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Tag: Babar Azam

  • Shaheen Afridi ranks Rizwan ‘best’ and Babar ‘second’ best captain

    Shaheen Afridi ranks Rizwan ‘best’ and Babar ‘second’ best captain

    Pakistan’s young fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was recently appointed as the new captain of Lahore Qalandars, has revealed that he ranks Mohammad Rizwan as a better captain than Babar Azam.

    While attending a press conference where Shaheen was officially announced as the new captain of the Lahore Qalandars team, the left-arm pacer was asked about his opinion regarding Babar Azam’s captaincy.

    “Babar Azam is my favorite batsman and he is the number one batter as well. He has done fantastically well as a captain for the national team and we are reaching new heights under him,” responded Shaheen.

    Shaheen was then asked to reveal who he believes has been the best captain near him since he started playing.

    “I like [Mohammad] Rizwan’s personality. I started playing domestic competition with him from KPK’s side and I would rate him as the best. Since Babar has done a fantastic job with the national team, I will rank him second,” said the newly appointed captain of the Lahore Qalandars team.

  • Babar Azam celebrates Pakistan’s 20th T20I win in a year, clean sweep

    Babar Azam celebrates Pakistan’s 20th T20I win in a year, clean sweep

    Pakistan cricket team captain Babar Azam took to his social media to celebrate the 20th T20I win of the team in a calendar year. The 27-year-old batter was also happy for winning the three-match T20I series with a clean sweep against West Indies in Karachi on Thursday.

    Taking to Twitter, the skipper wrote: “One more in the collection, Alhumdulillah.”

    He also thanked Windies team for their tour despite difficult times of Covid-19. “Special mention to West Indies team for making this tour possible in difficult times. Our whole nation graciously thank you,” he wrote.

    Babar and Rizwan, after winning the 20th T20I in a year, shared their views about the national side. Babar credited Pakistan team for their successful run in T20Is in 2021. The captain also showered praise on his opening partner.

    Calling him a wonderful human being and speaking about the way Rizwan has improved his game, Babar said: “According to me, I’m privileged to have such a talented cricketer, a wonderful human being, someone who gels everyone together and someone who is looked up to by everyone.”

    “The way Rizwan improved his game, confidence levels and belief in himself is evident for everyone to see in the last one year. I’m happy that he is the leading T20I run-scorer in 2021,” he added.

    He credited the entire team for the success and noted: “The credit goes to the team and the players for their efforts, and believing in themselves. Communication and backing the players has been quite helpful for us. Every player in our dressing room is a match-winner.”

    Mohammad Rizwan finished 2021 as the leading run-scorer in T20Is with 1,326 runs in 29 matches at an average of nearly 74. He also became the first cricketer to score over 2,000 T20 runs (2,036 runs) in a calendar year.

    Rizwan and Babar powered Pakistan to their highest successful chase in T20I cricket as well as beating West Indies by seven wickets in the third T20I in Karachi. Babar contributed 79 off 53 balls, while Rizwan was the aggressor, hitting 87 off just 45 with the help of ten fours and three sixes.

    At the end, Asif Ali hit a flurry of boundaries to level the scores and sealing the deal for the national side, scoring 21* off just 7 balls.

    All-rounder Shadab Khan, pacer Haris Rauf and power hitter Asif also took to their social media to express their joy after winning the series with a clean sweep.

    Chairman PCB Ramiz Raja also lauded both the openers and team for the achievement.

  • Shaheen Afridi climbs to third spot in Tests, Babar Azam loses top rank

    Shaheen Afridi climbs to third spot in Tests, Babar Azam loses top rank

    In the ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings, Dawid Malan is back to number one among batters with Pakistan captain Babar Azam unable to hold on to the top spot after two matches of their series against the West Indies.

    Shaheen headlines the bowling rankings in the latest weekly update for men, which is carried out on Wednesdays and includes the second Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan, which Pakistan won by an innings and eight runs to clinch full ICC World Test Championship points from the series.

    Shaheen has continued his climb with three wickets in the match while off-spinner Sajid Khan has zoomed up 52 places to 49th after a 12-wicket haul that won him the Player of the Match award. Mohammad Rizwan (up five places to 18th) and Fawad Alam (up seven places to 20th) have moved up in the batters’ list after their useful half-centuries.

    In the ICC Men’s T20I Player Rankings, Dawid Malan is back to number one among batters with Pakistan captain Babar Azam unable to hold on to the top spot after two matches of their series against the West Indies. He moves to number 3 while Mohammad Rizwan has retained his fourth spot.

    Pakistan’s Haider Ali has gained 86 slots to reach 98th position after scores of 68 and 31 while the rankings for bowlers see spinner Shadab Khan back in the top 10, moving up five slots to ninth position.

    Fast bowler Haris Rauf is up three places to 19th while Mohammad Nawaz has gained 29 slots to reach 54th position. For the West Indies, left-arm spinner Akeal Hosen has gained 73 slots and is now 68th among bowlers.

    Team Pakistan has won two out of three matches in the three-match T20I series with West Indies in Karachi. Babar has scored 0 and 7 runs in both the matches respectively. While the Men in Green are set to play their third and final match against the Windies tomorrow (Thursday) in National Stadium Karachi.

  • Shadab Khan reveals his wedding date, Babar Azam’s number in a tell-all Q&A

    Shadab Khan reveals his wedding date, Babar Azam’s number in a tell-all Q&A

    Pakistan’s right-arm spinner Shadab Khan recently hosted a question and answer (Q&A) session on his Instagram. The prodigious turner of the ball answered to some interesting questions. From his wedding date to Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam’s phone number, Shadab had hilarious responses to the questions.

    A fan asked the young cricketer that when is he getting married? Answering to the question, he said: “The question is good but I don’t have the answer.”

    One of the netizens asked Shadab to share his number. Not only his but the fan also asked for Babar Azam’s number as well.

    Replying to the fan, he said: “Bhai q nahe abhi bhajta houn. (Why not brother. Sending in a while.)”

    Another fan said: “Where does Babar Azam live?” He jokingly replied: “I am not completely sure about it but I think he lives in his home.”

    One of the fans asked that where does the 23-year-old cricketer live? He said that he lives in Rawalpindi. While another one asked for the exact location, Shadab sarcastically said: “Will be sending you the full address, it shall be easy for you.”

    One of the question was hilarious as it read: “Plz marry me bhai.” Shadab laughed at it and replying, he said: “Brothers and sisters can’t marry each other.”

    Another fan said: “Rishta dhoondein aap k liye. (Should we find a ‘rishta’ for you?).”

    While thanking his fans for the concern of his marriage, Shadab said: “I have realised that all of you are so much concerned about my marriage. Thank you for your interest.”

    One of the fans asked about his thoughts on Babar Azam’s maiden Test wicket and his bowling. He said that “Babar is trying to take our place (in the team) but he did really well.”

    Babar Azam took his maiden Test wicket on Wednesday as Pakistan clinched the two-match Test series against Bangladesh in Dhaka on the same day. Pakistan white-washed the hosts with an exquisite victory of 2-0.

    The Test team has flown back home and are set to play against West Indies in Karachi, starting from December 13.

  • VIDEO: Babar Azam’s maiden Test wicket, celebration

    VIDEO: Babar Azam’s maiden Test wicket, celebration

    Pakistan cricket team clinched the two-match Test series against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Wednesday despite the fact that two days were washed out due to rain. Sajid Khan’s outstanding 12 wicket-haul was the highlight of the match but Pakistan skipper Babar Azam’s maiden Test wicket was the cherry on the top.

    Azam in the second innings bowled two overs, took a wicket, and only conceded a run with an economy of 0.50.

    The captain picked up the wicket of Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who scored 14 off 70 balls.

    Miraz tried to sweep Babar’s delivery and missed the ball, which touched his pad as a result. Pakistani fielders appealed for LBW, but the on-field umpire declared it not out.

    However, Babar straight away went up for the review, which clearly showed the impact was in line, and the ball clearly hitting between the leg and middle stump, which forced the umpire to reverse his decision to out as the entire Pakistani team became ecstatic.

    The Pakistan team was all excited to see their skipper pick up his wicket, while Babar himself was all smiles.

    The wicket was an important one as well for Pakistan as Shakib al Hasan and Mehidy continued to defy Pakistan’s bowling and were looking in a position to deny the visitors a win.

    Pakistan whitewashed Bangladesh 2-0 in the Test series, breathing life into a rain-hit Test match that was otherwise headed for a certain draw.

    Pakistan team is headed home and all set to play the next series against West Indies on the home grounds.

  • Imad Wasim wishes Babar ‘good luck’ for PSL 7 as Karachi Kings’ captain

    Imad Wasim wishes Babar ‘good luck’ for PSL 7 as Karachi Kings’ captain

    Pakistani cricketer and former captain of Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Karachi Kings, Imad Wasim, has extended his good wishes to the newly appointed captain of the franchise, Babar Azam, for the upcoming seventh edition.

    Taking to Twitter, Imad thanked Salman Iqbal, saying: “I want to take a minute to thank @Salman_ary bhai and the whole @KarachiKingsARY family for entrusting me with the captaincy for 4 seasons! It’s been wonderful n I look forward to even bigger things for the team in the future.”

    Wishing well to the the all-format skipper Babar, he said: “Gudluck and best wishes to my brother @babarazam258.”

    Cricketer Umar Akmal also congratulated his cousin.

    The Kings, under the leadership of Imad Wasim, clinched their first PSL title in 2020.

    The seventh edition of PSL will be held in January and February 2022 with all matches taking place in Pakistan.

    Both Lahore and Karachi will host 17 matches each, with the finals to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

  • Babar Azam named captain of Karachi Kings for PSL 7

    Babar Azam named captain of Karachi Kings for PSL 7

    The all-format captain of the Pakistan cricket team, Babar Azam, will lead Karachi Kings in the seventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), which is starting in January next year.

    Read More – 2020 Sports Roundup – Some losses, some gains

    The franchise confirmed the long-rumoured development on its official Twitter account on Tuesday.

    “Big announcement for Karachi Kings fans! Our national team skipper, the one and only Babar Azam, will now be the captain of Karachi Kings as well!”

    “This is such an honour for me that the whole team management, including Imad Bhai, has entrusted me with the captaincy of our beloved Karachi Kings team. This means the world to me,” Babar said in a video message attached with the tweet.

    “I have been playing for the Karachi Kings for the last five years, and this is like my home and family away from home.

    “I will work as hard as possible to take the team to even greater heights than what we’ve already achieved so far. My promise is that I will give it my all to make sure we keep on growing towards bigger and better things,” Azam said.

    The players’ draft for the seventh edition of the PSL is due for the second week of December while the tournament is likely to start in late January. Karachi and Lahore are expected to host 17 matches each with the playoffs and the final at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

    Earlier, under the leadership of all-round spinner Imad Wasim, the Kings won their first title, playing against their arch-rivals Lahore Qalandars in 2020.

  • Pakistan beats Bangladesh in first Test with a convincing win

    Pakistan beats Bangladesh in first Test with a convincing win

    Pakistan has beaten Bangladesh in the first Test match of the two-match series by 8 wickets in Chittagong on Tuesday.

    Courtesy of openers Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique, the Pakistan opening pair formed a 151-run opening stand before Shafique was dismissed on 73. Meanwhile, Abid Ali fell short of his fourth Test century by 9 runs as Taijul Islam caught the Pakistan batter in front of the wickets.

    The openers capitalised on their century partnership and took it further to 151 runs before Abdullah was dismissed by Mehidy Hasan.

    Earlier, resuming Day 4 at 39/4, overnight batter Mushfiqur Rahim (16) was bowled by pacer Hassan Ali and the hosts lost their fifth wicket with the lead still being under 100. Yasir Ali had to retire, hurt after playing a knock of 36 and this brought Liton Das and Mehidy Hasan together at the crease.

    Shaheen Shah Afridi went on to take five wickets as Bangladesh was bowled out for 157, setting a 202-run target for the visitors.

    Meanwhile, leading the way to the win, Babar Azam and Azhar Ali sealed the deal for the side with a winning partnership and with back-to-back boundaries, Pakistan takes a 1-0 lead.

    Pakistan stands on 24 points on the points table of the ICC World Test Championship.

    Abid Ali bagged the Player of the Match award after his prolific innings against the hosts in Chittagong.

    Meanwhile, in the post-match ceremony, skipper Babar Azam said: “The way Bangladesh played in the first innings that was really good but Shaheen and Hassan were outstanding. That’s the beauty of Test cricket that it allows you to make a comeback. We didn’t have much time to prepare for the Test but we gave our best. I am really pleased with the way Abdullah Shafique built his innings. Abid Ali was outstanding, scoring tough runs to pull the team out from difficult position.”

  • Babar Azam is ‘confident’ ahead of Bangladesh Test series

    Babar Azam is ‘confident’ ahead of Bangladesh Test series

    Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam is confident that they will be performing well in the Test Championship after playing against Bangladesh in the two-match Test series. He said that in a virtual press conference from Chittagong ahead of the first Test.

    The skipper was a bit worried about the unavailability of a batting coach with the side, saying that the Men in Green should have had one but the decision to appoint a batting coach rests with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

    Veteran Australian cricketer Matthew Hayden was appointed by the PCB as batting consultant for the T20 World Cup. He was hired after Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis stepped down from their coaching roles in September.

    Babar Azam spoke about the team’s performance, saying that he expected them to perform well in the series.

    “The batting line-up includes senior players who play spinners well. The players joining the Test squad were playing domestic cricket and we will benefit from this,” he stated.

    He said that this Test series is also important for Pakistan, adding that the team will try to keep up the winning momentum [from the T20 series].

    Babar Azam praised the Test team, saying that he was confident they will perform well in the Test Championship as “there are more matches at home grounds”.

    He said that the Bangladesh team is a dangerous side even in the absence of senior players. Azam said they cannot be taken lightly as conditions are difficult in Bangladesh.

    “It is not easy to play here. We have to focus and play with patience, we will also try to stay on the wicket.”

    The first Test of the two-match series between Pakistan and Bangladesh starts tomorrow, November 26, in Chittagong.

  • Muhammad Rizwan moves up, leaving KL Rahul behind in ICC men’s T20I rankings

    Muhammad Rizwan moves up, leaving KL Rahul behind in ICC men’s T20I rankings

    Pakistan’s wicket keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan’s outstanding performance in the three-match series against Bangladesh has lifted him another place to 4th position in the ICC Men’s T20I Rankings.

    The opener has left Indian cricketer KL Rahul behind, who is now standing at number 5th position.

    Pakistan’s captain and star player Babar Azam retained the top position in the list and still stands the best batsman in the world in 20-overs cricket format with 809 points followed by Englands’s Dawid Malan and Proteas player Aiden Markram.

    Fakhar Zaman also moves up from 40th to 35th while, pacer Hassan Ali has advanced 16 spots to Number 44 and Shadab Khan has climbed two spots to Number 14.

    Earlier, Babar Azam and Rizwan surpassed India’s Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan to become the duo with the most century partnerships in T20I cricket.