Karachi: The Over 40s Cricket Global Cup will begin tomorrow in the port city with a curtain-raiser match between the USA and hosts Pakistan Veteran.
The tournament will feature teams from Australia, the West Indies, Canada, Hong Kong, the USA, and the UAE. A total of 36 matches will be played at five different grounds in Karachi. Pakistan Team will play all its games at National Bank Stadium.
Former captain Misbah-ul-Haq will lead Pakistan Veterans, featuring star players Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Sami, Abdul Razzaq, and others.
The tournament’s trophy unveiling ceremony took place at a local hotel in Karachi on Monday, followed by a press conference by the Chairman of the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) Fawad Ijaz.
According to Fawad Ijaz, a significant veterans’ cricket competition is being hosted in Pakistan for the first time ever. “International teams are all given tight security.”
When questioned about the tournament’s name, he emphasized that it was changed to Global Cup in response to ICC’s opposition.
“The tournament was initially named World Cup, however, the International Cricket Council (ICC) raised objections over the name, hence we changed it to the Global Cup, which is sanctioned by the ICC,” he added.
Fawad Ijaz also shed light on the fact as to why the Indian team is not part of the tournament.
“It is difficult to get the visa for Indian players,” he stated.
Pakistan Veterans Squad:
Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Misbah ul Haq, Muhammad Sami, Hassan Raza, Tariq Haroon, Khurram Ali Khan (w.k), Waqas Ahmed, Abdul Qadir, Muhammad Rizwan Aslam, Kashif Sidqque, Muhammad Ilyas, Afzal Shah (w.k), Amjad Ali, Imran Ali, Tassawar Abbas, Adnan Raees, Junaid Khalil Nainitalwala.
Reserves: Yasir Hameed, Haris Ayaz, Shehzad Malik.
