The Pakistan Hockey Federation has replaced head coach Colin Batch with Manzoor ul Hasan, a move that has surprised players ahead of the FIH Pro Nations League and the World Cup.
'The killing of players and civilians is not honour -- it is the deepest disgrace. Long live Afghanistan.' Afghan Cricketers Unite Behind ACB After Fatal Airstrike.
The change of government in Pakistan after the exit of hawkish Imran Khan and his likely replacement by hard-core realist Shehbaz Sharif may provide a little window of opportunity for the leaders of India and Pakistan to reset their nearly frozen bilateral ties, according to experts.
Pakistan's restive Balochistan province has come to a standstill and has been facing unrest with several political and nationalist parties launching an indefinite blockade of all national highways from Wednesday against alleged rigging of the election results.
Saleem, 20, has yet to represent the national team in any format while Rasooli has shown strong form in the Shpageeza Cricket League, Afghanistan's domestic T20 tournament, after recovering from a finger injury.
Images from the ICC World Cup match between Afghanistan and Australia, at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai, on Tuesday.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Bangladesh can beat each other on their day
None of the players attending the camp are being tested for COVID-19 but only those who haven't shown any symptoms like fever, have been allowed to join.
Winless in two matches, both India and Afghanistan are out of the tournament and Thursday's match between the two sides in Dubai has been rendered inconsequential.
Afghanistan kept their hopes alive for a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 when they defeated the West Indies by three wickets.
Afghanistan scripted a new story in annuls of cricketing history after qualifying for the World T20 tournament proper on Saturday.
Teen sensation Rashid Khan and fellow spinners Mujeeb ur Rahman, Zahir Khan and Hamza Hotak have been named in the 16-member Afghanistan squad for the inaugural one-off Test match against India, starting in Bengaluru, from June 14.
A couple of losses for hosts England has only brightened the 1992 winners' prospects of a semi-final berth.
Afghanistan's former coach Lalchand Rajput believes that they can "upset some of the top teams" in mega tournament, primarily banking on their spinners.
The 19-year-old wonder spinner has gained 54 points to finish with 813 points, 80 more than second-placed Shadab Khan of Pakistan.
Shikhar Dhawan continued his blazing form as he lead Sunrisers Hyderabad to the main round of the Champions League T20 after a crushing seven-wicket victory over Pakistan's Faisalabad Wolves by seven wickets in their second qualifying round match.
Rashid Khan produced another magical spell of spin bowling as Afghanistan wrapped up a six wicket win over Bangladesh to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match T20 series on Tuesday.
Lost in transition, defending champions Sri Lanka will look to come out of the rut and start well against a spirited Afghanistan in their World Twenty20 Super 10 opener at Eden Gardens on Thursday. The defending champions, who were also runners-up in 2009 and 2012, have managed to win only four of their 14 matches since they beat India to win the 2014 edition in Mirpur. They are in the middle of a transition phase after Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene's exit. The build-up to the tournament was also forgettable with series defeats in New Zealand and India followed by an early ouster in Asia Cup. To add to the misery, their 2014 WT20 winning skipper Lasith Malinga has stepped down as leader of the team, following concern over his slow recovery from a knee injury. Now Test and ODI skipper Angelo Mathews' task is cutout. Having joined the squad on Tuesday, Malinga is a doubtful starter for the match. His presence in the team would impact the team a lot.
Eight teams have formed some of the best combinations from a pool of 64 top cricketers in the players' draft for T10League -- the limited ten-over format cricket -- that will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Afghanistan scored 145 for six after electing to bat, a target which they defended riding on Rashid's brilliance.
Rashid came to bowl in the 11th over and put his team in a strong position straightaway by removing the experienced Mushfiqur Rahim (20) and Sabbir Rahman (0) off his first two deliveries. Bangladesh could not recover from the blow and ended at 122 all out in response to Afghanistan's 167 for eight.
Barring Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, all players have declared their allegiances to IPL franchises over their respective countries' domestic sides ahead of the upcoming Champions League Twenty20.
Down and out, the two bottom-placed teams know that this will be their best chance to post their first win in the ongoing 50-over showpiece.
Afghanistan beat Kenya by seven wickets, at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, to earn automatic qualification to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
Statistical highlights of the Asia Cup cricket match between Afghanistan and Bangladesh played at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, in Fatullah.
Afghanistan's controversial campaign, marred by poor on and off-field decisions, has gone from bad to worse. They now face the onerous task of squaring off against a galaxy of world class players, whose performance graph is on the upswing.
Rohit Sharma-led India's main aim would be to settle their middle-order combination and also find a perfect batting position for Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Opener Mohammad Shahzad top-scored with a sparkling 39-ball 61 as Afghanistan defeated Scotland by 14 runs in their ICC World Twenty20 qualifying game in Nagpur on Tuesday. Opting to bat, Afghanistan made a formidable 170 for five in the stipulated 20 overs, and restricted their opponents to 156 for five. Shahzad's breezy knock included five boundaries and three sixes. Skipper Asghar Stanikzai remained unbeaten on a steady 55 off 50 balls. He found the fence two times and cleared it once, dropping anchor at one end even though he looked far from convincing after the dismissal of Shahzad at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium. The highlight of Afghanistan innings was undoubtedly the knock played by Shahzad and his 82-run second-wicket partnership with Stanikzai. While opener Noor Ali Zardan (17) missed out after getting a start, Gulbadin Naib (12) fell to an outstanding catch by Josh Davey. Shafiqullah then blazed his way to 15 off just five balls as Afghanistan reached a total that looked steep for Scotland, still seeking their first win over their rivals.
Eager to keep their semi-final hopes alive, a desperate Bangladesh will have their work cut out when they take on a spirited Afghanistan in a do-or-die World Cup encounter in Southampton on Monday. England's defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka on Friday breathed air into Bangladesh's hopes of securing a semi-final berth and the 'Tigers' will be keen on making the most of the situation starting with a win over the bottom-placed Afghanistan.
The Asia Cup to be played in Bangladesh from February 24, will be played in the T20 format for the first time in the tournament's history. The tournament which precedes the vital World T20 to be held in in India in March, has a rich history with India and Sri Lanka winning it five times each. Pakistan have been victorious on two occasions while Bangladesh's best finish has been their runner-up performance in the 2012 edition. Team India will be led by MS Dhoni and the tournament will also see Virat Kohli returning after taking a break from the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. Dhoni will be chasing history to become the most successful skipper in the tournament history. The Indian skipper and former Lankan captain Arjuna Ranatunga have both recorded same number of nine victories and four defeats in the Asia Cup All the matches will be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur. The qualifying rounds involving Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and Oman has begun from Friday.
Images from Monday's World Cup match between Bangladesh and Afghanistan, in Southampton.
Afghanistan notched up their first major win against a Test playing nation as they produced an all-round performance to script an upset 32-run victory over Bangladesh in their Asia Cup match in Fatullah on Saturday.
The only problem for India in the Asia Cup so far has been lack of batting time for the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav and Dinesh Karthik.
Afghanistan has shown great promise in taking its game to the next level, as its journey from the lower divisions to competing on cricket's biggest stages testifies. Since the ICC World Cup 2015, Afghanistan has won 25 of 44 games across formats. That includes 11 Twenty20 Internationals wins in 13 matches. Those statistics, and the fact that it has never lost a T20I to Scotland, will give Afghanistan a mental boost when the two sides lock horns in Tuesday's (March 8)second Group B match at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur. Afghanistan certainly has all the ingredients to beat Scotland and this contest should be a keenly fought one.
Spinner Rashid Khan celebrated his 20th birthday in style by producing a stunning all-round display as Afghanistan beat Bangladesh by 136 runs in an Asia Cup match in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Mahmudullah and Kayes lift Bangladesh to 249/7 after poor start
Afghanistan roared into the main draw of the World Twenty20 with an emphatic 59-run victory over Zimbabwe in a first round Group B match on Saturday. Mohammad Shahzad (40) gave Afghanistan a flying start before Mohammad Nabi (52) and Samiullah Shenwari (43) added 98 runs off 64 balls to power them to 186-6, their highest total in this format. The associate nation then returned to bowl out Zimbabwe for 127 to register a memorable victory over a full-member nation and join England, South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka in Group One of the Super 10 stage of the tournament. "This was a very important match for us. People in Afghanistan are crazy about cricket. They love the game, so (winning it) was very important for us," victorious captain Asghar Stanikzai said. With a place in the main draw at stake, Stanikzai opted to bat and was vindicated as Shahzad set alight Nagpur's VCA Stadium with his swashbuckling batting. The portly 28-year-old hit Tendai Chatara for four successive boundaries after a quiet opening over, forcing the pacer off attack. Donald Tiripano was pressed into service but there was no respite from Shahzad who hit him for three successive fours. Shahzad greeted left-arm spinner Sean Williams by hitting his first delivery for a six but fell in the same over after a 23-ball blitz attempting a reverse sweep.
Advancing into the Super 10 stage for the first time in three attempts, minnows Afghanistan will face a formidable challenge when they clash with South Africa in the ICC World Twenty 20 Championship at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Sunday.
Tributes poured in for India's former hockey captain Mohammed Shahid who passed into the ages at a Gurgaon hospital following multiple organ failure on Wednesday.
Rajneesh Gupta profiles the cricketers playing the World Cup 2019.
