Pakistan’s star fast bowler Mohammad Amir was promoted into the country’s top category Wednesday following his brilliant Champions Trophy performance, just 19 months since returning to international cricket after a five-year spot-fixing ban. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) shuffled several players while issuing new lists of contracts for national duty, given on the basis of … Read more
Pakistan Tuesday rewarded Sarfraz Ahmed with the country’s Test captaincy, a fortnight after he led the national team to an elusive Champions Trophy title in England. Underdogs Pakistan trounced India by a record 180-run margin in the final in London on June 18 to lift the Champions Trophy, to the shock and ecstasy of the … Read more
Plans for the full resumption of international cricket in Pakistan moved forward Friday when the sport’s global governing body said it wanted to send a World XI to the country later this year. With the exception of Zimbabwe’s tour two years ago, Pakistan have had to play all of their ‘home’ matches outside of the … Read more
Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga faced an investigation Thursday after he compared a government minister to a monkey following criticism that the country’s cricketers were too fat. Sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekera said he ordered an inquiry after Malinga lambasted him for questioning the endurance of Sri Lankan players following their failure to reach the … Read more
Hundreds of fans gave Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed a hero’s welcome as he arrived home carrying the Champions Trophy early on Tuesday. Men, women and children packed Karachi airport as Sarfraz returned from England, where Pakistan thrashed arch-rivals India to be crowned surprise winners. Sarfraz held up the trophy to loud cheers and chants of … Read more
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed said being named skipper of the International Cricket Council’s team of the Champions Trophy was the “perfect icing on the cake” of his side’s stunning title triumph. Sarfraz’s side thrashed title-holders India by 180 runs in a remarkable final The Oval on Sunday having been the lowest ranked of the eight … Read more
The game that always ‘stops two nations’ comes again to a third when title-holders India face Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final at London’s Oval ground on Sunday. And the question millions of cricket fans around the world, possibly even a billion, are all asking is ‘which Pakistan will turn up?’. Will it be the … Read more
The game that always ‘stops two nations’ comes again to a third when title-holders India face Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final at London’s Oval ground on Sunday. And the question millions of cricket fans around the world, possibly even a billion, are all asking is ‘which Pakistan will turn up?’. Will it be the … Read more
Pakistan may be the underdogs heading into a Champions Trophy semi-final with England in Cardiff on Wednesday, but coach Mickey Arthur believes their “best game” could see his side cause a major upset. England were the only team to exit the group stage unbeaten, having won all three of their matches. Pakistan, by contrast, suffered … Read more
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has insisted his side will not settle for simply reaching a Champions Trophy semi-final against England as he urged them to go “one step further”. Arthur’s men were the lowest-ranked side when this tournament featuring the world’s top eight one-day international (ODI) teams got underway. And their fans could have been … Read more
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed hopes the team’s “high confidence” in Cardiff will stand them in good stead when they return to the Welsh capital to face England in a Champions Trophy semi-final on Wednesday. It will be Pakistan’s second key match at Sophia Gardens in a matter of days after a tense three-wicket victory over … Read more
Pakistan and Sri Lanka head into their concluding group Champions Trophy group match knowing it’s a virtual ‘quarter-final’ after producing two of the tournament’s biggest upsets so far. Monday’s match in Cardiff has the look of a ‘dead rubber’ about it after Pakistan suffered a 124-run thrashing by arch-rivals and Champions Trophy title-holders India in … Read more
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed said playing in front of a ‘home’ crowd had helped inspire his side to a shock 19-run win over South Africa in the Champions Trophy at Edgbaston on Wednesday. Pakistan went from zeroes to heroes in three days, bouncing back from a 124-run thrashing by arch-rivals India to topple the world’s … Read more
India captain Virat Kohli was adamant he had “no problems” with coach Anil Kumble amid reports of a damaging rift on the eve of the team’s Champions Trophy title defence. An extra layer of intrigue has been added to India’s opening match against Pakistan — already the most high-profile fixture in world cricket — in … Read more
Title-holders India will look to put an off-field row behind them when they face arch-rivals Pakistan in their Champions Trophy opener at Edgbaston on Sunday. The build-up to what is arguably cricket’s most anticipated fixture has been dominated by reports of a falling out between India captain Virat Kohli and coach Anil Kumble. Former India … Read more
New captain Sarfraz Ahmed will face his stiffest test yet when he leads unfancied Pakistan in the Champion’s Trophy — starting with a highly-charged clash against India. After qualifying by the skin of their teeth, Pakistan will need to overcome serious batting deficiencies to be competitive following their struggles in the one-day format in recent … Read more
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed believes his side will “have nothing to lose” when the Champions Trophy one-day international tournament in England and Wales gets underway next week. Despite completing series wins in all formats during their recent tour of the West Indies, Pakistan have not been spoken of as one of the favourites to win … Read more
Shannon Gabriel led a West Indies fast bowling assault that decimated Pakistan’s top-order batting and reduced them to 35 for five at lunch on the final day of the second Test. Pakistan had been set a victory target of 188 at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Thursday. Yasir Shah claimed the final wicket of the … Read more
Pakistan’s selectors Tuesday dropped opener Kamran Akmal from the 15-man squad for the Champions Trophy to be held in England in June but recalled his younger brother Umar. 35-year-old Kamran was part of Pakistan’s squad which won a three-match one-day series 2-1 in the West Indies earlier this month but managed scores of 47, 21 … Read more
Contrasting half-centuries by Shai Hope and Jason Mohammed lifted the West Indies to 233 for nine against Pakistan in the decisive final fixture of a three-match one-day international series in Guyana on Tuesday. Struggling to get any sort of rhythm on a pitch offering considerable assistance to the spinners, Hope displayed admirable application in compiling … Read more