Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan have been denied permission by the PCB to play in the Global T20 in Canada.
A fiery century by Hasan Nawaz and top-class performances from pacers helped Pakistan keep the series alive
Varma's current rating of 832 points is the fourth-highest ever achieved by an Indian batter in T20I history, behind only Suryakumar Yadav, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul.
Babar Azam provided 73 in 95 deliveries with the visitors profiting from some sloppy South African fielding as they dropped numerous catches and were not accurate enough with the ball.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood termed their series-levelling victory in the second Test against England "special" as the hosts snapped their nearly four-year winless run on home soil in this format.
Afghanistan's Rahmanullah Gurbaz surpasses Babar Azam, goes level with stalwart Virat Kohli for special feat in ODI
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday demoted premier pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi to Category B from Category A, and did not offer central contracts to senior players Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed and Osama Mir for the 2024-25 season.
The run-up to the marquee event has been chaotic to say the least with change in captaincy, shuffling of the top-order and players coming out of retirement.
New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson was ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy with a foot injury on Tuesday in a major blow for the Black Caps.
They are afraid of grass pitches: Basit Ali's surprising take on Pakistan batters ahead of England Test series
'Pakistan can beat any team on any given day'
It was also reported that evidence related to statements made by YouTubers and former cricketers is being collected by the Pakistan Cricket Board's legal department.
Pakistan were all out for 260 in 47.2 overs with Babar Azam (64) and Khushdil Shah (69) scoring half-centuries but the hosts never looked in the hunt.
'The team expected me to bowl fast and used me as an attacking option. I tried to repay the faith by sticking to my strengths and staying humble.'
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has delayed the announcement of its World Cup squad until late May due to fitness and performance issues with some players.
Ali's five-wicket haul followed Khan's destructive spell through the visitors' top order, with the off-spinner taking four wickets in his first three overs to leave West Indies struggling at 22-4.
Pakistan needed 178 runs to win the second Test and sweep the series
Former captain Shahid Afridi has proposed couple of changes to the Pakistan playing eleven following the dramatic loss to India in the T20 World Cup
The tourists went to the close on 213 for one in their second innings, but still trail South Africa by 208 runs after they were forced to follow-on having been bowled out for 194 earlier in the day.
Pakistan have made four changes to the side for the second Test against England after resting senior cricketers including former captain Babar Azam from the rest of the series.
'Pakistani players think that if they don't perform well, the coaches will be sacked, and nothing will happen to them.'
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting says he has not seen a "better player" than Virat Kohli in ODIs, and backed the Indian batting star to go past the legendary Sachin Tendulkar as the highest run-getter in the 50-overs' format.
Babar had stepped down from his leadership role across formats following the conclusion of the 2023 ODI World Cup.
India to follow ICC's kit-elated guidelines at Champions Trophy, says BCCI
A PCB source however told PTI that recent media speculations about Shan Masood and Babar Azam's sacking is nothing more than kite flying.
Captain Shan Masood smashed 153 and forged a 253-run partnership with fellow centurion Abdullah Shafique as Pakistan dominated Day 1 of the first Test against England on Monday.
Babar Azam lost his interest in captaining Pakistan's white ball teams after a critical report submitted by head coach Gary Kirsten to PCB.
The home side are chasing a modest target of 148 after bowling out Pakistan for 237 and if they win will be assured a place in the WTC final at Lord's.
Bosch's knock, which included 15 boundaries, helped South Africa to 301 all out at tea and a handy lead over the tourists, who scored 211 in their first innings.
Former captain Shahid Afridi is confident that Pakistan will again reach the final of the T20 World Cup, but expressed apprehension about the batters' sluggish strike rate in the middle overs.
Shaheen Afridi has been left out of Pakistan's squad for a two-Test series in South Africa in a bid to keep him fresh for the Champions Trophy at home next year
Ryan Rickelton posted the joint seventh-highest score by a South African in Tests with 259 as his side ran up a huge 615 before reducing Pakistan to 64/4 at the close on Day 2.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was relieved after the team's first victory in the T20 World Cup in New York on Tuesday, but lamented that they couldn't complete their chase of 107 in fewer overs because the pitch was difficult to bat on.
Indian seamer Arshdeep Singh entered the top 10 among bowlers and was placed eighth in the ICC T20I rankings issued in Dubai on Wednesday.
Pakistan have dropped plans to conduct "major surgery" on the national team as it included senior players Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi in the Test squad for the two-match series against Bangladesh.
Pakistan's head coach for limited-overs format Gary Kirsten has returned home with the board set to announce the successor to captain Babar Azam in white-ball formats later in the month.
Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI against Pakistan on Sunday?
The Indian team has long gap between its group matches and Lahore is located close to the Indian border.
Australia's second-string pace attack produced a first-rate display to sink Pakistan with a comprehensive 29-run win in the weather-truncated first T20 International on Thursday.
Saim Ayub and Khurram Shahzad received their debut call-ups to Pakistan's squad for the three-match Test series against Australia.
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