DUBAI: Pakistan coach Aaqib Javed on Saturday said his fast bowlers are “match-winners” and will pull out something special against arch-rivals India in their pivotal Champions Trophy clash.
Hosts and defending champions Pakistan need to win the blockbuster showdown with India on Sunday in Dubai to keep their chances of making the semifinals in their own hands.
Pakistan lost the opening match of the 50-over tournament to New Zealand and are bottom of Group A. India beat Bangladesh in their first match.
Pakistan fast bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf leaked 214 runs in their 30 overs combined in New Zealand’s total of 320.
But Aaqib said the trio will rise to the occasion.
“We have three specialists and I would say one of the best pace bowling options in today’s game with Shaheen, Naseem and Haris,” Aaqib told reporters.
The former seam bowler said the current attack reminds him of that from the 1990s, when Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Aaqib stepped up after the retirement of the great Imran Khan.
“They still have time to reach that level, but they have all the ability to repeat those sort of performances,” said Aaqib.
“When you play against India it is a special feeling and I think they will bring something special tomorrow.”
He added: “Our fast bowling options are good and they are match-winners.”
Bilateral cricket ties are frozen between the two rival nations due to political tensions and they only play each other in multi-nation events.
India refused to tour Pakistan for this eight-nation tournament and will play all their matches at the Dubai International Stadium, which is expected to be full for the high-profile game.
Pakistan, who hammered India in the last Champions Trophy final in 2017, have flown in from Karachi for their must-win clash and Aaqib says pressure produces champions.
“There is no game you play without pressure,” said Aaqib. “Between India and Pakistan it doesn’t matter it’s a knock-out or whatever. It is beyond the game.”
Aaqib said: “If you look at the positive, it’s the best time and best chance for any individual or a team to make a mark. Passion and pressure is what a player needs to showcase his game.”
The top two teams from each of the two groups make the semifinals.
The rivals last met in a one-day game at the 2023 World Cup in Ahmedabad, with hosts India winning by seven wickets.
Pakistan coach says ‘match-winning’ fast bowlers key in India clash
https://arab.news/by3rf
Pakistan coach says ‘match-winning’ fast bowlers key in India clash
- Pakistan need to win the blockbuster showdown with India in Dubai to advance in the tournament
- The team’s top three fast bowlers leaked 214 runs against New Zealand, helping the total of 320 runs
FIFA announces $60 World Cup tickets after pricing backlash
PARIS: World Cup organizers unveiled a new cut-price ticket category on Tuesday after a backlash by fans over pricing for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Football’s global governing body FIFA said in a statement that it had created a limited number of “Supporter Entry Tier” fixed at $60 for all 104 matches, including the final.
It said the plan was “designed to further support traveling fans following their national teams across the tournament.”
FIFA said that the $60 tickets would be reserved for fans of qualified teams and would make up 10 percent of each national federation’s allotment.
Fan group Football Supporters Europe , which last week called prices “extortionate” and “astronomical,” responded by saying the FIFA was offering too little.
“While we welcome FIFA’s seeming recognition of the damage its original plans were to cause, the revisions do not go far enough,” FSE said in a statement on Tuesday.
Last week, FSE said ticket prices were almost five times higher than in 2022 in Qatar, describing FIFA’s pricing for 2026 as a “monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup.”
“If a supporter were to follow their team from the first match to the final it would cost them a minimum of $6,900,” it said at the time, adding that World Cup organizers had promised tickets priced from $21 in a bid document released in 2018.
‘Appeasement tactic’
On Tuesday, FSE said FIFA’s partial ticketing U-turn exposed flaws in how prices for next year’s tournament had been set.
“For the moment we are looking at the FIFA announcement as nothing more than an appeasement tactic due to the global negative backlash,” FSE said.
“This shows that FIFA’s ticketing policy is not set in stone, was decided in a rush, and without proper consultation — including with FIFA’s own member associations.
“Based on the allocations publicly available, this would mean that at best a few hundred fans per match and team would be lucky enough to take advantage of the 60 US dollar prices, while the vast majority would still have to pay extortionate prices, way higher than at any tournament before.”
The organization also criticized the failure to make provisions for supporters with disabilities or their companions.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed FSE, stating that FIFA’s cheaper ticket category did not go far enough.
“I welcome FIFA’s announcement of some lower priced supporters tickets,” Starmer wrote on X.
“But as someone who used to save up for England tickets, I encourage FIFA to do more to make tickets more affordable so that the World Cup doesn’t lose touch with the genuine supporters who make the game so special.”
Announcing the $60 tickets on Tuesday, FIFA said that national federations “are requested to ensure that these tickets are specifically allocated to loyal fans who are closely connected to their national teams.”
FIFA also said that if fans bought tickets for games in the knockout rounds only to find their team eliminated at an earlier stage, they “will have the administrative fee waived when refunds are processed.”
It added that it was making the announcement “amid extraordinary global demand for tickets” with 20 million requests already submitted.
The draw for tickets of all prices in the first round of sales will take place on Tuesday, January 13.
