Sports

Quetta ‘to not host’ PSL 2023 matches

Published

1 year ago

Farwa

KARACHI: Quetta will no longer be the fifth venue for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) — scheduled to begin next month.

Speaking to The News, a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official said that all the efforts to organise some of the PSL matches at the Bugti Stadium in Quetta proved “futile due to various reasons”, with the foremost being extreme weather conditions in the city.

“We are thankful to all those who helped the PCB with its efforts to organise PSL matches in Quetta. Following the announcement by the PCB Management Committee head Najam Sethi, we sent a special team to Quetta with the aim to make special arrangements to organise some of the PSL matches there,” the official said.

“The team held meetings with all the stakeholders in Quetta but came to the conclusion that it would not be possible to organise matches in the city this fall,” the official said.

“We are thankful to all, including the Corps Commander and the provincial administration for extending full support. However, we have decided that this time it will not be feasible to hold PSL matches there.”

“The main reason is extreme weather in Quetta and also the delay in starting the preparations for the extravaganza,” he said.

The official, however, was hopeful of organising warm-up or exhibition matches at the venue with the plan that from next year onward, Quetta would become a permanent venue for the PSL.

“I think from 2024 onward, Quetta can become a permanent venue of the PSL fixtures,” the official added.

The News, however, has learnt that one of the issues that prevented the PCB from conducting matches in Quetta was the difficulty of effective beaming of the PSL matches and technicalities involved in it.

“Sethi and other members of the board made sincere efforts to take the PSL to Quetta. We strongly believe that PSL nine matches can well be organised in Quetta in an effective and professional way. We are planning to kick-start the preparations early,” the official said.

The PCB official was also hopeful about holding some of the matches in Peshawar next year.

“Besides Quetta, we are also planning to hold some of the PSL 9 matches in Peshawar,” the official said.

The PSL 2023 matches, starting in February, will now be held at four venues — Lahore, Karachi, Multan and Rawalpindi.

Latest News

PCB will install floodlights for PSL matches at Quetta Stadium.

Published

6 hours ago

Farwa

By installing floodlights by September, PCB will keep its word. Following stadium renovations, PSL matches would also be held in Quetta, according to Naqvi, the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board.

He stated at a press conference held at Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti Cricket Stadium that the possibility of holding Pakistan Super League (PSL) matches in Quetta was being considered.

In Gwadar and Quetta, he said, the PCB would do its part to promote cricket.
Quetta Stadium will soon have floodlights installed, as announced by the interior minister, which Chief Minister Bugti congratulated for the news.

The province has a wealth of skills, and installing floodlights will help promote sports and cricket in particular. He responded to a query by saying that chances will be given to the province’s youth at the federal level.

Latest News

The women’s team from Pakistan travels to England for a white-ball series.

Published

2 days ago

Farwa

The national squad left Karachi earlier today to play three Twenty20 Internationals and three One-Day Internationals in the series.

Dr. Muhammad Faisal, Pakistan’s High Commissioner in England, greeted the women’s team and management.

The team will soon depart for Leicester to play a practice match on 9 May against the ECB Development XI. On May 11, in Birmingham, the first Twenty20 International will take place.

Notably, this will be Pakistan’s eighth and final series of the current event cycle. The ODIs in the series are a part of the ICC Women’s Championship 2022–25.

Pakistan women squad for England tour

Nida Dar (captain), Aliya Riaz, Ayesha Zafar, Diana Baig, Fatima Sana, Gull Feroza, Muneeba Ali (wk), Najiha Alvi (wk), Nashra Sundhu, Natalia Parvaiz, Rameen Shamim, Sadaf Shamas, Sadia Iqbal, Sidra Amin, Tuba Hassan, Umm-e-Hani and Waheeda Akhtar

Player support personnel: Nahida Khan (manager), Mauhtashim Rasheed (interim head coach), Saleem Jaffar (bowling coach), Taufeeq Umar (batting coach), Hanif Malik (fielding coach), Syed Nazir Ahmed (media manager), Rabia Siddiq (physiotherapist), Zubair Ahmed (analyst) and Hina Munawar (chief security officer)

Tour Schedule

9 May – T20 warm-up game v ECB Development XI, Uptonsteel County Ground (11.00 am local time)

11 May – 1st T20I, Birmingham (2.30 pm local time)

17 May – 2nd T20I, Northampton (6.30 pm local time)

19 May – 3rd T20I, Leeds (1.00 pm local time)

21 May – One-Day warm-up game v ECB Development XI, Northampton (11.00 am local time)

23 May – 1st ODI, Derby (1.00 pm local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

26 May – 2nd ODI, Taunton (11.00 am local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

29 May – 3rd ODI, Chelmsford (1.00 pm local time) (ICC Women’s Championship)

Latest News

Pakistan releases their England against Ireland team, and Hasan Ali is back.

Published

6 days ago

Farwa

The men in green will play a three-match series against Ireland before taking on England in a four-match series.

The 18-player roster now includes Salman Ali Agha, Hasan Ali, and Haris Rauf, who were all reinstated by the national selection committee.

Turn off the silence
Zaman Khan and Usama Mir, meanwhile, were left off the final roster.

Continue reading: Ramiz Raja selects Pakistan’s starting combination for the 2024 T20 World Cup

After the first Twenty20 International at Leeds on May 22, the team will be whittled down to 15 players for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 next month in order to meet the ICC’s deadline of May 24.

Pakistan squad for Ireland and England series:

Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saim Ayub, Fakhar Zaman, Irfan Khan Niazi, Iftikhar Ahmad, Usman Khan, Azam Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Salman Ali Agha.

Ireland vs Pakistan T20I series:

10 May: First T20I in Dublin (7pm PST)

12 May: Second T20I in Dublin (7pm PST)

14 May: Third T20I in Dublin (7pm PST)

England vs Pakistan T20I series:

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

May 25: Second T20I in Birmingham (6:30pm PST)

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

May 30: Fourth T20I at The Oval, London (10:30pm PST)