JOHANNESBURG: No tickets will be sold to the general public for the forthcoming Test and One-day International series between South Africa and India because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced on Monday. CSA said in a statement that a joint decision had been taken with the Board of Control for Cricket in India to bar spectators …

LAHORE: Lahore Qalandars will be led by pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi in their upcoming HBL Pakistan Super League campaign, its head coach Aaqib Javed and CEO Rana Atif announced here on Monday. Shaheen will replace Sohail Akhtar as captain in the month-long seventh edition of the PSL, which begins from Jan 27. Pakistan’s premier pacer Shaheen was previously the vice-captain …

Cricketer Shadab Khan is turning into a Twitter Q&A regular — nothing like a healthy fan Q&A to get your blood pumping for the next match, eh? We last found him holding a Q&A on Instagram on December 9. He resurfaced on social media on Monday to hold another fan Q&A, this time on Twitter. But this wasn’t your run of …

ADELAIDE: Jos Buttler’s dogged resistance ended in a bizarre fashion as Australia thrashed England by 275 runs in the day-night second Test to go 2-0 up in the five-match Ashes series on Monday. England resumed the final day on a precarious 82-4, needing 386 more runs for an improbable win or to at least bat out the last three sessions …

Test cricketer Abid Ali was taken to a hospital in Karachi on Tuesday after complaining of chest pain during a Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Central Punjab at UBL Sports Complex. The 34-year-old batsman was batting for the Punjab side on the final day of the match when he felt the discomfort. He underwent an electrocardiogram (ECG) at …

KARACHI: The bullish trend continued on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday as investors’ confidence remained high following the central bank’s liquidity injection into the money market last week. The PSX remained in the green zone throughout the day, although profit-taking occurred in the first trading hour. Arif Habib Ltd said the sectors recording bullish activity included cement, steel …

LAHORE: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir on Monday appreciated the banks for providing unprecedented Rs1.4 trillion agri loans during 2020-21. Chairing the annual meeting of the Agricultural Credit Advisory Committee (ACAC) in Multan, Dr Baqir acknowledged the fact that despite Covid-19 pandemic challenges, collective efforts of 50 financial institutions under ACAC guidance helped to achieve 91pc …

KARACHI: Bank financing for automobiles jumped 42 per cent year-on-year to Rs349 billion in November. However, month-on-month, it grew by a paltry 1pc, data released by State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday showed. “This is the lowest monthly increase after July 2020 when it stood at Rs215bn,” said Arsalan Hanif of Arif Habib Securities attributing the slowdown to the …

KARACHI: The country’s current account recorded a deficit of $7 billion in the first five months (July to November) of the current fiscal year, mainly on account of increasing imports, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) data showed on Monday. At $1.91bn, November saw the highest monthly current account deficit since July 2018 when it reached $2.1bn. This was the year …

ISLAMABAD: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has approved $252 million loans to Pakistan for two projects — the construction of Mohmand Dam in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and for anti-Covid vaccine support in the country. The approval from the bank’s board of directors was conveyed by IDB President Dr Muhammad Sulaiman Al-Jasser to Minister for Economic Affairs Omar Ayub Khan at a …