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Pakistan Cricket Team
All-rounder Arafat Minhas spearheaded Pakistan's 87-run victory over England with a half century and a six-wicket haul as the home team notched its second successive win in the ODI cricket tri-series on Tuesday. The 21-year-old left-hander Minhas helped Pakistan to 302-9 with 59 off 58 balls after England captain Harry Brook had won the toss and elected to field. Minhas then undid England's strong reply with his left-arm spin to grab 6-40, including the prize wicket of Brook for 5, as the visitors were bowled out for 215 with more than 11 overs to spare in their opening game of the tournament, which also features Sri Lanka. "I kept my plans simple," Minhas said. "I think variations are very important for a spinner as they help in deceiving the opposition batters." On Thursday, England takes on Sri Lanka, which lost the first match against Pakistan by 37 runs on Sunday. Minhas magic after England's explosive startOpening pair Tom Banton (57) and Ben Duckett (45) provided England wi
Salman Ali Agha made a triumphant return to the Pakistan team with his fourth ODI century in a 37-run victory over Sri Lanka in the cricket tri-series opener on Sunday. Agha hit 107 off 90 balls and Pakistan scored 305 all out in 49.5 overs after Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis won his fourth successive toss and chose to field. Agha was among seven Pakistan cricketers summoned back home at the end of August during a tumultuous tour of England after Agha had led the team in the first test. Pakistan pace bowlers overcame heavy dew and threatening half centuries from Pavan Rathnayake (79) and Janith Liyanage (60) to dismiss Sri Lanka for 268 in 48.1 overs. Captain Shaheen Afridi picked up 3-55 while Naseem Shah pinned down Sri Lanka's top-order with impressive swing bowling to finish with 2-43. Haris Rauf ran through the tail with 2-48 while seam all-rounder Faheem Ashraf grabbed 2-49, including the key wicket of Rathnayake. Pakistan will play England in Rawalpindi on Tuesday in the .
Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Rizwan has received his first reprieve in the ongoing inquiry into allegations of online betting, gambling and the leaking of dressing-room information, with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) allowing him to resume playing domestic cricket. Former Pakistan captain Muhammad Hafeez, who is now the director and head coach of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), confirmed that he had received an email from the PCB's domestic department permitting Rizwan to play in the ongoing Presidents Cup first-class tournament from October 19. The fifth round of the tournament began on Monday, with Rizwan set to lead the SNGPL team, Hafeez said. Rizwan and his Pakistan teammate Imam-ul-Haq were barred from playing domestic cricket after being called back from England following the second Test in August and asked to face an inquiry by the National Cyber Crime Cell (NCCA) over alleged leaks of dressing-room information and issues related to online betting and
Pakistan posted its second highest total in Twenty20 cricket and beat scrappy Sri Lanka by 82 runs on Sunday to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. Fast-improving Maaz Sadaqat (96) and captain Sahibzada Farhan (73) both profited from dropped catches to score second successive rapid half centuries in Pakistan's 215-3. Pakistan's highest-ever T20 score is 232-6 against England in 2021. Pakistan pacer Mohammad Imran, playing in only his second T20, then did the damage with his incisive swing bowling. He took 3-11 in four unchanged overs as Sri Lanka only managed 133-7 to lose its third successive T20 series away from home. Sri Lanka lost 2-1 in the West Indies and came to Pakistan after it was swept 3-0 by England. Rawalpindi, where Pakistan won the first match by four wickets, will host the final game on Tuesday before England joins the two teams for the ODI tri-series, starting next Sunday. Sri Lanka pays heavy price for dropped catchesSloppy Sri Lanka fielding
A security delegation of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has arrived in Pakistan to review arrangements ahead of England's upcoming tour for an ODI tri-nation series. England and Pakistan will play a tri-series which also involves Sri Lanka from October 18. A Pakistan Cricket Board official said the visit was a routine matter now undertaken by most nations before they tour a country. The ECB delegation including independent security experts will visit all the venues, team hotels and meet with government and PCB officials to get briefings on the security plans for the visitors. The ECB team will inspect venues and review arrangements in Lahore and Rawalpindi on Monday. The reconnaissance team will report its findings to the ECB. The ODI tri-series is to be played from October 18 to 31, with matches taking place at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. The PCB had earlier announced that Sri Lanka will arrive in Pakistan on October 4 for a three-ma
Pakistan were on Monday fined 50 per cent of the match fess of their third and final Test against England at Birmingham, along with a deduction of 11 World Test Championship points for maintaining slow over-rate. The ICC said on their website that Pakistan, who were crushed 0-3 in the Test series by hosts England, were found to be 11 overs short of the target "after time allowances were taken into consideration". Pakistan had lost the series opener at Leeds by an innings and 103 runs, the second Test at Lord's by 194 runs and the third Test at Edgbaston by 8 wickets. "Pakistan have been hit with a pair of sanctions for maintaining a slow over-rate during the third and final ICC World Test Championship contest against England in Birmingham," the ICC said. The sanctions were imposed by ICC match referee Ranjan Madugalle, on-field umpires Paul Reiffel and Chris Gaffaney, third umpire Allahudien Palekar and fourth umpire Russell Warren. "It means Pakistan lose ground at the bottom of
Pakistan's fast bowling great and former captain, Wasim Akram believes that the problems in the Pakistan Cricket eco system are so deep rooted that it is not possible even for him to resolve them single handedly. Wasim was Pakistan was struggling at the international level because of shortcomings across batting, bowling and fielding, as well as instability in the first-class domestic structure. He also blamed inconsistency in the cricket board's decision-making as a major reason for the current state of affairs. "I knew before the Test series started in England we would lose three nil because of the glaring problems in our batting and bowling," he told a sports website. He added that responsibility for Pakistan's struggles lies with multiple stakeholders rather than any one individual or group. "I get asked all the time, 'Can you do something to help Pakistan cricket?' But the issues are a lot deeper. These are the top players, there's nothing else there. The systems aren't there
Pakistan captain Babar Azam admitted he was blindsided by the decision to tear up his squad ahead of this week's final cricket test against England, saying the drastic cull was "news to me." Babar learned of the wholesale changes only after an official statement by the Pakistan Cricket Board, he said on Tuesday, the day before the third test at Edgbaston. "It was news to me," Babar said in Urdu. "I found out after. "The PCB decided it, so they will be able to explain better. The PCB's decision must have been taken after some thought process. It's better if you ask them why." Heavy defeats at Leeds and Lord's were met with sweeping changes by the PCB, who sent seven players home and removed head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and his assistant Umar Gul. The replacements summoned included five with no test experience, while white-ball coach Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke were drafted to take charge at Edgbaston. Babar framed the remarkable overhaul as a fresh chance for the players "to showca
Next year's Pakistan Super League could be held in January after the media rights holders of the T20 event complained about limited advertising revenues during the April-May window when IPL is held in India. This year the PSL again clashed with the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the suggestion to hold the event early next year came at a meeting of the PSL Governing Council in London on September 1. According to a reliable source, media rights holder Walee Technologies who also own a franchise in the eight-team PSL tabled the proposal to have the PSL in January-February. The PSL since its inception in 2016 has been held in the February-March window but because of ICC events in this window in 2025 and this year, the PCB was forced to reschedule the league to April-May where it clashed with the IPL. Franchise owners have also expressed concerns over declining interest in the PSL amid Pakistan's poor performances across formats. The source aware of developments said that the media ri