Cricket Australia confirms Pakistan tour; PCB announces revised schedule

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2 hours to go

 

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https://twitter.com/x/status/1495992627686428674

 

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Arrival in Pakistan .......
Inside bus..

Arrival in Pakistan .......

 

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[ghazi52]

Cricket Australia@CricketAus
· The 16 men who will be representing Australia in the white-ball leg of our upcoming tour of Pakistan....

 

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Australian cricket team arrive in Pakistan after 24 years amid tight security​

AFP | Reuters
February 27, 2022

A special unit of Pakistani security forces escort a convoy of vehicles carrying the Australian cricket team toward a hotel upon their arrival in Islamabad on Sunday. — AP

The Australian cricket team arrives in Islamabad on Sunday. — DawnNewsTV

Australia flew into Pakistan on Sunday for their first cricket tour in nearly a quarter of a century — and into a high-security bubble that will envelop them throughout their six-week stay.

Senior batsman Steve Smith posted a picture on Twitter of the 35-strong Australia tour party inside their charter flight's cabin after it touched down in Islamabad. Local officials confirmed their arrival...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1497799366295400449

 

[Musings]

Cricket Australia@CricketAus
· The 16 men who will be representing Australia in the white-ball leg of our upcoming tour of Pakistan....



View attachment 819292

Quite a brave selection by the Aussies - lots of rookies and inexperience blended with experience

 

[Raja Porus]

Why Naseem shah has not replaced Hassan or Faheem Ashraf. Instead they've replaced them with Wasim Jr! He too inexperienced, lacks pace and has poor line and length. Naseem has excellent pace and is relatively experienced as well.
Actually I was surprised he was not in the playing eleven. He has proved himself in psl?

 

[ghazi52]

Playing in country of birth is ‘very special’, says Usman Khawaja​

By AFP
February 28, 2022

Australian opener Usman Khawaja celebrates after smashing century on day four of the fourth Ashes cricket test between Australia and England at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on January 8, 2022. — AFP

ISLAMABAD: Australia’s opening batsman Usman Khawaja admitted Monday that playing in Pakistan will be “special” as he returned to the country of his birth for the first time as an international cricketer.

Khawaja, 36, was born to Pakistani parents in Islamabad before moving to Australia four years later and became the first Muslim cricketer to don the baggy green cap.
Known for his dashing left-handed batting, Khawaja recently enjoyed a remarkable comeback after a three-year gap, smashing a century in each innings of the Ashes Test against England at Sydney last month.

He is now part of the Australia team that arrived Sunday in Pakistan for the first time in 24 years and will play three Tests, starting in Rawalpindi later this week, three one-day internationals and one Twenty20 international.

Khawaja said he always wanted to go back and play in Pakistan.
“The fact that I am playing in Pakistan is special, very special,” Khawaja told reporters ahead of the first Test beginning on Friday.

“I always wanted to play in Pakistan as I said down the road. There is that bit of sentiment definitely, but once the game starts you don’t think about that stuff.”

“I look forward to playing in Rawalpindi, where I went to the old stadium as a kid and have played once,” said Khawaja, who revealed he had visited Pakistan on four occasions, the last time in 2010.

“Karachi is also special to my heart, where my relatives live, but since we are in a security bubble there is no chance of meeting anyone.”

The second Test is in Karachi from March 12-16 and the third in Lahore from March 21-25.

Despite his roots, Khawaja admitted he always wanted to play for Australia, where he was raised from a young age.

“My heart was always to play for Australia because I have lived my whole life there," he said. "It was my good luck that I got a chance to play for Australia in 2011,” said Khawaja of his debut against England.

Khawaja admitted that his family will be split on who they will be cheering for in the Test series.

“My parents support Pakistan and I support Australia but I follow the Pakistani culture and speak Urdu with my mother at home.”

He also is looking forward to receiving a warm welcome from the Pakistan spectators.

“I don’t expect a hostile crowd because people in Pakistan love their cricket and appreciate good cricket,” said Khawaja, who will be missing his parents as they cannot make the trip.

“My father (Tariq) definitely loves cricket and has been watching it his whole life. He is very excited that I get to play in Pakistan,” said Khawaja.

“Both my father and mother wanted to come and watch me, particularly in Rawalpindi where we lived, but circumstances mean that they are not coming out.”
“I hope they can watch from the comfort of their living room,” he added

 

[PradoTLC]

Australia must be commended at confirming and attending this tour. Tremendous pressure was put on them by India - yet the tour has not been cancelled. Thank you Australia!

Yup india threw every thing in its playbook and failed ….

Failure seems to be a feature of modi

 

[ghazi52]

Indian account attempting to foil Australia tour revealed​

Insta handle belongs to man based in India's Gujarat state

News Desk
February 28, 2022

A convoy carrying the Australian team is flanked by heavy security in Islamabad.- AFP.....

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In a bid to stop the Australian cricket team's tour of Pakistan, threatening messages were sent to the family members of an Australian player from an Instagram account based in the Indian state of Gujarat, reported Express News on Monday.
On February 26, a day before the Australian team landed in Pakistan, the family of a cricket player received messages, warning them of grave consequences for playing in Pakistan.

The account jyot.isharma391 was used to send the messages and is reportedly run by a man named Mridul Tiwari, based in India’s Gujarat state bordering Pakistan’s Sindh province.

Tiwari works as an environmental health and safety officer in IMC Limited whereas his email address is mridul.tiwari07@gmail.com.
This is not the first time Indian accounts were used to threaten cricket teams visiting Pakistan.

In September last year, New Zealand cancelled its tour and flew out of Pakistan at the eleventh hour over security concerns. In a press conference afterwards, the information minister had said that “fake news was generated by India to scuttle the tour”..

The threatening email was generated using Proton mail and Pakistan has requested Interpol for assistance in further probe, Fawad Chaudhry had said at the time.
Following the abrupt departure of the Kiwis, England had also postponed its visit to Pakistan.

Similarly, West Indies players were also threatened by India to stop them from touring Pakistan. The WI players had also shared threats of a ban from the Indian Premier League (IPL) on social media.
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Australia tour

Australia will play three Tests -- in Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore -- fresh off the back of a comprehensive home Ashes victory against England.

They will also play three one day internationals and a T20 capping the month-long tour on April 5.

"The tour will proceed for the first time in 24 years. This is a historic occasion and important for the global growth and health of the game," according to Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley.

 

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[Areesh]

Why Naseem shah has not replaced Hassan or Faheem Ashraf. Instead they've replaced them with Wasim Jr! He too inexperienced, lacks pace and has poor line and length. Naseem has excellent pace and is relatively experienced as well.
Actually I was surprised he was not in the playing eleven. He has proved himself in psl?

Yup. Dumb move. Only reason I can think of is that Naseem can't bat

Other than that they have included Iftikhar Ahmed in the team who had a very poor PSL