Tag: PCB

  • PCB announces schedule of West Indies tour of Pakistan

    PCB announces schedule of West Indies tour of Pakistan

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced the schedule of the upcoming West Indies tour of Pakistan.

    As per the schedule, the Windies will arrive in Karachi on December 9 to play three T20Is and an equal number of ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Super League matches in Pakistan.

    The series will kickstart from December 13 and will last till December 22, as per the cricket board.

    The December ODIs will form part of Pakistan’s fourth series in the Super League, which will see the top seven sides and the event host India qualify directly for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 with the remaining two sides progressing from the qualifying event.

    “After missing out on home internationals in September and October, the West Indies tour will formally kick-off of an exciting and entertaining season of men’s international cricket in Pakistan with HBL Pakistan Super League 2022 and Australia’s first full series to follow,” said PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja.

    “The West Indies have always remained one of Pakistan cricket fans’ favourite sides. I am hopeful that the NCOC will support this series by allowing maximum crowds so that the fans can watch live in action their favourite players and back both the sides,” he added.

    Schedule:

    Dec 9 – West Indies arrival in Karachi

    Dec 13 – 1st T20I, Karachi

    Dec 14 – 2nd T20I, Karachi

    Dec 16 – 3rd T20I, Karachi

    Dec 18 – 1st ODI, Karachi

    Dec 20 – 2nd ODI, Karachi

    Dec 22 – 3rd ODI, Karachi

    Dec 23 – Departure

  • ‘Treat injured woman cricketer with Babar’s India match fee’: says Babar’s father

    ‘Treat injured woman cricketer with Babar’s India match fee’: says Babar’s father

    Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam’s father, Azam Siddique, has asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to treat woman cricketer Bisma Amjad through the captain’s match fee, which he had received in the T20 World Cup fixture against India.

    “I request PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja to immediately make arrangements for national cricketer Bisma Amjad’s treatment,” Siddique said in an Instagram post.

    Following her treatment, the board officials, according to Geo News, had rejected to pay for her medical bills after which the woman cricketer began to weep. At this, someone offered to pay for her expenses.

    Later, after the cricket board was severely pummeled on social media, the PCB issued a statement, saying that Bisma Amjad suffered a concussion during a women’s training camp at the Sindh regional academy.

    “The PCB, as a responsible organisation is continuing to look after her wellbeing as well as treatment expenses,” it added.

    Azam’s father was referring to the October 24 match in which Pakistan had beaten India by 10 wickets during the ongoing T20 World Cup.

    Meanwhile, in a video statement, Amjad also confirmed that she had suffered a head injury during a practice session, following which the PCB officials had taken her to a private hospital.

    “I am feeling better after PCB had me treated at a private hospital,” she added.

  • Pakistan cricket fights back…hard

    Pakistanis are on a high these days after Pakistan cricket team’s three consecutive wins at the T20 World Cup. Pakistan is on the top in their group with three out of three wins against India, New Zealand and Afghanistan. We still have to play the remaining two matches against Namibia and Scotland next week (November 2 and 7) before the semi-finals.

    Pakistan cricket team broke its jinx by beating India for the first time in a World Cup match. And what a win it was! We restricted the India side to just 151 runs and we chased the score without losing a single wicket. The second match against New Zealand was even more special as this had come after the team pulled out of its tour to Pakistan last month.

    In September, cricket fans across Pakistan were heartbroken after New Zealand’s disappointing decision to abandon the Pakistan series over “security threats” just minutes before the first One-Day International (ODI) match was about to begin in Rawalpindi. Following New Zealand’s unilateral decision, England also decided to cancel their men’s and women’s teams’ tour to Pakistan in October. New Zealand was to play in Pakistan after almost 18 years while England’s men have not played an international match in Pakistan since 2005 and their women’s team were to visit the country for the first time.

    It was not just the cricket fans who were disappointed; apart from the huge financial loss to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) because of these cancellations, it must have affected the Pakistan cricket team as well. After the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore in 2009, Pakistan has had to play their ‘home series’ away from home for many years. Cricket came back to Pakistan due to the efforts of Najam Sethi and others at the PCB.

    We Pakistanis criticise our team a lot when they don’t perform well but we need to understand what our players have been through for more than a decade now. They have been away from their families for months on end due to home series in the UAE; they have had to rebuild the team after the 2010 spot-fixing scandal; Pakistanis are kept out of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to political reasons; and they have had to face discrimination in cricket because of India’s influence at the International Cricket Council (ICC) – Pakistan does not get enough bilateral series and enough international matches to compete with other teams. Under such difficult circumstances, our team has won the ICC Champions Trophy, ruled the Test rankings, made the Pakistan Super League (PSL) a huge international success and much more. We are proud of our Men in Green. They have cheered us up in the most depressing of times. Pakistan Zindabad.

  • ‘ICC a politicised body, we need to reduce our dependence on it’: Ramiz Raja

    ‘ICC a politicised body, we need to reduce our dependence on it’: Ramiz Raja

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja has disclosed that 50 per cent of the board’s budget is based around the funds it gets from the International Cricket Council (ICC) whose “revenues are generated mainly from India”.

    Appearing before the Senate Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial affairs on Thursday in Islamabad, Ramiz said it was time for PCB to reduce its dependence on funding from the ICC and start tapping the local market.

    “ICC is a politicised body divided between the Asian and Western blocs and 90 per cent of its revenues are generated from India,” the PCB Chairman said.

    Ramiz said the ICC had become more of an event management company and PCB would have to make its voice heard if it does not want a repeat of the cancellation of confirmed series by New Zealand and England.

    What New Zealand did was unacceptable because till now they have not shared any information with us on what led them to abandon the series in Pakistan. But they are now trying to reschedule the series, he said.

    Ramiz hinted of some good news regarding the postponed New Zealand series in a week’s time.

    He indicated that the New Zealand cricket board was working on a new schedule to tour Pakistan.

    Read More – Ramiz Raja ‘erroneously’ tweets about ECB chairman’s resignation, deletes later

    Senator Raza Rabbani suggested that Pakistan should now not play against New Zealand and refuse any series but Ramiz pointed out that this would not be possible as Pakistan was part of the international cricket community.

    The good thing is that they are working on something, which means they want to amend things with us, he said.

    The New Zealand cricket team had arrived in Pakistan on September 11 for the first time in 18 years to play three ODIs and five Twenty20 Internationals but left on September 19 without playing any match after their government and security agencies advised them to return home citing “security concerns”.

    Ramiz, in a candid briefing to the senators, also made it clear that he would unveil his plans for Pakistan cricket and the board in a week or 10-days’ time while in four weeks’ time he would have his team ready.

    Read More – New Zealand cricket chief open to rescheduling of abandoned Pakistan series

    “To me, it is simple if the national team cannot do well and win matches, it means that everyone in the board from the tea man to the top official have failed in their duties,” he said.

  • ‘They would not have done this to India’: Holding criticises ECB’s decision over not touring Pakistan

    ‘They would not have done this to India’: Holding criticises ECB’s decision over not touring Pakistan

    Former West Indies pacer Michael Holding has strongly criticised England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over the cancellation of the scheduled tour of Pakistan, saying it smacks of ‘western arrogance’.

    “What that signal sends to me is the same western arrogance,” said Holding while receiving Peter Smith Award.

    Read More – ‘Mujhe afsos hai, England’s tour not cancelled over security’: British High Commissioner

    “I will treat you how I feel like treating you – it doesn’t matter what you think, I will just do what I want.”

    “Four days in Pakistan [was all they would have spent], I am absolutely sure they would not have done that to India.”

    “You know why? Because India is rich and powerful. I am in total agreement with Mike Atherton and [cricket writer] George Dobell, who wrote articles condemning England and the ECB,” he added.

    Holding reminded ECB about Pakistan’s last tour of England during Covid-19 peak.

    The former cricketer further said: “They were going for four days. Pakistan went to England [in 2020] before vaccines were available for six, seven weeks, something like that. They stayed, they played their cricket, they were in that bubble.”

    Read More – ‘Decision of England board is cowardly, was made out of fear of the players and India’: British author

    “I was in that bubble and it wasn’t fantastic but it was better than going out into society, where we know Covid was and without any vaccinations available to anyone.”

    “They stayed, they played, and honoured what England wanted them to honour, and now you have an opportunity to try and repay them to a small degree,” he concluded.

  • Ramiz Raja chides Basit Ali for calling him ‘Rambo’ during meeting

    Ramiz Raja chides Basit Ali for calling him ‘Rambo’ during meeting

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja on Friday got angry at provincial coach Basit Ali for calling him “Rambo” in a virtual meeting.

    According to 24 News, Raja held a virtual meeting with the six provincial coaches in which some of his old colleagues were also included.

    During the meeting, the head coach of the Sindh province and former Pakistan Test batsman, Basit Ali, who was also a friend of Ramiz, called him “Rambo”.

    Ramiz strongly reacted to this with some aggression and said, what happened Mr Basit, I am the chairman of the PCB. You should speak consciously, he sternly replied to him.

    After Ramiz’s aggressive reply to Basit, all the coaches got serious.

    In the meeting, the PCB chairman also slammed another coach Shahid Aslam on his friendly attitude and advised him strictly that he should coach and don’t try to pay for friendships.

    Meanwhile, he also warned the coaches that either they perform well or go home.

  • PCB CEO Wasim Khan resigns: Report

    PCB CEO Wasim Khan resigns: Report

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Cheif Executive Officer (CEO) Wasim Khan has reportedly resigned from his post on Wednesday.

    As per a report by Geo News, Khan gave his resignation in a meeting with PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja a day earlier. It was also reported that PCB Board of Governors will review the situation in a meeting today (Wednesday).

    Khan was taken on board by former PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani in 2019 to run the affairs of the board on modern lines, on a three-year contract, which was set to expire in 2022.

    Khan’s resignation comes as newly appointed PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja called for a complete overhaul of the system. At his inaugural press conference, he had called for resetting Pakistan cricket’s compass and direction.

    It also comes after head coach Misbahul Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis resigned from their posts with the 2021 T20 World Cup just around the corner

  • PCB receive food bill of Rs 27 lakh for security hired for New Zealand team

    PCB receive food bill of Rs 27 lakh for security hired for New Zealand team

    New Zealand’s much-awaited tour of Pakistan was called off in an unfortunate manner. Although the Kiwi team landed in Pakistan for three ODIs and five T20Is, they were called back without playing a single match. The New Zealand Cricket Board (NZC) cited security concerns behind the sudden cancellation of the tour.

    With the significance of this series being so high, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had made several preparations. However, they faced disappointment as the tour was called off. As per the latest development, PCB are set to endure huge financial losses due to the cancellation of the series. In fact, the cricket board is staring at a hefty amount just to pay the food bills of security officials hired for the Kiwi team.

    As per reports, the security agencies hired for the Blackcaps came at a huge cost. If that was not enough, PCB needs to spend around Rs 27 lakhs just to pay off the food bills of the officers who were in charge of security of the New Zealand team. If reports are to be believed, five SPs and over 500 SSPs (police officers) were deployed for the security of the Kiwis along with the Pakistan Army in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

    As per a report, each security personnel was served Biriyani twice a day, the cost of which came to approximately Rs 27 lakhs. Meanwhile, the tour was called off hours before the first ODI was to begin in Rawalpindi.

    “The side was to play Pakistan this evening in the first of three ODIs in Rawalpindi, before moving to Lahore for a five-match T20 series. However, following an escalation in the New Zealand Government threat levels for Pakistan, and advice from NZC security advisors on the ground, it has been decided the BLACKCAPS will not continue with the tour,” NZC said in the statement calling off the tour.

    Meanwhile, both Pakistan and New Zealand are currently gearing up for the high-voltage T20 World Cup. While the Men in Green have clinched the 2009 edition of the competition, the trophy is still elusive for the Kiwis.

  • Threatening e-mail was sent to New Zealand cricket team from India: Fawad

    Threatening e-mail was sent to New Zealand cricket team from India: Fawad

    Federal Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry held an important press conference on New Zealand’s withdrawal from the recent cricket series in Pakistan, revealing that a threatening e-mail was sent to New Zealand from India.

    Accompanied by Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed, the Minister of Information talked about the strict security measures for New Zealand squad.

    The information minister said Pakistan was facing a hybrid and fifth-generation war.

    Fawad spoke about a fake social media post that was shared with former Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander Ehsanullah Ehsan’s name in August, adding that the post had warned the New Zealand cricket team against touring Pakistan.

    “The post stated that New Zealand cricket team should not go to Pakistan as Daesh would attack it,” revealed the information minister.

    Chaudhry said that an article was published in The Sunday Guardian two days later, on August 21, by the paper’s bureau chief Abhinandan Mishra, who wrote the same thing: that the New Zealand cricket team could get attacked in Pakistan.

    “The article published in The Sunday Guardian centred around Ehsanullah Ehsan’s post,” he said. “Indian journalist Abhinandan Mishra has close relations with former Afghan vice-president Amrullah Saleh,” he added.

    The information minister revealed that five days later, on August 24, a threatening e-mail was sent to New Zealand batsman Martin Guptill’s wife from an ID using the Tehreek-e-Labbaik alias. In the e-mail, Fawad Chaudhry revealed that a death threat was issued to – New Zealand batsman.

    “The e-mail said that Guptill will be killed while on tour in Pakistan,” he said. “After we investigated the ID, it was found that it was created on August 24, 2021 at 01:05am while the e-mail was sent at 11:59am on August 25,” he disclosed.

    He said the e-mail was sent using ProtonMail, adding that those who knew about the service were aware that it is a secure e-mail service. He said Pakistan had asked Interpol to assist it further in probing the e-mail and the perpetrator behind it.

    He said that despite “all these threats”, the Black Caps did not cancel their tour and arrived in Pakistan.

    Read More – ‘Pakistan provided more security to New Zealand’s team than their armed forces combined’: Sheikh Rasheed

    Chaudhry said that a chartered flight had brought the New Zealand team on September 11.

    “A detailed programme containing their protocols and security was issued by the interior ministry, which included the squad being accompanied by two helicopters,” shared the information minister.

    Chaudhry said that the New Zealand squad, on September 13, travelled from their hotel to the Rawalpindi cricket stadium along with the Pakistani players, where they held a “full practice session”.

    “I would just like to remind you that both Pakistan and New Zealand’s security agencies had probed and arrived at the conclusion that the threats issued on August 19, 21 and 24 were all fake,” he noted.

    He said the team again travelled to the same stadium on September 14 and held another training session there, with the same security protocols in place.

    Meanwhile, Governor Punjab Chaudhry Sarwar was asked how he feels about England and New Zealand’s tour abandonment, he said that it is not abig deal. Many businessman cry when everything is closed because of matches. So, there is no need to cry over it.

  • ‘Mujhe afsos hai, England’s tour not cancelled over security’: British High Commissioner

    ‘Mujhe afsos hai, England’s tour not cancelled over security’: British High Commissioner

    British High Commissioner to Pakistan Christian Turner on Tuesday termed Pakistan as a safe country, saying that the England cricket team’s tour was not cancelled over security concerns.

    Speaking on ARY News programme, ‘Off The Record’, with Kashif Abbasi, the British High Commissioner dispelled an impression that the tour of the England team was cancelled over security concerns.

    Turner assured that the England team would tour Pakistan next year as they only had three matches scheduled for the now-cancelled tour in 2021. “Our players had been playing PSL and other leagues in Pakistan,” he said while once again reiterating that security was not the reason behind the cancellation of the tour.

    While appreciating Pakistan cricket team’s recent tour to England, he lauded the national team’s players for being a true and passionate ambassador of the game of cricket.

    Earlier, Turner also took to Twitter and released a video in which he expressed his sadness, saying that he is upset that the English board, “which is independent of the British government”, called off men and women’s tour of Pakistan in October.

    “The British High Commission supported the tour, did not advise against it on security grounds; and our travel advice for Pakistan has not changed,” he said.

    While talking to Muneeb Farooq, on Geo News‘ programme ‘Capital Talk’, the British High Commissioner said that from day one of his appointment, he is working for building the image of Pakistan and he has also changed the travel advisory for the country.

    “Not only with PCB, but I am also working with the ECB [England and Wales Cricket Board] for this day,” he added.

    He also said that this is not the story of people taking Pakistan down or any security issue, it is about the ECB and the players taking decision, and we must all work hard to change those perceptions and return to that day when cricket will return to Pakistan.