Karachi Blues will be hoping to bring their superb form in qualifying into the main tournament when they take on Abbottabad. PHOTO: APP
Star players from the top 12 teams are all set to bring their A game as the main round of the National T20 Cup 2015-16 begins on September 8 across various grounds in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
The teams have been divided into two pools. In Pool A, Karachi Whites have been drawn along with Sialkot, Hyderabad, Multan, and Rawalpindi, with Bahawalpur joining them from the qualifying round.
In Pool B, defending champions Peshawar will take on Faisalabad, Islamabad, Lahore Whites and Abbottabad, with the winner of the other semi-final, Karachi Blues, joining the five.
With five matches to be played every day, the fans will have a chance to witness several top stars of the game during the group-stages, before the semi-finals are played on September 14, with the final set to be played the next day.
In the opening match of the tournament at Marghazar Ground in Islamabad, Hyderabad will play Multan. Hyderabad boast a young and talented side led by Sharjeel Khan, while Multan are led by Kamran Akmal and have national team stars Rahat Ali, Zulfiqar Babar, Sohaib Maqsood and Imran Farhat in their team.
“We have a pool of talented players who have been performing well in recent times,” said Hyderabad coach Iqbal Inam. “We had a long training camp and have played five friendly matches, winning all of them.”
In the tournament’s second match at the same venue, Abbottabad will take on Karachi Blues. The Karachi side will be led by national T20 skipper Shahid Afridi and will feature Pakistan internationals such as T20 vice-captain Sarfraz Ahmed, Fawad Alam, Shahzaib Hassan, Asad Shafiq, Muhammad Sami and Anwar Ali. Abbottabad on the other hand will be led by Younus Khan and boast the likes of national bowling duo Yasir Shah and Junaid Khan among their ranks.
Karachi Blues coach Azam Khan told The Express Tribune that the side has practiced a day before and are now familiar with the pitch condition. “I have asked the players to make no mistake in the field as it will be the most important area,” he said. “We have finalised our plan for the match against Abbottabad, and are hoping to bring our qualifying-round form into the tournament.”
At the Pindi Ground, Karachi Whites, led by Faisal Iqbal, will take on a strong Sialkot side that will be led by Shoaib Malik and features Pakistan regulars such as Mukhtar Ahmed, Nauman Anwar, Haris Sohail and Bilawal Bhatti.
In the second match at the Pindi Ground, Lahore Whites take on Islamabad. The star-studded Lahore side will be led by ODI skipper Azhar Ali and includes Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Irfan. Islamabad, on the other hand, will be led by emerging all-rounder Imad Wasim and have Umar Gul and Babar Azam in their ranks.
In the last match of the day, Rawalpindi — led by Sohail Tanvir and boasting Nasir Jamshed, Umar Amin, Hammad Azam and Yasir Arafat among their ranks — will face the Kamran Hussain-led Bahawalpur side.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 8th, 2015.
Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ