Tag: PCB

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s Ramiz Raja ensured that no team will refuse to come to Pakistan to play in Asia Cup 2023 and ICC Champions Trophy 2025. 

While briefing to media, Ramiz said all the cricket boards and International Cricket Council (ICC) have recognized the importance of Pakistan cricket and ensured improved response in the future.

“We had a long chat in ICC meeting over the stance of Pakistan. Every cricket board was present there and they accepted the fact that Pakistan did everything to improve. After a lot of discussions, Pakistan got the hosting rights of Champions Trophy 2025,” he said.

“Let’s hope for the best and I am sure no team will refuse to come here. Our focus now is to work hard and deliver as strongly as possible,” he added.

It must be noted here that Pakistan will also host Asia Cup in 2023 before the all-important T20 World Cup next year in Australia.

READ: We succeed in putting Pakistan’s stance strongly: Ramiz Raja

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s chairman Ramiz Raja is happy with the International Cricket Council (ICC) and other cricket boards recognizing the importance of Pakistan’s cricket. 

While speaking to the press of Pakistan, Ramiz explained the importance of getting the hosting rights of an ICC event after almost 25 years.

“It’s a major breakthrough for Pakistan’s cricket. It will revamp the whole system and Pakistan will get international representation through it,” he said.

“We succeed in putting strong stance of Pakistan after two back-to-back blows coming from the withdrawal of New Zealand and England from Pakistan tour. We tried hard to clear our stance after that, we told everyone that it wasn’t our mistake. I am happy that ICC and other boards recognized our narrative and now Pakistan has been given the hosting rights of Champions Trophy 2025,” he shared.

Meanwhile, Ramiz elaborated on the challenges they will have to face after getting the hosting rights of one of the mega ICC events.

“It is not easy for us to put things in the right order to successfully host this event. We need to work really hard, there is very limited space for errors. We need to mend our infrastructure, our talent, and administration, all in a very limited time,” he said.

It must be noted here that Pakistan will also host Asia Cup in 2023 before the all-important T20 World Cup next year in Australia.

READ: Bangladesh reveal T20I squad against Pakistan

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s chairman Ramiz Raja directed national team players to stay away from social media before their T20 World Cup’s contest against arch-rivals India.

Ramiz talked to the players via an online link to motivate them for their high-octane game against India, scheduled on October 24 in Dubai.

“Be calm and play fearless cricket in the ground. Don’t think about the result, just go and put whatever you have,” the PCB chairman told players.

“Avoid social media for a while. Stay away from analysis regarding the match on media and social media. Just focus on the game and keep yourself calm,” the chairman directed.

It must be noted here that Pakistan and India are meeting each other after almost two years. They last played against each other in ICC Cricket World Cup.

READ: ‘Fakhar can play crucial role for Pakistan against India’ Misbah

Lahore: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja disclosed details of his meeting with BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah last week in Dubai.

Ramiz met BCCI officials on the sidelines of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) meeting. He emphasized on separating politics from the game and revitalize Pakistan-India cricket.

“I met with BCCI President Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah on the sidelines of the ACC meetings. We need to create a cricketing bond, while I have also believed that politics should stay away from the sport as much as possible and this has always been our stance,” he told PCB digital.

“A lot of work needs to be done to revitalize Pakistan-India cricket but there needs to be some comfortable level between the two boards and then we can see how far we can go. So overall, we had a good discussion,” he added.

Meanwhile, PCB was awarded hosting rights of the Asia Cup 2023 which will be a 50-over event. Ramiz is looking forward to hosting the tournament.

“The ACC has agreed and approved that the 2023 event in Pakistan will be a 50-over competition and will be held in September. This aligns very nicely with the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023, which will be held in October and November.”

“We are looking forward to hosting this tournament in Pakistan and I am confident it will be a well-organised event because this is what the fans want.

“The ACC has also confirmed next year’s tournament in Sri Lanka will be played on a 20-over format and will be a prelude to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 to be held in Australia from 16 October to 13 November.”

On the ACC, Mr Ramiz Raja said: “The ACC was set-up to create a unified approach and collective stance so that we had one voice and if there was a situation, all stood together. I would like to see our relationship with other boards and the ACC to be strong so that if there is an issue, like we had with the withdrawal of a couple of sides, a strong and joint statement could come out from the ACC platform.

“My message at the ACC was that we should not forget this philosophy and I am optimistic there will be better outcomes in future.”

Read: PCB to organize ‘franchise-based’ U19 league cricket from next year

Lahore: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has revealed that he is looking to organize a franchise-based U19 league cricket from next year in order to prepare young cricketers for the highest level.

Ramiz expressed his thoughts while watching Central Punjab School Championship final between Lahore’s Qilla Lakhshman Singh and Faisalabad’s Divisional Public School at the Gaddafi Stadium.

“School cricket is a lifeline and our support system. We can correct young players during age cricket through right coaching,” Ramiz said.

“I have plans of organizing franchise-based U19 international cricket tournament next year, maybe in October,” he added.

Ramiz congratulated Central Punjab Cricket Association for holding this tournament where 162 schools from 18 districts participated.

“There are two quality spinners, batting and fielding is good too. Cricket talent will shine bright due to school cricket. The supply line of cricketers need promotion so that our top product can bloom,” he added.

“We will look to formulize and regularize this so these types of activities take place all over Pakistan,” he concluded.

KARACHI: U19 coach Ijaz Ahmed forced a cricketer Zeeshan Zameer to play a match during the junior players’ training camp despite having a fracture in his left ankle.

According to the details, Zeeshan’s injury was put at risk by the training camp’s coach Ijaz and the doctor after he played the practice match, as result, his ankle bone got broken which now needs surgery.

Zeeshan is a son of labour who can’t afford surgery expenses, hence the young cricketer is seeking help to get it done for the sake of his future.

READ: Pakistan Shaheens to undergo training camp ahead of SL tour

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced to conduct a four-day training camp for Shaheens ahead of their Sri Lanka tour. 

Pakistan Shaheens have been called for the training camp from tomorrow (October 17) here at Hanif Mohammad High-Performance Centre, National Stadium. The training camp will run till October 20 after which the team will fly for Sri Lanka on October 21.

The tour comprises two four-day fixtures and three 50-over matches in Kandy and Colombo from 28 October to 14 November.

Meanwhile, PCB also confirmed the replacement of Haider Ali in the squad with Sindh’s middle-order batter Mohammad Taha.

During the camp in Karachi, the players will prepare for both red and white ball matches, the coaching staff is led by head coach Ijaz Ahmed with Rao Iftikhar as his assistant coach.

Pakistan Shaheens squad

Saud Shakeel (captain) (Sindh) (both formats)
Kamran Ghulam (vice-captain) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Abbas Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (50-over)
Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab) (both formats)
Abrar Ahmed (Sindh) (both formats)
Ahmed Safi Abdullah (Central Punjab) (four-day)
Akif Javed (Balochistan) (50-over)
Arshad Iqbal (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Irfanullah Shah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Khurram Shahzad (Balochistan) (both formats)
Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Mohammad Taha (Sindh) (both formats)
Naseem Shah (Southern Punjab) (both formats)
Omair Bin Yousuf (Sindh) (four-day)
Qasim Akram (Central Punjab) (both formats)
Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab) (both formats)
Salman Khan (wicketkeeper) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Usman Salahuddin (Southern Punjab) (four-day)
Zahid Mahmood (Sindh) (both formats)

Player Support Personnel: Ijaz Ahmed (head coach and team manager), Rao Iftikhar (assistant coach), Mohtashim Rashid (fielding coach), Mohammad Javed (trainer), Faisal Rai (analyst) Col. Usman (team security manager) and Hafiz Naeem (physiotherapist).

Tour schedule:

21 Oct – departure for Kandy
28-31 Oct – 1st four-day match, Kandy
4-7 Nov – 2nd four-day match, Kandy
10 Nov – 1st 50-over match, Colombo
12 Nov – 2nd 50-over match, Colombo
14 Nov – 3rd 50-over match, Colombo

Karachi: Pakistan has got the hosting rights of Asia Cup 2023 which is likely to be a 50-over event, ARY News reported.

According to details, the decision was made during the Executive Board meeting of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in Dubai.

Jay Shah, President of the Asian Cricket Council chaired the meeting. Due to COVID-19 related risks and restrictions, an in-person meeting of the Board was convened after two years.

Remember, Pakistan had to host Asia Cup 2020 but it was postponed due to COVID-19. The tournament was moved to 2021 and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) handed hosting rights to Sri Lanka.

The tournament was once again postponed and was moved to 2023 due to a clash with the ICC Test Championship final.

Sri Lanka will host the fifteenth edition of the Asia Cup in September 2022 in T20 format.

Read: Ganguly invites Ramiz to watch IPL 2021 final 

DUBAI: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)’s president Sourav Ganguly invited Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s chairman Ramiz Raja to watch the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 final, scheduled for today [Friday]. 

According to the sources, the two heads met on the sidelines of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC)’s meeting. They discussed making Asian Block stronger and the revival of bilateral cricket among the two arch-rivals.

Meanwhile, Ganguly also invited Raja to watch IPL 2021 final but as per sources, the PCB chairman will not go to watch the contest.

It must be noted here that Pakistan and India will face each other after almost two years in the ICC T20 World Cup contest on October 24.

READ: Philander backs Green Shirts to produce magic at T20 World Cup

LAHORE: Grant Bradburn has sent his resignation to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as the head of the National High-Performance Centre (NHPC)’s coaching. 

According to PCB, Bradburn resigned from his post to explore more coaching opportunities across the world.

Bradburn, a former New Zealand’s Test cricketer, worked with the Pakistan team as fielding coach from September 2018 to June 2020 followed by his tenure as head of coaching at NHPC.

“It has been an honour and privilege to serve Pakistan, providing challenge and support, to drive the players, coaches and teams forward. I will leave PCB grateful for the wonderful opportunities and the experiences I have gained,

“As a foreigner, I felt welcomed and valued by my present and former PCB colleagues, players, officials and the Pakistan public. I have always felt safe here, loved exploring this wonderful country and made many lifetime friends,

“My wife Maree and three children have also sacrificed a lot in allowing me to serve Pakistan cricket. Covid-19 regulations made it challenging for them to visit Pakistan and feel the warmth, love and friendship this country offers. It is now time for me to prioritise family and move forward to the next coaching challenge,” Bradburn said in a statement released by the PCB.

READ: Pakistan to summon spirit of 2009 for T20 title, says Afridi