Category: Sports

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed former Test spinner Abdur Rehman as the spin bowling coach for the national cricket team. 

Rehman, a left-arm spinner, had an impressive career from 2006 to 2014, claiming 140 wickets across Test, ODI, and T20 formats for Pakistan. 

He has now joined the team in Multan as they prepare for the upcoming Test series against West Indies, reports said.

While he was part of the coaching staff for the Pakistan women’s cricket team earlier, his new appointment marks his first role as a spin bowling coach for the national men’s side.

The Pakistan cricket team, led by Shan Masood, is in Multan for the first Test match against West Indies on January 17.

The selection committee has announced a 15-member squad, including three spinners: Nauman Ali, Abrar Ahmed and Sajid Khan.

Pakistani pacer Ihsanullah has taken back his decision to boycott the Pakistan Super League (PSL), saying, he made the statement “in the heat of the moment”.

“I made the statement in the heat of the moment,” he said during an interview with a private media outlet.

Backtracking on his decision to retire, Ihsan expressed determination to make a comeback and also apologised to his franchise. “I made the statement out of frustration. Now, I aim to work hard and secure my place in the tournament, which is still four months away.”

Earlier in the day, it was reported that the fast-bowler had announced that he would not participate in the PSL after being overlooked by all franchises at the draft for the upcoming tenth season of the tournament. “I boycott the PSL because the world and people are selfish” he had said.

“No one has contacted me. Ali Tareen moves on to others when he finds someone new. He was supporting my talent, not me,” the pacer was quoted as saying.

It merits a mention that Ihsanullah has been struggling with an elbow injury for more than two years, which has affected his career.

His previous team, Multan Sultans, has also not retained him in the upcoming season of the PSL.

It was the pacer’s impressive performance for Multan that led to his debut for the Pakistan national team in the ODI series against New Zealand in April 2023. However, after the injury, he was unable to play the second match.

Over his PSL career with Multan Sultans, Ihsanullah played 14 matches and took 23 wickets.

“We didn’t retain Ihsanullah because of his injury. Our focus is always on working with stakeholders to improve the league,” Multan Sultans owner Ali Tareen had on Monday said while confirming that Ihsanullah was not picked due to his injury.

The management of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has reacted to Pakistani batter Ahmed Shehzad’s viral video wherein he accused the league of “using his name without consent”.

Reports quoted PSL officials as saying that any local player who participated in domestic cricket was automatically eligible for the league, and a part of the PSL. Since Shehzad represented WAPDA last year, his name was included in the list of players for PSL 10 this year, they said.

The officials added that they could not take into account a player’s retirement announced in a social media video unless they were officially informed as well, adding that Shehzad, in this regard, had not notified the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in writing.

Earlier, PSL had added Shehzad’s name to the list of local players for season 10 of the tournament, prompting him to criticise the PCB and PSL on Samaa Digital’s programme “Zor Ka Jor”.

Shehzad had accused the league of using his name to promote the PSL despite his retirement announced during the season 9 of the tournament last year.

England’s upcoming white-ball tour of India has hit a snag as a report reveals that pacer Saqib Mahmood, who is a British-Pakistani, has not yet received a visa. 

According to the Daily Mail, Saqib Mahmood was supposed to leave for a fast-bowling camp in the UAE last Thursday. However, it is still unclear whether he will be able to join the tour, as his passport is still with the Indian embassy.

Saqib has been waiting for a decision for the past few days. It remains uncertain if he will be allowed to travel with the rest of the England squad this Friday.

Meanwhile, his teammates Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, and Mark Wood are currently training in Abu Dhabi with fast-bowling coach James Anderson. Freezing temperatures in the UK have effectively barred Saqib from practicing outdoors.

During England’s recent white-ball tour of the West Indies in November, Mahmood stood out by taking the most power-play wickets for England in the series, grabbing nine wickets in three matches and earning the Player of the Series award.

Despite applying well in advance, the ECB faced difficulties in obtaining a visa for Saqib Mahmood due to his Pakistani heritage. In 2019, he was unable to travel to India as part of the England Lions squad for the same reason.

England is scheduled to play a series of five T20s and three ODIs in India, with the first match set for January 22 at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. 

Last year, Lancashire had to tour India without Saqib due to similar visa issues. 

Another player, Shoaib Bashir, also faced problems in January 2024 because of his Pakistani background, having to return to London during England’s Test series against India to get his visa.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has come up with a new plan to help their team avoid continuous losses.

Indian media has reported that after a surprising whitewash against New Zealand in a home Test series and a 1-3 defeat to Australia, the BCCI has issued new guidelines for the players.

During a review meeting with BCCI officials, captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, it was decided that players’ wives will not be allowed to stay with them for the entire duration of international tours.

The BCCI is planning to reintroduce the pre-COVID rule, where players’ wives and families could not accompany them for the full tour. For tournaments or series lasting more than 45 days, wives can stay for only 14 days, and for shorter tours, the stay will be limited to just seven days.

Players like Virat Kohli and KL Rahul had their families with them during the Australia tour. The Indian Board believes that having family present throughout the tour is affecting the players’ performance.

The report also mentions that all players will now be required to travel together on the team bus. 

In recent years, many players preferred to travel alone, but this will no longer be allowed. To ensure team unity, every player, no matter how senior, must travel with the team.

The Pakistan cricket team management has planned a strategy for the upcoming Test series against the West Indies. 

The ground staff has been instructed to create pitches that will be helpful for spin bowlers. Head Curator Tony Hemming has introduced a new method to keep the pitches dry and spin-friendly.

To achieve this, Hemming has introduced the ‘Greenhouse’ idea in Pakistan cricket. The pitch is completely covered with special covers, and heaters are placed inside on both sides of the covers. The method helps maintain warmth and prevents moisture from affecting the pitch. The main goal of using the greenhouse method is to eliminate  moisture caused by fog in Multan.

The West Indies cricket team, led by captain Kraigg Brathwaite, has reached Pakistan for the two-match Test series. The first test will begin on January 17, and the second will be played from January 25, both in Multan.

Pakistan cricket team’s fast bowler Ihsanullah has announced that he is boycotting the Pakistan Super League (PSL), stating that “the world and people are selfish.”

In an interview with Public Digital, Ihsanullah said, “I will no longer play franchise cricket, and if I live, you will never see me in the PSL again.”

When the host asked Ihsanullah about Ali Tareen, who was known to support him, Ihsanullah responded, “No one has contacted me. Ali Tareen moves on to others when he finds someone new. He was supporting my talent, not me.”

Ihsanullah added, “There are still four months until the next PSL season, and even now, no one has shown faith in me. If I am not trusted here, I might leave Pakistan and move to Dubai or England.”

Ihsanullah represented Multan Sultans in the 2023 PSL season. His impressive performance led to his debut for the Pakistan national team in an ODI against New Zealand in April 2023. However, after an injury, he was unable to play the second match.

Ali Tareen, the owner of Multan Sultans, explained during the PSL draft on Monday, “We didn’t retain Ihsanullah because of his injury. Our focus is always on working with stakeholders to improve the league.”

Over his PSL career with Multan Sultans, Ihsanullah played 14 matches and took 23 wickets. Unfortunately, he has been struggling with an elbow injury for the past year, which required surgery and check-ups in England.

Indian cricket team captain Rohit Sharma might visit Pakistan before the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 for a trophy photoshoot.

It is expected that captains of all eight participating teams will gather for a press conference and a photoshoot, which is a common practice before major cricketing events.

Indian media reported that Sharma could also attend a press conference with other captains in the country.

However, a final decision on the visit is yet to be made.

The Champions Trophy will start on February 19 with a match between Pakistan and New Zealand. India will play its first match against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai.

Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Zaka Ashraf has revealed that the government decided to send the Pakistan cricket team to India at that time.

Speaking to the media during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) draft in Lahore on Monday, he expressed his joy: “Ten years ago, we planted the seed of PSL. Today, I am happy to see it has grown into a big tree.”

He added, “PSL is a great tournament for both PCB and Pakistani fans, as it has become a major source of revenue for the Pakistan Cricket Board.”

Commenting on the draft being held at Hazoori Bagh, Ashraf praised the effort, saying, “It’s a good initiative. We should always support what’s best for Pakistan.”

He clarified the decision to send the team, saying, “When the government made the decision, we supported it. We should work on improving diplomatic relations with the Indian government and board.”

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) held its draft for the 10th edition. The event, which took place at Hazoori Bagh in Lahore, was attended by coaches and players from each team.