Sports Bulletin

Tariq Hameed Houston (USA): Harmeet Singh inked a new history in Houston by being named the first pick of the Major League Cricket (MLC) draft when the six MLC franchises converged at Space Center Houston to make their domestic picks and announced big international signings as the historic 2023 season ready to roll into action. Singh was selected by the Seattle Orcas, who unveiled their name and logo earlier this week. Singh, a 30-year-old all-rounder who bowls left-arm off spin, has played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and was on the India Under-19 squad that won the 2012 World Cup, along with leading the Seattle Thunderbolts to the 2022 Minor League Cricket championship. “I’m really excited to be here,” Singh said. “And also nervous at the same time. I played in Seattle in the Minor League. Now Major League Cricket. It can’t get better for me.” The Seattle Orcas, Washington Freedom, San Francisco Unicorns, Los Angeles Knight Riders and Texas (team name still to be announced) each made nine picks with some teams announcing major international signings during the two-hour event. Former Australia one-day international captain Aaron Finch and Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis will join San Francisco, South Africa fast bowler Anrich Nortje and Sri Lanka leg-break bowler Wanindu Hasaranga will play for Washington and former South Africa captain and wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock as well as hard-hitting Australian all-rounder Mitchell Marsh signed for Seattle. Washington selected wicketkeeper Andries Gous with the second pick. Gous recently played in Abu Dhabi’s T10 league. MI New York selected USA international batter Steven Taylor with the third pick, San Francisco selected former New Zealand international and batsman Corey Anderson fourth, Los Angeles Knight Riders selected star USA Cricket bowler Ali Khan and Texas picked fast bowler Rusty Theron, who has played for multiple IPL teams, with its first pick in the first round. Several other big names were selected in the Major League Cricket draft: Unmukt Chand, who captained the India U-19 team to the 2012 World Cup, joined Los Angeles in the second round; Liam Plunkett, a star bowler for the England team that won the 2019 World Cup, joins San Francisco, and former Pakistan international Hammad Azam was taken by MI New York. The 2023 MLC season starts July 13 in a brand-new cricket-specific venue – Grand Prairie Stadium – in Grand Prairie, Texas. Teams will play the explosive Twenty20 (T20) format of the game, with matches typically lasting three hours. The regular season will consist of five games, with each team playing each other once, followed by a playoff round and the championship on July 30.

Sports Bulletin Report KABUL: Afghanistan Cricket Board’s Selection Committee on Tuesday announced a 17-member National squad for the home three-match T20I series against Pakistan, which will be played from 24 to 27 March in Sharjah. Tall left-handed opener Sediqullah Atal has been added to the squad. He could be a potential debutant for Afghanistan in the series. In addition, senior all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, who led Afghanistan at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup last year, has been recalled to the squad. Nijat Masoud and Zahir Khan who were part of the Afghanistan squad during the UAE tour last month have been kept as reserves, whereas Rahmat Shah and Hazratullah Zazai have been dropped from the squad. ACB CEO Naseeb Khan said: “Our team has been working hard in training camp and selectors have selected the best available players for the series. I am confident that our team will perform at their best and make our nation proud. We wish our team the best of luck for the series and hope to see them emerge victorious.” “In addition, we look forward to an exciting competition between two great teams. Both nations have passionate fans who support their teams with enthusiasm and pride. As neighbors, we have a special bond and we hope to showcase not only our cricketing skills but also the spirit of friendship and sportsmanship. We wish both teams the best of luck and hope that cricket fans around the world will enjoy the games.” He added. Afghanistan Squad: Rashid Khan (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Sediqullah Atal, Najibullah Zadran, Afsar Zazai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Fareed Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi and Naveen Ul Haq. Reserve players: Nangyal Kharoti, Zahir Khan, Nijat Masoud Series Schedule 24th March – 1st T20I, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE 26th March – 2nd T20I, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE 27th March – 3rd T20I, Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE

Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD: The 6-day training camp for visually impaired women and girls concluded here at Margzar cricket ground on Monday that was organized by Australian High Commission to Pakistan in collaboration with the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) and Serena Hotels. Australian High Commissioner Neil Hawkins said: “Australia’s support aims to provide more women and girls with disabilities the opportunities to compete and demonstrate their ability, while promoting inclusion in sport. We hope to break gender stereotypes and negative perceptions associated with people with disabilities through our support of this initiative. Australia and Pakistan share a passion for cricket, so we are happy to support the Pakistan Blind Cricket Council’s efforts to bring women and girls living with disabilities into the sport,”. Chairman PBCC Syed Sultan Shah said: “Blind Cricket is a sport that has gained popularity in recent years for its unique approach to inclusivity. It provides an opportunity for people with visual impairments to compete at a high level, develop their skills and confidence, and become people of vision, both on and off the field. I hope that this initiative will inspire more people with disabilities to participate in sports and lead fulfilling lives.” It is pertinent to mention here that the two blind factory workers invented blind cricket in Melbourne, Australia, in 1922 when they improvised the game using a tin can containing rocks. A few years later, in 1928, the first sports ground and clubhouse for blind cricket was built at Kooyong in Melbourne.

Sports Bulletin Report KABUL: Nangarhar B provincial team put on an outstanding all-round performance in the final to beat Kabul comprehensively by 101 runs and win the 14th edition of the Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan (WAK) Provincial Grade I Tournament 2023. Nangarhar B were put into bat earlier in the morning, but the call was welcomed by the hosts as they posted a huge total of 287 runs in fifty overs. Abid Mohammadi scored 114 whereas Mohammad Ishaq returned with 54 runs to his name. Allah Mohammad picked two wickets for Kabul. In reply, Kabul did not capitalize on their batting as they lost wickets regularly, only managed to score 186 runs to fell short by 101 runs in the end. Islam Zazai was the only batter to cross the 50-run barrier as he finished unbeaten on 54*. Abid Mohammadi backed up his batting effort with a terrific bowling display as well as he picked up 4 wickets. Mohammad Ibrahim also bagged three, whereas the young Sohail Khan picked two wickets. Abid Mohammadi was adjudged the player of the match for his 114 runs and 4 wickets. Baheer Shah Mahboob, who had scored a mammoth 386 runs at 128.66 with 2 hundreds and a half-century, was awarded the best batter of the tournament. A young leg spinner Ahmad Wali was named the best bowler of the event with 19 scalps in 6 innings. Additionally, Sohail Khan was named as the emerging player of the tournament for picking 13 wickets in his debut season, whereas Abid Mohammadi was named the best player of the event for his terrific all-round performance in the event. He scored 338 runs and has also picked up 12 wickets to help side to the glory. The Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan Provincial Grade I tournament 2023 was the 2nd activity of the domestic cricket department in the year, which will be followed by the Shpageeza Cricket League and the regional three-day event in May and June respectively.

Sports Bulletin Report New York (USA): Mumbai Indians, owned by Reliance Industries Ltd, is expanding into the United States with a Major League Cricket (MLC) franchise, Mumbai Indians (MI) New York, United States of America (USA). The team is set to compete in the historic inaugural season of MLC this July following the completion of necessary customary due diligence; negotiation, and execution of definitive binding agreements, and receipt of required corporate, regulatory, and third-party approvals and compliances. MI New York unveiled its name and logo on Monday with a graphic featuring the iconic MI logo followed by NY, featured on the New York skyline. Nita. M. Ambani, the owner of the Mumbai Indians, said: “I am thrilled to welcome our New York franchise to the growing MI Family! With our entry into the first T20 franchise cricket league in the US, I hope we are able to establish Mumbai Indians as a global brand of fearless and entertaining cricket! This is another new beginning for MI and I look forward to the exciting journey ahead.” The roster for MI New York will start to be filled out over the next week. Select marquee overseas players will be announced soon, while the best American domestic players will be selected at the inaugural MLC Domestic Player Draft on Sunday, March 19, in Houston, Texas. MI New York will be one of six teams to take the pitch for the first time at a new MLC venue built in Grand Prairie, Texas. The season is set to open July 13 and end with the first MLC championship final to take place on July 30. MI New York joins teams from Texas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington in MLC and will play the explosive Twenty20 (T20) format of the game, with matches typically lasting three hours.

Faraz Ahmed Kayani ISLAMABAD: The road to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup is heating up as hosts Namibia will be joined by the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Papua New Guinea, Canada and Jersey in a round-robin format where the top two teams will earn a place at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier that will be hosted in Zimbabwe from 18 June - 9 July. The Playoff, which is two steps away from the World Cup, features the teams who placed in the bottom four places of the Men’s CWC League 2 and the top spots in the CWC Challenge League A and B respectively after four years of hard-fought competition and is the final opportunity at booking a place in the Zimbabwe Qualifier. Schedule: 26 March 2023 Namibia v USA 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground 27 March 2023 UAE v PNG 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground Jersey v Canada 09h30, United Cricket Club Ground 29 March 2023 Canada v USA 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground PNG v Namibia 09h30, United Cricket Club Ground 30 March 2023 Namibia v Jersey 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground USA v UAE 09h30, United Cricket Club Ground 1 April 2023 UAE v Canada 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground PNG v Jersey 09h30, United Cricket Club Ground 2 April 2023 PNG v USA 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground Namibia v UAE 09h30, United Cricket Club Ground 4 April 2023 Canada v Namibia 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground USA v Jersey 09h30, United Cricket Club Ground 5 April 2023 Jersey v UAE 09h30, Wanderers Cricket Ground Canada v PNG 09h30, United Cricket Club Ground

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and New Zealand Cricket (NC) have unanimously agreed to make tweaks to the New Zealand men’s cricket team’s tour of Pakistan for five ODIs and five T20Is, as the opening match of the series will be played on April 14, 2023 at Qaddafi Stadium Lahore. Kiwis will now arrive in Lahore and will play three T20Is from 14-17 April, before traveling to Rawalpindi where the final two T20Is and first ODI will be played from 20-26 April. The tour will culminate in Karachi with the remaining four ODIs to be played from 30 April to 7 May. Pakistan v New Zealand (schedule): April 14, 2023: 1st T20, Lahore April 15, 2023: 2nd T20, Lahore April 17, 2023: 3rd T20, Lahore April 20, 2023: 4th T20, Rawalpindi April 24, 2023: 5th T20, Rawalpindi April 26, 2023: 1st ODI, Rawalpindi April 30, 2023: 2nd ODI, Karachi May 3, 2023: 3rd ODI, Karachi May 5, 2023: 4th ODI, Karachi May 7, 2023: 5th ODI, Karachi

Sports Bulletin Report KARACHI: The first Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) International Sailing Regatta 2023 concluded here on Sunday, as CNS Admiral Mohammad Amjad Khan Niazi graced the closing ceremony as chief guest to distribute the prizes amongst the winners and runner-ups. Besides host Pakistan, the players from Australia, Bahrain, Egypt, Malaysia, Oman, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand participated 5-day international sailing championship. The championship was featured in different competitions including Laser Standard, Laser 4.7, and Windsurfing categories. A total of twelve races were held in each category. In the Laser Standard, Malaysia's Khair Nizam Mohammad Effendi won the first position while Malaysia's Asri Bin Azman remained runner-up. In the laser 4.7 category, Thailand's Nupasoon Khunban Jan earned the first position while Singapore's Izak Gow grabbed the second position. In the windsurfing category, Pakistan's Raja Qasim Abbas won the first position and Malaysia's Mohammad Azdeen claimed the second position. On this occasion, the Chief of the Naval Staff Mohammad Ajmal Khan Niazi appreciated the efforts of participants and congratulated the winners in various categories. He further said that Pakistan Navy would continue to organize national and international sailing competitions to promote sailing and provide a platform to emerging national athletes to excel at national and international level.

Sports Bulletin Report LAHORE: BN Polo outplayed Master Paints/Newage Cables by 12-6 in the Century Ventures National Open Polo Championship for Quaid-e-Azam Gold Cup 2023 main final played here at the crowded Lahore Polo Club on Sunday. Hamza Mawaz Khan emerged as hero of the main final, as he hammered five fabulous goals while he was ably supported by foreign players Tito Ruiz Guinazu and Elena Venot, who contributed with two and three goals respectively. Babar Naseem converted one goal. For Master Paints/Newage Cables, Simon Prado scored a hat-trick while Juan Cruz Greguol knocked in a brace and Raja Temur Nadeem scored one goal. BN Polo were off to flying start in the final, as they thrashed in three goals, two by Hamza and one by Tito Ruiz, to take a 3-0 lead while Master Paints/Newage’s Simon Prado converted one before the end of the first chukker to make it 1-3. Prado added one more in his team’s tally at the beginning of the second chukker to further reduce the margin to 2-3. But BN bounced back well by banging in a brace, one each by Hamza and Tito Ruiz, to stretch their lead to 5-2. The third chukker began with a field goal by Raja Temur that helped MP/Newage make it 3-5 but BN Polo converted two back-to-back goals through Hamza and Babar to enhance their lead to 7-3. The highly-charged fourth chukker saw BN Polo cracked a quartet including two by Elena and one each by Tito and Hamza. They earned a healthy 11-3 lead while MP/Newage scored three goals, two by Greguol and one by Prado to reduce the deficit to 6-11. In the decisive chukker, BN Polo struck the only goal through Elena Venot to win the historic event by 12-6. Earlier in the Subsidiary Final, Team FG Polo outpaced DS Polo by 10-6. For FG Polo, Juan Ambroggio emerged as top scorer with a contribution of five goals while Abbas Mukhtar struck a hat-trick and Ramiro Zavaleta banged in a brace. For DS Polo, Javier Gurrero thrashed in three goals while Hissam Ali Hyder scored two and Bilal Haye hit one goal. The chief guest of the final was Chairman Pakistan Polo Association Lt Gen Khalid Zia while Club President Umar Sadiq, Directors of Century Ventures Pvt. Ltd. Ayaz Lakhani, Kamran Afzal, Wasim Mazhar, Nazia Wasim, Secretary of PPA Lt Col Ayaz Mahmood, LPC executive committee members, players, their families and a large number of spectators were also present on the occasion. In the end, the chief guest distributed prizes among the winners, runners-up and top performers and also honoured the organizers and club staff. Ibrahim Sultan was awarded in -2 to 0 category, Basel Faisal Khokhar in 0 to 2 category and Agha Musa Ali Khan in 2 to 4 category while the most valuable pakistani player of the season award was handed over to Hamza Mawaz Khan and the best foreign player of the tournament to Tito Ruiz Guinazu. Simon Prado of Master Paints scored the most goals in the tournament. The best Pakistani mare of the tournament was awarded to Raja Temur Nadeem's mare 11-481. The Syed Wajid Ali Shah trophy was awarded to Kamila, a foreign mare owned by Babar Naseem. Match Summary (Main Final): BN Polo beat Master Paint/Newage Cables (12-6) BN POLO: Hamza Mawaz Khan 5, Elena Venot 3, Juan Ruiz Guinazu 3, Babar Naseem. Total: 12. MASTER PAINTS/NEWAGE: Simon Prado 3, Juan Cruz Greguol 2, Raja Temur Nadeem 1. Total: 6.  UMPIRES: John Fisher & Chris Hyde.  Subsidiary (Final) FG Polo beat DS Polo (10-6) FG POLO: Juan Ambroggio 5, Abbas Mukhtar 3, Ramiro Zavaleta 2: Total: 10  DS POLO: Javier Gurrero 3, Hissam Ali Hyder 2, Bilal Haye 1: Total: 6. UMPIRES: John Fisher & Chris Hyde.

Sports Bulletin Report ISLAMABAD: Hamza Asim overpowered Yawar Ali 2-1 in the Men’s Singles final of the ITC Open Tennis Championship that concluded here at Islamabad Tennis Complex (ITC) on Saturday. The final score-line was 6-3, 4-6, and 10-6. In the men’s singles final, Hamza Asim and Yawer Ali showed their class and played an outstanding game. In the Super tie break Hamza Asim showed powerful forehand and changed the match in his favour. Hassan Baig Vice President of Islamabad Tennis Association along with other club members distributed the prizes among the winners and runner ups. Results (Men’s Singles Semifinals): Hamza Asim beat Zalan Khan 8-2 Yawar Ali beat Salar Khan 8-6 Final: Hamza Asim beat Yawar Ali 6-3, 4-6 (10-6) Men’s Doubles (Final): Yawar Ali and Zalan beat Murtaza Khan and Amin Khan 6-3, 3-6, (10-7) Ladies’ Singles (Final): Marukh Sajid beat Lalarukh Sajid 8-4 Boys’ Under-18 (Final): Mohammad Salar beat Haziq Asim 6-3, 5-7, (10-6) Boys’ Under-14 (Final): Haziq Asim beat Abdul Wasay 6-0, 6-3 Girls’ Under-18 (Semifinals): Marukh beat Ayesha 8-4 Lalarukh beat Amara Khan 8-4 Final: Marukh beat Lalarukh 8-2; Girls’ Under-14 (Semifinals): Lalarukh beat Aysha 8-4 Marukh beat Zara 8-1; Final: Lalarukh Sajid beat Marukh Sajid 8-3.