Big picture: Sri Lanka start as favourites On July 16, Sri Lanka played Pakistan in Galle in the first of two Test matches, with the second Test starting on the 24th, also in Galle. That statement is true for both 2022 and 2023. It’s not clear why this series has been set up to perfectly

Former Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has advocated for his country’s team be allowed to compete in the ODI World Cup in India and said that not sending the side for the mega event will be “depriving people” of the opportunity to see the arch-rivals clash on the biggest stage. “When there can be contacts between the

Shaheen Shah Afridi is “excited” to make his long-awaited Test comeback after missing a year of red-ball cricket. He is set to play Pakistan’s first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on July 16 and it was at this venue exactly 12 months ago he suffered a troublesome ligament injury in his right knee. Afridi

The prime minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, has set up a committee of ministers to help determine whether Pakistan will travel to India for the ODI World Cup in October-November 2023. The group will be headed by foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. The committee’s main task will be to make recommendations about Pakistan’s travel plans

Multan Sultans owner Alamgir Tareen has died in Lahore by suicide at the age of 63. Alamgir, who bought the Sultans franchise in 2018, was found dead at his home in Lahore on Thursday morning. Police said a hand-written note had been found on the site, and news of his passing was confirmed by the

Talking about the October 15 ODI World Cup fixture against India, Pakistan captain Babar Azam has said that the tournament doesn’t revolve around only one game, and all nine fixtures will be important. Babar addressed the media in Karachi, where the team is undergoing a preparatory camp before the Sri Lanka Test series. “We are

To resolve the ongoing legal disputes in various courts that have caused a hold-up in the PCB election process, the prime minister of Pakistan has approved a new ten-member management committee headed by Zaka Ashraf for a period of four months. Former Pakistan batter Zaheer Abbas is also among the members. The PCB elections for

The England men’s and women’s teams will play concurrent series against Pakistan to kick off the 2024 home international season. Heather Knight’s team will begin with a three-match T20I series starting at Edgbaston on May 11, which will be followed by three ODIs. Jos Buttler will lead his side out in four T20Is as preparation

Haris was part of the senior T20I squad in the most recent series that Pakistan played against New Zealand at home. In all, he has represented the senior side in five ODIs and nine T20Is. Others in the squad who have senior international experience include Arshad Iqbal, Kamran Ghulam, Wasim, Ayub, Dahani, and Tayyab Tahir.

Unlike other teams who have their league matches spread across most of the ten venues for the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, Pakistan will play their nine league matches in only five cities, according to the schedule released by the ICC and BCCI in Mumbai on Tuesday. Pakistan begin their campaign by playing both

Sethi’s list included Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Rawalpindi but they were named out of the rotation. The PCB election commissioner and acting chairman, Ahmed Shehzad Farooq Rana, rejected them and replaced them with representatives of Larkana, Dera Murad Jamali, Bahawalpur and Hyderabad. This difference of opinion is the reason the matter has been taken to

The election for the next PCB chairman will be held on June 27, with Zaka Ashraf expected to make a comeback as head of cricket in the country. In a press release, Ahmed Shehzad Farooq Rana, the PCB election commissioner and acting chairman, said: “The election of the PCB Chair will be held in a

During a media interaction on Wednesday, Ashraf had said that he “rejected” the hybrid model, sparking discussion about whether negotiations around the specifics of the Asia Cup would have to resume. But later he told ESPNcricinfo that “the decision has been made, so we have to go with it” “In my personal opinion, this whole

In an extraordinary move, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has requested the ICC to swap venues for two of their league matches in the 2023 ODI World Cup. Pakistan are currently scheduled to play Australia in Bengaluru on October 20, and then Afghanistan in Chennai on October 23 but they have asked for a change

Former PCB chairman Zaka Ashraf has taken a step closer to regaining the post once again after he, along with Supreme Court lawyer Mustafa Ramday, was nominated by the country’s Prime Minister to join the PCB’s board of governors. The development occurred the day after Najam Sethi, who is heading the interim management committee that

Najam Sethi has effectively stepped down as head of the PCB, after pulling himself out of the race to become the next board chairman. Sethi was heading an interim management committee that had been running the board since last December but whose tenure was due to end on June 21. Until recently it had seemed

Shaheen Shah Afridi has returned to Pakistan’s Test squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka next month. The 16-member roster also includes batter Muhammad Hurraira and allrounder Aamer Jamal. It’s a maiden Test call-up for both of them. From the last Test squad, which played a two-match home series against New Zealand in December-January,

Pakistan’s involvement at the 50-over World Cup in India later this year remains subject to their government’s approval. According to PCB chairman Najam Sethi, the board has written to the ICC, following the release of a draft schedule to all participating countries last week, to stress that they cannot unilaterally approve the fixture list. “We

Nahida Khan, the only female cricketer from Balochistan to have represented Pakistan, has called time on her 14-year international career. Nahida, 36, made her Pakistan debut at the age of 23 in 2009 against Sri Lanka and went on to play 66 ODIs and 54 T20Is, scoring 1410 runs at 23.50 and 604 runs at

There might be a potential clash brewing between international commitments and T20 franchise agreements for some Pakistan players following the Global T20 Canada’s draft announcement on Wednesday. The GT20’s third edition will be played from July 20 to August 6, and though the precise dates of Pakistan’s two-Test series against Sri Lanka are yet to

A change in PCB leadership could be imminent as the management committee led by Najam Sethi begins the last two weeks of its tenure, and the leading contender to replace him is his old rival and former board chairman Zaka Ashraf. On June 7, Sethi met Pakistan’s prime minister Shahbaz Sharif at his residence in

The PCB is weighing up options to postpone the home series against West Indies, slated for February and March in 2024, which is clashing with the next edition of PSL. The PCB has also requested the Emirates Cricket Board to pull back their ILT20 league by ten days to avoid overlapping Pakistan, according to ICC’s

ICC chairman Greg Barclay and CEO Geoff Allardice are set to visit Pakistan on Tuesday, with the country’s participation in the World Cup in India in October-November this year expected to be the main part of the discussions. The trip is part of a series of regular visits to Full Members. Given the tense relations

A handful of Pakistan players are waiting to hear if they will be permitted to play in the inaugural season of Major League Cricket in the United States in July. Imad Wasim and Azam Khan – who do not hold central contracts with the PCB – have agreed deals in principle to play for Seattle

Leicestershire have signed Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah on a short-term deal for the start of the Vitality Blast. Naseem will act as cover for Afghanistan overseas Naveen-ul-Haq, who is currently involved in the IPL play-offs with Lucknow Super Giants. Naseem was due to arrive in England on Tuesday and be available for Leicestershire’s Blast

Grant Bradburn has been confirmed as Pakistan men’s head coach for the next two years. He had held the position on a consultancy basis during Pakistan’s recent home series against New Zealand as well. Former South Africa cricketer Andrew Puttick has also signed a two-year contract as the batting coach. Strength and conditioning coach Drikus

The PCB has become the first board to publicly express unhappiness with the proposed ICC revenue distribution model, as revealed by ESPNcricinfo last week. The model is yet to be finalised but is close to what may be a final version. It is supposed to be approved by June, before being formally adopted at the

The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered the immediate release of Imran Khan, the former Pakistan cricketer and Prime Minister, from custody after declaring his arrest “unlawful” on Thursday. The Chief Justice of Pakistan’s Supreme Court, Umar Ata Bandial, ordered Imran’s immediate release after the warrants through which he was arrested in Islamabad on Tuesday

The PCB presented its “hybrid” solution for hosting the 2023 Asia Cup again to the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), believing that this time it had resolved logistical and technical concerns the ACC had raised. Officials from both sides met in Dubai on Tuesday, but it emerged that Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the Bangladesh Cricket