Tag: Pakistani Cricketer

  • Babar Azam grabs second spot in latest ODI batting rankings

    Babar Azam grabs second spot in latest ODI batting rankings

    Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam has dethroned Rohit Sharma to grab the second spot in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batsmen. With 837 rating points, Babar has gone past Rohit’s tally of 836 points after the latter failed to play big innings in the first ODI against England.

    Captain of the Indian cricket team Virat Kohli is still at the top with 868 rating points to his name. England’s opener Jonny Bairstow played an innings of 94 in the 1st ODI to clinch his career-best 7th position in the ODI rankings.

    The English captain Eoin Morgan has moved to 24th place whereas all-rounder Ben Stokes has moved up from 75th to 64th in the ICC ODI rankings for bowlers.

    Stokes also went past his fellow all-rounder Chris Woakes to clinch the third spot in the ODI rankings for all-rounders. After a match-winning knock of 98, India’s opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has moved two places to 15th and pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has gained five places to get into the list of top 20.

    The rankings are updated after taking into account the performances in the 1st England-India ODI and the first two matches of the New Zealand-Bangladesh series.

    On the other hand, Azam is on the same spot of three in T20I rankings with 801 rating points followed by Kohli who moved up one spot with 762 rating points.

    On the contrary, thePakistani skipper is at sixth place in the ICC Test Batting Rankings.

  • Azhar Ali’s mother passes away

    Azhar Ali’s mother passes away

    Azhar Ali’s mother passed away on Monday.

    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.

    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.

    “Dear Azhar, my deepest, heartfelt condolences to you and your family on the loss of your dear mother. God rest her soul,” tweeted Alan Wilkins.

    Sarfaraz Ahmed also prayed for the departed soul.

  • LHC suspends court order directing FIR against Babar Azam

    The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday suspended a court order, directing the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to register a case against Pakistan skipper Babar Azam over a harassment allegation.

    In the petition, Azam’s lawyer told the court that the trial court did not listen to his client’s point of view. He added that his client was innocent and appealed to the court for justice.

    The LHC, while suspending the order, directed the FIA to submit its response in the case within two weeks and issued a notice to complainant Hameeza Mukhtar.

    In his petition, Azam’s lawyer also appealed that he was an international cricketer and the captain of the national cricket team in all three formats. It contended that the order passed by the sessions court was an “unreasoned, non-speaking order”.

    The court directed the complainant to present her stance in person or through her lawyer.

    The Pakistan team skipper had challenged an order by a sessions court, directing the FIA to register a case against him under the cybercrime law on the harassment complaint.

    Mukhtar, in her petition, had accused Azam and two women of harassing her and sending her death threats via WhatsApp through different mobile numbers.

    She said she was continuously blackmailed by the suspects, adding that they threatened to upload fake pictures of her on social media if she did not accept their demands.

    The FIA in its report filed with the court said the cricketer did not appear before the investigating officer; however, his elder brother appeared and sought time on behalf of the defendant to record a statement.

    “Since, a regular inquiry has been commenced with respect to the complaint of the petitioner. Thus, the respondent (FIA) is directed to proceed further with respect to registration of FIR against the culprits within the stipulated time after committing legal formalities,” the sessions court had said in the order.

    Earlier, Mukhtar levelled allegations of abortion and deceitful intercourse on the false assurance of marriage against the cricketer.

    She accused Azam of maintaining illicit relations and making false promises of marriage. She also alleged that she got pregnant in 2015 with Azam’s baby but on his wish, got it aborted. Later, they reportedly reconciled.

  • Babar Azam responds to harassment allegations

    Babar Azam responds to harassment allegations

    Babar Azam on Friday responded to the allegations of harassment on him and the case that has been petitioned before a local court in Lahore.

    Speaking to the media via video link, the Captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team said: “This is my personal matter and my lawyer is dealing with it in court. We face many hurdles in life and this is not the first one and I don’t want to discuss it further as I want to focus on the upcoming series of South Africa and Zimbabwe.”

    Earlier on March 18, a local court in Lahore had ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to register a case against the skipper for harassing and blackmailing his former class fellow Hameeza Mukhtar.

    During the media interaction, Azam also addressed the rumors of his clashes with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management and the selection committee regarding the selection process of the players.

    “I want to clear all rumours [of a rift] between me and the management. It is better if these things remain in the meeting rooms. Debate is good for the team, some people agree with the debate and some do not. This is a normal thing and should remain in the meeting rooms,” said Azam.

    He further said: “This is not my team, this is our team. So, I do understand the protocols of selection.”

    “The role of captaincy is given to me and I have to utilize the players according to the situation [of the match]. I welcome the new team and InshAllah the results of the tour will be good,” added the captain.

    Earlier, rumors were rife that if there is a rift among Chief Selector Mohammad Wasim, head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and captain over the player-selection criteria but later Wasim had denied reports that there were any differences on the selection matters.

    The national side will face Proteas in three ODIs and four T20Is in South Africa, starting from April 2.

  • Local court directs FIA to book Babar Azam in harassment case

    Local court directs FIA to book Babar Azam in harassment case

    A local court in Lahore on Thursday ordered the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to register a case against Pakistan skipper Babar Azam for allegedly harassing and blackmailing his former class fellow Hameeza Mukhtar.

    According to reports, Additional district and session’s Judge Hamid Hussain also directed the FIA to book two other women in the case.

    The order was issued after it emerged that the mobile phone number, which was being used to harass the complainant, belonged to the 26-year-old cricketer and two women identified as Maryam Ahmed and Salemi Bibi.

    The investigators have been directed to register the case within the stipulated time without any delay.

    In November 2020, Hameeza, who claimed to be Azam’s neighbour and schoolfellow, accused the Pakistan skipper of all cricket formats of blackmailing, adding that the cricketer had “tricked her into love” and “tortured” her when she demanded him to marry her.

    She alleged that Azam engaged in illicit relations with her on the false promises of marriage and that she got pregnant out of wedlock but had to go for abortion on the cricketer’s insistence.

    Hamiza further said that she had financially supported Babar when he was struggling with his career, adding that she spent millions of rupees on him.

    Mukhatar also said that she had moved a total of five petitions in the court and would continue her struggle till she got justice.

    In January, she also promised to surrender her mobile for further inquiry into the matter but didn’t appear in the court nor provided any digital evidence.

    VIDEO: Did the woman who accused Babar Azam of harassment really drop charges?

    Later, on January 18, Babar Azam was summoned to court, at which his elder brother Faisal Azam appeared and sought some time for verifying the matter. He is yet to make an appearance in court.

    A copy of the court order

    However, Azam has rejected the allegations.

    In December 2020, Lahore police had declared Mukhtar’s accusations against Babar as false after the complainant remained unable to provide any concrete evidence to support her claims.

    Meanwhile, Azam’s counsel, Barrister Harris Azmat, while requesting the court to reject the petitioner’s plea, had said that Azam was a national cricketer and hero, adding that Hameeza had started blackmailing the national cricket team captain in 2016 whereas the police had cleared him in an investigation.

    Police also submitted an investigation report in the court, as per which the national cricketer was found innocent and the woman was leveling baseless allegations.

    Barrister Azmat said that Azam’s case was being covered by Indian media and the woman may have targeted the national cricketer once again at the behest of someone.

  • Imad Wasim shares adorable video with newborn daughter

    Imad Wasim shares adorable video with newborn daughter

    Imad Wasim has shared the first glimpse of his daughter with his fans on social media.

    Sharing a video of himself with his newborn, the Pakistani all-rounder said that it was the first time that he was holding his daughter.

    “Holding my baby girl for the first time,” said Imad in the caption. He added that it was the “best feeling” that he ever had.

    The Karachi Kings captain had announced the birth of his daughter earlier this month. The cricketer had also shared that the family had named her Syeda Inaya Imad.

  • Fawad Alam to make his acting debut with ‘Khudkash Mohabbat’

    Fawad Alam is all set to make his acting debut with a web series titled Khudkash Muhabbat, scheduled to release on Pakistan’s first OTT platform, UrduFlix.

    “UrduFlix recently launched as Pakistan’s first-ever Urdu OTT platform has upped the game with brilliant new content and has kept the surprises coming. In a recent poster for their latest web series Khudkash Muhabbat – it was revealed that the cricketing hero would be making his debut on UrduFlix,” read a press release by the streaming service.

    “Fawad Alam, who has given remarkable performances in his cricketing career will soon be seen on the screens in what looks like an unconventional role in a unique story,” it added, without going into further details about the series and Fawad’s role in it.

    UrduFlix is Pakistan’s first Urdu OTT platform. It went live on March 5 and will provide viewers with access to original Urdu films, series, documentaries, cartoons, and Urdu dubbed Turkish dramas among other exclusively made shows for the platform.

    The first few shows on the platform would include Mashal Khan’s Lifafa Dayaan and Hareem Shah’s Raaz among others. The first exclusively available show going up on the platform with its launch is Dulhan Aur 1 Raat featuring Alizeh Shah in the lead.

    Fawad, who has was ignored by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for almost eleven years, recently scored a century during the Pakistan vs South Africa series. It was the cricketer’s third century. He scored his first in 2009 when he hit 168 on his Test debut against Sri Lanka while opening the innings. Since then Alam has played just six Tests having made a comeback in 2020. He scored his second hundred in New Zealand during the Pakistan vs New Zealand Test series after he got a chance to play when captain Babar Azam was ruled out due to his thumb injury.

  • VIDEO: Umar Gul recites Azaan in baby daughter’s ear

    VIDEO: Umar Gul recites Azaan in baby daughter’s ear

    Pakistani bowler Umar Gul shared a delightful video on Friday in which he can be seen reciting the Azaan in his newborn daughter’s ear – which is a ritual practiced by Muslims around the globe when their children are born.

    Taking to Instagram, Gul shared the video with a caption that read: “Giving Azaan again in my little princess’s ear! This feeling is just out of the world.”

    “Alhamdulillah for all His Blessings,” he added.

    On March 8, Gul had announced the birth of his third child.

    “Allah has blessed us again with his Rehmah! Baby Zainab is finally home and baby and Mama are both in good health,” the cricketer had written on Twitter.

    “May Allah bless her with long and healthy life, full of love and blessings,” he added.

  • Colleagues congratulate Umar Gul on arrival of second daughter

    Colleagues congratulate Umar Gul on arrival of second daughter

    After Imad Wasim and wife Sania Ashfaq welcomed a baby girl last week, cricketer Umar Gul and his wife have welcomed their little bundle of joy.

    The current bowling coach of Quetta Gladiators took to Twitter on Monday to announce that he has been blessed with his third child, a baby daughter.

    “Allah has blessed us with his rehmah again,” wrote the right-arm fast-medium bowler. “Baby Zainab is finally home and the baby and mama are both in good health.”

    Soon after Gul announced the news, friends and colleagues including Mohammad Hafeez, Fawad Alam, Fakhar Zaman, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shadab Khan extended their wishes to the couple.

    Umar married a Dubai-based doctor in October 2010. Their first daughter, Rehab Umar, was born in May 2012. Following this, the duo also had a son.

    The cricketing star was appointed as Quetta Gladiators’ bowling coach for the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League, which was postponed after a surge in Covid-19 cases.

  • Shahid Afridi, Shaheen Afridi confirm wedding proposal, exchange love on Twitter

    Rumours of an engagement between cricket celebrity Shahid Afridi’s daughter and cricketer Shaheen Shah Afridi emerged yesterday when a sports Journalist Ihtisham ul Haq shared the news, ‘with permission from both families’.

    “With permission from both families, I would like to clarify the engagement rumours between Shaheen Afridi and the daughter of Shahid Afridi,” wrote the journalist.

    “The proposal has been accepted; it is thought that a formal engagement will be done within two years, following the completion of her education,” he added.

    Addressing the rumours, Shahid Afridi wrote, “Shaheen’s family approached my family for my daughter. Both families are in touch, matches are made in heaven, if Allah wills this match will be made too.”

    He also sent prayers for Shaheen, saying, “My prayers are with Shaheen for his continued success on and off the field.”

    Replying to Shahid Afridi’s tweet Shaheen wrote, “Alhumdulillah. Thanks Lala for your prayers. May Allah SWT make things easier for everyone.”

    “You are the pride of entire nation,” added Shaheen.

    Replying to Afridi’s tweet, one Twitter user pointed out that this proposal might be the reason why Shaheen Shah Afridi did not celebrate after taking Afridi’s wicket in PSL.