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Sport & Culture Correspondent

Zoya Malik

Zoya Malik covers sport and culture for KhabarWire: the national cricket teams and the Pakistan Super League, other sport, film and television, festivals and heritage.

Covers
Pakistan cricket and the PSL, other sport, film and television, festivals and heritage.
Specialist areas
Cricket · Pakistan Super League · Film and television · Heritage
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Latest from Zoya Malik

61 stories · Newest first
Floodlights above the stands at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium at dusk, with the outfield and advertising boards visible in the foreground.Pakistan / Entertainment & Culture

Arafat Minhas' 59 and 6-40 power Pakistan to 87-run win over England

Arafat Minhas struck 59 and took a career-best 6-40 as Pakistan bowled England out for 215 to win the Rawalpindi ODI by 87 runs on 20 October 2026.

The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium during a Pakistan Super League match, seen from the grandstand above the players' dressing-room area with floodlights and tiers of seating around a green ovalPakistan / Entertainment & Culture

McCullum warns England of Pakistan ODI challenge in Rawalpindi on 20 October

Brendon McCullum says Pakistan are a very strong side in their own conditions as England open the ODI tri-series against Pakistan at Rawalpindi on 20 October 2026.

A right-handed batter in dark cricket gear plays a shot in the middle of a green outfield while the wicketkeeper and slip fielders watch the ball, with a bank of spectators visible behind a boundary ropePakistan / Entertainment & Culture

Pakistan v Sri Lanka opens seven-match ODI tri-series at Pindi on Sunday

Pakistan face Sri Lanka in the 1pm tri-series opener at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, with Shaheen backing Babar and 2027 World Cup framing from the ICC.

A wide view of the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium stands and field during a Pakistan Super League match in March 2020Pakistan / Entertainment & Culture

England land in Islamabad for Pakistan-England-Sri Lanka ODI tri-series starting 18 October

England's 16-player squad, led by Harry Brook and including Mason Crane, arrived in Islamabad on 16 October to begin the seven-match ODI tri-series at Rawalpindi and Lahore.

A black-and-white photograph of field hockey players from Pakistan and India contesting the ball during the 1973 men's World Cup semi-final.Pakistan / Entertainment & Culture

PHF launches Pakistan Hockey League 2027 to revive national sport

Pakistan's hockey federation and the private firm MediaCast launched the Pakistan Hockey League in Islamabad on 14 October, targeting an inaugural 2027 season in Lahore.

A floodlit cricket stadium at dusk, with two illuminated floodlight towers above a single-tier grandstand, an empty green outfield and advertising boards along the boundary.Pakistan / Entertainment & Culture

Maaz Sadaqat leaps 187 places in ICC T20I rankings after Sri Lanka tour

Maaz Sadaqat climbed 187 places to 45th in the ICC T20I rankings after the Sri Lanka series, while captain Sahibzada Farhan set a three-match run-scoring record.

Spectators in the stands of a cricket stadium wearing green Pakistan shirts, with green flags and a Bangladesh flag visible in the seating areaPakistan / Entertainment & Culture

Maaz Sadaqat's 96 and Imran Randhawa's 3/11 seal Pakistan's 2-0 T20I series win over Sri Lanka

Maaz Sadaqat fell four short of a century and Sahibzada Farhan hit 73 before Pakistan's bowlers routed Sri Lanka by 82 runs in the second T20I at Rawalpindi.

Stage photograph of a packed Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi auditorium in 2011 with dancers, a live band and crew under bright theatrical lighting and the audience seated in the foreground.Pakistan / Entertainment & Culture

Karachi to host World Culture Festival with 1,500 artists from 150 countries

The Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi and the Sindh government will host the third World Culture Festival from 29 October to 22 November 2026, with 80% of programmes free.

Pakistan Super League branding banner photograph from 2013 used here as archival context for the PSL 12 announcementPakistan / Entertainment & Culture

PCB confirms HBL PSL 12 window for March 18 to May 2, 2027 with eight teams

Pakistan Cricket Board sets HBL PSL 12 for 18 March to 2 May 2027 with all eight franchises; PSL Governing Council confirmed the window in London on 1 September.

Lionel Messi in the Argentina national team jersey during a 2026 FIFA World Cup group stage match, photographed from the stands with crowd in the foreground.International — World / Entertainment & Culture

Messi signs off Argentina career with goal, two assists and a national thank-you at the Monumental

Lionel Messi scored once and set up two more in Argentina's 3-0 friendly win over Benin on 6 October 2026, ending a 21-year, 208-cap international career at the Monumental.

Wide view of the floodlit Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore during a Pakistan Super League fixture, with the green outfield, advertising boards and stadium seating visiblePakistan / Entertainment & Culture

PCB to take over Hyderabad's Niaz Stadium for 20 years in deal with HMC

On 6 October 2026 the PCB and Hyderabad Municipal Corporation signed a 20-year agreement giving the board administrative control of Niaz Stadium while HMC retains ownership.

Wide view of the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium during a Pakistan Super League matchPakistan / Entertainment & Culture

Sahibzada Farhan replaces Salman Ali Agha as Pakistan T20I captain

The Pakistan Cricket Board has replaced Salman Ali Agha with Sahibzada Farhan as Pakistan's T20I captain and dropped Babar Azam from the T20 squad for the Sri Lanka series.