Australia and Pakistan taking on each other in the Boxing Day Test at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on Tuesday, players from both sides spread Christmas cheer during their training sessions.
In a heartwarming gesture, Pakistani players celebrated Christmas on Monday by visiting the Australian nets at the MCG and offering gifts to the Australian players and their families as both sides prepare for the second Test.
Pakistani cricketers were seen carrying gifts of cactus and candy to the children of the Australian players. Amid Christmas celebrations between the players of the two teams, the video has gone viral on social media, in which Usman Khawaja’s elder daughter is seen hugging former Pakistan captain Babar Azam in the nets.
Usman Khawaja is at loggerheads with the International Cricket Council (ICC) after the rejection of the request to show the sign of peace on the bat to the Australian batsman to show solidarity with the victims of Gaza for the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan in Melbourne.
Kangaroo’s left-arm pacer Mitchell Starc has been surprised to see the low pace attack of the Pakistan cricket team during the first test match in Perth.
In the first Test match the speed of the Pakistani pacers was not the same as the Pakistani bowlers who have toured Australia in the past. This attracted the attention of not only the fans but also the Australian camp.
Australian fast bowler Mitchell Starc expressed surprise at the low speed of Pakistan bowlers and said, “Everyone was expecting 150 km per hour from Pakistani bowlers. I think everyone is quite surprised at the low speed of the Pakistani bowlers because usually many Pakistani bowlers bowl at a speed of 150 km per hour.”
Stressing the importance of pace in the game, Starc said, “I don’t think pace is everything but it definitely makes a difference and can help a bowler.”
It should be noted that due to the absence of Naseem Shah due to injury and Haris Rauf not participating in the series, there is a shortage of bowlers who bowl at a fast speed of 150 kph in the Pakistani team.
Shaheen Shah Afridi also seems to be struggling to bowl at his usual pace after recovering from his knee injury.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to appoint former Test all-rounder Yasir Arafat as the high-performance coach of the Pakistan T20 team.
Former cricketer Yasir Arafat will be appointed in place of Australian coach Simon Helmot after the Test series against Australia.
According to Geo sources, Yasir Arafat has been appointed on the recommendation of director Mohammad Hafeez, who was initially appointed as the bowling coach of Pakistan U-19 in South Africa.
Yasir Arafat has reached Islamabad from London and will go to Auckland with the T20 team on January 3. Yasir Arafat has played club cricket in New Zealand.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has organized a Christmas dinner at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
The PCB officials and Christian employees including Chairman Management Committee Zaka Ashraf attended this Christmas dinner.
Addressing the guests on this occasion, Chairman PCB Management Committee Zaka Ashraf said, “I extend my heartfelt greetings to all the people celebrating Christmas in Pakistan and around the world, we are happy that you are a part of the Pakistan Cricket Board”.
Celebrating togetherness! Here’s a glance at the Christmas celebrations at Gaddafi Stadium with Chairman PCB Management Committee Mr Zaka Ashraf in attendance. pic.twitter.com/5S686MkBSG
The year 2023 has been not so good in terms of performance for the players of the national team, but in terms of personal life, many have started a new innings with their life partners.
This year, six players of the Pakistan cricket team got married. The first was current test team captain Shan Masood, while the most memorable were the weddings of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Imam ul Haq, with multiple ceremonies.
1:Shan Masood
Shan Masood has been replaced by Babar Azam as the captain of the national test team in Hahi, he married a girl from Peshawar, Nishe Khan, on 21 January 2023 and the pictures and videos of his marriage ceremony on social media went viral.
Cricketer Shan Masood and Nishe Khan met in Lahore, after which their friendship and relationship deepened.
2:Shadab Khan
National team all-rounder Shadab Khan married the daughter of former star spinner Saqlain Mushtaq on January 24, 2023. The ceremony was kept private while the wedding photos were not released.
Shadab Khan informed his fans about this news by sharing a picture of his marriage on Instagram.
3:Haris Rauf
Pakistani cricketer Haris Rauf and model Muzna Masood tied the knot on July 7, 2023, this year. A very simple ceremony was organized in Lahore, in which close relatives and friends participated.
4:Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan cricket team’s fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi and former captain Shahid Afridi’s daughter Ansha Afridi’s wedding ceremony was held in Karachi on September 19 and both were married in February 2023.
Soon after the Cricket World Cup 2023, Shaheen Shah Afridi brought his bride Ansha Afridi home.
5: Imam ul Haq
At the end of this year on November 26, 2023, the opener batsman Imam ul Haq married his close friend, Anmol Mehmood. Imam ul Haq shared pictures of the wedding on Instagram.
Many ceremonies were organized for the marriage of Imam ul Haq, including Nikah, Mayoon, Qawwali Night, Barat, and Walimah.
6:Faheem Ashraf
Faheem Ashraf also started his new life during the marriage of Imam-ul-Haq. He got married to the daughter of Rana Shabbir of Narowal.
Pakistan cricket team squad for the second test match against Australia, scheduled to be played on December 26, has been announced.
Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has been dropped from the team while Faheem Ashraf has also not been included in the 12 players announced by the team management for the Melbourne Test.
Wicketkeeper-Batsman Mohammad Rizwan has been included in the final 12 players while Mir Hamza has taken the place of injured Khurram Shehzad and Hasan Ali has been included in the squad in place of Faheem Ashraf.
Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafiq, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi, Aamir Jamal and Sajid Khan are also included in the 12-member squad selected by team management.
It should be noted that the second Test between Pakistan and Australia will start tomorrow (Tuesday) in Melbourne.
The video of Pakistan cricket team’s wicketkeeper-batsman Muhammad Rizwan making a speech in a mosque in Melbourne, Australia has gone viral.
The Pakistan cricket team is currently in Melbourne to play the Test series against Australia, where the second Test match will be played on December 26.
According to the viral video on social media, after reaching Melbourne, wicketkeeper-batsman Muhammad Rizwan reached the mosque to give a speech. It can be seen in the video that Muhammad Rizwan is teaching the people present in the mosque.
It should be noted that even earlier, videos of Rizwan preaching in mosques had gone viral.
Pakistani Player Unknown Battlegrounds (PUBG) team Agonxi8 won Pubg Mobile Club Open (PMCO) South Asia after a thrilling last match.
Total of 16 teams from South Asia participated in this event, but from Pakistan, only Agonxi8 could qualify for the finals. Agonxi8 Played Aggressive from day one where they scored 57 points with 39 kill and 18 placement points.
On day two before the last match of the finals, Agonxi8 was one top with 108 points, only one point lead from Nepal’s Hora-E-Sports who were on second spot with 107 points. But in the last match Agonxi8 played aggressive from start and manage to collect 13 points in last match and finish the finals on #1 with 121 points.
Cryptoo from Agonxi8 was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the two days finals with 33 eliminations.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced plans to revise its rules on player agents, which state that each agent can represent a maximum of two to three players as corporate clients. The decision marks a significant change in player-agent relationships within Pakistan cricket.
The new rules prevent agents from potentially engaging players in unethical activities such as match-fixing. However, progress on the review has been slow in part due to resistance from players and some PCB officials, who are hesitant to take action as current chairman Zaka Ashraf nears the end of his tenure.
The PCB is also looking into the issue of player agents after it found that eight national team players were represented by a single agent, Talha Rehmani of Saya Corporation.
Meanwhile, the company also had former chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq as a director, raising concerns about conflict of interest. As a result, Inzamam resigned from his post in October during the ODI World Cup.
The Grand finals of Pubg Mobile Club Open (PMCO) South Asia region are starting from today (Saturday). The top 16 teams from the South Asia region will compete with each other in 12 matches to choose the champion of this season.
The finalists were chosen following an exciting competition among multiple teams via using the 10-point system. The matches will starts on 5:00 PM (PKT) and will be live on Pubg Mobile Pakistan Official channel on YouTube.
Registration for the event was open from November 29 until December 6, 2023. The PMCO, which began on December 9 and will run through December 24, is divided into six phases.
The first qualifying round was conducted from December 9–11, while the Round of 512 was held on December 13–14. Then, on December 16, the top 128 teams squared off. On December 18, the Round of 64 took place, with the top 32 teams advancing to the next round. The 16 best teams have now secured their place in the final phase.
The finals contains only two days (23-24 December) with total 12 matches.
Here are the names of the finalists for the Club Open;
1-Agonxi8 E-Sports (Pakistan) 2-AST Official (Nepal) 3-RAW (Mongolia) 4-Vikings X SS E-Sports (Bangladesh) 5-ADROIT51 (Nepal) 6-Undergang Slayers (Nepal) 7-ISSL Noob Alliance (Shri Lanka) 8-Devil x Dragon (Nepal) 9-RAW E-Sports (Nepal) 10-A1 NB E-Sports (Bangladesh) 11-GEUD Gaming (Mongolia) 12-Finger Prints Global (Nepal) 13-LEO E-Sports (Nepal) 14-DRS Gaming (Nepal) 15-Horaa E-Sports (Nepal) 16-Pride of Chattogram (Mongolia)
Unfortunately, only one team Agonxi8 from Pakistan could qualify for the finals. Agonxi8 is one of the best teams in South Asia and Number one in Pakistan. They have been very consistent since 2-3 years. They are the multiple-time champions of Pubg Mobile Pro League Pakistan (PMPL) Pakistan.
Their new roster was announced just a few days ago after the farewell of Ghost and Blade. Now they are one of the most aggressive teams in Pakistan after the joining of Cryptoo. They have an aggressive roster with Falak, IQ, Cryptoo, and the In-game Leader (IGL) UZM.
