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  • World Athletics Championships: Arshad Nadeem Qualifies for Final

    World Athletics Championships: Arshad Nadeem Qualifies for Final

    Pakistani Arshad Nadeem qualifies for finals of the men’s javelin throw event at the World Athletics Championships 2023, being held in Budapest. He has also qualified for the Paris Olympics with a throw of 86.79m in the final attempt. 

    Nadeem’s first attempt was 70.63m while the second was 81.53m.

    Nadeem recorded his career’s best throw of 90.18 metre in the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham which is also a record throw of the quadrennial event.

    India’s Neeraj Chopra has also qualified for the finals. of the men’s javelin throw event at the World Athletics Championships 2023, which is being held in Budapest. The Olympics gold medallist recorded a throw of 88.77m in his first attempt itself, which was enough to secure his place in the final. 

    It also happens to be among Neeraj’s best throw of the year, surpassing his previously recorded 88.67m and 87.66m attempts in the Doha Diamond League and Lausanne Diamond League respectively. 

    A total of 37 javelin throwers have been divided into two groups, with a total of 12 athletes to qualify for the final. Nadeem was in Group B along with world number one Jakub Vadlejch, who also automatically qualifies for finals in his second thrown of 83.50 meters. Meanwhile, Neeraj Chopra was in Group A. The Automatic qualifying mark for the final was 83 metres or at least the top 12. 

    The final of javelin throw will be held on Sunday, August 27.

  • Pakistan clinches thrilling victory against Afghanistan in 2nd ODI by one wicket

    Pakistan clinches thrilling victory against Afghanistan in 2nd ODI by one wicket

    In an intense match on Thursday in Hambantota, Pakistan narrowly defeated Afghanistan by one wicket, securing their series victory after a dominant performance in the first ODI.

    Naseem Shah, known for leading Pakistan to success in the Asia Cup 2022, once again played a pivotal role, guiding his team to victory in the final over when they needed 11 runs off 6 balls.

    During the chase of 301 runs, Pakistan faced setbacks with the early loss of Fakhar Zaman, but Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam’s partnership of 118 runs steadied the innings.

    After Babar’s dismissal, Pakistan’s victory seemed uncertain, but Shadab Khan’s 48 off 35 balls brought them back into the game. A dramatic final over included Shadab’s mankading and Naseem Shah’s heroics, ultimately leading Pakistan to triumph.

    In Afghanistan’s innings, Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s outstanding 151-run knock propelled his team to post 300-5, with a 227-run partnership alongside Ibrahim Zadran. Despite Gurbaz’s impressive display, Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah secured crucial wickets.

    The match highlighted Afghanistan’s batting prowess, but Pakistan’s resilience and Naseem Shah’s performance stood out, sealing a thrilling victory.

  • Equal pay, new contracts, and room for improvement; what is happening in women’s cricket around the world?

    Equal pay, new contracts, and room for improvement; what is happening in women’s cricket around the world?

    Pakistan

    It is the first time that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has given domestic contracts to 74 women cricketers. The period of the contracts is 11 months. 43 players are classified as emerging cricketers while 16 Under-19 cricketers. Thirteen of the players contracted have played international cricket. Among the many are Javeria Khan, Kainat Imtiaz, Anam Amin, Iram Javed and Gull Feroza who previously had central contracts.

    These cricketers will be paid the same monthly retainer. However, match and appearance fees, and travel and accommodation costs, will vary. ESPNcricinfo writes that “while the salaries are relatively modest, the fact that these contracts have been awarded at all will count as progress of some kind in Pakistan. In addition, the players will be offered a share in any prize money won”.

    A PCB press release stated that domestic contracts have been given to “individuals who have displayed remarkable performances across various cricketing platforms, including domestic cricket tournaments, emerging tournaments, U-19 domestic tournament, and the ICC U-19 Women’s World Cup,”.

    “I want to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the 74 women cricketers who have earned these contracts through their sheer talent and dedication,” PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf said. “Today marks a significant and joyous occasion for the Pakistan Cricket Board as we take a historic step towards uplifting women’s cricket in our nation.

    “This initiative isn’t just about signing contracts, it’s about investing in the dreams and aspirations of these extraordinary athletes. Our women cricketers have consistently showcased exceptional skills and dedication on the field, and it is high time we provide them with the platform they deserve.”

    West Indies

    In a recent conversation on Ladies Who Switch podcast, former West Indies cricket player Deandra Dottin alluded to the country’s cricket board, emphasizing the need to prioritize the players’ “respect and resources”. She has warned that negligence can have serious repercussions for Caribbean cricket.

    Dottin reflected on the issues she encountered during her time as a cricketer. She highlighted the negligence towards the needs of the players, “both in terms of resources and respect”, reports Sports Max. Dottin emphasized that the player will not be able to perform without required attention and a supportive space:

    “To be honest, there’s been a lot going on in the camp and so much I’ve been through, so many things that needed to be sorted out, and the players not getting the respect and basically the attention because there are things that needed to be done in order for players to actually perform to the best of their ability,” she said.

    Dottin announced her retirement from international cricket a year ago, claiming that the team environment was one of the reasons for her decision. She had a distinguished career of 14 years that includes the 2016 T20 World Cup title and the first century in Women’s T20 Internationals.

    Now, Dottin is among male and female cricketers working on franchise tournaments worldwide. She is associated with teams such as Manchester Originals, Adelaide Strikers, Trinbago Knight Riders, and Barmy Army.

    She believes that these leagues have more support to offer in comparison to the West Indies setup.

    “You will see a player come into West Indies Cricket and then you actually see they disappear… it’s basically like you’re getting what you want out of me and then you just throw me aside,” Dottin said.

    South Africa

    After New Zealand and India, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announces an equal international-match fee for their men and women’s players. This news came the same day as the announcement of a six-team professional domestic system for women.

    The past 18 months for the team were a great success as they reached the semi-finals of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup in New Zealand in 2022 and then made it through to the final while hosting the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup this year.

    It was the first time a senior South African team reached the World Cup final. Prominent individuals from the fraternity congregated in Tshwane on Tuesday to make the two celebratory announcements.

    Teams in South African domestic competition can now contract up to 11 players instead of 6. They will also have full-time coaches and support staff.

    “We are thrilled to unveil the Professional Women’s Cricket League, an initiative that celebrates the remarkable achievements of our national women’s cricket team and paves the way for an even brighter future,” said Cricket South Africa CEO Pholetsi Moseki.
    “Professionalising the women’s domestic structure has been met with enthusiasm from fans, players, and sponsors alike.”

  • ‘I am fine’: Heath Streak confirms good health amidst false death rumours

    ‘I am fine’: Heath Streak confirms good health amidst false death rumours

    Heath Streak heard about reports of his death at his home in Zimbabwe. These rumours quickly spread, leading to global tributes. However, Streak clarified to Sportstar that he’s actually in “good health, recovering from cancer.” He expressed disappointment at the careless spread of such rumours, emphasising his ongoing recovery from cancer.

    Earlier, Henry Olonga, a former colleague, wrongly announced Streak’s death on social media. Since Streak lacks a social media account and has been battling colon cancer since May, he couldn’t counter the false news. 

    Streak mentioned that he is recuperating from cancer, acknowledging some strain due to treatment but overall feeling fine. He clarified that, despite the social media reports, he is very much alive and on the path to recovery.

    Later, Olonga retracted his statement and apologised for the earlier post. A renowned figure in Zimbabwe cricket, Streak was banned by the ICC in 2021 for breaching the anti-corruption code in 2018. Streak achieved 216 Test and 239 ODI wickets. Following his international cricket career, he coached various international teams, including Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, and IPL teams like the Kolkata Knight Riders and the now-defunct Rajkot franchise.

    Streak’s cricketing achievements include being the first Zimbabwe player to secure 100 wickets in Tests and ODIs. He’s the sole cricketer from Zimbabwe to achieve the 100 Test wickets and 1,000 Test runs milestone, as well as amassing 2,000 runs and taking 200 wickets in ODIs. 

    Streak debuted in Test and ODI formats in 1993 and became the team’s captain during the 1999–2000 season.

  • Bye bye, Zaka Ashraf?

    Bye bye, Zaka Ashraf?

    Zaka Ashraf, appointed as the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in July, may be removed from the highly coveted post, media reports have said.

    Before being nominated the Chairman of PCB, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appointed Ashraf to the Board of Governors of the board at the behest of the ruling coalition’s main partner, Pakistan People’s Party(PPP).

    However, Zaka Ashraf was not elected as chairman due to a court injunction, after which he was appointed as the head of the management committee.

    Following the end of the previous government’s term earlier this month, the Election Commission has called for the cancellation of all appointments for political reasons, prompting the Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) to write to the prime minister asking for the appointment of Zaka Ashraf and two others.

    Read More: Pakistan beat Afghanistan by 142 runs in first ODI

    IPC secretary Hanif Orakzai wrote in a letter to the principal secretary to the prime minister that the names of Zaka Ashraf and Federal Land Commission chairman Pir Syed Ahmed Nawaz Shah were under the ministry’s oversight.

    If Zaka Ashraf is also ousted, the new chairman will become the fourth PCB chairman in less than a year.

  • Pakistan beat Afghanistan by 142 runs in first ODI

    Pakistan beat Afghanistan by 142 runs in first ODI

    Pakistan have beaten Afghanistan by 142 runs in the first ODI of a bilateral series between the two neighibouring countries. Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first, losing the early wicket of Fakhar Zaman on the second ball of the first over. Captain Babar Azam fell on the last ball of the 2nd over, adding to Pakistan’s troubles. In the first power play (first 10 overs) Pakistani team scored only 41 runs with three early wickets lost.

    After drinks, Pakistan was at 59/3, completing 100 runs in 25.1 overs. Imam-ul-Haq scored 61 runs while Muhammad Rizwan put up 21 runs. Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab scored 30 and 39 runs, bringing Pakistan to a total of 170 runs. At the tail end, Nasim Shah contributed 18 runs, finishing the inning with a total of 201 runs in 47.1 overs.

    Mujeeb ur Rehman took three wickets while Rashid Khan and Muhammad Nabi took two wickets each. Fazal Haq Farooqi and Rehmat Shah also took a single wickets each.

    The second innings was dominated completely by Pakistani bowlers, as the team made it difficult to play for Afghan batters. The Afghan side lost four early wickets with the score at 21 in the first power play. Afghan batters struggled in the whole match and finished at a total of 59 runs in 19.2 overs.

    Haris Rauf took a five-wicket haul with an economy rate of 2.84. Shaheen Afridi picked up two wickets while Nasim Shah and Shadab Khan succeeded in taking a single wicket each.

  • Amidst legal conflicts, teaser for the upcoming Shoaib Akhtar biopic ‘Rawalpindi Express’ released

    Amidst legal conflicts, teaser for the upcoming Shoaib Akhtar biopic ‘Rawalpindi Express’ released

    In an unexpected surprise, the trailer for the Shoaib Akhtar biopic ‘Rawalpindi Express’ has been released online, with Mirza Gohar Rasheed replacing Uzair Jaswal to play the legendary cricket star. The film, directed by Muhammad Faraq Qaiser, and written by Qiaser Nawaz, will explore the struggles through which Shoaib Akhtar went from a small town boy to becoming one of the biggest cricket stars Pakistan has ever seen.

    The cast comprises of Faran Tahir, Usman Peerzada, Adnan Shah Tipu, Rahim Pardesi, Hammad Siddique, Baatin Farouqi, Saleem Mairaj, Raheela Agha, Salman Shahid and Shafqat Cheema.

    The film’s production was mired with numerous controversies, as Shoaib Akhtar had announced he had left the pre-production, citing “failure to resolve disagreements amicably and constant contractual violations finally resulted in us cutting ties with them,” as the reason. In his detailed Instagram post, the former cricket legend said he completed all legal protocols and revoked the rights to the story of his life.

    In July, Shoaib shared a screenshot of the legal notice issued against the filmmakers behind ‘Rawalpindi Express’ warning that anyone innvolved in the production would be held responsible by authorities.

    “I have issued a stay order against the filming and release of the supposed biopic being made on my life by a certain group of people. I had to do this because they had threatened in writing of continuing filming regardless of the legal termination of the agreement. Any person involved in the project should know that its completely illegal and they will be responsible for any reputational loss.”

  • Pakistan women’s football team set to participate in six-nation tournament in Saudi Arabia next month

    Pakistan women’s football team set to participate in six-nation tournament in Saudi Arabia next month

    Pakistan’s women’s football team is set to participate in a six-nation tournament hosted by Saudi Arabia from September 18 to 30, as confirmed by the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF). The tournament will include teams from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Laos, Malaysia, and Bhutan. The PFF will soon announce a training camp to prepare the women’s squad for the upcoming event.

    The PFF released a statement mentioning that the Pakistan women’s football team will be part of the six-nation tournament taking place in Saudi Arabia from September 18 to 30.

    In January of this year, Pakistan traveled to Saudi Arabia for a four-nation tournament, competing against Comoros and Mauritius. The team achieved victory against Comoros but lost to Mauritius 2-1. They concluded the tournament on a strong note by drawing 1-1 against Saudi Arabia, which ultimately won the tournament.

    According to Arab News, one of the recent accomplishments of the Pakistani women’s football team was a significant 7-0 triumph over the Maldives in the South Asian Football Federation championship in September 2022. In April of the same year, Pakistan achieved an impressive 1-0 victory over Tajikistan in the qualifiers for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

    This win marked Pakistan’s first major tournament victory since resuming regular international football in September 2022, following a lengthy break. Previously, the team had secured victories mainly in friendly matches or exhibition tournaments such as the Four-Nation Cup in Saudi Arabia.

  • World Cup 2023: Pakistan matches may be rescheduled again

    World Cup 2023: Pakistan matches may be rescheduled again

    The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to change the schedule of two matches for the upcoming 2023 ICC World Cup in India. After security concerns were raised by local police, Indian media reported on Sunday.

    According to Indian media reports, Hyderabad police have sounded the security alarm for consecutive games, including the match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on October 10 at Rajiv Gandhi Cricket Stadium.

    The Pakistan-Sri Lanka match was originally scheduled to take place on October 12. But the date was later changed to give Pakistan enough time between games after their match against India on October 14.

    Earlier this month, nine matches in the World Cup had been postponed. But the HCA has reportedly not been consulted on the matter as they were forced to submit a request to change the schedule.

    Hyderabad police informed HCA that they won’t be able to make security arrangements for back-to-back matches. Further security will be needed for the Pakistan and India match especially.

    The match between Pakistan and India was originally scheduled for October 15. But it was rescheduled for October 14 due to the Indian festival Navratri.

    World Cup will start from October 5, continuing till November 19. In which a total of 10 teams competing for the title of Champions. World Cup will be played at a total of 10 different venues.

    Read More: Team AGONxi8 won PUBG mobile pro League Pakistan Fall 2023

    However, BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla shut down the request of Reschedule.

    There will be no other changes to how the World Cup is played, as it requires the participation of multiple stakeholders.

    Hindustan Times reported that Rajeev Shukla said “I can’t say for sure that will change, but back-to-back games are not ideal. I mean, it would be great if they (BCCI) reconsider”.

    BCCI vise president Rajeev Shukla shut down the request of Reschedule

    Rajeev Shukla shut down the request of reschedule and said:

    “I am in charge of Hyderabad, the World Cup venue. If there is a problem or something like that, we will do our best to fix it. Changing the World Cup schedule will not be easy, nor is it likely to happen. Only BCCI cannot change the schedule, teams, ICC, and all involved” Rajeev Shukla said.

  • Team AGONxi8 won PUBG mobile pro League Pakistan Fall 2023

    Team AGONxi8 won PUBG mobile pro League Pakistan Fall 2023

    AGONxi8, a PUBG mobile competitive team, has won PMPL (PUBG mobile pro league), the biggest PUBG mobile event in Pakistan, organized by Krafton, Tencent and Nodwin.

    PMPL has a league stage that is two weeks long, in which the top 20 teams from Pakistan compete with each other. The top 16 teams from the league stage qualify for finals, where they compete for the title of PMPL Champions.

    A mini match of TDM (Team Death Match) is also played during this event having an overall prize pool of USD 1000.
    In the first week of the tournament, Agonxi8 was on the top spot with 238 points, holding on to first place in the second week with 210 points. In the finals, they played aggressively from day one. By day three, they finished in first place with 295 points.

    FALAK was the MVP of this PMPL, having 60 eliminations points. He also makes a global record of 60 elimination in the three days finals. The previous record was made by TonyK from team Vampire E-Sports from Thailand.

    The overall prize pool is 70,000$ which is distributed as follows:
    Participation award: 1,750$
    TDM Award: 1,000$
    MVP (Most value able player) Award: 1,000$

    AGONxi8 also qualified for PMGC (PUBG mobile global championship) which will be a LAN event in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta. PMGC is the global tournament of PUBG mobile with a prize pool of USD 4,000,000.

    Overall Standings of PMPL fall 2023: