KARACHI: Pakistan discarded pacer Mohammad Musa Khan inspired a brilliant comeback by Northern in their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixture against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Unlike day one, Thursday’s second day saw the bowlers hit the straps in a big way as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa seemingly lost ground after surrendering the remaining five wickets for the addition of 97 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium in …

TRAMPLING on merit is bad when you cannot laugh at it. Recently, Ramiz Raja took over the Pakistan Cricket Board as its chairman in a process that was a bit odd. Usually, a man from outside the cricket board, almost never from within, is appointed chairman. So if you ever get a lucrative offer for a job at the PCB, remember that …

LAHORE: Javeria Khan will lead Pakistan women against their West Indies counterpart in the upcoming three-match One-day International series at the National Stadium in Karachi. The visitors arrive in Karachi on Nov 1 for the fixtures on Nov 8, 11 and 14, and after the series, both teams will go to Zimbabwe to play the qualifying round of the ICC …

MUSCAT: Shakib Al Hasan smashed 46 and had bowling figures of 4-9 as Bangladesh annihilated Papua New Guinea by 84 runs to qualify for the Super 12 stage of the Twenty20 World Cup in Muscat on Thursday. Chasing 182 for victory, PNG were bowled out for 97 in 19.3 overs to hand Bangladesh their second straight win of round one …

DUBAI: Fast bowlers will need a varied skill-set to conquer the ‘tired’ pitches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Australia’s Pat Cummins said ahead of their Twenty20 World Cup opener against South Africa on Saturday. The pacers would be a worried lot heading into the World Cup looking for ways to master the dry and slow pitches in the UAE. …

DUBAI: Former Australian opener Matthew Hayden admitted on Thur­sday hostile cricket rivalry between India and Pakistan is unmatched and will test the two teams when they play a high voltage game in the Twenty20 World Cup in Dubai on Sunday. Hayden is serving a short stint as Pakistan’s batting consultant and transferring his vast experience on how to tac­kle pressure …

WASHINGTON: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Shaukat Tarin left Washington on Thursday without concluding the talks that could have led to a much-needed endorsement of the government’s economic policies by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The minister, however, leaves behind Finance Secretary Yousaf Khan to further pursue the talks for the resumption of a $6 billion …

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will renegotiate all bilateral investment treaties (BITs) on the basis of new BIT template being finalised by the government, a top official of the Board of Investment said. Speaking at the ‘Inter­national Investment Agreement’ Conference of the World Investment Forum being held virtually, BoI secretary Fareena Mazhar shared that a positive initial response has been received from the …

LONDON: Remarks made by Reza Baqir, the governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), about the benefits of currency devaluation for overseas Pakistanis have elicited strong criticism by citizens and economists back home. At a dinner held in honour of the SBP governor in London by businessman Anil Mussarat, Mr Baqir touched on the issue of the depreciation of …

KARACHI: While the US dollar has crushed the local currency, the foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) have also started falling sharply that may further weaken the rupee. The SBP reserves plunged by $1.646 billion to $17.492bn during the week ended on Oct 15 from over $20bn in August, announced the central bank on Thursday. The State Bank …