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Iftikhar Ahmad says he considers himself tailender, ready to bat lower

Pakistan's white ball specialist Iftikhar Ahmed at times has "felt like a tailender" when the team management has asked him to bat as low as number 7 and 8 in limited over games for the national team in the recent past. In an interaction with the media in Faisalabad where players have assembled for the Champions Cup tournament, Iftikhar said he didn't consider himself a middle-order batter. I am not a middle-order batter, I am a lower-order batter. I am not an all-rounder, I am a tailender. If you see, I bat at No.7 or 8. And if you look at the all-rounders and middle order batters around the world, you would see they bat at Nos 4 or 5. But I play at No.7 and 8 and I think of myself as a tailender," he said. Iftikhar, 34, who has played 4 Tests, 28 ODIs and 66 T20Is did face a disappointing run in recent internationals and also struggled in the World T20 Cup this year. Critics have questioned his utility to the team with many younger options now emerging from the junior level. Acr

Women's T20 World Cup 2024: Pakistan full squad, schedule, live streaming

Pakistan will start their campaign on October 3 against Sri Lanka, before playing their arch-rivals India on October 6.

PCB will now conduct fitness tests before giving central contract

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will conduct stringent fitness tests before awarding central contracts for the next 12 months, bringing currently contracted players and other international and domestic performers into the ambit. The fitness test will be carried out between September 6 and 8 at Lahore and the process will be supervised by white ball head coach Gary Kirsten and the team's physiotherapist and trainer. The players will then leave for Faisalabad for the Champions Cup. The fitness tests will basically decide which players make the contracts this year while performances would also be given priority, a reliable source in the board said. Both the foreign coaches (Kirsten and Jason Gillespie) have made it clear to the selectors and PCB that their first criteria for selecting players will be their fitness status, he added. Gillispie was not happy with the fitness of some players in the recent Test matches against Bangladesh and felt they were not able to sustain their inten

Former PCB head Zaka Ashraf refutes claims of groupings in Pakistan cricket

Zaka Ashraf, the former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman held responsible for starting a slide in the fortunes of the national team, has denied any groupings in the dressing room. Ashraf also brushed aside that his decision to appoint Shaheen Shah Afridi as the national T20 captain and Shan Masood as the Test captain after last year's ODI World Cup had sparked a rift in the dressing room. There were no differences between Babar Azam or Shaheen even after I decided to have the latter as the T20 captain, Ashraf said on a local news channel. "No, the unity didn't end (after removing Babar Azam as captain). In fact, the unity improved. When we told him to play as a player, which is his talent, but as a captain, his performance is not good, he agreed. Shaheen was sacked as the national T20 captain after just a series in New Zealand and was also dropped for the second Test against Bangladesh last week due to poor form. New Chairman Mohsin Naqvi reinstated Babar as the T20 skipper, while

Pakistan vs Bangladesh 2nd Test Playing 11, live timings, streaming

Pakistan vs Bangladesh Playing 11: Pakistan made two changes for the second Test, while Bangladesh also had to make one forced change.

Mehidy, Mushfiqur help Bangladesh script history against Pakistan

Bangladesh beat Pakistan for the first time in Test cricket on Sunday, August 25

Centuries from Rizwan and Shakeel help Pakistan go past 400 in first Test

Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan and vice-captain Saud Shakeel struck centuries as they guided the home team past 400 for the loss of six wickets on the second day of the first Test against Bangladesh on Thursday. Rizwan was the more aggressive of the two batters and is unbeaten past 150 with 11 fours and three sixes, while left-handed Shakeel, resuming on 57, was dismissed on 141. The batters stretched their overnight fourth-wicket stand to 240. Resuming on 158 for four, Bangladesh pace bowlers couldn't trouble the overnight Pakistan batting pair on a greenish wicket before captain Najmul Hassan Shanto went to his spinners in the latter half of the first session, but still couldn't find the breakthrough. Rizwan and Shakeel compiled 48 runs in the first hour. Bangladesh pacers couldn't extract lateral movement, which saw Pakistan slipping to 16 for three on the opening day and curtailed to 41 overs due to wet patches in the outfield. The two-Test series is part of the I

Pakistan to get $70 million from ICC to host Champions Trophy in 2025

The ICC has approved a budget of approximately USD 70 million for holding the Champions Trophy in Pakistan early next year. A source close to the ICC said on Thursday that the world body's financial and commercial committee, which is headed by BCCI secretary Jay Shah had scrutinised and approved the budget which was prepared and jointly submitted by the Pakistan Cricket Board and ICC finance department. "The approximate budget is around USD 70 million and only USD 4.5 million has been allocated as additional expenses," the source said. The approval of the total budget and additional expenses at the last ICC meeting has generated speculations that the back up funds have been kept in case India refuses to send its team to Pakistan and some matches have to be played at other venues. The source said that indications are that additional amount of USD 4.5 million is too meagre compared to the overall budget to cover moving matches from Pakistan. Jay Shah, who also heads the Asian Cricke

India says 'no' to Pak for Champions Trophy 2025, seeks match relocation

India has not played in Pakistan since the Asia Cup in 2008, and their last bilateral series was held in India from December 2012 to January 2013

'Kirsten, Gillespie given free hand by PCB to turn fortunes of Pak cricket'

In the wake of Pakistan's dismal showing in the T20 World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday gave head coaches Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie a free hand to turn the fortunes of the team, according to sources. Pakistan lost to newcomers USA and arch-rivals India in the Group stages of the World Cup to be eliminated from the competition held in the USA and the Caribbean. Naqvi met the white-ball and red-ball coaches, where Kirsten and Gillespie shared their plans for the national team. According to the PCB, Naqvi told both the coaches that he had full confidence in them and they would get full backing from the cricket board. "Kirsten was blunt in laying down his concerns about the white-ball team based on the World Cup," said a PCB source. Both the head coaches told the PCB chairman that they wanted to set clear guidelines about the fitness levels required to be considered for Pakistan team selection. "Naqvi told them they should do whatever is ...

IT firms grapple with new anti-dumping duty on PCBS under PLI scheme

Mobile phone manufacturers are exempt from this duty, whereas more complex PCB designs are also spared

Asia Cup 2023: PAK-SL board locked in financial dispute over extra expenses

The cricket boards of Pakistan and Sri Lanka are locked in a financial dispute over who should bear the additional $3-4 million burden incurred due to the shifting of the Asia Cup to the island nation last year. With the BCCI unwilling to send its team to Pakistan, the original host, due to geo-political tensions, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided on a hybrid model and roped in Sri Lanka to host the majority of the matches. This resulted in extra expenses being incurred on chartered flights, hotel bookings, venue hiring fees and travel, among others. Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) made it clear during the ACC council meeting in Bali last week that it was not willing to take the financial burden as it did not earn extra and was also not the official host of the tournament. The expenses also reportedly soared because the former PCB chairman, Zaka Ashraf, changed the venue of the first match from Lahore to Multan. The PCB is also making a case for

AUS vs PAK: PCB to take up Rizwan's dismissal in Melbourne Test with ICC

After the controversial dismissal of Mohammed Rizwan in the second Test against Australia, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to take up issues pertaining to umpiring and use of technology with the International Cricket Council (ICC). On Friday, the on-field umpire refused to give Rizwan out after Australian captain and pacer Pat Cummins appealed for a caught behind, but the home side managed to overturn the decision through the DRS. However, the Pakistan camp was less than happy about the reversal of the decision after the Snickometer' showed a spike on it when the ball was just above the wrist of Rizwan. A reliable source within the PCB said its head Zaka Ashraf had a conversation with team director Mohammed Hafeez, who conveyed some points to him about the umpiring and the use of technology during the Melbourne Test which they lost by 79 runs. Now, the PCB is all set to raise those points with the global governing body. All rules and regulations governing cricket and

PCB mulls regulation to forbid agents from signing more than 2-3 players

The Pakistan Cricket Board is looking to implement a regulation which forbids any player's agent or company from signing more than 2 to 3 players at one time for representation. The cricket management committee running the Board affairs is expected to take a final decision on this regulation in the next couple of days after two agencies signed on dozens of Pakistani team players and officials for representation. After realising that one agent, Talha Rehmani and his company Saya Corporation represented 7-8 leading Pakistani players and officials including Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Muhammad Rizwan, PCB has now learnt that another agency known as International Cricketers Association (ICA) also has contracts with many players and officials presently touring Australia. Concerned with the development, PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf has directed the legal department to frame new set of regulations for vetting agents/companies before they sign on players and officials and restricting th

Ronaldo's diet plan is prepared by NASA scientists: Pakistan's Ramiz Raja

Ronaldo is considered one of the best footballers in the world, and he has set a few records which are hard to be broken.

Pakistan cricket: Shaheen to lead in T20Is, Masood gets Tests captaincy

Former cricketer Mohammed Hafeez has been appointed as the Director of Cricket for Pakistan

Zaka Ashraf to remain PCB chairman till end of World Cup, confirms Pak PM

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Zaka Ashraf's tenure, which was about to come to an end, has been extended at least till the end of the ongoing World Cup, according to ESPNcricinfo

PCB scotches speculation of discord, infighting in Pakistan's cricket team

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Monday rubbished reports of discord and infighting in the national team, competing in the World Cup in India. In a press release, the PCB strongly denied recent speculations about any internal discord in the Babar Azam-led side. The PCB has been forced to act after increasing rumours about disunity in the team. Some Pakistani journalists have posted on social media about the alleged fights in the team and promised to reveal more details after the match against Afghanistan on Monday. According to those posts, two players got into a physical altercation and there has been growing discord in the team with captain Babar facing isolation from a group of players. "Contrary to rumours circulated by a certain section of the media, the PCB unequivocally assures that the team is cohesive and there is no evidence to support these unsubstantiated claims," the release said. The PCB said it is disappointed by the dissemination of false news. Pakistan won the thei

ICC World Cup IND-PAK: India bowling coach avoids question on PCB complaint

ICC unlikely to take action on PCB complaint on Ahmedabad crowd behaviour as many reported that a group of Indian fans allegedly hurled religious remarks and abuses on Pakitan batter Mohammad Rizwan

PCB media manager Umar Kalson under scanner for visiting Colombo casino

Pakistan team's current media manager Umar Farooq Kalson and board's GM (International Cricket) Adnan Ali are under scanner after pictures and video footages emerged of the duo visiting a Colombo casino. Both are in Colombo in official capacity as a part of the Pakistani contingent for the ongoing Asia Cup and visiting a gambling den is sure to attract attention of ICC's Anti-Corruption Unit as it is one of the prohibited places as per code of conduct. Many Pakistani fans on social media questioned how officials of the PCB could be so "immature" and "careless" as to indulge in gambling. Many criticised the trend of many PCB officials going on to Colombo during the Asia Cup on official visits. A PCB source said that at least 15-20 PCB officials had travelled o and fro between Colombo and Lahore while some were stationed there permanently as Pakistan was the official host of the Asia Cup. After some Pakistani news channels ran headlines, the two officials in the Casino later clarifi