Category: Sports

By Junaid Javed

24-year- successful long career of Imran Farhat ended as Pakistan Cricket Board congratulated him on ending his career on a high note. The top-order batsman, who represented Balochistan in the domestic season 2020-21, retired from professional cricket on the completion of his side’s campaign in the Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament – powered by Servis Tyres.

The 38-year-old made his debut in domestic cricket in a List ‘A’ match in 1997-98 season and made his first-class debut in the next season.

Imran emerged on the national scene following impressive runs with the national U19 and ‘A’ sides and made his debut for the senior men’s team during Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand in 2001 in ODI cricket in February and played his maiden Test the next month.

Over the course of his domestic career, Imran scored 15,805 runs (38x100s, 72x50s) in 230 first-class matches, 7,572 (15x100s, 38x50s) in 222 List ‘A’ matches and 1,636 runs (2x100s, 8x50s) in 69 T20s.

Imran made 4,195 runs in his 105-match international career – 2,400 in 40 Tests, 1,719 59 ODIs and 76 in seven T20Is.

He captained Habib Bank Limited to the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy title in 2018-19 season and steered Balochistan as the team’s captain in 2019-20 and the senior-most member in 2020-21 seasons.

He was the highest run-getter for Balochistan in the Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament 2020-21 with 499 runs, which included three half-centuries and one century in nine matches.

PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan: “Imran Farhat has been one of the most successful batsmen in Pakistan’s domestic circuit and I congratulate him on completing a successful career.

“Imran has always been willing to give back to Pakistan cricket what he has learned over his cricketing career. He led a young Balochistan side after the domestic structure’s revamp in 2019 and shared his knowledge with the upcoming cricketers from the region.

“I am hopeful that he will continue to play his role in the betterment of Pakistan cricket by transferring the vast knowledge he has gathered over the years to the younger cricketers.”

Imran Farhat: “It is certainly an emotional moment for me to retire from the game which I have loved and have been passionate about since childhood. It has been an honour for me to don Pakistan colours, something which every youngster in this country dream about.

“There have been highs and lows in my career, which is natural, but the fact that I got to get on the field for almost two and a half decades is something I will cherish forever.

“I want to thank the teammates with whom I have shared dressing rooms for giving me lifetime memories. I also want to thank the coaches who believed in me while helping me get where I am today.

“I also want to thank my family who made extraordinary sacrifices to see me happy and help me achieve my dreams. They have put in incredible effort, which remain in the background, and without their support, I would certainly not have been able to achieve any of this.”

 

By Junaid Javed

Pakistan top order fails once again this time at the fortress of Pakistan Cricket National Stadium Karachi

The historic tour of South Africa to Pakistan of 2 Test and 3 T20I’s doesn’t change the problem of Pakistan top order. The top order failed again as both opener Abid Ali and Imran Butt gone for scores of 5 and 11 respectively. The captain Babar Azam also went cheaply for 7.

The problem of the top order was there from the start but the in the recent past Pakistan suffered a lot due to below par performances of the top order specially openers.

 The current coaching staff tried a new opening pair of Abid Ali and Shan Masood but  the new chief selector Muhammad Wasim dropped Shan Masood for the home test series against South Africa due to back to back poor performances on away tours of England and New Zeland. Imran Butt the newly inducted opener in the squad debuted in this test also didn’t perform well in the 1^st inning.

The problem will remain there unless the selection panel  and the team management will not give proper chances to the players. The coaching staff also needs to work on the technique of the players to perform more consistently and in different conditions.

 

By Junaid Javed

An independent Anti-Corruption Tribunal found two United Arab Emirates (UAE) players  Muhammad Naveed and Shaiman Anwar Butt guilty each under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code.

Naveed and Shaiman, were charged under the ICC Anti-Corruption Code for attempting to corrupt matches of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019 in the UAE. They have been found guilty on all charges after they exercised their right to a hearing before a Tribunal. The sanctions will follow in due course until then the pair will remain suspended.

Naveed and Shaiman have been found guilty of:

Article 2.1.1 – for being party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspect(s) of a match or matches at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019.

Article 2.4.4 – Failing to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019.

Naveed has also been found guilty of breaching the following two counts of the Emirates Cricket Board Anti-Corruption Code for Participants of the T10 League 2019:

Article 2.1.1 – for being party to an agreement or effort to fix or contrive or otherwise influence improperly the result, progress, conduct or other aspect(s) of a match or matches at the T10 League 2019.

Article 2.4.4 – Failing to disclose to the ACU full details of any approaches or invitations received to engage in corrupt conduct under the Code at the T10 League 2019.

 

PCB has announced the 17 member squad for the first test match between Pakistan and South Africa which is scheduled to be starting from Tuesday. The 3 members who are left out from the squad will remain with the team and will practice in National Stadium Karachi but will not be considered for selection in the 1^st test match.

The playing line-up will be finalised by the captain Babar Azam in consultation with the head coach Misbah Ul Haq.

The 17-player squad is:

Openers – Abid Ali (Central Punjab) and Imran Butt (Balochistan)

Middle-order batsmen – Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Babar Azam (captain, Central Punjab), Fawad Alam (Sindh) and Saud Shakeel (Sindh)

All-rounders – Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab) and Mohammad Nawaz (Northern)

Wicketkeepers – Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh)

Spinners – Nauman Ali (Northern), Sajid Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Yasir Shah (Balochistan)

Fast bowlers – Haris Rauf (Northern), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Shaheen Shah Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Tabish Khan (Sindh)

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Naheed.pk, the commerce initiative of Naheed Supermarket, a leading name in retail shopping in Pakistan, announced its association with the cricket legend Wasim Akram and welcomed him as their official Brand Ambassador. The agreement was signed in Karachi, at a simple but impressive ceremony.

Expressing his joy on the association, the legendary Cricketer Wasim Akram said, “I am very happy to be associated with Naheed.pk, which is backed by over 40 years of trust of Naheed Supermarket, the leading supermarket from Karachi.” He further shared his personal experience of online shopping with Naheed.pk, “In these testing COVID times, for me and my family, Naheed.pk has been the most convenient and trust worthy option. You can expect original products with timely delivery from them”.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Munsub Abrar, CEO of Naheed Supermarket, said: “Naheed.pk is proudly associated with Wasim Akram since long time, and now we formally welcome Wasim Akram as our Ambassador. It shows his trust on our brand, our products, and our delivery methods, which he has experienced himself extensively over the last year.”

Wasim Akram also visited the Naheed Supermarket, and Naheed.pk warehouses to see the while back-end process and met with the teams behind it.

As the snow accumulates over the mountains, it’s the perfect time to get your skis and snowboards out and race to the finish line at the first Red Bull Homerun in Pakistan

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  Red Bull is all set to bring the largest winter sports event – Red Bull Homerun – in Pakistan. The inaugural event will be Red Bull’s first event of the year 2021 and is to be held on February 13 at Malam Jabba Ski Resort in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK).

The event is being held in collaboration with KPK Culture and Tourism Authority and Malam Jabba Ski Resort to promote winter sports in Pakistan. Pakistan, for the first time, will join 14 countries that will be doing Homerun in 2021.

The event’s registrations will be open from January 5, 2021, and will remain open till the event date on February 13, 2021.

The concept of Red Bull Homerun, a unique ski and snowboard event, is simple. From the top of a snowy mountain, participants sprint for their skis and snowboards, clip in, and then race down a marked course to the finish line.

Red Bull Homerun’s inaugural event at Malam Jabba Aki Resort will be open for all. Not matter you are a local skiing lover, a professional ski andsnowboard athlete, or a tourist winter sports fan, all you have to do is get yourself registered and arrive at the venue.

The participants will get a chance to win five different titles in ski and snowboard events. The Fastest Women on Board, Fastest Men on Board, Fastest Women on Ski, Fastest Men on Ski, and a unique prize to watch out for will be for the ‘Best Costume’. The participants can create a unique costume as they can to stand out among the thousands of participants.

The race will be on slope where the participants will be going through 100-150m sprint before the starting point and the finishing line is from 2 km – up to 6 km away that will take around 4-7 minutes to complete the race. The participants will be divided into badges, according to their age group and gender.

Malam Jabba Ski Resort is located at the slope with a rich history of holding Winter Sports events since 1980. The resort’s brand manager Samar Sabeen believes Red Bull Homerun will be a special attraction for winter sports lovers.

She said, ““Malam Jabba Ski Resort has been holding multiple national and international winter sports events since 2016. Now that Red Bull is bringing its unique competition ‘Homerun’, this will be a point of attraction for the participants and the winter sports lovers.”

Further, Red Bull Homerun is being held under the directions of Air Commodore (Retd.) Shahid Nadeem, a prominent name in Pakistan’s winter sports who has been associated with such events and activities for the last 28 years; he is the Project Director Red Bull Homerun, a former secretary of Winter Sports Federation and now Convener, Adventure Group National Tourism Coordination Board.

Nadeem shared that they held multiple events in the year 2020 and are looking forward to much more in the year 2021. “We will be holding the International Snowboarding Festival in the beginning of next year where international athletes would be participating but Red Bull Homerun will be an event to watch out for as this is the first winter adventure sports being held in Pakistan in 2021.”

He continued, “As Red Bull is holding the event, it will attract many more athletes and fans. Malam Jabba is the only resort where we have all facilities and infrastructure. We need to build similar at other points too. This is really important as oncetourists come and if there isn’t proper infrastructure, then they won’t return.”

He further said that such spots are now becoming popular as otherwise there was not much tourism in winters. “With companies like Red Bull coming forward to support tourism and winter adventure sports here in KPK, there will be a positive impact in Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu Kashmir areas.”

 

Abu Dhabi T10 team “Qalandars” has today confirmed Pakistan’s flamboyant all-rounder and former captain Shahid Afridi as its icon player for this year’s edition of Abu Dhabi T10 League.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  The management of Abu Dhabi T10 team “Qalandars” has today confirmed Pakistan’s flamboyant all-rounder and former captain Shahid Afridi as its icon player for this year’s edition of Abu Dhabi T10 League.

Afridi, one of the most sought-after white-ball cricketers around the world, will bring experience and excitement to the dugout of Qalandars in the league which is scheduled to be played from January 28.

“Shahid Afridi is an exciting and experienced cricketer. The Qalandars family is proud to welcome him back as an icon player for this season of Abu Dhabi T10,” said CEO of Qalandars T10 Mr. Sameen Rana.

“We look forward to welcome him to Qalandars family and hope that his presence will take the team to new heights in the season,” Mr. Rana added.

Afridi, the former captain, has represented Pakistan in 99 T20Is, 398 ODIs and 27 Test matches. He is carrying an experience of over 930 professional matches across all formats.

The flamboyant all rounder said that he is excited to be part of Qalandars family.

Meanwhile, the Qalandars family would also like to welcome Aeon & Trisl Group represented by Mr. Noor Mukaty, Mr. Saleem Karsaz & Mr. Murtaza Shah and, Nayyer Industries represented by Mr. Choudhry Umer Hussain as partners in ownership of team Qalandars in Abu Dhabi T10 League.

Mr. Umer Hussain is Sales Director of Nayyer Industries, director partner in Moonlight Yarns & Non-Woven and a partner in Alchtex FZ LLC UAE.

Mr Choudhry said that Qalandars are widely known for their contributions in development of cricket in Pakistan and he is looking forward to play his part in Qalandars’ journey.

Mr. Saleem Karsaz is Managing Partner and CEO of Aeon & Trisl Real Estate Brokers (Dubai/Karachi) and Executive Director Aeon Trisl Investment ltd (London). He is also a founding partner of Hope Care Polyclinic Dubai.

Mr. Karsaz expressed his delight on his partnership with T10 Qalandars team.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Jubilee Life Insurance has won the 31st Challengers Corporate Cup. In a tightly-contested tournament between eight teams, Jubilee Life emerged victorious, thanks to an unbeaten five-match run to win the trophy. Ibad Anis was jointly awarded the Best Player of the tournament while Fasih Hassan was named the Man of the Match in the final.

Jubilee Life Insurance defeated Takaful Pakistan Limited in a match held on Saturday to become the champions of the 31st Challengers Corporate Cup.

Takaful Pakistan Limited scored 122 after losing 9 wickets. While Jubilee Life Insurance achieved the target by losing 5 wickets.

Although Jubilee lost one of their batsmen early on in the innings, opener Ibad Anis smashed a brilliant 49 off 33 balls, including 7 boundaries. Asim Farooq contributed 14 runs to the total. Zohaib Rizwan’s 21 not out off 15 balls along with Syed Raghib Moin’s 23 off 21 balls helped stabilize the team, making their chase smooth and easy. Jubilee Life Insurance won the final by 5 wickets.

Peshawar (Muhammad Yasir)  Waziristan Azmari Taekwondo Team declared winner of the first edition of IGFC National Taekwondo Championship 2020 concluded at Cadet College Spinkai, District South Waziristan. Waziristan Azmari collectively bagged 7 gold, 1 silver and 6 bronze medals. Team KP stood runner up with 3 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze medals. The other 6 teams including Islamabad, GB, Punjab, Balochistan, AJK and Sindh won 1 gold medal each.

A colorful ceremony was arranged on the final day of the championship at the college premises where the Commander Sector South was the chief guest. District management, Mushraans from Mehsud and Betni tribes, President Pakistan Taekwondo Federation (PTF) and a number of area elders witnessed the closing ceremony. The chief guest gave away the trophies, shields and souvenirs.

President Pakistan Taekwondo Federation, Lt Col ® Waseem Ahmed while thanking IG FC and Pak Army said, “The successful tournament has once again showcased that the locals are peace-loving and are welcoming towards every healthy activity”.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Frontier Corps (FC), Pakistan Taekwondo Federation and Waziristan Taekwondo Association jointly arranged the first-ever national championship in this region. Eight teams of more than 200 senior and under 17 male players from all across Pakistan participated in this 3-day long championship.

Renowned martial arts expert from South Waziristan Muhammad Irfan Mehsood was the ‘special attention’ as he has registered his name in the 31st Guinness Book of World Records for doing 60 push-ups in one minute with one leg raised while carrying a 40lb pack. He was present throughout the tournament to keep the momentum of the players intact.

 

The aura of excitement has set once again as PSL 2020 is ready to take over TV screens all over the country. It is that time again when youngsters scamper through the streets with amusement, face painted in the colours of the flags rooting for their favourite team to win. With PSL resuming, OPPO being a major sponsor of PSL 2020 has brought an amazing campaign #ThePSLExperience to pump the level of excitement in the masses. OPPO Pakistan’s the PSL Experience campaign continues to make the brand a game-changer with exciting gifts that awaits the winner. The competition is a chance for people to step up and become a part of PSL. With this, the brand aims to approach the audience hooked to PSL 2020 and enable them to experience the most epic cricket fever.

To participate, all you have to do to win is: 

1. Head over to the pin location of the OPPO outlet within your city and ask the representative for the PSL Photo Frame:
2. Multan: https://bit.ly/MultanOutlet
3. Karachi: https://bit.ly/KarachiOutlet
4. Lahore: https://bit.ly/LahoreOutlet
5. Peshawar: https://bit.ly/PeshawarOutlet
6. Smile and click your photo with the OPPO F17 Pro frame
7. Post the photo in the comments below mentioning which city you belong to and #ThePSLexperience

OPPO will select one lucky customer from each city in the remaining 4 matches. Many avid experiencers have started sharing their selfies and as their eagerly root for their team. 

Cricket in Pakistan is not only a game, it’s a sentiment that promotes the purest of physical expression of the entire nation. Understanding the cricket fever in Pakistani the brand aims to enrich this year’s PSL experience with its latest campaign.