Umar Amin Archives

Pakistan thump South Africa in WCL 2025 clash

LEICESTER: Umar Amin’s impressive knock, followed by an all-round bowling performance, powered Pakistan Champions to a 31-run victory over South Africa Champions in the ninth fixture of the World Championship of Legends (WCL) 2025 here at Grace Road on Friday.

Chasing a daunting 198-run target, South Africa Champions could only score 167-9 in their allocated 20 overs.

In pursuit of the target, the Proteas lost their opening three batters inside seven overs. Hashim Amla (12), JJ Smuts (10), and Henry Davids (6) were removed cheaply as Pakistan Champions reduced them to 42-3.

South Africa continued to lose wickets in the middle, thus without any significant contributions, which left them reeling at 128-8 in 17.3 overs.

However, Morne van Wyk resisted with a valiant knock of 44 runs in quick time to reduce the margin of the defeat. His 20-ball innings featured five fours and two sixes.

For Pakistan Champions, Sohail Tanvir and Mohammad Hafeez picked up two wickets each.

Earlier, Umar Amin’s 58 off 42 balls and Shoaib Malik’s brisk 46* propelled Pakistan Champions to a strong total.

After being put into bat first in WCL 2025 eighth fixture, Pakistan Champions posted 198-5 in their allocated 20 overs.

Pakistani openers provided a brisk 27-run start before Sharjeel Khan’s departure, who made 19 off 11 balls, with the aid of three fours and a six.

Kamran Akmal scored 17 off 11 balls, striking four boundaries, and was removed in the penultimate over of the powerplay as Pakistan Champions were reduced to 54-2 in 5.3 overs.

South Africa’s Champions fight back with another wicket, that of in-form Mohammad Hafeez, in the eighth over. He was dismissed for eight runs.

However, Umar Amin’s and Shoaib Malik’s imposing 79-run partnership steered the runners-up of the last edition. Both batters batted fluently, taking Pakistan above 150 runs. Amin’s innings was ended as Pakistan reached 155 runs in the 16th over. The left-hander made 58 runs from 42 balls, striking four boundaries and three sixes.

The Pakistan Champions finished strong, with Shoaib Malik remaining unbeaten on 46 runs off 34 deliveries, which included five fours. Asif Ali added a quickfire 23 runs off just 11 balls, hitting two sixes and two fours, helping his team approach the 200-run mark.

For the South Africa Champions, Dwayne Olivier scalped two wickets, whereas Hardus Viljoen, Wayne Parnell, and JP Duminy picked up one wicket each.

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Playing XIs

South Africa Champions: Hashim Amla, Henry Davids, JJ Smuts, Sarel Erwee, Jean-Paul Duminy, Morne van Wyk (wk), Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Aaron Phangiso (c), Hardus Viljoen, Duanne Olivier

Pakistan Champions: Kamran Akmal(w), Sharjeel Khan, Umar Amin, Mohammad Hafeez(c), Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Aamer Yamin, Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz

READ: PCC Select XI defeat Pakistan Shaheens in second one-day clash

Top-order batter included in Pakistan Champions’ WCL 2025 squad

Left-handed batter Umar Amin has joined the star-studded Pakistan Champions’ squad for the upcoming 2025 edition of the World Championship of Legends (WCL), which kicks off on July 18 in England.

The Pakistan Champions will begin their campaign against the England Champions at the iconic Edgbaston Stadium in the season opener.

The franchise has unveiled the squad for the second edition, with some notable inclusions and a few surprising omissions.

Former captain Mohammad Hafeez will lead the side in his WCL debut season, taking over from Younis Khan, who is not part of the squad this time around. Another senior name missing from the lineup is Misbah-ul-Haq.

Among the fresh faces, wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed, all-rounder Imad Wasim, and left-arm pacer Rumman Raees join Umar Amin as key additions.

Meanwhile, the core of the team, including Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, and Wahab Riaz, remains intact.

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For the unversed, the WCL 2025 will be contested across four English venues: Edgbaston (Birmingham), County Ground (Northampton), Grace Road (Leicester), and Headingley (Leeds).

Six teams, India, Pakistan, Australia, England, South Africa, and the West Indies, will face off in a round-robin format, with the top four teams qualifying for the semi-finals.

The upcoming edition marks the second installment of the WCL, following the inaugural tournament held in 2024, where the Indian team, led by the legendary Yuvraj Singh, emerged as champions.

During the inaugural season, Younis Khan-led Pakistan were among the standout teams, producing dominant performances throughout the group stage.

Despite a spirited effort, Pakistan Champions fell just short in the final against arch-rivals India. After setting a target of 157, they couldn’t prevent India from chasing it down with five wickets and five balls to spare.

Pakistan Champions squad for WCL 2025

Mohammad Hafeez (c), Shoaib Malik, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Amin, Sharjeel Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed (WK), Shahid Afridi, Asif Ali, Aamer Yamin, Wahab Riaz, Rumman Raees, Sohail Tanvir, Sohail Khan.

READ: Ricky Ponting backs THIS batter to open alongside Usman Khawaja in Ashes

Umar Amin aims to emulate Fawad Alam’s international return

Pakistan batter Umar Amin has recently stated his ambition to return to international cricket, taking inspiration from the long-awaited comeback of Fawad Alam in 2020.

Fawad Alam made his Test debut in 2009 against Sri Lanka and played a memorable 168-run knock in the second innings.

However, the left-handed batter was dropped after two more matches and remained out of the Test side for eleven years despite strong performances in domestic cricket.

He continued to move in and out of the white-ball team, but he eventually fell out of favour with selectors, playing his last ODI in 2015.

However, he refused to lose hope and continued to work hard in domestic cricket, consistently amassing a large number of runs every season.

The southpaw finally earned the reward for his hard work as he earned a recall into the Pakistan Test team during the England tour in 2020. He went on to play 16 Tests from 2020 to 2022.

Umar Amin has a similar story, but he failed to make a mark during his early years in international cricket. He represented Pakistan in all three formats, but his last international match was in 2013.

During a recent interview with a local sports website, Umar expressed his desire to make a return emulating Fawad’s resurgence in international cricket.

“If I didn’t believe in this, I wouldn’t even be playing domestic cricket right now. The goal has always been to make a comeback and play for Pakistan,” Umar said.

“I’ve played a lot of cricket with Fawad Bhai, and he’s an example in front of me because he made a comeback after a long time. He also had consistent performances.

“So, I am very hopeful based on my good performance. My focus is just to give the best performance I can, do what is within my control, and not think too much about what’s beyond my control.”

Umar has recently played a 177-run knock during Pakistan Shaheens’ four-day match against Bangladesh A.

READ: Shan Masood reveals reason for dropping Mir Hamza

Umar Amin’s century puts Shaheens in dominating position

Umar Amin’s 32^nd first-class century has put Pakistan Shaheens in a commanding position against Bangladesh ‘A’ at the close of day two of the first four-day match at the Islamabad Club on Wednesday.

At stumps, Pakistan Shaheens were 367 for four in 90 overs, with a first innings lead of 245 runs. Saad Khan (31 not out, 39b, 6x4s) and Kamran Ghulam (20 not out, 63b, 1×4,1×6), will resume batting on the third day, which will begin at 09.30am tomorrow.

For Bangladesh ‘A’, left-arm spinner Hasan Murad bagged two wickets for 49 runs.

Earlier, after resuming their first innings at the overnight score of two for no loss, the home side were dealt a blow when left-handed batter Saim Ayub returned back to the hut, scoring 11 off 28 balls, which included a four.

Mohammad Huraira was the second batter to be dismissed, scoring 39 off 67 balls, hitting five boundaries.

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The experienced Umar was then joined by captain Saud Shakeel and the pair knitted a 195-run partnership for the third wicket.

During the partnership, left-handed Umar brought up his century. He fell 23 runs short of a double-century, and was dismissed for 177 off 211 balls, smashing 23 fours and three towering sixes.

After Umar’s departure, fellow southpaw Saud soon followed the centurion and was stumped off the bowling of Hasan for 76 with the scorecard reading 322 for four. Saud’s innings included nine boundaries across 132 deliveries.

READ: Pakistan, Bangladesh to play Karachi Test without spectators