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[ad_1] Pakistan national cricket team captain Babar Azam during a match of the eighth edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) in Karachi. — Instagram/babrazam Quetta Gladiators player Iftikhar Ahmed termed criticising national team captain Babar Azam “a sin” and said that anyone who criticises Babar should first become "a great player" like him. During a recent interview, a journalist asked Ahmed about his opinion on the criticism of Babar's captaincy, to which he replied: "I think it is a sin if anyone criticises a player like Babar Azam. Throughout the cricket that we have played and that which is being played across the world, it is safe to say that there is no player like Babar.” He further added that a person who criticises Babar should “first check his own level to see if is at par with Babar”. “Anyone who criticises Babar should first become a [great] cricketer like Babar.” Earlier, the national side’s vice-captain Shadab Khan also defended t...

[ad_1] Soldiers stand guard outside the National Bank Cricket Arena during the Pakistan Super League season eight's match between Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi in Karachi on February 14, 2023. — Online The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Saturday vowed to continue the ongoing eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as planned with both Karachi Kings and Quetta Gladiators to field full-strength sides at the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi today. The board, in a statement, mentioned that the toss will take place at 6:30pm, with the first ball to be bowled at 7pm. The PCB's statement came to address apprehension regarding the PSL's continuation in the metropolis, as terrorists attacked the  Karachi Police Office a day earlier. "The PSL 8 will continue as planned after it has been established and confirmed that Friday’s incident was an isolated one, which was unrelated to cricket," PCB Management Committee Chairman Najam Sethi said. He...

[ad_1] Quetta Gladiators have handed a 169-run target to Karachi Kings in the sixth match of the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) being played today at the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi. Earlier, Karachi Kings won the toss and opted to bowl against Quetta Gladiators. In the series so far, Kings have played and lost two matches — both on their home ground. Whereas, the Sarfaraz-led Quetta too was thrashed by the league leaders Multan Sultans in their campaign opener at the Multan Cricket Stadium on February 15. Playing XIs Quetta Gladiators: Jason Roy, Martin Guptill, Abdul Bangalzai, Sarfaraz Ahmed(w/c), Umar Akmal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Odean Smith, Qais Ahmad, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain Karachi Kings: Sharjeel Khan, James Vince, Haider Ali, Matthew Wade(w), Irfan Khan, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim(c), Aamer Yamin, Andrew Tye, Mohammad Amir, Imran Tahir.  More to follow... [ad_2] Source link https://worldnews2023.com/stports/p...

[ad_1] The former Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee, Najam Sethi, proposed to add two new teams to the Pakistan Super League (PSL). However, before this could be implemented, he had to resign from his position. These days, rumors are circulating once again that several individuals are being presented as potential new team owners in the PSL, even though no decision has been finalized yet. According to sources, currently, there is no possibility of increasing the number of teams. Zaka Ashraf is reluctant to make any decision without consulting with the existing franchises. According to the agreement, no teams can be added to the PSL for ten years. If such a decision is made and challenged by the franchises in court, the board's position will be weakened. Due to a busy schedule, Ashraf has not been able to meet any franchise owners. He wants to convene a governing council meeting in the coming days to discuss the issues with team owners and r...

[ad_1] Fakhar Zaman was the top scorer. Twitter/SAfridiOfficial Lahore Qalandars, who once faced criticism for being underperformers in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), came up with an epic performance by creating history in Sunday's match against Peshawar Zalmi. Qalandars, who played the first match in front of the home crowd at the Gaddafi Stadium, wrote history in the eighth edition of the PCB-convened annual cricket tournament by hitting the highest total of this season thus far. With a resounding display of power-hitting in the 15th PSL fixture, the batters piled up a huge total of 241 runs in Sunday's match against Peshawar Zalmi. The awe-inspiring performance resulted in them achieving the highest total of the PSL 8 so far and the third highest total in the PSL's history. With Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, and Sam Billings taking a blistering charge, Peshawar's bowling was blown away as Lahore posted an astounding 241/3 in their allotted 20 overs....

[ad_1] As luck would have it, Pakistan and Indian cricketing fan bases have always been interconnected, one way or another. Practically, this was evident yesterday, when Indian Premier League's final was not only closely watched across the green end of the border, but also some notable similarities were jotted down. Taking it from the top, this is how a list of striking similarities panned out PSL & IPL finals for the year 2023. Both the teams that played finals took on each other in the opening game of the tournament as well as the Qualifier number one and then the grand finale. For PSL, the teams were Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans, and for IPL, the teams were Chennai Super Kings and Gujrat Titans. In both finals, 13 runs were needed off the last over, and the target came down the wire, where four were needed to claim the win off the last ball. Likewise, the Chennai Super Kings and Lahore Qalandars both won the coin toss and emerged victorious in claiming th...

[ad_1] Tammy Beaumont in an interview with Geo News. — Reporter ISLAMABAD: English cricketer Tammy Beaumont believes that a tournament similar to the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for women will help Pakistan unleash new talent and prepare her Pakistani players for international tours. The 32-year-old has played 103 WODIs, 99 WT20Is, and seven women's Test matches for England. She is currently in Pakistan to play three exhibition matches on the sidelines of PSL as a soft launch of the country’s women league. The experienced cricketer said that having leagues are important for the development of cricket and Pakistan’s league is a step in the right direction. “The countries that have had franchise leagues for quite a long time, their young players come into the national international stage and they're just ready to perform straight away. They know what playing under pressure is like, they know their games and they know in a pressure situation what they're going t...

[ad_1] The much-anticipated opening ceremony of the latest season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) finally took place in Multan on Monday. Fans flocked to the stadium to witness the start of the tournament which Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee Chairman Najam Sethi had declared to be “bigger and better” than the preceding series. The ceremony which lasted less than an hour had mixed reviews on Twitter, with some fans blown over by the magnanimous scale of the event while others seemed rather unimpressed. 'Best opening ceremony' One user took to the microblogging platform and wrote: “One of the best opening ceremony in the history of PSL.” Another user referred to the ceremony as “beautiful”, writing: “some beautiful glimpse of PSL opening ceremony.” Others noted that the stadium was full of eager spectators and devote fans of cricket. One user said: “Amazing scenes at Multan Cricket Stadium as PSL opening ceremony kicks off. Stands are almost...

[ad_1] Lahore Qalandars Zaman Khan. — Photo by author ISLAMABAD: Lahore Qalandars ’ young pace sensation Zaman Khan feels that he doesn’t need anyone else as he is now under the guidance and mentorship of Shaheen Shah Afridi. Talking to Geo News on Wednesday, the 21-year-old said that he used to idolise Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, and Malinga, but now "I am under Shaheen Afridi’s wings and I don't feel the need to turn to someone else for learning". “As a child, when I was playing tape ball cricket, I used to watch Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Akhtar and wished to play for Pakistan like them. I’ve also followed Sri Lankan legend Lastith Malinga for my bowling,” he said. “Since last year, I have been with Shaheen , who has been guiding me on everything and since I came under his wings, I didn’t feel like watching anyone else’s videos,” Zaman said. The fast bowler from Mirpur Azad Kashmir was picked by Lahore Qalandars for the seventh season of PSL and he played ...

[ad_1] Representational image of women's league exhibition matches. — PCB The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) revealed details of the three Women’s League exhibition matches — which are scheduled to take place on March 8, 10 and 11 — at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi. The two teams set to play in the exhibition matches are ‘Amazons’ and ‘Super Women.’ The matches will be held in the lead-up to the men’s fixtures in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 8 matches. Peshawar Zalmi will take on Quetta Gladiators and Multan Sultans on March 8 and 10, respectively, while, Quetta Gladiators will meet Multan Sultans on March 11. As such, the tickets for three men’s PSL matches will be valid for the women’s fixture with the stands on these match days to open three hours before the first ball is bowled. Furthermore, the PCB said, in a press release, that it will use the T20 match on Wednesday (March 8) to celebrate Women’s Day as “part of its social corporate responsibility”...

[ad_1] Karachi Kings during their training session ahead of PSL 8. — Twitter/@KarachiKingsARY Undoubtedly, Karachi Kings, which represents one of the most populous cities in Pakistan, will be looking to give their fans something to cheer for in HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 8, after their disastrous stint in PSL 7. Finishing positions in previous seasons Karachi Kings have won the title only once during the PSL history, under the leadership of Imad Wasim, which came in 2020 when they defeated Lahore Qalandars in the final. They also qualified for the playoffs in the first four seasons of the event. The Kings finished last on the points table in PSL 7 which also marked the first time that they didn’t qualify for the playoffs in the tournament’s history. Squad Haider Ali, Imad Wasim , Mohammad Amir, Shoaib Malik, Aamir Yamin, Mir Hamza, Sharjeel Khan, Qasim Akram, Matthew Wade, Imran Tahir, James Vince, James Fuller, Andrew Tye, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Akhlaq, Muhammad Irfa...

[ad_1] The six HBL Pakistan Super League franchises beefed up their squads in the replacement draft that took place over a conference call on Wednesday. The six teams added players to their squads in the third and fourth supplementary pick rounds before naming replacements for the players who were partially or fully unavailable. Each side could pick a maximum of one foreign cricketer in the two supplementary rounds. Peshawar Zalmi, who had reserved their pick in the second supplementary round in the HBL PSL 8 Player Draft in December, picked fast bowler Khurram Shahzad. In the first pick of the third supplementary round, Peshawar Zalmi picked Haris Sohail, who recently made a comeback to the Pakistan ODI side. Lahore Qalandars, who had the second pick, named Ahsan Bhatti, a left-arm spin all-rounder and product of their player development programme. Islamabad United and Karachi Kings picked Tom Curran and Ben Cutting, who played for Peshawar Zalmi last season, respectively. Q...

[ad_1] A Peshawar Zalmi batter hits a shot as Mohammad Rizwan looks on at National Stadium, Karachi, on February 5, 2022. — PCB In the fifth match of the ongoing season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Peshawar Zalmi will take on Multan Sultans at the Multan Cricket Stadium today (Friday). Peshawar will be led by star batter Babar Azam, whereas wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan will captain Multan. Sultans are currently at the top of the table with points after two matches, meanwhile,  Zalmi are in third place with the same number of points after one game. Here are five stats you need to know about the match between Peshawar and Multan . Head-to-head Multan and Peshawar have faced each other 11 times in the past, with the former winning on eight occasions. Highest total The highest total in a match between the two sides was achieved by Multan last year when they notched up 222-3 in Karachi. Most sixes in an innings The most sixes by a player in an inning during a ...

[ad_1] Karachi Kings' player Muhammad Amir is taking to media during a practice session for Pakistan Super League. — INP/File Karachi Kings' fast bowler Muhammad Amir would not be taking part in Pakistan Super League (PSL) eighth edition match against Multan Sultans on February 22 due to a groin injury. According to sources, injured Amir’s rehabilitation will continue in Karachi during the pacer's time on the sidelines. However, the Kings are expecting Amir to become fit for their match against Multan Sultans on February 26. Amir had claimed four wickets in as many matches of the PSL 2023 at an economy rate of 7.64. It must be noted that Karachi beat Lahore by 67 runs to secure their maiden victory in PSL 2023 on Sunday. Put to bat first, Kings posted a competitive 186-run target on the scoreboard before bowling out Qalandars for 118 runs in 17.3 overs. Skipper Imad Wasim struck in his last over after Akif Javed took two wickets to put Kings in control agai...

[ad_1] Amazons celebrate after winning the Women's League Exhibition matches series. — Twitter/@TheRealPCB During the third and final match of the three-match Women’s League Exhibition matches , the Bismah Maroof-led Amazons defeated the Nida Dar-led Super Women, becoming the side to lift the trophy. Chamari Athapaththu’s century for her side went in vain as Amazons beat Super Women by 33 runs at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi today. Chasing a target of 219 runs, Super Women were restricted to 185-8 in 20 overs. Athapaththu remained unbeaten on 107 runs in 60 balls with the help of 12 fours and six maximums. Fatima Sana claimed three wickets, meanwhile Danni Wyatt bagged two scalps. After deciding to bat first, Amazons scored 218-6 in their allotted 20 overs. Captain Bismah proved her mettle once again with another fifty against her name. She scored 51 runs in 32 balls with the help of six fours and a six. Meanwhile, Wyatt smashed 43 runs in 20 balls which i...

[ad_1] Muhammad Haris speaks to Geo News in an interview in Islamabad, on February 28, 2023. — Photo by author ISLAMABAD: Peshawar Zalmi’s young wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Haris has said he is not satisfied with his performance in the ongoing season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), adding that he feels he hasn’t been able to justify his talent so far. In an exclusive interview with Geo News in Islamabad, the 21-year-old cricketer said that he realises that he "must convert his 20s and 30s into 50s, his 50s into 80s and 100s if he wants to cement his place as a match winner". “I am not satisfied at all, look at how other openers have scored and where I am standing. I need to improve myself and need to score more and spend more time on the wicket,” he said referring to the scores of Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman compared to his score in the tournament. “I know that I am not able to deliver what I am capable of and I am seeking the guidance of my seniors on...

[ad_1] Islamabad United batter Azam Khan hits a shot during the 13th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) between Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators on February 24, 2023. — PSL    In the 21st fixture of the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, Islamabad United have won the toss and opted to bowl against Quetta Gladiators. At the moment, United are on the third spot on the points table with 8 points, having lost only two of the six matches they have played during the tournament so far. Gladiators, with two points, rank at number six — having won only one of the six matches they have played so far. Squads: Quetta Gladiators: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed, Odean Smith, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Zahid, Naveen-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Umaid Asif, Will Smeed, Aimal Khan, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Martin Guptill, Omair Bin Yousuf, Nuwan Thushara, Qais Ahmed, Saud...

[ad_1] Quetta Gladiators' fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain while talking to the media. — PSL/File KARACHI: Ahead of the nationally-celebrated cricket tournament, Quetta Gladiators' fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain has set his eyes on becoming the top bowler of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023 and warned his opponents. Hasnain said: "I want to become the top bowler of the tournament. I did not have any particular batter's wicket in my sight."  Speaking to  Geo News on Friday, the young Pakistani pacer said that he has worked hard for the upcoming tournament and now it is the time to apply what he has been working on. "Today we had our first training session, and everyone looked in good form and fitness, we are eager for the tournament to start and looking forward to it," he said. It may be noted that Hasnain was banned from playing international cricket after his bowling action was declared illegal following an objection in the Australian Big B...

[ad_1] Australian all-rounder Ben Cutting gets interviewed by his wife Erin Holland during PSL season 7 on January 30, 2023, in this still taken from a video. — Twitter/@thePSLt20 Australian all-rounder Ben Cutting Friday said he and his wife Erin Holland return to Pakistan for its people and culture. Speaking with journalists on the sidelines of the training camp with Karachi Kings as the much-awaited eighth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) approaches, Cutting said they "love" coming to the country. "We look forward to it every year [...] coming back to PSL and the country Pakistan, the hospitality and the cricket... it is awesome," the Australian player said. The cricketer has remained part of PSL for the last five seasons. After representing Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators in previous seasons, Cutting will represent the Kings in this year's PSL. On the other hand, Holland will return to the PSL as a presenter. She will accompany ren...

[ad_1] Islamabad United captain Shadab Khan photographed with Karachi Kings Captain Imad Wasim ahead of the match on February 16. — Twitter/@IsbUnited  During the fourth match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) being held in the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi on Thursday, Islamabad won the toss and opted to bowl.  Islamabad United will play their first match of the tournament against the host team. During the match, Shadab Khan-led Islamabad will be looking to ensure they are off to an impressive start, while the Kings will be trying to bounce back after a defeat in their opening game at the hands of Peshawar Zalmi on Tuesday. More to follow... [ad_2] Source link https://worldnews2023.com/stports/psl-2023-islamabad-united-opt-to-bowl-after-winning-toss-against-karachi-kings/?feed_id=118807&_unique_id=652173d59c358