World News – AU – COVID-19, Akmal episode, Misbah resigns, England and Proteas confirm their tours will dominate Pakistani cricket in 2020 – Daily Times

Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, suspension of controversial star batsman Umar Akmal, former test skipper Misbahul Haq, who is stepping down from his role in the national team’s tour to England and Pacer Mohammad Amir, who hung his boots after claiming he was « mentally tortured » by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) dominated Pakistani cricket in 2020. « Postponed », « canceled », « wage cut » and « payout » were the most frequent terms and topics related to cricket in 2020. Like any other sport or area of ​​life, COVID-19 was in turmoil for much of the year and threatened to ruin the game. Even the biggest tournament planned for the year – the ICC T20 World Championship – had to be postponed for a year. Fortunately, Coronavirus couldn’t quite “ruin” cricket, but it did manage to change the game in many ways, at least temporarily. It ensured that the game could not be played internationally for 117 days – the longest hiatus since the world wars. Bubbles, quarantines, expanded squads, and constant COVID-19 testing were by no means easy. Despite all of this, Pakistan played four Tests (won 01, lost 01 and drew 02), three ODIs (won 02 and lost 01) and eleven T20Is (won 07, lost 03 and 01 with no result).

Perhaps the biggest news of the year was Pakistan’s relentless campaign to convince top teams to address their safety concerns and tour the country, which bore fruit when England and South Africa signed up to visit in 2021. South Africa will tour Pakistan for the first time in 14 years to play two Tests and three T20Is in January and February 2021. The five-day games are part of the ICC test championship and will be held in Karachi (26. -30. January) and Rawalpindi (4. -8th. February) before the T20I Games in Lahore on Jan.. February end. This is South Africa’s first visit to Pakistan since the 2007 Tour, when they won the 160-run Karachi Test to win the series 1-0. The following series in 2010 and 2013 were played in the United Arab Emirates.

Perhaps the biggest news of the year was Pakistan’s relentless campaign to convince top teams to address their safety concerns and tour the country, which bore fruit when England and South Africa signed up to visit in 2021.

England will make its first trip to Pakistan in 16 years for a two-game T20I series in October 2021 under a mutual agreement between the two cricket boards. The two games, which took place on 14. and 15. October 2021 in Karachi are part of the construction of the T20 World Cup 2021. The tour will take place shortly before the mega event in India. This is England’s first visit to Pakistan in many years and will open the door to test and white ball tours in the 2022-23 season. England will be on 12. Arrive in Karachi on October 16, and both teams will arrive on October 16. October leave for the ICC T20 World Championship in India. England last toured Pakistan in 2005 when they made three Tests and five one-day caps. The following series between the two teams in 2012 and 2015 were played in the United Arab Emirates.

Bangladesh in Pakistan: 2020 started with the Bangladesh team’s tour to Pakistan in January. The Pakistan Cricket Board had reached consensus with the Bangladesh Cricket Board on the series which was part of the Future Tours program. The process was facilitated by the International Cricket Council. According to the revised agreement, Bangladesh would be released from Jan.. until 27. January three T20Is play in Lahore. They will be returning to Pakistan for the first ICC World Cup game, which will be held from Jan.. until 11. February takes place in Rawalpindi. Pakistan won the T20I series 2-0, with the third game abandoned due to rain. Pakistan won the first Test by an innings to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Bangladesh should then return to Pakistan after completing the Pakistan Super League in April to play a one-off ODI and second Test. Both games were to be played in Karachi. At 16. March, however, the third stage of the tour was canceled due to a COVID-19 pandemic.

Pakistan Super League 5: The fifth edition of the Pakistan Super League started with a lot of fanfare in February, but was released on March 17. March postponed before the semi-finals due to the coronavirus outbreak, with the circuit board announcing the rest of the tournament would be postponed for a later date. As the pandemic spread with increasing intensity and many overseas players decided to cancel their stay in Pakistan and return home, many teams remained worn out. The PSL was one of the last remaining mainstream cricket tournaments to continue due to the cancellations and postponements of other bilateral international series and franchise tournaments around the world.

Umar Akmal’s suspension for failure to report approaches: In April, Pakistan’s controversial batsman Umar Akmal was handed a three-year ban on all types of cricket after he was found guilty of failing to report two approaches to notification to the relevant authorities. The PCB Disciplinary Body found him guilty of violating the country’s anti-corruption code. The decision was announced by Justice Fazal-i-Miran Chauhan, Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee. Akmal has played in 200 international matches in three game formats since 2009. Akmal’s ban came into effect on Jan.. In effect on February 2, prior to the launch of PSL V, under the Anti-Corruption Code that states a player must be reported to fix games, he was temporarily suspended from the circuit board. Akmal was born on Jan.. March charged with two PCB anti-corruption code violations. At the batsman’s appeal, an independent judge appointed by the PCB reduced Akmal’s three-year ban on anti-corruption violations to 18 months. Independent judge Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, a retired judge on the Pakistani Supreme Court, gave the ruling on Jan.. July known. The litigation between Akmal and the PCB took another turn in August after the batsman appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne, Switzerland to lift his ban, which was cut in half from his original three-year tenure. Akmal’s move came after the PCB challenged the reduction of the ban in the Sports Arbitration Court.

Sana Mir Announces Retirement From International Cricket: In April, Sana Mir, who led Pakistan to two world championships and five T20 world championships, announced her retirement from international cricket after a brilliant career in which she became the most successful female spinner in one day international history. The 34-year-old took first place in the ODI women’s ranking in 2018 and led the team that took home gold at the 2010 and 2014 Asian Games. Her rise coincided with the increase in sporting opportunities for Pakistani women, who were not allowed to play in the open field until the early 2000s. Sana has made 226 international appearances since her debut in 2005. She is one of only nine female cricketers to have taken 100 wickets and 1. Have scored 000 runs in ODI matches.

England tour amid pandemic: Pakistan toured England in August and September to play three Tests and three T20Is amid COVID-19. The PCB agreed to tour the coronavirus-ravaged country, but told the England and Wales Cricket Board that it would not force players to agree to the assignment should they have any reservations due to the pandemic. Prime Minister Imran Khan gave the tour special permission telling the circuit board to adhere to strict SOPs as people wanted to watch cricket. It is worth noting that the pandemic had caused cricket activity to stall as many key events, including the ICC T20 World and the 2020 Asia Cup, were postponed. Even so, the England and Wales Cricket Board managed to safely resume its international activities as it was able to take West Indies and Pakistan under strict measures. Pakistan was commended by everyone, including England, for successfully completing the tour under unprecedented circumstances caused by COVID-19. The squad members – 29 players and 14 officials – spent 14 days in quarantine after reaching England and then another three to four weeks in a bio-safe environment. The test series was part of the first ICC Test World Championship 2019-21. The first Test was played at Old Trafford while the second and third Tests were played at Rose Bowl. The T20Is were held at Old Trafford. All games were played behind closed doors due to COVID-19. England won the Test Series 1-0 by three games after the second and third Tests were drawn. The T20I series was drawn 1-1 with the first match being washed out.

Misbahul Haq resigns as Chief Selector: Misbahul Haq resigned from his role as Chief Selector of the Pakistani men’s team. October to concentrate solely on the coaching tasks. Misbah took on the dual role for Pakistan Cricket in September 2019 and was responsible for both selection and coaching of the team. He was appointed coach for three years, a few months after Mickey Arthur’s team missed a semi-final place in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. Misbah said he felt pressure to do both of the tasks. His decision was influenced by the new PCB Code of Ethics, ratified in July 2020, which aimed to give greater priority to resolving conflicts of interest. Pakistan has had mixed results under Misbah’s tenure as chief selector coach, winning seven of its 19 games since taking over and losing nine.

Zimbabwe Tour to Pakistan: Zimbabwe toured Pakistan in October and November to play three ODIs and three T20Is. All games were played behind closed doors at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The ODI series was part of the first ICC Cricket World Cup Super League 2020-23. Babar Azam was the first time captain of the national team in ODI cricket. Pakistan won the first two ODIs (with 26 runs and 06 wickets) to take an unassailable lead in the series. The third game was a tie and Zimbabwe won the Super Over. It was Zimbabwe’s first win at an ODI in Pakistan since November 1998. Pakistan also won the T20I series 3-0, leaving Zimbabwe white. Pakistan won the first T20I by six wickets, while the second and third by the same 08 wicket margin. Elton Chigumbura from Zimbabwe retired from international cricket after the tour was over.

Babar Azam takes responsibility for all three formats: Babar Azam received the printed circuit board on 10. November was appointed the new test captain and made the batsman responsible for teams in all formats. Babar replaced Azhar Ali, who led Pakistan to a 1-0 defeat in England from August to September. Azhar led Pakistan in eight Tests since he was named captain in 2019. He won two home test games against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, but lost 2-0 in Australia and 1-0 in England. Babar became the third Pakistani test captain in 13 months after Sarfaraz Ahmed was fired in October 2019. The circuit board made the announcement after Babar led the team to 20 and one-day international series victories over Zimbabwe on home soil. Babar has been a successful goalscorer for Pakistan and is currently among the top five batsmen in all three formats.

Karachi Kings becomes the new PSL master: The PSL 5 had on 20th. February started and 30 games were played by 15. Played March when the tournament had to be canceled due to COVID-19. The PCB announced that it would hold PSL playoffs in a bio-safe environment in November. There were doubts about the participation of foreign players due to the timing, but those doubts were dispelled when all teams revealed their squads of foreign players. Karachi Kings became the new champion. Karachi beat Lahore Qalandars by five goals in the final and won on Jan.. November at the National Stadium Karachi for the PSL 2020 title. Karachi, who had a modest target of 135 and was led by Imad Wasim and trained by former test captain Wasim Akram, drove 18 home. 4 overs for the loss of five scalps. Babar played an undefeated, scintillating punch of 63 to ensure his team won the coveted trophy. Previously, Karachi streakers Waqas Maqsood, Umaid Asif and Arshad Iqbal had each captured two gates to limit Lahore to 134, as seven gates were lost in their 20 overs. The top scorer for Lahore was the Bangladeshi opener Tamim Iqbal, who scored 35 balls out of 38, while Fakhar Zaman filled in with a 24 ball 27 after Lahore captain Sohail Akhtar won the throw and opted for the first stroke.

Mohammad Amir names time for his international career: The fast bowler Mohammad Amir claimed to be « mentally tortured » by the circuit board and called time for his international career at the age of 28 on May 17. December. The Pakistani was quick to claim that he could no longer play in an atmosphere where he did not feel welcome on the national team. Amir has played in 36 friendly matches with 119 scalp games over the course of his career after making his debut against Sri Lanka in 2009. He’s also played 61 ODIs and 50 T20Is in his limited overs career, scoring 81 and 50 respectively. 59 wickets taken. Most recently, he played for Pakistan with the T20Is in England in August. Amir, jailed in 2011 for his part in a spot fixing scandal, retired from test cricket in 2019 to focus on white ball cricket. He served three months in prison and banned all forms of cricket for five years before returning to the Pakistani squad in January 2016. After his comeback, he was never quite as good as best in test cricket, but the left arm bowler excelled in cricket with limited oversteps and helped Pakistan win the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. Dissatisfaction between Amir and the PCB had subsided since he left the roster in November to tour New Zealand. He said an environment had been created where he had received « ridicule about anything » and his personal decision to quit friendly cricket was being manipulated to indicate that he was not interested in joining the national team to play.

Former test batsman Muhammad Wasim takes on the role of the new chief-selector. December the former test batsman Muhammad Wasim as the new chief selector until the 2023 World Cup. The PCB also appointed former test wicketkeeper batsman Saleem Yousuf to chair the cricket committee. The main electoral position was vacant after Misbah stepped down in October to focus on his job as national team head coach. The PCB had originally considered former cricketer Mohammad Akram for the position, but the deal fell through because of disagreements over the structure of the selection committee. Wasim from Rawalpindi played 18 tests and 25 one-day caps for Pakistan between 1996 and 2000. He also coached the Swedish men’s team in 2018 before being named head coach of the Northern Cricket Association in 2019. On the other hand, the cricket committee chairman Saleem had a more brilliant career than Wasim. He played 32 tests and 86 ODIs from 1982 to 1990. Before that, he was also a member of the national selection committee from 2013 to 2015.

Strike against New Zealand Down Under: At the end of the year Pakistan lost a T20I series in New Zealand with three games 2-1 against New Zealand. New Zealand defeated Pakistan in the first game by 05 wickets and in the second by 09 wickets. Pakistan avoided keeping the series clean after winning the last game. Mohammad Rizwan scored 89 of 59 balls when Pakistan beat New Zealand in a thrilling four-wicket competition. Rizwan hit 10 fours and three sixs when the tourists hit their goal of 174 with two balls.

Pakistani National Cricket Team, Christchurch, Terrorism