

The 33-year-old provided an assist for Hugo Ekitike’s second goal in a much-needed 2-0 win, but will now jet to the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) and could be absent for five weeks.

After the match, Slot said there was “no issue to resolve” with his star forward, but speculation continues to rumble over the player’s future.

Van Dijk is adamant that he wants Salah to stay and said he had told him so.

“I would love to have him around because he is one of the leaders, but the fact is he is going to AFCON. We will be in contact over the next days and weeks like we always are and let’s see,” the Dutch defender said.

“I wish him absolutely all the best — and (to) come back, hopefully. I have no control over that.

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“We hope he will be absolutely successful there, and we all hope he will be coming back to be important for the rest of the season.

“But, on the other side of it, we all know football and have no idea what is going to happen.”

Premier League champions Liverpool ended a tumultuous week by extending their unbeaten run to five matches in all competitions.

Van Dijk said it proved the dressing room had not been distracted by the Salah situation.

“As a captain I have to deal with how the boys react to it and they reacted perfectly fine. Mo, in the end, reacted perfectly fine as well,” he added.

Van Dijk also praised Slot for dealing with a tumultuous period at Liverpool, whose Premier League title defence has collapsed in recent weeks.

“There is a lot of noise, pressure from the outside world and rightly so as we’ve not been close to the standard we were showing last season,” he said.

“But personally looking at it, and from the conversations we have on a daily basis, I think he has handled it very well.

“This moment of time is a very good moment to see how everyone responds. I think the manager has done perfectly.”

READ: PCB Chief Naqvi announces PSL 11 kickoff date

DUBAI: Pakistan’s emerging batter Ahmed Hussain took an outstanding acrobatic catch during the ACC U19 Asia Cup 2025 clash against arch-rivals India here at the ICC Academy on Sunday.

Ahmed, fresh from a century in the previous outing against Malaysia, demonstrated his next-level fielding skills after pulling a fantastic catch at point during the 20th over of the Indian innings.

Left-arm spinner Niqab Shafiq bowled a wide delivery, which allowed the batter Vedant Trivedi to cut it through the point region; however, Ahmed Hussain plucked it out of the air, which left everybody stunned.

 

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A post shared by Asian Cricket Council (@asiancricketcouncil)

Following the catch, seasoned commentator Roshan Abeysinghe was in awe and praised the fielder for taking a beauty while Ahmed’s teammates rallied around him in celebration.

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The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) also shared the video on its social media handles.

“Ahmed Hussain snatches it out of thin air! Vedant is frozen in disbelief ~ he has to walk back,” the caption wrote.

Nonetheless, India managed to defeat Pakistan by 90 runs as the Green Shirts’ batting line faltered in pursuit of the 241-run target.

Deepesh Devendran produced an all-round performance with the bat and ball as he scored a vital 46 runs lower down, which was backed by three wickets.

For Pakistan, Huzaifa Ahsan played a valiant knock, amassing 70 runs from 83 balls laced with nine fours and two sixes.

Playing XIs

Pakistan: Usman Khan, Sameer Minhas, Ali Hassan Baloch, Ahmed Hussain, Farhan Yousaf (c), Hamza Zahoor(w), Huzaifa Ahsan, Niqab Shafiq, Abdul Subhan, Mohammad Sayyam, and Ali Raza.

India: Ayush Mhatre(c), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Aaron George, Vihaan Malhotra, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu(w), Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Deepesh Devendran, Kishan Kumar Sing,h and Henil Patel.

READ: PCB Chief Naqvi announces PSL 11 kickoff date

NEW YORK: Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 will be held from March 26 to May 3, 2026, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi announced on Sunday.

The announcement was made during the league’s second global roadshow in New York, which was attended by several current and former cricketers — Salman Ali Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Saim Ayub, Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, Wasim Akram, and Ramiz Raja.

“A lot of investors here asked us about the timeline of the PSL. So, I can tell you one thing that the PSL 11, by the will of Almighty Allah, will start on March 26, and we are planning to hold the final on May 3,” Naqvi revealed.

Mohsin Naqvi also announced the revised schedule for the auction of the two new PSL teams, noting that it will now take place on January 8.

A few days earlier, Mohsin Naqvi wrote about the extension on his ‘X’ handle in which he also mentioned the upcoming second roadshow aimed at attracting investors worldwide.

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“Witnessing growing interest from the Europe, USA, the Middle East and beyond in acquiring new HBL PSL teams, we have decided to extend the bid submission deadline by one week to 22 December 2025,” Mohsin Naqvi wrote.

For those unaware, the roadshows are part of the PCB’s global outreach strategy aimed at engaging with international investors ahead of the auction of two HBL PSL franchises.

It is pertinent to mention that PSL, which began in 2016 with five outfits, is set to expand with the addition of two new teams.

Notably, the league expanded to five teams in 2018 with the addition of Multan Sultans.

With the addition of two new teams, the league will undergo its first major restructuring in seven years, taking the total to eight teams.

READ: Connolly stars as Scorchers outplay Sixers in BBL 15 opener

PERTH: Cooper Connolly smashed 59 off 31balls to propel Perth Scorchers to victory over Sydney Sixers in the opening game of the Big Bash League (BBL) 15 here at the Perth Stadium on Sunday.

Set 114, Scorchers chased down the target with five balls to spare, losing five wickets in the process, in a match reduced to 11 overs per side due to rain.

The home side chase started on a poor note as they lost their opening wicket on the third ball of the first over. Mitchell Marsh was caught at first slip by Babar Azam for a duck.

After the early wicket, Finn Allen and Connolly added 39 for the second wicket partnership as the scorecard read 39-1 in 3.5 overs.

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Allen was caught after scoring 16 off eight with the help of two maximums.

Sydney Sixers tried to make a comeback with another wicket in the last over of the powerplay. Jack Edwards sent back Aaron Hardie for 13 to give his side an opening, however Connolly kept the Sixers at bay with his gutsy knock.

Eventually, Scorchers crossed the finishing line despite losing Connolly and Lauria Evans in the ninth over. Skipper Ashton Turner remained unbeaten with 16 from nine balls.

For Sydney Sixers, Ben Dwarshuis picked up two wickets.

Earlier, after being put into bat first, Sydney Sixers managed to put 113 for 5 in their allotted 11 overs.

Scorchers inflicted a poor start on Sixers as both of their opening batters were sent back inside the first three overs. Hughes departed for a duck on the third ball of the innings, followed by Babar Azam’s wicket, who only made two.

As a result, Sydney Sixers were reduced to 15-2 in 2.5 overs.

They were put into further dire straits with wickets in the fourth and fifth over, as seasoned batters Moises Henriques and Josh Philippe went back to the pavilion.

Henriques made nine while Philippe scored 28 from 18 with the aid of three fours and a six.

Despite the wickets, Sixers managed to post a respectable total courtesy of Jack Edwards brisk knock. Edwards hit 46 from 21 balls, laced with two sixes and half a dozen boundaries.

For Perth Scorchers, Brody Couch scalped two wickets in his two overs.

READ: WATCH: John Cena bids farewell to wrestling after emotional defeat

PERTH: Perth Scorchers have won the bat flip toss and decided to bowl first against Sydney Sixers in the opening match of the Big Bash League (BBL) 15 here at the Perth Stadium on Sunday.

Due to bad weather, the toss was delayed by half an hour in a match reduced to 11 overs per side.

Playing XIs

Sydney Sixers XI: Babar Azam, Daniel Hughes, Josh Philippe (wk), Moises Henriques (capt), Lachlan Shaw, Jack Edwards, Ben Dwarshuis, Joel Davis, Charlie Stobo, Mitch Perry, Todd Murphy

Perth Scorchers XI: Mitchell Marsh, Finn Allen, Cooper Connolly, Aaron Hardie, Ashton Turner (capt), Laurie Evans, Nick Hobson, Ashton Agar, Joel Paris, Brody Couch, Mahli Beardman

READ: Pakistan bowl out India for 240 in U19 Asia Cup clash