KARACHI: After the conclusion of the National T20 tournament, first-class cricket returns to Karachi as Quaid-e-Azam Trophy commences from Sunday, 25 October.
The six head coaches of their teams announced the squads, which includes all the top performers not selected for the series against Zimbabwe starting from October 30. The players will get three rounds of quality cricket to rediscover their form before the New Zealand tour.
Defending champions Central Punjab have received a major boost it has named top-order batsman Ahmed Shehzad and fast bowler Hasan Ali in the squad. The side, to be led by Azhar Ali, will go head-to-head against Sarfaraz Ahmed’s Sindh at the National Stadium from 25th October.
Sindh has picked 20-year-old left-arm fast bowler Ghulam Mudassar. He will join seasoned pace duo of Sohail Khan and Tabish Khan as Sindh will aim to improve their last year’s fifth position. Balochistan has given 17-year-old batsman Abdul Wahid Bangalzai an opportunity to show his temperament, stamina and technique in the longer version of the game.
READ MORE: Zimbabwe cricket team arrives in Pakistan
Balochistan, which finished at the bottom of the table last year, will be led by Yasir Shah. Fast bowler Akif Javed has not been included in the squad as he is currently recovering from the knee injury he sustained during the National T20 Cup
Abdul Razzaq has handed captaincy responsibilities of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa side to Ashfaq Ahmed, who was his side’s highest run scorer in the 2019 event with 805 runs. Adil Amin has been named as vice-captain in the side, which also include Imran Khan Senior, Junaid Khan, Sahibzada Farhan and Usman Khan Shinwari.
Northern, who were last year’s runners-up, will continue to be led by Nauman Ali, who was the highest wicket-taker in the edition with 54 scalps in 10 matches. Abdul Rehman has named a strong Southern Punjab side, which will be captained by Test opener Shan Masood.
Salman Ali Agha has been named in the first-class squad.Fast bowler Rahat Ali is unavailable for the first three rounds of the tournament due to family commitments.
Meanwhile, the six squads and their support staff will be undergoing Covid-19 tests in Karachi on Wednesday and Thursday, and all those with two negative results will enter a bio-secure bubble. The teams will practice on Friday and Saturday at the three venues before the opening round matches from Sunday.
Head coaches confirm Quaid-e-Azam Trophy squads
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— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) October 21, 2020
