Pakistan Cricket I News & Discussions

Babar Azam’s BBL stint cut short, set to return to Pakistan for team camp

Dawn Sport
January 22, 2026

Babar Azam will miss the remainder of the Big Bash League as the Sydney Sixers announced on Thursday that their opener had been recalled to Pakistan for a national team camp ahead of a T20I series against Australia next week.

The announcement came just ahead of the Sixers’ challenger final against Hobart Hurricanes today, with the winner to play Perth Scorchers in the BBL final in Perth on Sunday.

Babar thanked his team and coaches in a video message shared by the Sydney Sixers and BBL on social media.

“I have very much enjoyed my time here, and unfortunately, I’m going to leave the team because of national duty,” he said. “I have a lot of things to take back home.”
 
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Pakistan has yet to announce its squad for the three-match series with Australia beginning January 29 in Lahore. The series will serve as a warm-up for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup next month.

So far, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has not issued a statement on recalling Babar.

According to Cricinfo, Babar had initially been available for the entire tournament and was not selected in Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka earlier this month.

Sixers general manager Rachael Haynes confirmed that they had initially planned for Babar to play the entire tournament and were “sincerely grateful for the opportunity to have had Babar represent the club during his time in Australia“.
 

U19 World Cup: Pakistan beat Zimbabwe by 8 wickets, advance into Super Six round


News Desk Published January 22, 2026 Updated about 13 hours ago
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Pakistan players celebrate a Bangladesh dismissal during the U-19 Asia Cup semi-final at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai on December 19, 2025. — Courtesy ACC
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Pakistan clinched a comfortable 8-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in Harare during the team’s last group-stage match in the ongoing U19 World Cup, advancing into the Super Six round.

After facing a 37-run defeat by England in their tournament opener, the Green Shirts made a comeback, beating Scotland and Zimbabwe in back-to-back matches.


With the win, Pakistan has secured second place in the group rankings, with England on top.

As per the tournament’s format, the top three teams from the four groups will qualify for the Super Six round, where they will be divided into two groups of six teams, each playing two matches.


This means that despite the loss, Zimbabwe will also advance into the Super Six stage.

Pakistan U19 captain Farhan Yousaf had won the toss and elected to field first at Takashinga Sports Club.

Pakistan’s bowlers maintained a strong grip over the Zimbabwean batters, with a dominating performance by Ali Raza, who took three wickets and bowled four maiden overs.

Mohammad Sayyam, Abdul Subhan, and Momin Qamar also grabbed a couple of wickets each for Pakistan.

For Zimbabwe, Nathaniel Hlabangana could only score 59 runs; no other batter could assist him in keeping the momentum and building the partnerships. Eight Zimbabwean batters could not even reach double figures.

Pakistan bowled out Zimbabwe on a score of just 128 runs in 35.5 overs.

While chasing the target, Pakistan’s batters outshone the Zimbabwean bowlers by achieving the total in the 27th over, with the fall of two wickets.

Sameer Minhas won the player of the match, with an unbeaten 74 off 75 deliveries, including six boundaries and four sixes.


Minhas was aided by Usman Khan and Ahmed Hussain, who scored 26 and 24 runs, respectively.


1
Pakistan players celebrate a Bangladesh dismissal during the U-19 Asia Cup semi-final at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai on December 19, 2025. — Courtesy ACC
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Pakistan clinched a comfortable 8-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in Harare during the team’s last group-stage match in the ongoing U19 World Cup, advancing into the Super Six round.

After facing a 37-run defeat by England in their tournament opener, the Green Shirts made a comeback, beating Scotland and Zimbabwe in back-to-back matches.


With the win, Pakistan has secured second place in the group rankings, with England on top.

As per the tournament’s format, the top three teams from the four groups will qualify for the Super Six round, where they will be divided into two groups of six teams, each playing two matches.


This means that despite the loss, Zimbabwe will also advance into the Super Six stage.

Pakistan U19 captain Farhan Yousaf had won the toss and elected to field first at Takashinga Sports Club.

Pakistan’s bowlers maintained a strong grip over the Zimbabwean batters, with a dominating performance by Ali Raza, who took three wickets and bowled four maiden overs.

Mohammad Sayyam, Abdul Subhan, and Momin Qamar also grabbed a couple of wickets each for Pakistan.

For Zimbabwe, Nathaniel Hlabangana could only score 59 runs; no other batter could assist him in keeping the momentum and building the partnerships. Eight Zimbabwean batters could not even reach double figures.

Pakistan bowled out Zimbabwe on a score of just 128 runs in 35.5 overs.

While chasing the target, Pakistan’s batters outshone the Zimbabwean bowlers by achieving the total in the 27th over, with the fall of two wickets.

Sameer Minhas won the player of the match, with an unbeaten 74 off 75 deliveries, including six boundaries and four sixes.


Minhas was aided by Usman Khan and Ahmed Hussain, who scored 26 and 24 runs, respectively.
 
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Who is Usman Tariq and why has his bowling action been controversial?​


Usman Tariq


Tariq has taken 11 wickets in four T20s, including 3-27 against the United States at this World Cup

Tariq is a 28-year-old off-spinner from Pakistan. He has played just two first-class matches, instead concentrating on T20s.

After an initial season in the Pakistan Super League in 2023-24, he has become more prominent over the past year with a successful PSL and Caribbean Premier League in 2025, plus two matches in this winter's ILT20 in the United Arab Emirates.

But it is Tariq's bowling action that has made him so discussed.

He trots to the crease and pauses in his delivery stride, also coming to a complete stop, before slinging the ball down with a low-armed action.

During the warm-up series between Australia and Pakistan before this World Cup, Australia batter Cameron Green mimicked a side-arm throwing action after being dismissed by Tariq. He later apologised.

During the ILT20, England batter Tom Banton also appeared to suggest to the umpire that Tariq was throwing.

Tariq's action has twice been reported by on-field umpires during the Pakistan Super League, in 2024 and again in 2025, but he was cleared on both occasions.
 

What are the laws?​

The regulations around whether a bowler is 'throwing' are simple.

Bowlers are not allowed to straighten their arm by more than 15 degrees from the time the arm reaches the shoulder in the bowling action.

"An illegal bowling action is a bowling action where the player's elbow extension exceeds 15 degrees between their arm reaching the horizontal and the ball being released," the International Cricket Council's playing conditions say.

Bowlers with suspected actions are first reported by the on-field umpires or match referee and then must undergo testing at an ICC-approved testing centre.

Tariq's action was cleared at the centre in Lahore, Pakistan.

The laws and regulations around Tariq's pause are less clearcut, with the issue falling under the "unfair play" section of the laws and playing conditions – rather than being explicitly defined by a law.

The on-field umpires can interpret the unfair play law, possibly using Law 41.5 which covers the "deliberate distraction or deception of batter" or the more broader laws around unfair play, to ensure the match goes ahead fairly.

"If the pause is obviously longer or shorter, or if he bowls without a pause, that will be considered deception" was one interpretation offered by former ICC umpire Anil Chaudhary this week.

"Everything seems OK up to now. I am not seeing anything wrong."

The issue came up in 2014 when former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin paused in his delivery stride, resulting in a tightening of how umpires interpreted these laws.
 
The umpires are left to judge whether the length of a pause in a bowler's action is fair or unfair.

Usman Tariq


Tariq took 2-16 in his one match against Australia earlier this year

What has been said?​

Tariq has said any flex in his action comes because he has "two elbows" in the joint.

Pakistan captain Salman said the spinner is his "trump card".

"He has been bowling very well for the past few months," Salman said.

"And he has also bowled very well in the league cricket he was playing before playing for Pakistan.

"You can say that he is a trump card for us."

India captain Suryakumar Yadav was seen mimicking Tariq's action in the nets before the encounter and backed his batters to succeed.

"He is a different character when he comes to bowl, but at the same time we cannot just surrender to him," Suryakumar said.

"We practise with similar type of bowlers and similar actions and we will try to execute what we are practising in net sessions."
 

Pakistan’s Champions Trophy winning skipper Sarfaraz retires aged 38​

Pakistan’s Champions Trophy winning skipper Sarfaraz retires aged 38​

Pakistan's Sarfaraz Ahmed in action during the Pakistan v Afghanistan match in Leeds, Britain on June 29, 2019. (REUTERS)

Pakistan's Sarfaraz Ahmed in action during the Pakistan v Afghanistan match in Leeds, Britain on June 29, 2019. (REUTERS)
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Reuters
March 15, 202614:11






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  • Karachi-born Sarfaraz Ahmed played 54 Tests, 117 ODIs and 61 T20Is for Pakistan
  • Ahmed will be remembered most for leading Pakistan to Champions Trophy win in 2017
Former Pakistan captain ‌Sarfaraz Ahmed, who guided his country to their maiden Champions Trophy title in 2017, announced his retirement from the sport on Sunday.

The Karachi-born wicketkeeper-batter featured in 54 tests, 117 one-day internationals and 61 Twenty20 international matches over nearly two decades, accumulating over 6,000 runs across all formats while he also claimed 315 catches ‌and 56 ‌stumpings.

The 38-year-old led Pakistan to ‌Champions ⁠Trophy glory in ⁠2017 when they beat India by 180 runs in the final at the Oval. He had also guided the Under-19 team to World Cup victory in 2006.

“It has been the greatest honor of ⁠my life to represent Pakistan. ‌From leading the ‌U-19 team to a world title in 2006 ‌to lifting the ICC Champions Trophy ‌in 2017, every moment in Pakistan colors has been special,” Sarfaraz said in a statement.

“Captaining Pakistan across all formats was a dream ‌come true. I always tried to play fearless cricket and build ⁠a ⁠united team.

“Seeing players like Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and others grow into match-winners during my captaincy is one of my proudest achievements.”

Sarfaraz captained Pakistan in 100 international matches across all three formats and also led the side to the number one spot in the T20 rankings.

His last match for Pakistan was a test against Australia in Perth in December 2023.

 
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