LAHORE: Hard-hitting batter Usman Khan was Tuesday included in Pakistan’s squad for the Twenty20 international series against New Zealand, four days after he was banned by Emirates Cricket Board.
Usman, 28, was the second highest run scorer in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) last month with 430 in seven matches, while also on the books as a player in a United Arab Emirates (UAE) league.
The Emirates Cricket Board charged him with breaching his obligations to the Board after he attended a training camp for the Pakistan national team last month after the PSL ended.
He was banned from playing cricket in the UAE for five years, missing out on the chance to qualify as a national player for the Gulf state from 2025.
Selector Wahab Riaz justified Usman’s selection.
“Usman has been scoring runs for the last two-three years so he deserved selection and if there are any other issues Pakistan Cricket Board will be dealing with them,” Riaz told media while announcing the squad.
Babar Azam will lead the 17-man squad after he replaced Shaheen Shah Afridi as captain last month.
The five-match series against New Zealand will be played in Rawalpindi (April 18, 20 and 21) and Lahore (April 25 and 27).
Fast bowler Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim are also part of the squad after coming out of retirement.
Amir had abruptly announced his retirement in 2020 following non-selection in the team but continued to play league cricket around the world while Wasim retired last year.
“We will follow a rotation policy to keep our players fit for the World Cup which is our target,” said Riaz.
The Twenty20 World Cup will be held in the United States and the West Indies in June.
Another fast bowler, Haris Rauf, was left out after injuring his shoulder during the PSL.
Squad: Babar Azam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Irfan Khan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Zaman Khan
UAE-banned Usman Khan in Pakistan squad for New Zealand T20Is
https://arab.news/m6e4z
UAE-banned Usman Khan in Pakistan squad for New Zealand T20Is
- Selector Wahab Riaz says Khan has consistently remained in good form and deserves to be in the team
- He says Pakistan will follow ‘rotation policy’ to keep players fit for the World Cup in the US, West Indies
IMF hails Pakistan privatization drive, calls PIA sale a ‘milestone’
- Fund backs sale of national airline as key step in divesting loss-making state firms
- IMF has long urged Islamabad to reduce fiscal burden posed by state-owned entities
KARACHI: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Saturday welcomed Pakistan’s privatization efforts, describing the sale of the country’s national airline to a private consortium last month as a milestone that could help advance the divestment of loss-making state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
The comments follow the government’s sale of a 75 percent stake in Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to a consortium led by the Arif Habib Group for Rs 135 billion ($486 million) after several rounds of bidding in a competitive process, marking Islamabad’s second attempt to privatize the carrier after a failed effort a year earlier.
Between the two privatization attempts, PIA resumed flight operations to several international destinations after aviation authorities in the European Union and Britain lifted restrictions nearly five years after the airline was grounded following a deadly Airbus A320 crash in Karachi in 2020 that killed 97 people.
“We welcome the authorities’ privatization efforts and the completion of the PIA privatization process, which was a commitment under the EFF,” Mahir Binici, the IMF’s resident representative in Pakistan, said in response to an Arab News query, referring to the $7 billion Extended Fund Facility.
“This privatization represents a milestone within the authorities’ reform agenda, aimed at decreasing governmental involvement in commercial sectors and attracting investments to promote economic growth in Pakistan,” he added.
The IMF has long urged Islamabad to reduce the fiscal burden posed by loss-making state firms, which have weighed public finances for years and required repeated government bailouts. Beyond PIA, the government has signaled plans to restructure or sell stakes in additional SOEs as part of broader reforms under the IMF program.
Privatization also remains politically sensitive in Pakistan, with critics warning of job losses and concerns over national assets, while supporters argue private sector management could improve efficiency and service delivery in chronically underperforming entities.
Pakistan’s Cabinet Committee on State-Owned Enterprises said on Friday that SOEs recorded a net loss of Rs 122.9 billion ($442 million) in the 2024–25 fiscal year, compared with a net loss of Rs 30.6 billion ($110 million) in the previous year.
