"He does pack a powerful punch": Faf du Plessis credits Quetta compatriot, Pakistan select Azam Khan

Quetta Gladiators middle-order batsman Azam Khan recently received his maiden Pakistan call up when he was named into the T20I squads for the England and West indies tour of the men in green. And now, he has earned a high amount of praise from his teammate at the Quetta Gladiators and former South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis, who has rated him as one of the powerful hitters going around in the Pakistan Super League.

“Yeah, he is a good hitter. I haven’t seen much of him be honest, but he got a fifty in near the end of the Karachi leg, and he does packs punch with a lot of physical power,” du Plessis said about the 22-year-old from Sindh. “He can tonk the ball long and it is interesting to see what he does in this last leg of the tournament,” added du Plessis who expects a refreshed and happy Azam to deliver for his side.

Talking about realistic chances of three-time finalists and 2019 PSL winner, the Gladiators making to the Playoffs this season, du Plessis said: “In the last leg, we never really played that well with bat and ball together in one game. Now there are new players in all of the franchises due to various circumstance and it means almost a new competition in UAE. So we can try and play together and better.”

The Gladiators, currently sitting at the bottom of the points table with just one win in five games, would play Islamabad United in their first game of the Abu Dhabi leg on June 11 at the Shiekh Zayed Stadium.

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PSL 6 | Between Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni : Faf du Plessis analyses Sarfaraz Ahmed’s captaincy

Former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis believes that while all leaders are different and there is not any correct style of captaincy, said that former India skipper MS Dhoni and former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, both of who are his captains in PSL and IPL respectively are the exact opposites of each other. In fact, he likened Srafaraz to seem more like current Indian skipper Virat Kohli. “MS Dhoni and MS is really quiet and reserved and does most of the things instinctively on the field,” du Plessis said about his Chennai Super Kings captain in an interview to a Pakistani Youtube channel, Cricket Pakistan. “Sarfaraz is the exact opposite and almost like Virat in a sense that he is always talking to the players, always talking to the bowlers and always very passionate about he leads his team,” he added about his Quetta gladiators skipper. The 36-year-old would be turning out very soon in PSL’s Abu Dhabi leg of its sixth edition. The right-handed batsman, who himself is one of the most successful Test captains that South Africa has seen, likes working under different leaders so that he can pick their brains. “There is no right or wrong way, these are two different styles,” said du Plessis about Dhoni and Srafaraz’s captaincy styles. “I enjoy working under different captains just to see how they operate because even I am very passionate about leadership myself. Whenever they ask, I offer my inputs as well,” added the newly appointed captain of Caribbean Premier League team St. Lucia Zouks.

Amir is a valuable player for us: PCB CEO looks for course correction

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) CEO Wasim Khan has hinted that left-arm pacer Mohammad Amir who had hung his boots from international cricket in December 2020 as he was "mentally tortured" by the team managementmight return back to the national side. "I also made it clear to him that the path he adopted was not right as a senior player," he said on the Cricket Baaz channel on YouTube. "I think Amir is a valuable player for us even now and we will now make efforts to bring about rapprochement between him and the coaches." Earlier, captain Babar Azam had also stated that he is ready to speak to the fast bowler and discuss his issues. "When we talk, we'll discuss what his issues [with the national side] are," Azam said. "He's one of the best left-arm bowlers and I really admire him. The way he's performed in the PSL so far, I just hope he performs the same way again, and that's what we are focused on so far." Amir was one of the three players apart from Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif who was banned from international cricket for being involved in a spot-fixing scandal in England in 2010. While Butt and Asif were banned for ten years and seven years respectively, Amir was slapped with a five-year ban. Amir had played 36 Test matches for Pakistan picking up 119 wickets during the course while was capped 61 times in ODIs and 50 times in T20Is respectively before retiring.

WTC final | Ajit Agarkar picks Bumrah, Ishant, Shami as certainties, doesn't rule out 4th seamer

Former Indian pacer Ajit Agarkar has said that India will certainly play the trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma as the three pacers in the playing XI for the World Test Championship against India. "The seamers will play a part and India has got as formidable an attack as any in the world. I think that's been their strength over the last few years. Whether it is a Bumrah, Shami - the No.1 bowler for me for a Test line-up for India and Ishant Sharma, he has gotten better over his career as he has played," Agarkar told Star Sports. He also said that the number of pacers in the playing XI can only increase if India will be presented with a green surface in Southampton for the big clash against New Zealand. He cited a lack of clarity on the likely conditions but said that a dry pitch is unimaginable in the month of June in England for the WTC final. Also, he said that the Duke balls will enable bowlers with some sort of assistance all the time and hence a fourth seamer can’t be a far-fetched possibility. "So, those three certainly will start and if it is a green seaming wicket, you might see a fourth one for all you know. We still don't know what the conditions are likely to be but we presume in England, with the Dukes ball in particular, there will always be help for the seam bowlers. You can't imagine a pitch being very dry in mid-June," he added. India have Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur as backup seamers behind the trio Agarkar picked in his first-choice pace attack. The World Test Championship final will be played from June 18 and the challenge is likely to a stiff one for the Virat Kohli-led side against a New Zealand bowling attacks that is comprised of Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson and Neil Wagner.

World T20 set to move out of India

The World T20 which was slated to take place later this year in India is set to be shifted to the UAE and Oman due to the Covid-19 situation in the country. The BCCI had intimated ICC internally about the same. While the UAE has been the first choice, the capital city of Oman, Muscat has been a new addition to the list of venues which also includes Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah. "Yes, the BCCI, during the ICC board meeting, has formally asked for a four-week window to take a final call but, internally, they have said that they would like to keep the hosting rights and wouldn't mind the tournament being held in UAE and Oman," a senior board official, privy to ICC board developments, told PTI on the condition of anonymity. The source further added that if the IPL is concluded by October 10 then the UAE leg can go ahead in November. "If IPL finishes by October 10, then the UAE leg of World T20 can start off in November which would give three weeks' time to the pitches to be spruced up for the global event. In the meanwhile, the first week can be held in Oman," he said. The IPL 2021 which was earlier suspended on May 4 after there were instances of Covid-19 cases within the franchise teams has now moved to the UAE. The schedule of the tournament, which would take place in September-October is yet to be announced.