Johannesburg: Many of South Africa’s best cricketers will be involved in Twenty20 matches on Saturday — but only some of them will be playing for their country in the first of four T20 internationals against Pakistan at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
The series is being played at the same time as the early stages of the Indian Premier League and the juxtaposition provides a clear illustration of the relative standing of the two international teams.
As the first innings in Johannesburg draws to a close on Saturday, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals will take the field in the IPL.
Former South African captain Faf du Plessis, fast bowler Lungi Ngidi and leg-spinner Imran Tahir are in the CSK squad, while fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje are contracted to Delhi.
Although they may sit out the first round of IPL games because of quarantine restrictions, all three of South Africa’s pace battery in the first two one-day internationals against Pakistan last weekend — Rabada, Nortje and Ngidi — will be in Mumbai instead of playing in Johannesburg.
Also in India after playing in the first two games against Pakistan are batsmen Quinton de Kock and David Miller, while IPL stars AB de Villiers and Chris Morris appear to have been lost to international cricket.
Pakistan, by contrast, have not lost any players to the IPL.
The non-participation of Pakistan players in cricket’s richest league owes more to politics than playing ability because the likes of Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman and Shaheen Shah Afridi would slot comfortably into any IPL side.
South Africa’s situation is one of pragmatism.
Cricket South Africa want to stay on the right side of their Indian counterparts by releasing their stars and in any case cannot afford to pay the sort of money that would persuade their leading players to put country ahead of club, especially for a tournament that was arranged less than two months ago.
South Africa head coach Mark Boucher put a positive spin on the loss of key players to the IPL, noting that they will be sharpening their skills against world-class opponents in the country where the T20 World Cup will be played later this year.
And the holes left in the national side provide opportunities for fringe players to push longer-term claims.
There are four uncapped men in the South African squad.
Pakistan won the one-day series that finished on Wednesday and will start favorites to win the T20 games as well.
They appear to be stronger in both batting and bowling, with South Africa’s batting further weakened by the likely absence through injury of captain Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen.
Pakistan, though, will be looking for bigger contributions from their middle order batsmen after the bulk of their runs in the one-day games came from their top three, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam.
Imam is not in the T20 squad but Fakhar, not originally in the squad, has been added, while Sharjeel Khan and Haider Ali will be vying for game time.
South Africa, Pakistan clash in shadow of Indian Premier League
https://arab.news/4e7h7
South Africa, Pakistan clash in shadow of Indian Premier League
- Cricket South Africa want to stay on the right side of their Indian counterparts by releasing their stars
- Cannot afford to pay the sort of money that would persuade their leading players to put country ahead of club
PM Sharif thanks Saudi crown prince for ‘comprehensive’ Pakistan investment program
- Pakistani PM meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during visit to Riyadh for World Economic Forum meeting
- Kingdom’s foreign minister visited Pakistan this month to push forward previously agreed investment deals, strengthen cooperation
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday to discuss matters of mutual interest and regional developments, thanking him for a “comprehensive” program presented by Saudi ministers regarding investment in Pakistan, Sharif’s office said on Monday.
Sharif has held meetings with Saudi officials and ministers since he arrived in Riyadh on Saturday to attend a two-day World Economic Forum (WEF) special meeting on energy, collaboration, and health. His visit to the Kingdom follows Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s trip to Pakistan in mid-April with a high-level delegation. The Saudi foreign minister’s visit was aimed at strengthening bilateral economic cooperation and pushing forward previously agreed investment deals. Pakistan has said it pitched investment projects worth $30 billion to Riyadh during Prince Faisal’s visit.
In videos and pictures shared by Sharif’s office, the two leaders can be seen interacting with each other in the presence of their teams. Sharif thanked the Saudi crown prince for sending the high-level delegation to Pakistan and issuing directions for more Saudi delegations to visit the country “to promote investment,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.
“The Prime Minister expressed gratitude to the Crown Prince for the hospitality during his visit to Saudi Arabia and for a comprehensive program presented by Saudi Ministers regarding investment in Pakistan,” the PMO said.
The statement added that both leaders agreed to further promote cooperation in different sectors as they discussed areas of mutual interest and expressed satisfaction over their meeting in Makkah earlier this month.
“The situation in Gaza was also discussed in the meeting,” the PMO said. “The Prime Minister reiterated the invitation to the Saudi Crown Prince to visit Pakistan.”
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as the top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been closely working to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, and the Kingdom recently reaffirmed its commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion.
Pakistan set up the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), a hybrid civil-military body, in June 2023 to attract international investments mainly from Gulf countries. The SIFC has identified mining, agriculture, energy and information technology as some of the key sectors where it hopes to attract foreign funding.
Cash-strapped Pakistan desperately needs to shore up its foreign reserves and signal to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that it can continue to meet requirements for foreign financing that has been a key demand in previous bailout packages.
Saudi Arabia has often come to Pakistan’s aid in the past, regularly providing it oil on deferred payments and offering direct financial support to help stabilize its economy and shore up its forex reserves.
PM welcomes Saudi Arabia’s interest in developing energy projects in Pakistan
- PM Shehbaz Sharif met Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman on WEF sidelines in Riyadh
- The PM highlighted various initiatives undertaken by Pakistan to facilitate investment in energy sector
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has welcomed Saudi Arabia’s interest in developing energy projects in Pakistan, Sharif’s office said on Monday, following his meetings with Saudi officials on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Riyadh.
The Pakistan prime minister was in Riyadh to attend the WEF special meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development on April 28-29.
During his visit, PM Sharif held meetings with Saudi Arabia’s ministers of energy, economy and planning, and environment, water, and agriculture, according to his office.
In a meeting with Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the PM highlighted initiatives undertaken by Pakistan to facilitate investment in the energy sector.
“The Saudi side showed keen interest in developing energy projects identified by the Prime Minister,” Sharif’s office said in a statement. “The Prime Minister welcomed the interest by the Kingdom to enhance economic partnership with Pakistan.”
The proposed projects included building new and improving existing energy infrastructure, increasing focus on renewable energy, and bringing efficiency across the entire energy ecosystem in Pakistan, according to the statement.
The Saudi energy minister was accompanied by the president of Aramco, a Saudi state-owned petroleum and natural gas company, and other officials.
PM Sharif said both sides were pursuing the economic cooperation agenda with “renewed vigour and commitment,” following his meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday.
He expressed hope that technical teams of the two countries would complete their work and many mutually beneficial projects would be launched soon.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia enjoy strong trade, defense and cultural ties. The Kingdom is home to over 2.7 million Pakistani expatriates and serves as the top source of remittances to the cash-strapped South Asian country.
Both countries have been closely working to increase bilateral trade and investment deals, and the Kingdom recently reaffirmed its commitment to expedite an investment package worth $5 billion.
Later, PM Sharif held a meeting with Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Al-Ibrahim, wherein he highlighted the potential of the Pakistani agriculture sector.
“Pakistan can become a bread basket for the Kingdom and could play a critical role in ensuring food security not only for the two countries but for the entire region,” Sharif’s office quoted him as saying.
Saudi Minister for Environment, Water and Agriculture Abdulrahman Al-Fadhli briefed the prime minister on the fruitful discussions that he and his delegation held in Islamabad this month, according to Sharif’s office. He said Saudi agriculture companies were looking at Pakistan with “great interest” and hoped that both countries would benefit from joint ventures for improving the value chain of the agriculture economy.
PM Sharif also congratulated the Saudi minister of economy for successfully hosting the WEF summit in Riyadh and lauded the Kingdom’s role as a thought leader in taking forward the global economic and development agenda.
IMF approves $1.1 billion funding for Pakistan
- The funding is the final tranche of a $3 billion standby arrangement Islamabad secured last year
- Islamabad is now seeking a new, larger long-term Extended Fund Facility agreement with the IMF
ISLAMABAD: The executive board of the International Monetary Fund approved $1.1 billion in funding for Pakistan on Monday, the agency said in a statement, amid discussions for a new loan.
The funding is the second and last tranche of a $3 billion standby arrangement with the IMF, which Islamabad secured last summer to help avert a sovereign default.
The approval came a day after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed a new loan program with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.
Islamabad is seeking a new, larger long-term Extended Fund Facility (EFF) agreement with the fund after the current standby arrangement expires this month. Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, has said Islamabad could secure a staff-level agreement on the new program by early July.
Islamabad says it is seeking a loan over at least three years to help achieve macroeconomic stability and execute long-overdue and painful structural reforms.
Aurangzeb has declined to give details on the amount the country is seeking.
Islamabad is yet to make a formal request, but the Fund and the government are already in discussions.
If secured, it would be Pakistan’s 24th IMF bailout.
The $350 billion economy faces a chronic balance of payments crisis, with nearly $24 billion to repay in debt and interest over the next fiscal year — three-time more than its central bank’s foreign currency reserves.
Four militants killed in northwest Pakistan operation — military
- The development comes amid a surge in violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, mostly blamed on Pakistani Taliban
- Last week, Taliban militants also abducted a district and sessions judge in the same province, who was freed two days later
ISLAMABAD: Four militants were killed during an intelligence-based operation in northwest Pakistan on Monday, the Pakistani military said, amid a spate of militant violence in the region.
The operation was conducted in the Khyber tribal district of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
An intense exchange of fire during the operation killed four militants.
“Terrorists’ hideout was also busted during the operation and a large cache of weapons, ammunition and explosives was recovered,” the ISPR said in a statement.
A sanitization operation was being carried out to eliminate any other threats in the vicinity, the ISPR added.
The development came amid a surge in violence in Pakistan’s northwest, mostly blamed on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), since the group ended a ceasefire with the central government in November 2022.
Last week, TTP militants abducted a district and sessions judge, Shakirullah Marwat, in the same province. The judge was recovered after a joint operation by police and security forces, police said on Monday.
Earlier this month, six people, including five customs department officials, were killed in an attack in Dera Ismail Khan. Two customs officers were also killed in the area in a separate attack earlier.
Militants have also targeted security officials in the province in recent weeks, killing a number of police and counterterrorism department officials.
Both Pakistan and Afghanistan have traded blame in recent months over who is responsible for the recent spate of militant attacks in Pakistan.
Islamabad says the attacks are launched mostly by TTP members who operate from safe havens in Afghanistan. Kabul denies this and blames Islamabad for not being able to handle its own security challenges.
Pakistan confers military award on Turkish land forces commander
- President Asif Ali Zardari conferred the award at a special investiture ceremony held in Islamabad
- General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, who is currently visiting Pakistan, also met Army Chief Gen Asim Munir
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Sunday conferred a military award, Nishan-i-Imtiaz, on Commander of the Turkish Land Forces, General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, during his visit to Islamabad, Pakistani state media reported.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari bestowed the Turkish general with the award at a special investiture ceremony held at the Presidency in Islamabad, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“The award was conferred upon him in recognition of his illustrious services and contribution toward strengthening Pakistan-Turkiye defense relations,” the report read.
The investiture ceremony was attended by foreign diplomats and high-ranking military officials.
Separately, General Bayraktaroglu called on Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, and General Sahir Shamshad Mirza, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, the Pakistani military said.
During his meeting with Gen Munir, matters of mutual interest and measures to further enhance bilateral defense cooperation were discussed, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
“Both sides expressed satisfaction over deep-rooted relations between the two countries, based on historic, cultural and religious affinity,” the ISPR said.
“COAS emphasized the need to further strengthen existing military to military cooperation between the two Armed Forces.”
During the meeting, the ISPR added, the visiting dignitary appreciated the role of Pakistan Army in ensuring peace and stability in the region.
