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  • Asian U21 silver medalist snooker player Mohammad Majid Ali commits suicide

    Asian U21 silver medalist snooker player Mohammad Majid Ali commits suicide

    Renowned snooker player Mohammad Majid Ali, a silver medalist in the Asian U21 championship, sadly took his own life on Thursday, the first day of Eid-ul-Azha. Family sources have confirmed that Majid had been battling with depression for several years.

    Alamgir Sheikh, Chairman of the Pakistan Billiards and Snooker Association (PBSA), conveyed the distressing news to fellow players and members of the sports organization via a text message. This unfortunate event marks the second loss within a month for the Pakistani snooker community, as they had recently mourned the passing of Mohammad Bilal.

    The circumstances surrounding Majid’s death are both shocking and distressing. Majid’s brother, Umar, has confirmed that it was indeed a case of suicide. Majid tragically ended his life making use of a wood-cutting machine in his hometown of Samundri, near Faisalabad.

    Umar further confirmed that Majid had been enduring depression for the past few years, although the specific reasons remain unknown. Financial difficulties were ruled out as a contributing factor.

    Expressing his deep shock, the PBSA Chairman, in an interview with Geo, highlighted Majid’s exceptional talent, acknowledging that although his ranking had recently declined, he had always exhibited immense potential. He expressed profound sorrow at the loss of such a promising talent within the Pakistani snooker community.

    “We are profoundly saddened by the news of his passing. This is an immense loss for the Pakistani snooker community,” he concluded.

  • Ahmedabad will host India vs Pakistan World Cup match, ICC reveals schedule

    Ahmedabad will host India vs Pakistan World Cup match, ICC reveals schedule

    Ahmedabad is set to host the all-important India vs Pakistan World Cup, as International Cricket Council (ICC) has revealed the schedule for the mega event.

    The Cricket World Cup 2023 will be held in 10 venues across 46 days later this year.

    The World Cup kicks off on October 5 with a repeat of the 2019 Final as England take on New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

    Hosts India begin their campaign on October 8 against five-time World Cup winners Australia in Chennai.

    A total of 10 teams will participate in the showcase event, the first eight having already qualified through the Cricket World Cup Super League. The final two spots will be determined at the end of the Qualifier tournament in Zimbabwe, which concludes on July 9.

    Each team plays the other nine in a round-robin format with the top four qualifying for the knockout stage and semi-finals.
    Key Fixtures

    The much-anticipated India-Pakistan clash is scheduled for Sunday, October 15 in Ahmedabad. Their last encounter in the 2019 World Cup was a high-scoring affair with India achieving a huge victory in Manchester.

    Pakistan will face Australia in Bengaluru on October 20, while England clash against South Africa the next day in Mumbai.
    The final group stage match will be England up against Pakistan in Kolkata on November 12.

    Knockout Stages

    The first semi-final will be held on Wednesday, November 15 in Mumbai, and the second semi-final will be held the following day in Kolkata. Both semi-finals will have a reserve day.

    The final will take place at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19, with November 20 slated as the reserve day.

    All three knockout fixtures will be day-night affairs, with the matches beginning at 14:00 local time.

    Tournament Venues

    There will be a total of 10 venues – Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Dharamsala, Delhi, Chennai, Lucknow, Pune, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Kolkata.

    Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram, in addition to Hyderabad, will host the warm-up matches from 29th September to 3rd October.

    Pakistan’s World Cup schedule:

    Pakistan vs Qualifier, Oct 6, Hyderabad

    Pakistan vs Qualifier, Oct 12, Hyderabad

    Pakistan vs India, Oct 15, Ahmedabad

    Pakistan vs Australia, Oct 20, Bengaluru

    Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Oct 23, Chennai

    Pakistan vs South Africa, Oct 27, Chennai

    Pakistan vs Bangladesh, Oct 31, Kolkata

    Pakistan vs New Zealand, Nov 4, Bengaluru

    Pakistan vs England, Nov 12, Kolkata

  • Zainab Ali and Usman Qamar win gold at Special Olympics World Games

    Zainab Ali and Usman Qamar win gold at Special Olympics World Games

    Usman Qamar and Zainab Ali Raza of Pakistan won gold medals in the Special Olympics World Games 2023 being played in Germany.

    Usman Qamar also won the gold medal in a cycling competition.

    Qamar completed the distance of five km road race in seven minutes and 21.59 seconds. After the triumph, he said, “I had prepared hard for the World Games and I hoped that I would reach the victory stand but winning the gold medal is a dream come true. And I am also grateful to Special Olympic Pakistan who helped me a lot in my training and preparations”.

    Usman Qamar, who belongs to Islamabad, further said that he has been cycling since 2016 and attended two campuses for the World Games.

    Meanwhile, in the javelin men’s event of the 16th Special Olympic World Games of Athletics, Pakistan’s Umair Kayani won the gold medal with a throw of 38.81 meters, while Umaima Iftikhar of Pakistan won the silver medal with a throw of 10.47 meters in the women’s javelin event.

    The 25-year-old national athlete Umair Kayani from Wah Cantt called Commonwealth Games gold medalist Arshad Nadeem his idol.

    Umair’s Head Coach Irfan Anwar says that Umair is skilled in shot-put and javelin throwing since his early days and keeping this in mind for the World Games, his preparation has been going on for the past two years.

    The Head Coach hoped he will continue his streak of good performances in the shot put as well in the future as well and will win more honors and laurels for the country.

    The number of Golds for Pakistan is six now.

    Pakistan’s Saif Ullah won two gold medals, one silver, and one bronze medal in the powerlifting category of the ongoing Special Olympics in Berlin.

  • Shahnawaz Dahani ne African language kyun seekhi, player reveals details

    Shahnawaz Dahani ne African language kyun seekhi, player reveals details

    Shahnawaz Dahani, Pakistan’s ace fast-medium pacer, has opened up about a viral video featuring the cricketer on the streets of Zimbabwe, singing a famous African traditional song with local children.

    Recently, the Pakistan Shaheens toured Zimbabwe for two Test matches and six One Day Internationals (ODIs), winning both test matches while Zimbabwe emerged victorious in four out of six ODI matches. These were unofficial matches held in Harare.

    The most interesting part of the series was Shahnawaz Dahani’s lively moments on the streets of Zimbabwe with African kids singing their traditional songs in the African Shona language.

    While speaking exclusively to “The Current Life”, Shahnawaz Dahani was asked if he loves spending time with children and the story behind the viral video, as well as how he learned the language.

    “I love spending time with children as they are the future of Pakistan. They watch us and learn from us, and they have dreams just like we did in our childhood. The same goes for the Zimbabwean kids. They enjoy watching us, and we also enjoy their company,” the bowler said.

    “I learned the language in just 30 days. I observed and watched them closely to understand what they were saying, and I quickly picked up the language.

    My teammates were amazed at how I learned the language, and although they tried, they failed. The credit goes to me for learning the African Shona language in just 30 days,” Dhani stated.

    Zimbabwean kids really like cricket and follow Pakistan, the pacer explained, adding that it motivated him to learn their language. “If you have passion, you can easily accomplish difficult and seemingly impossible things,” he remarked.

    When asked how many languages Shahnawaz Dahani can speak, he replied, “I try to learn as many as I can. I love learning languages and new things. I can speak five to six languages.”

  • Pakistani snooker player Beats Iranian opponent in U21 Asian Snooker Championship, reaches final

    Pakistani snooker player Beats Iranian opponent in U21 Asian Snooker Championship, reaches final

    Ahsan Ramzan, the youngest cueist of Pakistan, is dominating the U21 Asian Snooker Championship. According to reports, Ahsan won against Iran’s Tirdad Azadipour 4-2 to make his way into the final.

    Ahsan started the semifinal match on the high as he dominated Azadipour in the opening two frames with the scoreline of 76-8 and 102-1 respectively.

    Azadipour, a quick reactor, broke the lead by 2-1 only for Ahsan to restore the advantage in the fourth frame.
    The next two frames also followed the same pattern as Azadipour won the fifth frame to stay alive but Ahsan Ramzan won the sixth frame to seal his spot in the final.

    The semifinal win gives hope to the young seven-years-old Ahsan Ramzan to grab the Gold medal in the Final.

    In the early phase of the tournament, Ahsan contested two group matches against Iran’s Arshia Tehrani and Ali Lalegani and remained unbeaten to book his spot in the knockout stage.

    In his first group match, Ahsan Ramzan thumped Tehrani by the score of 3-0 in the Best of Five.

    The 17-year-old snooker player started his first match of the competition on a high as he outclassed Tehrani by the scores of 55-21 before putting on an even more dominant show in the second frame, sealing it by 93-15.

    The flying start filled Ahsan Ramzan with momentum and he moved within one frame to register his first victory.

    He managed to retain the momentum in the third frame as well and blew away Tehrani 3-0.

    In his next fixture against Iran’s Lalegani, Ahsan Ramzan got off to a contrasting start as the Iranian cueist scored a 66-point break to seal the first frame.

    With Lalegani securing an early 1-0 lead, Ahsan recollected himself and marked an astonishing comeback by sealing the next three frames with great precision and securing his second back-to-back victory in the tournament.

    Ahsan Ramzan continued his rich vein of form in the quarter-final as he defeated India’s Digvijay Kadyan 4-3.

  • Babar Azam takes a dip in test rankings: Joe Root is the new Number 1

    Babar Azam takes a dip in test rankings: Joe Root is the new Number 1

    According to the new rankings of the International Cricket Council (ICC), England’s Joe Root has become the number one Test batsman in the world.

    After the first Test of the Ashes series, there has been a change in the ICC Test Player Rankings and England’s Joe Root has moved up five places to the first place in the rankings, replacing Australia’s Marnus Libuschen, with New Zealand’s Kane Williamson moving up two places to the second position and Marnus Libuschen to the third position.

    In the Test batsmen’s ranking, Travis Head is at the fourth position after a step up, while Pakistan captain Babar Azam remains at the fifth position.

    Similarly, Australia’s Steve Smith has dropped 4 places to sixth, Usman Khawaja has moved up 2 places to seventh and England’s Harry Brook has moved up to 13th place after 5 places.

    India’s Ravichandran Ashwin remains at the top of the ICC Test bowlers rankings.

    In the bowlers ranking, England’s James Anderson is second, Rabada has moved up one level to third, Pete Cummins has moved down one level to fourth, England’s Ollie Robinson and Australia’s Nathan Lyon have moved up one level to 5th and 6th respectively.

  • Amir Sohail sends legal notice to IPC to stop Sethi from holding meetings

    Amir Sohail sends legal notice to IPC to stop Sethi from holding meetings

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee announced the names of eight governing board members in yesterday’s meeting.

    However, the Ministry of Interprovincial Affairs stated that the committee’s term concluded on 19th and 20th June, invalidating its decisions. Moreover, it is expected that the individuals announced as governing board members will not be accepted.

    Former Pakistan captain, Aamer Sohail, has already taken a legal and proactive stance by sending legal notices to the Inter-Provincial Coordination (IPC) Minister and Election Commissioner to impede the committee’s functioning and operations.

    It should be noted that an important meeting of the management committee of PCB has been called this evening which will be chaired by Najam Sethi.

    The main agenda of the meeting is the formation of the governing board of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

    According to sources, four representatives of the department and four representatives of the regions will be approved in the meeting.

    Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had given the task of holding the election to the management committee as the governing board.

    The management committee includes Najam Sethi, Shakeel Sheikh, Haroon Rasheed, Azad Syed, Tanveer Paanzai, and Gulzada Kakar, but former captain Shahid Afridi and Sana Mir have resigned from working in the management committee.

    In response to an inquiry from the Cricket Pakistan representative, Ahmed Shahzad Farooq Rana, the Deputy Chairman of the Election Commission and Acting Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), confirmed that he had directed the legal department to evaluate the current situation and meet him on Wednesday morning to address the matter. Following this, a certain future action plan will be devised.

    Now, the question is who holds the authority to form the governing board? To which he said that as per Article 38, Section 6, the management committee was supposed to do this.

    Furthermore, he said that any of the ten members of the BOG (Board of Governors) have the option to nominate themselves for the position of chairman. The final decision will be reached through a voting process.

    As of yet, no notification has been received regarding the two members announced by the government. Rana further mentioned that the appointment of the new PCB chairman might take two more weeks because of the upcoming Eid holidays.

  • Australia stuns England with thrilling Ashes victory at Edgbaston

    Australia stuns England with thrilling Ashes victory at Edgbaston

    In a gripping Ashes encounter at Edgbaston, Australia claimed a thrilling two-wicket triumph, taking a 1-0 lead in the series with a remarkable display by skipper Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon.

    The final day was packed with tension, culminating in an extraordinary performance by Cummins and Lyon, who formed an unyielding ninth-wicket partnership. Against a boisterous crowd, they defied all odds and successfully chased down a target of 281, adding an unbeaten 55 runs to their team’s tally.

    This victory held significant meaning for Australia as it avenged their heartbreaking two-run defeat on the same ground 18 years ago, when they narrowly missed reaching a target of 282. Cummins, unbeaten with a crucial 44 runs, and Lyon, undefeated on 16, propelled Australia to their closest Ashes victory in terms of wickets since 1907.

    Initially, England seemed to be on the verge of victory as captain Ben Stokes bowled Usman Khawaja with a mesmerising slower ball, while Joe Root showcased exceptional skills with a return catch off Alex Carey. However, in the final hour of the match, Cummins and Lyon skillfully countered England’s short-ball strategy, thwarting their plans.

    The tension reached its peak when Stokes nearly pulled off a sensational flying catch to dismiss Lyon, but unfortunately lost control of the ball. With less than five overs remaining and three runs required, Cummins guided Ollie Robinson towards the third man, where a diving Harry Brook fumbled, ultimately securing an incredible win for Australia.

    The Edgbaston clash lived up to its reputation as an Ashes classic, captivating fans with its high stakes and enthralling cricket. The series now moves on to the second Test at Lord’s on June 28, promising further excitement and intensity for cricket enthusiasts worldwide.

  • Babar Azam and co ready to dominate in LPL: auction data released

    Babar Azam and co ready to dominate in LPL: auction data released

    The player auction phase for the fourth edition of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) has concluded, revealing an exciting roster of Pakistani cricketers who will grace the event from July 31 to August 22.

    Thirteen Pakistani players will be in action, with three signing pre-auction agreements and ten securing their spots through the auction process. The B Love Kandy team made noteworthy acquisitions, securing Muhammad Hasnain for $34,000, Asif Ali for $30,000, Muhammad Haris for $20,000, and Amir Jamal for $10,000.

    Fakhar Zaman, a prominent Pakistani national player, inked a pre-auction agreement with the B Love Kandy team. Shoaib Malik and Zaman Khan were selected by the Jaffa Kings, with Malik fetching $50,000 and Khan earning $30,000.

    The Dambulla Ora team acquired Shahnawaz Dahani for $20,000, adding a talented asset to their lineup. Moving to the Colombo Strikers, they secured Iftikhar Ahmed for $50,000, Wahab Riaz for $40,000, and Mohammad Nawaz for $30,000. Additionally, captain Babar Azam and fast bowler Naseem Shah signed pre-auction contracts with the Colombo Strikers.

    Unfortunately, some players did not find buyers in the auction. Imad Wasim, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Haider Ali, Umar Akmal and Sharjeel Khan were unable to secure contracts.

    The stage is set for an exhilarating LPL season, with these Pakistani players ready to showcase their talent and make an impact in the tournament.

  • PCB pe PPP ka haq hai, Zaka Ashraf hee chairman baneinge: PPP leader

    PCB pe PPP ka haq hai, Zaka Ashraf hee chairman baneinge: PPP leader

    The dispute over Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)’s chairmanship has entered a crucial phase as the tussle for claiming the Chairman spot continues between two major coalition partners in the federal government, Pakistan, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).

    PPP leader Faisal Kareem Kundi openly spoke about the chairmanship of PCB and stated that they have the right to decide who will head the board. In a conversation with Geo News in Dera Ismail Khan, Faisal Karim Kundi said that the government should utilize the skills of current Chairman Najam Sethi elsewhere.

    Hamid Mir, the host of Geo News’ program ‘Capital Talk’, mentioned that PPP believes that the Ministry of Sports falls under their control, therefore the head should also be someone from their party and not Najam Sethi. PPP wants to replace Najam Sethi with Zaka Ashraf, but PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif insists on retaining Najam Sethi at any cost. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif also recently met with Sethi when he briefed the Premier about cricket developments and two upcoming mega events in September and October.

    The Prime Minister nominated Najam Sethi for the chairmanship of PCB, while Zaka Ashraf, a close friend of Asif Ali Zardari and backed by PPP, is also being considered as a strong contender for the post, according to media reports. PML-N leader and Federal Minister Khurram Dastgir, speaking on this matter, dismissed the impression of differences between the two parties.

    Later, Federal Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah stated that there is no disagreement regarding the issue of PCB Chairman. In a press conference, Rana Sanaullah emphasized that the Prime Minister always brings everyone together, and PPP chief Asif Zardari also engages in discussions. He further mentioned that any party can have an opinion on the matter of the Chairman of the Cricket Board, but there is no disagreement.

    It should be noted that Najam Sethi met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a few days ago, during which Sharif instructed him to expedite the elections for PCB Chairman.