ENG vs PAK series won’t air in Pakistan: Minister

The limited-overs fixtures between Pakistan and England won’t be broadcasted by Pakistan television, federal minister for information Fawad Chaudhry said. The reason behind this is that the Indian companies hold broadcasting rights in South Asia. 

Pakistan will be playing three ODIs and as many T20Is against England in July. “Indian companies hold the rights to broadcast [matches] in South Asia …. and we cannot conduct business with any Indian company,” Chaudhry was quoted as saying by Geo News.

The minister admitted that the Pakistan Cricket Board and PTV will suffer major losses but has also said that the board will approach the ECB and will try to get a solution. 

The Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) has the right to telecast and stream matches played in England.

The two teams will play the first ODI in Cardiff on July 8 while the T20I series will begin on July 16 in Nottingham.

The Pakistan players are presently in Abu Dhabi as the PSL is set to resume on Wednesday (June 9, 2021). The tournament was suspended after there was a rise in Covid-19 cases within the franchise teams. 

While the competition will restart on Wednesday, the final will be played on June 24 which means that the Pakistan players who will be featuring in the limited-overs series against England will take the flight to the UK on June 25.  

Discover more
Top Stories
news

Trent Boult returns for second Test vs Eng, Williamson's injury being monitored: Stead

New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson had sustained an elbow injury during the second Test against England at Lord’s and is now being monitored by the medical team. The decision on Williamson’s availability would be taken on Wednesday (June 9, 2021). Apart from this, spinner Mitchell Santner has been ruled out after he sustained a cut in his left index finger. Fast bowler Trent Boult will be available for the selection for the second encounter scheduled to begin on June 10 in Birmingham. ‘BlackCaps’, the official twitter handle of New Zealand Cricket posted a video of coach Gary Stead who gave the update regarding the same. The Kane Williamson-led side is battling it out against England in a two-match Test series. The first match at Lord’s ended in a draw after rain played spoilsport on one of the days. But both the teams had a lot of positives to take from this game. New Zealand debutant Devon Conway scored a fine double-hundred while pacer Tim Southee scalped a six-for for the side in the first innings. Southee got his name on the Honours board for the second time. For England, it was opener Rory Burns who took on the visitors and notched up a hundred in the first innings. Apart from Burns, Ollie Robinson who was playing his first Test for the English side picked up seven wickets in two innings. But he has been suspended from the second match after his racist and sexist posts resurfaced on social media that he tweeted a few years back when he was a teenager. New Zealand will play the final of the inaugural World Test Championship against India after the conclusion of the on-going Test series. The WTC final will be played in Southampton scheduled to begin on June 18. India will then play a five-match Test series against England in August.

news

Notts Outlaws suffer blow as skipper Dan Christian pulls out on eve of Vitality T20 Blast

Nottinghamshire Outlaws have suffered a major blow to their Vitality T20 Blast campaign as their skipper Daniel Christian has pulled out of the group stage of the tournament after getting selected in the Australia T20 squad for the tour of West Indies. Christian has been the pillar of Notts’s success over the last many years. He began his journey for them in the 2014 edition before taking over the captaincy in the 2016 edition. Since then, he has led the Notts to four out of five finals and championship on two occasions in 2017 and 2020. In his absence, Steven Mullaney will lead the Notts in the T20 Blas scheduled to start tomorrow in Manchester. Nottinghamshire coach Peter Moores conceded Christian’s departure has changed the dynamics of the team ‘late in the day’ but at the same time, he expressed the proud feeling for helping him get back into an ‘as strong a team’ as Australia at the age of 38. "It changes things for us late in the day ahead of the tournament, but first and foremost you can only be really pleased for Dan. To be called up again by a nation as strong as Australia, and for that to come on the back of playing some of the best cricket of his career and at the age of 38, it's a great achievement for him. We're proud, as a club, of the role we have played in that,” Moores said. He commended Christian’s longevity and said that life without him with the Notts will be ‘strange’ after led the side to brilliant performances in the past. However, he put the onus on ‘other players’ to fill in the void created by the all-rounder. "It's going to be strange not having Dan around. He's been here for every Blast campaign since 2015 and he's led the side brilliantly as well, but what it will do is create opportunities for other players to step up." The development has come in the backdrop of Australia selecting backups for the players selected in the original squad for the tour keeping in mind imminent pull out of players due to ‘bubble fatigue.’

news

Star-studded Lahore Qalandars take on in-form Islamabad United to kick off revamped PSL 2021

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is all set to resume in Abu Dhabi from June 9 when Lahore Qalandars take on Islamabad United. The Pakistan Cricket Board has been finally able to restart the tournament after facing a number of issues during the course. The board had earlier decided to hold the remainder of the PSL in Karachi from June 1 with all the matches taking place at one single venue including the final. The title clash was slated to take place on June 20. But the franchises teams requested the PCB to move the PSL out of Pakistan citing the Covid-19 condition in the country. The PCB then faced some problems with the logistics throughout the later half of May and then in the first couple of days in June before the schedule was finally made. There were visa-related issues that came up where the players travelling from Pakistan to Abu Dhabi. The lack of clearances saw the support staff not being able to take the flight to the UAE. But all said and done, the Pakistan board is all set to kick start the PSL again. Islamabad are presently sitting at number three positions with six points and three wins from four matches. Lahore are following them at number four with six points and three wins from the four games that they have played. Both Qalandars and United are coming into this game with a win in their last respective encounters. While Lahore comprehensively defeated Karachi Kings by 6 wickets, Islamabad United thumped Quetta Gladiators by the same margin. Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi and opening batsman Fakhar Zaman played a crucial role in Lahore’s win. Shaheen returned with figures of 3/27 while Zaman struck a 54-ball 83. For Islamabad, it was Paul Stirling’s 56 off 33 and Faheem Ashraf’s 3/11 that handed them easy against Gladiators. Match Details Date: June 9, 2021 (Wednesday) Time: 8:00 PM Local/ 9:30 PM IST Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Weather Report The temperature in the initial part of the game would be around 33 degrees Celsius but it would gradually cool down as the match progressed at night. But there is no chance of rain. Pitch Report The pitch seems to have something for the batsmen. The match can be a high-scoring one but if you win the toss, elect to field first as the track can give a fair bit of advantage to the team batting second. Team News A number overseas players will be missing from the second leg of the PSL due to Covid-19 restrictions and some international fixtures clashing with the tournament. Lahore Qalandars Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan who was picked up by the Lahore franchise will not feature in the PSL as he has opted to be a part of the Dhaka Premier League which began on May 31, 2021. "We have submitted a letter signed by Shakib to CCDM that says he is keen to take part in the competition for us," Tarikul Islam Tito, a top official of MSC told Cricbuzz. "He will not play in the PSL and instead opted to be part of our team in DPL,” he added. Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan had earlier put his County stint on hold to be a part of the remainder of the PSL. Islamabad United South Africa’s Janneman Malan will not play the PSL in Abu Dhabi as the Proteas will be taking on the West Indies during that time. Probable XIs Islamabad United: Colin Munro, Rohail Nazir, Usman Khawaja, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan (captain), Faheem Ashraf, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Muhammad Musa, Ali Khan Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Zeeshan Ashraf, Sohail Akhtar, Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk, Muhammad Zaid Alam, James Faulkner, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Dilbar Hussain Fantasy XI Fakhar Zaman, Asif Ali, Sohail Akhtar, Ben Dunk, Rohail Nazir, Colin Munro, Mohammad Hafeez (C), Shadab Khan (VC), Faheem Ashraf, Hussain Talat, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Ali Khan, Rashid Khan