Tag: sports-stories

  • Misbah announces squad for Sri Lanka ODI series

    Misbah announces squad for Sri Lanka ODI series

    Pakistan head coach-cum-chief selector Misbahul Haq has named a 16-member squad for the upcoming One-Day International (ODI) series against Sri Lanka, Cricket Pakistan reported.

    According to the details, Abid Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Usman Shinwari, Mohammad Nawaz and Mohammad Rizwan have made a comeback in the ODI side, while fast-bowlers Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi have been left out of the team due to back spasm and dengue fever, respectively.

    All-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has been dropped from the squad, while Shoaib Malik has already announced retirement from the 50-over format.

    The squad for the T20 matches to be held in Lahore will be announced later. Until then, other players will continue training at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

    “After thorough discussions with the members of the selection committee and meticulous planning, I feel we have put together the best possible squad,” Misbah said Saturday and added how his experience told him that “there are no easy games or opponents”.

    Following are the players included in the ODI squad:

    Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Babar Azam (vice-captain), Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imamul Haq, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Khan Shinwari and Wahab Riaz.

  • Ramiz Raja not happy with Misbah’s selection

    Ramiz Raja not happy with Misbah’s selection

    Former Pakistan cricketer Ramiz Raja is disappointed with the 20 probables selected by head coach-cum-chief selector Misbahul Haq for the upcoming T20 and ODI series against Sri Lanka.

    While speaking in a Youtube video, the famous commentator has criticised Misbah for implementing a safety first approach in his selection.

    He said, “It was disappointing to see no new name or experimentation from Misbah, despite playing against a second-string Sri Lanka side,” adding that Misbah is playing safe as it is his first big assignment and is opting for tried and tested players.

    Ramiz Raja believes that Men in Green needs out of the box thinking with regards to the future.

    “You could have invited around four to five players to this camp, who you think are talented and have what it takes to serve Pakistan in future,” he added. “Instead, those players have been recalled who have been playing for Pakistan for last 10 years and we are aware of their potential and limitations.”

  • Ashes hero Ben Stokes’ lashes out at UK tabloid

    Ashes hero Ben Stokes’ lashes out at UK tabloid

    England cricketer Ben Stokes has described The Sun’s front-page story about a private family tragedy from his past as “utterly disgusting” and the “lowest form of journalism”.

    The Sun published details of how Stokes’ half-brother and half-sister were shot dead by his mother’s ex-husband more than three decades ago.

    https://twitter.com/TheSun/status/1173712141632856065?s=20

    According to The Sun’s story, Stokes’ mother’s jealous ex Richard Dunn had weekend custody of his children. He shot them both dead at his flat in Christchurch, New Zealand in April 1988. Dunn then drove to his ex’s home and torched the building. She had left to go to work. Alerted to the fire, armed cops raced to his apartment and Dunn retreated inside. Ten minutes later, they heard two shots and found him dead.

    In a statement, Stokes described The Sun’s article as “low and despicable behaviour, disguised as journalism”. He said the article deals with “deeply personal and traumatic events” that affected his New Zealand-based family more than 30 years ago. “My family has worked hard to deal with the private trauma inevitably associated with these events and has taken great care to keep private”.

    https://twitter.com/benstokes38/status/1173893834377441280?s=20

    A spokesperson for The Sun said that the newspaper has the utmost sympathy for Ben and his mother “but it is only right to point out the story was told with the co-operation of a family member who supplied details, provided photographs and posed for pictures”.

    After Stokes’ heartfelt statement, a Twitter campaign to boycott The Sun began with hashtags #DontBuyTheSun and #BoycottTheSun.

    England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive Tom Harrison also issued a statement condemning The Sun.

  • PCB announces probables for Pak-Sri Lanka series

    PCB announces probables for Pak-Sri Lanka series

    Head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq has named 20 probables for the training camp, which will commence at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore from Wednesday.

    In a press release, PCB has announced that the camp is being set-up to prepare the side for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka, which will be held from 27 September to 9 October.

    Sarfaraz Ahmed has been retained as captain for the series, while Babar Azam has been named as vice-captain.

    The appointments were confirmed by PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani, following the recommendations made by Misbah-ul-Haq and the PCB Cricket Committee.

    Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik have not been named in the probables as they have been granted NOC until 12 October to participate in the Caribbean Premier League.

    Following are the names of the Probables:

    Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Babar Azam (vice-captain), Abid Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Umar Akmal, Usman Shinwari and Wahab Riaz.

  • Sri Lanka Cricket receives terrorist threat, reconsidering Pakistan tour

    Sri Lanka Cricket receives terrorist threat, reconsidering Pakistan tour

    Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has announced that it would reassess the security situation in Pakistan after it received a warning from Prime Minister’s (PM) Office of a “possible terrorist threat”.

    In a fresh statement issued Wednesday evening, SLC said that the warning was conveyed via the Ministry of Telecommunication, Foreign Employment and Sports.

    “Accordingly, the warning highlights that the PM’s Office has received reliable information of a possible terrorist threat on the Sri Lankan team while touring Pakistan,” it added.

    The development has once again thrown the possibility of the Sri Lankan cricket team’s tour to Pakistan under doubt. The team was set to land in Karachi on September 25, however, it remains to be seen whether the tour goes as scheduled.

    Following SLC’s statement, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reiterated that it is committed to bringing cricket back to the country and provide complete safety and security to the Sri Lankan cricket team.

  • Najam Sethi trolls Imran Khan with ‘Relukata’ tweet

    Najam Sethi trolls Imran Khan with ‘Relukata’ tweet

    Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi has trolled Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan after it was reported that various Sri Lankan players had opted out of the proposed Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan.

    Sethi took to Twitter to mock PM Imran for his comments on international players who took part in the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2017.

    “Imran Khan should guide the PCB on how to make sure Sri Lanka doesn’t send a “Relukata” team to Pakistan!” Sethi tweeted.

    The former chairman was highly crticised in 2017 for bringing in second tier players for the HBL PSL final which was held in Lahore.

    Adding to the criticism Imran Khan called the international players ‘phateechar’, ‘rallukatta’ and ‘from Africa’. The former World Cup winning captain believed that these second tier players could have been called to play in the country regardless of the security conditions.

    These terms used by Imran Khan were classified as derogatory and racist during the time and he also received massive backlash for the comments and had to justify his stance accordingly.

    Sethis’s remarks come at a time when the PCB is still striving to get international cricketers to play in Pakistan.

  • 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.

  • PCB appoints Misbah as head coach, Waqar as bowling coach

    PCB appoints Misbah as head coach, Waqar as bowling coach

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed Misbahul Haq as the head coach of the men’s national team while Waqar Younis has been given the responsibility of bowling coach.

    According to details, the governing body will issue a press release to formally announce the names of the selected candidates and media talks will be held afterward.

    Misbah had earlier stepped down from the PCB Cricket Committee after expressing interest in applying for the role of the national cricket team’s head coach.

    A five-member panel – comprising former captain Intikhab Alam, ex-international cricketer Bazid Khan, Board of Governors (BoG) member Asad Ali Khan, PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan and Director International Cricket Zakir Khan – had earlier interviewed the candidates.

  • PCB to hire first-ever woman director

    PCB to hire first-ever woman director

    In a first, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is going to hire a woman director, who will either serve as an election commissioner, deputy election commissioner or one of the adjudicators.

    As per the details, PCB on Friday held its 55th Board of Governors (BoG) meeting during which a three-member nominations committee — in accordance with Clause 41 of the PCB Constitution 2019 — was constituted.

    According to the said clause, BoG is to form a three-member committee responsible for presenting recommendations on the appointment of four independent directors, one of which will now be a woman.

    “The BoG meeting chaired by PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani also approved various recommendations of the Audit Committee, including the board’s central budget for the 2019-20 financial year,” stated a press release issued here.

    PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan also briefed the BoG on the outcomes of the cricket committee meeting held on August 2 to review the national cricket team’s performance within the last three years.

    The BoG acknowledged and appreciated the PCB’s efforts in convincing Sri Lanka Cricket to send their team for an ODI and T20I series, which will be played from September 27 till October 9 in Pakistan.

    Following constitutional changes, the BoG also reviewed and approved the revised powers and functions of the PCB chairman, chief executive, chief operating and the chief financial officers.

  • VIDEOS: Highlights from Imad Wasim’s reception

    VIDEOS: Highlights from Imad Wasim’s reception

    Pakistan’s all-rounder Imad Wasim tied the knot with Sannnia Ashfaq on Saturday at the Faisal Mosque, Islamabad with all family and friends giving best wishes to the happy couple.

    The valima ceremony is happening tonight in Islamabad, and the pictures have started pouring in online. Here are some of the highlights of the event.

    The bride and groom in their red and gold outfits have arrived at the location.

    Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations Asif Ghafoor, Babar Awan and Asad Umar graced the event with their presence.

    Momina Mustehsan all glammed up for Imad’s reception.

    Here comes the cricket stars Umar Gul, Ahmad Shahzad and our captain Sarfaraz Ahmed.

    The cricketers selfie

    Celebrities on Twitter wishing Imad Wasim a happy life ahead.