Pakistan

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday announced that the player auction for the 11th edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) will be held on February 11. Earlier this week, the PCB had announced that the upcoming season of the country’s premier cricket league would adopt an auction model, replacing the previous draft system. On Sunday, the cricket board conducted a detailed workshop for the upcoming PSL player auction at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, which was presided over by PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi and attended by representatives from all eight franchises, PSL officials, and members of the T20 World Cup squad. During the workshop, the management shared a detailed presentation on the mechanics of the retention and the auction process and consulted with all the participants, the PCB said in a press release. “It was agreed that the HBL PSL Player Auction will take place on Wednesday, 11 February.” The PCB further revealed the base prices of the players, saying that “auction price and minimum incremental bid...

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The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) left out express pacer Haris Rauf from the 15-man squad named on Sunday for next month’s ICC T20 World Cup jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka, although former captains Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi were named. The announcement was made in a press conference by PCB High Performance Director and member of the men’s national selection committee Aqib Javed, who was speaking alongside skipper Salman and white-ball head coach Michael James Hesson at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Rauf finished with 20 wickets in the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia, but selector Javed said he doesn’t fit in the combination. “Rauf has played a lot of cricket for Pakistan, but we kept conditions in Sri Lanka in mind while selecting the squad,” Javed told a press conference in Lahore. Rauf is also the highest wicket-taker for Pakistan in T20I cricket with 133 in 94 matches. Among the players, Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Sahibzada Farhan and Usman Tari...

Security forces killed three “Indian-sponsored terrorists” during an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan’s Panjgur district, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Sunday. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), “On January 25 (Sunday), security forces conducted an intelligence-based operation in Panjgur District of Balochistan, on [the] reported presence of terrorists belonging to Indian proxy, Fitna al Hindustan.” Fitna al Hindustan is a state-designated name for the Balochistan-based terror groups allegedly supported by India to target military personnel in Pakistan. The statement said that during the conduct of the operation, the security forces effectively engaged the terrorists’ location, and after an “intense fire exchange, three Indian sponsored terrorists were eliminated.” Among the killed was a local terrorist commander, Farooq alias Soro, the ISPR said. “Weapons, ammunition and explosives were also recovered from the terrorists, who remained actively involved in n...

Video footage of the moment immigration agents shot dead a 37-year-old nurse in Minneapolis on Saturday appears to contradict Trump administration claims that the man was a violent aggressor who sought to “massacre” federal law enforcement officials. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after the shooting said Alex Pretti had “approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9mm semi-automatic handgun” and “violently resisted” when they attempted to disarm him. Administration officials did not say whether Pretti had the gun in his hands at the time. Video shared widely by US media, which AFP has not verified, however, shows Pretti with a phone in his hands, filming agents in a snow-lined street and directing traffic. After an agent shoves a woman protester to the ground on the sidewalk, Pretti steps in between them and is sprayed in the face by a chemical irritant. The agent then pulls Pretti to the ground and several officers struggle to detain him on the icy roadway. Seconds later, as an officer in grey app...

The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has warned users to remain vigilant against illegal content circulating online.

European Council president Antonio Costa arrived in India on Sunday, as the EU and New Delhi seek to seal a free trade pact, capping nearly two decades of negotiations between the economic behemoths. Costa and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen are chief guests for this year’s Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi on Monday before an EU-India summit on Tuesday, where they hope to shake hands on the accord, described as the “mother of all deals”. “President Costa is in New Delhi for the 16th EU-India summit taking place on Tuesday,” the EU Council said on X. “The summit will be an opportunity to build on the EU-India strategic partnership and further strengthen collaboration across key policy areas.” India, the world’s most populous nation, is on track to become the world’s fourth-largest economy this year, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) projections. While the EU eyes India as an important market for the future, New Delhi sees the European bloc as an important source of much-ne...

The absence of Bangladesh from next month’s T20 World Cup is a sad moment for the game and should serve as a call for stakeholders to work towards uniting the sport, not dividing it, the International Cricketers’ Association said on Sunday. Bangladesh were replaced by Scotland in the 20-team showpiece on Saturday following their refusal to tour India over safety concerns in the wake of soured political relations between the Asian neighbours. The governing International Cricket Council (ICC) rejected Bangladesh’s request to move their matches to tournament co-host Sri Lanka, saying it was not feasible to change the schedule so close to the February 7 start of the tournament. “The withdrawal of Bangladesh from the T20 World Cup, and resulting absence of a valued cricketing nation from cricket’s pinnacle international T20 event, is a sad moment for our sport, the Bangladesh players and fans, and one that requires deep reflection,” World Cricketers’ Association (WCA) Chief Executive Tom Moffat said in a statement...