Category: Sports

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Following the government s official go-ahead, the Pakistan Super League 2022, will not be a closed-door event. Spectators will be allowed 100% of the ground s seating capacity.

According to a declaration issued by the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), fully vaccinated people will be allowed to watch the match in the stadium and to enter the stadium vaccination of those over 12 years of age will be mandatory.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will develop a mechanism for issuing tickets to vaccinated persons.

The letter issued to the federal and province stated that the PCB would be responsible for security arrangements for cricket matches and implementation of SOPs at the cricket ground and that masks and social distance would be required for spectators at the cricket stadium.

It is pertinent to mention here that the seventh edition of the PSL will start from January 27, for which the drafting process was completed this month. Umar Akmal has returned to the league, including Chris Gayle, Ben Dunk, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Irfan will not be part of PSL-7.

A colorful drafting ceremony of 7th edition of Pakistan Super League was held at National High Performance Center, Lahore. Chairman PCB Rameez Raja and others participated while franchise owners selected 18 players in 6 different categories. A total of 34 matches will be playing in the event.

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Lahore (NUT-DESK)

The inventor of the famous ‘Doosra’ delivery and considered as one of the best off-spinners of all time, former Pakistan cricketer Saqlain Mushtaq turns 45 yesterday. 

The spinner served as the national team’s interim head coach during the T20 World Cup, Bangladesh and the West Indies series held recently. 

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) took to Twitter to upload an old clip of the former Pakistani spinner in which he clean bowls ex-England opening batsman Marcus Trescothick. 

“The right-arm off-spinner took 496 international wickets from 218 matches. Saqlain served as interim head coach of Pakistan men’s team during ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, tour of Bangladesh and West Indies series,” tweeted the PCB. 

Former Pakistan batsman Mohammad Yousaf heaped praise on Saqlain Mushtaq. 

Saqlain played 169 ODIs for Pakistan from which he took 288 wickets and took 208 Test wickets from the 49 Test matches he played. 

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Abid Ali, a right-handed batter in Test cricket, was rushed to the hospital after he suffered chest pain while batting during a Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match in Karachi, Geo News reported Tuesday.

According to sources, the tournament’s organisers rushed the 34-year-old batsman to a hospital after he complained of chest pain.

Abid Ali has undergone a number of medical examinations and is currently under observation. However, it is not known if the pain was linked to any heart-related problem.

Abid Ali is playing in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy representing Central Punjab.The match between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Central Punjab is being held at the UBL Sports Complex.

Since his Quaid-e-Azam Trophy debut in 2007, Abid has been a constant presence on Pakistan’s domestic circuit, amassing over 6,000 runs.

He batted for Islamabad in 2017-18, scoring 231, then followed that up with an undefeated 249 in his ODI debut a few months later. The player first represented Pakistan internationally at the age of 31.

 

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday commemorated Pakistani Test cricket legend Hanif Mohammad on what would have been his 87th birthday.

The star cricketer, who set a major record in Test cricket bagging 337 runs in a 970 minutes innings against West Indies, was born on December 21, 1934, in Junagadh, India. He passed away in 2016.

“On this day in 1934, the architect of the longest Test innings, a 970-minute vigil for 337 runs in Bridgetown in 1958, Hanif Mohammad was born,” a special post from the official handle of ICC read on Twitter.

Mohammad Hanif, widely known as the Little Master, was the first star of Pakistan cricket to play the longest innings in Test history. The knock was followed a year later with the highest first-class innings to that point, 499 run out.

“With such feats, broadcast on radio, he turned cricket in Pakistan from the preserve of the Lahore educated elite into the mass sport it is today.

While being famous for excellent defence and never hitting the ball in the air, Hanif Mohammad could also attack and was the presumable inventor of the reverse-sweep.

He represented Pakistan in 55 Tests, scoring 3,915 runs at an average of 43.98. He still holds the record for highest score (337) in an innings by a Pakistani batsman followed by Inzamamul Haq (329) and Younus Khan (313). The veteran was also named as Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1968.

In January 2009, Hanif Mohammad was named along with two other Pakistani players — Imran Khan and Javed Miandad — among the inaugural batch of 55 inductees into the ICC’s Hall of Fame. 

The cricketer’s versatility covered captaining for the squad, wicket keeping and bowling both right and left arm in Test cricket.

He was among four brothers to represent Pakistan. His elder brother Wazir played along with him during Pakistan’s debut Test against India at New Delhi in 1952.

In his last Test against New Zealand in Karachi in 1969, he played along with younger brothers Mushtaq and Sadiq. Another brother, Raees, played first-class cricket and was once the 12th man for a Test match.His son, Shoaib Mohammad, played 45 Tests and 63 One-Day Internationals for Pakistan.

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Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Pakistan’s right-arm off-break bowler Sajid Khan single-handedly propelled Pakistan into the driving seat of the rain-hit Dhaka Test Wednesday after he finished with figures of 8/42. 

After rain hampered play for a day-and-a-half in Dhaka, the Test match was headed for a certain draw, given Pakistan declared their first innings on Day 4. However, Sajid Khan breathed life back into the game, taking six quick wickets on Day 4 and then two again the next day, to finish with eight wickets. 

Pakistan have enforced a follow-on against Bangladesh and are eyeing a victory against the hosts. Taking eight wickets is no easy feat and by achieving it, Sajid has etched his name in history alongside some of the greatest of the game that Pakistan has ever produced. 

Here’s a brief look at the most number of Test wickets taken in an innings by Pakistani bowlers:

Pakistan’s most prolific leg-spinner, Abdul Qadir, took 9/56 against England in the 1987/88 series. 

In March 1982, now Prime Minister Imran Khan, once Pakistan’s most celebrated cricketer, ran through a Sri Lankan batting order in Lahore to finish up with figures of 8/58. 

In the 2000/2001 England vs Pakistan Test series, former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq bagged figures of 8/164 in the first Test of the series. 

Former right-arm fast bowler Sikander Bakht, now a prominent cricket analyst, took 8/69 against India in the second Test match of the 1979 series, in Delhi. 

Former Pakistan fast bowler Sarfaraz Nawaz ripped through an Australian Test batting line-up in the 1978/79 series when he took 9/86 to hand Pakistan a 71-run victory over the Aussies. 

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Lahore (NUT-SPORTS)

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has allowed full capacity crowd at the National Stadium Karachi to enjoy the upcoming matches between Pakistan and West Indies.

The country’s top platform overseeing Covid response increased the number of spectators to 100 per cent on the request of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Citizens aged above 12 years will have to bring their Covid vaccination certificate for entry to the stadium with mask wearing and use of sanitizers made mandatory for all spectators and organisers.

The NCOC called for tickets and invitations to be linked to mandatory Covid vaccination certificate and instructed that foolproof security be ensured at the stadium.

West Indies cricket team will tour Pakistan this month. The tour features three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 Internationals (T20Is) to be played from Dec 13 to 22 at the National Stadium Karachi.

The NCOC will take a decision about the number of spectators to be allowed to watch the Pakistan Super League 7 (PSL) matches in the third weak of December.

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Lahore (NUT-DESK)

Pak Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi added another feather to his cap Sunday when he became the leading wicket-taker in Test matches this year. Shaheen Afridi currently has 44 Test wickets this year from only eight Test matches, the most by far by any other bowler in 2021.

The lanky left-arm pacer expressed happiness at the decision, saying that he always tries to get Pakistan to win matches through his bowling. He spoke about hunting batters with bowling partner Hasan Ali, who is also in spectacular form these days.

“I enjoy bowling with the new ball. We [Shaheen and Hasan] back each other and try to get wickets while bowling in tandem. Even in the second innings, we kept the pressure from both ends,” he said.

Shaheen Afridi said the Pakistani bowlers will do their utmost to ensure Bangladesh are dismissed for a low score Monday on a pitch that has more to offer to bowlers than batters.

“We hope to take early wickets Monday morning and restrict the hosts to a low total in the second innings on a track where batting is not all that easy,” he said.

He added that the ball has already started turning. “Spinners are getting help from the wicket which is keeping low also.”

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(NUT-SPORTS)

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Thursday announced the 12-man squad for the first Test match against Bangladesh. The Men in Green will clash with hosts Bangladesh in Chittagong’s Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Friday, November 26. 

Here is the squad, led by skipper Babar Azam:

• Babar Azam – Captain
• Mohammad Rizwan – Vice captain (wicketkeeper)
• Abdullah Shafique
• Abid Ali
• Azhar Ali
• Faheem Ashraf
• Fawad Alam
• Hasan Ali
• Imam-ul-Haq
• Nauman Ali
• Sajid Khan
• Shaheen Shah Afridi

• “Our team is impressive and this time around, will make a good impression in the Test Championship,” said skipper Babar Azam during a press conference today. 
• Azam acknowledged that the team had had less time to adjust to Test cricket after months of playing T20 matches. 
• The Pakistani skipper said his team was not taking Bangladesh lightly. “Conditions here are different [than Pakistan is used to] hence we cannot take Bangladesh lightly,” he said. “These conditions are a bit difficult and batters have to stick around on the crease to get settled.”
• Babar Azam said the Men in Green will have to play with focus and patience to do well in the series. 
• The two sides will follow up the first Test match with another on Saturday, December 4 at the Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium Mirpur, Dhaka. 
• Pakistan will be brimming with confidence when they take the field tomorrow against Bangladesh. The visitors completed a 3-0 whitewash over the hosts last week, winning the third and last T20 match of the series in thrilling fashion. 

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