.jpg?im=Resize,height=373 "'He Is Playing On Friendship Quota' Usman Qadir Shuts Babar Azam's Critiques")
'He Is Playing On Friendship Quota' Usman Qadir Shuts Babar Azam's Critiques
Pakistan's Leg-Spinner Usman Qadir Accuses Babar Azam, PCB For Dirty Politics
.jpg?im=Resize,height=373 "Babar Azam, Sarfaraz Ahmed Get Nod From PCB To Attend Imam-Ul-Haq & Amnol Mehmood's Wedding")
Babar Azam, Sarfaraz Ahmed Get Nod From PCB To Attend Imam-Ul-Haq & Amnol Mehmood's Wedding
Gilkes' 74* makes the clash lopsided against Renegades
Matthew Gilkes batted at a whole different pitch as his 55-ball 74* helped Sydney Thunder beat Melbourne Renegades.
Usman Qadir joins Sydney Thunder for the Big Bash League 2022-23
In 23 T20Is, Qadir has scalped 29 wickets at an impressive strike rate of 14.07.
Usman Qadir starts bowling in nets after recovering from thumb injury
Qadir had damaged his thumb while executing a magnificent catch of Alex Hales during the England T20Is on home soil.
T20 World Cup 2022: Fakhar Zaman replaces Usman Qadir in Pakistan squad
Fakhar Zaman who was dropped from the Pakistan squad for the T20 World Cup 2022
PAK vs ENG, 2nd T20I: Preview, Key Stats and Cricket Exchange Fantasy Tips
England outclassed Pakistan in all three departments, handing them a crushing six-wicket defeat in the first T20I.
PAK vs ENG: Hales, Wood inspire England to a comprehensive victory
England secured a six-wicket victory over Pakistan in the first fixture of the T20I series against Pakistan on Tuesday (20 September) at Karachi.
Late Abdul Qadir inducted into PCB Hall of Fame
Over a 13-year Test career, he picked up 236 wickets at an average of 32.80, including a nine-for against England. He also has 132 ODI wickets to his name.
CPL 2021 | Team Preview: Will change in captaincy and name push St Lucia to the title this time?
The St. Lucia franchise changed its name from St. Lucia Zouks to St. Lucia Kings in June this year, to be more in line with its sister IPL franchise Punjab Kings. The Punjab franchise had to change its name prior to the 2021 season of the Indian Premier League. And how incidental or weird it would be that even before Punjab Kings could have their outcome of a name change in terms of change in fortune, St. Lucia Kings would have already had theirs, thanks to the rescheduling of the IPL. This year, it would be the first time in the team’s history that DarenSmmy wouldn’t be leading them and South Africa’s Faf du Plessis has been named skipper. du Plessis was also named skipper of The Hundred franchise Northern Superchargers, but couldn’t recover in time from the concussion that he encountered during PSL 2021, to play for the Superchargers. It would be interesting to see if he plays in the CPL and how. St. Lucia Kings Squad Rahkeem Cornwall, Keemo Paul, Andre Fletcher, Kesrick Williams, Obed McCoy, Mark Deyal, Roston Chase, Javelle Glen, Keron Cottoy, Jeavor Royal, Kadeem Alleyne, Alzarri Joseph Overseas: Faf du Plessis (c), Samit Patel, Wahab Riaz, Usman Qadir, Tim David Head Coach: Andy Flower, Team Mentor: Daren Sammy Bowling the best bet for Kings to go all the way The Kings in the display have the likes of Wahab Riaz, Obed McCoy and Kesrick Williams as three of the suited t20 bowlers in the ranks who with their pace and the change of it can work any batting line-up up. Wahab has tons of experience in T20 cricket, so much so that he has played for 45 different clubs in his 16 years and 281 matches old career where he has picked up 338 wickets. Williams on the other end has been part of the CPL for a long time has played 100 T20s, giving a glance as to what can be expected from him. Along with his signature celebration, he has 129 wickets which means he is mostly trusted with the ball in the teams that he plays. McCoy is young but highly impactful with the change of pace and he has shown that in the series against South Africa and Australia that West Indies played recently. In fact, he picked 14 wickets in his last matches. Others in the pace battery include two more West Indian quicks who can bat as well in the form of Keemo Paul, Alzarri Joseph. They are such players who can win games at least once in the season with sheer ability on their day. Along with pace, the spin department is bustling with talent as well. While Samit Patel and Sman Qadir are established T20 names, it is the local talent in the form of Rahkeem Cornwall, Javelle Glen and Roston Chase along with newbie Jeavor Royal that makes it a hell of an attack. With so many options to choose from, it is really going to be a hard time for skipper du Plessis to chose his bowling attack. Batting is a weak link While there is no dearth of options in terms of bowling, the batting unit of the Kings looks comparatively weaker. They have the experience of du Plessis and all-rounder, Patel and also the good form of Tim David. But apart from that, there is not a single player who could be trusted to play according to the situation. Andre Fletcher, the Spiceman can no doubt kick some storm on his day, but he has his days in one out of six-seven games and this tournament isn’t that long that Kings could afford for him to keep on misfiring. Will Roston Chase be able to score quickly is another question because it takes time for both Samit Patel and Faf to settle down as well and a team can’t afford to have three similar batters in the XI. Others who can bat include Keron Cottoy, Mark Deyal and Kadeem Alleyne. There isn’t much evidence to prove that these batters could bat the team out in crucial situations. Mark Deyal at the top could be handy no doubt. The magic combination that could win them the title The team finished second last season and what worked the most in their favour was their bowling and the captaincy of Daren Sammy. The main bowler, Scott Kugglein is no more part of the Kings and Daren Sammy is not the captain either, although he would still remain in the dugout. But as they say, every season can’t be the same. Hence, the cocktail that could work for Kings this season is Tim David and Samit Patel’s big-hitting combined with the anchor batting of skipper Faf du Plessis at the top and Fletcher being given free hand to play as he wishes. If this is done in batting and Usman Qadir and Cornwall are able to weave their magic with the ball, then the pace trio of McCoy, Williams and Joseph could be risked in all games. Can they win it? With the side that they have got, the best finish for them could be nothing less than the title. They have an anchor in the batting in form of du Plessis, an aggressor in Fletcher, a middle-order stabiliser in Patel and a finisher in David. In bowling, they have more than a decent off-spinner in Cornwall and a supremely talented leg spinner in the form of Usman Qadir to go with a master of change of pace in McCoy. If you can’t win with a team as good as this, it would be hard to win with any other as well. Probable Playing XI Faf du Plessis (c), Andre Fletcher (wk), Mark Deyal, Roston Chase, Samit Patel, Tim David, Alzarri Joseph, Rahkeem Cornwall, Usman Qadir, Kesrick Williams, Obed McCoy
Wish you played for Pakistan: How Usman’s last conversation with father Abdul Qadir changed it all
When Usman Qadir was doing exceedingly well in Australia for Western Australia and Perth Scorchers in domestic cricket and Big Bash League, so much so that he went on to represent Prime Minister’s XI against touring South Africa, his aim was to represent Australia by 2020 World Cup. This was in 2018. Cut to 2019 and Usman is taking to his father on a regular day. “One day, I was sitting with my dad and he was saying: ‘I know you are playing in Australia at the moment but my wish was that you play for Pakistan and have a star on your chest – it’s a dream for me.’,” Qadir was quoted as saying to Wisden. This conversation would have passed like many other had in September 2019, Abdul Qadir not suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away in Lahore at the age of 63. Usman was devastated, but his father’s sentences kept ringing in his mind. His goals suddenly changed. “What he said to me stuck in my head. I can’t tell you about that feeling,” said the 27-year-old. The leggie started putting in more hard work because he wanted to play for Pakistan. Results followed as only a month on from the loss of his father, Usman featured for Central Punjab in the National T20 Cup and good performances and an experience of Australian cricket made sure that he was selected in Pakistan’s T20I squad for a tour of Australia. However, it was not until November 2020 that Qadir finally got a shot at international cricket. In the home series of three T20Is against Zimbabwe, Usman picked eight wickets and was named Player of the Series, finally realising his father’s much-cherished dream. Usman says, “My father didn’t tell me to bowl leg-spin, nobody told me. It’s a natural thing I have in my blood. But he did want me to play for Pakistan.” Having fulfilled his father’s dreams, the Lahore born, who would be turning 28 in a few months time has now set his own goals. “My major goal is to play three World Cups in a row. This is my ambition. Inshallah, if I work hard, I will make it.” While his father is one of the most celebrated Test cricketers in Pakistan with 236 wickets from 67 Tests, how much would Usman get, is yet to be seen?
PSL 2021 | MS vs ISU: In dress rehearsal before the Qualifier, Islamabad hand Multan its first defeat in Abu Dhabi leg
Islamabad United defeated Multan Sultans by four wickets to end the league stage of the Pakistan Super League 2021. With this win, United ended up with eight wins from 10 games and earned 16 points from the possible 20 to top the points table. Sultans on the other hand suffered their first defeat of the Abu Dhabi leg of the tournament, having won four games in a row to qualify for the Playoffs. The match went up to the last over thanks to some lethargic approach by both the teams. Chasing a modest total of 150 to win the game, United got off to go a start as the new openers Umar Amin and the wicketkeeper-batsman Muhammad Akhlaq added 39 for the first wicket before the latter was removed by Larkana express Shahnawaz Dhani. The highest wicket-taker in the tournament so far, Dhani also picked up the wicket of Amin in his next over. United skipper Shadab Khan finally found some form as he hit 35 off 27 balls to get the team closer to the total. He was removed from Muhammad Umar, who was playing just his second game of the season. Asif Ali and Hussain Talat then got the men in red near the target just before a mini-collapse unfolded to create some drama at the end. When Sultans needed less than run a ball, Brandon King was removed by a ripper of a top spinner by Usman Qadir, who was playing his first game of the Abu Dhabi leg. Before that Qadir had already removed Asif Ali. In the last over, with four to defend, Blessing Muzarabani was called in by Mohammad Rizwan. According to the set plan, Muzarabani bowled bouncer and Talat top-edged to deep fine leg where Dhani pulled a blinder of a catch to set the Sultans dug out on fire and made them stand and applaud his fielding. However, Iftikhar Ahmed completed the three required runs even as a leg before the wicket appeal was made and rejected on the last delivery as Ahmed and Mohammad Wasim Jr. scampered through for the winning run. Reacting to the win, United skipper Shadab praised his rookie bowler Wasim Jr. for a great performance. “It was his (Wasim) effort that has paid dividends. He wanted to prove himself and I just backed him,” he said. Talking about the challenge of facing Multan once again in the Qualifiers, he said, “ They are a tough team, they are in good form and it's about who handles pressure better. We'll try to ensure that we do the simple things right.” Earlier in the evening, Multan Sultans were invited to bat after losing the toss. Both teams, secured of a 1-2 finish at the points table, chose to test their bench strength. Multan, after a steady start by openers Shan Masood and Rizwan, faltered in the later phase of the innings. Even after Masood’s 59, the Sultans could manage only 149 as they got bundled out in 20 overs. Wasim Jr. was at his very best for United, finishing up with 4-31 in his four overs spell and then going on to win the Man of the Match award. Reacting after the loss, Multan skipper Rizwan said, “I am happy with the effort as we kept fighting till the end and that's the kind of quality we expect from the team. Hopefully, we can beat them in the next game.” Courtesy finishing second on the points table, Rizwan and his team would indeed meet United in the very next game, which would be the Qualifier of the tournament and will be played on June 21 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Luke Jongwe’s all-round effort goes in vain as Rizwan, Qadir shine in Pakistan victory
Pakistan continued from what they had left in South Africa as they started their Zimbabwe tour with a win in the first of the three T20Is at Harare Sports Club. Riding on vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan’s unbeaten 82 off 61 balls, the bowlers put in a resurgent effort to avoid a defeat at the hands of the opponent against whom they have not lost a single T20I game in their 14 meetings. Usman Qadir was the pick of the bowlers for the men in green with his match-winning efforts of 3-22. Zimbabwe started their chase of a modest 150 on a positive note with openers scoring 20 runs in the first two overs. But the opening stand couldn’t flourish much as speedster Mohammad Hasnain got Wesely Madhevere caught by skipper Babar Azam. Debutant Tadiwanashe Marumani followed suit on the very next ball, with Babar and Hasnain repeating bot their efforts. Craig Ervine, who was making his comeback into the side then got into a partnership with opener Tinashe Kamunhukamwe and added 56 runs in 48 balls. Veteran Mohammad Hafeez broke the partnership with his part-time off-spin by removing Kamunhukamwe. Qadir removed Ervine in the very next over and the chase got difficult for the Zimbabweans, even though skipper Sean Williams and all-rounder Ryan burl were present at the crease. Haris Rauf and Qadir then paired up to remove skipper Williams and wicket-keeper batsman Regis Chakabva to put the Chevrons in all sorts of bother at 95-6 at the end of the 14th over. With 55 required from the last six, Luke Jongwe, who had bowled brilliantly joined Burl and the two took the scorecard to 122. But with Burl getting removed from the last ball of the 18th, it was too much to do for Jongwe with 28 needed from the last two and no player with batting credentials to accompany him. In the end, the Zimbabwe team could only manage to get to 138, eventually losing the game by 11 runs. Earlier in the day, Zimbabwe had won the toss and sent in Pakistan to bat first. The Men in Green didn’t have a good start as Word no. 2 T20I batsmen and Babar was removed easily by Blessing Muzarabani. No one other than Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman and Danis Aziz entered the double figures for Pakistan even as the team got to 149. Hadn’t it been for Rizwan’s 5th T20I fifty, Pakistan were looking down the barrel without much hope. The two teams would now face each other in the second game on April 23 at the same venue.