Tag: topsports

  • PCB sacks Mickey Arthur as head coach

    PCB sacks Mickey Arthur as head coach

    The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced its decision to not renew the contracts of head coach Mickey Arthur, bowling coach Azhar Mahmood, batting coach Grant Flower and trainer Grant Luden.

    The board’s decision to end its association with the team’s coaching staff comes following a review process undertaken in the aftermath of the 2019 World Cup, where Pakistan even failed to reach the semi-finals.

    “I am thankful to the PCB Cricket Committee for submitting their recommendations following an exhaustive and detailed review process. The committee comprised of individuals who possess tremendous acumen, experience and knowledge,” PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani, who approved the changes, was quoted as saying.

    “The unanimous recommendation of the committee was that it was time for new leadership and a fresh approach. I am happy to accept their strong recommendations.”

    “On behalf of the PCB, I want to sincerely thank Mickey Arthur, Grant Flower, Grant Luden and Azhar Mahmood for their hard work and unwavering commitment during their tenures with the national men’s team. We wish them every success in their future endeavors,” the press release read.

    According to BBC, Mickey Arthur is one of the names being considered as a replacement for England team coach Trevor Bayliss when the latter leaves at the end of summer.

  • VIDEO: 23yo Pakistani’s sajda after ‘World’s Best Tekken Player’ title will give you goosebumps

    VIDEO: 23yo Pakistani’s sajda after ‘World’s Best Tekken Player’ title will give you goosebumps

    A 23-year-old youngster from Lahore has been crowned the world’s best Tekken 7 player at 2019 Evolution Championship Series (EVO) in Las Vegas.

    According to the details, Arslan Siddiqui aka Arslan Ash, who was relatively unknown in the competitive circuit a year ago, has edged out Jae-Min Bae aka Knee in the grand finals of one of, if not the biggest, fighting game tournament series in the world.

    He was also awarded a cash prize of around $14,000.

    According to VICE, it’s the third time Siddiqui has bested South Korea’s Jae-Min, who many from the gaming community considered a “god” of the game. It’s a monumental win, considering the former was virtually unheard of a year ago.

    WATCH VIDEO:

    The 23-year-old had previously also won the second Evo Japan in February, becoming the first-ever unified EVO champion.

    EVO hosted nine official fighting games this year, including Tekken 7, whose competitive scene is centered around a few countries: Japan, the United States (US), and South Korea.

    This year’s top eight consists of players from those very same countries: four players from Japan, two players from South Korea and one player from the US, however, Siddiqui is the exception.

  • New Zealand’s Neesham responds to Pakistani fan’s biryani invitation

    New Zealand’s Neesham responds to Pakistani fan’s biryani invitation

    New Zealand’s cricketing stalwart Jimmy Neesham has responded to a Pakistani’s biryani invitation, which has made his fans in Pakistan love him even more.

    As per the details, Jimmy had last weak turned to Twitter to ask for recommendations for a good place to have dinner in Toronto where he is currently playing the Global T20 League.

    Being one of the most popular cricketers on Twitter, it wasn’t later that the micro-blogging network started flooding with suggestions for Neesham.

    Among the many responses attracted by his tweet, was that of a Pakistani fan who invited him for the “best dish in the world”, biryani.

    https://twitter.com/AhsanNooNari2/status/1155897258086412288

    It wasn’t later that the 28-year-old batsman responded with:

    “Probably a bit too far to go for dinner tonight mate [sic],” he wrote.

  • Sri Lankan cricket team likely to visit Pakistan for test series in October

    The Sri Lankan circket team is likely to visit Pakistan in October to play a two-match test series, Cricket Pakistan has reported.

    According to reports, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) has confirmed the dates of their security delegation’s arrival in Pakistan on a three-day visit. The delegation will begin its evaluation with a trip to Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad on August 7, 8 and 9, respectively.

    It will assess the security situation in the country ahead of providing its recommendations to the SLC.

    They will visit the stadiums and hotels in the three major cities and will be briefed by local security officials as well. SLC, on the basis of those recommendations, will decide whether to tour Pakistan or not.

    “I’m confident that the delegation will be satisfied with the security arrangements in Pakistan and hopefully we will soon see red-ball cricket on home soil,” reports quoted Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani as saying.

    Pakistan, since the unfortunate attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in March 2009, has not hosted any test series.

  • Foreign cricketers refuse to play entire PSL in Pakistan

    Foreign cricketers refuse to play entire PSL in Pakistan

    Foreign cricketers have refused to play the fifth season of the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) scheduled to be entirely held in Pakistan next year, Cricket Pakistan reported Friday.

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had earlier said that the fifth edition of the PSL will entirely be played in the country and is expected to take place from February 20 to March 22.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani insisted that there are no concerns regarding hosting the entire HBL PSL in Pakistan.

    “I took the approval of PCB’s patron-in-chief regarding holding the tournament in Pakistan, after consulting all franchise owners,” Mani said, adding that he had invited team owners for a meeting next week on Monday in Lahore, where the matter would be discussed again.

    “Till now, no franchise has shown any reservations, so there is no possibility of shifting the matches anywhere else,” he added.

    However, according to reports, franchises want to hold at least half of the PSL 5 matches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as they feel it is currently not viable to play the entire season in the country.

    They are of the view that it will be difficult to convince foreign players to stay in Pakistan for a longer period of time.

  • Imad Wasim is getting married

    Imad Wasim is getting married

    Pakistani cricket Imad Wasim is all ready to tie the knot.

    According to details, the 30-year-old sportsman will be exchanging vows with London-based Sania Ashfaq on August 26 in Islamabad.

    Imad and Sania met in London and have known each other for a while now. Interestingly, Imad was also born in Swansea, Wales where his father briefly worked in as an engineer. However, his parents moved back to Pakistan soon after his birth. Imad was studying medicine before making his Twenty20 International debut in May 2015.

    Speaking about his marriage, the all-rounder who is currently playing for Nottinghamshire in the T20 Vitality Blast, said, “I will get a week’s break from my professional commitments for the marriage ceremony and will rejoin Nottinghamshire for the remaining matches.”

    Just two days back, marriage rumours of fast bowler Hassan Ali had taken the cricket world by storm. Ali is also reportedly getting married in Dubai to an Indian girl named Shamia Arzoo. However, Hasan later clarified the reports saying that the families are yet to meet.

  • Tareen’s Multan Sultans played PSL 4 without depositing franchise fee

    Tareen’s Multan Sultans played PSL 4 without depositing franchise fee

    Ali Khan Tareen’s Multan Sultans participated in the fourth edition of the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) without depositing the mandatory franchise fee, Cricket Pakistan reported.

    Tareen-led Multan Consortium had won the franchise rights for the sixth team of the cricketing tournament, however, reports claim that the annual franchise fee of $6.35 million has not yet been paid to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

    According to PSL rules and regulations, every franchise is required to deposit the fee before the start of the season. But despite the passage of over four months since the league’s final match, Sultans have not yet cleared the dues.

    “Multan Sultans is in compliance of their franchise agreement,” the report quoted PCB as saying while neither confirming nor denying the news.

    Meanwhile, Tareen tweeted:

    PCB had previously terminated the franchise agreement of the Multan Sultans franchise ahead of the fourth season. The termination was brought about due to the franchise’s inability to meet its financial obligations under the agreement.

    In the new bidding process, the PCB had set the reserve price at $5.21 million per annum for a period of seven years. This reserve price had been exceeded by the Ali Tareen-led group.

    The new owners had decided to continue with the same name for the franchise.

  • Hassan Ali to marry Indian girl on August 20?

    Hassan Ali to marry Indian girl on August 20?

    Pakistani paceman Hasan Ali is all set to tie the knot with an Indian girl on August 20, Indian media has reported.

    According to reports, Shamia Arzoo belongs to Mewat – a district of the Indian state of Haryana – and is an engineer by profession. She is currently working as a flight engineer with Emirates airline in Dubai and the marriage ceremony will also be held there.

    Following the reports, Hassan took to Twitter to clarify the news saying that the wedding hasn’t been confirmed as the families are yet to meet.

    Hasan won’t be the first Pakistani cricketer to marry an Indian girl. Former cricketers Zaheer Abbas and Mohsin Khan’s better-halves are from India as well. Incumbent national team all-rounder Shoaib Malik is also married to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza since April 12, 2010.

  • PCB lets Imam off the hook after apology over misconduct

    PCB lets Imam off the hook after apology over misconduct

    Opening batsman Imamul Haq has apologised for what he has done, media reports quoted Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Managing Director (MD) Wasim Khan as saying Tuesday.

    “Imam has been repenting. And, he has apologised for what misconduct he has committed,” the PCB official said while speaking of the controversy surrounding the batsman, which had sparked a lot of hype on social media last week.

    A few days back, the opener landed in hot water after screenshots of his objectionable WhatsApp conversations were leaked over Twitter and Facebook. The women, who posted them, accused him of cheating on multiple women.

    The PCB had earlier refused to comment over the situation while terming it a personal one.

    “We have told him in clear terms about what standards PCB wants,” Wasim Khan said on Monday.

    He said the country’s cricket board expects the players to stick to the highest standards of ethics and discipline as they are “ambassadors of the nation”, adding that in this capacity, the players need to be more responsible and follow the code of conduct set by the body.

    With Imam, who is a nephew of legendary batsman Inzamamul Haq, tendering an unconditional apology, the board has let him off the hook with a smattering of rebuke.

  • Mohammad Amir seeks British citizenship

    Mohammad Amir seeks British citizenship

    Pakistan cricket stalwart and ace fast-bowler Mohammad Amir is planning to obtain a British passport so that he may permanently settle down in England in future, Cricket Pakistan reported Saturday.

    According to reports, the left-arm pacer married a British citizen, Nargis Malik, in September 2016 and has already applied for a spouse visa, which allows him to stay in England for 30 months.

    In the case of obtaining a spouse visa, the 27-year-old will be able to work and take advantage of various other perks that come along with it.

    It is not yet clear if Amir has already obtained the visa as he has previously spent jail time in the United Kingdom (UK) for his role in the spot-fixing scandal; however, he is reportedly also looking to purchase a house in London.

    After getting permanent residency, the paceman will also be able to apply for a British passport.

    The report comes a day after Amir announced his retirement from Test cricket with immediate effect, but reaffirmed his commitment to playing white-ball cricket for Pakistan.

    Amir’s teammates in Pakistan have been aware of the fact that the pacer is not interested in playing for the national team anymore and wants to play T20 leagues in England and around the world.