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  • Tennis star Aisam to peacefully protest Macron’s blasphemy stance at Paris Masters tournament

    Tennis star Aisam to peacefully protest Macron’s blasphemy stance at Paris Masters tournament

    Pakistani tennis star Aisam ul Haq announced to protest peacefully in this week’s Paris Masters Tennis tournament against Macron on blasphemy by wearing a white band through the tournament.

    According to the reports Aisam delivered this message and urged famous athletes to participate in this peaceful protest wearing a white arm band. He also shared a video message on his social media accounts.

    Qureshi said: “The most important and valuable lesson I have learnt as an athlete and a tennis player is to respect all religions,cultures,faiths and beliefs.

    He further said, “Freedom of speech does not and should not mean freedom to antagonise anyone and disrespect someone’s religion.”

    “I will be wearing a white armband all this week at Paris Masters as a peaceful protest against the French president who, sadly and disappointingly, is endorsing and encouraging this kind of behavior where people are allowed to disrespect the religion of Islam and make fun of our Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), he said.

    Qureshi concluded with a request, “I urge not just Muslim athletes but athletes all over the world – who respect other religions – to show solidarity and unity by wearing a white armband and raise awareness that we, as human beings and athletes, can’t accept disrespect and mocking of other religions.”

    Aisam will be in action on Wednesday in the first round of the tournament’s mixed doubles event alongside world number 6 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.

    The Pak-Greek duo will face Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski of Great Britain on Wednesday which is today.

  • PAK v ZIM ODIs: Pakistani bowlers took fifers in each match

    PAK v ZIM ODIs: Pakistani bowlers took fifers in each match

    Three Pakistani bowlers have achieved the maiden five-wicket haul in the Pakistan vs Zimbabwe One Day International (ODIs) matches.

    In the first ODI, Shaheen Shah Afridi grabbed the fifer and returned with the figures of 5-49.

    During the second ODI, off-spinner Iftikhar Ahmed’s maiden five-wicket haul earned Pakistan a convincing six-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in the second one-day international and 30-year-old Ahmed returned with 5-40.

    Meanwhile, Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain had a day to remember on Tuesday during the Pakistan vs Zimbabwe third ODI in Rawalpindi.

    The 20-year-old picked up five wickets for just 26 runs in his 10-over spell, wreaking havoc to the opponent’s top order. He picked up three wickets in his opening spell, which he shared with Shaheen.

    Today’s game was the first of the series for Hasnain. He finished with figures of 10-3-26-5 as he became the third Pakistani bowler to claim a fifer in back-to-back matches of the ongoing series.

    Apart from the outclass performance by Hasnain, Pakistan lost the match in a Super over scoring only 2 runs on the loss of 2 wickets while Zimbabwe scored 5 runs of 3 balls, winning the match with 3 balls remaining.

  • Du Plessis excited to play for Peshawar Zalmi

    Du Plessis excited to play for Peshawar Zalmi

    Just a day after the end of his best IPL season (449 runs in 13 outings), it has been confirmed that Faf du Plessis will turn out for Peshawar Zalmi in the playoffs stage of the Pakistan Super League, which will resume from November 14.

    The tournament, played in February-March, was brought to a standstill by the Covid-19 pandemic right after the league stage was done, according to a Cricbuzz report.

    Du Plessis has been roped in as a replacement for Kieron Pollard, who will be away in New Zealand tending to national duties in that period. In the backdrop of CSK’s season-ender against KXIP on November 1, the 36-year-old du Plessis had stated his desire to keep playing for at least five more years.

    “I am very excited to join Peshawar Zalmi for the playoff stage games of HBL PSL 2020. I have fond memories of playing in Pakistan when I toured with the ICC World XI in 2017 and I am sure this experience, although different due to Covid-19, will be a memorable one as well,” Du Plessis said. He will be one of the seven South African players who will be in action during the knockouts stage of the tournament.

    Other replacements

    Karachi Kings bring in Sherfane Rutherford for England pacer Chris Jordan, while Waqas Maqsood has been roped in for the injured USA star Ali Khan. Lahore Qalanders have picked Tamim Iqbal to replace Chris Lynn, Abid Ali for Salman Butt and Agha Salman for Sri Lanka’s Sekkuge Prasanna.

    Multan Sultans will be without Moeen Ali, and have replaced him with Mahmudullah. Adam Lyth has been picked to fill the void left by Fabian Allen. Besides du Plessis, Peshawar have a list of replacements – Hardus Viljoen for Liam Dawson, Yasir Shah for Lewis Gregory and Khurram Shahzad for Amir Khan.

    On November 14, table-toppers Multan Sultan will take on Karachi Kings in the first qualifier, followed by the eliminator clash between Lahore Qalandar and Peshawar Zalmi. The second eliminator will be held on November 15, and the final on November 17.

  • Pakistan vs Zimbabwe: PCB announces ODI squad

    Pakistan vs Zimbabwe: PCB announces ODI squad

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a 15-member squad for Pakistan vs Zimbabwe One Day Internationals (ODI).

    The list includes Imam ul Haq, Abid Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (c), Haris Sohail, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Faheem Ashraf, Imad Wasim, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Musa Khan.

    Meanwhile, the expected ODI Squad of Zimbabwe will be Chamu Chibhaba (c), Ryan Burl, Brian Chari, Tendai Chatara, Elton Chigumbura, Tendai Chisoro, Craig Ervine, Faraz Akram, Tinashe Kamunhukamwe, Wesley Madhevere, Wellington Masakadza, Carl Mumba, Richmond Mutumbami, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Milton Shumba, Sikandar Raza, Brendan Taylor, Donald Tripiano, and Sean Williams.

    The ODI series against Zimbabwe also marks the beginning of Babar Azam’s reign as the skipper, having appointed by the PCB in May. The men in green will start as overwhelming favorites since not only they are playing on their soil but also the lopsided head to head record. Of the 17 ODIs played between them, the men in green have won 13 of them while one resulted in a tie.

    Read more – ‘Azhar Ali’s captaincy to be reviewed’

    On the other hand, Pakistan’s newly-appointed limited-overs vice-captain Shadab Khan has reportedly been ruled out of the first ODI against Zimbabwe due to fitness issues. According to Geo News, Shadab was feeling discomfort and pain at the upper side of the thigh which restricted his movement.

    “This is not hamstring injury but muscle problems at the upper portion of the thigh. He could not attend the practice session on Tuesday as he was feeling pain and discomfort,” the official told the publication.

    Pakistan will play three ODIs with Zimbabwe and it would be the hosts’ first ODI since October 2019 when they square off against Sri Lanka in Karachi. Zimbabwe last visited the country back in 2015 when they played white-ball games.

    First ODI will be played in Rawalpindi on October 30, 2020, while the second ODI will be played on Sunday November 1 and last will be played on November 3.

  • English Football League to now be called Papa John’s Trophy

    The English Football League (EFL) Championship and Papa John’s have announced a three-year deal that will see the United Kingdom (UK) pizza takeaway company become the official title sponsor of the EFL Trophy.

    EFL Championship is the highest division of the English Football League and second-highest overall in the English football league system after the Premier League. The league is contested by 24 clubs.

    The exclusive partnership, which will run until at least the end of the 2022/23 season, sees the competition, become known as the ‘Papa John’s Trophy’ with immediate effect.  In addition to the title sponsorship, Papa John’s will also be the official pizza of the EFL.

    The EFL has a unique reach into communities, offering local activation on a national scale with clubs spanning every corner of the country from Colchester to Carlisle and Plymouth to Sunderland, often sharing locality with at least one of Papa John’s 450 branches. 

    EFL Chief Commercial Officer, Ben Wright, said the EFL is delighted to welcome Papa John’s as title sponsor of the EFL Trophy and a new addition to the league’s portfolio of partners.

    “As we continue to navigate through the challenging times that the coronavirus pandemic presents, it is testament to the growing appeal of the EFL that we are able to attract new partners and invest the sponsorship fee into the competition through payments to clubs, which is important during this difficult period.  

    “We look forward to working with Papa John’s over the next three years to build on the success of the competition and create Papa John’s Trophy moments for us all to celebrate.”

    Commenting on the launch, Papa John’s UK Marketing Director, Giles Codd said, “We’re very excited to be named title sponsors of the EFL Trophy. It’s a real honour to be able to support EFL clubs in what is undoubtedly a tough time for everyone involved.

    “It’s always been our goal to serve the best ingredients for the most memorable occasions so we’re incredibly proud to be supporting such a great football competition.”

    Supporters will see Papa John’s feature for the first time in the buildup to the next round of EFL Trophy group stage matches, which will take place on November 10-11, with opportunities to win match passes, signed merchandise and exclusive discounts off orders.  The competition concludes with a showpiece Wembley Final on March 14, one of five EFL Finals held at the national stadium every season.

    The competition was sponsored by car leasing company Leasing.com last season

  • South Africa plan first cricket tour of Pakistan in 12 years

    South Africa plan first cricket tour of Pakistan in 12 years

    Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced on Tuesday it will send a security assessment delegation to Pakistan this weekend with a view to playing in the country in early 2021.

    If the tour goes ahead it will be South Africa’s first visit to Pakistan since 2007/08.

    Two subsequent “away” tours were staged in the United Arab Emirates because of security concerns following a 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.

    No details of the planned fixtures were revealed but according to the International Cricket Council’s future tours programme, South Africa are due to play in two world Test championship matches as well as three Twenty20 internationals in January and February.

    Tuesday’s announcement confirmed South Africa will host Sri Lanka in two world Test championship matches over the local summer holiday period.

    The first Test will be in Centurion from December 26 to 30 and the second Test will be in Johannesburg from January 3 to 7.

    After the CSA’s entire board resigned on Monday, acting chief executive Kugandrie Govender said the matches against Sri Lanka, like those for the upcoming white-ball series against England, would be played without spectators because of Covid-19 restrictions.

    On their previous visit to South Africa in 2018-19, Sri Lanka gained an upset 2-0 series win — the first by an Asian team in a Test series in South Africa.

    CSA also announced Australia would visit South Africa for three world Test championship matches in March and April 2021, to be followed by Pakistan, who will play three one-day internationals and three T20 internationals. Dates for these tours will be announced later.

    It was previously announced South Africa will host England in three T20 and three one-day internationals in Cape Town and Paarl between November 27 and December 9.

    The South African men’s team has not been in action since a one-day tour of India was called off because of the coronavirus pandemic in March.

  • Pirlo sees positives as Juventus miss Ronaldo before Barca clash

    Pirlo sees positives as Juventus miss Ronaldo before Barca clash

    Andrea Pirlo sees positives despite preparing for his biggest match since taking over as Juventus coach with Covid-19 -stricken Cristiano Ronaldo in doubt against Lionel Messi’s Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday.

    Pirlo took over after Maurizio Sarri was sacked immediately after Juventus’ last 16 exit to Lyon in August, the veteran coach lamenting another failure in a “competition cursed for Juve”.

    The Turin side have won the tournament twice, but not since 1996. They have been runners-up seven times, including twice in the last five years.

    In fact, 41-year-old Pirlo’s last Juventus game as a player came in the 3-1 loss to Barcelona in the 2015 Champions League final.

    Juventus signed Portuguese star Ronaldo in 2018 with the aim of lifting the coveted European trophy, and his absence against Messi’s Barcelona could weigh heavy.

    The 35-year-old will need to test negative 24 hours before being allowed to feature in Turin. The return at the Camp Nou is on December 8.

    “We miss him right now, of course,” said Colombian teammate Juan Cuadrado. “He’s a champion. In these very difficult matches, his strength, his mentality and his desire shine through.”

    Ronaldo scored three goals for Juventus in their first two league games, before contracting the virus while on international duty.

    Even if Pirlo has yet to record a loss this season, Juventus are fifth in Serie A, with three draws in five games.

    “Barcelona? It doesn’t worry me, they are two different matches,” said Pirlo after Sunday’s 1-1 stalemate against Hellas Verona.

    “Verona play differently than Barcelona, against teams that play like this you have to prepare a certain type of match.

    “We’re in the construction phase,” continued the novice coach. 

    “We’re sorry to leave points on the road, but we are on the right path. We are building a long-term project. I only see positive things.”

    Pirlo’s main weapons in Ronaldo’s absence have been Spanish forward Alvaro Morata, who scored both goals against Dynamo Kiev, and Swedish striker Dejan Kulusevski, who rescued the point against Verona.

    Former Chelsea and Real Madrid player Morata returned to Juventus this season with Kulusevski signed from Atalanta in January before being loaned back immediately to Parma.

    The 20-year-old Swede was up and running immediately, scoring on his club debut in September and came off the bench to give Juventus the edge against Verona.

    Pirlo has also been impressed with how Paulo Dybala performed “well above expectations,” in his seasonal debut against Verona after over three months out.

    Captain Giorgio Chiellini’s presence is in doubt, with fellow defender Leonardo Bonucci’s thigh strain being monitored, although Gianluca Frabotta, 21, has stepped into the breach, with Alex Sandro also out.

    “Seeing how we started the other championships, this start has been a bit slow,” said Cuadrado of the nine-time reigning Italian champions.

    “But we haven’t lost yet.”

    Both teams won their Group G openers with Barcelona beating Hungarians Ferencvaros 5-1 and Juventus 2-0 at Dynamo Kiev.

    RONALDO VS MESSI:

    If Ronaldo misses his chance to line out on Wednesday he will have to wait until December to renew his rivalry with Argentine Messi.

    They are the two greatest players of their generation with 11 Ballons d’Or between them, and the two highest scorers in Champions League history.

    They have not faced off since the Portuguese superstar left Real Madrid for Juventus, and both are running out of time to win the Champions League again.

    Messi, now 33, has featured in four victorious campaigns, all with Barcelona, while Ronaldo has won it five times, four with Real Madrid and once with Manchester United.

    Ronaldo has 130 Champions league goals, of which ten have been for Juventus, to Messi’s 116.

    Messi has won 16 of their 35 encounters to Ronaldo’s 10, with the remaining nine ending in draws. Messi has also scored 22 goals in those games to Ronaldo’s 19.

    The pair have only met five times in Champions League games, most recently in the semi-final in 2011.

    Barcelona got the better of Real Madrid with a 3-1 aggregate win with Messi scoring twice in the first leg.

    Their most memorable clash was the 2009 Champions League final when Messi scored as Barcelona beat Manchester United 2-0.

  • Pandya takes a knee in IPL to support ‘Black Lives Matter’

    Pandya takes a knee in IPL to support ‘Black Lives Matter’

    Mumbai Indians all-rounder Hardik Pandya has become the first player in the ongoing Indian Premier League to take a knee in support of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement.

    Pandya’s gesture came during the game against Rajasthan Royals here on Sunday.

    The all-rounder smashed 60 run from just 21 balls. After reaching his half century in the 19th over, he went down on a knee with his right arm raised to show solidarity with the movement against racism.

    West Indies all-rounder and Mumbai’s stand-in skipper Kieron Pollard responded by raising his right fist.

    After the match Pandya even tweeted a picture of himself with the caption “#BlackLivesMatter”.

    Last week, West Indies Test skipper Jason Holder, who plays for the Sunrisers Hyderabad, had expressed his disappointment over none of the IPL teams taking a knee in solidarity with the movement, which, he felt, went unnoticed in the league.

    “To be honest, I haven’t had one conversation up here around it (BLM). Sometimes it seems it has gone unnoticed, which is a sad thing. I guess it’s for us to re-highlight the importance of it, for people to understand what is happening in the world,” Holder had said.

    The “taking a knee” gesture started in the West Indies’ Test series in England this summer in protest against racism after African-American George Floyd was killed by an on-duty white police officer in Minneapolis.

    But the gesture was later discontinued for the subsequent tours of Pakistan and Australia. 

  • ‘Azhar Ali’s captaincy to be reviewed’

    Azhar Ali may not retain his position as Pakistan’s Test Captain during next month’s tour of New Zealand after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief executive Wasim Khan said that the 35-year-old’s leadership will be “reviewed”.

    According to details, rumours are rife in the executive corridors of PCB’s headquarters about a younger replacement. The speculations come just 12 months after Azhar replaced Sarfaraz Ahmed as Pakistan’s Test captain. Mohammad Rizwan and current limited-overs captain Babar Azam are the top choices for potential replacements for Test captaincy, with the change likely to happen as early as December when Pakistan’s tour of New Zealand is scheduled to take place.

    Wasim also revealed that Azhar’s annual appraisal is being carried out and that a final decision has not been made yet as constitutionally the prerogative to name or dismiss a captain rests with PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani, who is due to meet Ali in the next ten days.

    Read more – Misbah Ul Haq steps down as chief selector

    Azhar has struggled with form over the past two years and found himself in a sustained slump until he scored a hundred in Karachi late last year, followed by a fighting century in a rain-hit draw against England in Southampton in August.

    Azhar is presently the most capped player in the Pakistan side with 81 Test matches in a career that started in 2010. He was appointed ODI captain following Misbah-ul-Haq and Shahid Afridi’s ODI retirements after the 2015 World Cup when he hadn’t been part of Pakistan’s ODI plans. Following poor results in England and Australia during his tenure, he was axed from captaincy in January 2017 but remained in the squad until 2018 before losing his spot to younger players.

    Ali had refused an offer to take up Test captaincy in 2017 after Misbah and Younis Khan retired from the longer format, with the PCB deciding to hand over the captaincy in all formats to Sarfaraz. While his limited-overs replacement Babar looks more secure than ever, Azhar’s stint as Test captain may well be drawing to a premature close.

    Meanwhile, Wasim has backed Misbah and Babar as coach and captain for next year’s World Twenty20.

    In a press conference, Wasim while speaking about Misbah and Babar had said: “Like every other job, that of the head coach and the captain is also performance-based. At the moment, our main focus is white-ball cricket with World Twenty20 events in each of the next two years and we’re backing Misbah and Babar for the next World Twenty20 as they’re both doing well together.”

  • Mesut Ozil ‘deeply disappointed’ by Arsenal omission

    Mesut Ozil ‘deeply disappointed’ by Arsenal omission

    Mesut Ozil said Wednesday he was deeply disappointed” to be axed from Arsenal’s Premier League squad amid speculation he has played his last game for the London club.

    The 32-year-old is the highest-paid player in Arsenal’s history on a reported £350,000 ($450,000) a week, but has also been omitted from the Gunners’ Europa League squad.

    Ozil has not played a single minute for Mikel Arteta’s side since March 7.

    “This is a difficult message to write to the Arsenal fans that I’ve played for over the past few years,” said Ozil in a statement posted on social media.

    “I’m really deeply disappointed by the fact that I have not been registered for the Premier League season for the time being.”

    Former Germany international Ozil went on to question Arsenal’s loyalty having signed his current deal, which expires next year, in January 2018 — the same time Alexis Sanchez left the Gunners for Manchester United.

    “Upon signing my new contract in 2018, I pledged my loyalty and allegiance to the club that I love, Arsenal, and it saddens me that this has not been reciprocated,” said Ozil.

    “As I have just found out, loyalty is hard to come by nowadays. I’ve always tried to remain positive from week to week that there’s maybe a chance to get back in the squad soon again. That’s why I kept silent so far.”

    Alongside Greece defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos — also left out of both squads — Ozil will only be able to represent Arsenal Under-23s until 2021 at the earliest.

    This month saw Ozil offer to pay the salary of Arsenal’s popular mascot Gunnersaurus after Jerry Quy, who has played the role of the dinosaur since 1993, was let go by the club with stadiums empty during the coronavirus crisis.

    Arsenal midfielder Ozil spoke out on Instagram against China’s treatment of the Uighur population in Xinjiang last year.

    More than one million Uighurs and mostly Muslim Turkic minorities have been rounded up in internment camps, according to human rights groups and experts.

    Arsenal did not criticise Ozil for making the comments, but instead posted on their page on the Chinese social media site Weibo that the club “always adheres to the principles” of not getting involved in politics.