Sports

Asia Cup 2022: Sweltering heat welcomes Pakistan squad in Dubai

Published

2 years ago

Farwa

Extremely hot weather welcomed the Pakistan squad in Dubai for the T20 Asia Cup 2022, where they are set to face arch-rivals India on August 28.

The event is scheduled to kick off on August 27 with a match between Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, followed by a nail-biter between Pakistan and India.

An official escorting the team said the cricketers are facing extreme heat in Dubai after enjoying extremely pleasant weather in Holland.

“The weather is around 41 and 42 degrees during the day. The extreme weather is making it almost impossible for the players to have any practice early morning. Following a day’s rest, cricketers went through their paces late Wednesday evening at Dubai Academy Ground. During the evening time the temperature also stays high and the training in the nets is not all that easy,” the official said, The News reported.

Pakistan support staff is taking special measures to keep the players hydrated even during the practice session.

“Though cricketers are professionals and supposed to give their best in every condition but it will not be an easy task here. However, weather conditions are same for every team and every player,” he said.

Pakistan players, however, gave their best during the practice session that saw them training for almost three hours.

“The training session on Thursday will begin at 4pm where the main stress will be on power hitting.”

Meanwhile, Mohammad Hasnain who was seen representing Oval Invincibles in ‘The Hundred’ Tuesday at The Oval (London) has joined the team. Hasnain was seen bowling with real pace for Invincibles the other day. “He will be training along with other cricketers on Thursday.”

The four T20 specialists Haider Ali, Asif Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed and Usman Qadir have also joined the team in Dubai and were seen busy training in the nets.

On the sidelines of the training session, Pakistan and Afghanistan players were seen busy exchanging views and discussing general cricket related activities. Fakhar Zaman also presented his bat to Afghanistan all around Rashid Khan. Injured Shaheen Afridi also joined the conversation and was seen exchanging friendly jokes with Afghanistan players.

Meanwhile, Umer Rashid, one of the highly-rated bowling coaches at the National High Performance Centre, has been added to the Pakistan men’s side as assistant to the fast bowling coach for the Asia Cup.

Umer has worked in the development of all the national side fast bowlers since their early days, including helping Mohammad Hasnain to return to competitive cricket. In the new role with the national side, Umer will support Pakistan fast bowling coach Shaun Tait in the United Arab Emirates.

Umer has been included in the player support personnel list on the recommendation of head coach Saqlain Mushtaq.

Latest News

Fakhar Zaman is anticipated to play for Pakistan in the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Published

19 hours ago

Farwa

The Champions Trophy 2025, which will be held in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates from February 19 to March 9, is expected to feature calls for Pakistan’s standout left-handed hitter Fakhar Zaman.

A balanced lineup of seven batsmen, four fast bowlers, three spinners, and one wicketkeeper is reportedly being prepared by Pakistan, the reigning champions, as nations start to finalize their squads. It is anticipated that Pakistan’s captain, Muhammad Rizwan, will be the team’s only wicketkeeper.

The 34-year-old, who has played in 82 international One-Day matches for Pakistan, is still bound by fitness standards as part of his main contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board.

For the tours of South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Australia, the left-handed batsman was left out of the squads.

He did, however, recently display his form in the Champions T20 tournament, scoring 303 runs at an average of 30.30 in ten games, including two half-centuries.

Read more: Fakhar Zaman defends Babar Azam in a tweet

In a previous interview with a private media outlet, the left-handed batter refuted rumors that he was upset with the PCB for resting Babar Azam.

Afterwards, I did believe that it would have been preferable if I hadn’t sent the tweet. But when asked if he could have prevented such a tweet, he responded, “People thought I was criticizing the board’s decision, which is completely incorrect.”

Fakhar Zaman clarified that he was tweeting in response to requests from journalists and retired cricket players to remove the outstanding batsman from the Pakistani team.

Zaman stated that he was feeling ill and had asked the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for a two-month break.

Latest News

Pakistan hopes to recover in the Test series against South Africa.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

In the series against South Africa, the Pakistani cricket team was hoping to recover from a narrow defeat in the first Test.

Details that emerged on Wednesday indicate that the Green Shirts have practiced in advance of their second Test match against the Proteas, which is scheduled for January 3 (Friday) at Cape Town’s Newlands Cricket Ground.

Both bat and ball drills were conducted for the Pakistani cricket players. Additionally, the Men in Green had practiced the fielding routines.

Kagiso Rabada’s and Marco Jansen’s willow’s resistance enabled the home team win a close game against the visitors in the first game, giving South Africa a 1-0 lead over the hosts.

Latest News

Australian star opener registers for the PSL 10 draft

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

Former Australian opening batsman David Warner has become the 23rd international player to declare himself available for the premier event by signing up for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 10 draft.

The Pakistan Cricket Board and the league’s official social media account, “ENDING 2024 ON A HIGH,” made the news. David Warner, a formidable Australian, has signed up for the PSL Draft.

Along with players from other nations, David Warner has joined his compatriots Usman Khawaja, Matthew Short, Sean Abbott, and Alex Carey.

David Warner scored 8786 and 6932 runs in 112 Test matches and 161 One Day Internationals during his international career. The left-hander scored 3277 with one century and 28 fifties in 110 T20Is.

In their most recent match against the Melbourne Renegades, David Warner, the captain of the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League, was named player of the match. The captain of the Sydney Sixers struck two sixes and ten fours in his 86 off 57 deliveries.

The PCB has already declared that the PSL 10 player draft would take place on January 11, 2025, at Gwadar, Balochistan.

The PCB opened the foreign player registration and trade window for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 earlier this month.

The top pick in the platinum category will go to Lahore Qalandars, followed by Karachi Kings, according to the pick order that was made public on Monday.

In the player draft for the much awaited PSL 10, Quetta Gladiators will select third, and Peshawar Zalmi will select fourth.

According to the PCB, Islamabad United will be the final selection in the platinum category, while Multan Sultans will be the fifth pick.

Foreign players that have registered

Tim Southee (New Zealand), Martin Guptill (New Zealand), Matthew Short (Australia), Gudakesh Motie (West Indies), Alex Hales (England), Luke Wood (England), Sean Abbott (Australia), Alex Carey (Australia), Usman Khawaja (Australia), Corbin Bosh (South Africa), Rilee Rossouw (South Africa), Colin Munro (New Zealand), Daryl Mitchell (New Zealand), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (England), Tom Curran (England), Jason Roy (England), Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh), Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh), and Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe).