Azhar Mahmood Appointed As Pakistan Head Coach For T20I Series Vs New Zealand
Assistant coach Azhar Mahmood expects County champions to ascend even further
Surrey's interim assistant coach shares his insightful tactics that changed Overton
#OTD in 2000: Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja featured in their last match for India
On this day in 2000, the finest Indian cricketers, Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja made their final appearance for India in International Cricket.
Inspiration for many: Pakistani cricketers to Virat Kohliâs resignation as Test captain
The sudden resignation of Virat Kohli as India Test captain has triggered some very emotional reactions among the fans and the cricketing fraternity in India. But as the day passed, it came to light that it wasnât just India, but even the cricketers from across the border in Pakistan also felt that it is almost the end of an era as far as test captaincy is concerned. Ahmed Shehzad, one of the Pakistani batters, who was touted to be the Kohli of that country and whose looks were always compared to the Indian captain said that Kohli was one of the great ambassadors of the game as a skipper. Along with Shehzad, young pacer Naseem Shah also expressed his love for the Indian captain and called him an inspiration. Among the former cricketers from the nation of the great fast bowlers, Azhar Mahmood, who also played in the Indian Premier League against Virat Kohli and was part of the Pakistan support staff during the Champions Trophy of 2017 where Virat Kohli led India lost in the final to Pakistan, also expressed his admiration towards the outgoing India captain. Rashid Latif, former wicket-keeper batter of Pakistan and a keen observer of Indian cricket shared a video that was indicative that nobody stopped Kohli from resigning.
I see myself as an all-rounder: Hasan Ali wants to reach the levels of Wasim Akram, Abdul Razzaq
Pakistani quick bowler and more than a handy lower-order batter, Hasan Ali wants to emulate great Pakistani all-rounders like Wasim Akarma, Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood. The 27-year-old believes that he can contribute to the team with the bat as well and is putting hard yards in the nets to learn various aspects of power hitting. "I want to see myself as an all-rounder in all three formats and I am putting in extra yards in the nets. I am inspired by Wasim Akram, Abdul Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood and want to contribute in crucial times for my team," Hasan was quoted as saying by cricket.com "I usually get to bat in death overs in T20Is and the only option I have at that point is to hit the ball hard. I am working to improve my power-hitting in the practice sessions and learning how to score more and more runs against Yorkers, bouncers and slower deliveries,â the right-handed batter and right-arm pacer added. Having done better than most of his other teammates in England where he picked up a five-for in the ODIs and also hit 31 off just 17 balls in an innings, Hasan believes that whenever he takes the field he gives his 100% no matter what. âI believe in giving everything for the team once I step on the field whether it is by taking a wicket or hitting the ball out of the park,â he said ahead of the start of the four-match T20I series against West Indies which begins with the first T20 on Wednesday, July 28 at Kensington Oval, Barbados.
PSL 2021 | Final: It's like we've found a new Shoaib Akhtar; Azhar Mahmood canât praise Dahani enough
Multan Sultans made it to their first-ever Final in their fourth season in Pakistan Super League, having played their first in 2018. And in their very first attempt, the team managed to win the tournament and that too by a huge margin of 47 runs against four-time finalists and one-time winner Peshawar Zalmi. Shahnawaz Dahani with the ball and Sohaib Maqsood with the bat were two real finds of the tournament for the green brigade as other more experienced players like skipper Mohammad Rizwan, Sohai Tanvir, Imran Tahir and Rilee Rossouw too chipped in with their contributions. After the victory, the players and support staff couldnât hold themselves back and fully expressed the winning feeling. In fact, the 23-year-old Dahani was the centre of attraction as the Multan bowling coach and former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood compared him to one of Pakistanâs most lethal bowlers, but equally attractive personalities, Shoaib Akhtar. Describing Dahani at the post-match interview, Azhar said, âHe is always smiling, whether he's been hit or not. The whole team lights up by his reactions. He is chirpy and always in a good mood, It's almost like we've found a new Shoaib Akhtar.â Talking about the bowling abilities of the Larkana born, Azhar said, âThis is just a start for him, we'll work on his outswingers, on his inswinger. There are things that I will write down in a report and send to the Pakistan bowling coach for better management of Dahani.â The bowler who was awarded the Best Emerging Player and Best bowler award for picking up the highest wickets in the tournament (20), has been picked in the Pakistan squad for the tour of England and the West Indies. Multan skipper Rizwan was excited about the victory and credited the âMighty Allahâ for providing strength to his entire team to fight it through after being at the bottom at the start of the Abu Dhabi leg. âFinals are pressure games - you can't avoid that in the final. We discussed that and brought it down to two things - it would either be the pressure of batting first or batting second,â he said about the preparation of the team ahead of this all-important game. The 29-year-old praised his bowlers and also credited the management to allow him the freedom to trust his players and play his team. âWhen you go for the win, you need to ignore the noise (criticism of team selection). With Maqsood we felt he wasn't getting enough of a hit and then we decided to push him up and it's paid off. And our bowlers have been fantastic throughout.â Sohaib Maqsood, who was drafted into the Pakistan team for his brilliant performances earlier in the morning as replacement of Haider Ali, after the latter was thrown out of the team for disciplinary reasons, played an amazing knock to bag Man of the Match and Man of the Series award at the tournament. The Multan born was happy with the victory and credited a good domestic season and his team management for the success. âI got a lot of confidence from the domestic season. In the PSL I hadn't established myself, but the management showed faith in me and sent me up the order. It all started falling in place particularly when I started batting No. 3, which helped turn things around,â said Maqsood. The 34-year-old, who gave up red-ball cricket to focus on his white-ball skills was thrilled by the National call up but said that would focus on his fearless cricket approach rather than changing anything. âI don't want to do anything different - if I get a chance, I'll play with the same kind of mindset and aggression,â he said. Before the presentation ceremony, the likes of Blessing Muzarabani, Tahir, Dhani and Rossouw thanked the management for all their efforts and faith shown in the team. Tahir had special words reserved for his family whom he was seeing after more than a month. âMy family is here and all the celebrations, the sprinting was mostly for them. I want to tell my son that if he wants to play, he would have to play like a champion,â said the leg spinner.