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Shoaib Akhtar recently praised an Indian artist for drawing a hyper-realistic ballpoint sketch of the former cricketer.
Chitrakar, a freelance artist from New Delhi had posted his art on Instagram. The sketch shows two expressions of the fast bowler, one in black ink and the other in red.
Taking to Twitter, the cricketer wrote, “I can’t thank you guys enough who make these illustrations by giving so much time & dedication.”
South Africa will tour Pakistan next month for the first time in 14 years to play two tests and three Twenty20 Internationals, officials confirmed on Wednesday.
The five-day matches will be staged in Karachi from January 26-30 and in Rawalpindi from February 4-8, T20 fixtures will be played in Lahore from 11th February to 14th of February.
International cricket has returned to Pakistan in the past 15 months following a militant attack on the Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009 that killed six policemen and two civilians.
“It’s pleasing to see so many countries making a return to Pakistan — a proud, cricket-loving nation,” South Africa’s director of cricket, Graeme Smith, said in a statement.
“I would like to thank the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for the hospitality and transparency they showed our security contingent when they travelled over there a few weeks ago,” he said.
He added: “The report on their findings and recommendations gives us confidence as an organisation that all of our team’s security, playing and accommodation needs will be met, and that the wellbeing of the team will be the top priority.”
The Cricket board of South Africa (CSA) also confirmed the tour on Twitter.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam said that aside from the thrill of playing at home, the tour will also be a chance for his side to test their progress across the two formats.
“I am delighted that South Africa have confirmed their tour to Pakistan and look forward to captaining my country for the first time in a home Test,” said Azam in a statement.
“Looking at the calendar of international cricket in 2021, I am pleased we are playing more against the sides which are ranked above us,” he said. “This is critical to not only our learning and development, but also an opportunity to improve our rankings across all formats.”
The ODI series between England and South Africa has been officially called off after issues around Covid-19 became too big to overcome.
Official confirmation of the abandonment on medical grounds came today (Monday) after a series of postponements and cancellations over the last three days.
A joint statement released by Cricket South Africa (CSA) and the England and Wales Cricket Board stated the decision was taken by the two boards “to ensure the mental and physical health and welfare of players from both teams.” Both boards will work together to reschedule the series, which is part of the ICC Cricket Men’s Super League.
England will return home without having played any of-the-three scheduled one-day internationals. The decision to call off the tour followed apparent breaches of the bio-secure environment at the hotel in Cape Town where both teams are staying.
A South African player tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday. Two hotel staff members then tested positive before two members of the England touring party returned what were described as “unconfirmed positive tests” on Sunday.
The series was to have started in Cape Town on Friday but that match was cancelled an hour before the players were to take to the field after the South African player’s positive test. That match was re-scheduled and moved to Paarl on Sunday, but that match was cancelled following the positive results in the England camp.
The teams played three Twenty20 internationals without any problems before the Covid-19 outbreak.
“CSA and the ECB will now work together to determine when the three-match series, which forms part of the ICC Cricket Men’s Super League, can take place in the future,” CSA tweeted.
CSA Acting CEO, Kugandrie Govender said: “The concern over the mental health impact of recent events on all involved is not one that we as CSA or the ECB take lightly and the decision to postpone the tour is the most responsible and reasonable course of action for us.”
Pakistani test cricketer Sami Aslam has called it quits with Pakistan cricket by joining hands with USA Cricket.
The 24-year-old opener, on his social media account, announced that he is in United States for a new beginning.
According to reports, Aslam has struck a deal with USA Cricket that will see him spend two years and 10 months playing league cricket in the States and eventually represent the US.
Aslam, 24, recently decided to quit Pakistan’s domestic cricket in favour of moving to the US as he was distraught at being demoted to Balochistan’s Second XI for the National T20 Cup.
The Lahore-born cricketer was disgruntled after not being selected in the 35-member squad for the New Zealand tour despite his string of solid domestic performances in the previous campaigns.
He has played 13 Tests and scored 758 runs at an average of 31.58 with seven half-centuries to his name.
The left-hander’s last appearance for Pakistan came in a Test match against Sri Lanka back in 2017.
PCB Challengers defeated PCB Dynamites by seven runs in a nerve-wracking final of the National Triangular T20 Women’s Cricket Championship, held at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Along with the trophy, the winning team also received Rs 1 million prize money while the runner-ups were awarded Rs 500,000.
Read more – Women cricketers travel to Karachi ‘in bags’
Dynamites won the toss and elected to bowl first. Batting first, Challengers gave a target of 134 to the opponent team. Chasing the target, Dynamites managed to score 126 only.
Kainat Hafeez who was the top Scorer from Champion’s side with her 31- runs innings was named the Player of the Match.
Kainat Imtiaz from Dynamites who gave an all-round performance throughout the tournament (111 runs and three wickets) was declared player of the tournament and was awarded Rs 50,000. Meanwhile, Subhana Tariq was the most successful bowler for PCB Dynamites. She picked three wickets.
Earlier this year, Champions won the first edition of the tournament by defeating PCB Blasters in the final.
Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi’s clash with Afghanistan’s Naveenul Haq has gone viral over the internet.
As per the details, the clash followed a heated exchange of words between Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir and Haq during a match of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) on Monday.
Haq’s Kandy Tuskers beat Afridi and Amir’s Galle Gladiators by 25 runs.
As the match continued, Haq misbehaved with Amir during the latter part of the game. Everyone tried to stop him, including India’s Munaf Patel, but he continued hurling abuses even after winning the match.
It had all started when Naveen was bowling to Amir and he hit a six.
During final fist-pump, Afridi asked him angrily “Kia hogya hai [what’s the matter]?” while also giving him the now viral death stare.
Naveen was also seen saying something to Afridi.
Meanwhile, Gladiators lost their third match in a row. Their next match is on Thursday.
The International Cricket Council (ICC), on Thursday, announced the nominations for the Awards of the Decade in the men’s and women’s categories. Two Pakistani male cricketers have been nominated for the awards.
According to details, former captain of the Pakistan cricket team and current head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and leg-spinner Yasir Shah are the only two Pakistanis nominated for the awards.
60 nominations have been made and the winners for each category will be selected through votes cast by fans around the world. The final announcements regarding the winners of their respective categories will be made on December 18.
Misbah was nominated for the ICC’s Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade whereas Shah was nominated for the prestigious category of Men’s Test Player of the Decade.
The former captain of the Pakistan side had won the ICC’s Spirit of Cricket Award for the year 2016 after leading his side to the number-one spot in the ICC’s Test rankings for the very first time since its inception.
Meanwhile, five Indian cricketers have been nominated in different categories from which four are men and one woman cricketer. Indian skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, R Ashwin and Mithali Raj are nominated in different categories of men and women. Interesting thing is that Kohli is the only player to be nominated in all five men’s categories in the ICC Player of the Decade Award.
Fans can vote for their favorite player and they can also win prizes by registering on the website. Voting opened on November 25 and will be closed on December 16.
Nominations list for each category can be read on the official website of ICC.
The sudden demise of football legend Diego Maradona of Argentina sent waves of grief across the world with celebrities and dignitaries mourning his loss. The 1986 World Cup winner passed away at home in Tigre after suffering a heart attack at the age of 60.
Soon after his demise, social media was flooded with tributes from all parts of the world.
Pakistani celebrities including Adnan Siddiqui, Ali Rehman Khan, Shoaib Malik and Shoaib Akhtar also mourned the footballer’s loss.
From across the border, Shah Rukh Khan and Ranveer Singh among other Bollywood celebrities also paid rich tributes to the former Napoli and Barcelona star.
Meanwhile, renowned names from the world of football also mourned their fraternity’s loss.
Cristiano Ronaldo called Maradona an “unparalleled magician”.
“Today I say goodbye to a friend and the world says goodbye to an eternal genius. One of the best ever. An unparalleled magician. He leaves too soon, but leaves a legacy without limits and a void that will never be filled. Rest in peace, ace. You will never be forgotten.”
Sharing a picture with Maradona, Lionel Messi said it was “a very sad day for all Argentinians and for football”.
“He leaves us, but he is not gone because Diego is eternal. I stay with all the beautiful moments I lived with him and I wanted to send my condolences to his family and friends.”
“A sad day for Argentina and a sad day for football as we celebrate the greatness of what this man gave us. Someone that played with passion, spirit and was nothing less than a pure genius. I was so excited to meet Diego and we will all miss him,” said David Beckham.
Shahid Afridi has responded to Haris Rauf’s yorker that dismissed him on duck.
In an interview with ESPN Cric Info Haris, while talking about the ball and his apology to Lala, said, “I have an aggressive style of celebration after taking a wicket, but when I dismissed Shahid Bhai yesterday, it was different as he is a superstar. He has given a lot of performances and won matches for Pakistan. So, it was essential for me to give him respect. I was not apologising, I was giving him respect.”
In response to the interview, Afridi remarked: “It was a great and unplayable yorker, Haris. Very well bowled.”
“Please bowl slow to me next time,” he added.
Afridi also congratulated Qalandars for their win and hoped for an exciting final between Lahore and Karachi. He also thanked his fans for supporting Multan Sultans this season.
Earlier in another interview, Rauf also said that Lahore versus Karachi is like an India-Pakistan match.
Lahore and Karachi will be battling tonight (November 17) for half a million dollars and glittery golden PSL Trophy.
Power hitter, Shahid Khan Afridi got clean-bowled on a duck by Haris Rauf’s yorker in a Pakistan Super League (PSL) match between Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans. After dismissing the legend, Haris apologised to the senior player, the video of which went viral on social media.
Afridi is nowhere close to the explosive big hitter he once was. There’s little need to get excited by him walking out to bat; he might once have been a trailblazer, but several around the world have mastered and bettered, the art. At 40, any exploits off Afridi’s bat are very much dying embers of a flame that once burned brightly, but Haris may just have snuffed them out in the eliminator match.
In the 14th over when Afridi walked out to bat, Rauf bowled a yorker first up tailing into middle stump. Few might have kept it out, but Afridi was notably slow in getting his bat down, the ball, whistling through his legs and onto the base of middle stump.
As Afridi began to walk off, Rauf clasped his hands together by way of apology. It was Rauf’s 50th T20 wicket this year and the 27-year-old is now the leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket this year (50 wickets from 31 games).
Later, in field when asked by the commentator via spider cam that why did he do that, on which he said: “He is a senior player and I came to play with this intention that if I’ll take Shahid bhai’s wicket, I will do this style.”
VIDEO: ‘Family Guy’ features Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings joke in new episode
Meanwhile, the biggest rivalry in PSL’s history is about to go down on Tuesday’s (November 17) match as both the teams [KK & LQ] will now get their first chance to snatch the trophy.