LAHORE: Mohammad Haris will be leading Pakistan Shaheens in the Asian Cricket Council Men’s T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup where the national side is set to lock horns with last year’s finalists India in their opening match on October 19.

The national side will undergo a camp at the Hanif Mohammad High-Performance Centre in Karachi from October 11 to 15 before departing for the tournament set to kick off on October 18.

The side, scheduled to depart for Oman on October 16, also includes Abdul Samad, Ahmed Daniyal, Yasir Khan and Zaman Khan who will be representing Pakistan Shaheens for the first time, said the Pakistan Cricket Board in a statement on Monday.

Meanwhile, Samad featured for UMT Markhors in the recently concluded Champions One-Day Cup 2024-25 and scored at a strike rate of 122.88, whereas Daniyal playing for Nurpur Lions bagged 10 wickets and Yasir and Zaman featured for Allied Bank Stallions in four and two matches, respectively.

Eight teams will participate in the event with four teams divided into two groups. All matches will take place at the Oman Cricket Academy Ground in Muscat. Group A consists of Afghanistan A, Bangladesh A’, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka A, while defending champions Pakistan Shaheens are slotted in Group B alongside India A, Oman and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

Shaheens’ second outing in the tournament will be against hosts Oman on October 21, followed by their final group match will be against the UAE on October 23.

The top two sides from each group will qualify for the semi-finals scheduled to take place on 25 October. The final will take place on Sunday, October 27.

Shaheens squad

Mohammad Haris (captain), Abdul Samad, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haider Ali, Haseebullah, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohmmad Imran Jnr, Omair Bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Shahnawaz Dahani, Sufiyan Moqim, Yasir Khan and Zaman Khan

Team management

Umar Rasheed (head coach-cum-manager), Imran Farhat (batting coach), Riffatullah Mohmand (fielding coach), Usman Hashmi (analyst) and Syed Mohammad Asad (physiotherapist)

Sánchez and his wife welcomed a baby boy days ahead of the All-Star pitcher’s start in Game 2 of the NL Division Series against New York on Sunday.

Sánchez, 27, earned his first All-Star berth on the strength of his regular-season performance, finishing at 11-9 with a 3.32 ERA and his first career shutout.

The birth of his first son — “BABY CRIS,” he wrote on Instagram — well, that trumped all his professional achievements.

“I think there’s nothing that beats getting home to my kid right now,” Sánchez said Saturday through an interpreter. “I’m just spending time with him, holding him every five minutes. Just all around, being all over him. That’s just something I can’t describe right now.”

Sánchez said his son was born Monday. He captioned a photo of the boy, named Cristopher, with: “Our dream baby is here. Mommy and Daddy love you so much.”

Sánchez got the nod over playoff-tested veteran Aaron Nola for Sunday’s start at Citizens Bank Park on the strength of his road vs. home splits. Sánchez went 7-3 with a 2.21 ERA in 17 starts at home. He went 4-6 with a 5.02 ERA in 14 road starts.

Nola starts Game 3 in New York.

Sánchez started just one game in the 2023 playoffs, throwing 38 pitches over 2⅓ innings in a Game 4 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL Championship Series.

His improvement this season was rewarded in June. The Phillies signed Sánchez to a $22.5 million, four-year contract extension through the 2028 season.

“It’s really amazing the steps that he’s taken, the growth that he’s had, not only physically, but mentally and emotionally,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “The slider he’s landing. Gone deep in the games. Held his composure. Has had some innings where he could have fallen apart, which he’s done in the past, and just kept fighting through it, maintaining his composure and poise. He’s just grown leaps and bounds.”

In a season full of firsts, Sánchez can’t wait for his first start as a father.

“It was the best time possible. It all happened in perfect timing. I was able to go to the hospital and meet my kid, my wife, and just spend two days with them at the hospital,” he said. “All normal to me. The next day I just came here, did my throwing program, had a bullpen session, and it’s all been just regular for me, luckily.”

Columbo: Sri Lanka Cricket has appointed former Test cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya as the head coach.

Sri Lanka Cricket formally announced the appointment of Sanath Jayasuriya.

In this regard, Sri Lanka Cricket stated that the executive committee decided to appoint Jayasuriya based on the good performance of the team.

The Sri Lankan team performed well in the series against India, England, and New Zealand. In these series, Jayasuriya was the interim coach of the Sri Lankan cricket team.

Sri Lanka Cricket said Jayasuriya was appointed from October 1, 2024 to March 31, 2026.

Multan: In the first match of the three-Test series between Pakistan and England, Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first on Monday.

In the first Test being played at the Multan Cricket Stadium, Shan Masood, the captain of the national team, won the toss and decided to bat first against England.

It is pertinent to note that Ollie Pope is leading the team in the absence of Ben Stokes, the captain of the England test team, while national fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was dropped from the second test match against Bangladesh due to the birth of his son, is back in the team.

Pakistan Playing XI

Shaan Masood (c), Saeem Ayub, Abdullah Shafiq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Muhammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed.

England Playing XI

Ollie Pope (c), Zac Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brayden Carrs, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir.