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Pakistan Cricket
India's ninth Asia Cup crown eventually became a mere footnote as the expected cordiality on a sports field gave way to confrontation in the final clash against Pakistan where the rival players mocked each other both during and after the match. The tournament had been fraught with tension from the very start, and the animosity carried into the final, which India won by five wickets on a rather long Sunday night. What started with India's refusal to shake hands to show solidarity with victims of Pahalgam terror attack and the Indian armed forces, descended into a full blown mocking match in the summit clash. Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah delivered a perfect yorker to dismiss Haris Rauf in the 18th over and, in a cheeky send-off, mimicked the Pakistan pacer's dipping-flight act celebration from the Super 4 clash. Bumrah's gesture, a crashing-plane motion, went viral across social media. Rauf's actions were an attempt to mock India's military action under 'Operation Sindoor' a
Pakistan's white-ball vice-captain Shadab Khan is facing a three-month layoff because of a recurring shoulder injury that will require a surgery. A source in the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Tuesday that the PCB's medical panel has advised the leg-spin all-rounder to undergo a surgery for the chronic shoulder problem. "He is likely to fly to London for the surgery very soon and he will require at least three months rehabilitation," the source added. Shadab, one of Pakistan's most experienced white-ball players, was appointed vice-captain earlier this year and played in the recent home series against Bangladesh which Pakistan won 3-0. The source said that because of the shoulder problem, Shadab was now certain to miss out on the coming white-ball series in Bangladesh and West Indies and also a home assignment against Afghanistan. "If the Asia Cup is held in September, Shadab will also miss that event," the source said. The 26-year-old has appeared in six Tests, 70 ODIs and 112 T
The Pakistan Cricket Board on Friday postponed the Pakistan Super League (PSL) indefinitely, hours after announcing that the T20 tournament has been shifted to the UAE because of the ongoing military conflict with India. The BCCI has also suspended the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) due to cross border tension between the neighbouring nations. "The decision to postpone has been taken pursuant to advice received from the Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif who has kept in view the reckless aggression from India that has escalated to a point where national attention and sentiments are rightly focused on the courageous efforts of the Armed Forces of Pakistan who are vociferously upholding the sovereignty of our beloved Pakistan," PCB said in a statement said "The PCB and its players stand resolutely in solidarity with the families of the martyrs and our security personnel defending the nation," the statement added further. However it has been learnt that Emirates
Forme Pakistan red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie has claimed that he is still waiting on some remuneration from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). On his Instagram account, Gillespie posted a story which was related to his interview with Pakistan media, saying that the PCB still had to clear some of his remunerations. Gillespie and South African Gary Kirsten were appointed the red ball and white ball head coaches respectively in April 2024 on two-year contracts by the PCB. The PCB promised a new era for the Pakistan team but six months down the line both were forced to resign after the Board pulled away much of the authority given to them, including being on the national selection committee. This is the first time either of them have spoken publicly on financial matters with the PCB. "I am still waiting on some remuneration from the PCB," read one story while in another he wrote, "Gary Kirsten and I got sold the dream of building a team. Losing a game, and all of a sudden, that g
Ex-PCB chairman Najam Sethi has indirectly blamed former Prime Minister Imran Khan for triggering the downslide of Pakistan cricket. In a post on X, Sethi whose last PCB stint was from December 2022 to June 2023, said the nation is justifiably angry at the performance of the national team. Champions Trophy hosts Pakistan are out of the tournament after back to back defeats. The cricket fraternity says Pakistan has hit rock bottom. How come a cricket team that was once no 1 in T20s (2018) and Tests (2016) and ODIs (1990 and 1996), which won the WC in 1992 and CT in 2017, is today equated with Zimbabwe? According to Sethi, the downfall started in 2019 when a new management under a new PM/Patron (Imran Khan was prime minister at that time and had brought in Ehsan Mani as PCB chairman) changed the domestic cricket structure that had served Pakistan reasonably well for decades and replaced it with an ill-suited Australian hybrid model. Political interference continued; contradictory PC
Pakistan's cricket team continued to invite scathing criticism a day after being knocked out of the Champions Trophy with the great Sunil Gavaskar saying that it would struggle to beat even a second-string Indian team. India, the 2023 ODI World Cup finalists, defeated defending champions Pakistan by six wickets in the Champions Trophy in Dubai on Sunday, continuing their dominance over the arch-rivals. "I think a B team (from India) certainly (can give Pakistan a run for their money). C team, I am not too sure. But a B team will be very, very hard to beat for Pakistan in their current form," Gavaskar said on 'Sports Today'. Pakistan, hosting an ICC tournament for the first time since 1996, were knocked out of the Champions Trophy after New Zealand beat Bangladesh in another Group A match. Pakistan are still winless in the event. Since winning the Champions Trophy in 2017, Pakistan's cricketing fortunes have declined, with the team finishing fifth in the last two ODI World Cups. "I