Current Final

Tag: PCB

  • Aleem Dar breaks world record of umpiring in most Tests

    Aleem Dar breaks world record of umpiring in most Tests

    Pakistani umpire Aleem Dar has surpassed Steve Bucknor’s record for umpiring in most number of Test matches as he walked on to the field to officiate his 129th Test match between Australia and New Zealand at Perth, a private news outlet has reported.

    According to the details, the 51-year-old, who took up umpiring after a decade of playing first class cricket in Pakistan is standing in his 129th Test match as on-field umpire breaking Bucknor’s record of umpiring 128 test matches.

    Dar first umpired in a Test match in Bangladesh when England toured the country in 2003 and he also needs only two more ODIs to break former South African umpire, Rudi Koertzen’s record of umpiring in 209 ODI matches.

    Dar made his international debut in 2000 in a home ODI against Sri Lanka and has also officiated 46 T20Is in his career which spans over 2 decades.

    Talking to the ICC before the match, Dar said, “This is one milestone I had never thought of when I began my umpiring career. It is a truly amazing feeling and a high point of my life when I take the field here in Australia”.

    “Steve Bucknor was my idol and it is only sinking in now that I will have officiated in more Test matches than him”, Dar added.

  • ‘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.

  • Sindh High Court reminds PCB of players’ sheesha controversy, seeks answer

    Sindh High Court reminds PCB of players’ sheesha controversy, seeks answer

    The Sindh High Court (SHC) has resent a notice to Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on a petition regarding its inaction against former national team skipper Shoaib Malik and other cricketers for violating team rules, Geo News reported. 

    Prior to a crucial match against arch-rivals India at the World Cup 2019, batsman Malik was snapped at a cafe in London along with two other players — Wahab Riaz and Imamul Haq, as an unidentified person consumed sheesha on their table. 

    According to the details, petitioner Abdul Jalil Marwat had claimed that the players were spotted consuming sheesha at a cafe in England the night before the match with India on June 16. 

    He further alleged that Malik, Wahab and Imam performed poorly, perhaps as a result of their disregard for rules and regulations, which resulted in Pakistan’s loss.

    After the cricket board had failed to take any action against these players, Marwat had requested the court to direct the PCB to explain why the players were not punished for violating the team management rules and regulations.

    A division bench of the high court, headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar, observed that no one had appeared in court on behalf of the PCB despite the issuance of notice.

    The court has now resent the notice to PCB through a district and sessions judge in Lahore and adjourned the hearing of the case till a later date that is yet to be determined. 

  • Sarfaraz sacked on PM Imran’s order: report

    Sarfaraz sacked on PM Imran’s order: report

    Pakistan cricket team’s wicket-keeper batsman and former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed was removed from his position on direct orders from Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan, Cricket Pakistan reported.

    According to the details, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) wanted to retain Sarfaraz Ahmed in the same role till the T20 World Cup next year, however, Imran Khan was unhappy with him and forced the decision of his eventual removal.

    Not only this but PCB had earlier also blamed PM Imran for nullifying the No Objection Certificates (NOCs) granted to its players to feature in the upcoming T10 League.

    When players protested against the decision, they were told that the instruction had come from the PM’s office.

    Moreover, according to website ESPNcricinfo, PM Imran had instructed PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani to avoid the T10 League due to the involvement of Indian owners and financial benefactors. The same report cited a probable mutiny by the players in this regard as well.

    Reports further reveal that a PCB official leaked the news to media personnel so that the government could be blamed for the decision. The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) is also unhappy with the attitude of the PCB on this matter.

    In this regard, the International Cricket Council (ICC) might also begin investigations to find out if the government is influencing PCB’s decisions.

  • PCB announces probables for Pak-Sri Lanka series

    PCB announces probables for Pak-Sri Lanka series

    Head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq has named 20 probables for the training camp, which will commence at the National Cricket Academy in Lahore from Wednesday.

    In a press release, PCB has announced that the camp is being set-up to prepare the side for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against Sri Lanka, which will be held from 27 September to 9 October.

    Sarfaraz Ahmed has been retained as captain for the series, while Babar Azam has been named as vice-captain.

    The appointments were confirmed by PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani, following the recommendations made by Misbah-ul-Haq and the PCB Cricket Committee.

    Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik have not been named in the probables as they have been granted NOC until 12 October to participate in the Caribbean Premier League.

    Following are the names of the Probables:

    Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Babar Azam (vice-captain), Abid Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Umar Akmal, Usman Shinwari and Wahab Riaz.

  • Najam Sethi trolls Imran Khan with ‘Relukata’ tweet

    Najam Sethi trolls Imran Khan with ‘Relukata’ tweet

    Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Najam Sethi has trolled Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan after it was reported that various Sri Lankan players had opted out of the proposed Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan.

    Sethi took to Twitter to mock PM Imran for his comments on international players who took part in the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) in 2017.

    “Imran Khan should guide the PCB on how to make sure Sri Lanka doesn’t send a “Relukata” team to Pakistan!” Sethi tweeted.

    The former chairman was highly crticised in 2017 for bringing in second tier players for the HBL PSL final which was held in Lahore.

    Adding to the criticism Imran Khan called the international players ‘phateechar’, ‘rallukatta’ and ‘from Africa’. The former World Cup winning captain believed that these second tier players could have been called to play in the country regardless of the security conditions.

    These terms used by Imran Khan were classified as derogatory and racist during the time and he also received massive backlash for the comments and had to justify his stance accordingly.

    Sethis’s remarks come at a time when the PCB is still striving to get international cricketers to play in Pakistan.

  • PCB to hire first-ever woman director

    PCB to hire first-ever woman director

    In a first, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is going to hire a woman director, who will either serve as an election commissioner, deputy election commissioner or one of the adjudicators.

    As per the details, PCB on Friday held its 55th Board of Governors (BoG) meeting during which a three-member nominations committee — in accordance with Clause 41 of the PCB Constitution 2019 — was constituted.

    According to the said clause, BoG is to form a three-member committee responsible for presenting recommendations on the appointment of four independent directors, one of which will now be a woman.

    “The BoG meeting chaired by PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani also approved various recommendations of the Audit Committee, including the board’s central budget for the 2019-20 financial year,” stated a press release issued here.

    PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan also briefed the BoG on the outcomes of the cricket committee meeting held on August 2 to review the national cricket team’s performance within the last three years.

    The BoG acknowledged and appreciated the PCB’s efforts in convincing Sri Lanka Cricket to send their team for an ODI and T20I series, which will be played from September 27 till October 9 in Pakistan.

    Following constitutional changes, the BoG also reviewed and approved the revised powers and functions of the PCB chairman, chief executive, chief operating and the chief financial officers.

  • Foreign cricketers refuse to play entire PSL in Pakistan

    Foreign cricketers refuse to play entire PSL in Pakistan

    Foreign cricketers have refused to play the fifth season of the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) scheduled to be entirely held in Pakistan next year, Cricket Pakistan reported Friday.

    Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had earlier said that the fifth edition of the PSL will entirely be played in the country and is expected to take place from February 20 to March 22.

    Speaking to a private media outlet, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ehsan Mani insisted that there are no concerns regarding hosting the entire HBL PSL in Pakistan.

    “I took the approval of PCB’s patron-in-chief regarding holding the tournament in Pakistan, after consulting all franchise owners,” Mani said, adding that he had invited team owners for a meeting next week on Monday in Lahore, where the matter would be discussed again.

    “Till now, no franchise has shown any reservations, so there is no possibility of shifting the matches anywhere else,” he added.

    However, according to reports, franchises want to hold at least half of the PSL 5 matches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as they feel it is currently not viable to play the entire season in the country.

    They are of the view that it will be difficult to convince foreign players to stay in Pakistan for a longer period of time.

  • PCB lets Imam off the hook after apology over misconduct

    PCB lets Imam off the hook after apology over misconduct

    Opening batsman Imamul Haq has apologised for what he has done, media reports quoted Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Managing Director (MD) Wasim Khan as saying Tuesday.

    “Imam has been repenting. And, he has apologised for what misconduct he has committed,” the PCB official said while speaking of the controversy surrounding the batsman, which had sparked a lot of hype on social media last week.

    A few days back, the opener landed in hot water after screenshots of his objectionable WhatsApp conversations were leaked over Twitter and Facebook. The women, who posted them, accused him of cheating on multiple women.

    The PCB had earlier refused to comment over the situation while terming it a personal one.

    “We have told him in clear terms about what standards PCB wants,” Wasim Khan said on Monday.

    He said the country’s cricket board expects the players to stick to the highest standards of ethics and discipline as they are “ambassadors of the nation”, adding that in this capacity, the players need to be more responsible and follow the code of conduct set by the body.

    With Imam, who is a nephew of legendary batsman Inzamamul Haq, tendering an unconditional apology, the board has let him off the hook with a smattering of rebuke.

  • ICC, PCB wish Sarfraz on his birthday

    ICC, PCB wish Sarfraz on his birthday

    With skipper Sarfraz Ahmed celebrating his 32nd birthday on Wednesday, a plethora of wishes continues to flood Twitter.

    On the occasion, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have congratulated the Pakistan cricket team captain in their tweets.

    “Happy birthday to Pakistan captain, @SarfarazA_54! Will he be lifting another at the end of #CWC19?” tweeted ICC.

    PCB, on the other hand, tweeted a video showing Sarfraz cutting his birthday cake with players and team management.

    Sarfraz is in England where he is leading his side in the ICC World Cup to be held from May 30 to July 14.