Tag: Rashid Latif

KARACHI: Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif has thrown his back behind the former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed and termed him the only backup option for Rizwan in Tests.

The former cricketer Rashid has opined on the backup of Pakistan’s primary wicket-keeper Rizwan in Tests and claimed that Sarfaraz is the only one who is equivalent to the standards of Rizwan in the longest format.

“You need a backup wicketkeeper in Test cricket of the standards equivalent to Mohammad Rizwan and Sarfaraz Ahmed is the only name right now who can perform wicket-keeping five days in a Test match,” claimed Rashid.

The former wicket-keeper batter also opined regarding the young wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Haris and claimed his inclusion cannot sideline Sarfaraz.

“Inclusion of Mohammad Haris cannot sideline Sarfaraz Ahmed,” he said.

It is pertinent to mention here Pakistan will tour Sri Lanka for the two-match Test series in July this year.

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KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif termed the career of the left-handed batter, Fawad Alam, a ‘case study’ and advised the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to make a documentary on it.

Fawad’s 13-year-long career, in which the batter has seen many ups and down from the century on a Test debut, ICC T20 World Cup 2009 glory, 10-year absence from the National team and his infamous come back to the international circuit in 2020 has inspired the former cricketer Rashid, who asked the PCB to make a documentary over it.

“He saw many ups and downs including ten years of gap in international cricket. The career of Fawad Alam is a case study. PCB should make a documentary on the career of Fawad Alam,” Rashid stated.

The former wicket-keeper batter also welcomed Fawad’s inclusion in the Test squad for the Sri Lanka tour and heaped praises on the left-handed batter; terming him one of the best batters in first-class cricket.

“Fawad Alam is among the top batters in the history of first-class cricket,” Rashid concluded.

It is pertinent to mention here that Fawad had a series to forget when Australia toured Pakistan after a gap of 24 years in April this year. The left-handed batter could only manage to score 33 runs in two matches.

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KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has accused the former Head coach of the Indian Cricket Team, Ravi Shastri for the downfall of India’s top batter Virat Kohli.

Rashid, in a video on his YouTube Channel ‘Caught Behind’ opined on the rough patch of the former Indian captain Kohli and blamed the former Indian coach Shastri for Kohli’s struggle for runs in recent times.

“It is because of him (Ravi Shastri) that this has happened. In 2019, you sidelined a player like Kumble and in came Ravi Shastri. Whether he had the accreditation or not, I have no idea. He was a broadcaster. Had no business in coaching,” Rashid said.

“Barring Virat Kohli, I am sure there would have been other people who played a role in getting Shastri in. But that is backfiring now, isn’t it? Had he (Shastri) not become the coach, he (Kohli) wouldn’t have gone out (of form),” he maintained.

It is pertinent to mention here that Kohli had reached the milestone of 70 international centuries and has batted more than 100 innings without scoring a century in more than two years. He scored his last century against Bangladesh in November 2019.

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KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif predicted England’s in-form batter Joe Root to come close to Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most runs in Test cricket.

England’s top batter Root, who is in sublime form in the longest format of the game has sparked the debate about him smashing Tendulkar’s all-time record of highest runs in Test cricket by amassing 10,000 runs in the format.

Following Root’s astounding feat several cricketers have come out with their predictions about whether the former England Test captain will be able to break Tendulkar’s record as ex-Australian captain Mark Taylor was the first to back the former to break the record.

The renowned commentator and the former English captain Michael Vaughan also supported Taylor’s prediction later and termed Root the favourite to break the record of the most runs in Test cricket.

The former Pakistan captain Rashid, now has also joined the debate and predicted that Root will surely come closer if could not break the record.

“It’s something you can predict. Some of these players such as Virat Kohli, Babar Azam and Joe Root, these players can score 1000s of more runs [as] they have so much time. Root will be eyeing Tendulkar’s feat. See, certain players left the game a little early or were not in great form,” Latif said on the YouTube show Caught Behind.

“Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting could have come close but for Root, it is important to be in the same form. If in the next 2-3 years, he can score 1200-1300 runs, he can come close. By the time he is 34-35, he may have the hope that he can go past it. Even if he can’t cross, he surely will come close,” he maintained.

It is pertinent to mention here that Root became just the second English batter and the joint youngest to amass 10,000 runs mark in Test cricket after his preceding captain Alastair Cook.

Furthermore, Tendulkar holds the record for most Test runs with 15,921 in 200 matches, whereas, Root has scored 10,015 runs thus far in 118 Tests.

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MUZAFFARABAD: Rashid Latif, The Director of Cricket Operations of Kashmir Premier League (KPL) claimed that some big names like Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, and Wasim Akram will be a part of the second edition of the league.

Rashid, who visited the Muzaffarad Cricket Stadium on Wednesday to access the facilities and preparations for the upcoming second edition of the KPL, claimed that the big cricketing names will feature in the second season.

“The second season of Kashmir Premier League will be more successful than the previous one,” Rashid stated.

“Some big names like Shahid Afridi, Wasim Akram and Shoaib Akhtar will be part of the league,” he shared.

The former wicket-keeper batter, however, kept his focus on bringing the local talent of Kashmir to the limelight by benefitting from the league.

“It is our priority to make Kashmir’s local cricketers part of the league,” Rashid concluded.

It is apropos to mention here that the second edition of the KPL will commence on the first of August this year, while the final of the event will be played on August 14.

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ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif has been appointed as the Director of Cricket Operations by the Kashmir Premier League, here on Monday.

The President of KPL, Arif Malik, has announced that a former coach and the captain of Pakistan Cricket Team Rashid will now take the charge as the new Director of Cricket Operations at the KPL headquarters here.

In an official statement released by the KPL, Arif said, “After the prodigious success of KPL season 1, I have no doubt that Rashid Latif is the right man to shoulder the responsibility of taking KPL to the new heights of modern world Cricket.”

Rashid, on the other hand, also commented on his appointment as the Director of Cricket Operations of KPL, saying he is excited about the opportunity offered by the KPL, while also keen to bring the Kashmiri talent to the limelight.

“I am excited about this opportunity and can’t wait to really get started. I am passionate about cricket and really looking forward to helping the cricket in Kashmir grow even better and bigger,” Rashid was quoted saying.

“We have a lot of talented young players in the Kashmir and I aim to bring [a] maximum number of young talent to be inducted in the league as their first introduction to global cricket opportunities and platform,” Rashid added.

“I know there are many hurdles but I am ready to take the challenge and focused to make KPL amongst the best leagues in the world,” he concluded.

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KARACHI: Pakistan’s former captain Rashid Latif has termed the top Pakistani batter Babar Azam as Don Bradman and Brian Lara of this era.

Rashid, in an exclusive interview for a YouTube channel, heaped praises on the Pakistan captain Babar and compared him with the batting greats Bradman and Lara.

“I once tweeted in 2019, while Pakistan were on a tour to England and I wrote names of the legends — with whom I have played including Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, and Mohammad Yousuf and said that he [Babar] is ahead of all of them,” he said.

“He is undoubtedly one of the greatest of this generation. He is like Bradman or Lara of this era,” he added.

Rashid also responded to the comparison between Babar and Saeed Anwar, saying they are one of the greatest batters of their respective eras, while also termed Saeed as the best batter Pakistan has ever produced.

“Saeed is undoubtedly the best batter the country has ever produced. The comparison between him and Babar does not make sense to me since the playing conditions and fielding restrictions have changed drastically between their times,” he said.

It is pertinent to mention here that Babar is currently the only batter in the world to feature in the top-five batting rankings in all formats, following his consistent run in all three formats.

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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s former cricketer, Rashid Latif, while talking to the media, here on Tuesday, commended the initiative of Prime Minister Imran Khan and is hopeful to bring talented sportsperson in the spotlight.

Rashid, a former cricketer, expressed his optimism that the sports drive will bring out exceptional players not only in cricket but in other sports as well.

“Kamyab Jawan Sports Drive is the best initiative by PM, the drive will bring forth talented athletes from a variety of sports, not only cricket.”, he said.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the Pakistan Super League (PSL) should also step out to support this idea, according to Rashid. He also lauded Lahore Qalandars, a PSL franchise, for the players’ development.

“We need to work like the Lahore Qalandars if we want to develop our players.”, he concluded.

READ: PM Imran inaugurates Pakistan’s largest ‘Kamyab Jawan Sports Drive’