Mentors confirmed for Pakistan Junior League teams

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday confirmed the names of the six teams for the Pakistan Junior League and their mentors.

The league will be played in Lahore from October 6-21.

The six sides to take part in the under-19 tournament are Bahawalpur (Southern Punjab), Gujranwala (Central Punjab), Gwadar (Balochistan), Hyderabad (Sindh), Mardan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Rawalpindi (Northern). South Africa’s Imran Tahir will be the team mentor for Bahawalpur. Pakistan’s two-time ICC tournament winner Shoaib Malik will be Gujranwala’s mentor.

Two-time 50-over World Cup winner Vivian Richards will be Gwadar’s mentor. Two-time ICC T20 World Cup winner Darren Sammy will be the mentor for Hyderabad.

The 2009 T20 World Cup winner Shahid Afridi will be the mentor for Mardan.

Hard-hitting New Zealand batsman Colin Munro will be the mentor for Rawalpindi.

Former Pakistan captain and PCB Hall of Famer Javed Miandad will be the roving umbrella mentor, helping and assisting all the sides.

The PCB also confirmed the player draft for the tournament will be held in Lahore on September 6.

More than 140 players from Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Ireland, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates have completed their registrations for the tournament.