Category: Sports

Pakistani cricketers are in high demand during the Big Bash League (BBL) Season 15 overseas draft, with six players selected from over 600 international registrations.

Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi was the first overall pick by Brisbane Heat, while other top names like Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shadab Khan were also selected by several teams.

Here’s the complete list of Pakistani players picked in the BBL 15 draft:

Player Name	Team	Round	Pick No.	Category
Shaheen Shah Afridi	Brisbane Heat	Round 1	Pick 1	Platinum
Haris Rauf	Melbourne Stars	Round 1	Pick 2	Right to Match
Mohammad Rizwan	Melbourne Renegades	Round 1	Pick 4	Platinum
Shadab Khan	Sydney Thunder	Round 2	Pick 12	Gold
Babar Azam	Sydney Sixers	Round 2	Pick 14	Platinum (Pre-signed)
Hasan Ali	Adelaide Strikers	Round 3	Pick 23	Gold

Pakistan had the most players selected among overseas countries after England. With top T20 stars available for the full season, teams were quick to include them in their squads. Shaheen and Rauf will lead the fast bowling attack, while Babar and Rizwan are expected to play key roles at the top of the order.

Other Pakistani players, including Saim Ayub, Hassan Nawaz, Imad Wasim, and Salman Ali Agha, have not been selected in the main draft, but they could still be added later if teams choose to fill more slots.

With Pakistani players now playing in six different teams, BBL 15 is expected to draw strong interest from both Australian and Pakistani fans this season.

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President Tariq Bugti has responded to reports alleging that players have not received their daily allowance in the ongoing Nations Hockey Cup in Malaysia.

Speaking to a private news channel in Kuala Lumpur, where he is present to support the team, Bugti clarified that daily allowances are not given in advance. “Payments are made after the event ends and only when funds are available,” he explained. “Even with limited resources, I’m trying to do everything possible to secure a better future for Pakistan hockey.”

Bugti maintained that the real priority should be the semi-final against France and reaching the final. He stressed that winning the tournament would allow Pakistan to qualify for the prestigious FIH Pro League.

He stated that the federation is aware of the players’ difficulties and is doing its best despite limited resources. “The government’s support is there, but it needs to improve. Once we start receiving funds in line with our needs, things will become more manageable,” he said.

“We want Pakistan to win this Nations Cup and qualify for the Pro League,” he said. “Despite challenges like financial constraints and fewer international matches, the players and management have shown great commitment.”

He also highlighted an improvement in Pakistan’s world ranking. “When I took charge, Pakistan was ranked 18th. We are now in 13th place, which reflects the positive direction we are moving in.”

Earlier, there were reports that players had not received their daily allowance for more than ten days despite reaching the tournament’s semi-finals.

New Zealand defeated Pakistan by 4-3 in a thrilling encounter at the FIH Nations Cup in Malaysia, despite the Green Shirts holding a strong lead early in the match.

Pakistan played aggressively in the beginning and was up by 3-1 at the end of the first half. Nic Woods opened the scoring for New Zealand in the sixth minute, but Abdul Rehman struck twice in the 13th and 14th minutes to give Pakistan the lead. Rana Waheed Ashraf added a third goal in the 28th minute to strengthen their advantage.

The momentum shifted in the third quarter when Scott Colson scored back-to-back goals in the 43rd and 45th minutes, levelling the score at 3-3. He then completed his hat-trick in the 52nd minute with a goal from a penalty corner, putting New Zealand ahead 4-3.

Pakistan must now wait for the result of the Malaysia vs Japan match to know their semi-final fate. A defeat for the host team would open the door for Pakistan to qualify for the final four.

Meanwhile, France and South Korea have already booked their spots in the semi-finals from Pool A.

A 30-year-old flight attendant and social media influencer, Fati Vazquez, is facing online backlash and death threats after her pictures with 17-year-old Spanish footballer Lamine Yamal surfaced on social media.

According to media reports, the two were reportedly seen spending a vacation together, which sparked widespread controversy concerning the significant age difference. The images and videos showing the young FC Barcelona striker with Vazquez quickly went viral, drawing sharp criticism from the public.

Fati Vazquez has not only been bombarded with hateful comments but is also receiving serious threats to her life. Many online users are accusing her of having an “inappropriate relationship” with a minor.

So far, Lamine Yamal has not issued any statement regarding the matter.

In parts of Europe and other regions around the world, relationships involving individuals under 18 are considered both morally and legally sensitive, even if consensual. These legal and ethical concerns have fueled the outrage surrounding the incident.

On social media, the influencer continues to face a wave of harsh criticism and abusive comments as the story draws international attention.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning to allow four-day Test matches in future editions of the World Test Championship (WTC) to help smaller cricketing nations play more matches and longer series.

Only traditional five-day Tests are allowed in the current WTC cycle (2025–27), which begins with a two-Test series between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh on Tuesday. This rule has made it difficult for smaller teams to host or play long series due to cost and time limitations.

Out of the 27 Test series scheduled in this WTC cycle, 17 will consist of just two matches. Only six will be a three-match series. The longer five-match Test series is reserved for the big teams: England, Australia, and India. These include the Ashes, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and a newly introduced series between England and India named the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, starting this Friday at Headingley.

At the WTC final held last week at Lord’s, ICC chair Jay Shah reportedly showed support for bringing four-day Tests into the next WTC cycle (2027–2029). The idea is to make Test cricket more practical and appealing for smaller nations who struggle with the financial and time demands of longer matches.

The ICC has already allowed four-day Tests for regular bilateral series since 2017. England played one against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge last month, and had previously played four-day Tests against Ireland in 2019 and 2023. However, introducing them in the WTC would mark a major change.

In four-day Tests, the daily playtime is slightly longer, with 98 overs per day instead of the usual 90, to help make up for the shorter match length. This format allows a three-match Test series to be completed in less than three weeks.

South Africa’s limited Test schedule, even after becoming world champions by beating Australia in the WTC final, has raised concerns, pushing the ICC to take more seriously the need to make Test cricket more accessible for all member countries.

Australia’s former white-ball captain Aaron Finch has praised Babar Azam ahead of the upcoming Big Bash League (BBL) season. He called the former captain of Pakistan “one of the best players in the world,” adding that Babar’s presence would be a big attraction for the league.

As the Australian T20 cricket league prepares for its 15th season, more than 70 Pakistani players are part of the draft list. But for Finch, Babar stands out from the rest.

“There’s none bigger than Babar Azam,” Finch said during a sports show. “He’s one of the best players in the world we’ve seen for the best part of the decade. It would be great for the Australian public and fans to see such a superstar in our competition,” he added.

Babar Azam is not going through the BBL draft like other players, as he has already signed directly with the Sydney Sixers. Even though he has never played in the Australian league before, fans in both Australia and Pakistan are looking forward to his debut..

It remains unknown whether any other Pakistani players will be picked in the draft.

BBL 15 is the 15th season of Australia’s Big Bash League, the country’s top professional T20 cricket tournament. The league features eight city-based teams and attracts top local and international talent each year.

The Big Bash League (BBL) is set to welcome a large number of Pakistani players this year, with more than 70 names nominated for the BBL 15 Draft. The draft will take place on June 19 in Melbourne, with the biggest group of Pakistani players ever to participate.

With no international matches scheduled for Pakistan during the BBL window, many top and rising stars are available. Big names like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, and Shadab Khan are expected to be in high demand from BBL teams, considering their strong T20 performances around the world.

Many young and domestic players from Pakistan are also in the mix, giving BBL teams a wide range of talent to choose from.

This is the fourth overseas draft for the men’s BBL. Each team can pick up to four overseas players, but only three can be in the playing squad at the same time. The fourth is kept as a backup.

Players are divided into four salary categories:

Platinum ($360k–$420k)
Gold ($300k)
Silver ($200k)
Bronze (up to $100k)

Teams must choose at least two overseas players and use one pick on a pre-signed international player. Clubs also have retention rights, meaning they can keep a player from last season if conditions are met.

This year, the Brisbane Heat have the first pick in the draft. From the third round, the order will follow a snake format.

In the BBL 15 Draft, a snake format will be used from the third round onwards to ensure a fair selection process for all teams. In this format, the draft order reverses with each round. For example, if Brisbane Heat picks first in the first round and last in the second, they will again pick first in the third. This means the team that picks last in one round gets to pick first in the next, preventing any single team from having an advantage throughout the draft. Brisbane Heat holds the first overall pick this year, and the snake format will help balance the selection process across the remaining rounds.

 

One of the biggest names, Babar Azam, has already been pre-signed by the Sydney Sixers. They will have to use a pick matching his salary band to officially bring him into the squad.

Pakistani players in the bbl draft:

Asif Afridi	Shaheen Shah Afridi	Abrar Ahmed	Muhammad Akhlaq
Ammad Butt	Asif Ali	Haider Ali	Hasan Ali
Muhammad Ali	Nauman Ali	Salman Ali Agha	Umar Amin
Ali Asfand	Azan Awais	Saim Ayub	Danish Aziz
Tahir Baig	Ahmed Daniyal	Sahibzada Farhan	Zafar Gohar
Mohammad Haris	Mohammad Hasnain	Mohammad Huzaifa	Muhammad Imran Jr
Aamer Jamal	Azam Khan	Haseebullah Khan	Ihsanullah Khan
Jahandad Khan	Mubasir Khan	Sajid Khan	Shadab Khan
Shahzaib Khan	Usman Khan	Yasir Khan	Zaman Khan
Irfan Khan Niazi	Shan Masood	Zahid Mehmood	Arafat Minhas
Usama Mir	Mehran Mumtaz	Sufiyan Muqeem	Khawaja Nafay
Hasan Nawaz	Rohail Nazir	Muhammad Nawaz	Usman Qadir
Momin Qamar	Haris Rauf	Ali Raza	Mohammad Rizwan
Abdul Samad	Ali Shafiq	Abdullah Shafique	Hunain Shah
Khushdil Shah	Naseem Shah	Khurram Shahzad	Mohammad Shahzad
Saud Shakeel	Hussain Talat	Usman Tariq	Siraj Uddin
Imam-ul-Haq	Ihsanullah	Imad Wasim	Muhammad Wasim
Arif Yaqoob	Zeeshan Zameer	Muhammad Zeeshan

Cricket fans witnessed one of the most thrilling contests in the T20Is’ history between the Netherlands and Nepal at Glasgow’s cricket ground, requiring three Super Overs to determine a winner.

Part of the ongoing tri-nation T20I series featuring Scotland, Nepal, and the Netherlands, the match on Sunday turned into a roller-coaster ride with drama, nerves, and history being made.

Batting first, the Netherlands posted 152 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. In response, Nepal managed to match the total with 152 runs, losing eight wickets in the process. With the scores level, the match headed into a Super Over.

First Super Over

Nepal batted first and scored 19 runs for the loss of one wicket. The Netherlands matched that exactly, scoring 19 runs without losing a wicket. The match was tied again.

Second Super Over

This time, the Netherlands went first and posted 17 runs for the loss of one wicket. Nepal came out with intent but could only manage 17 runs as well, another tie.

Third Super Over

In a dramatic turn of events, Nepal batted first in the third Super Over and collapsed, losing both wickets without scoring a single run. The Netherlands needed just one run to seal the win, and Michael Levitt finished it in style with a six.

This is the first time in T20 international (T20I) history that a match required three Super Overs to produce a winner.