Shaheen Shah Afridi has been ruled out of the Asia Cup and faces a race against time to be fit for Pakistan's T20 World Cup campaign.
The fast bowler sustained a right knee ligament injury during the first Test against Sri Lanka last month and, while remaining part of the squad for the tour of the Netherlands, has not featured.
It was stated before the tour of the Netherlands began that Afridi would play no more than one ODI in the series but Pakistan hoped he would be able to feature in the Asia Cup.
Now, a return has been pushed back and Pakistan now hope he will be fit for the October T20 tri-series in New Zealand ahead of the World Cup.
"I have spoken with Afridi and he is understandably upset with the news, but he is brave young man who has vowed to come back strongly to serve his country and team," Dr Najeebullah Soomro, PCB chief medical officer, said in a statement.
"Although he has made progress during his rehabilitation in Rotterdam, it is now clear he will require more time and is likely to return to competitive cricket in October."
The 22-year-old will stay with the squad in the Netherlands to complete his rehabilitation and the PCB will soon announce a replacement for the Asia Cup, in which Pakistan face India in their opener on August 28.
South Africa v Netherlands preview: Proteas looking to secure World Cup berth
South Africa will face the Netherlands in two ODIs that could define their entire year, aiming to seal their place at the World Cup.
Following an exciting but disappointing 2-1 defeat against West Indies, the Proteas need to win both matches against the Dutch and hope Ireland lose at least one of their three clashes with Bangladesh in May.
The top eight teams in the World Cup Super League automatically qualify for the World Cup in India, with the bottom five needing to go through further qualifiers with five associate teams.
South Africa sit in 10th place, behind West Indies (eighth) and Sri Lanka (ninth), and ahead of Ireland in 11th, but two victories will take them up to eighth.
Their matches against the Dutch will be the conclusion of a three-match series that was supposed to take place in late 2021, but following no result in the first contest, the second two were postponed due to concerns around a COVID-19 variant.
Now that those matches are due to be played, South Africa find themselves needing to take them seriously and have selected a strong squad accordingly.
Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, David Miller and Aiden Markram are among those to have been made available by Cricket South Africa despite their impending involvement in the IPL.
"We have named our strongest possible squad for these games given the importance of these matches in the context of qualifying for the ICC men's Cricket World Cup," South Africa's white-ball coach Rob Walter said.
"We have a job to do and I am confident that with this group of players, we can get the job done."
The Netherlands bring the same squad that lost 2-1 in Zimbabwe, which included a dramatic one-run victory for the hosts in Harare in the second of their three encounters.
Roelof van der Merwe could feature for the first time since the first match of this series against the nation he used to represent.
Fast bowlers Paul van Meekeren and Fred Klaassen returned against Zimbabwe, but the Dutch will be without Brandon Glover, Bas de Leede and Colin Ackermann due to county commitments.
De Kock looking to emulate Williamson and Warner
Quinton de Kock (5,949) is just 51 runs away from becoming the seventh player to score 6,000 for South Africa in men's ODIs.
Should he do so in the first match against the Netherlands, he will be the joint-third fastest player (139 matches) to reach the landmark in the history of the format with New Zealand's Kane Williamson and Australia's David Warner.
Dutch looking for another rare win
While they sit comfortably bottom of the World Cup Super League, the Netherlands can at least take solace in getting a rare win in their series against Zimbabwe.
Their three-wicket victory on March 21 was the only win of their last 18 men's ODIs (L17).
Republic Bank announced as new CPL title sponsor in three-year deal
Republic Bank Limited, the largest indigenous bank in the English-speaking Caribbean, has been announced as the new title sponsor and official bank of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).
The announcement was made by CPL Chief Executive Officer, Pete Russell, in a press conference held Wednesday in Port of Spain to launch the 2023 season of the T20 cricket tournament.
Having previously sponsored the CPL as the official banking partner since 2015, the bank will now assume the league’s highest sponsorship profile for the next three (3) years.
Republic Bank has also been confirmed as a partner for the Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) which will return in 2023 for its second edition. The WCPL sees the best female cricketers from across the region and around the world showcase their skills in front of a huge global audience.
“Republic Bank are the perfect partner for the CPL and WCPL, a company that shares our passion for cricket and Caribbean culture,” said Pete Russell, CEO of the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League.
“The CPL is a driver of economic growth and the creation of jobs, so having a financial group like Republic Bank as the title sponsor makes perfect sense. In addition, Republic Bank has a great track record of spreading the love of cricket across the region, something that is important to all of us at the CPL.”
Nigel Baptiste, Group President and Chief Executive Officer for the Republic Group, said: “We are excited to be the Title Sponsor and Official Bank of the Caribbean Premier League. Cricket is hugely important to Caribbean heritage, culture, community and youth development and as the Caribbean’s largest sporting event and one of its most significant sport entertainment exports, the CPL demonstrates to the world the Caribbean’s capability and prowess, illustrates our talent and future potential, and showcases our joyous and incomparable spirit.”
South Africa hero De Kock credits 'silent assassin' Hendricks
Quinton de Kock lauded "silent assassin" Reeza Hendricks after the pair put on 152 to kick-start South Africa's record run chase against West Indies.
South Africa beat the Windies by six wickets at Centurion on Sunday, chasing down a target of 259.
It marked the record successful run chase in a T20I, while De Kock (100 from 44 deliveries) hit the fastest 50 in the shortest format for South Africa, with his half-century coming from just 15 balls.
De Kock, supported ably by Hendricks (68), took the fight to Windies from the off, with the Proteas reaching 102-0 by the end of the first powerplay. It is the highest powerplay total in a T20I involving a full-member nation.
Hendricks picked up the slack after De Kock's dismissal at the hands of Raymon Reifer (1-42), and the latter put the credit on his fellow opener.
"It was quite special. Reeza was the silent assassin," said De Kock, whose century was his first in T20Is.
"When I got out he said, 'We just did something really special and we should be proud of what we've done'.
"We have played together for so long. We know what he can do."
Asked about his approach, De Kock added: "Just pick the right options and play with a bit of hope. Playing at Centurion, we know we can get a lot of runs here."
South Africa captain Aiden Markram finished the job with 38 runs from 21 balls, and said both teams can be proud of being involved in such a thrilling encounter, with 81 boundaries plundered between the sides.
"It was a great game to be a part of," said Markram. "All in all I think both teams can appreciate it."
Johnson Charles' sublime 118 from 46 deliveries set the Windies on their way to a big total that seemed set to be enough to see the tourists take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series.
Charles' century came off just 39 balls, a new record for a Windies player.
"It was pretty, pretty crazy. When we came off halfway, we thought we had enough," said West Indies captain Rovman Powell.
"But credit to Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks. They applied pressure from ball one.
"We tell [Johnson] to go hard. We give him a licence to hit. He played very well today.
"This is the seventh game I've been on the T20 circuit that we scored 240 or 250 runs and we lost so I'm quite used to it now."
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