Tag: Babar Azam

Pakistan’s T20I captain Shaheen Afridi, as well as star batters Babar Azam, and Mohammad Rizwan, have made late entries to The Hundred 2024 Draft, scheduled to take place on March 20 (today).

These three players have set a reserve price of £100,000 and will be available for selection by the eight teams participating in The Hundred.

Former Pakistan captain Bismah Maroof has also been added as a last-minute inclusion along with Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur.

Meanwhile, young batter Saim Ayub, who ended the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9 with 345 runs in 11 games, has withdrawn his name from the The Hundred 2024 Draft.

Earlier this month, a total of 65 Pakistan players, including five women cricketers signed up for the The Hundred 2024 Draft.

Leg-spinner Usama Mir was retained by Manchester Originals while Welsh Fire retained right-arm speedster Haris Rauf.

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Pakistan’s first-choice pacers Hasan Ali and Naseem Shah registered for The Hundred draft at a reserved price of £100,000. Whereas, Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed set their reserve prices at £75,000.

Mohammad Amir, Aamir Jamal, and Abdullah Shafique have set their base price at £60,000.

Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, and Imad Wasim signed up for the draft with a reserve price of £50,000 while Mir Hamza, Mohammad Hasnain, and Azam Khan entered with a £40,000 reserve price.

Furthermore, 46 Pakistan players signed up for The Hundred draft without a reserved price including Haider Ali, Umar Amin, Faheem Ashraf, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zaman Khan, Shan Masood, Mohammad Nawaz, Roman Raees, Saud Shakeel, Haneen Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jr.

In the women’s category, Pakistan captain Nida Dar, alongside Iram Javed and Fatima registered with a reserved price of £17,500 while all-rounder Aliya Riaz and Javeria Rauf entered the draft without a specified reserve price.

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LONDON: A total of 65 Pakistan players, including five women cricketers signed up for the The Hundred 2024 Draft, scheduled to take place on March 20.

The set of Pakistan players does not feature star batter Babar Azam, wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan and current T20I skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi.

As per the latest development, leg-spinner Usama Mir was retained by Manchester Originals while Welsh Fire retained right-arm speedster Haris Rauf.

Pakistan’s first-choice pacers Hasan Ali and Naseem Shah registered for The Hundred draft at a reserved price of £100,000. Whereas, Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed set their reserve prices at £75,000.

Mohammad Amir, Saim Ayub, Aamer Jamal, and Abdullah Shafique have set their base price at £60,000.

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Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Haris, and Imad Wasim signed up for the draft with a reserve price of £50,000 while Mir Hamza, Mohammad Hasnain, and Azam Khan entered with a £40,000 reserve price.

Furthermore, 46 Pakistan players signed up for The Hundred draft without a reserved price which include Haider Ali, Umar Amin, Faheem Ashraf, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zaman Khan, Shan Masood, Mohammad Nawaz, Roman Raees, Saud Shakeel, Haneen Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jr.

In the women’s category, Pakistan captain Nida Dar, alongside Iram Javed and Fatima registered with a reserved price of £17,500 while all-rounder Aliya Riaz and Javeria Rauf entered the draft without a specified reserve price.

245 domestic players and 389 overseas players registered for the draft of the men’s competition.

It is worth mentioning here that a reserve price is the minimum amount of money that a team can pay for a player.

If all teams fill their slots at that price band and above, then that player can no longer be selected.

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LAHORE: Babar Azam’s quickfire century, followed by Arif Yaqoob’s five-wicket haul propelled Peshawar Zalmi to an eight-run victory over Islamabad United in the 13th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9 here at Gaddafi Stadium on Monday.

Chasing a mammoth 202-run target, the United fell short of the victory despite a sensational partnership between Azam Khan and Colin Munro.

The United had a shaky start to the run chase as they lost Jordan Cox (13) in the fifth over with just 32 runs on the board.

The United then lost two more wickets in quick succession as Shadab Khan (6) and Salman Ali Agha (14) walked back after modest contributions.

Azam Khan joined Munro in the middle with the United reeling at 73/3 in 9.3 overs and turned the game on its head with an astounding knock.

The right-handed batter dominated the 108-run stand with Munro, scoring 75 off just 30 deliveries with the help of six boundaries and as many sixes.

His magnificent knock ended on the final delivery of the 18th over when he mistimed a shot off Naveen-ul-Haq.

His partner Munro followed his footsteps on the next delivery which prompted a lower-order collapse. The left-handed batter made 71 in 53 balls, hitting seven boundaries and a six.

Spinner Arif Yaqoob brought the game back into Zalmi’s command by picking up three more wickets in the penultimate over and finished with astonishing figures of 5/27 – the first five-wicket haul of the PSL 9.

The United then needed 19 runs off the final over and they eventually came up short despite Naseem Shah’s six on the second delivery.

Besides Yaqoob, Salman Irshad, Naveen, Luke Wood and Saim Ayub made one scalp each.

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Put into bat first, Zalmi’s openers Saim Ayub and Babar once again scripted a flourishing start with a 73-run partnership.

The in-form duo dominated the United bowlers and scored at a brisk rate until Ayub was cleaned up by Salman Ali Agha in the eighth over.

Ayub remained a notable run-getter for the Zalmi with a 21-ball 38 which featured three boundaries and two sixes.

His dismissal fuelled United with momentum and their captain solidified their position by striking twice in the next over, removing Mohammad Haris and Haseebullah Khan.

The successive blows had reduced Zalmi to 80/3 in 8.4 overs and the former champions, as a result, went into a defensive mode.

The Zalmi then lost two more wickets — Paul Walter (19) and Rovman Powell (eight) — in quick succession and slipped to 124/5 in 14.5 overs.

But Babar Azam launched a ruthless counterattack on the United with belligerent hitting and turned the game on its head.

The highlight of his sensational hitting was an expensive 18th over when he clobbered four boundaries and a six to young Hunain Shah.

He then hit a boundary on the first delivery of Tymall Mills’ final over and followed it up with a single to bring up his second PSL century.

Babar Azam finished as the top-scorer for the Zalmi with an unbeaten 111 off just 63 deliveries with the help of 14 boundaries and two sixes.

He was supported by hard-hitting batter Asif Ali at the backend with a nine-ball 17, laced up with two boundaries.

United captain Shadab led the bowling attack for his side with 2/28 in his four overs, followed by Naseem Shah and Salman Ali Agha, who made one scalp each.

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Azam completed his 10,000 runs in only 271 innings, while Gayle took 285 innings, followed by Indian star batter Virat Kohli, who took 299 innings to reach the milestone.

Azam reached the elusive milestone during his valiant 72-run knock amid his side’s dramatic collapse against Peshawar Zalmi.

Zalmi faced a horrible collapse courtesy of brilliant bowling by Karachi Kings and were bowled out at a meagre 154 despite being at 136-5 at one point.

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Karachi Kings’ left-arm wrist spinner Tabraiz Shamsi praised Peshawar Zalmi’s captain Babar Azam ahead of the two sides’ clash in the ongoing HBL PSL 9, however, he asserted that his team focuses on every player.

Karachi Kings failed to get the desired start to their HBL PSL 9 campaign, but Shamsi is hopeful that his side will leave the previous match behind and make a resounding comeback against Peshawar Zalmi tomorrow.

“The performance of previous seasons is now a thing of the past, even if you are a champion, you still have to start from zero,” said Tabraiz Shamsi while talking to the media ahead of Karachi Kings’ second match in the HBL PSL 9.

“We have a new management this season and the team environment is good. We are training hard and it will bore fruits in the next games.

Shamsi praised Babar Azam but also mentioned that Zalmi also have other good players and Karachi Kings are focusing on each one of them.

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“Babar Azam is a special player who performs around the world at the highest stage, but he’s not the only batsman in the team.

“There’s not only a single player that we focus on. There are so many other good players in the team.

Shamsi also praised the quality of cricket in the PSL, saying, “It is a top-quality tournament. Pakistan always produces good fast bowlers and PSL is a good platform for young talented players to showcase their skills.”

Lastly, he expressed his excitement to play in front of the Lahore crowd in the upcoming match between Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi.

“I have played one match for South Africa in Lahore but it was during the COVID-19 days. I am looking forward to entertaining the crowd of Lahore,” Shamsi concluded.

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LAHORE: Quetta Gladiators’ left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir disclosed his brief conversation with Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam during their sides’ Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9 clash on Sunday.

The incident occurred in the third over of Peshawar Zalmi’s run chase when Amir bowled a short-pitched delivery to Babar, who failed to get any bat on it and went to wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Meanwhile, while speaking at the post-match press conference, Amir was asked to share his conversation with Babar after the steamy bouncer.

“The instance you highlighted was regarding the bouncer which he said that it went quickly and couldn’t understand,” Amir replied to the question.

“He is a good player but my role has always been to pick wickets of the top batter,” stated Amir.

For the unversed, Mohammad Amir delivered a commendable performance with the ball, returning splendid figures of 1/29 in his spell of four overs in a high-scoring clash.

Babar Azam, on the other hand, was equally impressive, top-scoring for the Zalmi with a 42-ball 68. But his heroics went in vain as the Gladiators emerged victorious by 16 runs.

Set to chase 207, Peshawar Zalmi’s captain Babar Azam and Saim Ayub came out all guns blazing as they raised 70 runs in the powerplay.

However, their progress was halted by a mixup between the batters in the ninth over, resulting in Ayub’s run-out, which proved to be the turning point.

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Ayub scored a quick 42 runs from 26 balls, which featured three sixes and two boundaries.

Akeal Hosein then removed Mohammad Haris to reduce Zalmi to 108-2 in 10.2 overs before Tom Kohler-Cadmore joined hands with Azam for a 39-run stand.

Azam played a 68-run knock in 42 balls with the help of four boundaries and four sixes. He fell prey to Abrar Ahmed in the 16th over with 147 runs on the board.

Kohler-Cadmore also fell in the same over after scoring run-a-ball 18 runs, leaving Zalmis to chase 57 off 26.

Quetta Gladiators’ bowlers did not allow the batters to regain momentum and reduced them to 182-5 in 19 overs, requiring 25 off the last over.

Mohammad Wasim’s last over went for only seven runs, handing the Gladiators a 16-run win, with Abrar Ahmed leading the bowling with 2-29.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Amir, Hosein and Wasim bagged one wicket each.

Prior to that, Quetta Gladiators posted a mammoth total of 206/5 on the board, courtesy of Saud Shakeel and Jason Roy’s marathon opening stand.

Roy top-scored for the Gladiators with a 48-ball 75, closely followed by his opening partner Saud, who scored 74 off 47 deliveries.

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KARACHI: Peshawar Zalmi head coach Mohammad Akram on Wednesday, revealed Babar Azam’s batting position for the upcoming Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9, scheduled to commence on February 17.

Akram interacted with the media and shared that Zalmi’s top-order batters are willing to fill in at any spot while the final decision regarding the batting order will be made after the arrival of the foreign players.

Speaking specifically about Babar Azam’s batting position, Akram stated that he is the team’s captain and can play wherever he wants.

“We have no objections to Babar Azam playing in any position, but he prefers to open. Babar Azam is the team’s captain and has performed well in the opening position,” Akram said.

“We have a good pool of both international and local players, Mohammad Haris has matured and will play good cricket, we have tried to select the best squad.”

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Mohammad Akram then revealed that legendary batter Mohammad Yousuf will work with Peshawar Zalmi as a batting mentor.

“Muhammad Yousuf has been included in the coaching staff, he will work with young cricketers and with us as a batting mentor. Umar Gul has also been invited to the camp,” shared Akram.

Akram then expressed his confidence in Zalmi’s squad — a blend of experienced and competent players — to perform well in the PSL 9 as well.

“In Peshawar Zalmi’s squad, there are experienced and junior competent players, every year we try to pick good bowlers, and this year, too, we have picked good bowlers.

“We desired to have more matches in Peshawar where our fans are more, and it is also our right because our fans have been waiting for matches at the home ground for a long time, and if not in Peshawar, then there should have been more matches in Rawalpindi,” he added.

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LAHORE: Top-order batter Fakhar Zaman has shown his support for the star middle-order Babar Azam during his struggling batting form during the ongoing Test series against Australia.

Ace Pakistan batter Babar Azam has been out of form, especially in Test cricket throughout the year 2023.

The right-handed batter played five matches in 2023 and could only yield 204 runs at a dismal average of 22.66 with the highest score of 41.

He also could not score a single half-century in the longest format in 2023.

However, Fakhar Zaman has backed Babar Azam to make a comeback in the last Test against Australia, scheduled to start on 3rd January 2024.

“Babar Azam is a world-class player, but good and bad times come to every player. I am hopeful that he will make a comeback in the next match,” said Zaman.

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Fakhar Zaman further expressed his desire to play at any number and in any format for the team.

“I am training for the upcoming series, and I am ready to play at any position as per the plan of the team management,” he added.

“Test cricket is the real cricket and I am ready to play in any format for the Pakistan team as I can play at the highest level for the next eight to ten years.”

Fakhar Zaman also backed newly appointed T20I captain Shaheen Afridi under whom he has played for Lahore Qalandars in Pakistan Super League (PSL).

“There is a difference between captaincy in PSL and international cricket, however, Shaheen Afridi has the ability to lead the team,” Zaman concluded.

Fakhar Zaman is currently partaking in Pakistan’s training camp for the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand commencing on 12 January 2024.

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MELBOURNE: Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi came out in support of Babar Azam during the latter’s rough patch with the bat in 2023.

Ace Pakistan batter Babar Azam has been out of form, especially in Test cricket since the start of the year 2023.

The right-handed batter played five matches in the ongoing year and could only yield 204 runs at a dismal average of 22.66 with the highest score of 41.

He also could not score a single half-century in the longest format in 2023.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s legendary all-rounder Shahid Afridi was unfazed by Babar Azam’s dismal Test stats this year and asserted that he is one of the most consistent batters ever produced by the country.

I rate Babar Azam very highly and so does the world,” stated Afridi.

“He is the backbone of Pakistan’s batting lineup. The best batters lose form, but I have seen such consistent batters very rarely in Pakistan cricket,” he added.

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Shahid Afridi also refuted concerns regarding Shaheen Afridi carrying an injury despite a significant pace drop in the left-arm pacer’s bowling while also highlighting the need to invest in the team’s bench strength rather than in individuals.

“I’ve never got the impression that Shaheen has an injury. If you’re injured you can’t play as a fast bowler. He knows his responsibility and how important he is to the team. The fast bowlers, we are expecting a lot from them because they’ve done well in the past.

“Babar, Rizwan, Shaheen etc. have performed so well we expect them to perform in every match. Relentless consistency is challenging in cricket.

“I have always said that unless our bench is strong we won’t be able to take the best decisions.

“The A team should be as strong as the main team, so if Shaheen or Babar or Rizwan aren’t strong, we shouldn’t have the excuses of players being unavailable, like we do with Naseem now. When our bench is strong, we will no longer have excuses.”

The former all-rounder also commented on Haris Rauf’s self-imposed absence from the Australia tour and stated that he should have been a part of this Pakistan team.

“I think Haris [Rauf] should be part of this side instead rather than [the BBL],” Afridi, speaking to media at the MCG, said.

“In these conditions, the kind of pace he has, he would have performed well and enjoyed himself on the kinds of pitches Australia prepared in Perth and here.”

READ: Babar Azam, Steve Smith share a funny interaction in Boxing Day Test

MELBOURNE: A video of Pakistan batter Babar Azam joking with his Australia counterpart Steve Smith on Day 4 of the Boxing Day Test is making rounds on social media. 
The viral video showed Babar Azam taking guard to face off-spinner Nathan Lyon just after the tea break. Steve Smith, who was fielding in the slips, told something to the former Pakistan captain while pointing at the wickets. 

Babar Azam reacted to Steve Smith’s banter by sarcastically offering him his bat. The latter refused the offer by folding his hands at the Pakistan batter.

Incredible banter!

Look at how Babar asks Smith only to bat, when he is getting ready to take guard and Smith goes 🙏

😂 😂 😂#AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/SYnsDFP7ao

— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) December 29, 2023

 

The right-handed batter added just six more runs to his tally after the moment as he was clean bowled off pacer Josh Hazlewood’s bowling.

Australia captain Pat Cummins took 10 wickets in a masterclass of clutch bowling to end stout Pakistan resistance and lead his side to a 79-run victory on the fourth day of the second Test on Friday, locking up the three-match series 2-0.

Just when it looked like the Boxing Day test would go down to the wire on the final day, the paceman stepped in to remove Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistan’s last recognised batter, and claim his 250th Test wicket.

Pat Cummins (5-49) followed that up with the wicket of Aamer Jamal for a duck to trigger an extra half an hour of play, during which he claimed his fifth wicket of the innings and 10th of the match to help mop up the tail.

It was his second 10-wicket match haul in 57 tests and concluded a glorious year in which he led Australia to the World Test Championship, a 50-overs World Cup triumph and the retention of the Ashes in England.

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Set an imposing victory target of 317 runs after bowling Australia out for 262 before lunch, the tourists had put together a series of partnerships that frustrated the potent Australian attack.

There were some home nerves when the last substantial stand of 57 between Mohammad Rizwan (35) and Agha Salman (50) got the target under 100 runs but the match turned for good when Pat Cummins separated the pair.

Pakistan had threatened to take control of the match on several occasions over the first four days only to let the Australians off the hook.

Fired by an innings of 96 from Mitchell Marsh, Australia had dragged themselves back from 16-4 after lunch on Thursday and resumed on 187-6 on a sunny morning at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Wicketkeeper Alex Carey scored 52 to help extend the lead before he was trapped leg before by seamer Mir Hamza (4-32) to bring an end to the innings.

Pakistan were always going to be up against it given the fact that only one team had successfully chased more than 300 runs in the fourth innings in 146 years of test matches at the MCG.

The tourists were dismissed for 89 in the fourth innings when Australia won the first test by 360 runs in Perth and the early indications were that Melbourne would witness something similar.

READ: Abdullah Shafique backs Babar Azam amidst struggles on Australia tour