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Pakistan evaluating World Cup participation in India

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  • Pakistan’s participation in World Cup linked to govt approval.
  • FO says India’s policy of not playing in Pakistan is disappointing.
  • Green shirts last toured neighbouring country in 2012.

Amid doubts of a pullout from ICC World Cup 2023, the Foreign Ministry has said it was “evaluating all aspects” of Pakistan’s participation in this year’s 50-overs mega event in India.

Despite the stalemate over the venue for Asia Cup 2023 has ended, doubts continue to cast a shadow over Pakistan’s involvement in the World Cup 2023 in October-November. 

India’s stubbornness over Pakistan’s hosting of Asia Cup 2023 kept its hanging in the balance for over a month, as it refused to visit the country for the regional cricket tournament. In response, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had threatened to pull out of World Cup 2023, scheduled in India.

The matter was resolved as the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) greenlit PCB’s hybrid model for Asia Cup earlier this month, while the foreign ministry said Pakistan’s participation in World Cup was under evaluation.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan was of the view that “politics should not be mixed with sports”.

“India’s policy of not playing cricket in Pakistan is disappointing,” Baloch said in Islamabad on Thursday.

“We are observing and evaluating all aspects relating to our participation in the World Cup including the security situation for Pakistani cricketers and we will offer our views to PCB (Pakistan Cricket Board) in due course.”

Doubts over Pakistan’s participation has meant that the dates and venues for the World Cup are yet to be confirmed with just over three months left before the start of the tournament.

It may be noted that the Men in Blue have not toured Pakistan since 2008 due to strained relations between the two countries. The last bilateral series between the arch-rivals took place in 2012, when Pakistan toured India for limited-overs matches.

Since then, the two countries have played each other only in multi-team events at neutral venues over the last decade.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari was among the foreign ministers who travelled to India’s Goa last month for a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting, becoming the first senior Pakistani leader to visit India in nine years.

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Sajid Khan smashes Saqlain Mushtaq’s 24-year-old Test record in Pakistan vs England.

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In the opening Test match between Pakistan and England at the Multan Cricket Stadium, off-spinner Sajid Khan created history by taking seven wickets, shattering the 24-year-old record set by the late, great Saqlain Mushtaq.

Day three of the second Test saw England eliminated for 291 after seven wickets from Sajid Khan, trailing Pakistan’s first innings by 366 runs.

During the morning session, the 31-year-old off-spinner claimed three of the four wickets that fell, making it his second five-wicket haul of the day. England had resumed at 239-6 in Multan.

Remaining wicket-taker for Pakistan, with statistics of 3-101, was left-arm spinner Noman Ali.

Sajid Khan ended up being the first Pakistani off-spinner to take five or more wickets at home since Saqlain Mushtaq did it in 2000 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, taking seven wickets for 111 runs in 26.2 overs.

The scoreboard read 239-6 when England had already resumed their batting. At the crease were Jamie Smith (12) and Brydon Carse (2).

But in the morning, Sajid Khan replaced Carse after they could only add nine more runs. After reaching 21, Smith was caught by Noman, and the off-spinner quickly got rid of Matthew Potts (6).

Prior to Sajid finishing the batting, Jack Leach amassed a vital 25-run unbeaten innings. He and Shoaib Bashir (9) added 29 runs for the final wicket.

Noman grabbed three wickets at a cost of 101 runs, while Sajid took figures of 7-111.

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Second Test between Pakistan and England: Pakistan fights to 366/10 on day two

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Pakistan chose to bat in the second Test match between England and Pakistan in Multan, and by the second session on Day 2, they had amassed 358/9.

(123.3 ov) 366/10

Despite having a hip injury, Aamer Jamal made a significant contribution to the score alongside Noman Ali before being dismissed for 37 runs by Brydon Carse.

As Pakistan tries to extend their first innings score, Noman Ali, who is 29, is still undefeated. With three wickets for forty-three runs, Carse has been very effective. Spinner Shoaib Bashir has also taken a wicket.

The early England wicket burst and the solid 49-run stand between Jamal and Noman have kept the match evenly matched.

England’s goal in opening their batting innings will aim to remove the final Pakistani wicket as soon as possible.

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The PCB has issued a show-cause notice to Fakhar Zaman about a post about Babar Azam.

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The newly constituted selection committee on Sunday excluded Babar, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Sarfaraz Ahmed off the roster for the ongoing second and forthcoming third Test against England.

Subsequent to the announcement, Fakhar Zaman utilized his official X (previously Twitter) account to convey his disappointment. He referenced the manner in which India handled Virat Kohli throughout his challenging period from 2020 to 2023.

“It is troubling to receive proposals regarding the dismissal of Babar Azam.” Fakhar stated that India did not bench Virat Kohli during his challenging period from 2020 to 2023, when he recorded averages of 19.33, 28.21, and 26.50, respectively.

The left-handed batsman commended Babar, deeming him the greatest Pakistani batsman in history, while emphasizing the necessity of strategic decisions instead of resorting to panic.

“Sidelining our premier batsman, arguably the finest Pakistan has ever produced, may convey a profoundly negative message to the team.” There remains an opportunity to avert unnecessary alarm; our emphasis should be on protecting our pivotal actors rather than compromising them,” he stated.

Subsequently, the next day, the PCB issued a show-cause notice to Fakhar for violating the Code of Conduct. The cricket board has requested the dynamic batsman to reply to the notification by October 21.

The second Test between Pakistan and England is now in progress in Multan, while the third and final match of the series is scheduled to take place in Rawalpindi starting October 15.

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