Sports

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is inviting and encouraging former cricketers to return to the field by seriously considering various roles, including as match officials in the 2020-21 domestic season. While this opens up career opportunities for retired players as umpires or match referees, this also sets a pathway for them to become international match officials by climbing up …

NYON: European football’s governing body says it is confident Real Madrid’s Champions League clash with Manchester City will go ahead as planned next week despite one of the Spanish side’s players testing positive for Covid-19. Real confirmed on Tue­sday that forward Mariano Diaz had tested positive, casting doubt on his participation in the August 8 tie at the Etihad Stadium. …

SYDNEY: The Olympic movement faces its biggest challenge for four decades in getting a streamlined Tokyo Summer Games up and running next year but influential official John Coates believes it will happen. Coates heads up the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Coor­dination Commission for the Tokyo 2020 Games, which were postponed until 2021 because of the global novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. …

MANCHESTER: Stuart Broad says he still feels fresh and is keen to reprise his heroics against West Indies when England return to the Test arena next week for the three-match series against Pakistan. The 34-year-old paceman became only the seventh bowler to reach the milestone of 500 Test wickets as he helped England to a resounding 269-run victory over West …

ISLAMABAD: Former Indian skipper Mohammad Azharuddin sees limited-overs captain Babar Azam to be regarded as one of Pakistan’s greatest batsmen in future, provided the Lahore-born cricketer remains consistent in his performance. The ex-Indian batsman said fans should enjoy Babar’s batting rather than comparing him with Indian captain Virat Kohli. “Babar is still young and has a lot of cricket ahead …

Fast bowlers Mohammad Amir and Haris Rauf have been declared fit to join Pakistan squad in England after testing negative twice, a press release by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Thursday. Amir had left for England on July 24 and was in quarantine for five days, as per the host country’s rule. He was tested twice during this period, that …

Memories of brilliant dribbler Asad Malik — with his perfect ball control and a peculiar body dodge — may be still fresh in the minds of hockey lovers who watched the epic encounters of Pakistan Customs and PIA back in the sixties. Olympian Asad, 79, a former Pakistan hockey captain and a fine inside left, died in a road accident …

PARIS: Kylian Mbappe will be sidelined for “around three weeks” after spraining his ankle in the French Cup final, likely ruling him out of Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League quarter-final against Atalanta on Aug 12. The France forward limped off in the first half of Friday’s 1-0 win over Saint-Etienne after a dreadful tackle that resulted in a red card for opposing captain …

MANCHESTER: Stuart Broad joined one of cricket’s most exclusive clubs when he took his 500th Test wicket on Tuesday as England completed a series-clinching win by 269 runs over the West Indies at Old Trafford. The 34-year-old became just the seventh bowler and fourth pacemen to reach the coveted landmark when he had opener Kraigg Brathwaite plumb lbw for 19 …

The independent adjudicator of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday announced its decision on a disciplinary case involving middle-order batsman Umar Akmal and reduced his three-year ban to 18 months. Adjudicator retired Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar conducted the hearing at the National High Performance Centre in Lahore. The batsman had submitted an appeal against a three-year ban imposed on him by …