The National Cricket League 2024 will start on October 5 and run till October 15 in Dallas, Texas.

As many as six teams will compete in a total of 19 T10 matches in the National Cricket League 2024.

Atlanta Kings CC, Chicago CC, Dallas Lonestars CC, Los Angeles Waves CC, New York Lions CC and Texas Gladiators CC are the teams that are participating in the T10 cricket tournament.

As per the National Cricket League 2024 schedule, each team will play the other five sides one in a single round-robin format. The top four teams in the standings after all the league matches will qualify for the playoffs.

The top two teams in the standings will clash in the Qualifier 1 for a place in the final. The third and fourth-placed teams will square off in the Eliminator to stay alive in the tournament.

The winner of the Eliminator will then face the loser of Qualifier 1 in Qualifier 2 for the other spot in the final.

The National Cricket League 2024 final will take place on October 15.

All matches in the National Cricket League 2024 will be played at the University of Texas in Austin.

Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, Sam Billings, Tim David, Chris Lynn, Dawid Malan, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Cutting, Colin Munro Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendoff, Tabraiz Shamsi and Dominic Drakes are some of the well known cricketers that are featuring in the T10 tournament.

Where to watch National Cricket League 2024 live in India

Live streaming of the National Cricket League 2024 will be available on the FanCode app and website in India.

There will be no live telecast of the T10 tournament on any TV channel in India.

National Cricket League 2024 schedule and live match start times

All match times are in India Standard Time (IST)

Saturday, October 5

Dallas Lonestars CC vs Texas Gladiators CC - 6:00 AM

New York Lions CC vs Los Angeles Waves CC - 8:30 PM

Atlanta Kings CC vs Chicago CC - 11:00 PM

Sunday, October 6

Texas Gladiators CC vs Los Angeles Waves CC - 8:30 PM

New York Lions CC vs Dallas Lonestars CC - 11:00 PM

Tuesday, October 8

Atlanta Kings CC vs Los Angeles Waves CC - 5:30 AM

Chicago CC vs Texas Gladiators CC - 8:00 AM

Wednesday, October 9

Dallas Lonestars CC vs Chicago CC - 5:30 AM

New York Lions CC vs Atlanta Kings CC - 8:00 AM

Thursday, October 10

Atlanta Kings CC vs Dallas Lonestars CC - 5:30 AM

Friday, October 11

New York Lions CC vs Chicago CC - 5:30 AM

Dallas Lonestars CC vs Los Angeles Waves CC - 8:00 AM

Saturday, October 12

Atlanta Kings CC vs Texas Gladiators CC - 5:30 AM

Chicago CC vs Los Angeles Waves CC - 8:00 AM

Qualifier 1 - 9:30 PM

Sunday, October 13

Eliminator - 12:00 AM

Qualifier 2 - 11:00 PM

Tuesday, October 15

National Cricket League 2024 final - 5:30 AM

National Cricket League 2024 teams and squads

Atlanta Kings CC: Shivam Sharma, Angelo Matthews, Tom Bruce, Baswant Rao, Danish Aziz, James Neesham, Karthik Gadeela, Sam Billings, Tom Moores, Ansh Patel, Ben Russell, Imran Tahir, Naseer Jamali, Shubham Chopra

Chicago CC: Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Chris Lynn, Hamid Wafa, Ian Souness, Michael Leask, Ravi Bopara, Simon Harmer, Arjun Mahesh, Leonardo Julien, Robin Uthappa, Kaleem Sana, Karthik Gattepalli, Rehman Qaiser, Sohail Tanvir

Dallas Lonestars CC: Colin Munro, Gourav Bajaj, Sohaib Maqsood, Chris Green, Matt Critchley, Sai Praveen Posani, Saikanth Akunuri, Samit Patel, Dinesh Karthik, Binura Fernando, Chris Wood, Hayden Walsh, Naqash Basharat, Pragyan Ojha

Los Angeles Waves: Joe Burns, Tim David, Majjid Zubair, Pankaj Kampli, Rumman Raees, Shakib Al Hasan, Waqas Saleem, Adam Rossington, George Munsey, Stephen Eskinazi, Jagpreet Singh, Rishi Ramesh, Todd Astle, Tymal Mills

New York Lions CC: Abdullah Syed, Ben Cutting, Saurish Chakraborty, Suresh Raina, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Hafeez, Sujit Nayak, Manvinder Bisla, Upul Tharanga, Awais Tariq, Dominic Drakes, Oshane Thomas, Shaurya Gaur, Tabraiz Shamsi

Texas Gladiators CC: Dawid Malan, Jathin Varijakshan, Nick Kelly, Romeel Afzal, James Fuller, Ashton Agar, Keemo Paul, Shahid Afridi, Kennar Lewis, Smit Patel, Jason Behrendoff, Nisarg Patel, Usman Rafiq, Wahab Riaz

Photo credit: Imago

India’s star cricketer Rohit Sharma currently holds the record for playing the most T20 International matches. 

Since making his T20I debut against England at Kingsmead in 2007, Rohit Sharma has already featured in 147 T20 Internationals  - the most by any player in the shortest format of cricket.

Between 2007 and 2022, the current Indian cricket team captain has amassed 3,826 T20I runs in 147 matches at a strike rate of 140.37 while also maintaining a decent average of 31.36. He has smashed four centuries and 29 fifties in his T20I career so far.

Rohit is the fifth cricketer and second Indian to score 2,000 runs in T20I cricket. Virat Kohli, Brendon McCullum, Shoaib Malik and Martin Guptill are the four other cricketers to achieve the incredible feat.

Interestingly, Rohit was part of the Indian side that won the inaugural edition of the ICC T20 World Cup in South Africa in 2007.

The Nagpur-born cricketer also played a pivotal role in helping India clinch the inaugural T20I edition of the Asia Cup in Bangladesh in 2016.

Following his impressive run in the T20I format, Rohit was included as an opener in the ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Decade.

Pakistan batter Shoaib Malik is second on the list for the most T20 International matches.

The former Pakistan captain played 124 T20 internationals since making his debut against England at County Ground in 2006.

Shoaib Malik has scored 2,435 runs at an average of 31.22 and a strike rate of 125.64. He registered nine fifties to his name in international cricket’s shortest format.

Malik was part of the Pakistan team that won their maiden ICC World T20 title at the iconic Lord’s in 2009.

New Zealand’s Martin Guptill features third on the list. Between 2009 and 2022, Guptill has featured in 122 T20 Internationals so far.

The swashbuckling batter made his T20I debut against arch-rivals Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in 2009. The opening batter has accumulated 3,497 runs at an average of 31.79 and a strike rate of 135.80. He has hit two hundreds and 20 fifties in his illustrious T20I career.

Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah and Mohammad Hafeez of Pakistan complete this top five list.

While Mahmudullah has played 121 T20 Internationals, Mohammad Hafeez has played 119.

Most T20 international matches

Player	Span	Matches
Rohit Sharma (India)	2007-2022	147
Shoaib Malik (Pakistan)	2006-2021	124
Martin Guptill (New Zealand)	2009-2022	122
Mahmudullah (Bangladesh)	2007-2022	121
Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan)	2006-2021	119
Paul Sterling (Ireland)	2009-2022	119
Eoin Morgan (England)	2009-2022	115
Virat Kohli (India)	2010-2022	114
Kevin O'Brien (Ireland)	2008-2021	110
George Dockrell (Ireland)	2010-2022	105

 

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Featured photo: Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP

While Pakistan have always been renowned for relentlessly churning out pacers with express speed and incredible accuracy, they have also produced a few world-class batsmen over the years.

Their bowling unit has for decades been the driving force behind their success and plenty have made a huge impact on the world stage. However, a handful of the nation’s finest batsman have also etched their names in the sport’s history books.

Unlike neighbours India, Pakistan hasn’t produced batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who are renowned for their ton-scoring ability, but they have had a few who have hit a respectable number of centuries in One-Day International cricket. Below we take a look at five Pakistan batsmen with most centuries in ODIs.

Saeed Anwar �?20 centuries

A superstar for the Pakistan team during the nineties, batsman Saeed Anwar leads the way for Pakistan in ODI centuries with 20.

Pakistan’s third-highest run-getter in ODIs with 8824 runs played 247 times for his country and finished his career with a respectable average of 39.21 and a good strike rate of 80.67.

Anwar, who was Wisden’s Cricketer of the Year in 1997, scored 194 in a match against India at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai that very year, which was the highest individual score in ODIs till Zimbabwe’s Charles Coventry equalled it in 2009 against Bangladesh and Sachin Tendulkar surpassed it with an unbeaten 200 against South Africa in 2011.

Mohammad Yousuf �?15 centuries

If the nineties belonged to Anwar, the 2000s were Mohammad Yousuf’s.

The player, formerly named Yousuf Youhana, was Pakistan’s most consistent batsman throughout the 2000s, playing 281 games for his country and scoring 9554 runs in his 12-year stint with the national team.

Yousuf scored his runs at a tremendous average of 42.08, which is bettered only by Zaheer Abbas (47.62) and current ODI and T20I captain Babar Azam (54.17).

Babar Azam �?11 centuries

Speaking of Azam, the 25-year-old is the best batsman Pakistan has produced in the better part of a couple of decades, and his numbers in ODI cricket are comparable only to the greats of the format.

The skipper has scored 3359 runs in just 72 outings with the bat at a ridiculous average of 54.17, which is currently only bettered by Virat Kohli’s 59.33 in ODI history.

Azam’s consistency and ability have made some of cricket’s keenest observers sound for his inclusion in the current ‘Fab Four�?of batting, which includes Australia’s Steve Smith, New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, England’s Joe Root, and Kohli.

Mohammad Hafeez �?11 centuries

In and out of the team since his debut in 2003, Mohammad Hafeez has been an enigmatic figure in Pakistan cricket, but his ability is unquestionable, proven by his track record in all three formats.

In ODIs, Hafeez has scored 6614 runs in 216 outings for Pakistan at a passable average of 32.90. Despite his career strike being only 76.61 in ODIs, Hafeez has proven he can adjust his game to the requirements of modern-day cricket by winning the Man of the Series award in the recently concluded T20I series against England.

Ijaz Ahmed and Inzaman Ul-Haq �?10 centuries

Tied at 10 are two iconic Pakistani cricketers �?Ijaz Ahmed and Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Ahmed played 250 matches for Pakistan and scored 6564 runs at an average of 32.33 and a strike rate of 80.30. Inzamam, Pakistan’s highest run-scorer with 11,701 runs, played 375 matches for Pakistan, second-most behind Shahid Afridi’s record of 393.

Both players were part of Pakistan’s triumphant 1992 ICC World Cup squad.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Martin Hayhow

Only a day after the Pakistan Cricket Board said as many as seven new players have been tested positive for the global virus, former captain, Mohammad Hafeez, who was one amongst the list, took to Twitter to confirm that he is completely fine and has been tested negative after a second consultation.

"After Tested positive acc to PCB testing Report yesterday,as 2nd opinion & for satisfaction I personally went to Test it again along with my family and here I along with my all family members are reported Negative Alham du Lillah. May Allah keep us all safe ," he wrote.

After Tested positive COVID-19 acc to PCB testing Report yesterday,as 2nd opinion & for satisfaction I personally went to Test it again along with my family and here I along with my all family members are reported Negetive Alham du Lillah. May Allah keep us all safe pic.twitter.com/qy0QgUvte0

�?Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) June 24, 2020

Read | Cricket South Africa announces seven positive cases

On Monday, the Pakistan Cricket Board organised tests for as many as 35 players in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. And as per the results, the likes of Fakhar Zaman, Imran Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan and Wahab Riaz were tested positive. Furthermore, the team’s massage therapist was also tested positive.

The news came only a few days after three Pakistani cricketers - Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and Haider Ali - were tested positive on Monday.

Read | Mohammad Irfan confirms he is 'well' after rumours of death

Players tested negative: Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Iftikhar Ahmad, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Sohail Khan, and Yasir Shah.

Meanwhile, Pakistan are due to depart for England on Sunday ahead of a series that will see them play three Tests and three Twenty20 internationals against England, starting in August. But despite the new cases, PCH chief Wasim Khan insisted the tour would still go ahead.

Read | Shahid Afridi tests positive; Gambhir and Misbah react

"The tour is very much on the track and the squad will depart as per schedule on June 28th," said Khan.

"Fortunately, all first-choice Test players, barring wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, are negative which means they can start training immediately after they are tested and given all clear when they arrive in UK," he added.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Olly Greenwood

Seven more Pakistan players due to tour England in August have tested positive for the global virus, the country's cricket board said Tuesday, taking the total to 10 since the first results were announced this week.

Pakistan are due to depart for England on Sunday ahead of a series that will see them play three Tests and three Twenty20 internationals against England, starting in August.

Despite the new cases, the Pakistan Cricket Board’s chief executive Wasim Khan insisted the tour would still go ahead.

"The tour is very much on the track and the squad will depart as per schedule on June 28th," said Khan.

"Fortunately, all first-choice Test players, barring wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, are negative which means they can start training immediately after they are tested and given all clear when they arrive in UK," he added.

Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Hasnain, Kashif Bhatti are the latest to be diagnosed with the virus.

It comes after three cricketers Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf and Haider Ali tested positive on Monday.

The team’s massage therapist has also tested positive.

Pakistan is experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases, with more than 180,000 so far, including 3,590 deaths, while cases are falling in Britain.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Saeed Khan

Veteran players Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez lost their central contracts on Thursday as the Pakistan cricket clear-out gathered pace.

Fast bowler Mohammad Amir was also demoted in the new contracts, announced a day after head coach Mickey Arthur was shown the door following a disappointing World Cup.

Malik, 37, had already quit one-day internationals after a poor World Cup in which he scored only eight runs in three matches with two ducks.

At 38, Hafeez also has little chance of regaining the chance to play for Pakistan, while Amir, who retired from Tests last month to focus on limited-overs cricket, is demoted from an A-category contract to a C.

"The annual central-contracts list for the 2019-2020 is trimmed from 33 to 19, reducing the number of categories from five to three," the Pakistan Cricket Board added in a release.

Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, batsman Babar Azam and spinner Yasir Shah were retained in category A and will get 1.1 million rupees (6,870 US dollars) a month over the next year.

Senior batsmen Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Abbas, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Wahab Riaz are in the B category, which pays 750,000 rupees. The C contracts are worth 550,000 rupees a month.

Feature Image Courtesy: AFP / Randy Brooks

Mohammad Hafeez said Pakistan's dismal showing at the World Cup was hurting the players, who were determined to battle back in a bid to reach the semi-finals.

Pakistan are languishing in ninth place in the 10-team table, with only Afghanistan below them, after a single victory in five matches.

The 1992 winners need to win all four of their remaining games and hope other results go in their favour, with four teams qualifying from the round-robin phase.

Their next match is against fellow strugglers South Africa at Lord's on Sunday and Hafeez said the players were determined to make amends for their poor performances so far at the tournament in England and Wales.

"I tell you that to see the team at number nine is hurting all of us," said veteran Hafeez, whose 84 anchored Pakistan's innings of 348-8 in their only win, over hosts England.

They opened their campaign with a seven-wicket loss against West Indies, also going down to defeats to Australia and India, while their match against Sri Lanka was washed out.

Their final three games are against New Zealand, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

"We failed collectively as a team," said Hafeez. "We could not produce a team effort and individual brilliance did not help us either. In cricket these days, you need a team performance."

"We can't blame any single person. Everyone is responsible for failing to deliver," added the 38-year-old, who said harsh media criticism after their heavy defeat against India on Sunday had been tough on the players.

"All of us are also hurt by the negative campaign in the media where players and their families were targeted. There was talk of groupings (factions) in the team which was wrong.

"Why don't you talk about such things when the team is winning?"

Hafeez said despite the perilous situation, all was not lost for Pakistan.

"All is not finished for us," he said. "We are focused on our next game and we are eager to win that match. We had ample time after the India game to regroup for a new beginning."

Hafeez defended the decision to send India to bat after winning the toss, despite advice from Prime Minister Imran Khan, who led Pakistan to their 1992 World Cup win, to do the opposite.

“It was a team decision and that cannot be made on what someone has tweeted. It was the team's decision. We didn’t bowl well and that's why we lost that game," he said.

Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ Oli Scarff

After falling short to the defending champions Australia on Wednesday, the Pakistani camp would be gearing to pull up their socks and get back to winning ways when they take on their historic rivals India in the 2019 ICC World Cup on Sunday.

The 1992 champions find themselves in a tricky position after getting just three points after four games and are eighth on the points table, making a win on Sunday all the more important. But if Pakistan are to create history and beat India for the first time in a World Cup game, these three players need to play to the best of their potential.

Mohammad Amir

The current leading wicket-taker at the World Cup, Mohammad Amir has been the lynchpin for the Pakistani seam attack with his ability to swing the ball both directions while maintaining exquisite control. He picked up his first-ever five-wicket haul in international cricket against Australia and maintained an economy rate of three on a day when the batting side scored in excess of 300 runs.

It's game on at Taunton!

Australia looked set for a mammoth total thanks to David Warner's century, but Mohammad Amir's five-wicket haul sees the batting side bowled out for 307. #AUSvPAK LIVE //t.co/eEmVwQQPYP pic.twitter.com/jN5CEq4YmY

�?Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) June 12, 2019

Amir was instrumental in Pakistan’s Champions Trophy final triumph over India in 2018, with an inspired spell of swing bowling which saw his dismiss Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli to break the Indian chase aspirations.

READ | Mohammad Amir and English summer: A love-hate relation

Mohammad Hafeez

The ‘professor�?of Pakistani cricket has been their leading run scorer for Pakistan this year and scored a match winning 84 against hosts England in their only win thus far. Hafeez averages a healthy 48.60 against India in ODI cricket, which includes three fifties and a century.

Therefore, if the Pakistani brigade are to get one over their Indian compatriots on Sunday, the middle-order batsman would have to perform at his best.

READ | Pakistan will have to be at their best to beat India, says Waqar

Fakhar Zaman

The southpaw opener for Pakistan has been struggling for form a bit since the turn of the year but the Indian camp wouldn’t dare to be complacent due to that. Zaman scored a blistering 114 in that Champions Trophy final last year and has had a good record against India.

A date with the arch rivals would be the perfect pedestal for the 29-year-old to get back to his best and help Pakistan create history.

Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ Saeed Khan

Veteran batsman Mohammad Hafeez has urged his side to take the confidence from their win over hosts England into their next World Cup match against champions Australia.  

The 38-year-old was Pakistan's saviour in their sensational 14-run win over England in Nottingham, riding his luck on the way to a match-turning 84 off 62 balls.

That helped Pakistan post a challenging total of 348-8 and set up a confidence-boosting win after they flopped badly in their opening seven-wicket defeat by the West Indies.

"I think all 10 teams are beatable," Hafeez told AFP on Sunday. "If you look at England they were playing top cricket and people were thinking it would be hard to beat them."

Hafeez, speaking before Australia suffered a 36-run loss to India at the Oval on Sunday, added: "But all teams are beatable ... if you talk of our next opponent (Australia) they are also playing very good cricket but they too can be defeated."

Pakistan, who face the title-holders at Taunton on Wednesday, have a dismal recent record against Australia -- they've won just one of the last 14 one-day internationals between the teams dating back to October 2014.

Australia -- who have won four of the last five World Cups -- completed a 5-0 whitewash of Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in March, albeit Pakistan rested seven of their top players.

- 'Momentum' - 

"Yes, we don't have a very good record against Australia because they play tough cricket but every day is a new day," said Hafeez. 

"This is a World Cup and we now have momentum after our win over England."

Pakistan were left to rue persistent rain in Bristol on Friday, which led to a no-result washout in their match against Sri Lanka with both teams receiving a point.

"Yes, that was frustrating but you cannot do much about the weather and now we have moved on. But I am sure when we play again we will put up the same game that we played against England," Hafeez promised.

Hafeez said Pakistan's remarkable turnaround in their first two games -- they were bowled out for a paltry 105 by the West Indies in Nottingham -- was down to acknowledging their mistakes.

"I think we realised that we played a very bad game and we gave confidence to each other and convinced each other that we can win and that positive thinking helped bringing the change," said Hafeez, a veteran of 212 ODIs.

Their win over England, who defeated them 4-0 shortly before the start of the World Cup, ended Pakistan's sequence of 11 consecutive defeats since losing the fifth and final one-dayer against South Africa in January.

"Yes, we had been losing but we were playing good cricket," Hafeez explained. "The best thing about the England win was that everyone contributed. 

"Even Hasan Ali, who didn't get a wicket, but his last three overs were good and brought us back," said Hafeez of the medium-pacer who finished with 0-66 in 10 overs.

"When you play like that you get confidence and momentum."

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Oli Scarff