Former captain Younis Khan and fast bowler Umar Gul have returned to the Pakistan cricket squad for the two-match Test series against the West Indies, starting next week.
Younis Khan and Azhar Ali struck centuries to punish a sloppy Bangladesh and power Pakistan to a strong 323 for three wickets on the first day of the second and final Test on Wednesday.
Amid a cloud of uncertainty over resumption of Indo-Pak cricketing ties, Pakistan's coach Waqar Younis has said he is optimistic about a bilateral series in December and firmly believes regular cricket can help reduce tensions between the two countries.
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 held their nerves to pull off a stunning 11-run victory over title aspirants Sri Lanka in a nail-biting group A World Cup league match in Colombo on Saturday.
Pakistan veteran all-rounder Shahid Afridi said that the Misbah-ul-Haq led team has the ability and confidence to break the World Cup jinx against defending champions India in the much-anticipated upcoming clash at Adelaide on Sunday.
Pakistan captured five wickets late on the fourth day of the second Test on Monday to close in on a victory that would tie their two-Test series.
Afridi, who led Pakistan to their first one-day series win since late 2008 with victory over New Zealand on Thursday, will have Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq as his deputy.
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.
Former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is the latest to criticise Pakistan Cricket Board's decision to delay the announcement of captain for the World Cup and said by doing this the PCB has created two divisions within the national team.
Sri Lanka clinched the one-day international series against Pakistan after their bowlers, led by Thisara Perera, routed the tourists to secure a seven-wicket victory in the deciding third and final match on Saturday.
Kamran Akmal's 73 is the highest score by a wicketkeeper in all Twenty20 World Cup matches, bettering Kumar Sangakkara's 64 not out against Pakistan at Lord's on 21-06-2009.
From Mohali to Mumbai, frenzied celebrations erupted across the country on Wednesday night as Team India defeated arch-rivals Pakistan to enter the World Cup final.
Opening the bowling for Pakistan in a World Cup match with India is enough to get any paceman excited. For Sohail Khan, playing his first international since September 2011, that excitement briefly got the better of him on Sunday.
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)has sought the permission of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to play their proposed bilateral series with India on a mutually agreed neutral venue.
Shahid Afridi is making all the difference to Pakistan's challenge in the 2011 World Cup with 14 wickets at an economy rate of just 2.6. He now has a phenomenal MVPI of 506. Only two other Pakistanis, Umar Akmal (181) and Misbah-ul-Haq (180), make it to the top 50 MVP list.
Shan Masood was wrongly adjudged LBW in 2nd Test vs New Zealand in Dubai last month.
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The Pakistani Taliban have contended that those opposed to referring to dead militants as martyrs are like persons who do not want cricketing icon Sachin Tendulkar to be praised because he is an Indian.
West Indies were 14 for no wicket at stumps in reply after Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell negotiated 11 overs in the deciding Test of the series, which is tied at 1-1.
Opener Azhar Ali was unbeaten on 85 as Pakistan crawled to 169 for two on a rain-affected first day of the series-deciding third Test against West Indies in Dominica on Wednesday.
Play was called off in the third Test between Pakistan and New Zealand in Sharjah on Thursday following the death of Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes.
A ruling party lawmaker on Wednesday criticised Pakistan cricketers for promoting a negative image of the country by celebrating with push-ups on the field after winning a match, prompting the Pakistan Cricket Board to discontinue the practice.
Shocking instances of bickering and in-fighting surfaced to suggest that Pakistan's rout in New Zealand and Australia were partly because of the enemy within.
Azhar's obdurate 193-ball stay at the crease helped his side plod slowly towards the hosts' first-innings total of 312 at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown to stand 140 runs behind with seven wickets in hand at the close.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq says his team are focused on the upcoming Test series against New Zealand and will not be distracted by an anti-corruption hearing that could mete out life bans to three suspended players.
Younis Khan notched his 17th Test hundred to guide Pakistan to a draw against South Africa on the final day of the first Test in Dubai, on Tuesday. Set 451 for victory after the visitors declared their second innings on 318 for two, Younus stroked an unbeaten 131 as Pakistan lost just one wicket on the fifth day to reach 343 for three.
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.
Skipper Brendon McCullum led from the front, smashing an unbeaten 83, as Otago Volts from New Zealand beat Pakistan's Faisalabad Wolves by eight wickets in a qualifying round match of the Champions League Twenty20 in Mohali on Tuesday.
In order to seal the place in the squad, the duo will have to cancel their league tours in South Africa and Bangladesh.
The chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board Shaharyar Khan has said that the PCB would no longer ask India to play the bilateral series planned in the UAE in December.
Former captain Younis Khan was recalled in Pakistan squad for the five-match ODI series against Australia starting January 22 in Brisbane.
Opener Ahmed Shehzad missed out on a deserved century but Pakistan cruised past United Arab Emirates by 129 runs in their ICC World Cup Pool B clash.
West Indies skipper Jason Holder is expecting plenty of entertainment against Pakistan when the two most mercurial sides in international cricket face off in the World Cup in Christchurch.
A month back, there was huge buzz over India's 500th Test and many former greats had come up with their own all-time XI of India. Now, to celebrate Pakistan's 400th Test match played against West Indies, legendary Pakistan fast bowler Waqar Younis has revealed his all time Pakistan Test XI. Wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed was the only player under the age of 30 selected in the high-quality side. Furthermore, the 29-year-old, alongside veteran right-handed batsman Younus Khan, was the one of two active players picked.
All 12 men's squads for the ICC World Twenty20 2010 have been confirmed with the very best players in the world all getting ready for the big event, which gets underway in the West Indies later this month.
West Indies batting legend Vivian Richards has lauded swashbuckling New Zealand batsman Brendon McCullum for posting the fastest ton in Test cricket off just 54 balls, bidding adieu to the game on an incredible high. Richards, who held the record for the quickest hundred in Tests off 56 balls jointly with Pakistan's Misbah-ul-Haq till McCullum broke it yesterday, was all praise for the Kiwi skipper for his record-breaking feat. "Let me take this opportunity to congratulate Brendon...(I've) been a great fan of yours for many years. Well done on your achievement," said Richards in the video on Twitter, posted by Pakistan Super League (PSL) side Quetta Gladiators. "And if there was going to be an individual who you would've liked to have surpassed whatever you would've achieved in life, certainly it would be you. You're one of those individuals who help to put bums on seats. Long may that continue. Well done, man," he added.
The top twenty batsmen and bowlers in 2011, after the Chittagong Test between Bangladesh and West Indies.
Misbah Qadri, a 25-year-old Muslim girl hailing from Gujarat, is the latest victim of blatant religious discrimination in Mumbai.
With two days remaining and 17 wickets still potentially to fall, a draw looks the probable outcome, although Wahab Riaz's removal of Bell (63) and Mark Wood (4) in successive overs near the close again put the hosts in the ascendancy.
South Africa's pursuit of a series-levelling victory against Pakistan was marred on the third day of the second Test in Dubai when they were penalised five runs for ball tampering on Friday.
