Pakistan have recalled former captain Shahid Afridi for a one-day series in West Indies but senior players Imran Farhat, Shoaib Malik and Kamran Akmal have been dropped for poor displays in last month's Champions Trophy.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Sharif, 70, and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) vice-chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday filed their nomination papers for the post.
A couple of losses for hosts England has only brightened the 1992 winners' prospects of a semi-final berth.
The confession of Lashkar-e-Tayiba operative Abu Jundal is expected to open up a can of worms regarding the Indian link to the 26/11 attacks. A source said that he has told the Delhi police that he was indeed in that dreaded control room which guided the attack.
The move came hours after Khan was removed from office through a no-confidence vote held early Sunday morning, becoming the first premier in the country's history to be sent home after losing the trust of the House.
Images from Sunday's World Cup match between Pakistan and South Africa, at Lord's.
'They have got so much talent. And in the last 10 years when they have not been playing home Test matches (for security reasons), they have done a remarkable job to be as competitive as they have and continue to bring on the level of talented players they have.'
India skipper Virat Kohli maintained his top spot in the latest International Cricket Council rankings of T20 batsmen, while pacer Jasprit Bumrah climbed up a place to be at second position in the bowlers' table.
Batsman Fawad Alam, who was also named in the 20-member squad along with two specialist spinners could make a comeback to Pakistan's Test team after 11 years.
India's Muslims need to be seen as a potential asset, rather than a liability, in the struggle against terrorism. Scores of Indian ulema or Islamic clerics are now openly castigating all forms of terror, organising mass rallies and even issuing fatwas to get the message across. The Indian State and civil society urgently need to realise that hounding the Indian Muslims can only play into the hands of outfits of groups like the Lashkar
New Zealand abandoned their limited-overs series in Pakistan on Friday after receiving a security alert, with the tourists "unilaterally suspending" all their scheduled matches.
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, eminent personalities, politicians described Lata Mangeshkar as the "nightingale of the subcontinent"
Yasir Shah promoted, Shoaib Malik retained in top category
Uncapped left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar has joined the test squad from the Pakistan A team currently in Hamilton.
Imran, 29, gave a hoax warning to the US Consulate in Karachi to avenge two relatives of the girl he is in love with.
India cannot afford to be complacent about a possible Pakistan resort to military options across the LoC, warns Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at the Research and Analysis Wing, India's external intelligence agency.
England go into the 10-team tournament as the top side in the team rankings with 125 points and India in second position four points behind.
Leg-spinner Yasir Shah took six second-innings wickets in Pakistan's crushing 133-run second Test win over West Indies in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday as they took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. - Scorecard: The wily spinner finished with 6-124 to secure his second ten-wicket haul in Test cricket after claiming four wickets in the first innings as West Indies were bowled out for 322 before tea on a weary fifth and final day pitch at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
With both teams virtually out of the semi-final race, South Africa and Pakistan will be battling it out for a consolation win in their World Cup match at Lord's.
The West Indies' fast bowlers produced a ruthless display to dismiss Pakistan for a disappointing 105 in their World Cup opener at Trent Bridge on Friday. In reply, Chris Gayle led the chase, scoring 50 ff 34 deliveries, as the meagre target was overhauled in 13.4 overs.
Pakistan retained under-fire skipper Misbah-ul Haq and out-of-form Muhammad Hafeez, but dropped tall left-arm pacer Muhammad Irfan from the 28-man probables' list for the two-Test series against South Africa.
Australian opener David Warner has surged to a career-best third in the ICC ODI Players Rankings for batsmen after accumulating 386 runs at an impeccable average of 77.20 in the recently concluded five-match series against South Africa.
Sarfraz and his men must heed the advice from someone who famously galvanised a traditionally fractious side to World Cup glory in 1992.
Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul Haq rates the 2-0 series win over Australia as his country's "best ever" considering his team were without three key bowlers.
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.
Kohli pips Smith as Cricket Australia's 'ODI Captain of Year'
Virat Kohli strengthened his position at the top of ICC ODI rankings for batsmen by touching a career-high 911 points, while Kuldeep Yadav broke into the top-10 of the bowlers' chart at sixth, on Wednesday.
England still top team in ODIs, but only just
Pakistan showed yet again on Monday why it's always a good idea to predict the unpredictable when it comes to their cricketing fortunes. As far as the early stages of their ICC Men's World Cup 2019 campaign are concerned, it has been a case of well beaten one minute, dynamic the next for Sarfaraz Ahmed's team.
Opening batsman Khurram Manzoor, who has not played for Pakistan's Test team for three and a half years, is back in the squad for the tour of Zimbabwe that starts this month.
Asif Ali Zardari is expected to leave Pakistan after completing his term as President on September 8 due to security threats and fears about the reopening of graft cases, according to a media report on Sunday.
Joe Root made a half-century as England rallied to 130 for three at the close of the fourth day of the second Test, in Dubai, on Sunday, 360 runs behind Pakistan after the hosts' Younis Khan had made a swaggering 31st Test century.
The West Indies Cricket Board has asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India to work for a "mutually agreeable solution" over its demand for 26.2 million pounds as compensation for the former's decision to abandon its tour to India.
Pakistan, who briefly topped the Test rankings last year, have now lost six straight Tests, one to West Indies in Sharjah, two in New Zealand and three in Australia.
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.
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.
The number one ODI status will be on the line when second-placed India and table-toppers South Africa clash in a six-match series, starting in Durban on Thursday.
Decision will be taken in second democratic transition of power in the nation's 70-year chequered history.
Opener Tom Latham struck his second consecutive hundred to keep New Zealand on course for a big first-innings total on the opening day of the second Test against Pakistan on Monday. Opting to bat first after winning the toss at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the visitors, trailing 1-0 in the three-Test series, reached 243 for three wickets at the close.
England, who have won both the one-day and Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka, play a two-day practice match in Colombo before heading to Galle which hosts the first of the three Test matches from November 6.
