Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry, in a recent interview with Waqar Zaka, hinted towards Pakistan’s first e-sports tournament. The minister added that the tournament will be held in March with the help of private sponsorships.
According to reports, Aslam has struck a deal with USA Cricket that will see him spend two years and 10 months playing league cricket in the States and eventually represent the US.
Aslam, 24, recently decided to quit Pakistan’s domestic cricket in favour of moving to the US as he was distraught at being demoted to Balochistan’s Second XI for the National T20 Cup.
The Lahore-born cricketer was disgruntled after not being selected in the 35-member squad for the New Zealand tour despite his string of solid domestic performances in the previous campaigns.
Disappointed that I didn't get any chance to be in 35players for NZ tour and last UK tour,even after good last QeD 2019-20trophy, I was one of the most run makers, scored 864 runs(4 100's) average of 78, dropped from the Test squad after not getting a game in my last UK tour 2018
Shahid Afridi, who joined the Galle Gladiators squad after he missed his flight, has left the Lanka Premier League (LPL) midway due to a “personal emergency”.
In a tweet, the cricketer who his captaining his team Galle Gladiators, said that he has “a personal emergency to attend to back home”. He added that he will rejoin the team “immediately after the situation is handled”.
Unfortunately I have a personal emergency to attend to back home. I will return to join back my team at LPL immediately after the situation is handled. All the best.
The team management has said that owing to the quarantine rules, Afridi is unlikely to return. In his absence, Bhanuka Rajapaksa will lead the team, while Afridi’s replacement has not yet been decided.
Gladiators, who have lost all three of their matches will be playing tonight (Thursday) against the unbeaten Jaffna Stallions.
Meanwhile, Sri Lankan media have revealed that Afridi is going back to Karachi to tend to his nine-month-old daughter who is reportedly unwell and has been admitted to the hospital. They also said that Lala joined the squad late because of his daughter’s illness.
“The same daughter is not well again and he will be leaving the hotel in Hambantota at around 7 pm for Colombo, where he will catch a flight for Karachi at 1 am,” a team source told the media.
Former Cricketer Umar Gul also commented on Afridi’s tweet to inquire if all is well.
PCB Challengers defeated PCB Dynamites by seven runs in a nerve-wracking final of the National Triangular T20 Women’s Cricket Championship, held at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Dynamites won the toss and elected to bowl first. Batting first, Challengers gave a target of 134 to the opponent team. Chasing the target, Dynamites managed to score 126 only.
Kainat Hafeez who was the top Scorer from Champion’s side with her 31- runs innings was named the Player of the Match.
Kainat Imtiaz from Dynamites who gave an all-round performance throughout the tournament (111 runs and three wickets) was declared player of the tournament and was awarded Rs 50,000. Meanwhile, Subhana Tariq was the most successful bowler for PCB Dynamites. She picked three wickets.
Earlier this year, Champions won the first edition of the tournament by defeating PCB Blasters in the final.
An eighth member of Pakistan’s cricket squad has tested positive for coronavirus as the team undergoes quarantine in Christchurch, New Zealand health authorities said Wednesday.
The health department said there was one new confirmed case among the squad and a further two members were being investigated, adding to the seven who previously tested positive over the past week.
The department said the team would not be allowed to train together until doctors were confident it would not lead to more coronavirus cases.
Director-general of health Ashley Bloomfield issued the team with a “final warning” last week for flouting social distancing protocols at their hotel.
No further breaches have been reported since.
Two of the original six cases last week were subsequently found to be historical, meaning they were not infectious, while the other four were active. A seventh member of the squad tested positive on Saturday.
The 53-member tour party, led by skipper Babar Azam, arrived in Christchurch on November 24 for two weeks of quarantine which is mandatory for all overseas arrivals in New Zealand.
All tested negative before leaving Lahore for the five-match tour, which is scheduled to begin with a Twenty20 international in Auckland on December 18.
New Zealand has largely eradicated community transmission of coronavirus recording just 1,704 cases and 25 deaths in a population of five million.
Former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi’s clash with Afghanistan’s Naveenul Haq has gone viral over the internet.
As per the details, the clash followed a heated exchange of words between Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir and Haq during a match of the Lanka Premier League (LPL) on Monday.
Haq’s Kandy Tuskers beat Afridi and Amir’s Galle Gladiators by 25 runs.
As the match continued, Haq misbehaved with Amir during the latter part of the game. Everyone tried to stop him, including India’s Munaf Patel, but he continued hurling abuses even after winning the match.
Shahid Afridi at the age of 20: Most runs in ODI cricket for any batsman for that age, fastest hundred in ODI cricket and World Cup finalist 👏
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Director of Media and Communications Samiul Hassan has said that the sexual violence allegations against skipper Babar Azam were a personal matter and the board could not comment on it.
According to Jang, the board’s spokesperson was responding to a question posed by the Urdu daily after a damning press conference by one Hamiza of Lahore, who claims to be Babar’s schoolfellow and neighbour.
Addressing the presser on Saturday, the woman had claimed that the young cricketer tricked her into love and marriage.
“When I asked him to marry me, he tortured me,” she said.
Hamiza said that she had financially supported Babar when he was struggling with his career, adding that she spent millions of rupees on him.
“When I called the PCB to lodge a complaint, they said that it was a personal matter,” she continued.
While PCB’s response to media queries adds weight to the woman’s claims, her lawyer says that an FIR [First Information Report] had been lodged with the Lahore Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) regarding the matter but no action was taken.
Hamiza’s petition is now pending at a sessions court, which is scheduled for a hearing on December 4. The sexual harassment case will be heard on December 5.
Babar, who is in New Zealand for a three-match T20I series and a two-match Test series, on the other hand, is yet to make a statement on the matter.
Pakistan cricket legend Shoaib Akhtar has hit out at New Zealand Cricket (NZC) for threatening to cancel Pakistan’s tour after six Pakistani players tested positive for COVID-19 at their managed isolation facility in Christchurch.
Akhtar warned NZC to “behave” themselves for threatening to cancel the tour, accusing the New Zealand governing body of “treating the Pakistan team like a club team”.
“New Zealand’s comment that if Pakistan team’s SOPs (standard operating procedures) are not in place then they will cancel the tour, is below the belt,” Akhtar said in a video on his YouTube channel.
“I want to give a message to NZC that this is not a club team, it’s Pakistan national cricket team,” said the former cricketer. “We don’t need you. Our cricket has not finished.”
Akhtar went on to say, “You will get money for broadcasting rights. So, you should be indebted to us that we decided to tour your country in such difficult times.”
“You are talking about Pakistan — the greatest country on the planet — so behave yourself and stop giving such statements. Be careful next time. Pakistan team now needs to smash them in T20 series.”
“The PCB should show some toughness,” he remarked.
Akhtar also said, “If I was in their place, I would have given a statement saying that if NZC isn’t happy, we won’t play them and will bring our team back and we won’t play against you for five years.”
Earlier, NZC was appraised that some members of the Pakistan team had violated protocols on the first day of managed isolation. The entire team was given a “final warning” by the government for breaching rules.
New Zealand’s Ministry of Health stated that several team members had been seen on CCTV at the facility breaching managed isolation rules despite “clear, consistent and detailed communication of expected behaviors while in the facility”.
In a statement, the ministry said that the team as a whole has been issued a final warning.
The health ministry shared that the 53 members of the squad arrived in Christchurch on November 24 and were tested on day one, with the six cases coming as a result of the tests.
All cases were being moved to quarantine rooms within the facility. Members of the team will be tested a minimum of four times while in managed isolation, the health ministry informed.
While Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not officially confirmed the names, journalists have shared their pictures which include former captain Sarfraz Ahmed, Abid Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Rohail Nazir, Danish Aziz and Naseem Shah.
According to reports, the players are unhappy in quarantine, especially after the positive cases and the isolation feels like a prison sentence for them.
Players weren’t able to condole with middle-order batsman Khushdil Shah, whose father passed away recently. The process was carried out through phone calls, instead.
Pakistan is set to face the Black Caps in three T20 internationals and two tests, with the first match on December 18.
The International Cricket Council (ICC), on Thursday, announced the nominations for the Awards of the Decade in the men’s and women’s categories. Two Pakistani male cricketers have been nominated for the awards.
According to details, former captain of the Pakistan cricket team and current head coach Misbah-ul-Haq and leg-spinner Yasir Shah are the only two Pakistanis nominated for the awards.
60 nominations have been made and the winners for each category will be selected through votes cast by fans around the world. The final announcements regarding the winners of their respective categories will be made on December 18.
Misbah was nominated for the ICC’s Spirit of Cricket Award of the Decade whereas Shah was nominated for the prestigious category of Men’s Test Player of the Decade.
#OnThisDay in 2018, Yasir Shah picked up 10 wickets in a day against New Zealand in Dubai 👏
He returned 8/41 in their first innings before claiming two wickets in the follow-on.
Shah is nominated for the ICC Test Player of the Decade award 🎖️
The former captain of the Pakistan side had won the ICC’s Spirit of Cricket Award for the year 2016 after leading his side to the number-one spot in the ICC’s Test rankings for the very first time since its inception.
Meanwhile, five Indian cricketers have been nominated in different categories from which four are men and one woman cricketer. Indian skipper Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, MS Dhoni, R Ashwin and Mithali Raj are nominated in different categories of men and women. Interesting thing is that Kohli is the only player to be nominated in all five men’s categories in the ICC Player of the Decade Award.
Fans can vote for their favorite player and they can also win prizes by registering on the website. Voting opened on November 25 and will be closed on December 16.
🔟 years 🏏 3711 games ⭐ Countless memories
The #ICCAwards are back, this time with an entire DECADE in focus 🤩
We'll be giving away some incredible fan prizes too, so keep your eyes peeled 👀 pic.twitter.com/7B1UyU6eQa
The sudden demise of football legend Diego Maradona of Argentina sent waves of grief across the world with celebrities and dignitaries mourning his loss. The 1986 World Cup winner passed away at home in Tigre after suffering a heart attack at the age of 60.
Soon after his demise, social media was flooded with tributes from all parts of the world.
Pakistani celebrities including Adnan Siddiqui, Ali Rehman Khan, Shoaib Malik and Shoaib Akhtar also mourned the footballer’s loss.
Easily the greatest footballer to grace the pitch ever. #DiegoMaradona is the man my generation will always identify the sport with. U shone the brightest. May u find peace in the other world. Goodbye, legend pic.twitter.com/gvEJ3dL2cc
So sad to hear about legendary Diego Maradona passing away. Always been a huge inspiration for all sportsmen. His legacy will always stay. #Maradona#Legendpic.twitter.com/t6ewLiVJP9
From across the border, Shah Rukh Khan and Ranveer Singh among other Bollywood celebrities also paid rich tributes to the former Napoli and Barcelona star.
Diego Maradona….you made football even more beautiful. You will be sorely missed and may you entertain and enthral heaven as you did this world. RIP…. pic.twitter.com/PlR2Laxfj2
Have followed Maradona’s game & life for years. Maidaan brought me closer to the game. He was a football legend and a passionate sportsman. Sad to see him go. RIP Diego Maradona.
Meanwhile, renowned names from the world of football also mourned their fraternity’s loss.
Cristiano Ronaldo called Maradona an “unparalleled magician”.
“Today I say goodbye to a friend and the world says goodbye to an eternal genius. One of the best ever. An unparalleled magician. He leaves too soon, but leaves a legacy without limits and a void that will never be filled. Rest in peace, ace. You will never be forgotten.”
Sharing a picture with Maradona, Lionel Messi said it was “a very sad day for all Argentinians and for football”.
“He leaves us, but he is not gone because Diego is eternal. I stay with all the beautiful moments I lived with him and I wanted to send my condolences to his family and friends.”
“A sad day for Argentina and a sad day for football as we celebrate the greatness of what this man gave us. Someone that played with passion, spirit and was nothing less than a pure genius. I was so excited to meet Diego and we will all miss him,” said David Beckham.
