Pakistan’s Babar Azam to make Big Bash debut with Sydney Sixers in Australia

Pakistan's Babar Azam attends a warm-up session before the start of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai on February 23, 2025. (AFP/File)
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Updated 13 June 2025
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Pakistan’s Babar Azam to make Big Bash debut with Sydney Sixers in Australia

  • Former Pakistan skipper says playing first-ever BBL match will be ‘something special’
  • BBL is a Twenty20 cricket competition that features Australia’s eight city-based teams

ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been picked by Sydney Sixers to debut in the upcoming 15th season of Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL), the club announced on Friday.

The BBL is a professional Twenty20 cricket competition in Australia that features eight city-based teams.

Launched in 2011, the league is held during the summer and features a mix of local and international players.

“The SCG [Sydney Cricket Ground] has been home to many legends. Now it’s home to the [king]. Welcome, Babar Azam,” the Sydney Sixers said in a post on X.

Azam said he was “super pumped” to join the team, highlighting that his BBL debut “will be something special.”

“Cannot wait to share the dressing room with my favorite batter Steve Smith and world class bowler Josh Hazlewood,” he was quoted saying in a video posted by BBL on X.

“So really excited and looking forward to getting over there and meeting my craziest cricket fans.”

Azam has featured in several major franchise leagues around the world.

Apart from competing in the Pakistan Super League, Azam has played for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League, Sylhet Sixers and Rangpur Riders in the Bangladesh Premier League, and Somerset in England’s T20 Blast.
 


Pakistan finance chief calls for stronger emerging market voice during Saudi conference

Updated 12 February 2026
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Pakistan finance chief calls for stronger emerging market voice during Saudi conference

  • Aurangzeb tells Saudi state media developing economies must assume larger global role
  • Minister says AlUla conference can strengthen coordination among emerging economies

KARACHI: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Thursday called for developing economies to play a greater role in shaping global economic governance in an interview on the sidelines of the AlUla Conference for Emerging Market Economies in Saudi Arabia.

The conference, hosted by the Kingdom’s Finance Ministry, brings together top government functionaries, central bank governors and policymakers from emerging markets to discuss debt sustainability, macroeconomic coordination and structural reforms amid global economic uncertainty.

In a conversation with the Saudi Press Agency, Aurangzeb described the conference as a timely platform for dialogue at a moment of heightened geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation and rapid technological change, including advances in artificial intelligence.

“It is not merely about discussions but about translating deliberations into concrete policy actions and execution over the course of the year,” he said, according to a statement circulated by the Finance Division in Islamabad.

The minister said emerging markets’ growing share of global output and growth should be matched by greater influence in international decision-making.

He noted these economies must strengthen collective dialogue and coordinated policy responses to address shared challenges, adding that the global landscape had evolved significantly since the inaugural edition of the conference.

Aurangzeb expressed confidence that the outcomes of the AlUla Conference would contribute to strengthening coordination among emerging economies and reinforcing their collective voice in shaping a more inclusive and resilient global economic order, the statement added.