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  • Has India become the new ‘choker’ of the cricket world?

    Has India become the new ‘choker’ of the cricket world?

    After being defeated by Australia in the final of the ICC Men’s World Cup, many cricket fans are saying that India has become the new ‘choker’ of the cricket world.

    Australia defeated hot-favourites India by six wickets to lift the World Cup title for the sixth time, dismantling the till then undefeated Indian team with clinical precision.

    Before the final, India remained unbeaten in the entire tournament, winning nine matches in the group stage, and defeating New Zealand in the semi-final. However, the winning streak was wiped away as the Indian team tasted defeat in the final, a one-sided game.

    The Indian team has played 10 ICC events since winning the 2013 Champions Trophy, and despite being favorites each time, they have failed to win the tournament.

    India’s performance in the last 10 ICC events:

    Defeated in the final of the 2014 T20 World Cup

    Defeated in the 2015 World Cup semi-finals

    Defeated in the semi-finals of the 2016 T20 World Cup

    Defeated in the 2017 Champions Trophy final

    Defeated in the 2019 World Cup semi-final

    Defeated in the final of the 2021 World Test Championship

    Out in the Super 12 stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup

    Defeated in the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup

    Defeated in the ICC World Championship in 2023

    Defeated in ICC ODI World Cup 2023

    Fans are pointing towards the Indian team’s performance in the last 10 ICC events to say that South Africa is not the only choker in world cricket.

  • Subh Chup: Australia’s Pat Cummins nay kar dikhaya

    Australian Captain Pat Cummins in his Press Conference yesterday, said “In Sports, there’s nothing more satisfying than hearing a big crowd go silent and that’s the aim for us tomorrow, you’ve just got to embrace every part of a final”.

    Today, Australia defeated the host India by 6 wickets in the final of the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup and became the world cricket champion for the sixth time.

    Remember that India was unbeaten throughout the whole World Cup but they choked in the final against Australia.

  • ‘Player of the tournament’: Protester hailed for wearing ‘Free Palestine’ shirt, halting India vs Australia match

    ‘Player of the tournament’: Protester hailed for wearing ‘Free Palestine’ shirt, halting India vs Australia match

    A protester is winning praise on social media for running onto the field during the India vs Australia World Cup final while wearing a shirt that said ‘FREE PALESTINE’. The protester was seen standing next to Indian cricket player Virat Kohli and waving the Palestine flag.

    In a clip released by Indian media publication ANI News, the protester revealed his name was John, and that he was an Australian citizen. He supported the Palestine cause.

    Twitter users hailed John as the real ‘Player Of The Tournament’, congratulating him for taking a defiant stand.

    Indian users have announced they are willing to fund legal aid to help John if he is arrested.

  • Mohammad Yousaf appointed Head Coach of Pakistan Under-19 Cricket Team

    Mohammad Yousaf appointed Head Coach of Pakistan Under-19 Cricket Team

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed former captain Muhammad Yousaf as the head coach of the Pakistan U-19 cricket team.

    Muhammad Yousaf’s first assignment will be the Under-19 Asia Cup in UAE from December 8 to 17 and the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka from January 13 to February 4.

    Muhammad Yousaf has previously served as the batting coach of the Pakistan Cricket Team and National Cricket Academy.

    Muhammad Yousaf is one of the most successful batsmen in Pakistan who scored 7530 Test runs and 9720 ODI runs in his career from 1998 to 2010. He has the honor of scoring 1788 runs in one calendar year (2006) in Test cricket.

    Muhammad Yousaf said “He is grateful to Pakistan Cricket Board Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf for entrusting him with this responsibility. This responsibility is an honor for him. Looking forward to it, both these tournaments are important for the development of the players and hopefully, we will be at our best in them”.

    Mohammad Yousaf said, “He has worked with Pakistan’s senior team, so he will bring his experience to the U-19 set-up to provide them with an environment where they can grow to the international level”.

    He said “Harnessing the skills of young cricketers is vital for Pakistan cricket, so he is fully prepared to play his part in identifying future stars, improving them and preparing them for the future. Can play a role”.

  • Sohail Tanveer appointed head of junior selection committee

    Sohail Tanveer appointed head of junior selection committee

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed former Test cricketer Sohail Tanveer as the head of the national junior selection committee.

    Tanveer’s first assignment will be the selection of the Pakistan U-19 team for the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) U-19 Asia Cup, to be held in the United Arab Emirates from December 8 to 17, after which the Pakistan U-19 team will participate in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka from January 13 to February 4.

    Sohail Tanveer has said that the appointment is an honor for him, thanking PCB Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf.

    “Our first responsibility is to form a strong team for the U-19 Asia Cup and the U-19 World Cup,” he remarked.

    Earlier, PCB appointed former former fast bowler Wahab Riaz as the chief selector of the selection committee of the national men’s cricket team.

  • ‘Non-cricketers are running the cricket board’: Javed Miandad

    ‘Non-cricketers are running the cricket board’: Javed Miandad

    Cricket legend, former captain Javed Miandad has said that those who run sugar mills are running cricket, wrong decisions have pushed Pakistan cricket towards destruction.

    The former captain said, “Those people who have nothing to do with cricket are running the game, so wrong decisions are being taken. Political influence is causing irreparable damage to the game in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)”.

    He was of the opinion that administrators like Abdul Hafeez Kardar are needed in the Board. “The appointment of a junior and less experienced cricketer in the selection committee is surprising,” he said.

    The master batsman then said that the greatest player of the country was ridiculed, non-cricketers are making cricket decisions. “The decision to remove Babar Azam from captaincy is not correct, and cricketers should be respected. Babar should have been given a competitive manager to make him a strong captain. Air Marshal Noor Khan made me captain and made Mushtaq Muhammad the manager. PCB’s recent treatment of a great player like Babar is pathetic.”

    Babar is not being told that he is repeating mistakes again and again, Miranda’s pointed out. “Removing mistakes at the net will give him confidence and he will become a good batsman. When I was the head coach of the Pakistan team, I worked on the mistakes of many batsmen including Mohammad Yousuf, Younis Khan”.

    He said, “In the presence of Iqbal Qasim, Mushtaq Mohammad, Sadiq Mohammad, Haroon Rashid, Shoaib Mohammad and such cricketers, such a cricketer who has recently retired from cricket was made the chief selector. How much cricket has Wahab Riaz played? I don’t need a position but good people should be brought forward which will benefit Pakistan cricket.”

    Without naming Zaka Ashraf, Javed Miandad said “How much cricket has he played?He is deciding the fate of cricket”.

  • Cummins urges Australia to ’embrace’ India crowd challenge in World Cup final

    Cummins urges Australia to ’embrace’ India crowd challenge in World Cup final

     Australia captain Pat Cummins has urged his side to “embrace” the challenge of facing a hostile crowd when they play in-form hosts India in Sunday’s World Cup final in Ahmedabad.

    A capacity crowd of 130,000 — which would be a record for any cricket match — is expected to roar on India, who have won all 10 of their matches en route to the showpiece game.

    The hosts are bidding for a third men’s one-day international World Cup title and second on home soil after their 2011 triumph.

    But five-time champions Australia are a team full of big-match performers who also know what it’s like to play in cricket-crazy India from their time in the Indian Premier League.

    “I think you’ve got to embrace it, the crowd’s obviously going to be very one-sided,” Cummins told a pre-match news conference at the Narendra Modi Stadium, named after the Indian prime minister, on Saturday.

    “But also in sport, there’s nothing more satisfying (as an opposition player) than hearing a big crowd go silent and that’s the aim for us tomorrow.”

    The 30-year-old fast bowler added: “You’ve just got to embrace every part of it, every part of a final — you know in the lead-up there’s going to be noise and more people and interest and you just can’t get overwhelmed.

    ‘No Regrets’

    “You got to be up for it, you got to love it and just know whatever happens it’s fine but you just want to finish the day with no regrets,” Cummins said.

    And while he accepted the dimensions of Sunday’s match would be different to any his side had experienced before, Cummins said: “We play over here in India a lot so the noise is not something new. 

    “I think on this scale it’s probably bigger than we would have experienced before but it’s not something totally foreign to what we’ve had before.

    “Everyone deals with it slightly differently — you see Davey (Warner) probably dancing and winning the crowd over, other guys just staying in their own bubble –- it should be good.”

    Victory on Sunday would cap a remarkable 2023 for Australia that saw them narrowly lose a Test series in India before defeating India in a World Test Championship final in England, where they also went on to retain the Ashes after a drawn series.

    “It’s been a huge year,” said Cummins. “These are four marquee events. If you have one of those in an off-season, it’s a big off-season.

    “Some of the guys probably spent less than a couple of weeks in their own bed since the end of the Aussie summer,” added Cummins, also the skipper of Australia’s Test team.

    “The guys have been awesome. They’re so up for every game they play. 

    “To put ourselves in this position, it (winning the World Cup) would just top off an incredible year and probably a career-defining year that a lot of us will look back on in years to come and be pretty proud of.”

  • Wahab Riaz selected as PCB’s Chief Selector

    Wahab Riaz selected as PCB’s Chief Selector

    Former Pakistani fast bowler Wahab Riaz has been appointed as the Chief Selector of the selection committee of the national men’s cricket team.

    Wahab Riaz’s first assignment will be to select the Pakistan team for the three-Test series in Australia, scheduled to take place from December 14 to January 7, and the five-match T20I series in New Zealand from January 12 to 21, 2023.

    Wahab Riaz started his international career in 2008 and took a total of 237 wickets while also scoring 1200 runs in 27 Tests, 91 ODIs, and 36 Twenty20 Internationals.

    He played three World Cups and was Pakistan’s second most successful bowler with 35 wickets in those competitions.

  • Babar Azam shares poignant post for Palestine

    Babar Azam shares poignant post for Palestine

    Former national team captain Babar Azam has shared a poignant post in for Palestine on social media platform ‘X’.

    In his post, a young girl is sitting on rubble with a Palestinian flag in her hand and a toy in her lap, with a poem in the caption.

    Muhammad Rizwan also shared the same post. He shared a post in favor of Palestine on social media during the World Cup as well.

    Posts shared by national cricketers on social media are going viral.

    More than 11,500 Palestinians have been martyred in Israel’s bombing of Gaza, including more than 4,500 children and around 3,000 women.

  • Naseem Shah decides to leave Quetta Gladiators

    Naseem Shah decides to leave Quetta Gladiators

    Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah has announced his departure from the Quetta Gladiators franchise for the upcoming season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). According to sources, Naseem Shah has decided to leave Quetta Gladiators after spending 5 years in the franchise, achieving major milestones in his time there.

    The 20-year-old fast bowler is now entering the drafting or trading process, with both Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi showing interest in signing him on.

    Shah suffered an injury during the Asia Cup in September, getting ruled out of the Pakistan squad for the Cricket World Cup 2023, a major setback for the team.

    It is still not clear whether Naseem will be fit to play in the ninth edition of PSL or not. Despite this setback, there are strong indications that Naseem Shah could find a place in Peshawar Zalmi for the upcoming PSL season, a development that is expected to generate excitement for the league’s fans and management.