The Pakistan cricket team has been struck by a viral infection in their World Cup camp in India, with several players affected by flu and high fever. Most are understood to be on the mend, but several did not attend Tuesday’s optional training session. Abdullah Shafique is currently in quarantine in his room with flu
Pakistan
When Tareen, a former co-owner of Multan Sultans, resumed full control of the franchise, he told ESPNcricinfo he wanted more females applying for coaching and management roles. “It’s about equal opportunity,” he had said at the time. “Normally for these roles, sides only interview men. We want more female candidates to apply for these roles
Arthur admitted after his side’s seven-wicket loss that with barely any Pakistan presence at the packed Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the team was affected by the partisan crowd. Pakistani fans were conspicuous by their absence at the ground, with no fans having received visas to travel across the border. Only a handful of Pakistani
“I think they’ve [India] got all bases covered and I’m looking forward to meeting them in the final again.” But he was frank in his assessment of where Pakistan fell short in Ahmedabad: timid with the bat, and possibly a little intimidated by the occasion that made them retreat “into their shells just a little
Big Picture – Can the teams shut out the noise? There was thunder and lightning. Rain that began as a passing shower turned into a deluge, sending people scurrying for cover to preserve – guess what? – their physical match ticket so that they could return the next day to watch a game of cricket,
Babar Azam was in for a pleasant surprise when he walked in for the press conference on the eve of the big India-Pakistan match in Ahmedabad. A mild smile escaped his lips when the press officer announced that Shahid Hashmi, who yesterday became the only pressman from Pakistan here till now, would be asking the
Between awe at Pakistan’s top three and despair at a non-performing middle order over the last little while there’s only been room for an underwhelming kind of meh for someone who is, by some basic but compelling measures, arguably the world’s best ODI No. 4. Mohammad Rizwan has been hiding in plain sight for much
Despite the PCB announcing in February this year that left-arm spinner Asif Afridi was banned for two years – a suspension for anti-corruption code offences back-dated to September 12, 2022 – he is back playing the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in Pakistan. He played his first game since the ban from September 16, a few days more
Pakistan 345 for 4 (Rizwan 131*, Shafique 113, Madushanka 2-60) beat Sri Lanka 344 for 9 (Mendis 122, Samarawickrama 108, Hasan Ali 4-71) by six wickets Sri Lanka were served a harsh lesson in the realities of modern ODI cricket, as Pakistan hunted down a target of 345 – the highest-ever chase in a World
Grant Bradburn, the Pakistan head coach, acknowledged their powerplay batting hasn’t clicked yet in India, but it’s something the team isn’t losing sleep over just yet. Much of those top order questions stem from Fakhar Zaman‘s indifferent form. He has a highest of 33 in 11 innings since the unbeaten 180 he made against New
The Men’s 2023 ODI World Cup is underway in India and will run from October 5 until November 19. Each morning we will round up the latest action and news from the event and bring you insights from our reporters on the ground. — Top Story: Five-star Santner and New Zealand’s batters make it two
PCB boss Zaka Ashraf has raised “serious concerns and alarm” about the continuing delay in visas being issued to Pakistan cricket fans and journalists to travel to the World Cup in India. Disquiet over the delays has been rumbling for a while in Pakistan, and the board has written to the ICC about the issue,
The BCCI is working hard on procuring visas for the Pakistani journalists waiting to travel to India for the World Cup, the ICC said after the PCB expressed its disappointment again over the delay in visa clearance for Pakistani fans and media. Around 60 Pakistani journalists are expected to make the trip for the World
Mohammad Rizwan was at his jovial best soon after Pakistan began their quest for “unfinished business from 2019” with a win over Netherlands that seemed far tighter than the 81-run margin would suggest. He spoke of the warm hospitality, a familiar home-like feeling, the excitement of playing in different cities on his first tour of
Pakistan 286 (Rizwan 68, Shakeel 68, de Leede 4-62) beat Netherlands 205 (de Leede 67, Singh 52, Rauf 3-43) by 81 runs It wasn’t the perfect performance but, at the moment, good enough will do for Pakistan, and good enough is exactly what they achieved. In a staccato showing where bursts of inspiration were interspersed
Afghanistan 116 for 6 (Noor 39, Naib 26*, Minhas 2-11, Qadir 2-20) beat Pakistan 115 (Yousuf 24, Fareed 3-15, Qais 2-11, Zahir 2-20) by four wickets After being sent in, Pakistan were 44 for 1 at the end of the powerplay. Fareed removed Rohail Nazir in the seventh over before the two wristspinners, Qais and
The allure of watching young boys he first coached in 2016 become men of stature today is what got Mickey Arthur excited when he was approached to rejoin the Pakistan team as a director of cricket in April this year. And, after he took charge, one of the things he set about rehashing was their
After years of will-they-won’t-they, months of administrative bickering and weeks of visa uncertainties, the moment has finally arrived. Pakistan will take to the field in a World Cup match in India, Hyderabad the somewhat unassuming venue, Netherlands the slightly inauspicious opponents. It’s a gentle start rather than an explosive one, but it’s a start nonetheless,
Australia 351 for 7 (Green 50*, Warner 48, Inglis 48, Mir 2-31) beat Pakistan 337 (Babar 90, Iftikhar 83, Labuschagne 3-78) by 14 runs Australia beat Pakistan by 14 runs in the sides’ final warm-up game before the World Cup, propelled by a team effort with bat and ball. In a game that Australia controlled
Pakistan 160 (Jamal 41, Shukla 4-49, Ghazanfar 3-26) beat Hong Kong 92 (Hayat 29, Khushdil 3-13) by 68 runs Pakistan stuttered to 73 for 6 before their lower order salvaged their innings to post a strong total of 160 and their spinners bowled out Hong Kong for 92 to book a semi-final berth in the
The PCB and the Pakistan men’s team players have reached a landmark agreement on central contracts, ending several months of deadlock and uncertainty. For the first time in Pakistan, three-year contracts have been put in place – rather than the standard 12 months – along with a significant increase in player earnings, as well as
Pakistan may have endured a tumultuous Asia Cup campaign where they finished last in the Super Four stage, but Babar Azam was keen to remind everyone they were the top-ranked ODI side in the world just days earlier. And while Pakistan missed out on a semi-final spot at the last ODI World Cup, Babar was
Bangladesh 65 for 5 (Shorna 14*, Sandhu 3-10) beat Pakistan 64 for 9 (Riaz 17, Shorna 3-16) by five wickets Shorna Akter first ran through Pakistan’s lower-middle order and then did the needful with the bat when Bangladesh’s lower-middle order could easily have unraveled similarly to take her team to the podium at the Asian
On the other hand, Sri Lanka got off to a decent start with Chamari Athapaththu using sweep shots to negate the spinners’ turn. After scoring two boundaries, she mistimed a slog sweep to hole out on 14 off 19 balls. Opener Anushka Sanjeewani also fell inside the powerplay for a 13-ball 15 but Harshitha Samarawickrama
Pakistan’s plans for a pre-World Cup team bonding trip to Dubai have been cancelled as the team was on Friday still awaiting visas to travel to India. The Pakistan squad were due to fly to the UAE early next week and stay for a couple of days before flying to Hyderabad, ahead of their first
Pakistan have also brought in an extra legspinner in Usama Mir, who made his ODI debut earlier this year against New Zealand but was not part of the Asia Cup squad. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Wasim make up the remainder of Pakistan’s pace attack, while Mohammad Haris is among the reserves. Spin-bowling
Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah is likely to miss the entire World Cup after scans revealed an injury to his right shoulder that is worse than was initially suspected. The PCB is understood to be seeking a second opinion, but scans from tests in Dubai appear to show the injury could rule him out for
Criticising the decision to add a reserve day for the Asia Cup Super Four match between Pakistan and India – the only game in the tournament apart from the final to get the advantage – after the tournament had started, Arjuna Ranatunga has warned that favouring one team (read India) over others will put international
Babar Azam has raised the possibility that Naseem Shah may not recover in time to take part in Pakistan’s opening games at the World Cup in India. While the PCB has not made public any timeline for Naseem’s recovery from a right should injury, Babar appeared unsure as to whether Naseem would be fit for
Pakistan Women 186 for 2 (Ameen 68, Maroof 60*) beat South Africa Women 185 (de Klerk 60, Brits 32, Iqbal 2-26, Dar 2-31, Sandhu 2-37) by eight wickets Half-centuries from Sidra Ameen and Bismah Maroof led Pakistan to an eight-wicket win in the final ODI and prevented South Africa from sealing a 3-0 series sweep.