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Former Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Amir has slammed the decision to appoint Shaheen Afridi as the One Day International (ODI) captain of national cricket team.

Shaheen replaced wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan as captain of national ODI team.

The left-arm pacer’s first assignment will be the forthcoming three-match series against South Africa, which will begin on November 4 at Faisalabad Cricket Stadium.

The decision to appoint Shaheen as captain was taken at a meeting held in Islamabad. The meeting was attended by head coach Mike Hesson, director of high performance Aqib Javed and members of the selection committee.

Following the decision, Amir believed this is not a good decision under the circumstances.

“I don’t think Mohammad Rizwan has been treated fairly. Rizwan was not a bad one-day captain,” he remarked via a video on his social media handle.

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He led Pakistan to series wins in South Africa and Australia — something even some of our biggest captains couldn’t achieve. We should not have forgotten that,” Amir continued.

The 33-year-old stressed long-term planning and rued himself alongside former cricketers for destablization in Pakistan cricket while lavishing praise on Rizwan’s captaincy.

“Captaincy should not depend on just one good or bad series. We are all responsible for this — former cricketers and analysts included. We don’t allow stability in our cricket,” he added.

“Captains are not made overnight; it takes two to three years to build one. But here, one bad series is enough to replace a captain. I don’t think this is the right call. Rizwan is a smart captain and he has that knack of captaincy.”

He suggested that if Shaheen was to be handed the reins of the national team, he should have first been made vice-captain.

“If Shaheen had to be made captain, he could have first been appointed as vice-captain, and his performance judged accordingly — especially considering his fitness,” he concluded.

READ: Shaheen Afridi replaces Mohammad Rizwan as Pakistan’s ODI captain

LAHORE: Shaheen Shah Afridi has been appointed as Pakisan new ODI captain, replacing wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan following a leadership review by team management.

Shaheen will captain Pakistan in the three-match ODI series against South Africa, set to begin on November 4.

The decision to appoint Shaheen Shah Afridi was taken at a meeting held in Islamabad. The meeting was attended by head coach Mike Hesson, director of high performance Aqib Javed and members of the selection committee.

The move also came following Pakistan’s string of disappointing ODI performances this year.

The Men in Green failed to advance beyond the first round of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, before suffering a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand and a 2-1 series defeat to the West Indies.

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Meanwhile, Shaheen Afridi has enjoyed remarkable success as captain of the Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), leading them to three title wins.

Interestingly, this would not be Shaheen’s first stint as national captain. He previously led Pakistan in the T20I format but was replaced after just one series.

During Shaheen Afridi captaincy in January 2024, Pakistan lost five-match series 4-1 against Zealand.

The defeat resulted in captaincy change as he was replaced in the role by star batter Babar Azam, who led the side until the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 played in USA and West Indies.

Mohammad Rizwan, who was appointed Pakistan white-ball captain on October 27, 2024, delivered some impressive results during his breif tenure, including memorable ODI series wins in Australia and South Africa.

However, his tenure in the T20I format ended soon after Men in Green lost all four T20Is under his leadership.

Overall, Rizwan captained Pakistan in 20 ODIs, winning nine and losing 11, finishing with a winning percentage of 45.

READ: Confident Rameen targets semi-final berth despite odds against Pakistan

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick admitted on Monday that he did not want his grandchildren to see him behaving as he did when he was sent off after making an obscene gesture as he celebrated a late winner against Girona.

Flick had received a first yellow card on Saturday for protesting against a refereeing decision. He collected a second for gesturing with a raised finger after Ronald Araujo scored in added time to give Barcelona a 2-1 win.

The red card means Flick will be banned from the bench when second-placed Barcelona visit La Liga leaders Real Madrid in Sunday’s Clasico.

Flick said that his behaviour had changed since arriving in Barcelona, illustrating his point by reviving memories of one of Barcelona’s greatest humiliations when they lost 8-2 to the German’s Bayern Munich side in 2020.

“Maybe my emotions aren’t the same as before. I remember when I was coach of Bayern Munich, the footage of the match against Barca showed that I had the same reaction to the first, second, and eighth goals.

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People said I never smiled!” Flick told a press conference ahead of Barcelona’s Champions League match with Olympiacos on Tuesday.

“Right now, I’m showing more emotion, it’s true, because this club has completely changed me,” he said.

“I really love this club, I give the best of myself. And I don’t like seeing myself in this state on television either, and I don’t want my grandchildren to see their grandfather like that. So I probably have to change my behaviour.”

Some Barcelona officials criticised Saturday’s referee, Flick was more conciliatory.

The referee “decided to see it differently, and that’s something I have to accept,” he said.

Flick also refused to be drawn into responding to a question about whether officials favour Real Madrid.

“What do I say? I’ve been here for 16 months; you (journalists) have been here much longer and know more. I don’t want to say anything about it,” he said.

In addition to long-term absentees Robert Lewandowski, Dani Olmo, Gavi, Joan Garcia, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Flick said that forwards Raphinha and Ferran Torres were not fully fit and would miss the Champions League game in the hope that they could play in El Clasico.

READ: Confident Rameen targets semi-final berth despite odds against Pakistan

COLOMBO: Pakistan off-spinner Rameen Shamim expressed confidence in her side ahead of their crucial encounter against South Africa in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2025.

Pakistan are winless in their World Cup campaign and are languishing at the bottom of the table with two points from five game. Their remaining fixtures are against South Africa– already qualified and hosts Sri Lanka.

The Women in Green have to win both of their matches and then have to wait for certain resuts going their way to advance through to the semis.

Their best chance to seal a memorable win against England came in the rain-abandoned encounter.

Pakistan had restricted England to133-9 in a match reduced to 31 overs side. In reply, Pakistan had their best start in World Cup as they scored 34 in 6.4 overs without losing wicket.

Yet, the weather in Colombo had the final say with match being washed out. However, the Green Shirts still have an outside chance to advance through to the semi-final.

Speaking in the pre-match presser, Rameen lamented on rain abandoned clash against England, hence halting their chances to claim vital points.

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“Yeah, obviously, rain is not in our control. We cannot control the weather. Yeah, unfortunately, we are upset because we were up to the mark against England,” she said.

However, the 29-year-old remained confident after putting England on the ropes in their previous encounter.

“But we are confident because we played some good cricket in the last two matches. And now we have to play against South Africa and Sri Lanka,” Rameen told reporters.

She emphasized home series which Pakistan had played against South Africa women before heading into the mega event and eyed victories in the remaining matches to end their campaign on good note.

“We are really prepared against them because we have played a series against South Africa before this World Cup. So, we know what to do in the next two matches, and our aim is just to win those two matches,” she said.

“We just want to win those upcoming matches and just leave our mark,” she concluded.

READ: Shafique credits ‘luck’ after laboured 57 against South Africa

RAWALPINDI: South Africa left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj aims to derail Pakistan lower-order with early strikes on the morning of day two in the second Test here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Pakistan ended the opening day’s play at 259-5 with Saud Shakeel and Salman Ali Agha at the crease.

Salman survived the day and remained not out on 10 from 25 balls whereas Saud struck three fours on his way to 42 from 105 deliveries.

While addressing the media at the end of first day, Maharaj reflected on South Africa’s fielding.

The Proteas were poor in the field, dropping three catches of Abdullah Shafique and one of Shan Masood on 71. The former went on to make crucial 57 runs, partnering with skipper Shan Masood for a 111-run stand which kept the home side afloat.

“As a collective we know how important catches are, not just in the subcontinent. No one means to drop catches; it was nice to see the guys bounce back and take the catches that they did. Bit frustrating, but no one means to drop catches at the end of the day,” he said to reporters.

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Senuran Muthusamy who took 11 wickets in the Lahore Test only bowled four overs with Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj sharing the bulk of bowling.

“Probably more tactical,” he said off Muthusamy’s bowling. “We saw that the wicket didn’t play like Lahore, and we felt like we just wanted to try to restrict the Pakistani batters. I don’t think there was an issue. Sen came back nicely with the second spell that he bowled.”

South Africa struck late in the final session which made the opening day evenly poised, however Maharaj belived one more wicket could have put them on top.

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“I felt if we got one more wicket at night we’d probably have had a little bit of an upper hand. Tomorrow’s an important day. First session’s always moving day it seems in this Test series, so hopefully we can make inroads tomorrow morning,” Keshav Maharaj added.

“I think it’s important we start really well tomorrow. Hopefully we can get Saud and Agha early in the morning and open up an end with the lower order batters. But it’s about just trying to bowl our best balls for long periods of times,” he concluded.

READ: Shafique credits ‘luck’ after laboured 57 against South Africa

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique admitted that luck played a part in his hard-fought fifty against South Africa on the opening day of second Test played here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Abdullah made 57 from 146 balls — the second most balls faced by Pakistan batter on the opening day, with the help of four boundaries.

The right-hander, who was in search of runs, rode his luck and scored his fifth Test half-century. He was dropped three times on 0, 15, and 41.

Speaking at the end of the day’s play, Abdullah reflected on his knock and talked about the dropped chances.

“This is cricket — these things happen to us as well, and it happened to them today. In the end, it worked in our favor. I believe in international cricket, you need a bit of luck too,” he told reporters in a press conference.

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Regarding his run drought in the past couple of years, the 25-year-old emphasized hard work and training to overcome recurring mistakes.

“Every professional goes through a lean patch — I think I’m going through that phase. But good players are those who overcome these challenges. I’ve been working hard in the nets and in the camps before this. I’ve been working on correcting my mistakes.”

We have many senior players in the team, and everyone goes through this phase. I try to talk as much as I can — the more you talk, the more you learn and reflect,” he continued.

He also mentioned the surface, explaining why Pakista’s scoring rate was on the slower side and revealed what he believed would be an ideal first innings total.

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“Compared to Lahore, there isn’t a major change in this wicket, but the outfield here is a bit slower, which is why the scoring rate was slightly lower. Otherwise, it’s quite similar — no big difference,” he explained.

“We’ll try to bat as long as we can so that we can score enough runs to help our bowlers later. The pitch will get drier and we’ll get more turn. Ideally, we’d like to get to around 320–350,” Abdullah concluded.

READ: Saud holds firm as South Africa’s late strike leave opening day evenly poised

Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele is in line to make his return from injury for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, a source close to the club told AFP on Monday.

The news will come as a welcome boost for PSG coach Luis Enrique, whose side has been struggling with injuries this season.

Dembele, 28, has been out for six weeks with a hamstring problem he suffered on international duty with France in early September.

He had been recuperating at a specialist clinic in Qatar and returned to training last week.

He missed out on PSG’s entertaining 3-3 draw against Strasbourg on Friday but is part of the first team squad for Tuesday’s match in Germany, the source said.

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PSG published images of Dembele training normally on Saturday.

The reigning European and French champions welcomed back forwards Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who was a substitute, against Strasbourg.

They are, however, still missing midfield duo Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves, although some media have reported that captain Marquinhos has travelled to Germany with the squad.

“I don’t know when the injured players will return,” Luis Enrique had said on Thursday, adding that the club did not want to “take risks with the players’ health”.

They have made a strong start to their Champions League defence, beating Atalanta and Barcelona in their opening two matches, while Leverkusen drew with FC Copenhagen and PSV Eindhoven.

READ: Harry Brook, Phil Salt star as England hammer New Zealand

CHRISTCHURCH: England skipper Harry Brook smashed 78 to steer his side to a thumping 65-run victory over New Zealand in the second T20I on Monday.

The visitors raced to a mammoth 236-4 from their 20 overs after Black Caps captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to field at Hagley Oval.

Brook and opener Phil Salt (85) blasted New Zealand to all parts while the hosts didn’t help themselves with misfields, errant throwing, and dropped catches.

Wicketkeeper Tim Seifert dropped Jacob Bethell after a top edge swirled high in the strong northwest wind, and later James Neesham put down Brook.

The Brook drop was crucial, with the 26-year-old blasting 78 from just 35 deliveries as part of a 129-run partnership with Salt.

Brook showed his intent just two balls after he was dropped, smacking a powerful pull shot more than 100 metres over midwicket, the ball landing outside the ground.

He hit six fours and five sixes during his stay, finally falling after mistiming a lofted drive to long-on.

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Salt played second fiddle for much of his innings, scoring 85 from 56 balls, rotating the strike before seizing on any loose bowling.

Brook said the pair tried to keep one another “calm and composed” during their century stand, while “looking to manipulate the field and put them under as much pressure as possible”.

Tom Banton blasted 29 from only 12 balls to end the innings, helping England to the highest T20 total scored in Christchurch.

New Zealand’s chase started poorly, losing both Tim Robinson and Rachin Ravindra in the second over.

It found life with Seifert and Mark Chapman, who combined for a 69-run partnership in quick time, but when both fell either side of the 10-over mark New Zealand’s pursuit had all but ended.

England’s spinners, Adil Rashid (4-32) and Liam Dawson (2-38), and seamer Brydon Carse (2-27) gave away little during their spells as New Zealand were bowled out for 171.

The third match of the T20 series will be played at Eden Park in Auckland on Thursday night.

READ: Shan Masood keeps Pakistan afloat in second South Africa Test

The Swedish Football Association said on Monday that ex-Chelsea manager Graham Potter had been appointed national team coach after Jon Dahl Tomasson was sacked last week following three straight losses in World Cup qualifying.

Sweden terminated Tomasson’s contract on October 14 after his team only managed to win a single point in the first four games of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.

The Swedish FA said Potter, who was sacked by Premier League club West Ham in September, would be tasked with turning around a team containing star strikers Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres and attempt to qualify for the finals in the US, Canada and Mexico.

“The goal is to create the optimal conditions to reach the World Cup in the summer of 2026,” the Swedish FA said in statement.

The FA said the contract with Potter covered the ongoing qualifying period, with games against Switzerland and Slovenia in November, as well as a potential playoff in March.

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The contract would automatically be extended to the World Cup finals themselves if Sweden qualify.

“I am very humble facing this assignment, but also incredibly inspired. Sweden has fantastic players who deliver week after week in the world’s best leagues,” 50-year-old Potter was quoted saying.

Despite having £125 million ($168 million) Liverpool striker Isak and Arsenal’s £73 million Gyokeres starting together up front, Sweden has failed to even score in their last three matches and sit bottom of Group B.

Potter managed Swedish team Ostersund FK between 2011 and 2018, bringing it up to Sweden’s top league.

He has since managed Swansea City, Brighton and Hove Albion, Chelsea and West Ham.

He was once regarded as one of English football’s brightest coaching talents but was sacked by Chelsea in April 2023 after the team’s form nosedived. There then followed a difficult nine-month stay at West Ham.

READ: Kane Williamson returns to New Zealand squad for England ODIs

New Zealand have recalled Kane Williamson for their upcoming three-match ODI series against England, beginning October 26 at Bay Oval, marking the veteran batter’s return to international cricket after a brief medical layoff.

The 35-year-old, who has been out of action for the past month due to a minor medical issue, missed the ongoing T20I series against England.

Williamson, who now holds a casual contract with New Zealand Cricket (NZC), also skipped the T20Is against Australia and the Zimbabwe tour earlier this year to honour county and Hundred stints with Middlesex.

All-rounder Nathan Smith has also been cleared to play after recovering from an abdominal injury sustained during the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in August.

The 27-year-old has completed his rehabilitation and returns to bolster the pace-bowling department.

Head coach Rob Walter expressed delight at the duo’s return, emphasising their importance to the side.

“Kane and Nathan have had to work hard to overcome their respective injuries and illness,” Walter said.

“We all know what Kane means to the Blackcaps; to have his skill, experience, and leadership back in the group is fantastic. Nathan’s still relatively new to international cricket but has already shown great all-round ability and energy in the field.”

Williamson’s comeback will mark his first appearance for New Zealand since the Champions Trophy final in Dubai earlier this year, a match where Smith also featured as a late replacement for the injured Matt Henry.

Mitchell Santner, who led the Blackcaps in that final, will continue as captain of the ODI side. The left-arm spinner, recently recovered from an abdominal injury himself, is currently featuring in the T20I series against England.

The team will assemble in Tauranga on Friday ahead of the series opener on Sunday. The remaining two ODIs will be played in Hamilton (October 29) and Wellington (November 1).

New Zealand ODI squad

Mitchell Santner (capt), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young.

READ: Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique steady Pakistan in Rawalpindi Test