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  • Despite fantastic win in Bangladesh, Pakistan’s U-19 coach still unhappy

    Pakistan U-19 team has scored a tremendous win in Bangladesh despite the team’s head coach Sabih Azhar saying that young players need a lot of improvement.

    Pakistan’s U-19 squad returned home from Bangladesh on Thursday after a memorable tour, winning in all three formats — one-off four-day match, One-Day series and a single T20 against their Bangladesh counterparts.

    LThrashing Bangladesh in their backyard is not a piece of cake, however Sabih feels like that there is still room for betterment.

    “It was not easy to beat Bangladesh in their own backyard. I am satisfied with the team’s achievement but this does not mean we relax. There are still some areas which the coaches have marked and there is still room for improvement in that,” Sabih said in a statement.

    “We are looking ahead now with a focus on finding the best winning combination that consistently performs,” the coach added.

    “Before coming into the [Bangladesh] series, we not only worked on the players physically, but we also looked after the mental aspect of the game to prepare them for performing [well] at crucial junctures. We are fully focused on doing well at the 2024 ICC U-19 World Cup, even though there is still time for the event.”

  • It’s all about self-love: 77-year-old Ohio woman marries herself

    It’s all about self-love: 77-year-old Ohio woman marries herself

    Dorothy Fedeli, or Dottie, of Ohio, has married herself over the weekend.

    Fedeli is an American woman who was living alone since divorce after nine years of marriage and was living a single life since the past 44 years.

    Fideli is a resident at the O’Bannon Terrace Retirement Home. The mother of three and grandmother was married once in 1965 in a quick courthouse ceremony.
    Over the weekend, the 77-year-old walked down the aisle to marry the love of her life, herself.

    “Because this is something I’ve always wanted. I wanted to get married and have a happy life but things didn’t work out that way and now I have a second chance in doing something that’ll make me happy,” Dottie said.

    Fedeli’s friends and family were also invited, including her daughter who baked a cake for her mother.


    Fideli says she got the idea from neighbors who saw a woman do the same thing on a talk show.
    “Love, love is the most important thing in this world. If it’s not in the cards for them, then there’s something out there that will make them happy and find themselves in life and fulfill their soul,” said Fideli.

  • Pakistan ke saath nahin khelna chaahtay: Jay Shah on Indo-Pak bilateral series

    Pakistan ke saath nahin khelna chaahtay: Jay Shah on Indo-Pak bilateral series

    Ahead of World Cup 2023 to be played in India, the matter of hosting Asia Cup has become a thorn of contention between Pakistan and India.


    Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) wants to shift the whole tournament from Pakistan to another venue as the Indian government is not allowing their team to travel to Pakistan due to security concerns.

    In a tit for tat move, Pakistan has also threatened India that if BCCI and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) do not resolve the issue on a happy note, then Pakistan also will not travel to India for the World Cup and will instead play their matches at a neutral venue.

    In this chaos, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman offered a bilateral test series on a neutral venue including England, Australia, South Africa or where ever India wants.


    In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Sethi had mentioned the possibility of arranging bilateral Test matches between the arch-rivals at neutral venues, citing the potential for a successful turnout in Australia or England.

    “Yes, I think bilateral Test matches can be played in Australia, England, South Africa,” Sethi had said. “But I think the best bet would be England, and following that Australia. If you can get a house full in any of the Australian stadiums, fine, that would be great.”


    However BCCI secretary Jay Shah refuses to play any kind of bilateral series with Pakistan, saying that they are not at the stage to play any kind of series in the future or in upcoming days.


    The source reaffirmed the BCCI’s stance, making it clear that they are not ready to pursue any cricketing engagements with their Pakistani counterparts.


    “No plans for such kind of series to happen in the future or upcoming days. We aren’t ready for any kind of bilateral series with Pakistan,” the BCCI source was quoted as saying.


    Jay Shah is the son of BJP leader Amit Shah; the ruling party of India who do not want good relations with Pakistan.


    Jay Shah is also the main person behind Asia Cup 2023 controversy between Pakistan and India.


    Despite the extensive popularity of Pakistan-India matches at the box office, both arch-rivals have rarely met outside of major cricketing events due to political issues between the two nations. Their most recent bilateral series was in 2013, and they last played a Test match against each other in December 2007.

  • Asia Cup 2023: Bangladesh rejects Dubai as neutral venue proposed by Pakistan

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has proposed a hybrid model to Asian Cricket Council (ACC) as the best possible way to conduct the tournament amicably.

    The model initially proposed that India play their matches at a neutral venue and the rest of the teams come to Pakistan and play their matches, with a possible India vs. Pakistan final taking place at the neutral venue.

    Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has reportedly rejected the first hybrid model, prompting Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi to propose a revised version in which the first four matches will take place in Pakistan and then all the teams along with the men in green, move to the neutral venue.


    PCB told ACC and BCCI that they decide the neutral venue because they are the hosts.

    PCB wants Dubai or UAE to be the host of Asia Cup if the hybrid model is considered because the money gateways are clearer in Dubai rather than Sri Lanka or any other venue.

    Bangladesh and Sri Lankan boards have agreed to the hybrid model but Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has observed that it’s too hot in Dubai so that’s why players are not agreeing to play in the desert city.

    “We have no issues if the tournament will be completely played in Pakistan, we have good bilateral relations with Pakistan and PCB, we are ready to come,” the board reported said, adding that they will be ok with Sri Lanka too.


    “The weather in UAE is not suitable for cricket and it will affect the health of players as we can not afford to take any risk specially ahead of World Cup 2023.”

    According to sources quoted by media, Pakistan will travel to India for the World Cup on the basis of some give and take if India agrees in writing that they will travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy.

  • PCB’s hybrid model under discussion as Pankaj Khimji and Jay Shah meet

    PCB’s hybrid model under discussion as Pankaj Khimji and Jay Shah meet

    After a strict warning from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is trying to find the best possible way to resolve the hosting matter for Asia Cup 2023.

    Najam Sethi warned ACC that Pakistan will stick to its stance if hosting rights will be compromised. More likely, Pakistan will boycott World Cup 2023 in India and will not play its matches in the arch-rival country, citing security concerns.


    After Sethi’s clear stance, ACC officials have now called a meeting. Jay Shah, President of ACC who is also secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will meet with the Vice-President ACC Pankaj Khimji today.

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has offered to host the Asia Cup in two phases, first in Pakistan and the other at a neutral venue which is said to be decided mutually.

    Khimji will meet Shah to give him a briefing on the second option of the hybrid model. Moreover, Khimji will also share the details of his meeting with Najam Sethi with Shah.

    After Bangladesh and Sri Lanka agreed on the second hybrid model via email, as per sources, PCB is confident of a final decision by ACC very soon. The second option of the hybrid model is most likely to be accepted.

    ACC is also likely to call a meeting of board members by the end of this month.

    It must be noted that BCCI has refused to send their team to Pakistan for the Asia Cup, which is set to take place in September this year, and is keen on ensuring that the event is held at a neutral venue. However, the PCB is not interested in hosting the event outside Pakistan since it would affect its efforts with regards to the return of international cricket in the country.

    Despite being considered one of sport’s greatest rivalries, India and Pakistan have not met on home soil in any version of the game since 2012, and only play each other in multinational tournaments on neutral grounds.

  • ICC revenue model: Najam Sethi wants clarity before approval

    ICC revenue model: Najam Sethi wants clarity before approval

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials are not happy with International Cricket Council (ICC) new revenue distribution model in which the game’s biggest financial engine India will get most of the shares.

    ICC has proposed a new revenue-sharing model for the 2024-27 cycle to be voted on at its next board meeting in June.

    According to reports, in the revenue model, India would claim 38.5 per cent, while England and Australia would pocket 6.89pc and 6.25pc respectively. Pakistan stands to earn 5.75pc of the ICC’s projected earnings, primarily from its media rights sale.

    The 12 full members of the ICC would collectively get 88.81pc, while the rest would be distributed among its 96 associate members.
    “We are not happy with the figures shared with us. We are insisting that the ICC should tell us how these figures were arrived at,” Sethi told Reuters from London.


    “Come June, when the board is expected to approve the financial model, unless these details are provided to us, we are not going to approve it,” he stated.


    Disney Star shelled out $3 billion last year to acquire the 2024-27 media rights for the Indian market.


    Sethi said that we asked ICC to explain how the finance and commercial affairs committee headed by Indian cricket board secretary Jay Shah determined the share.


    This despite the fact that all nations will get more money and despite that PCB is not happy with the model, two other test playing nations are also unsatisfied with the biased model.


    The ICC, which considered factors such as the performance of a country’s men’s and women’s teams and their contribution to the ICC’s commercial revenue, was not immediately available to comment.

    “In principle, India should get more, there is no doubt about that but … how is this table being developed?” Sethi asked

    The proposed revenue split has become a major talking point in world cricket, which is already facing a rapidly altering landscape because of the Indian-driven rise of franchise-based leagues.

    Former England captain Mike Atherton, writing in The Times newspaper on Monday, criticised the “flawed” model, which he feared would only deepen the game’s existing inequality.

    “If that distribution comes to pass, then the strong will get stronger, the weak weaker (relatively) and international cricket will continue to become less competitive — which is in nobody’s long-term interest,” Atherton wrote.

  • ‘Is he mentally stable or not’: Ramiz Raja slams Sethi’s proposal for England to be Asia Cup host

    ‘Is he mentally stable or not’: Ramiz Raja slams Sethi’s proposal for England to be Asia Cup host

    Former Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja has slammed current head of the Board, Najam Sethi, on the issue of Asia Cup 2023 hosting country.

    Sethi is trying to solve the Asia Cup hosting issue amicably with Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Asian Cricket Council (ACC). Jay Shah, President of ACC and also Secretary of BCCI, has been accused of being biased and creating hurdles for Pakistan’s hosting rights of Asia Cup.
    “England could be a possibility as a venue for the Asia Cup,” Sethi said in an interview with BBC.

    Ramiz Raja expressed anger on the statement, raising questions about the mental health of the PCB chairman. “The whole purpose of Asia Cup right before the World Cup is to let the teams get used to Asian conditions.

    I was shocked to hear the Chairman PCB saying it would be great to see the Asia Cup being played at Lord’s. Is he mentally stable or not?” Raja questioned.

    Raja also said that it makes him angry when the chairman is saying that Pakistan Super League (PSL 9) will be conducted in UAE because of taxation issues in Pakistan.


    “On one side you are saying Pakistan is safe for cricket regarding Asia Cup and on the other hand you are saying PSL 9 will be conducted in UAE, what type of perspective are you trying to give, are you out of your mind,” Ramiz Raja asked.

    Former cricketer Salman Butt also took a dig on Sethi’s statement of hosting Asia Cup in England:
    “A neutral venue like this [England] is not viable for Asia Cup, it will not make sense as it will mean that there is not a single venue in Asia where it could be held.”
    “You can include England in it and make it Euro-Asia Cup. You can also give this suggestion. In the past, Austral-Asia Cup used to take place in which Australia participated.

    You can also include Ireland and Netherlands in it. It would be a World Cup-like event, as it will have six teams from Asia and four countries from Europe, so it will be a ten-team tournament. It will be a dress rehearsal for World Cup,” the former Pakistan opener said.

    He also added, “You can come up with as many ideas as possible but you also have to see what is practically possible.”

  • Real Sinf-e-Ahan Naila Kiani summits Mount Lhotse in Nepal

    Real Sinf-e-Ahan Naila Kiani summits Mount Lhotse in Nepal

    Pakistani female mountaineer Naila Kiani has summited Mount Lhotse just two days after scaling Mount Everest.

    On Tuesday morning, Kiani became the first Pakistani woman to summit six 8000-meter mountains after she successfully scaled Mount Lhotse in Nepal.

    Lhotse is the fourth highest mountain in the world at 8,516 metres, after Mount Everest, K2, and Kangchenjunga.

    Apart from Lhotse, the other five 8000 metre mountains Kiani has summited include Everest, K2, Annapurna, Gasherbrum I and Gasherbrum II.
    Kiani’s expedition organisers in Nepal confirmed that she reached on top of Lhotse at 8:13 am local time today morning.

    According to Karrar Haidri of Alpine Club of Pakistan, Kiani is the first Pakistani woman to climb Lhotse and the country’s fastest woman to ascend six peaks higher than 8,000 metres.

    There have been several Pakistani mountaineers who have successfully summited Mount Lhotse and Mount Everest. Nazir Sabir, the first Pakistani to climb Mount Everest, also summited Mount Lhotse, the fourth highest peak in the world.

    He achieved this feat in 2001. Ashraf Aman has also summited both Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse.

    Samina Baig, the first Pakistani woman to climb Mount Everest, has also successfully summited Mount Lhotse. She accomplished the feat in 2014, becoming the first Pakistani woman to summit both peaks.

    Mirza Ali is a Pakistani mountaineer who has climbed both Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse. He achieved this double summit in 2019, becoming the first Pakistani to accomplish this feat within 24 hours.

    These are some of the Pakistani mountaineers who have conquered both Mount Everest and Mount Lhotse, two of the most challenging and renowned peaks in the world.

    Their achievements reflect the determination and skill of Pakistani climbers in tackling the world’s highest mountains.

  • Asia Cup 2023: Hybrid model? Bangladesh and Sri Lanka say okay

    Asia Cup 2023: Hybrid model? Bangladesh and Sri Lanka say okay

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has proposed a hybrid model twice meetings with Asian Cricket Council (ACC).

    Pakistan has now gotten green signal from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka for the second proposal of the hybrid model in which the first four matches will be played in Pakistan and the rest of the tournament will be played in a neutral venue.

    According to reports, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka cricket boards have emailed PCB that they have no issues with the proposed model.

    PCB has proposed two options in the hybrid model. The first option says that India shall play their respective matches at a neutral venue while all other matches will be played in Pakistan, as originally planned.

    The second option says that the initial four matches of the group stage in the primary phase of the tournament shall be played in Pakistan. Moreover, the next phase, including matches of India and finals, are to be played at a neutral venue.

    There is a larger probability and a higher success ratio for the second option to be locked. In that scenario, Pakistan will play their group stage match against Nepal on home ground. Likewise, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan will also be playing their pool matches in Pakistan.

    There is a chance that ACC will call a crucial and final meeting this week to discuss the hybrid model.

    Previously, the chairman of PCB, Najam Sethi, gave a straight-up warning of pulling out from Asia Cup 2023 in case the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) doesn’t end up affirming the hybrid model.

    For this very reason, a meeting has been called by ACC, incorporating all members of the council to discuss the hybrid model.


    Jay Shah, ACC President, and also the secretary of BCCI, is the son of Amit Shah, a powerful BJP leader. BCCI initially influenced other teams to back off from playing in Pakistan and BCCI started planning their own five nation version of Asia Cup excluding Pakistan.


    But this all seems to have gone in vain because official broadcasters did not want to exclude Pakistan from the tournament.


    Keeping in mind that earlier, BCCI refuted the idea of sending their team to Pakistan for this year’s Asia Cup and kept on stressing that the entire tournament should be held at a neutral venue.

    On the contrary, PCB is adamant about hosting the event in their territory, at least some part of it; otherwise, it would waive off all the efforts made in order to summon international cricket back to the country.

    Pakistan and India are known arch-rivals based on their historical grounds – fans from both ends of the borders anticipate their face-off on the cricket field with eagerness and excitement.

    However, it’s no less than unfortunate that both the national teams haven’t played each other on home soil in any format of the game since 2012.

  • Solve Asia Cup issue amicably if you want to become ICC chief in the future: Najam Sethi advises Jay Shah

    Solve Asia Cup issue amicably if you want to become ICC chief in the future: Najam Sethi advises Jay Shah

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee Chairman Najam Sethi has shown concerns about the biased attitude of Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Chairman Jay Shah who is also the secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

    Sethi said that if the ACC chairman wants to become the head of International cr Cricket Council (ICC) than he has to solve Asia Cup’s issue amicably.

    Jay Shah is the secretary of BCCI and also son of powerful BJP leader Amit Shah. He has refused to send the Indian team to Pakistan to play Asia Cup 2023, saying that the Indian Government is not allowing them to play in Pakistan.

    The excuse is childish and hypocritical because India has sent many other sports teams to Pakistan. If the Indian cricket team has security concerns then why is Indian government allowing other teams to travel in Pakistan, asked Najam Sethi in a BBC podcast.

    He advised the ACC president to be neutral and solve the matter amicably.

    “I think Jay [Shah] is a young man, he aspires to be the head of the ICC,” Sethi told Associated Press (AP). “My advice to my young friend would be if you want to be a leader, you have to keep the herd together, keep the flock together.

    “Don’t let it be said that when you were in the chair in the ACC, the ACC broke up.”

    Najam Sethi also said that we will always be on the helping side for Asian countries.
    “When Aussies pulled out against Afghanistan, we said to them that we will play a series with you and you will get some money from the series,” Sethi remarked.

    We do not have any issues with any team in Asia neither they have any issues with us, he said, adding that its just India.


    He also spoke about the hybrid model for the Asia Cup, which would allow India to play their matches at a neutral venue while the rest of the tournament takes place in Pakistan.

    “Until India is ready to play Pakistan bilaterally and in Pakistan, let’s have a hybrid solution,” he said.