Category: Sports

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has taken notice of the humiliating treatment meted out to legendary Pakistani pacer, Shoaib Akhtar, by Dr. Noman Niaz during a live broadcast on state television.

In this regard, the Information Minister has also formed a high-level committee to investigate the incident that took place on a state broadcast following Pakistan’s victory against New Zealand last night.

According to details, Managing Director (MD) Pakistan Television (PTV) Aamer Manzoor will head the committee. Chief Human Resource Officer, Director News, Director Sports, and Director Programs will also be a part of the committee.

The Information Minister has summoned the inaugural meeting of the committee later today. The committee will analyze both on-air and off-air footage of the show and will determine why the heated argument between Shoaib and Dr. Noman occurred in the first place.

It will also summon Shoaib and Dr. Noman separately to hear their sides of the story. After ascertaining the reason and culprit behind the verbal spat, the committee will submit its findings to the Information Minister at the earliest.

In case the committee identifies Dr. Noman as the wrongdoer, the Ministry for Information and Broadcasting will initiate disciplinary action against him.

PTV News’ official Twitter handle has also confirmed the development. In a Tweet, the PTV News penned that the PTV administration has taken notice of the incident that took place between Shoaib and the host of PTV Sports’ program Game On Hai, Dr. Noman.

What Actually Happened?

Shoaib Akhtar and Dr. Noman Niaz got into an on-air verbal spat during the post-match discussion where panelists, including legends like Sir. Vivian Richards and David Gower were discussing Pakistan’s 5-wicket win over New Zealand in the 2021 T20 World Cup last night.

It all started when Shoaib took a few jibes at Dr. Noman while sharing his thoughts about the match. Dr. Noman did not condone Shoaib’s digs at him, calling him rude and asking to leave the show. He immediately took a break after this.

To save everyone from embarrassment, Shoaib clarified that he was only messing around the host with a mutual understanding and suggested Dr. Noman politely apologize for calling him rude and asking him to leave.

However, Dr. Noman refused to apologize to Shoaib, forcing the latter to quit PTV Sports on-air.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batter, Mohammad Rizwan, has come to the aid of Indian fast bowler, Mohammed Shami after he was a target of vicious online abuse by Indian cricket fans. Rizwan urged the Indian cricket fans to stop the abuse and respect their stars.

Shami, the only Muslim player in the Indian squad, received thousands of threatening and disgraceful comments and messages on his social media accounts after India’s loss to Pakistan in the 2021 T20 World Cup match. Many people called him a traitor and accused him of fixing the match.

Mohammad Rizwan came to the support of Shami and requested the fans to respect the services the fast bowler has provided for his country. Rizwan took to Twitter to voice his support.

Rizwan tweeted, “The kind of pressure, struggles, and sacrifices a player has to go through for his country and his people are immeasurable. Mohammed Shami is a star and indeed [one] of the best bowlers in the world. Please respect your stars. This game should bring people together and not divide ’em.”

Rizwan’s tweet was appreciated by many people from both sides of the border. Former Pakistani cricketers, Rashid Latif and Salman Butt, also voiced their support on Rizwan’s tweet.

Earlier, many Indian cricketers and journalists urged the fans to stop the abuse and not to target Shami as he has been one of their top performers recently. However, they did not specifically mention the reason why only Shami has been targeted as the majority of their other players did not perform up to the mark as well.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The rise of Mohammad Rizwan has been nothing short of spectacular. The Pakistani wicket-keeper batter is the leading run-scorer in T20Is and T20s in 2021 and has gone from strength to strength since his promotion to the top of the order.

While Rizwan is one of the top cricketers in the world and one of the superstars of Pakistan cricket, this was certainly not the case just a few years ago. He was considered as a secondary wicket-keeper and was behind the likes of Sarfaraz Ahmed and Kamran Akmal in the pecking order. He was never considered as a reliable batter and this was certainly not the case in the shortest format of the game.

The 29-year old could not even make it to the starting line-up in Pakistan Super League (PSL). He was drafted by Lahore Qalandars in the first season of PSL and was shifted to Karachi Kings after underwhelming performances. While Rizwan managed to win a PSL title with Karachi Kings in the fifth edition, he only played a few matches as West Indian Chadwick Walton started ahead of him.

This adversity was nothing new for Mohammad Rizwan. He had been used to overcoming the odds ever since his debut season in Pakistan’s domestic circuit. Rizwan made his debut in first-class cricket in 2008 after a lot of deliberation between the coaching staff on whether to include him in the squad or not. Current Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s head coach, Abdur Rehman was the coach that took a stand against the higher-ups and insisted on including Rizwan in the squad.

Abdur Rehman’s faith in Rizwan paid off in his first-ever first-class match as he scored a solid half-century while other Peshawar batter’s failed. Although Peshawar had lost the match, Rizwan’s performance showcased the skills he possessed.

Despite a magnificent performance, the regional selectors were not in favor of including him in Peshawar’s squad for their next match against Karachi in Karachi. Again, Abdur Rehman took a stand and did not allow the team bus to leave without Rizwan. Finally, the higher-ups succumbed to Abdur Rehman’s stance and allowed Rizwan to travel with the team.

Prior to the start of the match, Rizwan got injured and told the coach that he is not fit to play. The coach replied, “tu mar jaayega laikin tu match khelega (you’ll die but you will play the match).” Rizwan once again rose to the occasion and despite suffering from an injury, he scored yet another half-century to draw the match for Peshawar.

Rizwan and Abdur Rehman re-united once again as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lifted the 2021 National T20 Cup. While, Rizwan had captained the team for the majority of the tournament, he was unavailable to take part in the second phase of the tournament due to Pakistan’s 2021 T20 World Cup campaign.

The gritty wicket-keeper batter was fortunate enough to be promoted up the order by former Pakistan head coach, Misbah-ul-Haq. He has not looked back since then and his performances in all formats of the game speak for themselves.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Pakistan Television (PTV) and ARY have secured exclusive domestic media rights for International Cricket Council (ICC) events until 2023.

The rights for linear and digital broadcasts also include the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup that began on 17 October in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman.

According to Business Sports, this is a three-way agreement between PTV, ARY, and GroupM, a media investment company owned by global media giant, WPP. GroupM is responsible for managing the flow of advertising revenues to the two broadcasters.

Pakistani broadcasters have entered a sublicensing deal with Star TV Network for showing the ICC events until the 2023 World Cup. The monetary value of the deal wasn’t immediately confirmed.

The new deal is a sublicensing agreement between the Star TV Network and the Pakistani broadcasters. Star holds global ICC media rights in a deal worth $2.1 billion over eight years, from 2015-16 to 2022-23.

While PTV Corporation is broadcasting the ongoing mega event through PTV Sports, ARY has launched a separate sports news channel, ASports, to broadcast the tournament. Meanwhile, Ten Sports is also airing T20 World Cup by carrying ARY feed under a deal.

PTV and ARY have sublicensed the digital rights for the T20 to Alibaba-owned online shopping platform Daraz.

Managing Director PTV, Aamer Manzoor, welcomed the new deal and said he is looking forward to the partnership with GroupM and ARY to help expand the deal.

“We look forward to our partnership with GroupM and ARY to help expand the total outlay and to provide more visibility to the people of Pakistan, a sports-loving country where cricket is followed hysterically and with an unending passion.”

Salman Iqbal, Chief Executive Officer at ARY, said, “As a cricketing nation, the audience will greatly benefit from this collaboration. Our vision to see Pakistan grow stands firm and this is another step in the right direction.”

Previously, PTV and Ten Sports jointly held rights domestic rights for ICC tournaments.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Pakistan’s all-format captain, Babar Azam continued his terrific run of form as he led his side to a historic ten-wicket victory over arch-rivals India in their first match of the 2021 T20 World Cup. Babar scored an unbeaten knock of 68 runs off 52 balls as Pakistan defeated India for the first time in a World Cup match.

Babar has been magnificent for Pakistan ever since making his T20I debut in 2016. While Babar has scored important runs for Pakistan in every country he has played, his record in UAE has been outstanding.

The stylish batter has played 12 matches in UAE and has won every match he has played in the country. He has won thrice against West Indies, twice against Sri Lanka, thrice against Australia and New Zealand each, and once against India. He has also scored heavily in the country, scoring five half-centuries in the 12 innings he has played.

The 27-year old has scored 460 runs at an average of 57.50 and a strike rate of 118.55 in 12 T20I innings in UAE. His overall T20 record in UAE is immaculate as well. He has scored 1,747 runs at an average of 39.70 and a strike rate of 116.31 in 53 innings in the country.

Babar will be determined to continue his unbeaten run in the country in Pakistan’s next match in the T20 World Cup. Pakistan will face New Zealand in another high-octane clash on Tuesday at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The first round of the 2021 T20 World Cup came to a close on Friday with Sri Lanka’s convincing 8 wicket victory over the Netherlands. Sri Lanka along with a surprise package, Namibia, qualified for the next round from Group A of the first round while Bangladesh alongside Scotland qualified from Group B. The four teams will now join the other top eight teams in the Super 12s stage of the competition.

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have been placed in Group 1 alongside Australia, England, West Indies, and South Africa while Scotland and Namibia have been placed in Group 2 alongside Pakistan, India, New Zealand, and Afghanistan.

The Super 12s stage of the mega event is set to commence on Saturday with powerhouses Australia and South Africa going head to head at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium at Abu Dhabi. The highly-anticipated encounter will be followed by the defending champion West Indies taking on current ODI World Champion England at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Pakistan will play its first match of the competition against arch-rival India on 24 October at Dubai International Cricket Stadium while their last match of the Super 12s stage will be played against Scotland on 7 November at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

The Men in Green will be determined to win all five of their matches in the Super 12s stage and qualify for the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since the 2012 T20 World Cup.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The Super 12s stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup is set to commence on Saturday and with six teams vying for the top two spots from both the groups, a lot will depend on how the batters cope with the slow and spinning conditions in the UAE. Just like every other team, Pakistan will be pinning their hopes on their best two batters, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan to score consistently throughout the tournament.

Both Babar and Rizwan will need to put on a solid start and provide Pakistan’s middle-order with the perfect platform to score big.

The Men in Green have had an issue with their batting line-up in previous T20 World Cups with the batters struggling in different conditions. While many players have played their part in the tournament, no player has shown the consistency required to excel in such mega events.

Former Pakistan captain, Salman Butt, looked set to become one of the consistent performers for Pakistan in T20 World Cups before his ban from cricket in 2010. He had the best campaign for a Pakistani batter in a single edition of a T20 World Cup. Butt scored 223 runs at an average of 44.60 and a strike rate of 131.17 in 6 matches in the 2010 T20 World Cup.

Despite Butt’s exceptional performances in the 2021 T20 World Cup, Pakistan were unable to lift the title as they agonizingly lost to Australia in the semi-final.

Let’s have a look at Pakistan’s highest scorers in a single edition of the T20 World Cup:

Pakistani batters will need to perform much better as no Pakistani batter is currently in the top ten scorers in T20 World Cups. Veteran middle-order batter, Shoaib Malik is Pakistan’s highest run-scorer in T20 World Cups, having scored only 546 runs in six World Cups.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Former Pakistan head coach, Misbah-ul-Haq, said in a recent interview that top-order batsman, Fakhar Zaman, can be a trump card for the national side against India in the T20 World Cup clash.

Pakistan is scheduled to kick off its T20 World Cup campaign with a blockbuster game against arch-rivals on 24 October in Dubai. The Men in Green aim to rewrite history by registering their first-ever win over India in a World Cup event.

Commenting on the high-voltage encounter on a private TV channel, the former Pakistan captain backed the aggressive batsman to go hard at the opposition. Misbah said that his exclusion from the initial world cup squad boggled his mind.

“I didn’t understand why Fakhar was excluded from the initial squad despite his good recent form. He performed in South Africa and was in good touch,” said Misbah.

Misbah said that Fakhar has fond memories against the arch-rivals and could play a vital role in the big game as he has the ability to absorb the pressure.

“He makes Pakistan’s top order strong, and he proved it in warm-up games. He is an X-Factor for Pakistan in T20 World Cup, especially in the match against India, as he has a good record against them, including that Champions Trophy final’s hundred,” Misbah maintained.

Source: Pro Pakistani