Squads named as First XI Pakistan Cup One-day tournament begins today

KARACHI: Head coaches have finalised their 16-man squads for the First XI Pakistan Cup One-day tournament which begins here at different venues from Friday (today).

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that opportunities have been provided to those young cricketers who have given impressive performances over the course of the 2020-21 domestic season.

After helping his team stage an outstanding comeback in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Hasan Ali will continue to lead Central Punjab, who shared the title with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the final ended in an epic tie. The squad carries all 11 players who played the final along with Ahmed Bashir, Bilal Asif, Rizwan Hussain, Sohaibullah and Tayyab Tahir.

Khalid Usman will skipper the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa team and will have hard-hitting top-order batsman Fakhar Zaman, the leading run-scorer in the National T20 Cup, as his deputy. Head coach Abdul Razzaq has retained the in-form batsman Kamran Ghulam and off-spinner and leading wicket-taker of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Sajid Khan.

Balochistan will be led by veteran batsman Imran Farhat and he will have wicketkeeper-batsman Bismillah Khan as his vice-captain. Head coach Faisal Iqbal has put his faith in 18-year-old Quetta-born Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, a Pakistan Under-19 player, who has had an impressive 2020-21 domestic season. In his most recent outing for his Balochistan, Abdul Wahid was the fourth highest run-getter in the Pakistan Cup for Second XIs with 187 runs in five matches – including a half-century – at 37.40.

Mohammad Masroor, Northern’s interim head coach, has named all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz as the captain of his team. Mubasir Khan is in line to make his List A debut after enjoying resounding success with both bat and ball in the 2020-21 domestic season, which included a century on first-class debut and player of the tournament awards in both one-day and three-day Under-19 tournaments.

Sindh will be eager to stage a comeback after finishing the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy at the bottom. Head coach Basit Ali has named Saud Shakeel the captain of the side. Sixteen-year-old off-spinner Aaliyan Mehmood has been rewarded for his sensational returns in the one-day and three-day Under-19 tournaments. Aaliyan was the third best bowler in the both tournaments taking 24 wickets 15.67 in one-day and 20 scalps at 25.55 in three-day.

Middle-order batsman Sohaib Maqsood will lead Southern Punjab, the finalists of the National T20 Cup. Salman Ali Agha, Southern Punjab’s leading run-scorer in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, will be Sohaib’s deputy. Their fast bowling department got a shot in the arm following the addition of Aaron Summers. They have included Mukhtar Ahmed and Waqar Hussain, the top two run-getters of the Pakistan Cup for Second XI teams, who played a vital role in Southern Punjab winning that tournament.

Squads: Balochistan: Imran Farhat (c), Bismillah Khan (vc), Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Adnan Akmal, Akbar-ur-Rehman, Ali Rafiq, Awais Zia, Ayaz Tasawar, Gohar Faiz, Jalat Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Nazar Hussain, Raza-ul-Hasan, Taimoor Ali, Taj Wali and Umaid Asif

Central Punjab: Hasan Ali (c), Ahmed Bashir, Ahmed Safi Abdullah, Ali Shan (wk), Ali Zaryab, Bilal Asif, Bilawal Iqbal, Muhammad Akhlaq, Mohammad Saad, Qasim Akram, Rizwan Hussain, Saad Nasim, Sohaibullah, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Salahuddin and Waqas Maqsood

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Khalid Usman (c), Fakhar Zaman (vc), Adil Amin, Arshad Iqbal, Asif Afridi, Imran Khan Snr, Irfanullah Shah, Israrullah, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Mohsin, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Musadiq Ahmed, Rehan Afridi (wk), Sahibzada Farhan, Sajid Khan and Usman Shinwari

Northern: Mohammad Nawaz (c), Aamer Jamal, Ali Imran, Asif Ali, Athar Mehmood, Faizan Riaz, Hammad Azam, Jamal Anwar, Mubasir Khan, Muhammad Ismail, Nasir Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Salman Irshad, Sohail Tanvir, Taimoor Sultan and Umar Amin

Sindh: Saud Shakeel (c), Aaliyan Mahmood, Abrar Ahmed, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Ghulam Mudassar, Hassan Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Asghar, Azam Khan, Mohammad Umar, Omair Bin Yousaf, Saad Ali, Shahnawaz Dhani and Sharjeel Khan

Southern Punjab: Sohaib Maqsood (c), Salman Ali Agha (vc), Aamer Yamin, Aaron Summers, Ali Shafiq, Mohammad Ilyas, Muhammad Imran, Mukhtar Ahmed, Rahat Ali, Saif Badar, Umar Khan, Umar Siddiq Khan, Waqar Hussain, Zahid Mahmood, Zain Abbas and Zeeshan Ashraf