Pakistan got off to a forgettable start in their Champions Trophy 2025 campaign as they lost against New Zealand by 60 runs. Opting to bowl first, Pakistan gave away 320 runs after Will Young and Tom Latham smashed centuries. Later, the hosts got bundled out for 260 as their batters completely failed to put up a strong fight against the Kiwis. For New Zealand, skipper Mitchell Santner and William O’Rourke scalped three wickets each. After this loss, former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal slammed Mohammad Rizwan and co for their poor performance. 

In a conversation on ARY News, Kamran asked lashed out at Team Pakistan and called them undeserving for Champions Trophy. 

“Zimbabwe aur Ireland ki series ho rahi hai, udhar jaayein. Wahan jaake khelein aur agar hum udhar jeette hain toh hum deserve karte hain (Champions Trophy). Humari iss tarah ki cricket ho rahi hai. Itni neeche gir gayi hai humari cricket pichle 6-7 saal mein. (There’s a series going on between Zimbabwe and Ireland. Go there and play with them. And if you win against them, then only you deserve to play the Champions Trophy. This is condition of Pakistan cricket. Our cricket standards have fallen drastically in the last 6-7 years.)” said Kamran. 

During the Champions Trophy opener, New Zealand were struggling at 73/3 but centuries from Will Young and Tom Latham helped them reach 320/5 in 50 overs. Kamran went on to praise New Zealand for their mature brand of cricket.

“They (New Zealand) were three wickets down in the early stages of the match. Look at their maturity that they took time, rotated the strike and started firing only after getting the full control. This is what a mature team does. They always come with a backup plan. Their batter Rachin Ravindra got injured and even his replacement (Will Young) scored a century,” said Kamran. 

After the match, Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan admitted that the team made mistakes against the Kiwis. 

“They made a good target, we didn’t expect that. We were looking at something around 260. We tried our best and used all tactics, but they played well and put up a good target. We see the pitch conditions, earlier the pitch wasn’t easy to bat but when Will Young and Latham got together batted it got easier. At the end, we made the same mistake like we did in Lahore and they made a good target,” said Rizwan during the post match presentation. 

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal lavished praise on Delhi-tearaway Mayank Yadav for his splendid T20I debut against Bangladesh in Gwalior. The stage was set for Mayank to test the speed gun to its limits at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Stadium against a sturdy Bangladesh batting lineup. The 22-year-old, who blew the opposition away with his sheer pace by notching 156.7 kph, showed signs of returning to his peak after a long injury layoff.

He made waves with variation in his pace and made Bangladesh batters toil hard for each run in his four-over spell. Kamran sang verses of Mayank’s praise after the youngster made history in a memorable T20I debut for India.

“Mayank Yadav came back with fitness and bowled a maiden over in his debut. Mayank Yadav is the excitement in this series. He was the talk of the town during the Indian Premier League. India’s medical panel is brilliant. The way Mayank bowled what a brilliant debut (Kya zabardast debut kiya hai),” Kamran said on his YouTube channel.

On a Sunday night, Mayank left Bangladesh batters scratching their heads while attempting to understand his true nature.

As Towhid Hridoy failed to garner a single run in the youngster’s over, Mayank became just the third Indian cricketer to bowl a maiden in his first over in the T20I format.

Before him, former quick Ajit Agarkar and his compatriot Arshdeep Singh entered the special club by bowling a maiden in their first over in the shortest format of cricket.

Agarkar became the first Indian to achieve the feat in 2006, during India’s clash against South Africa in Joburg. Left-armer Arshdeep was the second Indian to achieve the feat during India’s clash against England in Southampton in 2022.

India skipper Suryakumar Yadav handed him the ball to bowl the final over of the powerplay. He sent thunderbolts down with his pace and delivered a stunning maiden over.

In his second over, Mayank touched 149.9 kph which was his fastest delivery of the night. He bamboozled Bangladesh’s experienced all-rounder Mahmudullah and made him his first T20I victim.

The pace itself was enough to confuse the experienced Mahmudullah. He danced around the crease, tried to slice the ball and lofted it straight into the hands of Washington Sundar at deep point. He ended his remarkable debut with figures of 1/21.

India’s visit to Pakistan for next year’s Champions Trophy 2025 remains a mystery with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) yet to provide a clarity on their plans. Last year, Pakistan co-hosted the Asia Cup as the tournament was played under hybrid model after India refused to travel. India played their matches in Sri Lanka, including the one-sided final, which they won after beating the latter. Multiple reports have claimed that India is unlikely to take part in next year’s showpiece event.

Reacting the reports, former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal has claimed that if a country like Australia can play there, India too should follow the suit.

“When a team like Australia can visit Pakistan, why not India? The India-Pakistan bilateral series should happen. Both governments need to sit and talk. This will benefit cricket,” Akmal told Times of India.

BCCI has time and time again said that the Indian team will only go to Pakistan if they get travel clearance from the central goverment.

Even India captain Rohit Sharma insisted that the players are ready to go anywhere, but as far as playing in Pakistan is concerned, the final call will be taken by the Indian government.

However, Akmal suggested that the Pakistan government will never stop their players from playing in India. Notably, Pakistan toured India last year for the ODI World Cup. Akmal pleaded that India should also take part in the Champions Trophy as Pakistan has put in huge effort to get cricket back to the country.

“Pehle aapne Asia Cup le liya, ab Champions Trophy ki baatein kar rahe hain. Kyun kar rahe hain aap aisa? (First you took away the Asia Cup from Pakistan; now talking about the Champions Trophy, why?) … Pakistan has done a lot of hard work to bring cricket back to the country. If India invites Pakistan, our government will never stop us. They will say, ‘Go and play.’ The Indian government should do the same. Let’s keep politics aside and play cricket,” he added.

Star wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan was denied his double century in the first innings of the ongoing 1st Test against Sri Lanka by Pakistan captain Shan Masood, who declared the innings at 448/6 on Day 2. Rizwan was batting on 171 when Masood decided to call back him and Shaheen Afridi (29) late in the final session at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday. However, Rizwan still managed to script history, ending a 15-year long wait for Pakistan in Test cricket.

For the unversed, Rizwan is the first Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter to score 150 or more since Kamran Akmal against Sri Lanka in 2009.

Rizwan also became the fifth Pakistani batter to score 150+ in a Test innings after Taslif Arim, Imtiaz Ahmed, Rashid Latif and Akmal.

Meanwhile, Rizwan and Saud Shakeel knocked brilliant centuries to guide Pakistan to an imposing 448-6 declared before Bangladesh closed the second day on 27-0.

Rizwan’s unbeaten 171 was his Test best and third century in the format while Shakeel’s 141 was equally polished as the duo lifted Pakistan from a precarious 16-3 on Wednesday.

Bangladesh openers Shadman Islam was 12 and Zakir Hasan on 11, negotiating 12 overs of pace without any problem as the Rawalpindi stadium pitch has not assisted bowlers as predicted.

Bangladesh had pushed Pakistan on the backfoot on day one but it was Shakeel who repaired the innings with Saim Ayub (56) through a 98-run fourth wicket stand before another 240 runs were added for the next with Rizwan as Pakistan blunted Bangladesh’s attack.

Rizwan, who hit three sixes and 11 boundaries in a 239-ball knock, added a quick 44 with Shaheen Shah Afridi who smacked two sixes and a boundary in a blistering 29 not out.

That allowed Pakistan to declare their first innings 78-minutes after tea.

Shakeel said it is too early to give a verdict on the pitch.

“The ball was moving early on (Wednesday) but if you look at Bangladesh’s bowling they bowled short of length and had they pitched it up they would have got more success,” said Shakeel.

“Let our bowlers bowl tomorrow then we can have a final say on the pitch.”

(With AFP Inputs)

Due to the ongoing renovations at the National Stadium in Karachi, the second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh has now shifted the game to Rawalpindi, meaning that both Tests will be played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. This comes after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had said that the match will be played behind closed doors (without fans). While the PCB has made the u-turn regarding the same, shifting the game to Rawalpindi, former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal has slammed the board for making an “international mockery” of the situation.

“The second Test match will be played in Karachi. So I think you know that there is a renovation going on in Karachi. They are preparing a stadium for the Champions Trophy. So it will be a joke of Pakistan that Test matches are being played in Pakistan without a crowd,” Akmal said on his YouTube channel.

Kamran pointed out that Pakistan have world class stadiums, barring the three big venues (Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi), adding that the board could’ve organised one of the Tests at venues like Multan and Faislabad.

“And we don’t just have 2-3 stadiums; we also have Faisalabad Stadium. We could have played there too; it is a top-class stadium. So much cricket has happened there. There is a stadium in Multan. And you know that Multan Stadium is very good. And the crowd also comes there. So you know that this is your stadium; you could have put another Test match at one of these two venues. So it would have been good. So I think it will be an international mockery of our cricket. These things should not happen,” the former cricketer added.

Since international cricket resumed in Pakistan following the aftermath of the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team, PCB have only organised games at three specific venues.

The construction experts advised PCB that the construction could continue during the playing hours. As a result, players could get distracted and disturbed due to the noise and dust produced during the construction work.

For the record, the renovations at the National Stadium are being done to get the venue ready for the Champions Trophy.

Two of the finest former cricketers for their respective teams, Harbhajan Singh and Kamran Akmal came face-to-face during the World Championship of Legends match in England. The animated chat between the two made fans believe that the former Pakistan star’s controversial ‘Sikh joke’ at Arshdeep Singh was likely a topic of discussion. Kamran has now come out and admitted that it was a topic of discussion between the two. But, there was another topic which he raised during the chat, following which Harbhajan apologised.

Akmal had made a racist Sikh joke as a pundit for a Pakistani channel during the T20 World Cup 2024. As the video of his joke went viral on social media, Harbhajan took a sharp swipe at him. The former Pakistan wicket-keeper later issued an apology as well.

“(Mujhse galti hui thi aur wahi ek baat chal rahi thi) I made a mistake, and that was the only topic being discussed. It was never my intention, and I can never think negatively about anyone’s religion. I have made that clear. It should be done because I am younger, they are seniors and a great off-spinner in Indian and world cricket,” Akmal said as per Paktv.tv, opening up on the chat he had with Harbhajan.

During the T20 World Cup final between India and South Africa, Harbhajan Singh was also roped in as a pundit by Star Sports. During a show on the channel, Harbhajan produced a vivid laughter when the topic of a comparison between Pakistan’s Babar Azam and West Indies legend Brian Lara came up.

Kamran revealed that he reported the matter to Bhajji during the chat, highlighting how he was wrong to have mocked Babar in such a manner. The retired Indian spinner admitted his mistake on the matter.

“Then we talked, and you might have seen Babar being mocked. No doubt, Babar is also a great batsman in Pakistan cricket; he has scored the most hundreds for Pakistan. No doubt, Brian Lara and Babar’s class don’t match, and they shouldn’t be compared. But as cricketers, we shouldn’t mock anyone. So I talked about it, and he (Harbhajan) also agreed that it shouldn’t have happened from his side either,” he explained.