Sports

New Zealand’s hard-hitting opener Finn Allen termed the upcoming five-match away T20I series against Pakistan an “awesome opportunity” for the young players. New Zealand’s top players, namely Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitch Santner, and Kane Williamson were all unavailable for the T20I series against Pakistan due to their participation in …

Right-handed opener Usman Khan has been banned for a five-year period by the Emirate Cricket Board (ECB) over “breaching his obligations” owed to the cricketing body. The ECB, after a detailed investigation, claimed to have found Usman Khan misinterpreted his decision to play for the UAE national men’s cricket team. “After a detailed investigation, Usman was found to have misrepresented …

LAHORE: The physical tickets for the five-match T20I series between Pakistan and New Zealand will be available for purchase from Saturday, 6 April. Cricket fans can purchase physical tickets from various TCS express centres in Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Multan, Peshawar and Karachi. The fans can visit any of the designated TCS express centres and buy physical tickets for …

French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday he remained hopeful national team captain Kylian Mbappe would be able to play for his country at the upcoming Paris Olympics. “I hope he will be able to play at the Olympic Games,” Macron said when asked by pupils during a visit to a school in the French capital. Mbappe has previously made clear …

BARCELONA: Rafael Nadal withdrew from the upcoming Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday, where the 22-time Grand Slam winner was expected to make his ATP Tour comeback, saying his body is not yet ready for competition. The 37-year-old Spaniard, who has said he expects to retire after the 2024 season, returned to competition in Brisbane in January, after almost a year …

RIYADH: The season-ending WTA Finals will be held in Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh from 2024-26, the women’s tennis body said on Thursday, ending months of speculation and marking the Gulf country’s latest foray into the sport. Riyadh will host the season finale — which features the top eight singles players and doubles teams — from Nov 2-9 and replaces last …

LAHORE: Criticising the Pakistan Cricket Board moves to remove Babar Azam and then Shaheen Shah Afridi as captain, former skipper Misbah-ul-Haq says the manner in which these decisions were taken disturbs the entire set-up of the team. “[First] the way Babar was removed as captain was wrong, and now Shaheen was replaced [with Babar] in haste. Both are wrong ways …

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi is furious over the way the board’s officials have handled the injury of young fast bowler Ihsanullah, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported on Thursday. Ihsanullah, 21, made a big impact in last year’s Pakistan Super League with his pace and subsequently went on to make his debut in …

MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach on Wednesday of discrediting international sport and contradicting the principles of the Olympic movement. At her weekly briefing, Zakharova also repeated her call for an inquiry into Bach’s actions. Bach was tricked into holding a conversation with Russian pranksters, published on Tuesday, in which he …

KARACHI: Twelve days after the voting period closed, the Pakistan Football Federa­tion Normalisation Committee finally announced the much-awaited preliminary results of elections in 75 districts across the country on Wednesday, taking a second major step after the completion of club registration and scrutiny towards having an elected PFF. The final list of elected officials, the PFF NC said, will be …