Lahore, 25 April 2025: With Pakistan women’s team successfully qualifying for the ICC Women’s World Cup after winning their all five matches in the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier 2025 held in Lahore earlier this month, the Pakistan Cricket Board has released a special edition of the PCB Podcast, hosted by Aliya Riaz (Pakistan Women’s ODI Cap #71).

The 59th edition of the PCB Podcast, available here for viewing and free download, features batters Sidra Amin and Shawaal Zulfiqar.

Sidra topped the batting charts for Pakistan in the ICC Women’s CWC Qualifier 2025, scoring 225 runs from five matches at an average of 45, including three half-centuries. 19-year-old Shawaal, who made her international comeback following a shoulder injury which she sustained in December 2023, featured in two matches during Pakistan’s successful campaign in the ICC Women’s CWC Qualifier.

PCB Podcast Episode 58: Featuring Salman Ali Agha and Abrar Ahmed

PCB Podcast 57 Episode featuring 🇳🇿 players Michael Bracewell, Will Young & Glenn Phillips (Part-2)

PCB Podcast Episode 57 | Featuring Fakhar Zaman & Naseem Shah (Part 1)

• Fakhar Zaman and Naseem Shah feature in part one of the podcast; part two will involve New Zealand trio of Bracewell, Phillips and Young, and will be released on 9 February

• The audio version of the podcast is available on Spotify and Soundcloud

Lahore, 7 January 2025: With Pakistan fully prepared and ready to host the tri-nation ODI series and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the Pakistan Cricket Board has released a special edition of the PCB Podcast, hosted by former Pakistan captain Salman Butt.

Part one of the 57th edition of the PCB Podcast, available here for viewing and free download, features explosive Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman and fast bowler Naseem Shah.

Fakhar Zaman previews the upcoming tri-nation series and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, while also reflecting on his comeback, memorable performances – especially against India, New Zealand and South Africa – and about his new opening partner in the forthcoming matches.

Naseem Shah reflects on his journey to stardom, emphasising the importance of processes in achieving success. He shares his thoughts on his performances against New Zealand, looks ahead to the highly anticipated clash against India in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and interest in batting.

In the second part of the 57th PCB Podcast, which will be released on Sunday, 9 January, Salman Butt speaks with New Zealand off-spinner Michael Bracewell along with teammates, all-rounder Glenn Phillips and top-order batter Will Young.

The New Zealand trio share insights from their previous two tours of Pakistan since 2023, their upcoming ODIs against Pakistan and South Africa and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.

The tri-series matches will be played at the transformed Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on 8 and 10 February, with Karachi’s National Stadium hosting the games on 12 and 14 February. The opening match of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will be held in Karachi, where Pakistan will face New Zealand.

Podcast EP 56: A Review of the Year 2024 in Pakistan Cricket & looking ahead to Future Assignments

The 56th edition of the PCB Podcast has been released and is available here for viewing and downloading for editorial purposes.

In the latest edition:

Pakistan red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie previews the England series and teenage pace bowling sensation Ali Raza recounts his inspirational journey in the 5️⃣5️⃣th edition of the PCB Podcast 🎙️

🎥 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZnPvr8tzYA

🎧 https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/therealpcb/episodes/PCB-Podcast-Episode-55-e2ov01m

⏪ https://www.pcb.com.pk/editor-pick-detail/pcb-podcast-episode-55.html

🎧 https://soundcloud.com/pakistancricketofficial/pcb-podcast-episode-55/s-6aqsp72qOdH?si=e0092bd2ee1a4e9c9eb47833bc0c9f76&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Bazid interviews Shan and Gillespie for PCB Podcast

54th Edition of PCB Podcast available for free download and editorial use; PCB

· Pakistan will play nine ICC World Test Championship matches from 21 August to 28 January

· Complete transcript of the Podcast is available here

As the Pakistan men’s cricket team prepares to launch its 2024-25 red-ball international season under the

new Shan Masood-Jason Gillespie partnership, respected cricket commentator Bazid Khan speaks with the

Pakistan captain and read-ball head coach for the 54th edition of the PCB Podcast and chats to them about

their expectations, preparations and challenges for the season in which Pakistan will play nine Tests.

Some of the topics Bazid discusses with Jason and Shan in a candid conversation includes:

- Importance of captain and coach partnership, especially in cricket

- Nine Tests in six months, squad for the Bangladesh Tests, selection criteria and impact players

- Scheduling, three formats, franchise leagues, player availability and Test cricket

- Widening of gap between Pakistan and other top Test playing countries

- Fear of failure, creating winning dressing room culture, impact of social media and on-field

intensity

- Finding blueprint to success at home and quality of pitches

- Rewarding and developing players through the Pakistan Shaheens squad

- Arshad Nadeem’s achievement and how the Pakistan team can benefit from this euphoria

Pakistan will enter in the second half the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle by hosting

Bangladesh for two Tests on 21-25 August (Rawalpindi) and 30 August-3 September (Karachi). They will

then play three Tests against England at home on 7-11 October (Multan), 15-19 October (Karachi) and 24-

28 October (Rawalpindi). Pakistan will travel to South Africa where the two Tests will be played on 26-30

December (Centurion) and 3-7 January (Cape Town), before they will wrap up against the West Indies with

a two-Test home series on 16-20 January and 24-28 January.

On the ICC World Test Championship standings, Pakistan is currently sitting in fifth position but has played

only two out of the six series. Strong performances in the upcoming four series will put them in contention

for a place in the June final as both positions for the Lord’s match are still up for grabs. Bangladesh is

presently eighth, England sixth, South Africa seventh and the West Indies ninth in the third edition of the

Championship.

PCB celebrates 15 years of T20 World Cup 2009 victory in 53rd edition of PCB Podcast

In the 53rd edition of the PCB Podcast, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) celebrates 15 years of the Pakistan men’s cricket team’s victory in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2009, which coincides with this month’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

The PCB Digital team has spoken with some of the star performers from that successful campaign in which Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the final at Lord’s on 21 June 2009.

Younis Khan-inspired Pakistan peaked at the right time to win four straight matches to win the title. They defeated New Zealand by six wickets, Ireland by 39 runs, South Africa by seven runs and Sri Lanka by eight wickets. Their other win was against the Netherlands by 82 runs, while the two loses were against England (48 runs) and Sri Lanka (19 runs).

Pakistan’s victory came after it had narrowly lost the 2007 T20 World Cup final by five runs. The 2009 victory was Pakistan’s first ICC title in 15 years.

Some of the leading performers, who spoke with the PCB Digital team and not only reflected on the successful campaign but also extended warm wishes to the current side, included:

• Abdul Razzaq – took three for 20 in the final against Sri Lanka; he had joined the side as a replacement for an injured Yasir Arafat

• Misbah Ul Haq – Would have been the fifth batter in had Pakistan lost the third wicket in the final, averaged 27.33 with a strike-rate of 117.14 and top-score of 20-ball 31 not out versus the Netherlands

• Mohammad Amir – at 17 years and 58 days, he was the youngest player in the tournament; took six wickets in the series; bowled a memorable wicket-maiden first over in the final

• Saeed Ajmal – Was joint-second leading wicket-taker with 12 wickets in the tournament

• Shahid Afridi – took 11 wickets and scored 176 runs at a strike-rate of 141 in seven matches; was the player of the semi-final and the final, making him the only player to date to win player of the match awards in the semi-final and final in a same edition

• Shoaib Malik – Featured in two critical partnerships with Shahid Afridi in the semi-final and final, putting on 67 runs off 58 balls for the third wicket against South Africa and an unbroken 76 runs for the third wicket from 58 balls in the final. In seven matches, Shoaib averaged 28.8 with the bat with a strike-rate of 102.85

-ENDS-

Babar previews T20 World Cup in 52nd edition of PCB

Pakistan captain Babar Azam is a special guest in

In a candid and ICC Men’s T20 World Cup

 ·  Side’s excitement, preparations, atmosphere and confidence for the tournament

 · Performances in the past three T20 tournaments and learnings

 · Hurtful matches in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups

 · Unknowns in the United States for the first round matches

 · 9 June Pakistan versus India match; Group 2 that may potentially include Pakistan, England, West Indies and South Africa (if all goes according to pre-event seeding)

 · Difference between a T20 World Cup and bilateral T20I series, and significance of consistency

· 

 · Desire to win an ICC trophy as a captain and presenting to Pakistan

 · Progression as a T20I batter; team’s ability to post big totals and chase targets

· Pivotal role of Gary Kirsten as white-ball head coach

“I am happy and excited because when you go to

“Our performances in the last two ICC Men’s T20

“Effort is in our hands, but results, we do not know.

“As a batter, I have achieved decently and, as a

“Conditions in the USA may pose challenges as we

“An India-Pakistan match is always the most talked

“The whole world is focused on the day when the India-Pakistan

“I understand the responsibilities of a captain as

“I think the semi-final we lost against Australia

“For me, in 2022, we could and should have won the

Aleem Dar, who won the David Shepherd Trophy for umpire of the year from 2009-2011, hosts the 51st edition of the PCB Podcast.

In the latest episode, the 55-year-old, who has umpired in 453 international matches since 2000, speaks with elite panelist Ahsan Raza, Asif Yaqoob, and Rashid Riaz (both from the international panel) as the trio prepares to officiate in next month’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and Caribbean.

It is the first time that three Pakistani umpires have been selected to officiate in a T20 World Cup.

Aleem Dar speaks with the three umpires about their pre-umpiring days, journeys to the top, match preparations, excitement at being selected for the biggest cricket event of the year, career aspirations, how technology has assisted the umpires, what it means to be a cricket umpire, and life outside cricket.