Tag: sports-stories

  • PCB tweets video of players dancing after Sarfaraz’s removal; apologises later

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) from its Twitter account on Friday posted a video of players dancing, moments after wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed was sacked as captain from T20 and Test format.

    Pakistan Cricket shared a GIF of batsman Fakhar Zaman dancing along with other players of the national team while Sarfaraz is leaving the scene.

    After getting massive hate on this insensitive tweet from Twitterati, PCB later removed the video and apologised for an ill-timed tweet, posted at the time of Sarfaraz Ahmed’s removal as captain of the national time.

    The board further clarified, “This was a pre-planned post as part of the one-year to go T20 WorldCup promotional campaign. The timing of this post clashed with the captaincy announcement for which the PCB offers its regrets.”

    Earlier today, Sarfaraz was removed as Test and T20I captain after a drop in his overall form during the past few series.

    Babar Azam has been appointed skipper until next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia, while Azhar Ali has been appointed as Test format captain for Pakistan’s World Test Championship matches in the 2019-20 season.

  • Sarfaraz sent packing after PCB sacks as captain from all formats

    Sarfaraz sent packing after PCB sacks as captain from all formats

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has removed wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed as captain from all formats, with immediate effect, The Cricket Pakistan has reported.

    Sarfaraz Ahmed was under massive criticism for his poor performance both as captain and batsman in the latest T20 series against Sri Lanka.

    A few days ago, seeking Sarfaraz’s removal from the team, a member of Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) submitted a resolution in the Punjab Assembly and also demanded an investigation into Pakistan’s whitewash against a comparatively inexperienced team like Sri Lanka.

    The former skipper has earlier been trained guns at also for his poor performance at the 2019 World Cup, which was followed by a campaign seeking his removal as the captain.

  • VIDEO: Sana Mir shares experience of playing cricket with Kate and William

    VIDEO: Sana Mir shares experience of playing cricket with Kate and William

    Former Pakistan Women’s Cricket Team Captain Sana Mir, while speaking to the media after playing cricket with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, said that she had a lovely time at the event.

    Mir shared that Prince William and Kate Middleton were very humble and down to earth, adding that the meeting was very interactive and well-organised.

    “This day is going to be very memorable, especially for the kids who came from Karachi and Sheikhupura,” she said.

  • Happy Birthday Babar Azam: Lord’s wishes ‘one of the finest in the world’

    Happy Birthday Babar Azam: Lord’s wishes ‘one of the finest in the world’

    It’s Pakistani Cricketer Babar Azam’s birthday today and with all of the wishes pouring in for the batsman, Lord’s, which is considered as the “Home of Cricket”, has also forwarded its greetings to the vice-captain of the men-in-green.

    Lord’s Cricket ground from its Twitter handle has posted a video of Babar Azam playing in a Test match and wrote, “One of the finest in the world at the moment Wishing Babar Azam a very happy birthday!”.

    The video shows right-handed batsman playing during a test match in Lord’s cricket ground between Pakistan and England in 2018.

    A day earlier, Lord’s cricket ground from its account had also wished Pakistan’s former cricketer and right-arm off-spin bowler, in which they wrote, “Here’s a throwback to his battle with Adam Gilchrist in the Lord’s Bicentenary Match in 2014”.

  • Resolution in Punjab Assembly wants Sarfaraz fired

    Resolution in Punjab Assembly wants Sarfaraz fired

    A day after Sri Lanka humiliated Pakistan with a 3-0 win in the T20 series marking the former’s return to the country ever since the 2009 bus attack, a resolution in the Punjab Assembly has sought skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed’s removal from the national cricket team.

    “The team that tops the global T20 rankings, has lost from a team that sits at the eighth spot,” read the resolution submitted by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Malik Zaheer Iqbal.

    Seeking Sarfaraz’s removal from the team, the resolution further demanded an investigation into Pakistan’s whitewash against a comparatively inexperienced team like Sri Lanka.

    Earlier, head coach, chief selector and former national cricket team captain Misbahul Haq conceded that the defeat had been a “wake-up call for the team”.

    Pakistan have been humbled thrice in Lahore, losing the first game by 64 runs, the second by 35 and the third by 13 runs, to a Sri Lankan side missing some of their top players, such as Lasith Malinga, Dimuth Karunaratne and Angelo Mathews.

    “This was an eye-opener for us and you as well. The way we go after the seniors, and what we did in the World Cup. We forget their performances,” said Misbah at a presser in Lahore as he appeared to blame the team’s naivety and struggles against spin bowling the reason for the defeat.

    Sarfaraz, who came in to bat at number four and scored 17 off 16 balls before throwing away his wicket, appeared to pin the responsibility of the failed run chase on his partner Haris Sohail.

    He has earlier been trained guns at also for his poor performance at the 2019 World Cup, which was followed by a campaign seeking his removal as the captain.

  • PAKvsSL: Angry fans tear down Sarfaraz’s posters outside Gaddafi Stadium

    Cricket fans in Lahore tore up the posters of skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed after the Men in Green faced a humiliating defeat in the T20 series against Sri Lanka.

    As per details, the fans are demanding that Sarfaraz should leave his captaincy from T20 format as he is not suitable to lead the team and want Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to place someone who can play fast cricket easily.

    Captain Sarfaraz has said that the players failed to live up to the expectations associated with the number one ranked T20I side.

    “The management did their best to help us, but ultimately it’s up to the players and the captain to deliver. The management has no role to play in that, whether it’s the World Cup or this series”, he added.

    Sri Lanka’s victory was their first-ever T20 series whitewash and was achieved despite missing 10 of their top players, including regular T20 skipper Lasith Malinga, who refused to tour Pakistan over security fears.

  • VIDEO: Inside Shahid Afridi’s house

    VIDEO: Inside Shahid Afridi’s house

    In case you missed it, former Pakistan Cricket Team captain Shahid Afridi, aka Lala has started his own Youtube channel where he posts videos related to cricket and his humanitarian work.

    Recently, Lala gave his fans an exclusive tour of his house in DHA Karachi and needless to say, his fans loved it. The video garnered 2.4 million views in only five days!

    The video starts with drone shots of Afridi’s house.

    Following that, Afridi welcomes everyone to his house and we are taken straight to the basement which is Afridi’s den. Afridi shares that his house was made two years ago and he chose the area because Moin Khan Cricket Academy is nearby and he regularly visits the academy to play.

    The basement of the house has a pool table as well as table tennis.

    Afridi then shows us his signed shirt collection – he has a shirt signed by Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakarra, Australian cricketer Shane Warne, Younis Khan and one of Virat Kohli, signed by the entire Indian cricket team. Afridi says that Kohli is one of his most favourite batsmen.

    While showing his collection, he also shared fond memories he has with those cricketers. Afridi also showed his trophies and other awards he has gotten over the years. The pool room’s walls are full of pictures and mementos of the cricketer’s matches.

    Lala then takes the camera to the drawing-room where he welcomes his guests. The room, done in shades of blue, also has gifts he has received over the years including a gun gifted to him by former Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif and Sachin Tendulkar’s bat with which Afridi made a new record.

    “This bat played an essential role in making Shahid Afridi,” said Afridi while speaking about the bat.

    We are then taken outside the house. Lala says that he loves green spaces which is why he made this garden where he spends most of his evenings with his family and children.

    In the end, Lala showed fans a small annex on the side of his house for his guests who come to stay with him. He said that it is important to give them their privacy.

    Annex

    Watch the whole video here:

  • Babar Azam beats Kohli, becomes 3rd fastest to reach 11 ODI hundreds

    Babar Azam beats Kohli, becomes 3rd fastest to reach 11 ODI hundreds

    Pakistan top-order batsman Babar Azam has surpassed Indian captain Virat Kohli to become the third-fastest player to reach 11 one-day international (ODI) hundreds. Babar reached this milestone in just 71 innings while Kohli needed 82, The News International reported.

    According to the details, the right-handed batsmen, who had scored 96 in Pakistan’s last ODI against Bangladesh during the 2019 World Cup, smashed his eleventh ODI century while playing against Sri Lanka in the second ODI at the National Stadium in Karachi on Monday.

    The first match was washed out without a ball being bowled at the same venue on Friday.

    South Africa’s batsman Hashim Amla remains the quickest to 11 ODI hundreds, getting there in only 64 innings. Another South African Quinton de Kock reached hi 11 hundreds mark in only 65 innings.

    Babar Azam also became the quickest to score 1000 ODI runs in a calendar year for Pakistan, reaching to the milestone in only 19 innings.

    Babar has so far scored two centuries and seven half-centuries in this year.

  • ‘Hassan Ali isn’t my wife,’ says Shadab

    Pakistani cricketer Shadab Khan gave a witty response while speaking to media on Sunday when a reporter asked him how he felt about the fast bowler Hassan Ali — being left out of the squad for Pakistan’s series against Sri Lanka.

    When asked how he felt about playing in a series without his friend Hassan for the first time, Shadab said: “It’s just friendship, you make it sound like our relationship is that of husband and wife”.

    “I do miss him because we have been playing together for a while now. Not just me but the entire team misses him as he’s always jolly”, he added.

    Shadab also took to social media and tweeted: “See Hassan, our friendship has made it to the press well”.

    “On a serious note, all the team is in good spirit for Pakistan vs Sri Lanka series, we will try to give it our all,” Shadab added.

  • Shadab Khan to donate his earnings to the earthquake victims

    Shadab Khan to donate his earnings to the earthquake victims

    Pakistani all-rounder Shadab Khan has announced to donate his
    Pakistan-Sri Lanka series match earnings to the victims of the earthquake.

    The earthquake, which came on the early
    morning of Tuesday, has claimed over at least 21 lives and left 450 injured. 

    Shadab took to Twitter to express grief over the sad incident and pledged to help the affected people.

    Pakistan will play its first match against Sri Lanka on 27th September in Karachi in a series of 3 ODIs and 3 T20s.

    Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi also publicly asked everyone to help the affected people.