Category: Sports

Former Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Rameez Raja has blamed Babar Azam for the bad pitches used during Australia’s tour of Pakistan.

According to Geo, “The pitch during Australia’s tour of Pakistan and the Test series was prepared at the behest of Babar Azam. The preparation of the pitches and the selection of the players were done according to the strategy made by the captain.”

The former PCB chairman said, “I always preferred captain’s strategy over pitch preparation and player selection. When Babar Azam was the captain, I asked him what is your plan. During the series against Australia, he prepared wickets according to the strategy.”

“Babar was allowed to set the game plan and prepare his players accordingly, especially for the first Test match because he was the captain, and what happens on the ground is what the captain plans,” he added.

Video Source: Twitter

He said, “Without knowing the nature of the pitches, the result of playing the match by guessing is visible to everyone because without understanding the pitch, you cannot adopt any plan or strategy, and in the end, that thing leads to your loss. Pakistan is also going through the same situation, and the reason for the defeat at home is that the pitches don’t match Pakistan’s talent.”

Rameez Raja served as PCB chairman from 2021 to 2022.

National cricket team’s batsman Fakhar Zaman has responded to the show-cause notice issued by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for supporting former captain Babar Azam.

Babar Azam was dropped from the Pakistan team against England, after which opener Fakhar Zaman posted a post in support of him, saying that Babar deserved better treatment.

He had given an example and said that India’s star batsman Virat Kohli also had a bad time, and despite three years of poor form, he was not benched, but throwing out the country’s best batsman will send a negative message to the team.

After his post, PCB took action and issued a show-cause notice to Fakhar Zaman, seeking his reply. The batsman has sent his reply to the PCB.

According to reports, he said, ‘I am under the PCB, and I must accept the decisions; writing about Babar Azam was not meant to criticize or hurt anyone. PCB’s central contract is of the opinion; I spoke as a fellow player; my only aim was for Babar Azam to have a chance in difficult times. PCB is our institution; we will continue to respect it.’

After seeing Fakhar Zaman’s response, the board will decide on his inclusion in the team for the tour of Australia.

The Pakistan team for the tour of Australia is likely to be announced on Monday; the Pakistan team is scheduled to participate in the ODI and T20I series next month in the land of kangaroos.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has postponed the most important first-class tournament, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. The event was supposed to start on October 20, but the details of the season have not been finalized yet.

According to reports, the announcement of the new dates for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is expected soon, and the domestic department is waiting for the approval of Chairman Mohsin Naqvi in ​​this regard.

Regional teams were supposed to participate in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, and the players of different regions were busy preparing for it, but the final teams have not yet been announced, and the schedule has not been decided.

This is not the first time that PCB has changed the domestic cricket schedule. Earlier, the U-19 tournament was also stopped and postponed on the first day after it started.

The PCB Domestic Department has also instructed the departments to be ready for the President’s Trophy as a backup plan.

If there is further delay in organizing the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, a first-class departmental tournament will be organized first. This tournament was earlier scheduled for January 6.

Pakistan left-handed opener batsman Fakhar Zaman is likely to be dropped from the squad for the Australia tour.

According to Express, Fakhar’s selection in the squad seems unlikely as he has failed the fitness test. After returning from a long trip to the West Indies, he was given the task of running two kilometres in eight minutes, which he failed to complete.

Zaman reportedly suffers from a problem with his knees; he is playing domestic cricket to be fit, while the selection committee has decided not to compromise on fitness.

Earlier, he tweeted in favour of Babar Azam before the squad announcement against England for the second Test, but after some time, the announcement of dropping the star batsman came out. It seemed like Fakhr criticized the decision. Later, PCB issued a show-cause notice to him.

Some former cricketers had also suggested that Fakhr be given leadership in the white ball.

Till Thursday night, Salman Ali Agha was the favourite to take over the White Ball captaincy, but now again, Muhammad Rizwan seems to be leading the race.

After Pakistan’s Test win against England in Multan, Pakistani fast bowler Muhammad Amir came forward to support former captain Babar Azam.

Babar Azam was intensely criticised online after Pakistan’s win, with internet trolls citing his absence from the team as the reason for Pakistan’s win. The 30-year-old has been under constant scrutiny following his recent failures with the bat.

Amidst the growing backlash, Babar received unexpected support from Amir, who advised the public to desist from this vile practice.

The left-arm fast bowler wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Please stop this nonsense that Babar was not in the team, so the team won. We played with a better plan, took advantage of home conditions and won. Please don’t get personal with your players; yes, talk about the performance, but don’t get personal.”

He was possibly referring to Shoaib Jatt in his tweet, who has been critical of Babar Azam for a long time and attributed the 30-year-old batsman’s absence to Pakistan’s win.

Babar is currently out of the national team after being dropped for the remainder of the England series but is expected to be back in the squad ready for the tour of Australia.

Pakistan will play ODI matches against Australia o

Pakistan right-arm spinner Sajid Khan has revealed that when he was selected for the national team cricket camp, he had no shoes to play in.

In a viral clip on social media, Sajid talks about his struggles. He said, “When I was selected for the cricket camp, I had no shoes to wear. Then fast bowler Imran senior saw me. He asked, ‘Sajid, you don’t have shoes to wear’. I was shy, so I said no, I have two pairs. But he understood that I have no shoes, so he gifted me his cricket spike shoes.”

“Whenever I played cricket, I used to perform at my best, but I was the first to be dropped from the team. I have played school cricket in Peshawar, from U-13 and U-16. I used to perform everywhere. The best performance in the comeback inspired me, and I had a unique way of celebrating,” he further added.

Sajid Khan has taken seven wickets for 111 runs in the first innings of the second Test match against England, while he has also taken one wicket in the second innings of the game.

Sajid Khan was not part of the team against England, too, but the worst defeat in the first Test and Abrar Ahmed’s poor performance and injury forced the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to give Sajid Khan and Nauman Ali another chance.

Sajid Khan has proven his selection right, but only the PCB selection committee knows whether he will continue to be a part of the permanent team.

He took seven wickets in the first innings of the second Test while 2 in the second innings against England in Multan on October 17, 2024.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has shared an interesting solution for the Indian cricket team’s matches in Champions Trophy 2025.

According to ‘Urdupoint’, PCB has suggested that the Indian team can go back home after every match

Meanwhile, Indian media is claiming that there has been a proposal to hold India’s three pool matches at two venues during the event.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) broadcasters, who are also broadcasters of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), suggested that having matches at two venues will increase the broadcast and event value. PCB has no objection to holding matches at two venues and suggested Rawalpindi as the second venue, claimed Indian media.

Earlier, the PCB had suggested only one venue in Lahore for India due to travel issues, but the broadcaster has suggested adding another venue.

In the proposed schedule, India’s three matches were scheduled in Lahore.

The high-voltage clash between Pakistan and India is scheduled for March 1, while Pakistan, India, New Zealand and Bangladesh have been placed in Group A according to the proposed schedule.

Champion Trophy 2025 and India’s participation:

The Champion Trophy is scheduled for February of next year in Pakistan. All teams have confirmed their arrival, while India’s participation is yet to be confirmed.

In July, Indian media claimed that India would not visit Pakistan for the event, saying that some matches of the Champions Trophy would be held in the United Arab Emirates or Sri Lanka on a hybrid model.

However, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice president Rajeev Shukla denied these claims, saying that the Indian government would make the final decision.

The Telegraph Report on Champion Trophy:

UK publication ‘The Telegraph’ has reported that the International Cricket Council (ICC) is considering different venues for India’s matches, including the final of the trophy. The final could be shifted from Lahore to Dubai. The final is scheduled to be played in Gadafi Stadium in Lahore on March 9, 2025.

Abu Dhabi and Sharjah are likely to host India’s matches if needed, The Telegraph has reported.

ICC chief executive’s statement about Champions Trophy:

On September 12, ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice confirmed now that there are no plans to move the Champions Trophy from Pakistan.

He said, “No team has hesitated to play in the tournament. All teams are committed to playing in Pakistan. Despite previous challenges, all participating teams are determined to play in Pakistan.”

The ICC Champions Trophy will host eight elite teams based on their performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup: India, Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

Pakistan is currently the defending champion of the Champions Trophy. The Pakistan cricket team, led by former captain Sarfraz Ahmed, won the Trophy in England in 2017, defeating India in the final.