SPORTS

Pakistan squad for T20 World Cup 2022: Babar Azam and Pakistan Cricket Board selector Muhammad Wasim were trolled on Twitter by the Pakistan cricket team fans on Thursday (September 4) after Men in Green's squad for the T20 World Cup was announced. Fans are upset with selectors opting to drop powerhitter Fakhar Zaman and sticking to leg-spinner Usman Qadir. The good news is the return of Shaheen Shah Afridi to the squad. Afridi had been recovering from knee injury. 

Masood, who captained Derbyshire in the Vitality Blast in England and did outstandingly well in red and white ball formats, replaces Zaman who is out with a knee injury.

Four years ago, the cricket fraternity was stunned with the Sandpaper Gate as Australia banned Steve Smith and David Warner for 12 months after they were found guilty in the ball-tampering scandal during the Cape Town Test against South Africa. In addition to the 12-month ban, Warner was also handed over a lifetime leadership ban by Cricket Australia (CA).

However, Warner has now revealed that there was more to his lifetime leadership ban than just him being a part of the Sandpaper Gate.

Fit-again pacer Jasprit Bumrah has joined death bowling specialist Harshal Patel in India's star-studded squad for the upcoming edition of the ICC World T20 hosted by defending champions Australia. After India's premature exit from the Asia Cup 2022, Rohit Sharma & Co. will hope for a much-improved show at the grandest stages of them all - the World Cup. A day after the conclusion of the continental tournament, the Board of Control for Cricket In India (BCCI) announced the 15-man squad of the Indian men's team for the 2022 World Cup on Monday.

Pacers Bumrah and Harshal had missed the 2022 edition of the Asia Cup due to their respective injuries. While the fast bowling duo has been called up for the T20 World Cup, wicketkeepers Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik have also retained their spots for the showpiece event. Reacting to BCCI's mega announcement for the ICC event, fans and followers of the game were quick to question the ouster of a star batter from the 15-man squad of the 2007 world champions.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam rued mistakes in the batting and fielding department after their loss against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup Final.

Pakistan lost the finals of the Asia Cup at the hands of Sri Lanka in Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, 11 September. Pakistan fell 23 runs short of the 171-run target set by Dasun Shanaka's men, failing to grab the toss advantage and batting second.
Captain Babar Azam spoke about his team's mistakes in the final match and said that only Mohammad Nawaz and Naseem Shah were positives in their campaign.

Australia’s white-ball skipper Aaron Finch has decided to retire from the One Day Internationals after the conclusion of the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand. He will lead the team for one last time on Sunday in the third and the final ODI in Cairns before drawing curtains on his career in the format. However, he will remain captain of the T20 team which is preparing to defend the World Cup title on home soil next month.

Finch’s shocking decision comes after an underwhelming run of scores in ODIs this season. He has managed to muster just 26 runs in his last seven innings. His original plan was to lead the Aussies to the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. In fact, back in 2020, he termed it as his ‘ultimate goal’ after taking up the post of Australia’s ODI captain.

But Finch, in an official statement released on Saturday morning, said it was now time to give a new leader the best possible opportunity to prepare for and win the next ODI World Cup.