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ABU DHABI: Left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi on Tuesday went past Shadab Khan to become the second-highest wicket taker for Pakistan in the T20Is.

Shaheen reached the feat during Pakistan’s clash against Sri Lanka in the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 Super Fours played here at the Zayed Cricket Stadium.

The 25-year-old surpassed Shadab after removing Sri Lanka’s openers– Patthum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis.

Before heading into the match, Shaheen Afridi had scalped 111 wickets in 89 games.

Most wickets for Pakistan in Men’s T20Is

Haris Rauf – 128 wickets in 89 innings
Shaheen Shah Afridi – 113 wickets in 90 innings*
Shadab Khan – 112 wickets in 104 innings
Shahid Afridi – 97 wickets in 96 innings
Saeed Ajmal – 85 wickets in 60 innings

Overall, Shaheen Afridi took three wickets in his four overs and gave away 28 runs. Courtesy of his bowling effort, Sri Lanka were restricted to a modest 133-run total in their 20 overs.

It is pertinent to mention that Shaheen Afridi picked only three wickets in five games before playing the match against Sri Lanka.

However, he played crucial cameos with the bat to lift Pakistan out of trouble in the group stage fixtures of the Asia Cup 2025 against India and UAE.

Playing XIs

Sri Lanka XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka (capt), Dasun Shanaka, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara

Pakistan XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Agha (capt.), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Haris (wk), Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

READ: England name pace-heavy squad for Ashes 2025

ABU DHABI: Hussain Talat stood tall with bat and ball to script a crucial win for Pakistan over Sri Lanka in the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 Super Fours here at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Green Shirts chased down the target in 18 overs, losing five wickets in the process.

The openers were off to a flyer, piling up 45 runs in 5.3 overs. However, Sri Lanka made a strong comeback in the fifth over, removing both openers to dent Pakistan’s progress.

Maheesh Theekshan struck twice, first removing dangerous Sahibzada Farhan and then Fakhar Zaman, to put Sri Lanka back into the game.

Sahibzada departed after scoring 24 from 15 balls, striking two sixes and a boundary, while Fakhar made 17 from 19 with the aid of two fours.

The wickets gave the Islanders an opening, and they further jolted Pakistan with quick wickets. Saim Ayub’s poor form continued as he was castled for two while Salman Ali Agha perished soon after, adding only five to the total.

Mohammad Haris was also cleaned up by Dushmanta Chameera for 13 after a brief partnership of 23 runs with Hussain Talat. As a result, Pakistan were reduced to 80-5 in 11.1 overs.

Yet, Pakistan emerged victorious, and it was all due to Hussain Talat’s calm and composed innings. The left-hander forged a decisive 58-run stand with Mohammad Nawaz, who also chipped in at the end to take Pakistan home.

Hussain made 32* from 30 balls, striking four boundaries, whereas Nawaz struck back-to-back sixes to take his runs tally to 38*. He hit three fours and three sixes in his impressive knock.

For Sri Lanka, Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana took two wickets each.

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Earlier, Shaheen Afridi’s impressive three-wicket haul restricted Sri Lanka to 133-8 in their 20 overs.

The Islanders were jolted early, with Shaheen Afridi removing both openers. Kusal Mendis fell for nought on the second ball of the first over, whereas in-form Pathum Nissanka was caught behind in the third over.

As a result, Sri Lanka slipped to 18-2 in 2.2 overs. However, the batters tried to counterattack, accumulating some vital runs.

Kusal Perera and skipper Charith Asalanka added 25 from 19 on the third wicket before the former was caught off Haris Rauf’s bowling in the fifth over. The left-hander managed to score 15 from 12 balls.

Despite scoring quickly, the eight over from medium pacer Hussain Talat was the cherry on top for Pakistan. Talat, bowling his first over of the tournament, removed Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka on back-to-back deliveries, which slumped them to 58-5.

The wickets sparked a mini collapse and dragged the run-rate down, though Kamindu Mendis fought back with anchoring a half-century to lift his team out of trouble.

The left-hander made 50 from 44 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes.

For Pakistan, it was an all-round performance with Shaheen Afridi leading the attack and picking up three wickets in his quota of four overs. Hussain Talat and Haris Rauf were equally good, scalping two apiece.

READ: England name pace-heavy squad for Ashes 2025

LONDON: The England Cricket Board (ECB) on Tuesday named a 16-member pace-heavy squad for the Ashes tour to Australia with Harry Brook replacing Ollie Pope as vice-captain.

Alongside Ashes, England have also named IT20 and ODI squads for the white-ball tour of New Zealand, which precedes the Ashes.

The squad features five 90mph seamers: Mark Wood, Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, and Josh Tongue. Among the notable inclusions is the recall of all-rounder Will Jacks, whose last appearance in the longest format came against Pakistan in 2022.

The 26-year-old, who will provide England with an attacking option with the bat, is picked ahead of Rehan Ahmed, Liam Dawson, and Jack Leach.

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Besides the inclusion of Jacks and the change of Ben Stokes’ deputy, the squad is largely as expected.

The decision to change Pope as vice-captain was looming since Brook took over the captaincy reins from Jos Buttler in white-ball cricket. Notably, Pope has captained the Three Lions five times in the absence of Ben Stokes in the past five months.

England Test squad vs Australia:

Ben Stokes (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook (vice-captain), Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wicketkeeper), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood.

England T20I squad vs New Zealand:

Harry Brook (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Luke Wood.

England ODI squad vs New Zealand:

Jofra Archer, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, and Jamie Smith replace Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, and Phil Salt from the T20I squad.

New Zealand fixtures (all D/N):

T20Is: October 18, 20 (both Christchurch) and 23 (Auckland).
ODIs: October 26 (Mount Maunganui), 29 (Hamilton), and November 1 (Wellington).

Ashes fixtures:

1st Test: November 21-25 (Perth)
2nd Test: December 4-8 (Brisbane, D/N)
3rd Test: December 17-21 (Adelaide)
4th Test: December 25-29 (Melbourne)
5th Test: January 3-7 (Sydney)

READ: PCB chief meets Shan, Azhar ahead of Test series against South Africa

ABU DHABI: Pakistan have won the toss and opted to bowl first against Sri Lanka in the third fixture of the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025 Super Fours here at the Zayed Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Playing XIs

Sri Lanka XI: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka (capt), Dasun Shanaka, Kamindu Mendis, Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Nuwan Thushara

Pakistan XI: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Salman Agha (capt.), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Haris (wk), Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed

HEAD TO HEAD RECORD: 

Both teams have faced each other 23 times in the T20I format with Pakistan emerging victorious on 13 occasions while Sri Lanka have sealed victories in 10 encounters.

READ: PCB chief meets Shan, Azhar ahead of Test series against South Africa

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday held a meeting with Test team captain Shan Masood and acting red-ball head coach Azhar Mahmood ahead of the Test series against South Africa.

During the meeting, preparations for the Test series against South Africa were discussed, in which Mohsin Naqvi assured Shan Masood and Azhar Mahmood that they would have a free hand regarding the Test team.

“My full support is with you for the Test series against South Africa,” said the PCB chairman.

For context, South Africa will tour Pakistan to play two tests, three T20Is, and three ODIs. The Proteas will begin their World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-2027 title defense with the opening Test at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, set to start in October.

The second Test of the series is scheduled to take place in Rawalpindi from October 20.

South Africa tour to Pakistan

12-16 October – First Test at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

20-24 October – Second Test at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi

28 October – First T20I at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi

31 October – Second T20I at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

1 November – Third T20I at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

4 November – First ODI at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad

6 November – Second ODI at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad

8 November – Third ODI at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad

SOUTH AFRICA SQUADS FOR PAKISTAN TOUR:

Tests: Aiden Markram (c), David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj (second Test only), Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen and Kyle Verreynne.

T20Is: David Miller (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Donovan Ferreira, Reeza Hendricks, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Andile Simelane and Lizaad Williams.

ODIs: Matthew Breetzke (c), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Donovan Ferreira, Bjorn Fortuin, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Sinethemba Qeshile.

READ: Former cricket umpire Harold ‘Dickie’ Bird dies aged 92

Former Test umpire Harold “Dickie” Bird has died at the age of 92, Yorkshire County Cricket Club announced on Tuesday.

Bird was one of the best-known and most respected officials in the game, standing in 66 Tests and 69 one-day internationals, including three World Cup finals.

Yorkshire issued a statement on their website saying Bird, “one of cricket’s most beloved figures”, had died peacefully at home.

“Dickie Bird enjoyed an illustrious career as an international umpire, writing his name into history as the most famous and popular official in the game’s history,” the club said.

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“He is synonymous with Yorkshire Cricket, where he has been one of the most loyal supporters. In 2014, he was named president of The Yorkshire County Cricket Club, a role he held with pride and distinction.”

Bird played for English counties Yorkshire and Leicestershire but made his name as an international umpire.

“Over a distinguished career, he officiated in 66 Test matches and 69 one-day internationals, including three World Cup finals — earning the admiration of players and fans alike for his integrity, humour, and unmistakable style,” Yorkshire’s statement said.

READ: Rashid Latif suggests dropping THIS batter for Sri Lanka clash

Former captain Rashid Latif has urged Pakistan to make a few changes to their playing XI for the must-win Super Four clash against Sri Lanka in the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2025.

Both sides head into the contest under pressure after opening-round defeats. Pakistan suffered a crushing loss to arch-rivals India, while Sri Lanka were undone by a spirited Bangladesh side.

Latif, writing on his official Facebook account, proposed a new-look batting order that sees wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris and youngster Hassan Nawaz opening the innings.

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This reshuffle pushes Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub down to three and four, with Sahibzada Farhan, Pakistan’s leading run-scorer in the tournament, dropped from the XI.

Farhan has scored 132 runs in four games, making him the team’s highest run-getter and third overall in the competition.

However, his modest strike rate of 101.53 has drawn criticism, and Rashid Latif believes Pakistan cannot afford a slow start in a do-or-die fixture.

Catch Asia Cup 2025 news updates here!

For the middle order, Latif suggested Hussain Talat at five and captain Salman Ali Agha at six, followed by Mohammad Nawaz at seven. All-rounder Faheem Ashraf was omitted.

The bowling unit, according to Latif’s plan, would feature Shaheen Afridi at eight, spinners Sufiyan Muqeem and Abrar Ahmed at nine and ten, and Haris Rauf as the spearhead at eleven, offering Pakistan a mix of pace and spin options.

Rashid Latif’s Playing XI for Sri Lanka clash

Mohammad Haris (wk), Hassan Nawaz, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Hussain Talat, Salman Ali Agha (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, and Haris Rauf.

READ: Ravichandran Ashwin likely to make historic BBL debut

Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is on the verge of creating history as the first capped Indian male cricketer to feature in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL).

Four franchises, the Sydney Thunder, Hobart Hurricanes, Sydney Sixers, and Adelaide Strikers, are reportedly in the race to secure his services for the latter stages of the upcoming season, with the Thunder and Hurricanes emerging as frontrunners.

A final decision is expected later this week.

Ashwin’s potential signing comes at a time when the BBL has also seen a surge of Pakistani talent, raising the possibility of an Indo-Pak reunion in Australia.

For India, Ashwin’s participation marks a historic moment. No internationally capped Indian male player has previously featured in the BBL, largely due to BCCI regulations that prohibit only retired cricketers from participating in overseas franchise leagues.

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Ashwin’s decision to step away from the IPL earlier this year has now opened the door for him to explore opportunities abroad.

In recent years, several former Indian stars have pursued similar paths. Dinesh Karthik appeared for Paarl Royals in the SA20, Ambati Rayudu played in the CPL and ILT20, while Robin Uthappa, Yusuf Pathan, and Suresh Raina have also represented franchises overseas.

Ravichandran Ashwin has already registered for the ILT20 auction in the UAE, set for next Tuesday.

If signed, he will feature in the tournament from December 2 to January 4. The BBL season runs from December 14 to January 25, leaving him available for three to four matches plus the finals should his team qualify.

READ: Pakistan set to depart for ICC Women’s World Cup 2025 today

LAHORE: The Pakistan women’s cricket team will depart for Sri Lanka this evening to take part in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025.

Fatima Sana-led Pakistan women’s team will play two warm-up matches against Sri Lanka and South Africa as part of their final preparations for the World Cup 2025.

The team will open its campaign on October 2 against Bangladesh, followed by group-stage fixtures against India, Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa, and Sri Lanka.

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In the build-up to the tournament, Pakistan hosted South Africa in a home ODI series that concluded on Monday. The visitors claimed the series 2-1, with Pakistan managing a consolation win in the final match.

Following the series, PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi visited Gaddafi Stadium and urged the national side to approach the World Cup with a fearless mindset.

“Fight till the last ball. Success is always the result of teamwork,” Naqvi told the players, wishing them success for the campaign in India.

Pakistan Squad for Women’s World Cup 2025

Fatima Sana (c), Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (vice-captain), Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Eyman Fatima, Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wicket-keeper), and Syeda Aroob Shah.

Pakistan’s Fixtures:

• October 2 – vs Bangladesh
• October 5 – vs India
• October 8 – vs Australia
• October 15 – vs England
• October 18 – vs New Zealand
• October 21 – vs South Africa
• October 24 – vs Sri Lanka

READ: Pakistan and Sri Lanka Fight for Asia Cup 2025 Survival

The stage is set for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025, with participating teams beginning to unveil their final squads ahead of the tournament.

The 13th edition of the marquee event will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka, running from September 30 to November 2 across five cities.

Eight teams will compete in a round-robin format, with the top four advancing to the knockout stage.

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Defending champions Australia secured direct qualification alongside England, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, and hosts India. Meanwhile, Pakistan and Bangladesh completed the lineup through the April qualifiers.

The tournament will open on September 30 with hosts India facing Sri Lanka in Guwahati.

Squads for Women’s World Cup 2025

Pakistan: Fatima Sana (c), Muneeba Ali Siddiqui (vice-captain), Aliya Riaz, Diana Baig, Eyman Fatima, Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Omaima Sohail, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Shawaal Zulfiqar, Sidra Amin, Sidra Nawaz (wicket-keeper), and Syeda Aroob Shah.

India: Harmanpreet Kaur (c), Smriti Mandhana (vc), Pratika Rawal, Harleen Deol, Jemimah Rodrigues, Richa Ghosh, Uma Chetry, Renuka Singh Thakur, Deepti Sharma, Sneh Rana, Sree Charani, Radha Yadav, Amanjot Kaur, Arundhati Reddy, Kranti Gaud.

Australia: Alyssa Healy (c), Darcie Brown, Ash Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Voll, Georgia Wareham.

England: Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Em Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Heather Knight, Emma Lamb, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt-Hodge.

Bangladesh: Nigar Sultana Joty (c), Nahida Akter, Fargana Hoque, Rubya Haider Jhelik, Sharmin Akter Supta, Sobhana Mostary, Ritu Moni, Shorna Akter, Fahima Khatun, Rabeya Khan, Marufa Akter, Fariha Islam Trisna, Shanjida Akther Maghla, Nishita Akter Nishi, Sumaiya Akter

READ: Record prize money announced for ICC Women’s World Cup 2025