Author: Newsdesk

Veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik has been left out of the Pakistan squad for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against Zimbabwe beginning October 30.

Pakistan has not played ODIs since the home series against Sri Lanka 12 months ago. The three-match ODI series in Rawalpindi – to be played on October 30, November 1 and 3 – will be part of World Cup Super League from which the seven top-ranked sides, apart from hosts India, will qualify directly for the 2023 World Cup.

Malik, who was player of the final in National T20 Cup on Sunday evening, has made way for Abdullah Shafiq, while Rohail Nazir has been named as Mohammad Rizwan’s back-up wicketkeeper. Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was part of the squad for the England tour, has been encouraged to feature in the first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, starting October 25, so that he rediscovers better form ahead of the New Zealand tour, stated Pakistan Cricket Board in a media release.

“Seniors like Shoaib Malik and Sarfaraz Ahmed have not been picked for this series, but I want to categorically state that their careers are not over by any means as performance remains the only criterion for selection,” Pakistan head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq said.

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“These are strategic decisions as Shoaib’s absence will provide players like Abdullah Shafiq, Haider Ali and Khushdil Shah better chances of featuring in the upcoming matches,” he added.

The probables will assemble in Lahore on October 21 for COVID-19 testing and after observing a five-day isolation period, during which they will play two 50-over matches at the Gaddafi Stadium, will travel to Rawalpindi on October 26.

The probables for three T20Is – to be played on November 7, 8 and 10 – will be shortlisted after the ODIs and players unlikely to feature in them will be advised to play in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy third round matches, which will commence from 6 November.

Pakistan probables for ODIs and T20Is: Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Abid Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan, Musa Khan, Rohail Nazir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir, Wahab Riaz and Zafar Gohar.

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While MS Dhoni was the regular wicketkeeper-batsman for the Indian team for many years, there was another wicketkeeper-batsman who was making the right strides with his impactful performances – Dinesh Karthik.

“I think throughout my career there’s one thing that’s for sure – it was the fact that there was a lot of pressure whenever I played games. Just the fact that I had to be a part of the side I had to be something, it had to be something special. I just couldn’t do ordinary stuff and be a part of the side because there was an enigma named MS Dhoni around,” said Karthik while speaking with Saurav Ghosal on ‘Finish Line’.

“So when you have a player like that around, you have to seize the moments with something special. At times I seized it and at times I did not hence life is not always going to be a bed of roses, at times as an individual you do have to run the tough race as well,” he added.

One such brilliant performance from Karthik came at the final of Nidahas Trophy 2018 against Bangladesh, where he hit a six off the final ball to take his team over the finish line.

When Karthik walked into bat at 133/5 with India needing 34 runs from the last two overs, the pressure was certainly on the Men in Blue. However, the wicketkeeper-batsman worked his magic and struck a six over extra cover on the final ball of the match to take India home in what turned out to be one of the most iconic moments for the team in T20I cricket.

Karthik also revealed about the emotions that were running in his head when the team needed 12 runs off the last over.

“There was nervousness when I had to think this is what I need to do. There were a lot of emotions going on inside me. But I think what did help me was the fact that I was prepared. So, I knew one thing, all I needed to do was do what I have done until now which is to get into a good position. Make sure I get a good base and then react to the ball, but there was one belief that I believed that I wasn’t going to hit a 4 (in the last ball when India needed five runs to win).

“I was going to go for a six, I was going to go for all or nothing. So, I was going for a six no matter what at that stage. I didn’t want a draw (tie). So, I think the preparation in terms of getting deep in the crease, setting myself up for a ball that could probably be a yorker again. But what helped me was I had practiced before to get into a good position and to make sure I went through with the ball. It was one of the toughest shots I played that evening over the covers,” he added.

Karthik, 35, has so far played 26 Tests, 94 ODIs and 32 T20Is for Team India.

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Former champions Rajasthan Royals (RR) gave themselves a new lease of life on Monday with a convincing seven-wicket win over three-time winners Chennai Super Kings (CSK), a result that lifted them from the bottom of the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table to the fifth spot.

Before the game started on Monday, RR was lying at the bottom of the eight-team points table. After they won with 2.3 overs to spare, thanks to Jos Buttler’s 48-ball 70 not out, they climbed to the fifth spot with eight points from 10 matches. Steve Smith’s team is very much in the race to qualify for the playoffs.

The top four teams qualify for the playoffs after each team has played 14 matches each in the league phase.

CSK, on the other hand, have looked completely off-colour this season and the defeat at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium has pushed them to the bottom of the points table. CSK will now have to win all their remaining four matches retain chances to qualify for the playoffs.

Chasing CSK’s 125/5, RR finished at 126/3 in 17.3 overs.

Smith remained unbeaten (26 off 34 balls) while speedster Jofra Archer bowled a miserly spell of four overs, picking up the wicket of in-form Faf du Plessis and conceding just 20 runs.

Earlier, CSK won the toss and batted in a match that was captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s 200th in the IPL; he thus became the first player to play 200 IPL matches.

Ravindra Jadeja top scored with 35 not out (off 30 balls) while Dhoni made 28 off 28 before being run out due to his own fault.

Jadeja and Dhoni added 53 runs in 7.4 overs as they struggled to get going. The two had joined hands at the fall of Ambati Rayudu’s wicket. CSK were struggling at 56/4 in 10 overs at the time.

Spinners Shreyas Gopal and Rahul Tewatia conceded just 32 runs in eight overs combined, picking up a wicket each.

Brief scores: CSK: 125/5 wkts in 20 overs (R Jadeja 35 not out, MS Dhoni 28, S Curran 22, S Gopal 1/14, R Tewatia 1/18, J Archer 1/20) lost to RR: 126/3 in 17.3 overs (J Buttler 70 not out, S Smith 26 not out, D Chahar 2/18) by seven wickets