National T20 Cup qualifiers begin today

KARACHI: Star-studded Karachi Blues will begin their quest for a seat in the main round of the National T20 Cup when they face Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) in their Group B opener of the qualifiers which explode into action at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on Tuesday (today).
The match starts at 8pm.
Star all-rounder Shahid Afridi, who had to lead the side, is not available for the qualifiers.
“Yes, Afridi is not playing because of his engagement in England,” Karachi Blues’ coach Azam Khan told ‘The News’ from Rawalpindi on Monday.
Azam was hopeful that his side would qualify for the main round.
“On paper we have an experienced side and I hope we will move forward,” said Azam, a former first-class cricketer.
Afridi is expected to play in the main round which will begin from September 8.
“I think he will play in the main round,” Azam said.
In the absence of Afridi, Test stumper Sarfaraz Ahmed will lead Karachi Blues, who also have the services of Khurram Manzoor, Khalid Latif, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Anwar Ali and Mohammad Sami.
In other matches, Quetta Region will meet Larkana Region and Lahore Region will face Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
The eight outfits of the qualifiers have been placed in two groups. The Group A has Quetta, Larkana, Lahore Blues and AJK. Karachi Blues, FATA, Dera Murad Jamali and Bahawalpur are in Group B.
The semi-final winners of the qualifiers will join the already qualified ten teams in the main round.
Three matches will be played daily in the qualifiers group stage which will last till September 4. The semi-finals will be held on September 5.
Test keeper Adnan Akmal will lead Lahore Blues who also have Fahad-ul-Haq, Imamul Haq, Sami Aslam, Raza Ali Dar, Zia-ul-Haq and Attaullah.
Jalat Khan will serve as Quetta’s captain. They have strong players like Arun Lal and Ramiz Raja.
Zahid Mehmood will lead Larkana and Abdul Shakoor will lead AJK who also have Naveed Malik, Hasan Raza and Saad Altaf.
Taimur Ali will be Dera Murad Jamali’s skipper.
FATA will be led by Fawad Khan. They also have hard-hitting all-rounder Asif Afridi, Rehan Afridi and Test cricketer Riaz Afridi.
Kamran Hussain will captain Bahawalpur who also include Faisal Mubashir and Moinuddin.
The teams already in the main round are defending champions Peshawar Region, Hyderabad Region, Multan Region, Karachi Whites, Sialkot Region, Lahore Whites, Islamabad Region, Rawalpindi Region, Faisalabad Region and Abbottabad Region.
Group A has Hyderabad, Multan, Karachi Whites, Sialkot and Rawalpindi. Lahore Whites, Islamabad, Abbottabad, Faisalabad and Peshawar have been bracketed in Group B.
The semi-finals of the main round will be held on September 14 and the final on September 15.
The two bottom-placed teams of the event will be relegated and will appear in the qualifiers next season.
The matches of the main round will be held at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad, and Marghzar Ground, Islamabad.
Until last edition, the teams were named rams, stags, stallions and the like. But this time they are set to play in the names of regions.
“I think the PCB has changed the names because of the initiation of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) in Doha next year,” a senior PCB official told this correspondent. The Board has also scratched the Super Eight T20 because of PSL.