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  • Amir rubbishes Misbah & Waqar’s explanations over his retirement

    Amir rubbishes Misbah & Waqar’s explanations over his retirement

    Head coach Misbah-ul-Haq, and bowling coach Waqar Younis, in a recent media briefing, said that Mohammad Amir’s exclusion from the team was only due to his poor performance and refuted his claims of not selecting him due to personal dislike

    In response, Mohammad Amir hit back at the duo, saying that they are portraying a different picture to take the blame off their backs.

    Responding to cricket journalist Shoaib Jutt, who asked him to “please tell now what was that [mental] torture”, Amir said that Misbah and Waqar have twisted the whole scenario and that he will respond to their claims in due time.

    Amir recently retired from all formats of international cricket, claiming he was mentally tortured by the current team management. He said that he will not play international cricket under this management.

    Amir was dropped from the team in the series against Zimbabwe and was also not part of the 35-man squad for the tour of New Zealand.

    Misbah and Waqar said that Amir’s recent performances have been really poor and he does not warrant a place in the squad. They did, however, say that Amir will be welcomed back into the team if he is able to perform better in the domestic circuit.

    Meanwhile, according to reports, Misbah and Waqar’s future is to be decided after the South Africa series. The coaches were under fire after the Kiwis thrashed Pakistan, with the Men in Green winning only one out of three T20Is, and losing both matches of the Test series.

  • Imran beats de Villiers, Kohli and Lanning to win ICC ‘best captain’ poll

    Imran Khan, who led the Pakistani cricket team to victory in the 1992 world cup, has been voted as the ‘best captain’ in a poll tweeted by the International Cricket Council.

    In a tweet, the ICC had shared a list of the best captain that included India’s Virat Kohli, South Africa’s Ab de Villiers and Australia’s Meg Lanning and asked: “Who would you rate as the best among these giants?”

    People chose Imran over all these “legends”, who narrowly defeated India’s Kohli to come on top.

    The poll was created after the ICC shared statistics of these “extraordinary cricketers”. It said captaincy “proved a blessing” for Imran, de Villiers, Lanning and Kohli whose “averages improved as leaders” of their respective teams.

    WHO ARE THESE ‘PACESETTERS’?

    Virat Kohli:

    Virat Kohli is the captain of the India national team since 2013. He is regarded as one of the best contemporary batsmen in the world. In 2018, he became the first cricketer to be awarded the top three International Cricket Council (ICC) awards—Cricketer of the Year, Test Cricketer of the Year and ODI Cricketer of the Year.

    Ab de Villiers:

    The South African skipper has been named as the ICC ODI Player of the Year three times during his 15-year international career. Cricinfo has described him as a “cricketer with overflowing talent and the temperament to back it up”.

    Meg Lanning:

    As the captain of the Australian women team, Lanning has multiple world cup titles in her name: one Women’s Cricket World Cup and four ICC Women’s World Twenty20 titles. She also holds the record of most ODI centuries.

    Imran Khan:

    Imran Khan was the captain of the Pakistani team that won the world cup. He is also the one who introduced reverse swing and popularised it.  Spot a left-arm pacer in Pakistan, you’ll glimpse a Wasim Akram; you spot a right-arm pacer in Pakistan, said an article in Cricbuzz.

    REACTIONS TO IMRAN AS THE BEST CAPTAIN:

  • Video of elderly lady who fails to recognise Shahid Afridi goes viral

    Video of elderly lady who fails to recognise Shahid Afridi goes viral

    There is no denying that Shahid Afridi is one of the most-recognised people in the word. The former captain of the Pakistan cricket team is well-known for his sixes on the field and charm off the field. However, social media is abuzz with a rare instance in which an old lady at the airport failed to recognise the cricket legend.

    In the video doing the rounds on social media, a woman is seen calling Afridi for a picture. 

    “Aray baita idhar aao. Yeh larkiyan keh rahi hain tum Shahid Afridi ho. Aik picture to lelo? [Hello son, please come here. These girls are saying you are Shahid Afridi. Please take a picture with us?]” the woman asked Afridi.

    Obliging to the request, Afridi went to the woman and took a picture with his fans. As the video made rounds on social media, netizens were seen praising the cricket legend for his humility and kind gesture.

    https://twitter.com/ItsMahah/status/1348937198918316033?s=20

    Read more – ‘Sorry Lala’: Haris Rauf apologises to Afridi for dismissing him

    Meanwhile, it is not clear where and when the video was shot.

  • PSL 2021: Interesting picks and drops

    The Pakistan Super League (PSL) teams on Sunday confirmed their line-ups for the sixth edition of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) marquee event, which will be held in Karachi and Lahore from February 20 to March 22.

    According to a press release issued on PSL’s website, in the Platinum Category, all-rounder Hasan Ali, who played the first five seasons for Peshawar Zalmi, was picked up by Islamabad United as a wildcard pick, Australia’s Chris Lynn moved from Lahore Qalandars to Multan Sultans, world’s number one T20I bowler Rashid Khan of Afghanistan was scooped by Lahore Qalandars, Quetta Gladiators went strong and snapped up England’s explosive Tom Banton and Universe Boss, Chris Gayle, while David Miller was snapped by Peshawar Zalmi as the left-hander is now set to become the latest South African to make his PSL debut.

    In the Diamond Category, Karachi Kings opted for two all-rounders – world-ranked Mohammad Nabi and Dan Christian of Australia; Peshawar Zalmi strengthened their side by snapping up T20I bowler Mujeeb Ur Rehman of Afghanistan and then added Guyana’s all-rounder Sherfane Rutherford to their roster, while Islamabad United picked up Somerset all-rounder Lewis Gregory.

    In the Gold Category, Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings picked Samit Patel and Chadwick Walton, respectively, Peshawar Zalmi took Amad Butt, Usman Shinwari was relocated from Qalandars to Gladiators, while Islamabad United picked Phil Salt.

    In the Silver Category, Islamabad United picked Iftikhar Ahmad, Reece Topley and Rohail Nazir; Karachi Kings opted for Danish Aziz, Joe Clarke, Mohammad Ilyas and Zeeshan Malik; Lahore Qalandars snapped up Mohammad Faizan, Tom Abell, Salman Ali Agha and Zeeshan Ashraf; Multan Sultans selected Adam Lyth, Mohammad Rizwan, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohaibullah and Sohail Khan; Peshawar Zalmi went for Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Saqib Mahmood and Umaid Asif, while Quetta Gladiators strengthened their side with Abdul Nasir, Cameron Delport and Qais Ahmed.

    Final squads (in alphabetical order):

    Islamabad United – Ahmed Saifi Abdullah (emerging); Alex Hales (Platinum; traded from Karachi Kings); Akif Javed (supplementary); Asif Ali (gold); Chris Jordon (supplementary); Colin Munro (diamond); Faheem Ashraf (diamond); Iftikhar Ahmed (silver); Hasan Ali (platinum), Hussain Talat (gold, brand ambassador); Lewis Gregory (diamond); Mohammad Wasim Jnr (emerging); Musa Khan (silver, successful relegation request); Phil Salt (gold); Rohail Nazir, Reece Topley (both silver); Shadab Khan (platinum); Zafar Gohar (silver, successful relegation request)

    Karachi Kings – Amir Yamin (gold); Arshad Iqbal (emerging); Babar Azam (platinum); Colin Ingram (platinum, traded from Islamabad United); Chadwick Walton (gold); Dan Christian (diamond); Danish Aziz (silver); Imad Wasim (diamond, successful relation request); Joe Clarke (silver); Mohammad Amir (platinum); Mohammad Nabi (diamond); Mohammad Ilyas (silver); Noor Ahmed (supplementary); Sharjeel Khan (gold), Qasim Akram (emerging); Waqas Maqsood (silver, brand ambassador); Zeeshan Malik (silver)

    Lahore Qalandars – Ahmed Danyal (supplementary); Ben Dunk (gold); David Wiese (diamond); Dilbar Hussain (gold); Fakhar Zaman (diamond, brand ambassador); Haris Rauf (diamond); Maaz Khan (emerging); Mohammad Faizan (silver); Mohammad Hafeez (platinum); Joe Denly (supplementary); Rashid Khan (platinum); Samit Patel (gold); Shaheen Shah Afridi (platinum); Sohail Akhtar (silver, successful relegation request); Tom Abell, Salman Ali Agha (both silver); Zaid Alam (emerging); Zeeshan Ashraf (silver)

    Multan Sultans – Adam Lyth (silver); Carlos Brathwaite (supplementary); Chris Lynn; Shahid Afridi (both platinum); Imran Tahir (diamond, mentor); Imran Khan Snr (supplementary); James Vince (gold); Khushdil Shah (diamond); Mohammad Rizwan (silver); Mohammad Umar (emerging); Rilee Rossouw (platinum); Shahnawaz Dhani (emerging), Shan Masood (gold, successful relegation request); Sohaib Maqsood, Sohaibullah; Sohail Khan (all silver); Sohail Tanvir (Diamond, brand ambassador); Usman Qadir (gold)

    Peshawar Zalmi – Abrar Ahmed (emerging); Amad Butt (gold); David Miller (platinum); Haider Ali (gold); Imam-ul-Haq (silver); Kamran Akmal (diamond, successful relegation request); Liam Livingstone (gold); Mohammad Amir Khan (supplementary); Mohammad Irfan Snr; Mohammad Imran; Mohammad Imran Randhawa (all silver); Mujeeb Ur Rehman (diamond); Ravi Bopara (supplementary); Saqib Mahmood (silver); Sherfane Rutherford (diamond); Shoaib Malik (platinum); Umaid Asif (silver); Wahab Riaz (platinum)

    Quetta Gladiators (retained) – Abdul Nasir (silver); Anwar Ali (silver, successful relegation request); Arish Ali Khan (emerging); Azam Khan (gold); Ben Cutting (diamond); Cameron Delport (silver); Chris Gayle (platinum); Dale Steyn (supplementary); Mohammad Hasnain (diamond); Mohammad Nawaz (diamond); Naseem Shah (gold); Qais Ahmed (silver); Saim Ayub (emerging) Sarfaraz Ahmed; Tom Bantan (both platinum); Usman Khan (supplementary); Usman Shinwari (gold) and Zahid Mahmood (silver, brand ambassador)

    Meanwhile, it is pertinent to mention that big names including Ahmad Shahzad, Junaid Khan and Hammad Azam have been left out of the tournament. Even the youngster, Kamran Ghulam was not picked despite his exceptional performance in domestic cricket.

    As per the PSL 6 schedule, the tournament will be fully hosted in Pakistan. Teams will play each other twice in the league format before the top four teams qualify for the playoffs. The tournament will be played between February and March 2021. This is the second time that all matches are scheduled to be played in Pakistan including the 3 playoffs and the final match. The 30-day 34-match tournament will culminate with the final at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on 22 March, marking the first time the venue will stage the final since 2017.

  • PAK vs NZ Test: Best vs worst performances

    PAK vs NZ Test: Best vs worst performances

    New Zealand bowled out Pakistan by 186 runs in the second Test match at Christchurch on Wednesday, beating by an innings and 176 runs to sweep the series 2-0 and top the world rankings for the first time.

    The home team presented their career best performances while the visitors show-cased their career worst performances. Meanwhile, Shan Masood led the board with his quacktrick.

    https://twitter.com/DennisCricket_/status/1346406792020967426?s=08

    Kyle Jamieson took three of the four dismisals after lunch as Pakistan went to tea on day four in Christchurch at 134 for seven, needing a further 228 runs to make New Zealand bat again.

    The 2.3 metre (6ft 8in) Jamieson had figures of six for 38 to go with his five for 69 in the first innings to become the first bowler to take more than 10 wickets in a Test at Hagley Oval.

    The Kiwi bowler with his 11 wickets was the nightmare for the opponent team as he became the first bowler to take more than 10 wickets in a Test at Hagley Oval, leading him to win the Player of the Match award.

    Meanwhile, the Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson with Man of the Series performance led from the front taking his team to not only a series victory but also the number one ranked Test team in the world right now.

    The 30-year-old scored 388 runs in the two Tests at a whopping average of 129 including a double ton in the same match.

    There was resistance from Azhar Ali (37), Abid Ali (26) and later Faheem Ashraf (28) and Zafar Gohar (37), but the batsmen couldn’t stitch together partnerships big enough to demotivate New Zealand, and that proved to be their undoing.

    Zafar Gohar, the debutant, resisted well thereafter, but Williamson got into the act with the ball at the other end, dismissing Shaheen Afridi (7). When Gohar then holed out off Boult, history was sealed.

    Williamson is also crowned as the first centurion of 2021.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan’s performance was the worst. Worst bowling, fielding and performances by the players except for Muhammad Rizwan, who tried his best in both the matches with his three half-centuries.

    Netizens criticised Masood for his performance in the Tests – the left-handed Pakistan opener scored a pair of ducks in the second Test against New Zealand, which when paired with his duck from the second innings of the previous Test gave him three straight failures.

    Former Pakistan cricket captain Shahid Afridi also expressed his disappointment over the national squad’s hapless performance in the second Test at Christchurch, describing it as “very poor”.

    His comments come in the wake of Pakistan’s crushing defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the second Test match at Christchurch by an innings and 176 runs.

  • Ronaldo becomes the first person to reach 250 million followers on Instagram

    Ronaldo becomes the first person to reach 250 million followers on Instagram

    Juventus star forward Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved an impressive milestone outside the football field, becoming the first person in the world to hit the 250 (251 now) million mark on Instagram.

    With 19.7 million likes, Ronaldo also managed to hold the record of the most-liked post of 2020. The Portuguese star’s post mourning the death of soccer legend Diego Maradona got the most number of likes on Instagram last year.

    Ronaldo himself follows only 458 people on Instagram. 

    The five-time Ballon d’Or enjoys a great fan-following across the globe and is one of the most prominent sportspersons in the world.

    The second most followed sportsperson on Instagram is Ronaldo’s arch-nemesis, Lionel Messi, with 175 million followers. Meanwhile, Brazil’s Neymar has 144 million followers.

    Sharing the news on Instagram, Ronaldo wrote: “What an incredible number! Thank you all, you’re part of this journey.”

    According to Forbes, Ronaldo earns nearly USD 1 million per sponsored post on Instagram.

    Meanwhile, Ariana Grande is the second most-followed individual and most-followed woman on Instagram, with over 214 million followers. Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is the third most followed person with over 210 million followers.

  • Sharma, Pant others being investigated for possible bubble breach

    Sharma, Pant others being investigated for possible bubble breach

    Five members of the touring Indian team in Australia could be part of an investigation after being involved in a potential bio-bubble breach reportedly while interacting with a fan at a Melbourne restaurant on January 1.

    Cricket Australia issued a statement saying that “they were alerted to a video post” of five players – Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Prithvi Shaw and Navdeep Saini eating at an indoor venue, and that they are investigating the incident along with BCCI to determine a potential breach. In the meantime, as a precautionary measure, the players have been placed under isolation.

    On Friday, tweets by a fan went viral on social media, where he posted a video of the players enjoying a meal in Melbourne. Subsequent tweets by the individual mentioned that he had paid the bill on behalf of the players, following which Sharma interacted with him and Pant “hugged” him, and the team members posed for a photograph.

    While the fan earned plenty of support for his gesture on Twitter, and the story earned considerable traction on Indian media, there were concerns surrounding the safety of the players at a time when the teams have been placed in strict bio-secure bubbles due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

    Soon after reports of the possible breach came to light, the fan seemingly issued a clarification on social media, stating that Pant had not hugged him as tweeted earlier “as it was all said in excitement”, and insisted that there was “social distance maintained all through”.

    Concerns around player safety are serious particularly in Sydney, the venue of the third Test of the ongoing series. With the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in Sydney, there were reports that Melbourne, the venue of the second Test, could host the third Test as well. However, after negotiations between Cricket Australia and authorities in Queensland and New South Wales, Sydney Cricket Ground was retained as the venue for the third game of the series, currently tied 1-1.

    Meanwhile, according to Indian media, the Indian team management believes that the five players were indeed sitting outdoors as is allowed by protocols. They moved indoors only after there was a drizzle. The board is clear that the players did not do any activity that breaches the bio-secure bubble protocols.

  • Pakistan cricket team visits families of Christchurch Mosque attack victims

    Pakistan cricket team visits families of Christchurch Mosque attack victims

    The Pakistan Cricket team, who will play its second and final game of the two-match Test series against New Zealand at Hagley Oval (Christchurch) on Sunday, took some time out from their busy practise schedule to pay a visit to the families of the victims of Christchurch Mosque attack.

    In a video shared by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the cricketers can be seen interacting with the families and spending time with them.

    Talking to the families of victims, batting coach Younis Khan said: “We can feel your pain and we are with you in your grief.”

    In March 2019, a mass killer attacked two mosques in Christchurch. 51 people were killed and many were injured during the shooting. The killer was later sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

  • PCB Awards 2020: Babar Azam, Fawad Alam win accolades

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced the winners of its awards for the year 2020. From Most Valuable Player of the Year award to Spirit of the Cricket award, PCB revealed the complete winners’ list on social media. The winners have been decided by an independent jury.

    PCB also live streamed the award announcement on its official YouTube channel. The event was hosted by Zainab Abbas.

    Here is complete list of winners

    Most Valuable Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam

    Period of consideration: (five Tests, three ODIs and 12 T20Is from 1 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2020)

    Test Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan

    Period of consideration: (five Tests between 1 Jan 2020 and 31 Dec 2020)

    White-ball Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam

    Period of consideration: (three ODIs and 12 T20Is from 1 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2020)

    Individual Performance of the Year – Fawad Alam

    Period of consideration: (20 international matches played between 1 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2020)

    Women’s Cricketer of the Year: Aliya Riaz

    Period of consideration: (1 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2020)

    Domestic Cricketer of the Year – Kamran Ghulam

    (Events under consideration HBL PSL 2020, National T20 Cup 2020 and first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2020)

    Men’s Emerging International Cricketer of the Year – Naseem Shah

    (International debut after September 1, 2019)

    ‘Pakistan team visiting Bangladesh dressing room after their 2-0 win in the T20I series’ – Spirit of Cricket

    Period under consideration: (1 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2020)

    Men’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year – Rohail Nazir

    (Players born on or after August 1, 1999 who are yet to make international debut for Pakistan. Period under consideration September 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020)

    Women’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year – Fatima Sana

    (Players born on or after August 1, 1999. Period under consideration 1 Sep 2019 to 31 Dec 2020)

    Umpire of the Year – Asif Yaqoob

    Period under consideration: (1 Jan 2020 to 31 Dec 2020)

    Corporate Achievement of the Year – HBL PSL V

    (Period under consideration: January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020)

    According to a press release, the PCB Awards 2020 are recognition and appreciation of the players and match officials for their achievements, as well as their contributions and sacrifices, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

    “All cricket in Pakistan was planned, executed and played under strict COVID-19 protocols. This meant Pakistan’s leading cricketers, player support personnel and match officials spent a large chunk of the year under tight restrictions, away from their families and friends,” added the statement.

    Winners will be presented specially designed trophies during the home series against South Africa, scheduled to take place later this month.

    Meanwhile, Shahid Afridi congratulated the winners and advised them “to build on this so that the country and the fans are proud of you in 2021 and beyond”.

  • Mohammad Asif accuses PTI’s Faisal Javed of meddling in players’ selection process

    Former Pakistan right-hand fast bowler Muhammad Asif has levelled serious allegations against Senator Faisal Javed Khan and accused him of meddling in the affairs of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

    In a recent interview with former Test Cricketers Shahid Nazeer and Shahnawaz Khan, Asif blasted the board for not doing enough for the promotion of cricket.

    Asif also claimed that under the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, the Pakistan cricket team is selected by Senator Faisal Javed Khan, adding that Waqar Younis, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younus Khan were pathetic coaches.

    “This team is not picked by Waqar, Younus or Misbah, it is selected by Faisal Javed Khan,” said the former pacer, adding: “As players, Misbah, Waqar and Younus were good but they are pathetic as coaches.”

    “They do not have any dignity or ego, they only know to say ‘Yes Sir’. Team will fail under their coaching,” said Asif further.

    Asif was banned for five years for his involvement in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal that left the cricketing world in shock. He hasn’t played for Pakistan since then. While he made his domestic comeback, he wasn’t given a second chance like left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir.

    Meanwhile, speaking exclusively to The Current, Senator Faisal Javed rubbished the claims and said that he has no idea why Asif is levelling such allegations.

    “These allegations are absolutely baseless,” said Senator Faisal. “I have no interaction with Misbah or any other official of the board. Whatever decision they take is their own and they are responsible for it. Our government has empowered the board completely and do not meddle in their business.”

    “Misbah is the most empowered PCB official and he is the one responsible for the selection and everything that follows,” added Senator Faisal.

    Talking further, Senator Faisal said that he offers his suggestions and advice to the board on social media and radio just like any other cricket aficionado.

    “I have been doing cricket commentary for 15 years now and often give my suggestions on social media or in talk shows,” said the senior leader. “Aur mazay ki baat yeh hai that the board always does the opposite of what I suggest. So I don’t know why Asif made such a shocking comment.”

    When asked about his thoughts on Pakistan’s performance in New Zealand, Senator Faisal said that “major improvements are needed”.

    “The team was not prepared and the team combinations were bad,” said the Senator. “I don’t understand why they did not take Shoaib Malik. He’s is in excellent form for T20.”

    “I understand they wanted to give younger players a chance, but it is always better to have a mix of both.”

    Senator Faisal also lauded Fawad Alam for his performance, saying that he should have been brought on the field earlier.