Imad Wasim plays for Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash League
A week after his sudden retirement from international cricket, Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim, along with former teammates Haris Rauf and Osama Mir, will join Melbourne Stars in the upcoming Big Bash League (BBL) Season 13 will be playing. The 34-year-old, who previously played for Melbourne Renegades, will wear the Stars’ green jersey for the remainder of the tournament after Christmas. Blair Crouch, the team’s general manager, said after England had selected Liam Dawson for the previous three games that the team wanted Imad to be a “left-handed player who will play our role and add to our batting “line-up player,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing many Pakistani fans in the crowd at the MCG and seeing Imad alongside his former national team-mates Osama Mir and Haris Rauf,” he added.
Shadab Khan disappointed with his World Cup performance
Pakistan cricket team vice-captain Shadab Khan has expressed disappointment with the team’s performance following the team’s defeat in the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023.The 25-year-old cricketer told that the team strives to win every tournament. He added that “although everyone was disappointed with the performance during the World Cup, the lesson of cricket is to always improve”.He said “I didn’t live up to expectations and I’m also disappointed in myself. I should have appeared.I think my poor performance led the team here.If I had played as a bowler, the result might have been different,” the Vice captain said in an interview with Geo News.Shadab reiterated that it is very important for him to perform and informed that he will return to Pakistan to analyze the mistakes made in the mega cricket event.“We made a lot of mistakes and had weaknesses, which is why we lost. We failed in all three areas, but especially our bowlers did not perform well.” You have to play according to cricket. In batting too,we have to play according to modern-day cricket,” he said.Shadab added that a captain is not solely responsible for winning or losing, everyone has a role to play but our culture is such that everything is blamed on the captain.“We did not play well as a team. We are all responsible,” he said.
Iyer and Rahul ensure perfect retention for India
Centuries from Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul helped India register a 160-run victory over Netherlands in the World Cup on Sunday, ending the group stage with nine wins from nine matches. Iyer (128 not out) and Rahul (102 runs) led India to 410-4 with 208 runs. India then fielded nine bowlers, including part-timers Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, to dismiss the Dutch for 250 in the final league match of the tournament in Bengaluru. The hosts will play New Zealand in the first semi-final in Mumbai on Wednesday, followed by Australia vs South Africa in the second semi-final in Kolkata the following day.
Dew is a Key factor that makes the World Cup interesting: Indian coach Dravid
The 50-over tournament begins next Thursday in 10 cities, with all but six of the 48 matches being day-night matches.In India, pitches are usually humid after sunset, making the ball wet and difficult to grip.“India is a big country and there are many venues, so it’s difficult to say (dew) is the same everywhere,” he said in the third and final ODI in Rajkot on Wednesday, with India trailing Australia by 66 runs. After the defeat, Dravid said. Every venue and every day is different. “It’s one of the hardest things to predict about tau,” he said. Dew primarily affects bowlers and fielders during day-night matches, so most captains choose to bowl first after winning the toss.But whether it will be a factor is inherently unpredictable.Former India captain Dravid said that the previous day they played on a field where the ground was “wet” but it was completely dry by match time.“As the tournament progresses, it will play a role in some venues and probably not in others. That way it will be more interesting,” the 50-year-old coach aid.
Injured Haris and Naseem will be recovered before World Cup 2023,said Babar Azam
Azam’s side lost to co-hosts Sri Lanka by two wickets in a thrilling last-ball match of the rain-affected Super 4 final in Colombo on Thursday.Naseem and Rauf were injured during the defeat to Super 4 India in the 50-over tournament, a warm-up match for the ODI World Cup in India, which starts next month. “Haris Rauf is not bad. He has a slight side injury, but he will recover by the World Cup,” Azam said.“Naseem Shah missed a few games and we don’t know how he is recovering. But in my opinion, he will play in the World Cup.” The absence of the pace duo was felt when Pakistan failed to defend 252 for 42 against Sri Lanka. If you lose your best bowler, it will definitely hurt you and your team,” Azam said after the match. “It’s not that I didn’t try hard enough, but I couldn’t get a good result.” Zaman, a fast bowler who made an impact in the Pakistan Super League, had eight runs to defend and his first four bowled just two runs, including one wicket.However, the left-handed Asaranka, who scored 49 goals, drew cheers from the home crowd with his winning goal, leading defending champions Sri Lanka to their 11th Asian Cup final. Azam said the team will learn from their mistakes and put in a better performance in India next month when they are scheduled to play the much-awaited host nation in Ahmedabad on October 14.“Defensively, we didn’t have the reaction we should have. In bowling, we have problems in the middle overs,” Azam said. “We will learn from them and try to resolve them before going to the World Cup.”
Rain can destroy Pak vs Sri Lanka match on thursday
Pakistan and Sri Lanka will play a crucial match in the 2023 Asia Cup on Thursday. The winner of this match will qualify for the final against India.However, there is a high chance of rain on this day, which could affect the match. If the match is cancelled, both teams will share one point each.The group stage match between Pakistan and India was also canceled due to rain. The Super 4 match between both teams was also held on a preliminary day due to rain.A backup date will be set up for the 2023 Asian Cup final in case of rain. If both teams lose in the final, both teams will share the trophy.
Pakistan coach thanks India for wake up call before ICC World Cup
Babar Azam’s side suffered a 228-run defeat against India in a rain-soaked 50-over Super Four on Monday, the opening match of next month’s World Cup in India. India registered their biggest ODI win against their arch-rivals by defeating Pakistan for 128 in 32 overs with 356-2 after a rain-induced reserve day in Colombo.“My gut feeling is that I am grateful for the gift of the last two days,” Bradburn told reporters after the assault.“You don’t often get the chance to play against the best players in the world,” he added.“We haven’t lost a single cricket match in the last three months so it was a timely reminder that we have to come to the venue every day and give our best on the park and the last two days have shown that. It was actually a gift.’ I wouldn’t do that,” he said.After Azam won the toss, Pakistan elected to bowl, but the team quickly lost control after a 121-run opening stand between captain Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Virat Kohli and KL Rahul scored 122 and 111 runs respectively, taking India’s unbeaten run to a total of 233. We lost in every phase of the game,” Bradburn said. “There are no excuses, we didn’t perform well these past two days.” Pakistan’s bowling team, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi, rocked India’s top order in the group matches of the Asia Cup last week, crushing India for 266 before the match was called off due to rain.But Rohit, Gill, Rahul and Kohli came roaring back in the Super Four contest and shifted the focus of the attack to the bowlers. “Our hitting unit hasn’t been good for the past month, which is another positive sign,” he said. “We have complete confidence in them. We are very consistent in our selections. We know they will be successful.” Pakistan’s next match will be against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
Babar Azam and Shadab Khan Nominated for ICC Player of the Month Award
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday announced the nominations for the ICC Player of the Month award for August, including Pakistan captain Babar Azam and all-rounder Shadab Khan along with West Indies batsman boomed Nicholas Pooran. Besides Pooran, Babar’s impressive performance and the prolific Spanish right-hander Babar aims to become the first men’s cricketer to win three ICC Men’s Player of the Month awards after scoring 53 and 60 in a three-match win,against Afghanistan and a mammoth 151 against Nepal in the Asia Cup opener last month. Meanwhile, Shadab is nominated for the Player of the Month award for the first time after impressing with both bat and ball in August against Afghanistan and Nepal. The run-scorer took just one century in the first two matches against Afghanistan but took 3-42 to ensure his whitewash. He also has a good record of 4-27 in the win against Nepal. Shadab paved the way for nomination for this prestigious award. The shortlist will then be voted on by the ICC Independent Voting Academy and fans around the world. The ICC Voting Academy comprises prominent members of the cricket fraternity, including renowned journalists, former players, broadcasters and members of the ICC Hall of Fame. The Voting Academy sends votes via email and holds 90 percent of the votes.
Fast bowler Haris Rauf completed fastest 50 wickets in ODI,equals Waqar Younis record
Haris Rauf completed his 50 wickets in ODI cricket in the match against Bangladesh in the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup. Mohammad Naeem of Bangladesh became Haris Rauf’s 50th victim Haris Rauf crossed the milestone of 50 wickets in his 27th ODI match. He is the third fastest Pakistani bowler to take 50 wickets in ODIs along with Waqar Younis. Earlier, fast bowler Hasan Ali took 24 wickets, Shaheen Afridi took 25 wickets and Waqar Younis also took 50 wickets in 27 ODI matches. It should be noted that in the first match of the Super Four stage of the Asia Cup, the teams of Pakistan and Bangladesh are competing today. In the match played in Lahore today, Bangladesh has won the toss and decided to bat first against Pakistan.
ICC WC 2023: Indian squad announced by BCCI
The highly awaited International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s ODI World Cup 2023 will feature a 15-player roster, according to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday. Rohit Gurunath Sharma will lead the Indian team, and Kananur Lokesh Rahul, a right-handed wicketkeeper-batsman, has been named to the roster after getting cleared to compete in the mega-event. Earlier this year, while playing in the Indian Premier League, Rahul sustained a thigh injury. The final phases of the 2023 Asia Cup, which is currently taking place in Sri Lanka, will also join his colleagues. Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, and Prasidh Krishna were also left off of India’s team. Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya are the team’s captains. All teams have until September 28 to make roster changes, after which any changes will have to be approved by the International Cricket Council (ICC). In the opening match of the World Cup, India will face Australia on October 8 in Chennai. It should be noted that 10 teams will battle for the elusive title across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19, with Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the opening and final of the tournament.