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Express Tribune
2 days ago
- Sport
- Express Tribune
Pakistan set for Bangladesh T20I tour in July: report
The Pakistan men's cricket team will tour Bangladesh in July for a three-match T20I series, with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) expected to officially confirm the schedule next week, according to reports. The BCB has reportedly shared a proposed itinerary with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), outlining fixtures on 20, 22 and 24 July. All matches are set to be held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka. This bilateral series falls outside the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Future Tours Programme (FTP) and was arranged following high-level discussions between PCB and BCB officials on the sidelines of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, jointly hosted by Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. Bangladesh, currently led by Litton Das, recently completed a reciprocal tour of Pakistan where they were swept 3–0 in a T20I series. That campaign marked the first assignment for Pakistan's new white-ball head coach Mike Hesson and T20I skipper Salman Ali Agha. Following their matches in Bangladesh, Pakistan will travel to the West Indies for another white-ball assignment. A three-match T20I series is scheduled to begin on 31 July in the United States. Although an ODI leg is tentatively planned, reports suggest that the PCB and Cricket West Indies (CWI) are in talks to replace it with additional T20Is. The change would allow both teams to focus on upcoming T20 tournaments, including the 2025 ACC Men's Asia Cup and the 2026 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. As it stands, the T20Is against the West Indies are scheduled for 31 July, 2 August and 3 August. The proposed ODI series is slated to be held at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad on 8, 10 and 12 August, pending final confirmation. Further details on both tours, including any changes to the fixture list, are expected in the coming weeks.
United News of India
5 days ago
- Sport
- United News of India
Mathews slams shrinking Test calendar for SL
Galle, June 16 (UNI) Veteran all-rounder Angelo Mathews, playing his farewell Test series against Bangladesh at Galle, has voiced deep concern over Sri Lanka's shrinking Test calendar, calling it "quite sad" and urging the global cricketing fraternity to ensure greater equity for nations outside the Big Three. "This is the first time since 2008 that I've played only four Test matches in a year," Mathews told reporters ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh. "It's quite sad. The younger generation is eager to play Test cricket – the pinnacle of the game. We must push for at least ten matches a year." Mathews compared Sri Lanka's schedule with those of England, India, and Australia, who each play upwards of 15 Tests annually. "Why can't we play as many? We've won World Cups, produced legends, and contributed richly to cricket. We deserve the same opportunities." His remarks have reignited debate around the structure of the ICC's Future Tours Programme (FTP), which many feel is skewed in favour of a few dominant nations. Mathews' comments resonate with growing calls from former players and administrators to democratise Test cricket. Speaking emotionally during his final appearance in whites, the 37-year-old also paid tribute to his parents when asked who his heroes were. "My heroes are my parents. I know the struggle they went through to raise me and my siblings. I learned so much from them about life. They are the reason I'm here." Mathews, who began his international journey as a promising all-rounder in 2008, acknowledged the physical toll of playing across all formats. "Until about 2015, I played all formats and didn't manage my workload well – especially as captain. I gave everything to win every game, and it eventually took a toll on my body. But I have no regrets. I gave my best for my country." As Sri Lanka looks to transition into a new era, Mathews' farewell has not only stirred emotion but also sparked a critical conversation about the future of Test cricket in the island nation. UNI BDN RN
Express Tribune
04-06-2025
- General
- Express Tribune
Aus confirm Pakistan tour in 2026
Cricket Australia (CA) is gearing up for a white-ball series tour to Pakistan, scheduled for early next year, signaling a positive step towards strengthening cricketing ties between the two nations. During an online press conference, CA CEO Todd Greenberg conveyed his positive outlook on the upcoming tour, emphasising the significance of the series against Pakistan and the ongoing collaboration between the two cricket boards. "I believe it will be another good tour of Pakistan. The series against Pakistan is an important part of our schedule. There has been good communication between Pakistan and Australia regarding both red-ball and white-ball series," Greenberg said. "We need to look for more opportunities for series, which we will definitely do," he added. Looking back on the 2022 tour, Greenberg expressed enthusiasm about future matches in Pakistan. "We would like to play a series in Pakistan. In 2022, we toured Pakistan after a long gap, and the tour was very successful. The Australian team received a warm welcome. It would be great if such series continue to happen." Greenberg emphasised the league's commitment to bringing in talent from Pakistan, recognising the popularity of Pakistani players among fans, and explained the mutual benefits of such participation. "There is no doubt that Pakistani players are very popular within the community. Our effort is to attract players from all over the world for the BBL," he said. "If leading Pakistani players come, they will definitely enjoy it here. The league will benefit greatly from these top players for their teams and franchises," he added. Regarding player participation, Greenberg confirmed, "I hope we will definitely attract some players for the next edition of the BBL." It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan last toured Australia in November 2024 for a white-ball series. Under Mohammad Rizwan's captaincy, the Men in Green secured a historic 2-1 victory in the ODI series - their first series win in Australia since 2002. However, Australia bounced back strongly, winning the subsequent T20I series 3-0. For the unversed, according to the Future Tours Programme (FTP) for 202527, Australia are expected to tour Pakistan for a white-ball series featuring three ODIs and three T20Is in FebruaryMarch. White-ball camp The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has summoned 22 top white-ball performers for a camp, including the senior trio of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi on Monday. According to the details, the shortlisted 22 players will report for the camp here in three groups, scheduled to be held on June 3, 4 and 5 respectively. During the camp, the PCB will inform the players about the future course of action, while their fitness and respective performances will also be analysed. Sources further suggested that senior players will participate in all three training sessions, which will also feature the top performers of the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10. Furthermore, Pakistan's white-ball head coach Mike Hesson will meet with top performers and will update them regarding the future course of action. Players called up for training camp: Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shahid Aziz, Abbas Afridi, Salman Mirza, Mir Hamza, Abdullah Shafique, Khawaja Nafay, Haider Ali, Ahmed Daniyal, Mehran Mumtaz, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Nawaz, Aamir Jamal, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Ali Raza and Tayyab Tahir. For the unversed, Pakistan's white-ball entered a new era under the leadership of former New Zealand head coach Hesson. The 50-year-old had an ideal start to his tenure as the green shirts registered a 3-0 T20I series whitewash against Bangladesh, which also marked their first series triumph at home since December 2021. Following the drought-ending series victory over Bangladesh, Pakistan are scheduled for a brief break before touring back to Bangladesh next month for a potential three-match T20I series.
Daily Maverick
03-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Maverick
Temba Bavuma leads Proteas in essential warm-up match against Zimbabwe before WTC showdown
South Africa will play their first Test match in five months this week as they prepare for the World Test Championship final against their neighbours. The Proteas face Zimbabwe in a four-day one-off Test match from 3 June 2025 in Sussex, England, which will serve as a warm-up match for their World Test Championship (WTC) contest against Australia next week. The warm-up match was squeezed in retrospectively, and not on the Future Tours Programme as a means for players to shake off their rust before the big showdown at Lord's Cricket Ground from 11 June. The last time the Proteas donned all white and ran out for a Test match was when they beat Pakistan by 10 wickets in the New Year's Test at Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town. Since then there has been a white-ball focus, first with the SA20, then South Africa flying over to Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates to play in the Champions Trophy in February at the start of March, before the Indian Premier League (IPL) got under way shortly after. Solid run A few of South Africa's WTC squad members had a solid run at the IPL, displaying some of their best form. Among them were Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Tristan Stubbs and Ryan Rickelton. Other members like Kagiso Rabada, Corbin Bosch and Lungi Ngidi played more sporadically for their sides in the T20 competition, due to various reasons. The rest of South Africa's WTC squad have played very little cricket across the last few months, this warm-up match is especially important for them. Skipper Temba Bavuma, for example, last took to the field in a competitive match in the Proteas' Champions Trophy defeat to New Zealand at the semi-final stage at the start of March. Although the captain was set to play two first-class matches for the Lions towards the back end of the domestic season, a recurring elbow injury kept him sidelined at the time. Left-arm orthodox Keshav Maharaj played two 50-over matches for the Dolphins in March and as well as a first-class match, in which he tweaked his groin and has not played a professional cricket match since. Tony de Zorzi and Senuran Muthusamy are in a similar position, having played a few first-class matches before enjoying an extended break away from the oval field. Kyle Verreynne, David Bedingham and Dane Paterson meanwhile have been busy since the end of the South African summer, playing for various teams in the UK in the County Championship. Zimbabwe prep For neighbours Zimbabwe, it's their second hit-out in England after suffering an innings-and-45-run defeat, within three days, of another four-day Test against the hosts. Zimbabwe's performance thus raises the question of the quality of preparation South Africa will receive outside of just getting some of the rust off. The wicket at Trent Bridge on that occasion, against England, was placid with the hosts setting a massive first-innings total of 565 for six — with their top three all registering centuries — before captain Ben Stokes declared. England then bowled Zimbabwe out twice in less than two days for 265 and 255. Brian Bennett scored a century in the first innings, and there were contributions by Sean Williams and Sikandar Raza, but nothing that should realistically challenge the WTC finalists too much. With the ball, fast-bowler Blessing Muzarabani went on a bit of a tear — collecting three-wickets — right before Stokes declared. Hampering Zimbabwe's strength even further is the fact that Raza and Muzarabani are unavailable for the warm-up clash at Arundel Castle Cricket Ground in Sussex. Nonetheless, South Africa's warm-up match is more than the preparation Australia will have for the WTC final. The last time their Test team played together was at the start of February when they beat Sri Lanka and sealed their qualification for the final. Australia have no warm-up matches scheduled and, barring their players currently in the County Championship in England, they are just as likely to be undercooked. DM
Time of India
02-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
IPL chairman Arun Dhumal wants cricket to revolve around its big star
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel Mumbai: It may be time for the International Cricket Council (ICC) to rethink its calendar and give T20 leagues precedence over bilateral series , which are losing steam with fans and sponsors alike, Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Arun Dhumal has said."Cricket is shifting its flavour towards franchise-based formats. If that is the case, we have to prepare ourselves for that situation," Dhumal told ET in an interaction. "So, if that has to happen, the entire scheduling needs to be aligned around these T20 leagues-be it the IPL, Big Bash League, The Hundred, SA20, MLC, or ILT20. At some point, we may need to sit around the table with all stakeholders and decide what should be prioritised."The T20 format has not only reignited interest in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and Test matches but has also played a key role in expanding cricket's footprint to emerging markets such as the United States and Europe, Dhumal noted."Based on what weather conditions work best for each country, you schedule your leagues accordingly and then plan the bilateral series around them," he the International Cricket Council's (ICC) Future Tours Programme (FTP) is structured around bilateral Tests, ODIs, and ICC events, with the IPL being the only T20 league to have a dedicated are multiple T20 leagues including Australia's Big Bash League, South Africa's SA20, the England and Wales Cricket Board's The Hundred, the UAE's International League T20, and the Caribbean Premier League. Most of these leagues are inspired by the IPL and have IPL team owners-such as Reliance , GMR, and Sun TV Network-owning teams."The IPL is the number one 'Make in India' property post-Independence," Dhumal Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which owns the IPL, sold the league's media rights for ₹48,390 crore for 2023-27 proposed expansion of IPL to an 84-match format will depend on the availability of a suitable window in the international calendar, Dhumal said. For IPL 2025, the tournament has retained the 74-match format to manage player workload and accommodate a packed FTP schedule."There is no point in adding new teams to the IPL when we are not yet able to optimise the existing structure with 10 teams," he to Dhumal, IPL's current April-May window is becoming tricky to manage due to shifting weather patterns-the Southwest monsoon arrived almost two weeks early this year. But advancing the event is also challenging as the FTP has been finalised until 2027 and media rights deals have already been signed based on that is the driver of the global cricket economy, with the ICC generating over 70% of its revenue from the Indian IPL chairman noted that other ICC member boards are struggling to sell media rights for bilateral series and have been requesting the BCCI to play such series to help boost their said IPL viewership continues to remain strong on TV and digital platforms, despite a one-week suspension caused by the India-Pakistan conflict, which disrupted the tournament's momentum.
