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Tag: Babar Azam

  • Babar Azam is Pakistan’s new Test captain

    Babar Azam is Pakistan’s new Test captain

    Babar Azam has been appointed as Pakistan Test captain, which now makes him the captain across all three formats. He replaces Azhar Ali, who last captained Pakistan against England this summer.

    Babar’s first assignment will be to captain Pakistan in the ICC World Test Championship fixtures against New Zealand, which will be played in Mount Maunganui and Christchurch from December 26-30 and January 3-7, respectively.

    https://twitter.com/ICC_TODAY/status/1326198521125609472?s=20

    PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani confirmed the appointment following a meeting with Azhar on Tuesday evening in which he also thanked him for his contributions as a captain. The PCB Chairman subsequently spoke with Babar following his side’s eight wickets in the third T20I against Zimbabwe and congratulated him on his appointment.

    PCB Chairman said, “I want to thank Azhar for stepping up last year by captaining the side in what was a historic first home Test series in over a decade. I believe Azhar still has a lot of cricket left in him and Pakistan cricket can continue to make the best use of his experience and knowledge as specialist top-order batsman moving forward.”

    Mani further said, “Babar was identified at a very young age as a future leader and as part of his progression and development, he was appointed white-ball captain last year. With his consistent performance and leadership skills, he has demonstrated that he is ready to take on the additional responsibilities of a captain.”

    The chairman concluded by saying, “As we are looking into the future, it is appropriate that we appoint him the captain now so that he continues to grow stronger with every match.”

    Meanwhile, Babar while sharing his thoughts on his appointment said, “I feel truly honoured to have been appointed Test captain and join some of the most iconic players who have captained Pakistan in the purest format of the game. I can now say with conviction that dreams can come true only if you chase them with honesty, dedication and commitment.”

    “I am ready and prepared to take up the additional responsibility and the fact which gives me additional confidence is that I can do the job is the experience that is available to me in the changing room in the shape of the players and support staff,” he added.

    Babar also thanked Azhar for the way he captained the team in the last season, which according to him was a challenging task.

  • ‘Among us’: ICC challenges cricket fans to spot the imposter

    ‘Among us’: ICC challenges cricket fans to spot the imposter

    The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Friday released a series of images on Twitter featuring famous cricketers alongside their Among Us avatars.

    Among Us is an online multiplayer game centered around a space-theme. Players are given either the role of crew mate or imposter and the objective of the game is to find the imposter before all the crew mates are killed.

    Part of the game includes a wide range of customisation one can do with their avatar and it looks like the ICC had a great time customising avatars. Check them out below:

    While Babar Azam was given a green and yellow avatar, Bismah Maroof got one with a cowboy hat.

    Chris Gayle’s and Andre Russell’s blond hair avatars were the funniest among all.

  • 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.

  • IN PICTURES: Pakistan cricket team trains at Worcestershire

    IN PICTURES: Pakistan cricket team trains at Worcestershire

    The Pakistan cricket team has begun their training at Worcestershire for their upcoming matches against England.

    Read more – Mohammad Amir reveals why he backed out of England tour

    The team arrived in England on June 30, where they will play three Tests and as many Twenty20 internationals, starting in the first week of August. The players, who tested negative for COVID-19 and travelled to England included Azhar Ali (captain), Babar Azam (vice-captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Ahmad, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Rohail Nazir, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, Usman Shinwari, and Yasir Shah. Misbah-ul-Haq (head coach), Younis Khan (batting coach), Mushtaq Ahmed (spin bowling coach) and Waqar Younis also travelled with the team.

    According to PCB, the squad will undergo a 14-day isolation period on arrival before continuing their preparations ahead of the first Test with two four-day warm-up matches.

    Check out pictures from their training session below:

    Watch video:

    Babar Azam also shared pictures of himself at the practise and said that it felt great to be on the field again.

    It is expected that the first Test will take place in Manchester in August but the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said the behind-closed-doors match schedule would be announced in “due course”.

  • ‘I will kill you’: Sania Mirza tells Babar Azam

    ‘I will kill you’: Sania Mirza tells Babar Azam

    Babar Azam and Indian tennis player and Shoaib Malik’s wife Sania Mirza were involved in a fun conversation during an Instagram live on Malik’s account.

    In the live conversation, both the Pakistani players’ Malik and Azam talked about their experiences, played a few games and when Shoaib asked the T20 captain about his favourite bhabi (brother’s wife), Azam replied that former captain Sarfraz Ahmed’s wife Khushbakht is his favourite.

    As Babar was answering this question, Sania commented: “I will kill you.”

    She also said that she won’t let him sleep on their couch anymore.

    Not only Sania, former Pakistani cricketer Azhar Mahmood’s wife, Ebba Qureshi also reacted for not being chosen as the favourite bhabi.

    Later, Azhar Ali laughed on their comments and said: ‘Ye tu hoga.’ Malik also liked Azhar’s response.

    Meanwhile, Khushbakht thanked Babar for choosing her.

    Watch the full live session here:

    https://www.instagram.com/tv/CBqgTczlmd_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
  • Celebrities honour their ‘Ammis’ on Mother’s Day

    Celebrities honour their ‘Ammis’ on Mother’s Day

    Along with the rest of the world, Pakistan also celebrated Mother’s Day on Sunday and paid a tribute to the real superheroes in our lives. Check out some sweet Mother’s Day wishes below, starting with Prime Minister Imran Khan, of course.

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  • Rising batsman Haider Ali wants people to call him Babar Azam, not Virat Kohli

    Rising batsman Haider Ali wants people to call him Babar Azam, not Virat Kohli

    Haider Ali, the young Pakistan batsman, is widely tipped to be the next big player in the squad. He impressed everyone in the Under 19 World Cup and was also a star in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He has the talent to take the next step forward and the right-hander wants to keep improving his game so that people can talk about him in the same vein as Babar Azam.

    “A batsman can never become like his role models but can improve himself and develop shots as they play. I want to improve myself to the extent that people call me Babar Azam and not Kohli because Babar has good shots,” Haider said in a video on YouTube.

    However, he then went on to add that he wants to keep learning and imbibe the good qualities of Virat Kohli as well. “I cannot become Kohli but can develop shots like him through practice. I’m Haider Ali so I can only become Haider Ali,” he further added.

    “I met Babar Azam during the first-class tournament and he gave me tips regarding my batting. We also get to learn a lot from him in the National Cricket Academy in Lahore. He also supported me during PSL by boosting my confidence and advising me to keep scoring runs and leave the rest to Allah Almighty,” the young batsman added.

    Ali, who smacked four fours and the same number of sixes, also became the youngest batsman to score a half-century — which came off just 31 balls — in HBL PSL’s history aged just 19 years.

  • From Inzamam-ul-Haq to Babar Azam, here are all the Pakistani cricketers who have been part of ICC’s ‘ODI Team of the Year’

    From Inzamam-ul-Haq to Babar Azam, here are all the Pakistani cricketers who have been part of ICC’s ‘ODI Team of the Year’

    The International Cricket Council announced its ODI team of the year and Pakistan’s Babar Azam made it to the list, which also included (in batting order) Rohit Sharma (India), Shai Hope (West Indies), Virat Kohli (India, captain), Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Ben Stokes (England), Jos Buttler (England, wicketkeeper), Mitchell Starc (Australia), Trent Boult (New Zealand), Mohammed Shami (India) and Kuldeep Yadav (India).

    Babar was also part of the list in 2017.

    In the 2019 calendar year, Babar scored 1,092 runs in 20 ODIs at an impressive average of 60.66. He also scored three centuries and six half centuries. His centuries came against England at Trent Bridge (115), New Zealand at Edgbaston (101 not out) during ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and Sri Lanka at National Stadium (115).

    According to a press release by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), “Since the inception of the ICC awards in 2004, Babar Azam is the eighth Pakistan player to feature in the ICC ODI Team of the Year. Other Pakistan players to find their places in the teams of the year include Inzamam-ul-Haq, Rana Naved Ul Hasan (2005), Umar Gul (2009 and 2011), Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal (both 2012), Saeed Ajmal (2013), Mohammad Hafeez (2014), Babar Azam and Hasan Ali (2017).”

    Earlier, Nida Dar was named in the ICC T20I Women’s Team of 2019.

  • PCB will deduct players’ salaries if they don’t meet fitness standards

    PCB will deduct players’ salaries if they don’t meet fitness standards

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that it will deduct salaries of the players who do not meet the fitness requirements.

    According to a press release by the cricket board, “A player failing to meet the minimum fitness requirements will be fined 15 per cent of his monthly retainer, which will remain effective until he achieves the standards. Player failing consecutive tests will risk the chances of retaining his central contract category and may face demotion.”

    All centrally contracted players have to undergo the fitness test which will be held on January 6 and 7. The available players will attend the two-day testing, which is aligned to their contracts.

    Meanwhile, “Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir and Shadab Khan, who will be occupied with their commitments in the Bangladesh Premier League, will undergo the tests on 20 and 21 January.“

    Players will be tested in five major areas namely fat analysis, strength, endurance, speed endurance and cross-fit, with all areas carrying equal marks.

    Currently 19 top players are under contract in A, B and C categories and get monthly salaries ranging from 1.1 million to 0.5 million rupees based on their contract.

    Director of International Cricket PCB Zahir Khan said that the players have been informed about the board’s expectations and sanctions, adding, “This time we have decided to enforce penalties, which is in accordance with the contracts, as part of our objective to make the players more accountable and responsible for maintaining high fitness standards throughout the year.”

    Meanwhile, Imam ul Haq posted a picture of himself with his teammates “getting ready for the fitness test” while enjoying the winter sun and fresh oranges.

    Centrally contracted players:

    Category A – Babar Azam (Central Punjab), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh) and Yasir Shah (Balochistan)

    Category B – Asad Shafiq (Sindh), Azhar Ali (Central Punjab), Haris Sohail (Balochistan), Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan), Mohammad Abbas (Southern Punjab), Shadab Khan (Northern) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (Northern)

    Category C – Abid Ali (Sindh), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab), Fakhar Zaman (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Imad Wasim (Northern), Mohammad Amir (Northern), Mohammad Rizwan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Shan Masood (Southern Punjab), Usman Shinwari (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Wahab Riaz (Southern Punjab)

  • ‘Misbah was made chief selector, coach on Maulana Tariq Jamil’s recommendation’

    Pakistani journalist Sohail Warraich has claimed that Misbahul Haq was given the role of both chief selector and head coach on the recommendation of famous religious scholar Maulana Tariq Jamil.

    The journalist has made these claims in his latest column, in which he has said that no one in this country knows cricket better than Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and claimed that every change in Pakistan cricket is happening on PM Imran’s order.

    Sohail said that Maulana Tariq Jamil is one of Pakistan’s most loved personality and rejecting his orders is considered as a grave sin, therefore PM Imran while honouring his love with Maulana Tariq “gave these responsibilities to Misbah”.

    Warraich further claimed that batsman Babar Azam was made the captain of cricket team on Imran Khan’s order.

    “Khan appointed Misbah as coach and chief selector and Babaq Azam as team’s captain, but he [Imran] shouldn’t be held responsible for their poor performance”, Sohail added.

    Earlier, Pakistan Tehreeke Insaf (PTI) Senator Faisal Javed had said that PM Imran Khan will now focus on improving sports, especially cricket.

    “The premier could not concentrate on cricket earlier as he was focused on stabilising the economy and strengthening the institutions, which were in shambles”, reports quoted Faisal Javed as saying.

    The statement from the senator came after Pakistan cricket team’s poor performance against Australia and Srilanka in Test and T20 series, respectively.