ISLAMABAD: Pakistan left-arm fast bowler Wahab Riaz said Monday he has agreed to return to test cricket if required for a series in England.
The 34-year-old Riaz has taken 83 wickets in just 27 test matches since making his debut in 2010. He was among 29 players named for the three tests and three Twenty20s in August and September after the Pakistan Cricket Board decided to send an extended squad in case a player is ruled out due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board communicated with me to play test cricket (in England), if required, and to play for Pakistan is always a priority so I said yes without even thinking,” Riaz told reporters during a video teleconference organized by the PCB.
Riaz took an indefinite break from test cricket last year just before Pakistan toured Australia. Mohammad Amir, another left-arm quick bowler, also quit before that tour and the pair's absence didn't go over well with head coach Misbah-ul-Haq or fast-bowling coach Waqar Younis.
But Riaz defended his decision because he had played just four test matches in three years despite being a regular member of Pakistan ODI and Twenty20 teams.
“The priority was not different last year,” Riaz explained. “I haven’t been playing test cricket regularly in the last three, four years before this management arrived so the priority was to focus on white ball cricket."
Riaz also lost his place in the centrally contracted players this year, but for him playing for Pakistan was more important than looking at the contract.
“Of course central contact gives security to a player,” he said. “But playing for Pakistan is more important to me and I have got this opportunity once again by being selected in the team.”
When asked whether it would be only a one-off test series, Riaz said he had to see how things go in England.
“I know playing in England is not easy,” he said. “Getting an opportunity to play for Pakistan in red ball cricket is also a challenge for me which I have to accept and I accepted it.
“As a senior player, I wanted to create an example ... because it all has to be for Pakistan, not for yourself and the color of the ball does not matter.”
The rise in COVID-19 cases in Pakistan has forced the PCB to cancel a training camp of the team and the team is expected to leave for England in early July to get enough time to get used to the conditions.
Pakistan's Riaz ready for test return, if needed in England
https://arab.news/8dvc8
Pakistan's Riaz ready for test return, if needed in England
- 34-year-old Riaz has taken 83 wickets in just 27 test matches since making his debut in 2010
- Riaz took an indefinite break from test cricket last year just before Pakistan toured Australia
Pakistan stocks fall amid Afghanistan tensions, recover from intraday lows
- Index drops as much as 3,081 points before paring losses after no retaliation reported from Kabul
- Banking and energy stocks drag benchmark lower as regional tensions weigh on investor sentiment
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s benchmark KSE-100 index fell on Friday amid escalating tensions with Afghanistan as Pakistan bombed government targets in Kabul and Kandahar where the Afghan Taliban leadership is based, triggering early selling pressure before the market recovered from sharp intraday losses.
The strikes marked a significant escalation in cross-border tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, raising concerns about potential retaliation and broader regional instability. The development comes at a time when relations between the two sides have been strained for months over security issues along the border and militant attacks in Pakistan that it blames on Afghan-based groups. Kabul denies it harbors such outfits.
Heightened geopolitical risk tends to weigh on investor sentiment, particularly in emerging markets, as uncertainty over security and diplomatic fallout can prompt risk-off positioning and capital outflows. Traders said investors reacted swiftly to the headlines, pricing in the possibility of further escalation.
“KSE 100 Index opened on a negative note and declined to make an intraday low of -3,081 points (down by -1.82 percent), this negativity can be accredited to regional tension with Afghanistan, where Pakistan targeted key military installation of Afghanistan Taliban regime in Kabul,” brokerage house Topline Securities said in its market review.
The index dropped as much as 3,081 points, or 1.82 percent, during the session before recovering part of the losses after no retaliatory strikes were reported.
It settled at 168,062 points, down 0.49 percent on the day.
Losses were led by United Bank Limited, Fauji Fertilizer Company, Oil and Gas Development Company, Pakistan Petroleum Limited and MCB Bank Limited, which together shaved 658 points off the index.
National Bank of Pakistan, MCB Bank, Pakistan Petroleum Limited, Bank of Punjab and Bank Alfalah led trading by value.
Traded volume and value for the day stood at 533 million shares and 25.5 billion respectively.
Separately, a brokerage house said Pakistan’s headline inflation is likely to rise to around 7.4 percent in February ahead of the State Bank of Pakistan’s March 9 monetary policy meeting.
“Headline inflation is estimated at ~7.4 percent for Feb’26, compared to ~1.5 percent in SPLY and ~5.8 percent in preceding month,” Insight Research said. “The increase in mainly driven by low base effect.”
