Author: News Desk

Indian Railways’ fast bowler Himanshu Sangwan became an overnight sensation after dismissing star India batter Virat Kohli in a Ranji Trophy match.

Sangwan recently revealed how the moment unfolded and talked about the advice he received from an unusual source before the match.

The surprising advice came from the a bus driver, who pinpointed Virat Kohli’s weakness against deliveries bowled at the fourth or fifth stumps.

“We didn’t know the match would be live-streamed. We found out that Rishabh Pant wouldn’t play, but Virat would, and the match would be shown live. I was leading the Railways’ pace attack, and everyone in the team said they thought I would dismiss Virat Kohli,” Sangwan recalled in an interview with an Indian media outlet.

He added, “Even the bus driver told me that I should bowl at the fourth-fifth stump line to Virat Kohli, and he’ll get out. There was no specific plan for Virat Kohli. The coaches told us that players from Delhi like to play attacking cricket, and they are all aggressive stroke players. We were just told to bowl a disciplined line,” said the 29-year-old.

Virat Kohli, the former India captain, made his return to the domestic tournament after 12 years to play for Delhi. However, his much-anticipated return was interrupted by Himanshu Sangwan, who bowled him out for just six runs at the Arun Jaitley Stadium last week.

For the first time in history, a Pakistani footballer will play in the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Club World Cup.

 Haris Zeb, a footballer of Pakistani origin, has signed a contract with New Zealand’s football club, Auckland City.

Auckland City qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup after winning the Oceania Champions League. The team will compete against top clubs like Germany’s Bayern Munich, Argentina’s Boca Juniors, and Portugal’s Benfica in the tournament.

Haris Zeb has already started pre-season training with Auckland City. The 23-year-old winger was selected for Pakistan’s national team in 2023 for a four-nation tournament. However, he could not participate after getting injured. 

Born in New Zealand in 2001, Haris holds dual citizenships of both Pakistan and New Zealand. His Pakistani nationality makes him eligible to play for the Pakistan football team.

Haris has already informed the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) about his availability for the national team.

The biggest clash of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2025, the Pakistan vs India match, is set to take place on February 23 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. 

As expected, the demand for tickets skyrocketed, with all tickets for the high-voltage encounter sold out within an hour.

According to media reports, the ticket booking window opened yesterday (Monday), while fans from both countries rushed to secure their seats. The immense interest in the match caused a heavy load on the booking website, with nearly 140,000 fans attempting to purchase tickets online. Within less than an hour, all tickets for the much-anticipated clash were completely sold out.

Many fans expressed disappointment over not being able to get tickets, as they had hoped to witness the thrilling match live at the stadium.

Ticket prices for the Pakistan vs India match varied based on seating categories. The cheapest ticket was priced at 500 AED (approximately 19,000 Pakistani rupees), while the most expensive pass cost 12,500 AED (approximately 479,493 Pakistan rupees). Other ticket categories included prices of 1,000 AED (approximately 38,000 Pakistani rupees), 1,200 AED (approximately 47,000 Pakistani rupees), 2,500 AED (approximately 95,000 Pakistani rupees), and 5,000 AED (approximately 191,000 Pakistani rupees).

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will begin on February 19, with the opening match scheduled to be played in Karachi. 

The tournament will run until March 9, featuring a total of 15 matches between eight participating teams, hosted across Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Dubai, with all games scheduled as day-night encounters.

Notably, the Indian team will play all of its matches at a neutral venue in Dubai.

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) franchise Durbar Rajshahi is once again in the news, but for the wrong reasons.

According to reports, the franchise has not yet paid its foreign players and staff. This issue has resulted in several well-known players being stuck in a hotel in Dhaka.

Even though the team owners had promised to clear the payments, many local players have already left the hotel without receiving their dues.

The situation worsened when the franchise did not pay the bus driver either. In protest, the driver locked all the players’ kit bags and equipment inside the bus.

Bus driver Mohammad Babul told reporters that the situation was very disappointing and embarrassing. He stated that if they had been paid, they would have returned the players’ belongings.

“The kit bags of both local and foreign players are inside the bus. But until we receive most of our payments, I cannot return them,” he said.

The team owner, Shafiqur Rahman, claimed that the flight tickets for foreign players had been booked. However, since the payments have not been cleared, the players are still waiting at the hotel.

Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Haris, Afghanistan’s Aftab Alam, West Indies’ Mark Deyal and Miguel Cummins, and Zimbabwe’s Ryan Burl are among the unpaid players. When they tried to contact the team management, they did not receive a clear response.

Sources say Mohammad Haris has informed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) about the issue. In response, the PCB contacted both Haris and the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Arrangements are now being made for Haris to fly back to Islamabad today.

Durbar Rajshahi’s performance in the BPL 2025 season was also disappointing. They failed to qualify for the playoffs, winning only six out of 12 matches. The team finished in fifth place on the points table. Their last match was on January 27 in Dhaka against the Sylhet Strikers.