Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ijaz Butt has set off another controversy by claiming that the national team's head coach Waqar Younis had resigned before the 2015 World Cup after being insulted by Ahmed Shehzad.
The 16-man squad includes batsmen Mark Stoneman and Dawid Malan and fast bowler Jake Ball, who have 11 Test caps between them, as well as three uncapped players in paceman Craig Overton, spinner Mason Crane and wicketkeeper Ben Foakes.
West Indies reached 114-5 against Pakistan with inspirational opener Kraigg Brathwaite still at the crease after a tense fourth day ended early due to bad light as they chased a victory target of 153 in the third test in Sharjah on Wednesday. Brathwaite was defiantly standing on 44 with Shane Dowrich on 36 leaving West Indies needing 39 runs to break a 14-match losing streak stretching back to last May last year. Pakistan began the day on 87-4 before a battling 91 by opener Azhar Ali and 42 for Safraz Ahmed looked to have steadied the ship.
Both the teams lost their opening matches but bounced back into reckoning after producing two of the tournament's biggest upsets so far.
Pakistan's Mohammad Amir got a muted reception at Lord's on the second day of the first Test on Friday as he bowled for the first time in a test since being banned for spot-fixing.
Veteran Younus Khan's majestic century helped Pakistan dominate the opening day of the second Test against West Indies on Friday, the hosts reaching on 304-4 on a punishing day for the bowlers in Abu Dhabi.
Pakistan's hopes of an automatic World Cup qualification got tougher after plummeted to their lowest-ever rating of 86 following their five-match ODI series loss against England.
Mominul Haque struck a patient 80 before falling to the final delivery of the day as Bangladesh capitalised on poor Pakistan fielding to reach 236 for four on the opening day of the first Test in Khulna on Tuesday.
The tourists were left on 20-2 after seven overs going into the second day.
Sri Lanka salvaged some pride after battering Pakistan by 165 runs in the fifth and final One-dayer at Hambantota on Sunday.
Pakistan, who have lost 13 consecutive Tests in Australia, were in big trouble at 39 for three when rain forced an early end
Paceman Trent Boult took four wickets as New Zealand beat Pakistan by an innings and 80 runs to win the third and final Test within four days and level the series 1-1.
Pakistan are two wickets away from a comprehensive victory over New Zealand in the first Test after the tourists slumped to 174-8 in their second innings at stumps on the fourth day in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
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.
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India are favourites to retain the Champions Trophy on Sunday but they would probably have preferred to face different opponents than arch-rivals Pakistan in what is sure to be a highly-charged final.
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur says his team is calm ahead of the big match against arch-rivals India and says he will field a wicket-taking attack on Sunday
England amassed a world record One-Day International total of 444 for three as they crushed Pakistan by 169 runs at Trent Bridge on Tuesday to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Jos Buttler struck the last ball of the innings for four to take Eoin Morgan's men past Sri Lanka's 443 for nine against Netherlands in July 2006.
The timing of these transfers, while being projected as routine, is significant in both strategic and political terms, asserts Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Australia were two wickets from victory at the end of day four of the first day-night test against Pakistan on Sunday, but the tourists were buoyed by a feisty fourth innings chase and a brilliant unbeaten century from Asad Shafiq.
India's batting maestro Virat Kohli held on to the number two position in the latest ICC ODI rankings for batsmen released on Monday, while Rohit Sharma dropped a place to seventh.
Kane Williamson, leading New Zealand in a Test for the first time at home, scored his 24th half century to guide the hosts to an eight-wicket victory in the first test against Pakistan in Christchurch on Sunday. Chasing a target of 105 for the win, Williamson was dismissed on 61 with the hosts just a run shy of victory. Jeet Raval (36 not out) hit a four to push New Zealand over the line on 108 for two shortly after lunch on the fourth day. New Zealand had bowled the visitors out in their second innings for 171 about an hour into the day's play at Hagley Oval.
Zimbabwe completed only their 11th Test victory with a dramatic 24-run win over Pakistan at Harare Sports club on Saturday to draw the series 1-1.
Former India captain Mohammed Azharuddin's son Asaduddin took his first major steps in his cricketing career when he was on Friday named in the Uttar Pradesh One Day squad for the forthcoming Vijay Hazare trophy.
Skipper Angelo Mathews and opener Kaushal Silva hit half-centuries to help Sri Lanka take a 166-run first innings lead against Pakistan and push for a series-levelling victory on day two of the second Test on Friday.
Captain Graeme Smith hit an unbeaten double century as South Africa went on a merciless scoring spree to establish a 361-run lead over Pakistan on the second day of the second Test in Dubai on Thursday. Smith was 227 not out and a cramping AB de Villiers scored an unbeaten 157 as the pair set a new South African fifth-wicket partnership record of 326 to put the top-ranked team firmly in command.
The Pakistan-born bowler made an instant impact on his return to the South Africa line-up and his team mates made sure his hard work did not go to waste as they finished the day on 128 for three wickets, a 29-run first innings lead.
Babar Azam hit his maiden century while spinner Mohammad Nawaz grabbed four wickets as Pakistan thrashed the West Indies by 111 runs on the Duckworth-Lewis method in the first day-night international on Friday. Azam's rapid-fire 139-ball 120 helped Pakistan post a challenging 284-9 in a match reduced to 49 overs a side due to a 70-minute floodlight failure at Sharjah Stadium in the UAE. West Indies -- set 287 to win -- never got close and folded at 175 in 38.4 overs.
Keeping trusted men in key positions at Lahore, Rawalpindi and Peshawar has become vital for Bajwa, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
Joe Root went serenely past 150 as England moved on to 427 for five at lunch on the second day of the second Test against Pakistan in Manchester on Saturday.
Left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja's maiden 10-wicket match haul against England in Chennai has propelled him to second position behind teammate and India's star off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin in the ICC Test bowler rankings released on Wednesday.
"He (Sarfaraz) has shown himself to be a fine captain and yes he was struggling a bit for form but when a senior player is under pressure you have to encourage and back him, not dump him like this".
Pakistan outclassed South Africa by 19 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method in a rain-hit match in the ICC Champions Trophy match, in Birmingham, on Wednesday.
The India captain currently has 39 centuries in One-Day Internationals and is only 10 short of Sachin Tendulkar's all-time record of 49 hundreds.
Firebrand fast bowler Dale Steyn will seek to become South Africa's greatest wicket-taker in Tests when they take on Pakistan in the first match of a three-game series at Centurion Park in Pretoria on Wednesday.
England pacer James Anderson reclaimed the number-one ranking from India's Ravichandran Ashwin in the ICC Player Rankings for Test Bowlers released on Monday after the end of the Edgbaston Test.
Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by six wickets to go 1-0 up in the five-match series.
'Zimbabwe has given us a lot of support by undertaking this tour despite pressure on them so we also urge the public to cheer team along with our team as well'
Images from Day 4 of the third Test between Australia and Pakistan in Sydney, on Friday.
Going from a defeat to playing the old rivalry against India isn't going to be easy for Pakistan, says former captain Waqar Younis.
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