Category: Sports

Renowned Pakistani umpire and selector Aleem Dar has resigned from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selection committee, according to media reports, after disagreements over team selection.

Dar’s decision came after Pakistan’s disappointing performance in the Men’s T20 World Cup, where the national team failed to advance beyond the Super 8 stage. 

Reports said Dar quit after a string of selection decisions he opposed were ignored by the head coach and team leadership.

He felt sidelined in key decisions. Selectors named Pakistan’s best 20 players, but Dar claimed head coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Ali Agha consistently picked what he considered the wrong final 15 for the World Cup squad. 

Former national captain Misbah ul Haq remained silent during the disagreements, and senior selector Aaqib Javed offered no resistance, reports said.

Dar also raised concerns about including experienced batsmen Babar Azam and Shadab Khan despite their recent lack of form. 

He suggested that stronger performing players should have been preferred. Dar also proposed that wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan should bat at number six instead of wicketkeeper Usman Khan.

Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign began with a narrow escape against the Netherlands, followed by a win over the United States. Expectations were high for the match against India, but Pakistan repeated mistakes seen earlier in the Asia Cup and suffered defeat.

A win over Namibia helped Pakistan reach the Super 8 stage, but rain washed out the game against New Zealand, and a loss to England left Pakistan reliant on other results. England’s win over New Zealand briefly reopened the path forward, but Pakistan’s narrow victory against Sri Lanka did not improve their net run rate enough to advance. New Zealand eventually moved on to the semifinals, ending Pakistan’s tournament.

Following the team’s poor performance, PCB reportedly fined each player five million rupees.

Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed is expected to take over as head coach of the Pakistan men’s Test team, with an official announcement likely in the coming days.

The head coach position has remained vacant since October 2025. Azhar Mahmood handled the role on an interim basis during Pakistan’s recent Test series against South Africa.

According to media reports, Sarfaraz will begin his duties during Pakistan’s upcoming two match Test series against Bangladesh in May. The series will be part of the World Test Championship.

Pakistan and Bangladesh will play the first Test on May 8, followed by the second Test starting on May 16.

Sarfaraz recently worked as a mentor for Pakistan’s Under 19 team that won the Asia Cup. He currently serves with the Pakistan Shaheens, who are touring the United Arab Emirates for a T20 and one day series against the England Lions.

The wicketkeeper batter played 54 Test matches and scored 3,031 runs, including four centuries and 21 half centuries. In 117 One Day Internationals, he scored 2,315 runs with two hundreds and 11 fifties. He also featured in 61 T20 Internationals and scored 818 runs with three half centuries.

Sarfaraz built a strong reputation as captain as well. He led Pakistan to the Champions Trophy title in 2017, where the team defeated India by 180 runs in the final. He recorded a 70 percent win rate as ODI captain and guided Pakistan to five wins in nine matches at the 2019 Cricket World Cup. In T20 Internationals, his teams won 29 of 37 matches, giving him a win rate of 78.37 percent.

He last played a Test match for Pakistan against Australia in Perth in 2023.

Pakistan’s aggressive opening batter Fakhar Zaman will miss the upcoming One Day International series against Bangladesh, media reports have stated.

Fakhar suffered a hamstring injury during the Men’s T20 World Cup match against Sri Lanka, where he played an attacking innings. The injury ruled him out of Pakistan’s tour of Bangladesh.

Reports say Fakhar will begin his rehabilitation program at the National Cricket Academy as he works on regaining full fitness.

Pakistan will tour Bangladesh later this month for a three match ODI series. The Pakistan ODI squad will arrive in Dhaka on March 9 and take part in a practice session on March 10. 

The first ODI will take place on March 11, followed by the second match on March 13 and the third on March 15. All three matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

This will be Pakistan’s second tour of Bangladesh since July 2025. Bangladesh won the T20 International series played in July 2025. Earlier, in May and June 2025, Bangladesh toured Pakistan, where the hosts won the T20 International series 3-0 under the captaincy of Salman Ali Agha.

Media reports have also pointed out that regional tensions could affect Pakistan’s tour of Bangladesh. 

According to reports, selectors may include more young players in the ODI squad to build a stronger team. 

Reports suggest that underperforming players from the T20 format could be dropped, while the management considers giving chances to youngsters in place of players such as Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, and Mohammad Nawaz.

Fourteen Pakistani players have been included in the longlist for the inaugural The Hundred auction, which will take place on 11 and 12 March at Piccadilly Lights.

The official list on The Hundred website features both men and women cricketers from Pakistan. Among the men, notable names include pacers Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Usman Tariq, and batter Saim Ayub.

However, the surprising omission from the trimmed longlist is Sahibzada Farhan, who said last week that he was “hopeful” of being picked in the auction. The 29-year-old is the leading run-scorer at the ongoing T20 World Cup, having scored centuries against Namibia and Sri Lanka, although he has played in an overseas franchise league only once.

“The longlist for The Hundred Auction have been revealed, with the likes of Joe Root, Davina Perrin, Nadine de Klerk and Shaheen Shah Afridi set to go under the hammer at Piccadilly Lights on 11 and 12 March,” the official press release said.

“With nearly 1,000 players registering themselves for consideration for the auction, the eight men’s and women’s teams were required to nominate up to 100 players they’d be interested in purchasing. Any player with at least one nomination has been included on the longlists,” it added.

Earlier, media reports suggest that the four Indian-owned franchises — Manchester Super Giants, MI London, Southern Brave, and Sunrisers Leeds — were not considering Pakistani players for the auction. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) later clarified that The Hundred is an inclusive tournament.

“All eight teams commit to selection being based solely on cricketing performance, availability, and the needs of each team,” the ECB statement said.

Other men’s longlist players include Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Amir, Zaman Khan, Imad Wasim, Usama Mir, Akif Javed, and Salman Mirza.

On the women’s side, Pakistan’s representatives are Fatima Sana and Sadia Iqbal.

The Hundred will be played from July 21 to August 16, 2026, in England.

Pakistan’s upcoming tour of Bangladesh for a three-match ODI series faces uncertainty with regional military clashes, while major changes are expected in the national squad.

The Pakistan team is scheduled to arrive in Bangladesh on March 9, with all three ODIs set to take place at Shere Bangla National Stadium on March 11, 13 and 15. 

According to media reports, the tour will only go ahead if the situation does not worsen and pose security or travel risks.

At the same time, Pakistan’s selectors are preparing for a squad overhaul. Discussions are expected to begin this week as the team shifts its focus to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027, which South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia will co-host.

According to media reports, sources have revealed that the selection committee plans to introduce young players and move away from several first-choice names who have failed to deliver consistently. Senior players such as Babar Azam, Saim Ayub and Mohammad Nawaz are likely to be dropped for the Bangladesh series.

Pakistan does not have an immediate T20I assignment, so changes in that format are not expected right away. However, reports said five to six players could be gradually phased out of plans for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.

Pakistan last played ODIs in November, when they hosted Sri Lanka and completed a clean sweep in the three-match series.

Former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq defended his son-in-law Shadab Khan, blaming head coach Mike Hesson for not using all-rounders properly during the T20 World Cup.

Pakistan crashed out of the semi-final race despite beating Sri Lanka in their final Super Eight match. The team posted 213 and needed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 to surpass New Zealand on Net Run Rate (NRR). Sri Lanka fell short by just five runs, knocking Pakistan out of the tournament.

At one stage, Pakistan needed to defend 27 runs from a target of 147 to achieve the required NRR. Shadab conceded 15 runs in one over and 18 in the 19th, leaking 33 runs across his two overs.

Fans and experts immediately criticised Shadab for his poor form, but Saqlain argued that the blame lay elsewhere.

Speaking on a TV program, he said, “There are two types of all-rounders: bowling all-rounders, batting all-rounders, and then a pure all-rounder. The ones we selected were in demand for both skills. I understand the rules; I know that there was a demand for their batting as well as bowling. But in bowling, their performance was not visible. I think the performance in bowling was not apparent.”

He added that the all-rounders weren’t used properly.

Saqlain continued, “When I was there, the selection committee gave me the information that they are equally good—they can bat and bowl—but your utilization has to be correct. If both [Nawaz and Shadab] were utilized properly, things could have been much better.”

He compared them with other international all-rounders, saying, “What is the performance of Mitchell Santner? How many wickets has Axar Patel taken? What I am saying is that I think Mike Hesson demanded too much from them in both batting and bowling and did not use them properly.”

Shadab Khan’s performance in the World Cup fell below expectations. He took five wickets in six matches while conceding 152 runs and scored 118 runs with the bat.

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi strongly criticised his son-in-law Shaheen Shah Afridi following Pakistan’s exit from the T20 World Cup, questioning his decisions in crucial moments of the campaign.

Speaking on live television, Afridi focused on Shaheen’s bowling choices, particularly in the decisive match against Sri Lanka, which ended Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals. Pakistan entered the game knowing they needed a big-margin win to qualify.

Afridi said, “When a right-hander is playing, you don’t bowl round the wicket.” He added that if a bowler chooses that angle, he must aim “inside the wickets.” He also criticised the field settings, saying that with “third man and point up,” bowling outside off stump invites risk. “These are very easy angles to get a lob on the Asian pitches,” he said.

The former captain also vented frustration over what he described as repeated tactical errors. “When will they understand these things? They don’t learn, they don’t want to learn, they don’t want to run like players,” Afridi said. He pointed to frequent batting collapses and said the team showed a lack of responsibility. According to him, Pakistan’s thinking remains outdated and far behind modern demands.

Pakistan posted 213 and needed to restrict Sri Lanka to 147 to surpass New Zealand on Net Run Rate (NRR). Sri Lanka, however, kept the chase alive and fell short by just five runs, a result that knocked Pakistan out of the tournament.

Afridi highlighted the final over as a key moment. Sri Lanka required 28 runs, and Shaheen conceded 22 from the first four balls. He then switched his angle and bowled over the wicket, beating the batter on the final two deliveries, but by then the damage had already been done.

Shaheen ended the tournament with a mixed record. He took eight wickets in five matches and became Pakistan’s all-time leading T20I wicket-taker with 136 scalps, surpassing Haris Rauf. Despite the milestone, his economy rate of 10.53 drew criticism. His standout performance came against England in the Super Eight stage, where he returned figures of 4 for 30, dismissing Phil Salt, Jos Buttler and Jacob Bethell early.

Afridi also addressed his earlier remarks about Shadab Khan. He said he had previously considered Shadab a potential future captain, but changed his stance after the Sri Lanka defeat. Afridi stated that if Shadab’s performances do not improve, he would not even retain him in the team.

It is worth noting that during the same match, Pakistan needed to defend 27 runs from a target of 147 to achieve the required net run rate. Shadab conceded 15 runs in one over and followed it with 18 in the 19th, leaking 33 runs across his two overs and further hurting Pakistan’s cause.

Poor performances at the T20 World Cup have also triggered swift action from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which has fined every national player five million rupees, according to media reports.