Tag: Sports

Showbiz celebrities have rallied behind star fast bowler, Shoaib Akhtar, following his resignation from Pakistan Television (PTV) on air after facing rude and obnoxious behavior by the host, Dr. Nauman Niaz, during a post-match show on Tuesday.

Both were part of the analyst panel of the PTV Sports program ‘Game On Hai’ that also featured the likes of the former English captain, David Gower, and the West Indies batting great, Sir Vivian Richards, among other local cricketers.

During the discussions on Pakistan’s performance against New Zealand in Sharjah, Shoaib corrected Dr. Nauman that Haris Rauf was the find of Lahore Qalandars’ player development program (PDP) and not a U19 product.

The anchor took issue with his interruption and asked the national star to leave the show.

“You’re being a little rude and I don’t want to say this, but if you’re being over smart, you can go. I am saying this on-air,” Niaz told Akhtar and switched to a commercial break.

After the break, the former speedster apologized to viewers for the untoward incident and announced his resignation on-air, and walked off the show.

A large number of fans, journalists, politicians, and celebrities jumped the fray in support of the national star. They demanded Dr. Nauman Niaz’s resignation and a public apology.

Seasoned actor, director, and producer, Adnan Siddiqui, lauded how Akhtar handled the situation.

“Really applaud the grace shown by Shoaib Akhtar. He handled the insult heaped on him with so much maturity and patience. Anyone else would have probably lost his cool on air, but this guy maintained his dignity. Signs of a good upbringing.”

Singer Ali Zafar stressed that the conflicting opinions should be expressed politely, especially during a live television show, and urged everyone to “respect our national heroes.”

Humayun Saeed schooled the anchor and said he should have “at the very least apologized to Shoaib Akhtar.”

Actor and show host, Ahmed Ali Butt, said in a lengthy Instagram post that the onus for the damage controlled was on Niaz, but he failed to fulfill his responsibility and believed he owed an apology to the national hero.

Earlier, Akhtar recorded a video message to clarify what had happened on the ‘Game On Hai’ set and how he was treated with disrespect on national television.

Shoaib said he apologized on TV to patch things up on air, but the anchor did not reciprocate the gesture. He later announced that he would not be continuing his stint with the national broadcaster.

“A lot of apologies guys, a lot of apologies. I am resigning from PTV. The way I have been treated on national TV, I don’t think I should be sitting here right now. So, I am resigning. Thank you very much,” the former cricketer added.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Pakistan will play their third match against Afghanistan of T20 World Cup in Dubai tomorrow [Friday] at 7:00 p.m.

PTV sports will telecast the match live from 7.00 Pm.Pakistan is leading the group one with four points. Pakistan won their opening two matches against arch rival India and New Zealand.Meanwhile Afghanistan is sitting at second place after big win against Scotland. They have two points.Namibia is third with two points while India, New Zealand and Scotland failed to win their matches so far.

Source: Radio Pakistan

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry has taken notice of the humiliating treatment meted out to legendary Pakistani pacer, Shoaib Akhtar, by Dr. Noman Niaz during a live broadcast on state television.

In this regard, the Information Minister has also formed a high-level committee to investigate the incident that took place on a state broadcast following Pakistan’s victory against New Zealand last night.

According to details, Managing Director (MD) Pakistan Television (PTV) Aamer Manzoor will head the committee. Chief Human Resource Officer, Director News, Director Sports, and Director Programs will also be a part of the committee.

The Information Minister has summoned the inaugural meeting of the committee later today. The committee will analyze both on-air and off-air footage of the show and will determine why the heated argument between Shoaib and Dr. Noman occurred in the first place.

It will also summon Shoaib and Dr. Noman separately to hear their sides of the story. After ascertaining the reason and culprit behind the verbal spat, the committee will submit its findings to the Information Minister at the earliest.

In case the committee identifies Dr. Noman as the wrongdoer, the Ministry for Information and Broadcasting will initiate disciplinary action against him.

PTV News’ official Twitter handle has also confirmed the development. In a Tweet, the PTV News penned that the PTV administration has taken notice of the incident that took place between Shoaib and the host of PTV Sports’ program Game On Hai, Dr. Noman.

What Actually Happened?

Shoaib Akhtar and Dr. Noman Niaz got into an on-air verbal spat during the post-match discussion where panelists, including legends like Sir. Vivian Richards and David Gower were discussing Pakistan’s 5-wicket win over New Zealand in the 2021 T20 World Cup last night.

It all started when Shoaib took a few jibes at Dr. Noman while sharing his thoughts about the match. Dr. Noman did not condone Shoaib’s digs at him, calling him rude and asking to leave the show. He immediately took a break after this.

To save everyone from embarrassment, Shoaib clarified that he was only messing around the host with a mutual understanding and suggested Dr. Noman politely apologize for calling him rude and asking him to leave.

However, Dr. Noman refused to apologize to Shoaib, forcing the latter to quit PTV Sports on-air.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The rise of Mohammad Rizwan has been nothing short of spectacular. The Pakistani wicket-keeper batter is the leading run-scorer in T20Is and T20s in 2021 and has gone from strength to strength since his promotion to the top of the order.

While Rizwan is one of the top cricketers in the world and one of the superstars of Pakistan cricket, this was certainly not the case just a few years ago. He was considered as a secondary wicket-keeper and was behind the likes of Sarfaraz Ahmed and Kamran Akmal in the pecking order. He was never considered as a reliable batter and this was certainly not the case in the shortest format of the game.

The 29-year old could not even make it to the starting line-up in Pakistan Super League (PSL). He was drafted by Lahore Qalandars in the first season of PSL and was shifted to Karachi Kings after underwhelming performances. While Rizwan managed to win a PSL title with Karachi Kings in the fifth edition, he only played a few matches as West Indian Chadwick Walton started ahead of him.

This adversity was nothing new for Mohammad Rizwan. He had been used to overcoming the odds ever since his debut season in Pakistan’s domestic circuit. Rizwan made his debut in first-class cricket in 2008 after a lot of deliberation between the coaching staff on whether to include him in the squad or not. Current Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s head coach, Abdur Rehman was the coach that took a stand against the higher-ups and insisted on including Rizwan in the squad.

Abdur Rehman’s faith in Rizwan paid off in his first-ever first-class match as he scored a solid half-century while other Peshawar batter’s failed. Although Peshawar had lost the match, Rizwan’s performance showcased the skills he possessed.

Despite a magnificent performance, the regional selectors were not in favor of including him in Peshawar’s squad for their next match against Karachi in Karachi. Again, Abdur Rehman took a stand and did not allow the team bus to leave without Rizwan. Finally, the higher-ups succumbed to Abdur Rehman’s stance and allowed Rizwan to travel with the team.

Prior to the start of the match, Rizwan got injured and told the coach that he is not fit to play. The coach replied, “tu mar jaayega laikin tu match khelega (you’ll die but you will play the match).” Rizwan once again rose to the occasion and despite suffering from an injury, he scored yet another half-century to draw the match for Peshawar.

Rizwan and Abdur Rehman re-united once again as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lifted the 2021 National T20 Cup. While, Rizwan had captained the team for the majority of the tournament, he was unavailable to take part in the second phase of the tournament due to Pakistan’s 2021 T20 World Cup campaign.

The gritty wicket-keeper batter was fortunate enough to be promoted up the order by former Pakistan head coach, Misbah-ul-Haq. He has not looked back since then and his performances in all formats of the game speak for themselves.

Source: Pro Pakistani

Pakistan’s all-format captain, Babar Azam continued his terrific run of form as he led his side to a historic ten-wicket victory over arch-rivals India in their first match of the 2021 T20 World Cup. Babar scored an unbeaten knock of 68 runs off 52 balls as Pakistan defeated India for the first time in a World Cup match.

Babar has been magnificent for Pakistan ever since making his T20I debut in 2016. While Babar has scored important runs for Pakistan in every country he has played, his record in UAE has been outstanding.

The stylish batter has played 12 matches in UAE and has won every match he has played in the country. He has won thrice against West Indies, twice against Sri Lanka, thrice against Australia and New Zealand each, and once against India. He has also scored heavily in the country, scoring five half-centuries in the 12 innings he has played.

The 27-year old has scored 460 runs at an average of 57.50 and a strike rate of 118.55 in 12 T20I innings in UAE. His overall T20 record in UAE is immaculate as well. He has scored 1,747 runs at an average of 39.70 and a strike rate of 116.31 in 53 innings in the country.

Babar will be determined to continue his unbeaten run in the country in Pakistan’s next match in the T20 World Cup. Pakistan will face New Zealand in another high-octane clash on Tuesday at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

Source: Pro Pakistani

The first round of the 2021 T20 World Cup came to a close on Friday with Sri Lanka’s convincing 8 wicket victory over the Netherlands. Sri Lanka along with a surprise package, Namibia, qualified for the next round from Group A of the first round while Bangladesh alongside Scotland qualified from Group B. The four teams will now join the other top eight teams in the Super 12s stage of the competition.

Sri Lanka and Bangladesh have been placed in Group 1 alongside Australia, England, West Indies, and South Africa while Scotland and Namibia have been placed in Group 2 alongside Pakistan, India, New Zealand, and Afghanistan.

The Super 12s stage of the mega event is set to commence on Saturday with powerhouses Australia and South Africa going head to head at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium at Abu Dhabi. The highly-anticipated encounter will be followed by the defending champion West Indies taking on current ODI World Champion England at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Pakistan will play its first match of the competition against arch-rival India on 24 October at Dubai International Cricket Stadium while their last match of the Super 12s stage will be played against Scotland on 7 November at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

The Men in Green will be determined to win all five of their matches in the Super 12s stage and qualify for the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since the 2012 T20 World Cup.

Source: Pro Pakistani