Category: Sports

The deadline for submission of squads for the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2025 has been revealed.

The names of the preliminary squad for the Champions Trophy must be submitted before midnight on February 11. There is no restriction on submitting more than 15 names to the ICC. Reserve players can also be selected along with the 15-member squad.

Under ICC rules, any player can be replaced at any time before February 12. After February 12, the ICC’s Technical Committee can approve changes to the squad for medical reasons.

On the other hand, Pakistan’s national selection committee has completed its initial consultation for the Champions Trophy and the two-Test series against West Indies.

According to reports, the national squad will be announced by Saturday evening (January 11) after the approval of the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Only the probable squad for the Champions Trophy will represent Pakistan in the tri-nation ODI series starting from February 8.

It is proposed that senior players rest in the Test matches scheduled in Multan from January 17 to 25 and give the performers of the Pakistan Shaheens squad a chance.

The three-day match between West Indies and Pakistan Shaheens is to be played at the Islamabad Club from January 10 to 12, in which the selectors will have a special eye on young players.

The Pakistan team has been eliminated from the final of the World Test Championship, and these two test matches will be a mere formality. 

The selectors are of the opinion that it would be more appropriate to give a chance in these Test matches to those players who are capable of representing Pakistan in the World Test Championship 2025-26 in the future.

The top scorer of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Azan Owais of Sialkot, who has scored 844 runs with the help of four centuries, is also included in the preliminary list.

Imam-ul-Haq has proven his fitness and form by scoring 635 runs after reaching triple figures three times in five matches. He is also a strong candidate to make a comeback in the Test squad. 

Peshawar Regions’ Niaz Khan has caught the attention of the selectors by taking 39 wickets in eight matches in the trophy, while Musa Khan has led the way in showing 48 players to the pavilion in the same number of matches.

The Champions Trophy will begin on February 19 in Pakistan and UAE.

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English politicians have called for a boycott of the country’s match against Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy 2025.

More than 160 Members of Parliament (MPs), including former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Reform leader Nigel Farage, have written to the English Cricket Board (ECB), stating: “The ECB should refuse to play the group match against Afghanistan on February 26. A boycott of the match with Afghanistan would be a clear message of intolerance against oppression. We urge the ECB to send a strong message of solidarity with Afghan women.”

On the other hand, the English Cricket Board is of the opinion that it cannot unilaterally decide to boycott the match against Afghanistan.

ECB Chief Executive Richard Gould said, “The England and Wales Cricket Board strongly condemns the Taliban’s treatment of women. Cricket is a source of hope for many Afghans and displaced Afghans. We will support a joint decision with all member countries.”

The ECB will continue its policy of not scheduling bilateral matches against Afghanistan, but they haven’t decided if they will boycott matches.

Individual cricket boards organize bilateral matches, but the ICC manages tournaments like the Champions Trophy. Since Afghanistan is allowed to participate by the ICC, England is expected to play against them as planned.

Australia has cancelled several men’s series against Afghanistan in recent years because of the Taliban regime’s restrictions on women.

However, they still played against Afghanistan in the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Want to read about Asian Youth Games?

The Olympic Council of Asia has announced that esports will debut as a medal event in the 3rd Asian Youth Games to be held in Bahrain from October 22 to 31.

According to reports, young esports players will compete alongside athletes from 20 other sports, representing 45 countries in the 14-17 years age group.

“The Asian Youth Games is an important platform that now recognises esports as a competitive sport. With esports already a medal event in the Asian Games, this will create more opportunities for young players and help develop a strong esports community,” said Lokesh Suji, director of the Esports Federation of India (ESFI) and vice president of the Asian Esports Federation (AESF).

Last year, the International Esports Federation (IESF) also held the first Esports World Cup featuring 22 video games for a combined prize pool of over $60 million. The staggering amount was distributed across various games, making it one of the largest prize pools in esports history.

Saudi Arabia’s Falcons had won the tournament held in Riyadh, scoring 5,665 points. The Falcons had strengthened their lead by winning the Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile Championship in Week 1 and Free Fire in Week 2.

The team was awarded $7,000,000 (PKR 1.93 billion) in a ceremony attended by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who also presented them the winning trophy.

The 2025 edition of the cup is also set to take place in Riyadh in June-August, the prize pool for which is expected to exceed $60 million.

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Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah is likely to miss the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025 due to the inury he suffered against Australia.

As per the details, Bumrah suffered back pain in the first innings of the fifth Test against Australia in the bilateral Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly considering to rest Bumrah in the upcoming white-ball series against England so that he can be fully fit for the Champions Trophy.

However, Indian media reports said that the status of Bumrah’s injury was not yet clear and there was a chance of him not being able to participate in the tournament depending on the status of his injury.

If Bumrah has a Grade 1 injury, his recovery may take 2 to 3 weeks, a Grade 2 injury may increase his recovery time to 6 weeks while a Grade 3 injury could keep him off the field for 3 months, reports added.

Earlier, Bumrah bowled a total of 151.2 overs in the five Test matches against Australia and was the most successful bowler with 32 wickets.

India is scheduled to next play a five-match T20 series against England, which will start from January 22, followed by 3 ODIs.

Bumrah was already expected to rest in the T20 series but play the ODIs to prepare for the Champions Trophy.

However, the status of his injury will determine whether he will play the ODI series against England.

The Champions Trophy, to be hosted in Pakistan with Indian matches in the UAE, will begin on February 19.

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On the other hand former Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh has criticized the Indian cricket team for overusing fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, likening it to extracting juice from a sugarcane machine.

India faced a crushing 3-1 defeat in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, leading to widespread disappointment among former cricketers, analysts, and fans. Amid the criticism, Harbhajan Singh specifically pointed out the excessive workload placed on Jasprit Bumrah.

In a statement on his YouTube channel, Harbhajan expressed his concerns about how Bumrah was used throughout the series. He said Bumrah was made to bowl whenever key Australian batsmen like Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, or Steve Smith came to bat. Harbhajan likened this to squeezing every last drop out of Bumrah, leaving him physically drained.

Harbhajan emphasized that Bumrah was overused, to the point where it significantly affected his fitness. He criticized the team management for not managing Bumrah’s workload more carefully. According to Harbhajan, this overuse contributed to Bumrah’s physical strain, which impacted his performance in the series.

He further added that if Bumrah had been managed better and remained fully fit, India might have won the fifth Test match.

Despite the criticisms, Bumrah’s performance in the series was noteworthy. He was named Player of the Series after taking an impressive 32 wickets in five Test matches.

Pakistan’s Sohail Adnan has won the British Junior Open Squash Championship 2024, securing the Under-13 title for the country after 18 years.

According to reports, Adnan defeated Egypt’s top seed, Moiz Tamir Al-Mughazi, in the final of the category after five full games.

At one point, the Pakistani teen was down by 2-1, but made a brilliant comeback and won the match by 3-2. His winning score in the final was 11-5, 5-11, 6-11, 11-7, 11-5.

Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman (PCB) Mohsin Naqvi congratulated Adnan on winning the title.

“Sohail Adnan brought glory to Pakistan by winning the championship. He raised the green crescent flag after 18 years by winning the British Junior Open Squash; his victory is an honour for Pakistan,” he said.

Nasir Iqbal was the last Pakistani to win the British Junior Under-13 title in 2007.

Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Mohsin Naqvi has ordered that construction work at Lahore’s iconic Gaddafi Stadium be completed by  January 25.

He made a detailed visit to Gaddafi Stadium today (Monday), reviewing the progress of the stadium’s reconstruction, and inspected the work in detail while he visited all the floors of the main building.

On this occasion, Mohsin Naqvi said, “The stadium will be inaugurated in a grand ceremony with many big names attending.”

Talking about Saim Ayub, he said, “Saim Ayub will go to England tomorrow for treatment, along with assistant coach Azhar Mahmood. There, Saim will get treatment from a renowned sports doctor. Saim is an asset to Pakistan, and we are committed to his speedy recovery.”

Saim’s right ankle fractured  on January 3, during the first day of the second Test against South Africa at Cape Town.

Cricket Australia has admitted that they made a mistake in not inviting Sunil Gavaskar to the closing ceremony of the Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25.

Gavaskar was not invited to present the Trophy to Australian captain Pat Cummins. Former Australian captain Allan Border presented the trophy to the Australian captain.

Sunil Gavaskar was  present at the Sydney Cricket Ground when the trophy was presented, leading to criticism at the Board for not inviting him. Now Cricket Australia has admitted that both former captains should have been present when the trophy was presented.

According to Cricket Australia, the Cricket Board had decided long ago that if Australia won, the Allan Board Trophy would present the trophy, and if India won, Sunil Gavaskar would give the trophy.

A spokesperson for Cricket Australia said in a statement, “We acknowledge that it would have been better if Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar both had been present on stage. Sunil Gavaskar also felt that he was not invited to the stage.”

On the other hand, Gavaskar said, “I would have liked to have been present at the trophy presentation ceremony. I am present on the ground, it does not matter whether Australia wins. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to present the trophy with my friend Allan.”

Australia has won the BGT, defeating India by 3-1 in the five-match Test series.

Want to read about Wahab Riaz and Usama Mir controversy?

Former Pakistani cricketer and member of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) selection committee Wahab Riaz has broken silence on accusations of threatening right-arm leg spinner Usama Mir after dropping him from the team for last year’s T20 World Cup.

“We used to call players directly for selection matters. There were no threats involved. I remember Usama Mir’s case quite well. He called me and asked why he had not been selected for the World Cup,” Riaz said during his appearance on a podcast hosted by 24 News.

Addressing accusations of threatening Mir upon his inquisition, the former cricketer said that he, along with other selection committee members, including Muhammad Yousuf and Azhar Mahmood, explained their reasons for 45 minutes.

“After the press conference, Muhammad Yousuf and I were in a room when Usama called. He asked why he wasn’t selected. Azhar Mahmood and the rest of us spent around 45 minutes explaining that it was about team combination and not his performance,” he said.

“I told Usama that the conversation had gone on for too long. ‘We understand you might not like it, but it’s a team decision by the selection committee.’ After 45 minutes, we decided to put an end to the discussion. Usama accepted it but later sent a long message to [PCB’s high performance and tournament director] Nadeem Khan, claiming he was mistreated.”

Riaz said Nadeem then shared Mir’s message in the selection committee group chat and asked for an explanation. “Each selector explained the rationale behind the decision. The chapter was closed for us,” he added.

Later, the former cricketer said, he received a call from former skipper Abdul Razzaq in Ireland, telling him to issue and NOC [no-objection certificate] for Mir.

“The controversy escalated when Usama shared his grievances publicly. He started it himself and later admitted it was a mistake on his part. We had clarified everything from our side and even approved the NOC,” Riaz said.

“Usama’s media statements caused a stir. I asked the PCB to issue a clarification, but they decided against it. This led to misunderstandings and the matter continued. Despite everything, our process for NOCs is clear. The director of international cricket consults with us, and we provide our recommendations. It’s up to them to issue the NOC.”

To a question, Riaz said the team management’s focus was on red-ball cricket. “We’ve been playing consistently and our future tour programmes are set till 2027. The upcoming series against South Africa, New Zealand and the West Indies will be crucial,” he said in the interview that was aired on Jan 3.

It merits a mention that the South African series mentioned by Riaz is already underway.

“Red-ball cricket has always been a priority. It’s something we’ve been committed to, as seen in our recent series against Australia,” he said.

Want to read about Pakistan likely playing XI for Champions Trophy 2025?

India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra has opened up about the contentious topic of doping in India.

Speaking to Lallantop on Monday, he said, “Doping is the biggest problem among Indian athletes these days. I want to tell athletes that if doping comes to your mind, you cannot compete. You think that you perform well with doping, but this is not true.”

The Olympian went on to state that success comes only through hard work, self-confidence and good guidance. “If you get caught in a doping test, you face a ban of two to four years. I request the coaches to tell the athletes that doping will not help them,” he stressed. 

According to a report, the highest number of Indian athletes tested positive for doping in 2022.

India had 3,865 dope tests, out of which 125 players tested positive.

India is the only country with more than 100 positive dope tests and the second worst country in terms of positive dope tests in the last 10 years.

A total of 142 Indian players were caught doping from April 2022 to March 2023.

Indian spin bowler Yuzvendra Chahal and his actress wife Dhanashree Verma are in the news after unfollowing each other on Instagram.

Chahal has deleted all his pictures with his wife from his social media account, but his wife has only unfollowed her husband.  She has not yet deleted photos with him from her Instagram account. 

Indian media has reported that rumours of divorce between Chahal and Dhanashree are true.

The exact reason for the separation between the two is not known at present. However, both have decided to move forward in life separately.

Rumours of divorce between the couple, who got married in 2020, started all the way back in 2023.

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