Teams gear up for second round of National One-Day Cup

All eight captains hail PCB’s decision to allow inclusion of four departmental players

KARACHI: The captains of the eight teams in the National One-Day Cup for regions have praised the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) decision to allow the inclusion of four players from the departmental teams, saying that this would increase the level of competition in the tournament.

“Previously, the top players played for the departments while the rest were left for the regions. The level of competition was low and the interest of people [in the matches] was also low. Now, people will come to see big names and we will also have exciting matches,” Islamabad captain Zohaib Khan told The Express Tribune.

Meanwhile, Peshawar captain Iftikhar Ahmed, who replaced Junaid Khan in the squad after the latter left for Australia to be part of Pakistan’s ODI squad, believes the teams are fairly balanced and that the team who implements the best strategy will win.

“In the last match FATA made it extremely difficult for us and took the match to the last over which shows the teams are balanced,” he told The Express Tribune. “We had a good plan and were able to implement it under Junaid’s captaincy, which led us to victory.”

He added that the next match against Islamabad will be tough as they have two impact players — Shan Masood and Ahmad Shahzad — who are proven match-winners.

Rawalpindi, who registered an easy win over Islamabad courtesy Naved Malik’s unbeaten 101, are looking to maintain their good form with captain Sohail Tanvir emphasising the importance of good opening partnerships from the batsmen.

“Openers are the ones who mostly set the tone of the match and I am happy to say that we have good ones. If we have a good opening partnership, like in the first match, we will certainly win the next match against FATA,” he said.

Meanwhile, Karachi Whites bowler Tabish Khan, who finished as the second highest wicket-taker in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, is looking to take one step further by becoming the highest wicket-taker in the competition. “I am really looking forward to improving on my performance in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. This tournament is extremely exciting and I hope I will be able to perform with the ball.”

In the round two matches, Rawalpindi will face FATA, Peshawar will take on Islamabad, Karachi Blues will lock horns with Lahore Blues and Karachi Whites will play Lahore Whites.