Big Setback For Shaheen Afridi In PCB Central Contracts, Babar Azam Placed In...

27.10.2024 - 10:57 sports.ndtv.com

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday demoted premier pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi to Category B from Category A, and did not offer central contracts to senior players Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed and Osama Mir for the 2024-25 season.

Test skipper Shan Masood remained in Category B despite Pakistan scoring a come-from-behind 2-1 series victory over England recently.

The board awarded the central contracts to a total of 25 players just two short of the 27 who were given contracts last year.

Like last year, the PCB made the contracts announcement after a delay of nearly three months as the players performances, fitness levels and behaviour were analysed.

cricket Pakistan Cricket Team Shaheen Afridi Babar Azam Shaheen Shah Afridi Haris Rauf Shan Masood Iftikhar Ahmed Pakistan

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Mohsin Naqvi on Sunday addressed Babar Azam's resignation from the white-ball captaincy, clarifying that no one from the PCB pressured the 30-year-old to step down. Earlier this month, Babar announced his decision to relinquish the white-ball captaincy of the Pakistan cricket team to "prioritise" his performance. Since Babar took on the role in 2019, Pakistan has not won a major tournament. Last year, under his leadership, the team was eliminated from the Asia Cup in the Super 4 stage following a two-wicket defeat by Sri Lanka in Colombo. A few months later, Pakistan's struggles continued, with the team failing to reach the knockout stage of the ODI World Cup in India.

Rizwan named Pakistan captain, big names back for Australia tour

:Pakistan appointed Mohammad Rizwan as captain of their white-ball teams on Sunday, and Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah were all named in their one-day international and Twenty20 squads for next month's tour of Australia.

Babar, Afridi, Naseem return for Pakistan's white-ball tour of Australia

Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah were named in Pakistan's one-day international and Twenty20 squads for next month's tour of Australia, with the country's cricket board expected to name a new captain later on Sunday.

Babar Azam Dropped As Pakistan Team Announced vs Zimbabwe, Picked For Australia Series

Former captain Babar Azam, pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah on Sunday returned to the Pakistan team for the upcoming white-ball series in Australia after being sidelined for two Tests against England. The Pakistani selectors announced the One-Day International and T20I squads for the tours of Australia and Zimbabwe starting next month. Many new faces have been brought into the squads, while senior players like Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan missed out on selection.

Updated World Test Championship Points Table After India's Series Loss To New Zealand: Big Blow For Rohit Sharma's Men

New Zealand and Pakistan register historic Test series wins over India and England, respectively, on Saturday. While New Zealand took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series, following their big win in the second Test in Pune, Pakistan recovered from a defeat in the series-opener to clinch the series 2-1. It was New Zealand's first away series win over India, who last faced a series defeat at home back in 2012 when the Alastair Cook-led England prevailed with the same scoreline.

"Former Players Are Paid To...": Pakistan Coach Jason Gillespie Gives Firm Warning Regarding External Criticism

Pakistan's red-ball format head coach, Jason Gillespie has urged former cricketers to avoid unwarranted criticism of the national team as he believes it can deeply affect the players. Gillespie admitted that the comments former players made in TV shows and Youtube channels indeed bruised the cricketers. “I'm very protective of players and very protective of staff I work with and just want to make sure that the environment that we're trying to create is a safe space for everyone and if that gets eroded then that can lead to a bit of frustration,” Gillespie told Sky Sports.