Tag: Pakistan team

  • Pakistani team’s tribute to David Warner with a gift

    Pakistani team’s tribute to David Warner with a gift

    The Pakistani team gave tribute to the Australian opener David Warner who played his last Test and also gave him a gift.

    David Warner, who played his last Test, scored 57 runs in the last innings of his Test career and was lbw by Sajid Khan.

    When David Warner got out and started to leave the ground, the Pakistani players and the spectators in the Sydney stadium gave him a standing ovation.

    Later during the award ceremony, Pakistan team captain Shan Masood congratulated David Warner on behalf of the Pakistan team and presented him with Babar Azam’s shirt as a gift, signed by all the Pakistani players.

  • Pakistan squad announced for second test against Australia

    Pakistan cricket team squad for the second test match against Australia, scheduled to be played on December 26, has been announced.

    Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has been dropped from the team while Faheem Ashraf has also not been included in the 12 players announced by the team management for the Melbourne Test.

    Wicketkeeper-Batsman Mohammad Rizwan has been included in the final 12 players while Mir Hamza has taken the place of injured Khurram Shehzad and Hasan Ali has been included in the squad in place of Faheem Ashraf.

    Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafiq, Shan Masood, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi, Aamir Jamal and Sajid Khan are also included in the 12-member squad selected by team management.

    It should be noted that the second Test between Pakistan and Australia will start tomorrow (Tuesday) in Melbourne.

  • ‘Like living under Covid’, say Pakistan due to ‘stifling’ World Cup security

    ‘Like living under Covid’, say Pakistan due to ‘stifling’ World Cup security

    Players are not allowed to venture out of their hotel without heavy security, forcing them to spend most of time in rooms

    Pakistani cricketers present in India for the ongoing ICC World Cup 2023 feel confined like they are back into COVID era due to the tight security that team director Mickey Arthur described as “stifling”.

    Arthur’s comments came a day ahead of the team’s crucial match against New Zealand which Pakistan must win to keep their hopes alive of reaching the semi-finals.

    Several Pakistan players have already suffered fever and flu at various stages of the tournament which fast bowler Hasan Ali attributed to “room sickness”.

    Players are not allowed to venture out of their hotel without heavy security, forcing them to spend most of their time in hotel rooms.

    “As a Pakistan team, we play a hell of a lot of cricket so being on the road is nothing new for these guys,” Arthur said.

    “What has been tough is the fact that we’ve been under a massive amount of security. So, I’ve been sort of taken aback.

    “I found it difficult. It’s almost like we’ve been back in the COVID times, where you were almost secluded to your floor and your team room.

    “So much so that their breakfast is in a separate room to everybody else. That’s been the tough aspect.”

    Pakistan are playing a tournament in India for the first time since 2016.

    Arthur said that outside of playing and training, the team have not had many outings since their arrival in the last week of September.

    “The boys are used to being on the road but when they’re on the road, they’ve still been able to get out and go and have meals, for example, at different places, and get out on their own accord.

    ‘It’s been tough’ 

    “We haven’t been able to do that this time. And that’s been tough. That has been quite stifling.”

    Arthur said no decision has been made yet on all-rounder Shadab Khan’s participation in the remaining matches after he suffered a concussion against South Africa.

    “Shadab went through a preliminary test today,” said Arthur.

    “He came through that OK, but we’re in no position yet to make a decision on him.”

    This was Shadab’s third concussion, having collided with a Sussex team-mate in a Twenty20 match in the UK in May 2023 and at the Asia Cup last year.

    Meanwhile, Arthur admitted Pakistan have not played up to their potential in India.

    “I’ll be brutally honest, I don’t think we’ve played to our full potential in this tournament yet. I thought the Bangladesh game was the first game where we actually put a complete game together.”

    Pakistan beat Bangladesh by seven wickets in Kolkata on Tuesday, their third win in seven games.

    They now not only need to beat New Zealand on Saturday and defending champions England (Kolkata on November 11) but also hope other results go their way.

    “We got ourselves into a position before the Bangladesh game where it was kind of out of our hands and it’s come back in a funny way into our hands again,” said Arthur.

    Arthur admitted South Africa’s 190-run defeat of New Zealand on Wednesday has handed them a lifeline.

    “South Africa did us a little bit of a favour as well so it’s kind of pushed it back into our hands, albeit a long shot and we need to win big in both our remaining matches,” he said.

  • Here is how Pakistan can qualify for the semi-finals

    Here is how Pakistan can qualify for the semi-finals

    In the ongoing ICC ODI World Cup in India, Pakistan has to play its next match against New Zealand on Saturday, a do-or-die match for the green shirts.

    According to the points table, South Africa, India, and Australia seem to be in a better position to reach the semi-finals, while Pakistan and New Zealand may face tough competition for the fourth spot.

    Pakistan and New Zealand have yet to play their remaining two matches in the World Cup.

    Pakistan will play their last match against England while New Zealand will play their last match against Sri Lanka. Pakistan need to win their remaining two matches to reach the semi-finals, while New Zealand will end the group stage with eight points if they lose both their remaining matches.

    Pakistan can qualify for the knockout stage with 10 points if they defeat their next two opponents.

    Pakistan must win against New Zealand by a good margin in Saturday’s match in Bangalore, an 83-run win or chasing down the given target in 35 or fewer overs will take Pakistan above New Zealand.

  • Pakistan’s World Cup woe — what’s gone wrong?

    Pakistan’s World Cup woe — what’s gone wrong?

    Pakistan’s chances of making the semi-finals of the Cricket World Cup are on a knife-edge after their eight-wicket defeat to Afghanistan.

    AFP Sport looks at three problem areas for Babar Azam’s falterinordinary

    World class bowling looks ordinary

    Pakistan’s bowling was touted as world class before the Asia Cup and when they restricted a strong India side to 266 all out in a washed out game at Pallekele, commentators saw it as a major warning to World Cup rivals.

    But two weeks before the showpiece event, key fast bowler Naseem Shah was ruled out with a shoulder injury.

    Spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi has 10 wickets in five games in India but has failed to make an early impact — his 2-36 against India and 5-54 facing Australia came in losing causes. In the opening wins over Netherlands and Sri Lanka, he managed two wickets at a combined cost of 103 runs.

    Haris Rauf has leaked runs, conceding 286 in five games for eight wickets while the spinners have lacked bite on the slow and turning pitches of India. Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Mohammad Nawaz and Iftikhar Ahmed have just six wickets in five matches between them, conceding 502 runs.

    Captaincy in question

    Babar Azam is one of the top batsmen in white ball cricket — he has two fifties at the World Cup — but his captaincy has been questioned and he has faced accusations of lacking aggression in field settings.

    Pakistan media have consistently accused him of favouring his friends in selection.

    “As far as captaincy is concerned, I don’t have much pressure on me or on my batting. I try to give my best in batting,” Babar said after Monday’s loss to Afghanistan.

    “During fielding, I think about captaincy and during batting I just think about the batting.”

    Babar has won some sympathy in India for his team having to play in front of crowds where Pakistan fans have been effectively banned.

    Tight security has also meant that the squad is virtually confined to their hotels once their playing and training commitments are completed.

    Lack of planning

    There have been frequent, unsettling changes in the the Pakistan Cricket Board set-up — three chairmen in the past year — which hurt planning for the World Cup.

    Former chairman Najam Sethi brought in Mickey Arthur as team director but he also kept his Derbyshire county job in England.

    Directing the team from the UK, he was criticised in some media as a “Zoom coach.”

    Pakistan officials have also been accused of failing to manage the workload of their fast bowlers with Naseem and Shaheen playing all three formats.

    Naseem’s most obvious replacements, Ihsanullah and Mohammad Hasnain were also unfit, forcing Pakistan to recall Hasan Ali.

    “You were not able to find a coach and since you liked foreign ones you hired an online coach. We change our system frequently and that is showing in our performance in the World Cup,” said former Pakistan great Wasim Akram.

  • ‘When you have your crowd then you get the support’: Saud Shakeel

    ‘When you have your crowd then you get the support’: Saud Shakeel

    Pakistan paid a heavy price for being “under extra pressure” in their World Cup defeat by arch-rivals India, said batsman Saud Shakeel, who Wednesday lamented the absence of the team’s passionate supporters from the tournament.

    Pakistan were thrashed by seven wickets on Saturday at Ahmedabad’s 132,000-capacity stadium where there was only a handful of Pakistani supporters.

    Babar Azam’s team slumped from a solid 155-2 in the 30th over to be dismissed for a paltry 191.

    “I think we were under extra pressure so we tried to get out of that and wanted to play shots,” Shakeel told AFP on Wednesday.

    The smattering of Pakistani fans at the game were expatriates from the United Kingdon and United States.

    Supporters from across the border are effectively banned after a failure to gain visas.

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday lodged an official complaint with the world governing body over the visa delays which have also kept many members of the country’s media at home.

    The PCB also complained over what they described as the “inappropriate behaviour” of Indian fans towards the Pakistan squad at the Ahmedabad game.

    “When you have your crowd then you get the support. We did not get that and it was not in our hands,” added Shakeel.

    Despite an eighth loss in eight World Cup meetings with their arch-rivals, Pakistan are still well-placed in the tournament after wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.

    Middle-order batsman Shakeel scored 68 against the Netherlands before making 31 in the game with Sri Lanka. He was out for just six against India.

    Next up for Pakistan is another high-profile duel, this time with five-time champions Australia in Bengaluru on Friday.

    “The mistakes we committed in the last game, we must overcome them. That match is gone. If we win against Australia then our position will get better,” added Shakeel.

    “Australia are always good in the World Cup. They are a very good side. We know our strong areas and we must play good cricket.”

    “We had a good start to the tournament with two wins. We want to go match by match and not commit the mistakes we did against India.”

    On Wednesday, all the Pakistan players with the exception of Mohammad Haris trained in Bengaluru.

    Haris is still suffering from a fever which laid low many of the squad when they arrived from Ahmedabad.

    Star fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi and opener Abdullah Shafique were the worst hit but were present in the nets at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.

  • Coach Misbah wants team to play aggressive, attacking cricket

    Coach Misbah wants team to play aggressive, attacking cricket

    Pakistan cricket team’s head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq has said that he wants the team to play aggressive cricket, attacking cricket and win, Geo News has reported.

    According to the details, Misbah while addressing a press conference in Lahore said, “This is a huge responsibility for me and I am happy that people had the confidence in me to entrust me with this responsibility.”

    The former captain continued, “There was a lot of talk about the type of cricket I used to play and what type of cricket I would bring once I became the coach”, adding that “I will try to play aggressive cricket, to play attacking cricket and win.”

    “I have always wanted to bring professionalism to the team. From top to the bottom and bottom to the top into the team”, he added.

    About the criticism that has been coming the team’s way, he said, “I know how to handle criticism, the key is to listen to people and if it is important then a person should have enough to listen and improve themselves”.

    However, he said that if the criticism is relevant then you should know how to handle that as well.

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on September 4, appointed Misbahul Haq as the head coach and chief selector of the men’s national team and Waqar Younis as the bowling coach.