A defiant fifth-wicket stand of 74 between Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq ensured Pakistan secured a draw in the second Test against New Zealand on Friday to maintain a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Opening batsman Ahmed Shehzad struck his maiden Test hundred but Pakistan's hopes of a series-equalling victory looked distant on the third day of the third and final Test on Saturday.
Pakistani selectors have named experienced opener Taufeeq Umar and senior batsman Younis Khan in a 19-member squad for the two-Test series against Australia in the United Arab Emirates, starting next week.
Khan's spokesman Dr Shehbaz Gill said that the prime minister has just a slight fever and cough.
Pakistan have made a number of changes in their ODI squad for the short home series against Zimbabwe, recalling seniors such as Shoaib Malik and Muhammad Sami in the 16-member side.
England beat Pakistan by 330 runs to win the 2nd Test at Old Trafford to level the four-match series 1-1 on Monday.
Indian cricket team stands a chance of making big gains in terms of International Cricket Council (ICC) Test ranking if they manage to register a 3-1 victory over Australia in their ongoing four-match series.
West Indies face a fight for survival against Pakistan's spinners on the final day of the second Test after reaching 171 for four in their second innings in Abu Dhabi, still 285 runs short of an improbable victory.
A fit-again Muhammad Irfan returned to the Pakistan cricket squad announced on Friday.
Pakistan's national Twenty20 captain Mohammad Hafeez has been dropped from the 12-member squad named for the two-Test series against South Africa to be held in UAE later this month.
England made a bright start to their second Test against Pakistan at Headingley on Friday, after being hammered at Lord's last week, with Stuart Broad taking two early wickets and the visitors reduced to 68-4 at lunchtime.
Joe Root's side completed an emphatic victory halfway through the third day when Mohammed Abbas was caught in the slip off Stuart Broad, his third wicket of the innings.
Pakistan reached 142 for four wickets before play was abandoned due to rain after tea on day one of the second Test against Australia in Melbourne on Monday.
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Irfan has been rested from the team's short limited-overs tour to South Africa this month to prevent the risk of aggravating a hip injury, the country's cricket board said on Saturday.
A PCB official said the suspended off-spinner has been named in the preliminary squad as he was in the process of correcting his action and would soon appear for an ICC biomechanics test.
Convicted spot-fixer Muhammad Aamir was selected in the Pakistan cricket team that will tour England for a four-Test series for the first time since the spot-fixing scandal broke in 2010. However the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is still awaiting for Aamir's visa approval from the UK High Commission. 24-year-old Aamir has made an impressive comeback in shorter formats and ironically his probable return to Test cricket will happen in the same country where he was arrested for indulging in spot-fixing along with Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif. Chairman of selectors Inzamam ul Haq said that the board had given clearance to pick Aamir in the side as they had been told his visa would arrive on Monday.
Debutant fast bowler Bilawal Bhatti dismissed experienced duo Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene in consecutive deliveries as Pakistan strengthened their hold on the first Test against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Pakistan's seam attack dragged their side back into the first Test against New Zealand on Saturday by capturing seven wickets before lunch, bowling the hosts out for 200 on the third day. Sohail Khan, Rahat Ali and Mohammad Amir shared the wickets as the hosts were bundled out with a lead of 67 runs. New Zealand had bowled Pakistan out for 133 before tea on Friday at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
After escaping a 39-run victory over Pakistan in the Gabba Test, Australian skipper Steve Smith on Monday said the "game was a bit close for his liking". The hosts struck Pakistan's last two wickets quickly to clinch win before tea on day five of the opening day and night Test of the three-match. "I've lost all my fingernails, I think," Smith was quoted as saying by news.com.au. "It was a bit too close for my liking. Some game of cricket wasn't it?"
Kraigg Brathwaite made a patient unbeaten 95 to lead West Indies to 244 for six at the close on the second day of the third and final Test against Pakistan in Sharjah on Monday.
Opener Ahmed Shehzad has been recalled to Pakistan's Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka after being dropped for the April-May series against Bangladesh on disciplinary grounds. Besides Shehzad, the selectors also recalled southpaw Shan Masood, another out-of-favour opener, who was ignored for the last few series and tournaments.
Zimbabwe captured nine Pakistan wickets for 249 runs on the opening day of the first Test in Harare on Tuesday after a frustrating ninth-wicket partnership between Saeed Ajmal and Junaid Khan.
Pakistan finished the third day of the first Test in a strong position after Yasir Shah took six wickets as England were dismissed for 272 then the visitors reached 214 for eight in their second innings for a lead of 281.
Australia maintained their perfect record against the south Asians on home soil and continued their recent good form in Tests since retaining the Ashes in England.
Pakistan, who have lost 13 consecutive Tests in Australia, were in big trouble at 39 for three when rain forced an early end
James Anderson claimed four wickets as England made an excellent start to the third and final Test in Sharjah by bowling out Pakistan for 234 on Sunday.
In-form Pakistan batsman Mohammad Hafeez returned to Pakistan's 15-member squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka, starting in the United Arab Emirates, next week. Hafeez scored three centuries in four One-Day Internationals in the ongoing series against Sri Lanka.
Australia broke Pakistan's dangerous third-wicket partnership to reduce the tourists to 177 for three, still 361 runs in arrears, at tea on a rain-disrupted third day of the third and final Test on Thursday. - Scorecard: Opener Azhar Ali was the batsman to fall for 71, leaving elder statesmen Younus Khan, who is inching towards his 34th Test century on 84 not out, and Misbah-ul-Haq, who has made 18, to resume for the extended final session.
Younis Khan hit a stellar double hundred while skipper Misbah-ul-Haq also joined the run-feast with his sixth Test century as Pakistan tightened their grip on the second and final test against Australia on Friday.
Tom Latham struck his maiden Test century but New Zealand crumbled to 262 all out, conceding a 304-run first-innings lead as well as control of the first Test to Pakistan in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
'Why has the rhetoric gone down on the Indian side, Durrani wondered aloud.' 'I said because almost total normalcy and peace had returned on the ground in Kashmir,' recalls Shekhar Gupta. 'The general gave me that career spook's laser look. And he said: "That situation on the ground can change in no time".' 'This was precisely when the Pakistanis began their first incursions into Kargil.' 'Durrani had been retired for five years.' 'But once the ISI boss, you are always in the know.'
In order to seal the place in the squad, the duo will have to cancel their league tours in South Africa and Bangladesh.
Younis Khan and Azhar Ali featured in a century-plus stand to prop up Pakistan but New Zealand claimed three wickets in the final session to stay ahead in the second Test in Dubai on Wednesday.
Mohammad Hafeez struck his maiden Test double hundred as Pakistan feasted on Bangladesh's limited bowling resources to post a commanding 537 for five wickets on day three and take charge of the opening match at Khulna on Thursday.
The tourists were left on 20-2 after seven overs going into the second day.
Pakistan's stand-in captain Mohammad Hafeez hit a fighting fifty to set up a comprehensive six-wicket victory against Australia in the second one-day international on Sunday that levelled the five-match series.
Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes produced a record 273-run partnership in an unbroken opening stand to help Bangladesh whittle down Pakistan's huge lead to 23 runs at the close of the penultimate day of the opening Test at Khulna on Friday.
Mitchell Starc shone with bat and ball as Australia dismissed Pakistan for 163 to secure an innings and 18 run victory in the second Test on Friday, the win giving the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The 34-year-old replaced Iftikhar Ahmed, who managed only 44 runs in four innings in the recent tour of Australia where Pakistan lost both Tests.
India should remember that Pakistan-Saudi Arabia relations will remain special due, not least, to bonds of all Muslims with The Holy Land. They would also be strategic enough, irrespective of whether the ambassador is a military man or a career civilian appointee., notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
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