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  • Pakistan’s Hamza Saeed wins gold medal at Taekwondo Championship in Iran

    Pakistan’s Hamza Saeed wins gold medal at Taekwondo Championship in Iran

    Pakistan’s Hamza Saeed has won the gold medal in the 33rd Fajr Open Taekwondo Championship played in Tehran.

    Pakistan Army’s Hamza Saeed won the gold medal by defeating Iran’s Mohammad Ibrahim Hosseini 9-1 and 14-3 in the final of the 87 plus category.

    Shahzaib won the silver medal in the event and Pakistan secured the second position in the championship. Shahzaib Khan was defeated by an Iranian player in the final of 54 category.

    In the Fajr Open Taekwondo Championship, Iran won first spot, Pakistan second and Kazakhstan third. Hamza Saeed from Pakistan Army was declared the best player of Fajr Open.

    The Pakistan team will also participate in the World Taekwondo President’s Asia Cup from February 16 to 19 and the Asian Club Taekwondo Championship from February 21 to 22 in Tehran.

  • PCB terminates Haris Rauf’s central contract

    PCB terminates Haris Rauf’s central contract

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has terminated the central contract of fast bowler Haris Rauf due to his refusal to be included in Pakistan’s Test squad for the 2023-24 tour of Australia.

    According to Geo News sources, a statement has been issued by the PCB, and the decision has been taken in light of the investigation into his refusal to be included in Pakistan’s Test squad for the 2023-24 tour of Australia.

    After a thorough hearing process conducted by a PCB committee, and taking into account the views of all stakeholders involved in the matter, Haris’ central contract has been terminated with effect from December 1, 2023 and he has been suspended for any non-exemption. He will not be given No Objection Letter (NOC) to play in any foreign league till 30 June 2024.

    The PCB management had given Harris an opportunity of a hearing on January 30, 2024 as per the principles of justice, but his response was found to be unsatisfactory.

    The PCB says that playing for Pakistan is an honour for any player, and in the absence of any medical report or valid reason, refusing to be part of Pakistan’s Test squad is a violation of the Central Contract.

  • Pakistan Cricket Board has stopped giving free tickets

    Pakistan Cricket Board has stopped giving free tickets

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has stopped the hospitality (special) box and free tickets.

    According to Geo sources, PCB has issued orders to sell VIP box tickets and has also stopped the management from giving free tickets for all matches of Pakistan Super League season 9.

    PCB will save 25 crores in terms of security and administrative matters in this season and in the last season there was a dispute between the Punjab government and PCB in this regard.

    Chairman Mohsin Naqvi himself will bear the cost of decorating the chairman’s office. On the other hand, the renovation work of the chairman’s office in Gaddafi Stadium has also been started.

  • Mohammad Hafeez parts ways with Pakistan Cricket Board

    Mohammad Hafeez parts ways with Pakistan Cricket Board

    Muhammad Hafeez’s role as Director of Cricket has ended after an administrative change in the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

    According to the sources of Geo News, Muhammad Hafeez has been given a clear message by the board’s top officials that his services will not be required in the near future.

    The former batsman left for the Australia tour in December 2023 as director of cricket, but before the New Zealand tour was over, PCB management committee chief Zaka Ashraf resigned from his post.

    The manner in which Hafeez operated under Zaka Ashraf’s chairmanship was a cause of great concern to some board officials, the first practical example of which was seen at the end of the tour, when he met Acting Chairman PCB.

    After that, Hafeez was not given a platform on the detailed media briefing of the tour, after which it was reported that Chief Executive Salman Naseer and International Director Usman Wahla had developed reservations. The latest escalation in the situation came when, according to reports, Hafeez could not meet the new Chairman PCB Mohsin Raza Naqvi despite efforts to see him.

    After repeatedly contacting Nabila and Director Media Alia Rashid in the Chairman’s office, he could not get an encouraging response. Now he has received a clear message from Chief Executive Salman Naseer that the chairman does not seem willing to give him more time as a director and wants to have a foreign coaching staff with a different mindset.

  • PMGO 2024: Format, invited teams, dates and much more

    PMGO 2024: Format, invited teams, dates and much more

    Tencent has revealed the details of the Pubg Mobile Global Open (PMGO), the first worldwide PUBG Mobile competition of 2024, which is scheduled to happen in Brazil. This event, which features $500,000 in total prize money, will be held in three separate stages including qualifiers, Initials and main stage.

    Tencent plans to hold three worldwide competitions in 2024 due to fans interest. March 4 is the start date of the PUBG Mobile Global Open, which ends on April 7. This year’s calendar includes the second international competition, known as the Pubg Mobile World Invitational (PMWI), in July and the Pubg Mobile Global Championship (PMGC) in November and December.

    1) Qualifier

    On February 19, registration for this first phase of the tournament will open, providing underdog teams with the chance to face off against more seasoned teams. Two rounds will be held: Online Qualifier (March 4 to 10) and Offline Qualifier Finals (March 28 to 30).

    The top 32 teams advance to the Qualifier Finals, where the victorious team guarantees a spot in the PMGO Main Event. The whole prize pool for the qualifier is $64,000.

    2) Initials

    A number of PUBG Mobile teams, including the top finishers from the Qualifier Finals, partnered clubs, and certain invited teams, will compete in the initials, which will also be contested offline with a $80,000 total prize pool, it is slated to take place from April 1 to April 3, 2024. The top eight teams from the overall scoreboard will move to the third and final stage.

    3) Main Event

    The Main Event, which will take place in São Paulo from April 5 to 7, will have 16 teams competing for a $356,000 cash prize fund. Direct invitations to the PMGO 2024 Main Event have been extended to Alpha7 from Brazil, S2G Gaming from Turkey, and IHC from Mongolia. In addition to them, the PMSL SEA Spring, PMPL S0 South Korea, PMJL S3 Japan, and PEL PMGO Qualifier winners from the four regional competitions will also be at the event.

    These seven clubs will square off against the winning team from the Qualifier Finals and the top eight teams from the initials in the Main Event. They compete over three days to claim the title of PMGO championship. The competition will be streamed live on PUBG Mobile’s Facebook and YouTube channels.

  • Babar Azam only player in top 5 batsmen across formats

    Babar Azam only player in top 5 batsmen across formats

    Pakistan cricket team’s former captain and star batsman Babar Azam is the only player in the latest International Cricket Council (ICC) top fiver ranking across all formats.

    With 824 rating points, Azam still holds the first position in ODI rankings. Shubman Gill is second with 801 rating points and Virat Kohli is third with 768 rating points.

    In the T20 batting rankings, Babar Azam is at the fourth position with 764 points. Surya Kumar Yadav currently holds the top position with 861 rating points.

    Babar Azam is fifth in Test rankings with 768 rating points.

    Afghanistan veteran Mohammad Nabi has overtaken Shakib Al Hasan to take the top spot in the latest ICC Men’s ODI All-rounder Rankings. Shakib-al-Hasan held the number one spot in 50-over cricket for over five years but after constant injuries and good recent form from Nabi, he lost his position.

  • PSL 9: Here are the final squads for all six franchises

    PSL 9: Here are the final squads for all six franchises

    The ninth season of Pakistan Super League is starting from February 17, and here are the finall squads for all six PSL franchises.

    Multan Sultans

    Mohammad Rizwan (C), Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi , Ihsanullah, Faisal Akram, Dawid Malan, Reeze Hendricks, Reece Topley, Tayyab Tahir, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mohammad Ali, Usman Khan, Yasir Khan, Chris Jordan, Aftab Ibrahim, David Willey, Johnson Charles, Muhammad Shahzad

    Lahore Qalandars

    Shaheen Shah Afridi (C), Haris Rauf, David Wiese, Sikandar Raza, Abdullah Shafique, Zaman Khan, Mirza Baig, Rashid Khan (Unavailable), Fakhar Zaman, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Imran, Ahsan Bhatti, Dan Lawrence (partially unavailable), Jahandad Khan, Syed Faridoun, Shai Hope, Kamran Ghulam, Rassie van der Dussen, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Tayyab Abbas

    Peshawar Zalmi

    Babar Azam (C), Rovman Powell, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (all Diamond), Mohammad Haris, Aamir Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Haseebullah Khan (Emerging), Asif Ali, Naveen-ul-Haq (partially unavailable), Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Gus Atkinson, Mohammad Zeeshan, Lungi Ngidi (replaced by Waqar Salamkheil), Mehran Mumtaz, Noor Ahmad (replaced by Gus Atkinson), Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob, Shamar Joseph (partial replacement for Gus Atkinson), Arshad Iqbal (partial replacement for Khurram Shahzad), Luke Wood

    Karachi Kings

    James Vince, Hassan Ali, Shan Masood (C), Shoaib Malik (Mentor), Tabraiz Shamsi, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Akhlaq, Irfan Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Kieron Pollard, Daniel Sams, Tim Seifert, Mohammad Amir Khan, Anwar Ali, Arafat Minhas, Sirajuddin, Saad Baig, Jamie Overton, Zahid Mehmood (partial replacement for Zahid Mehmood), Leus du Plooy, Mohammad Rohid

    Islamabad United

    Shadab Khan (C), Naseem Shah (both Platinum), Imad Wasim, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Rumman Raees, Tymal Mills, Matthew Forde, Salman Agha, Qasim Akram, Shahab Khan, Hunain Shah, Ubaid Shah, Shamyl Hussain, Tom Curran (injured), Jordan Cox, Haider Ali, Obed McCoy

    Quetta Gladiators

    Rilee Rossouw (C), Mohammad Wasim, Jason Roy, Wanindu Hasaranga, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Hasnain (all Gold), Mohammad Amir, Will Smeed, Saud Shakeel, Sajjad Ali, Usman Qadir, Adil Naz, Khawaja Nafay, Akeal Hosein, Sohail Khan, Omair Yousuf, Sherfane Rutherford, Bismillah Khan (partial replacement for Wanindu Hasaranga), Sufiyan Muqeem

  • PSL season 9 trophy unveiled

    PSL season 9 trophy unveiled

    The trophy of season nine of Pakistan Super League (PSL) has been unveiled in Lahore on Tuesday. PSL 9 will be held in four cities- Karachi, Lahore, Multan- while Rawalpindi will host the final on March 18 at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi.

    Like the previous edition, 14 matches of PSL 9 will be played at Multan Cricket Stadium and Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from February 17 to 27.

    After that, action will shift to Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi and National Bank Stadium in Karachi where 16 matches will be played from February 28 to March 12. In the opening match, two-time champions and current title holders Lahore Qalandars will face Islamabad United, winners of the 2016 and 2018 editions.

  • Video: Football player killed by lightning during match

    Video: Football player killed by lightning during match

    A football player was killed by lightning during a soccer match in Indonesia, causing panic in the stadium.

    It can be seen in the video that the football players were playing a friendly match on the field when it suddenly started to rain with thunder and lightning. According to local media, a 35-year-old player of the “FLO” Subang team, Spitan, was killed by lightning.

    The tragic incident is the second incident of lightning striking an Indonesian footballer in the past 12 months. A young soccer player in Bujonegoro, East Java, was killed by lightning during the 2023 Soeratin U-13 Cup. In 2023, a 21-year-old Brazilian footballer was also struck by lightning on the pitch.

  • Quetta Gladiators to remove Sarfaraz Ahmed from captaincy

    Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Quetta Gladiators has decided to remove captain Sarfaraz Ahmed from the captaincy after eight years.

    Gladiators owner Nadeem Umar said in a special conversation with Geo News that Sarfaraz Ahmed wants to take a break from the captaincy of the team himself. Coach Shane Watson will decide who the new captain will be after consulting team management.

    According to Geo sources, it is believed that Rilley Rossow or Saud Shakeel is being considered to replace him as the captain, and the decision will be taken in the next two to four days.

    Quetta Gladiators have also replaced coach Moin Khan after eight years. He has been made the team director while Shane Watson has been given coaching duties.

    Nadeem Umar added that the old family of Quetta Gladiators has started coming together again, with team mentor Sir Viv Richards joining the team next week. “We wish Kevin Pietersen also comes in some role with Quetta Gladiators,” he said.

    PSL franchise Quetta Gladiators won the 2019 title under the captaincy of Sarfraz Ahmed, while the team has played the final in 2016 and 2017.