From obscurity to smashing sixes: Pakistan's Razaullah rises to stardom

Karachi: A young Razaullah arrived in the northern Pakistani city of Mardan with his two elder brothers, dreaming to make it big in cricket with his thunderbolt deliveries and powerful hitting.

His brother Samiullah did not want his sibling to be a truck loader like him, and instead made sure the tall and strapping fast bowler went to the town's cricket academy on his way to play for his country.

Razaullah dismissed one of the world's best batters Joe Root with his fourth ball on his Test debut before smashing nine sixes in a sensational innings of 81 against England at Edgbaston. tr-sport.click

The 21-year-old's fearless batting brought Pakistan from the brink of an innings defeat on Friday as he added a fighting 121 runs for the ninth wicket with Mohammad Abbas, who scored 42.

His sensational hits -- some landing in the under-construction hotel adjacent to the stadium -- caused a sensation from England's Midlands to Mardan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa back home.

"This is the beauty of Pakistan's raw talent," said commentator Urooj Mumtaz, a former Pakistan women's captain. "He batted fearlessly and entertained all those who were watching. It was sensational."

Razaullah himself admitted he wanted to entertain others and enjoy himself.

"I just had to bat, you are the ones who get to enjoy it," he said in post-match comments on Sky.

Just like his sensational Edgbaston knock, Razaullah's induction to the Pakistan team was as much out of the blue.

Smarting from humiliating defeats in the first two Tests, Pakistan withdrew seven players in a shock reaction, drafting as many new ones -- with unheralded and uncapped Razaullah one of them.

Number 14

Razaullah's coming of age at the international level will inspire the next generation of players.

The unassuming young man left his remote village of Wari in the hilly parts of Upper Dir -- an area close to Lower Dir from where another fast bowler Naseem Shah emerged in 2019.

He endeared himself to everyone at the Mardan academy for his obsession to bowl as fast as Shoaib Akhtar -- the former Pakistan express pacer -- and ability to clear the boundary off many deliveries bowled to him.

"He (Razaullah) came for Under-19 trials in 2023 wearing spikes bigger than his size and with his first delivery he sent the batter staggering with his speed," Mardan and Abbottabad coach Ahmed Said told AFP earlier this year.

"I asked him not to bowl another delivery for fear of causing injury to any young and inexperienced batter."

Said recalled Razaullah always wanted the Number 14 shirt that Akhtar used to wear.

"Razaullah insisted he wanted a Number 14 shirt in the National Twenty20 Cup and was elated after he got it, albeit two sizes bigger, and we all started to call him Shobby."

Former Pakistan coach Abdul Rehman spotted Razaullah in a Twenty20 tournament in Quetta and recruited him for the Rawalpindi team in the Pakistan Super League, where he impressed with his speed.

Pakistan selector Aaqib Javed helped his growth in the High Performance Center in Lahore, from where he jetted to England.

Razaullah's idol Akhtar was impressed with his play.

"Look at his intent and fearless batting and this was the intent Pakistan players were missing in earlier matches," Akhtar said on television.

"He is a product of the Pakistan Cricket Board's pathway, and it's now the duty of the coaches to manage him properly so that he can progress further."

Doha, Qatar: Qatar will be hoping to add to its Asian Games medal tally through volleyball at the Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026, with its strongest medal hopes resting on beach volleyball stars Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan.

Qatar will field men’s and women’s teams in the indoor competition, in addition to four teams in beach volleyball, two men’s and two women’s pairs.

The men’s indoor team have been drawn in Group C alongside India, Vietnam and Hong Kong, while Group A comprises Japan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Group B features the Islamic Republic of Iran, Indonesia, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan, and Group D has the Republic of Korea, Chinese Taipei and the Philippines.

The men’s competition will run from September 27 to October 3, while the women’s event is scheduled from September 16 to 22.

Qatar’s men enter the tournament after an intensive preparation programme under Argentine coach Camilo Soto.

They held a training camp in Slovenia from August 15 to 26, playing friendly matches against Egypt and Slovenian league teams before competing in the Asian Championship in Fukuoka, Japan.

The women’s team are in Group D alongside Vietnam, the Republic of Korea and Hong Kong, with Qatar aiming to produce a strong showing against experienced continental opponents.

Qatar have a strong record in indoor volleyball, winning the Asian Cup in Chinese Taipei in 2018 after defeating Iran 3-2.

They have also won the Gulf Cup and Asian Challenge Cup, claimed bronze at the 2023 Asian Championship in Iran and qualified for the 2022 and 2025 World Championships.

In beach volleyball, Qatar will be represented by four teams. The Qatar 1 men’s team features Cherif and Tijan, while Qatar 2 comprises Moussa El Kheir and Mohamed Ehab.

Malak Mohammed and Laila Mohammed form Qatar 1 in the women’s event, while Haya Abu Issa and Shaghaf Amin represent Qatar 2.

Cherif and Tijan are Qatar’s main medal hopes, having won Asian Games gold in Jakarta in 2018 and retained their title in Hangzhou in 2023.

The duo also won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and gold at the Asian Beach Games in Sanya, China, last April. They have won the Asian Beach Volleyball Championship three times, with their latest continental title coming in Bandar Abbas, Iran, in 2022.

They also won gold at the West Asian Beach Volleyball Championship in Doha in 2022.

Their continued excellence was recognised when they received the award for Asia’s best beach volleyball players for 2026 from the Asian Volleyball Confederation in Bangkok, Thailand. With QNA input.

Madrid: Championship leader Kimi Antonelli stayed on top for Mercedes ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc in Saturday's extended crash-hit third and final practice ahead of qualifying for the Spanish Grand Prix.

The 20-year-old Italian clocked a best lap in one minute and 32.797 seconds to outpace the Monegasque by 0.166 seconds ahead of both McLarens in a session that saw seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton slam into the barriers in the second Ferrari.

Hamilton's crash led to a red flag stoppage that lasted 54 minutes and rendered an extra quarter of an hour added, as the drivers' continued to explore the limits of the new high-risk Madring circuit, dubbed a 'car-killer' in many quarters.

In the end, Antonelli's pure talent took him clear again with Leclerc second ahead of Oscar Piastri and world champion Lando Norris with four-time champion Max Verstappen taking fifth for Red Bull in the final minutes.

George Russell was sixth in the second Mercedes, seven-tenths off his team-mate's pace, ahead of Liam Lawson in the second Red Bull, Nico Hulkenberg of Audi, Hamilton and Gabriel Bortoleto in the second Audi.

After a crash-free opening hour on Friday, the second produced one crash - for Racing Bulls' Arvid Lindblad, who returned to take 14th place, and the third delivered two as Oliver Bearman also hit the barriers in his Haas in the final minute.

After a slow start, Ferrari had joined the fray on softs and clocked immediate fastest laps before a hasty Hamilton slammed into the barriers.

The 41-year-old Briton locked up at the final corner after 24 minutes, breaking his front wing which was stuck under the car as he reversed successfully and began to return to the pits. The session was red-flagged.

Race engineer Carlo Santi realised and asked him to "stop in the safest place possible" but Hamilton was not keen to obey. He replied, saying "if I can make it back, I will. If not, I will do it safely".

Told he had a right front puncture and told again to stop, he finally pulled up, knowing he had ignored orders, driven in an unsafe condition and probably faced a penalty. It was, he knew, a bad incident for him.

With 15 minutes remaining, Race Control stopped the timer to allow a final quarter of an hour action once repairs were completed.

This was a rare occurrence as F1 does not usually allow for additional time, except for qualifying sessions, but it guaranteed a frantic finale for a sell-out crowd basking in the sun with the young Italian jousting with Leclerc.