Quaid-e-Azam Trophy kicks off on Monday

16 teams will be playing matches in different cities of Pakistan

KARACHI: Top departmental and regional teams will be seen in action in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy — Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament — in various cities starting Monday.

With 12 teams already in the main round, two departmental and two regional sides — SSGC, KRL, Lahore Blue and Fata — have qualified to complete the 16-team roster.

Fata will be making their first-class debut this season after finishing on top in the regional qualifying event. “We’ve worked really hard to make it to the main round and will ensure that we make history by finishing on top,” Fata head coach Shahid Javed told The Express Tribune.

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“We need to keep the momentum going and our players and the management are optimistic of getting good results.”

Another strong contender from the recently-concluded qualifiers is SNGPL featuring left-arm bowler Mohammad Amir, who picked up 29 wickets from five matches with two 10-wicket hauls.

Meanwhile, the other two players who had been banned along with Amir for spot-fixing — Salman Butt and Muhammad Asif — will be making their comebacks by representing Wapda.

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“I was told of Butt and Asif’s availability so I gave the sports department the go-ahead to sign them,” said Wapda Chairman Zafar Mahmood.

“They’ve been training for quite a while and are keen to return to first-class cricket,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2015.

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