Australian captain Aaron Finch has said that he cannot wait to go to Pakistan for the white-ball leg, consisting of three ODIs and one T20I.
“As a player, I can’t wait to go to Pakistan for the white-ball leg,” said Finch, according to Sportstar.
The right-handed batter said that Pakistan has not been able to play cricket at home for a long time.
“That’s one part of the world that’s been deprived of (international) cricket for a long time now, and world cricket’s in a much better place when Pakistan’s thriving as a cricket nation,” he added.
The Australian cricket team will arrive in Pakistan in the last week to play three Tests, three ODIs, and one T20I at three different venues Rawalpindi, Karachi, and Lahore.
It will be Australia’s first tour of Pakistan after 24 long years. The Aussies’ last tour of Pakistan was in 1998 when they won the three-match Test series by 1-0 as two matches were drawn.
Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has welcomed the Australian cricket team to Pakistan after they confirmed their tour to Pakistan for the first time in 24 years. Australia will play a full-fledged series in three Tests, three ODIs and a solitary T20I on their tour starting March 4.
The minister also recommended the Australian team to try desi food in Lahore and Karachi.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote: “Welcome to Pakistan a beautiful country of ours, May you enjoy your trip and do try Our very Desi food in Karachi and Lahore.”
Welcome to Pakistan a beautiful country of ours, May you enjoy your trip and do try Our very Desi food in Karachi and Lahore…. https://t.co/kbWwOlbJtB
Rawalpindi will host the tour-opening first Test, swapping with Karachi, which will now host the second Test from March 12.
The Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore will be the venue for the final Test.
The schedule has been revised to ease logistical and operational challenges as well as to avoid Pakistan Day rehearsals, which usually commence in Islamabad in the second week of March.
The two cricket boards have also agreed that the Australia Test side will complete their isolation in Australia, before arriving in Islamabad on February 27 on a chartered flight. After a one-day room isolation, they will hold training sessions at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.
Australia’s white-ball players are expected to arrive in Lahore on March 24 following isolation in Australia. After a one-day isolation upon arrival, they will integrate with other members of the side and travel to Islamabad for the first ODI in Rawalpindi on March 29.
National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) head Asad Umar has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to allow free entry for students in the stadium during the Pakistan and West Indies matches.
Talking to the media outside National Stadium Karachi (NSK), while urging PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja, he said: “This is not the time to make money.”
The federal minister also asked Karachiites to come to National Stadium and support their team.
Speaking about PSL attendance, the minister said that PCB and NCOC are working jointly over Covid situation.
“There will be 100pc attendance during PSL 7 matches if Covid-19 situation did not worsen,” Asad added.
Separately today, the Karachi police have issued a traffic plan in connection with three T20Is and as many ODIs to be played between Pakistan and West Indies at National Stadium Karachi.
According to a plan issued by the traffic police, the Hassan Square flyover will remain closed for all types of traffic during T20Is and ODI matches.
In a bid to ensure foolproof security of the players, the traffic police in a statement said that Sir Shah Muhammad Suleman Road from Hasan Square to the National Stadium will remain closed for all kinds of traffic during the matches.
Following the decision of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to allow 20 percent crowd to attend each matchday of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 6, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday confirmed the ticket prices for 30 of the 34 matches, which will be played from February 20 to March 16. Ticket denominations for the Qualifier, two Eliminators and the final, to be played from March 18-22, will be announced closer to time.
According to a press release, online sale of tickets will start on Wednesday at 10 00 (Pakistan time) and fans can visit www.bookme.pk to purchase match tickets and select their preferred enclosure and choice of seat.
Fans can also call the Bookme helpline (03137786888) to book their tickets for which CNIC number and phone number is mandatory. When the match ticket has been confirmed, the customer will be sent a token number on the registered phone so that the customer can make the payment at the closest Jazzcash/Easypaisa shop. Upon payment, the customer will receive an e-ticket code along with a Quick Response (QR) Code, which the customer can use to print the ticket or show the SMS at the entry gate on match day.
To encourage families to attend the marquee event, the PCB has reserved certain enclosures of the National Stadium Karachi and Gaddafi Stadium Lahore for families.
At the National Stadium, enclosures reserved for the families include Hanif Mohammad (VIP Enclosure), Wasim Akram (Premium Enclosure), Zaheer Abbas, Iqbal Qasim and Nasimul Ghani Enclosures (First-Class Enclosures), and Intikhab Alam Enclosure (General) while family enclosures at the Gaddafi Stadium include: Fazal Mahmood (VIP Enclosure), Saeed Anwar (Premier Enclosure), Abdul Qadir (First-Class Enclosure) and Nazar, Quaid, Zaheer Abbas and Majid Khan (General Enclosure).
For Saturday’s tournament opener between Karachi Kings and Quetta Gladiators, which will begin at 7 pm, cost of VIP stands (Hanif Mohammad and Javed Miandad Enclosures) have been fixed at Rs 5,000, while the price of the First-Class stands (Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal, Waqar Hasan, Majid Khan, Iqbal Qasim and Nasimul Ghani Enclosures) have been kept at Rs 4,000. Similarly, price of Premium stands (Quaid, Wasim Akram and Imran Khan Enclosure) has been set at Rs 3,000, while the General stand tickets (Wasim Bari, Mohammad Brothers and Intikhab Alam Enclosure) have been fixed at Rs 2,000.
For Sunday’s double-header between Lahore Qalandars and Peshawar Zalmi, and Islamabad United and Multan Sultans, which will start at 2 pm and 7 pm, respectively, cost of VIP stands (Hanif Mohammad and Javed Miandad Enclosures) have been fixed at Rs 4,000, while the price of the First-Class stands (Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal, Waqar Hasan, Majid Khan, Iqbal Qasim and Nasimul Ghani Enclosures) have been kept at Rs 3,000. Similarly, price of Premium stands (Quaid, Wasim Akram and Imran Khan Enclosure) has been set at Rs 2,000, while the General stand tickets (Wasim Bari, Mohammad Brothers and Intikhab Alam Enclosure) have been fixed at Rs 1,000.
For matches to take place from Monday-Wednesday, cost of VIP stands (Hanif Mohammad and Javed Miandad Enclosures) have been fixed at Rs 3,000, while the price of the First-Class stands (Zaheer Abbas, Asif Iqbal, Waqar Hasan, Majid Khan, Iqbal Qasim and Nasimul Ghani Enclosures) have been kept at PKR2,000. Similarly, price of Premium stands (Quaid, Wasim Akram and Imran Khan Enclosure) have been set at Rs 1,000, while the General stand tickets (Wasim Bari, Mohammad Brothers and Intikhab Alam Enclosure) have been fixed at Rs 500.
For the first match in Lahore on March 10 involving Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings, ticket prizes for the VIP stands (Imran Khan and Fazal Mahmood Enclosures) have been set for 3,000, followed by Rs 2,000 for the First-Class Stands (Abdul Qadir and Sarfraz Nawaz Enclosures), Rs 1,000 for Premium stands (A.H. Kardar, Rajas, Javed Miandad and Saeed Anwar Enclosures) and Rs 500 for General stands (Inzamam ul Haq, Nazars, Quaid, Imtiaz Ahmed, Zaheer Abbas, Hanif Mohammad, Majid Khan, Saeed Ahmed Enclosures).
Meanwhile, overseas players have started arriving in Karachi, where the first half of the tournament will take place. Karachi will host 20 matches from February 20 to March 7 while Lahore will host the remaining 14 matches from March 10 to 22.
The Pakistan vs South Africa series kickstarted on Tuesday with a Test match at the National Stadium Karachi. While the day began with cricket aficionados witnessing some great wicketkeeping by ‘Super Rizwan’, it ended with four out after making just 33 runs. SA, on the other hand, had a score of 220-10.
Muhammad Rizwan’s exceptional wicketkeeping abilities left everyone in awe during the first session of the first test between Pakistan and South Africa. Middle-order batsman Van der Dussen was run out by a quick throw from Babar Azam and excellent work with the gloves from Rizwan.
With an excellent speed, Rizwan broke the wickets in seconds. The skipper’s throw in the right direction helped Rizwan run out the South African Middle-order batsman at 17 runs.
This Test series is very important for Pakistan Cricket as the green shirts have faced a humiliating defeat in New Zealand.
Pakistan’s 11 initially appeared strong with its two debutants, Nauman Ali and Imran Butt, but opener Imran, couldn’t do anything promising with the bat. Earlier in the day, Younis Khan and Yasir Shah had presented both Ali and Butt their first Test cap.
The visiting team opted for batting after winning the toss. They had a strong start but lost Markram early after which they could not construct a lasting partnership. The highest individual score from a South Africa batsman came from the blade of Dean Elgar, who scored a well-made 58. The visitors could only post a total of 220.
For Pakistan, with the ball, the spinners rose to the occasion. Yasir Shah was the highlight, with 3 wickets to his name, while debutant Nauman Ali snared two. The pacers had 3 wickets to their names. And then, Pakistan stepped out to bat, in their first innings. It was a horror start with the bat though, as they lost Abid Ali early and saw further collapses, including the skipper at 7.
In the end, they closed out Day 1, at 33 for 4, and probably have to thank the sun for setting down, rather than any of their batsmen. However, if one exception were to be made, one can say that Azhar Ali is gritting it out there – he is the man the visiting team would hope to snare as they resume play on Day 2.
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.”
