Day: April 24, 2024

The 4th T20 international of five-match series between Pakistan and New Zealand will be played in Lahore tomorrow.

The series is levelled by one-one.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Pakistan Hockey Federation has announced a 20 member squad for Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Cup being held from 2nd of next month at Ipoh in Malaysia.

Muhammad Abdullah will lead Pakistan team at the tournament.

Pakistan will play their first match against Malaysia on the 4th of May.

Source: Radio Pakistan

E-Sports competition under the aegis of Galaxy Racers are continuing in Lahore.

These virtual games include PUBG, Free Fire, Tekken and FC24. The finals of these competitions will be held tomorrow and Friday.

More than twelve hundred teams have so far participated in these competitions, which is a proof of the growing popularity of E-Sports among the youth.

These types of competitions have already been held in Pakistan in 2021. Due to the immense interest of the youth, these are being organized on a larger scale this year.

Galaxy Races has announced total prize money of more than six million rupees for these competitions.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Pakistan cricket team’s wicketkeeper-batsman, Mohammad Rizwan, is expected to miss the upcoming T20I tours to Ireland and England due to injury.

Rizwan experienced discomfort in his right hamstring while batting during the third match of the T20I series against New Zealand.

The exact nature and severity of the injury have not been disclosed yet, but reports suggest it could keep him out of action for the Ireland and England series away from home.

Known for anchoring the innings with the bat and sharp glovework, the absence of Rizwan will leave a void in Pakistan’s top order and the value he provides behind the stumps will be missed.

Rizwan’s contributions have been instrumental in Pakistan’s recent successes in the shortest format of the game which means the Men in Green will lose a pivotal cog of their side before the T20I World Cup preparations.

The team management will now have to make swift adjustments to cope with Rizwan’s absence, especially considering the challenging conditions they will face du
ring the tours of Ireland and England.

Currently, Usman Khan can be a suitable replacement for Rizwan’s role will be crucial for Pakistan’s chances of success in these tours considering he is already set to take over the wicketkeeping duties for Pakistan in the fourth T20I against New Zealand.

Pakistan will play three T20Is in early May against Ireland and four T20Is against England in the last week of May.

Here is the full schedule for both tours:

Ireland Tour

Match Date Venue Time

Ireland vs Pakistan 10 May First T20I in Dublin (7 pm PST)

Ireland vs Pakistan 12 May Second T20I in Dublin (7 pm PST)

Ireland vs Pakistan 14 May Third T20I in Dublin (7 pm PST)

England Tour

Match Date Venue Time

England vs Pakistan 22 May First T20I in Leeds (10:30 pm PST)

England vs Pakistan 25 May Second T20I in Birmingham (6:30pmpm PST)

England vs Pakistan 28 May Third T20I in Cardiff (10:30 pm PST)

England vs Pakistan 30 May Fourth T20I in The Oval, London (10:30 pm PST)

Source: Pro Pakistani

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has extended a heartfelt invitation to 140 orphaned children to attend the fourth T20I against New Zealand as special guests at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

The apex cricket board of the country aims to create an atmosphere of camaraderie between the fans and the team by welcoming those who may have been deprived of such experiences. Special hospitality and refreshments will also be provided to the orphaned children during the match.

This initiative underscores the PCB’s commitment to leveraging the power of cricket for social good. By opening its doors to orphaned children, the board seeks to instil a sense of belonging and happiness in those who may have faced adversity in their young lives.

PCB officials contacted the Director General of Social Welfare and provided tickets for the children so that they could enjoy the match as the Green Shirts take on the Kiwis.

It is pertinent to note that the first match of the series between Pakistan and New Zealand was rained out, while in
the second match of the series.

Pakistan bundled out the Black Caps for only 90 runs and dominated the proceedings with a 7-wicket win with 47 balls to spare.

However, New Zealand defeated Pakistan emphatically by seven wickets in the third T20 match to level the series at 1-1, courtesy of Mark Chapman’s glorious 87-run innings.

Pakistan and New Zealand’s fourth T20I will be held tomorrow at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore at 7 pm.

Source: Pro Pakistani

England’s women’s cricket team captain Heather Knight has raised concerns about why Pakistan is not included in the future tour program of the England women’s team schedule.

Speaking to a media outlet, in Birmingham, she said that Pakistan is a beautiful country and they would be delighted to play there, however, she does not know why Pakistan is not included in the future tours of the Three Lions.

English captain Heather Knight confirmed that the Pakistan women’s team will tour England next month, stating that the Girls in Green have produced positive results recently, and they will not take the series against Pakistan lightly.

The 33-year-old Knight said that she is friends with Pakistani captain Nida Dar and Fatima Sana, and her all-time favourite cricketer is Wasim Akram.

Knight emphasized that the England women’s team should plan a tour to Pakistan in the future as they are a formidable side in the international arena, indicating to strengthen the relationship with Pakistan through cricket.

Pakista
n women’s team is currently hosting the West Indies women’s team in a three-match ODI series that will be followed by a five-match T20I series, all the matches are scheduled in Karachi.

The Green Shirts have already suffered a whitewash against the Windies in the three-match ODI series which was part of the ICC Women’s Championship 2025.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt expressed dismay at Pakistan’s loss against New Zealand while pointing out that retired Pakistan cricketers were brought back into the team because they are better than the current crop of players.

Speaking in a podcast, the former cricketer Salman Butt said, ‘People were asking why retired players were brought back. The answer is in front of you.’

He said that the retired players are still much better than our current team players and they also have experience, this is why Pakistan needs them in the upcoming T20I World Cup that will be held in the USA and the Caribbean in June.

While speaking about the team combination he also emphasized that the blend of experience and youth creates a perfect balance that is required to win the World Cup.

The Men in Green are facing severe criticism for their defeat against the Kiwis in the third T20 match. Surprisingly, Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim, who made a comeback after a long time, were rested, while wicketkeeper-batsman Moham
mad Rizwan suffered an injury.

Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim were included in the squad due to their immaculate performances in the Pakistan Super League, where Mohammad Amir had the best economy rate out of all the current Pakistani bowlers in the current setup while Imad created an impact for Islamabad United with 12 wickets to his name and crucial runs with the bat, including three player of the match performances in the playoffs and final.

After Mark Chapman’s heroics in the last match where the Kiwis defeated Pakistan by 7 wickets, the fourth match of the series can prove to be a decider which will be held at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on April 25.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The New Zealand tour to Pakistan is set to kick off in Gaddafi Stadium Lahore tomorrow where the last two matches of the 5-match T20I series will be held.

Pressure is mounting after the defeat in the third T20I series on Babar Azam’s men as the series is tied at 1-1 courtesy of Mark Chapman’s scintillating innings of 87 runs off 42 balls.

Speculations are still rife about the potential playing elevens of both teams but the stage is set for both sides to try and test their combinations ahead of the World Cup in June.

However, the final composition of Pakistan’s playing eleven remains a subject of intrigue, with regular wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan suffering an injury which has ruled him out of contention.

Pakistan’s main concern is the strike rate of the top-order considering that Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam did not capitalize on Saim Ayub’s quickfire knock in the last match.

Fakhar Zaman can replace Mohammad Rizwan and fill the one-down slot, a role in which the wicket-keeper batter has strug
gled recently, especially in this home-series against the Kiwis.

In the middle order, Shadab Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed are going to pick them for themselves while Pakistan can go with three seamers and three spinners with Imad Wasim making a return for Pakistan with Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi, and Abbas Afridi in the XI.

Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed is another option in the ranks who can be useful in the conditions of Lahore while Usama Mir can also be used as a trump card in home conditions.

The Men in Green will face the Kiwis at 7 pm tonight at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Here is the expected playing XI:

Babar Azam (c)

Saim Ayub

Fakhar Zaman

Usman Khan (wk)

Iftikhar Ahmed

Shadab Khan

Imad Wasim

Shaheen Shah Afridi

Mohammad Amir

Abrar Ahmed

Abbas Afridi

Source: Pro Pakistani

The second edition of CM Punjab Pink Games will be held at various venues in Lahore from May 2 to May 5, the event will feature competitions in seven sports, including athletics, hockey, basketball, archery, tape ball cricket, badminton, and table tennis.

In this regard, a meeting was held which was led by DG Youth Affairs Punjab Pervez Iqbal to discuss how the preparations for the upcoming event will be conducted effectively.

The meeting was also attended by the Director of Sports Yasmeen Akhtar, Director Admin M Kaleem, and Deputy Directors Zahoor Ahmed and Ata ur Rehman.

Surprisingly, football and cricket have not been included in the competition which are essentially the two most popular sports in the country while tape-ball cricket was preferred over hard-ball cricket in this year’s CM Punjab games.

Tape-ball cricket has been a pivotal part of Pakistan’s street cricket and domestic structure, however, providing the women athletes a platform with exposure to hard-ball cricket could have been a better
option.

Women’s teams from all the major universities of Punjab and various divisions of the province are expected to take part in this year’s Pink Games.

DG Youth Affairs expressed his commitment to providing significant opportunities, especially to women athletes in the province under the visionary leadership of CM Punjab Maryam Nawaz.

He emphasized that the Sports Board Punjab (SBP) is determined to work on the ontogeny of young athletes so that they can develop and represent Pakistan in major international events.

Last year, CM Punjab Pink Games was held in the province under the stewardship of Sports Minister Punjab Wahab Riaz but the winners of various competitions did not receive any prize money and subsequently returned their medals as it had no significance for them.

Source: Pro Pakistani