Sports

LAHORE: Pakistan cricket’s overhaul in the aftermath of a disastrous World Cup campaign began in earnest on Wednesday when under-fire skipper Babar Azam quit the national team’s leadership in all three formats, with his replacements named soon afterwards. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) appointed opener Shan Masood as Test captain, gave pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi the T20 reins, and replaced …

MUMBAI: The cricket World Cup semi-final betw­een India and New Zealand in Mumbai on Wednesday was being played on a used pitch, sparking concerns the tournament hosts had tried to manipulate conditions in their favour. Both Britain’s Daily Mail and the ESPNCricinfo website reported the match was initially supposed to be played on pitch seven, the central strip at the Wankh­ede Stadium, a surface …

DOHA: After a hard fou­ght final, Pakistan’s yo­u­ng cueist Ahsan Ram­zan falls in the final of the IBSF World 6-Red Snooker Cha­m­­p­i­onship and had to suffice with a silver as he lost to Michael Georgiou of Cyp­rus in Doha on Wednesday. Georgiou, who earlier overcame another Pakis­tani player Mohammad Naseem Akhtar 6-5 (65-0, 06-42, 39-22, 68-0, 25-44, 67-0, 0-40, 4-44, …

RIYADH: Pakistan open their first campaign in 22 years in the group stage of Asian qualifying for the FIFA World Cup when they face heavyweights Saudi Arabia in Al Ahsa on Thursday. Having edged past Cambodia in the first round of qualifying for the 2026 edition of football’s showpiece tournament, Pakistan are lowest-ranked side still in the hunt. Placed 193rd …

KOLKATA: South Africa sense an opportunity to finally get rid of the choker’s tag but the onerous task entails getting the better of the most successful team in the history of 50-overs World Cup, Australia, in Thursday’s semi-final in Kolkata. Hurt by a combination of bad luck and nerves in the business end of showpiece event, South Africa are pitted …

Pakistani cricketers are on a roll when it comes to saying the absolute wrong thing and showcasing the worst of themselves. Ramiz Raja, the cricketer and former PCB chair, is under fire for laughing at a racist joke about legendary West Indies cricketer Sir Viv Richards and Indian actor Neena Gupta. His harshest critic is their daughter, Indian designer Masaba …

The lacklustre performance that we saw during Pakistan’s World Cup campaign has sent the ‘bleed green’ fanbase into an abyss, akin to the Green Shirts’ unceremonious exit in 2015’s World Cup. A team reshuffle and ‘where we go from here’ promises are always a typical approach to failed tournaments, but as a fan, I am fed up with how the …

IN the end, the pressure finally told. There had been a substantial amount of it, gargantuan almost around Babar Azam and his role as the captain of the Pakistan team. The side’s limp World Cup exit was the final straw with Babar announcing yesterday he was stepping down as Pakistan’s all-format captain. For Pakistan’s star batter, their mainstay, it’s perhaps the best …

JOHANNESBURG: More places for Africa at the next World Cup finals has not lessened the intensity of the qualifying process, often described as the toughest in world football, and which kicks off this week. Qualification for the 2026 tournament has begun in Asia and South America, and prolific Liverpool scorer and Egypt captain Mohamed Salah will be among the stars …

LAHORE: The general elections in Pakistan, announced for Feb 8, have forced the Pakistan Cricket Board to seek an advice from the government whether to start the ninth edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League on the same day. A meeting of the PSL’s Council was held here on Tuesday, where there was also a suggestion to hold the initial …