Former captains Wasim Akram, Misbah ul Haq and former player Azhar Ali could not reach the stadium to watch Pakistan Super League (PSL) match on Thursday after getting stuck in traffic in Karachi.
Wasim Akram has said that after being stuck in the traffic for 1.5 hours, “Today I understand why people are not coming to watch the match.”
Wasim Akram has asked that when he could not even reach near the stadium, how will people come to watch. “Containers are not the solution to everything, we have to solve these problems.”
Karachi fans are noticeably absent from the stadium.
Pakistan and Australia are playing the third and last Test of the three-match Test series. The match is being played in Gadaffi Stadium, Lahore.
Pakistan was 136-2 at lunch as Australia took advantage of Azhar’s wicket, which was crucial as Pakistan is chasing a big target in series-deciding match. Social media users are calling the decision controversial.
Azhar looked to sweep a ball from Nathan Lyon, which popped up in the air after hitting the pad. Steve Smith, positioned at slip, caught the ball and the entire Australian team went up in appeal in unison. The on-field umpire turned the appeal down and the Australian captain Pat Cummins asked for a review.
The third umpire saw a small spike on the “Ultra-edge” and overturned the onfield umpire’s decision. Azhar Ali had to walk back.
Azhar Ali had might not stepped up on both the crucial occasions for Pakistan during Karachi and Lahore tests but at the same time Azhar Ali was totally unlucky with his dismissals. The short ball didn’t bounced in Karachi Test and an unfair call by umpire in Lahore Test!#PAKvAUS
The former captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team announced the news of his mother’s demise on social media, saying: “My mother passed away this afternoon.”
“Soon will inform details regarding janaza. But I have request to follow SOP’s for COVID when attending the janaza. Please make dua for her” he added.
My mother has passed away this afternoon inna lillah hi wa inna eliehi rajion.. soon will inform details regarding janaza but I have request to follow SOP’s for COVID when attending the janaza. Plz make dua for her
Colleagues and noted personalities from cricket fraternity extended their condolences to the former captain.
Pakistan Cricket Team captain Babar Azam took to Twitter to condole with Ali.
No words are enough but my heart and prayers goes to you and family @AzharAli_ bhai. May Allah SWT elevate the ranks of your mother, grant her Jannatul Firdaus and keep her kind soul in His shade of love, Ameen. I request you all to recite Fatiha and Duroode Pak for her.
So sorry to hear this news Azhar bhai. Allah paak in k darjaat bohat buland farmayen, Qabar or Hashar k maamlat mein aasaani wala maamla farmaen, aap sab ko Sabar bakhshen Aameen https://t.co/IX92vl450D
Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un. My deepest condolences to you and your family @AzharAli_ bhai. I pray no one goes through the pain of losing a mother. May Allah bless Maa ji’s soul and grant her a place in jannat ul firdous Aameen.
Pakistan former captain Azhar Ali has likened Karachi batsman Fawad Alam to Turkish legend Ertuğrul.
Sharing a collage of Fawad’s century celebration and Ertuğrul Ghazi ready for battle in a still from the popular Turkish series Diriliş: Ertuğrul, Azhar said the batsman has a “heart of a lion.”
“What a knock from Fawad Alam!,” said the former skipper. “A lot of courage and character and determination.”
Eleven years, five months and 16 days from the day he scored his first Test hundred, Fawad pulled Wagner behind square – that shot had served him well both in defence and attack – past a diving deep fielder to bring up a second Test hundred.
The last one he scored was way back in 2009 when he hit 168 on Test debut against Sri Lanka while opening the innings. Since then Alam has played just six Tests having made a comeback in 2020.
Babar Azam’s injury gave him another go and yet he proved to be an ace for the team.
In a post-match video, Fawad credited Ali for the celebration.
“During a four-day game, Azhar Ali and I had a discussion. He told me if I get a century, this is how I should celebrate it,” said Fawad. “Maybe God granted his wish. And I remembered what he had told me. So, this celebration was for him.”
Babar Azam has been appointed as Pakistan Test captain, which now makes him the captain across all three formats. He replaces Azhar Ali, who last captained Pakistan against England this summer.
Babar Azam has been appointed as Pakistan Test captain, which now makes him the captain across all three formats. His first assignment will be to captain Pakistan in the ICC World Test Championship fixtures against New Zealand.https://t.co/sj1SS6vEqzpic.twitter.com/S7EDhaiR2N
Babar’s first assignment will be to captain Pakistan in the ICC World Test Championship fixtures against New Zealand, which will be played in Mount Maunganui and Christchurch from December 26-30 and January 3-7, respectively.
PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani confirmed the appointment following a meeting with Azhar on Tuesday evening in which he also thanked him for his contributions as a captain. The PCB Chairman subsequently spoke with Babar following his side’s eight wickets in the third T20I against Zimbabwe and congratulated him on his appointment.
PCB Chairman said, “I want to thank Azhar for stepping up last year by captaining the side in what was a historic first home Test series in over a decade. I believe Azhar still has a lot of cricket left in him and Pakistan cricket can continue to make the best use of his experience and knowledge as specialist top-order batsman moving forward.”
Congratulations @babarazam258 for being appointed as test captain all the best brother I assure my full support to you.. May Allah help you achieve many glorious victories for Pakistan Ameen….
Mani further said, “Babar was identified at a very young age as a future leader and as part of his progression and development, he was appointed white-ball captain last year. With his consistent performance and leadership skills, he has demonstrated that he is ready to take on the additional responsibilities of a captain.”
The chairman concluded by saying, “As we are looking into the future, it is appropriate that we appoint him the captain now so that he continues to grow stronger with every match.”
Meanwhile, Babar while sharing his thoughts on his appointment said, “I feel truly honoured to have been appointed Test captain and join some of the most iconic players who have captained Pakistan in the purest format of the game. I can now say with conviction that dreams can come true only if you chase them with honesty, dedication and commitment.”
“I am ready and prepared to take up the additional responsibility and the fact which gives me additional confidence is that I can do the job is the experience that is available to me in the changing room in the shape of the players and support staff,” he added.
Babar also thanked Azhar for the way he captained the team in the last season, which according to him was a challenging task.
Azhar should not have been sacked stay consistent with your decisions
Azhar Ali may not retain his position as Pakistan’s Test Captain during next month’s tour of New Zealand after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executive Wasim Khan said that the 35-year-old’s leadership will be “reviewed”.
According to details, rumours are rife in the executive corridors of PCB’s headquarters about a younger replacement. The speculations come just 12 months after Azhar replaced Sarfaraz Ahmed as Pakistan’s Test captain. Mohammad Rizwan and current limited-overs captain Babar Azam are the top choices for potential replacements for Test captaincy, with the change likely to happen as early as December when Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand is scheduled to take place.
Not a news, only a contemplation- prior to the tour to New Zealand we may see change in Pakistan’s Test captaincy. Azhar Ali meeting the same fate as did Sarfraz Ahmad. I sincerely hope my observational inference is entirely wrong @iRashidLatif68
Wasim also revealed that Azhar’s annual appraisal is being carried out and that a final decision has not been made yet as constitutionally the prerogative to name or dismiss a captain rests with PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani, who is due to meet Ali in the next ten days.
Azhar has struggled with form over the past two years and found himself in a sustained slump until he scored a hundred in Karachi late last year, followed by a fighting century in a rain-hit draw against England in Southampton in August.
Azhar is presently the most capped player in the Pakistan side with 81 Test matches in a career that started in 2010. He was appointed ODI captain following Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi’s ODI retirements after the 2015 World Cup when he hadn’t been part of Pakistan’s ODI plans. Following poor results in England and Australia during his tenure, he was axed from captaincy in January 2017 but remained in the squad until 2018 before losing his spot to younger players.
Ali had refused an offer to take up Test captaincy in 2017 after Misbah and Younis Khan retired from the longer format, with the PCB deciding to hand over the captaincy in all formats to Sarfaraz. While his limited-overs replacement Babar looks more secure than ever, Azhar’s stint as Test captain may well be drawing to a premature close.
Meanwhile, Wasim has backed Misbah and Babar as coach and captain for next year’s World Twenty20.
In a press conference, Wasim while speaking about Misbah and Babar had said: “Like every other job, that of the head coach and the captain is also performance-based. At the moment, our main focus is white-ball cricket with World Twenty20 events in each of the next two years and we’re backing Misbah and Babar for the next World Twenty20 as they’re both doing well together.”
Humayun Saeed’s younger brother Salman Saeed got married in Lahore Friday night and the wedding ceremony was a star-studded affair with Adnan Siddiqui, Shaan Shahid, Imran Ashraf, Ahmed Ali Butt, Vasay Chaudhry, Nadeem Baig, Khalil-ur-Rehman Qamar and Azhar Ali in attendance.
Babar Azam and Indian tennis player and Shoaib Malik’s wife Sania Mirza were involved in a fun conversation during an Instagram live on Malik’s account.
In the live conversation, both the Pakistani players’ Malik and Azam talked about their experiences, played a few games and when Shoaib asked the T20 captain about his favourite bhabi (brother’s wife), Azam replied that former captain Sarfraz Ahmed’s wife Khushbakht is his favourite.
As Babar was answering this question, Sania commented: “I will kill you.”
She also said that she won’t let him sleep on their couch anymore.
Not only Sania, former Pakistani cricketer Azhar Mahmood’s wife, Ebba Qureshi also reacted for not being chosen as the favourite bhabi.
Later, Azhar Ali laughed on their comments and said: ‘Ye tu hoga.’ Malik also liked Azhar’s response.
Azhar Ali has put up two of his ‘closest belongings’ – a bat and a national jersey – for auction in a bid to raise funds for those affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
In a video message posted to Twitter, the test cricketer shared that he is auctioning the bat with which he made a triple Test century during the day-night Test match against West Indies and the jersey from the 2017 Champions Trophy which also bears signatures of all squad members.
Azhar Ali hits out during the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final between England and Pakistan
In his message, Ali said that the base price for the two items was Rs 1 million each.
“These two things are very close to my heart and I wanted to keep them but desperate times call for desperate measures,” he added.
Earlier, Rumman Raees had also auctioned his debut ODI cap, which he received during the Champions Trophy, along with his jersey, cricket bat and the two-starred Islamabad United shirt. He had managed to raise almost Rs1 million.
Cricketers and sportsmen all over the world and auctioning their memorabilia to raise funds for coronavirus relief efforts.
Former New Zealand cricketer, Grant Elliott, who made PSL history with his iconic bat drop during the second edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2017 may not be making any sixes on the field for Lahore Qalandars this year but he’s definitely winning the Dubsmash game and is having a blast in Pakistan with his fellow commentators Azhar Ali and Fakhre Alam.
Watch the video to see what we’re talking about.
In case your memory needs a refresher, here is his epic bat drop moment.
