Category: Sports

  • Indian border officials bars own baseball team from entering Pakistan

    Indian border officials bars own baseball team from entering Pakistan

    The Indian baseball team, who had arrived at Wagha Border to enter Pakistan to play West Asia Cup, was barred from crossing over by Indian border officials, Dawn has reported. Nepal’s baseball team, which had travelled with their Indian counterparts, entered Pakistan.

    The West Asia Cup will start on January 27 in Islamabad.

    Indian security officials reportedly asked their team to show a NOC issued by the government.

    The Indian team had all the traveling documents and visas in their hands except the NOC. According to Dawn Pakistan Baseball Federation chairman Fakhar Ali Shah has said that they are still waiting for the Indian team’s arrival.

    “Even if they get the NOC on Jan 27, we will adjust the schedule of their matches accordingly,” Fakhar said, stating that Sri Lanka’s arrival had also been delayed and they would fly in on Thursday while Nepal joined Palestine and Bangladesh in reaching Islamabad.

    Earlier, Indian Baseball Federation general secretary Harish Kumar, who is accompanying the 20-member squad, had sent a video message to the PFB, saying it was “thankful to the government of Pakistan, especially for their all efforts for the issuance of the visas to the Indian squad”.

  • Sarfaraz Ahmed shows singing skills at Shaan Masood’s Qawali Night

    Sarfaraz Ahmed shows singing skills at Shaan Masood’s Qawali Night

    Sarfaraz Ahmed’s singing skills were on full display at the Qawali Night of the cricketer Shaan Masood’s wedding ceremony. A viral video shows Sarfarz singing the song “Mubarak Ho Tumko Yeh Shaadi Tumhari.”


    People on social media have been blown away by Sarfaraz’s singing skills.

    Shan Masood had an intimate nikah ceremony on January 22 with former all-rounder Shahid Afridi and Shadab Khan among the cricket players who were attended the exchange of vows.

    Tomorrow, January 27, the batter will throw a valima reception for his friends and family in Karachi.

  • Mega event set to start: Franchises finalise their squads for PSL 2023

    Mega event set to start: Franchises finalise their squads for PSL 2023

    The replacement draft of Pakistan Super League (PSL) eighth edition was held online on Wednesday. All six franchises in the league finalised their squads for the mega event, scheduled to take place from February 13 to March 19.


    The franchises picked their replacements against the cricketers who are fully or partially not available for the tournament. In the draft, each side could pick a maximum of one foreign cricketer in the two supplementary rounds.
    Last year, player retentions for the sporting event were announced in November, while the draft took place on December 15.

    Pakistan’s mega cricket tournament will begin with defending champions Lahore Qalandars taking on the 2021 champions Multan Sultans in the inaugural game at the Multan Cricket Stadium following a celebratory ceremony.

    Fixtures will be staged across four venues in Pakistan with 11 in Rawalpindi, nine matches each in Karachi and Lahore, while Multan will host five games.

    Partial replacements of all teams HBL PSL 8:


    Lahore Qalandar:
    Shane Dadswell and Sam Billings, Kusal Mendis

    Peshawar Zalmi:
    Richard Gleeson

    Quetta gladiators:
    Dwaine Pretorius, Will Jacks and Nuwan Thushara

    Multan Sultans:
    Wayne Parnell and Izharulhaq Naveed

    Karachi Kings:
    Faisal Akram

    Islamabad United:
    Tymal Mills and Gus Atkinson

  • Babar Azam becomes ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year for consecutive second time

    Babar Azam, captain and standout batsman of Pakistan team, was named the International Cricket Council (ICC) One Day International (ODI) Player of 2022 on Thursday, taking home the prestigious title for the second year in a row.

    In the year 2022 Azam amassed 679 runs from just nine games at an average of 84.87, including three hundreds in ODI matches.
    Adam Zampa of Australia, Shai Hope of the West Indies, and Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe were also contenders for the honour.

    “If you thought the Pakistan skipper had a year to remember in ODI cricket in 2021, then what he produced during 2022 was even better as the ultra-consistent right-hander maintained his lead as the No.1 ranked batter on the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s ODI Player Rankings,” the ICC said in a press release.

    Stating that the Babar has firmly held on to the title since July 2021, ICC said that in his current form, the batsman has no intention of letting go easily.
    “It might be surprising to note that Babar only played nine ODI matches in 2022, but the 28-year-old made them count as he smashed three centuries, a further five half-centuries and only really failed with the bat on one occasion,” the cricket governing body said, lavishing praise on the Pakistani batsman.

  • ‘Doors are open’ for Ben Stokes, says England coach Mathew Mott

    ‘Doors are open’ for Ben Stokes, says England coach Mathew Mott

    English All-Rounder Ben Stokes is likely to return to England’s One Day International (ODI) Team to play for the 2023 World Cup. The 31-years-old England Test captain took retirement from ODIs last summer to manage his workload, however, his decision was criticized by many. Stokes took his team to the final and won the title of men’s T20 World Cup.

    The “door is open” for Ben Stokes to come out of 50-over retirement and play at the World Cup in India later this year, England coach Matthew Mott has said.

    Mott said England is happy to wait on a decision.

    “The door is always open for a player of that quality but we are also very aware that his main focus is red-ball cricket as the captain,” Mott said, speaking before England’s three-match ODI series against South Africa begins on Friday.

    England is currently building its team for defending its title. The World Cup will be played in October and November by which time England will not have played a Test for more than two months.

    Ben Stokes was the man of the match in the 2019 World Cup when England won the coveted trophy for the first time after a dramatic super over against New Zealand.

  • Mike Tyson sued for $5M for allegedly raping a woman in the early ’90s

    Mike Tyson sued for $5M for allegedly raping a woman in the early ’90s

    A woman is suing Mike Tyson boxer for alleged violently raping her inside a limo after the two met at a popular Albany nightclub in the early 1990s.

    The woman, who has asked courts to keep her name secret, filed the suit in early January under a temporary New York state law allowing victims of sexual assault to seek civil damages regardless of the statute of limitations.


    She is seeking $5 million in damages, stating that she is suffering from physical, psychological and emotional injury since she was assaulted by the boxer.
    She said to the court that she ran into Tyson at a local hotspot then called “Septembers” and later got into his limo after he offered to pick up her friend and take the two of them to a party. She claimed that the boxer immediately started touching her and trying to kiss her.


    “I told him no several times and asked him to stop, but he continued to attack me,” the woman said. “He then pulled my pants off and violently raped me.”
    Tyson spent three years in jail beginning in 1992 after being found guilty of raping model Desiree Washington, who was 18 at the time.
    Tyson, considered one of the greatest in the ring, has consistently ran into trouble during his career.

    It is not clear in the affidavit at which date Tyson allegedly raped the woman, neither is it clear whether Tyson’s driver was inside the car or the car was parked. Meanwhile, the legendary boxer remains tight-lipped and has not commented publicly on the suit.

  • Mickey Arthur set to return as Pakistan’s cricket team head coach, hints Najam Sethi

    Mickey Arthur set to return as Pakistan’s cricket team head coach, hints Najam Sethi

    Mickey Arthur is set to return as Pakistan men cricket team’s head coach for the second time, PCB’s Chairman Najam Sethi hinted on Monday.


    The South African will replace Saqlain Mushtaq whose contract expires next month.


    However, Mickey Arthur’s contract as head coach is still being negotiated. Talking about the hiring, Najam Sethi said at a press conference, “I am personally in negotiations with Mickey and we have resolved 90% of issues,” adding that he has appointed former Test cricketer Haroon Rasheed as the new chief selector, replacing former all-rounder Shahid Afridi who held the post on an interim basis.

    “Hopefully, we will very soon share the news that Mickey will be joining us and I’d like him to build his own team of coaches once he is here,” Sethi told the members of the press.


    Formerly the coach for South Africa, Australia and Sri Lanka, Arthur was in charge of the Pakistan team from 2016 to 2019 when the team won the 2017 Champions Trophy and became the top-ranked T20 team in the world.

    The Johannesburg-born 54-year-old currently has a long-term contract with Derbyshire.

  • ‘Tuttay huey dil jayein kahan?’ Shadab Khan is a married man now

    ‘Tuttay huey dil jayein kahan?’ Shadab Khan is a married man now

    Shadab Khan announced on social media platforms on Monday that he has gotten married with the nikah taking place yesterday.
    The cricket player went on to reveal that his wife was his mentor Saqlain Mustaq’s daughter. He requested the media and fans to respect his privacy.

    ‘Salaam everyone. Alhumdulillah today was my nikkah. I am becoming part of my mentor Saqi bhai’s family. When I started playing cricket, I wanted to keep my family life seperate, my family has also opted to stay out of public life. My wife has asked for the same, she wants her life to remain private. I would kindly request everyone to respect her choice and our family’s choice. However, if you want to send salami, I will send an account number.”

    As shaadi season goes on, the list of broken heart girlies keeps growing on and on. The past weeks have seen Haris Rauf, Shan Masood and now Shadab getting married in quick succession. Soon Shaheen Shah Afridi will also be tying the knot. Sending our condolences to fan girls everywhere.

    https://twitter.com/CuteHunYar/status/1617764272096018432?s=20&t=ePTRkqxMFwsLRzhMO7-mLg
  • ICC rescinds ‘below average’ rating for Rawalpindi pitch

    ICC rescinds ‘below average’ rating for Rawalpindi pitch

    The Rawalpindi pitch’s demerit point after the ICC World Test Championship series between Pakistan and England’s first game has now been rescinded.

    Following a Pakistan Cricket Board appeal, the decision was made. After the first Test of the series in early December, the pitch grade at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium was deemed to be “below average.”

    England won the Test by 74 runs after some exciting batting. The pitch was later described as “embarrassing” by PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja, and Andy Pycroft of the Emirates ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees agreed.

    “It was a very flat pitch which gave almost no assistance to any type of bowler,” Pycroft said. “That was the main reason why batters scored very fast and both sides posted huge totals. 

    “The pitch hardly deteriorated during the course of the match. Since there was very little in it for the bowlers, I found the pitch to be ‘below average’ as per the ICC guidelines.”

    The ICC appeal panel, however, came to the unanimous conclusion that the pitch had some “redeeming features” after studying the Test Match film, including the fact that a result was feasible and that 37 out of 39 wickets were taken.

    The appeal panel concluded that the pitch did not deserve the “below average” grade it had previously received.

    The venue had previously faced the possibility of having its right to hold international cricket matches suspended due to the number of demerit points it had received.

  • Najam Sethi appoints Haroon Rasheed as the new chief selector of Pakistan men’s cricket team

    Najam Sethi appoints Haroon Rasheed as the new chief selector of Pakistan men’s cricket team

    Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management committee Najam Sethi on Monday announced the appointment of men’s national team chief selector, Haroon Rasheed, who is a former Test cricketer.

    Haroon represented Pakistan in 23 Tests and 12 ODIs and was also a member of Shahid Afridi-led selection committee appointed only for the home series against New Zealand.

    Haroon Rasheed also served as national men’s team chief selector in 2015 World Cup. He was also the manager of the Pakistan Cricket Team from 2003 to 2005.

    In a press conference, Najam Sethi said, “I think Haroon is the best man for this job. I have worked with him. He is a competent individual and I have given him a free hand to make his team and take decisions.”

    PCB reportedly wanted Afridi to continue as the chief selector; however, the former all-rounder refused a permanent role, citing personal commitments.