Top teams set to battle as National T20 Cup begins today

KARACHI: Sindh will be desperately looking to get off to an impressive start when they face Central Punjab in their opening day-night game of the National T20 Cup 2019-20 which commences at Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad on Sunday (today).

Sarfraz Ahmed will lead Sindh which also carries some solid players including Asad Shafiq (vice-captain), Sohail Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Anwar Ali, Abid Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Ahsan Ali, Saud Shakeel, Fawad Alam and Kashif Bhatti.

Babar Azam will be the skipper of Central Punjab which also features Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, Hassan Ali and Faheem Ashraf. The match starts at 5:30pm. Earlier in the day at 1:30pm, Haris Sohail-led Balochistan and Mohammad Rizwan-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa face each other in their opener at the same venue.

Two matches will be played daily. After a single round engagement the leading four teams will make it to the semi-finals to be held on October 23. The final will be played on October 24.

The tournament returns to Faisalabad after eight seasons. It is expected to keep the spectators on the edge of their seats as the top 96 players of the country in the shortest format will compete for the T20 glory.

“After restructuring in the domestic structure, the winning prize money for the tournament has seen a 100 per cent surge as the team to be crowned the champions of the National T20 Cup on 24 October will pocket Rs 5million,” the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday.

The runners-up will get Rs 2.5million and the top performers of the tournament — player of the tournament, best batsman of the tournament, best bowler of the tournament and best wicket-keeper — will get richer by Rs 100,000 each.

The man-of-the-match award for every match is worth Rs 25,000, while man-of-the-final will be getting Rs35,000.

“The boost in the prize moneys perfectly aligns with the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) policy of incentivising top-performing players,” the PCB said.

With Pakistan scheduled to play three T20 International against Australia in early November, followed by the player draft for the 2020 Pakistan Super League the tournament serves as a perfect opportunity to the players to secure berths in the national squad and impress scouts of the six franchises.

It, however, will be difficult for the players to grab attention of the national selectors and franchises’ scouting teams with the enhancements in the quality of cricket which has been brought by the reduction in the number of teams at the top-level in the new domestic structure.

“This tournament will produce more stars for Pakistan. I request all the fans to come to the stadium and enjoy cricket. This time, the PCB has dedicated Javed Miandad enclosure for the families, to provide comfort to the family,” Southern Punjab skipper Shan Masood said.

Central Punjab vice-captain Ahmed Shehzad said: “No cricket can be successful unless and until without the engagement of the crowd. The people of Faisalabad not only enjoy cricket but have always supported the cricketers whenever they are here. We are here to entertain the fans and I request everyone, specifically the families, to come out and enjoy.”

“The up-and-coming cricketers of all the teams are highly talented and entertaining. I am sure that the quality of cricket will be amazing in the tournament and the people of Faisalabad will have a great time at the stadium,” Balochistan vice-captain Imran Farhat said.

“There’s a new structure in place after which we will get to see quality cricket. A specific enclosure, Javed Miandad, has been dedicated for the families and I request all the parents to bring their kids to the stadium so they can get to see their stars in action,” Sindh skipper Sarfraz Ahmed conceded.

Northern left-arm pacer Sohail Tanvir: “We have always received tremendous support from the fans here in Faisalabad. The cricketers and fans go hand in hand and we are nothing without them. I look forward to the traditional Faisalabad support for this tournament as well.”

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa skipper Mohammad Rizwan commented: “We need fans to boost us. The cricketing action is going to be top-class as every team boasts at least 10 to 11 international players. There’s a new system in place which focuses on quality, and it will be on display during the course of this tournament.”

Meanwhile, National T20 Cup Second XI tournament will be held here at the National Stadium, running in parallel with the First XI tournament.

This will provide chance to up-and-coming cricketers to prove their mettle, while the First XI sides can also gauge white ball form of these players in case they need back-up.

Like the First XI tournament, there will be two matches in a day in the Second XI tournament, except for the final.

The first match will commence at 9:30am, while the second match of the day is scheduled for 1:30pm.