Pakistan Cup 2019 squads and schedule announced (April 2-12)

[Abdullah719]

Federal Areas aim to complete hat-trick of Pakistan Cup titles

· PCB announces event schedule and the five squads; Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi to stage matches from 2-12 April

· All 50-over matches will be day/night; event carries a total prize money of PKR3.5 million with the winners collecting PKR2 million

Lahore, 23 March 2019:

Pakistan international Mohammad Rizwan has been appointed captain of the Federal Areas cricket team, which will aim to complete a hat-trick of Pakistan Cup titles in the tournament. The defending champions will be joined by the four provincial sides in the 50-over tournament which be held at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi from 2-12 April.

Federal Areas played under the name of Islamabad in the inaugural edition and failed to finish in the top two sides. However, under a new name, they bounced back in style in the 2017 final when they chased down a 324-run target to beat Balochistan by one wicket off the final delivery of the match.

Last year in the Faisalabad final, Federal Areas comfortably beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by five wickets when they achieved the 253-run target with five wickets and nine overs to spare.

This year, Federal Areas will open their title defence on the second day of the tournament on Wednesday, 3 April, against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which will be captained by Salman Butt.

The opening fixture will be between Punjab and Balochistan, which will be captained by Kamran Akmal and Asad Shafiq, respectively.

Sindh is the other side in the tournament, which will be led by former Test fast bowler Umer Gul.

The five sides have been chosen by the national selection committee, which is headed by Inzamam-ul-Haq. Players who have been playing regular and consistent cricket for the Pakistan cricket team have not been included as part of the selectors’ policy of providing them sufficient rest prior to the all-important ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

With the 15-player squad for the World Cup to be announced after the Pakistan Cup, the Pakistan Cup provides another opportunity to the cricketers to stake a claim for a place in the biggest cricket spectacle on the planet.

“We have always selected players on their performances in domestic cricket. If there are any extraordinary performances on positions which are up for grabs, then those top performers will definitely be considered,” chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq said.

“The purpose of announcing the World Cup squad after the Pakistan Cup is to give value and importance to this tournament in which all the top performers below the national team players are playing and they deserve to be given equal and fair opportunity before the national side is finalised and announced.”

Haroon Rasheed, Director – Domestic cricket said: “Pakistan Cup is a short but challenging competition in which the spectators will have an opportunity to watch some of their favourite cricketers live in action. I am confident that this tournament will live up to its reputation of producing some high quality cricket.”

The tournament carries a total prize money of PRK3.5 million with the winner collecting PKR2 million. The losing finalist will get PKR1 million, while player of the league matches will get PKR25,000 each.

The best batsman, bowler, all-rounder and player of the final will receive PKR100,000 each.

The PCB, as part of its strategy to further give incentives in domestic cricket, has enhanced the match fee of each player from PKR33,000 to PKR 35,000.

Squads:

Balochistan - Asad Shafiq (captain); Ali Imran; Ammad Butt; Awais Zia; Bismillah Khan (WK); Fawad Alam; Ghulam Mudassar; Haris Rauf; Mohammad Irfan Sr; Qaiser Ashraf; Taj Wali; Umar Khan; Umer Akmal; Waqar Hussain (WK) and Zeeshan Ashraf

Federal Areas - Mohammad Rizwan (WK, captain); Ahmed Shehzad; Asad Afridi; Bilal Asif; Israrullah; Khurram Shahzad; Mohammad Nawaz; Nihal Mansoor; Ramiz Raja Jr; Rumman Raees; Sameen Gul; Saud Shakil; Sohaib Maqsood; Waqas Maqsood and Zia-ul-Haq

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa - Salman Butt (captain); Abid Ali; Adil Amin; Adnan Akmal (WK); Faizan Riaz; Khushdil Shah; Mohammad Irfan; Mohammad Irfan Jr; Mohammad Saad; Sohail Khan; Musa Khan; Umaid Asif; Wahab Riaz; Zeeshan Malik and Zohaib Khan

Punjab - Kamran Akmal (WK, captain); Hussain Talat; Bilawal Bhatti; Ehsan Adil; Fahad Iqbal; Iftikhar Ahmed; Kashif Bhatti; Khurram Manzoor; Mohammad Asghar; Mohammad Sami; Ramiz Aziz; Saad Ali; Sami Aslam; Sohail Tanveer and Waleed Ahmed

Sindh - Umer Gul (captain); Ahsan Ali; Amir Yamin; Ashiq Ali; Asif Ali; Hammad Azam; Imran Rafiq; Mohammad Hassan (WK); Mohammad Hasnain; Mohammad Ilyas; Nauman Ali; Rahat Ali; Sahibzada Farhan; Umar Amin and Umar Siddique (WK)

Fixtures (matches start 2pm):

Tue, 2 April – Punjab v Balochistan
Wed, 3 April - Federal Areas v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Thu, 4 April – Balochistan v Sindh
Fri, 5 April – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Punjab
Sat, 6 April – Sindh v Federal Areas
Sun, 7 April – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Balochistan
Mon, 8 April - Punjab v Federal Areas
Tue, 9 April – Sindh v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Wed, 10 April - Federal Areas v Balochistan
Thu, 11 April – Punjab v Sindh
Fri, 12 April - FINAL

Previous winners:

2016 - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
2017 – Federal Areas
2018 – Federal Areas

 

[hadi123]

Wow that's weird, I was literallly thinking 5 minutes ago "When will the Pakistan Cup schedule/squads be announced?" Will be interesting to see if anyone can really stake a claim for selection. No Hafeez in any of the squads, it's gonna be hard deciding whether or not he should go to the World Cup?

 

[Sultan Baba]

Sohail Akhtar????????????

 

[Abdullah719]

Wow, the captains

 

[Slim]

Why does a match fixer like Salman Butt, who has no hope in international cricket, gets to captain a team and players like Ahmed Shehzad who should be groomed for leadership roles are kept out?

 

[a_tahir]

Why are the captains either retired from intl cricket or just outright bad??
Why're they still playing domestic cricket??

 

[Abdullah719]

Saif Badar played multiple clutch innings in the QeA One-Day Cup and averaged 79 with 3 fifties. But clearly not good enough for this tournament.

 

[Sultan Baba]

Umar Amin should Captin of Sindh......

 

[Slim]

Wow, the captains

PCB has just been downhill in the PTI era in terms of selection policies. What the hell has Rizwan achieved to get to captain a team and be in the national side?

What have Kamran Akmal or Salman Butt achieved with latter being involved in match fixing to captain a domestic side?

 

[Sultan Baba]

Wahab Riaz should be Captin of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa.......

 

[Major]

PCB has just been downhill in the PTI era in terms of selection policies. What the hell has Rizwan achieved to get to captain a team and be in the national side?

What have Kamran Akmal or Salman Butt achieved with latter being involved in match fixing to captain a domestic side?

its about leadership skills, and rizwan has them

 

[Abdullah719]

PCB has just been downhill in the PTI era in terms of selection policies. What the hell has Rizwan achieved to get to captain a team and be in the national side?

What have Kamran Akmal or Salman Butt achieved with latter being involved in match fixing to captain a domestic side?

The five sides have been chosen by the national selection committee, which is headed by Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Selection committee has been there since before 'PTI era'...

And while your criticism is on point and I agree with it, appointing Ahmed Shehzad as captain when he is just returning from a drugs ban isn't the brightest idea.

 

[Abdullah719]

its about leadership skills, and rizwan has them

Didn't get a very good impression of his leadership skills during Emerging Cup or A games.

 

[Sultan Baba]

Anwar Ali should be Captin of Punjab.......

 

[Boi]

Selection committee clearly has something against Zafar Gohar. Can’t even make the domestic sides. Inzi needs to be sacked.

 

[Khan12]

Saif Badar played multiple clutch innings in the QeA One-Day Cup and averaged 79 with 3 fifties. But clearly not good enough for this tournament.

pathetic no kamran ghulam as well.

 

[Abdullah719]

Selection committee clearly has something against Zafar Gohar. Can’t even make the domestic sides. Inzi needs to be sacked.

Ah, didn't see that. Another big miss.

 

[Boi]

Tauseef Ahmed manages to sneak his son Waleed into one of the sides. Pathetic.

 

[Slim]

its about leadership skills, and rizwan has them

IIRC his leadership skills were on full display when he put him above deserving bats during the A-tours. Hes a horrible player, and damn lucky. Hell, anyone can bat better than him. Hes trash.

The five sides have been chosen by the national selection committee, which is headed by Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Selection committee has been there since before 'PTI era'...

And while your criticism is on point and I agree with it, appointing Ahmed Shehzad as captain when he is just returning from a drugs ban isn't the brightest idea.

By PTI era i meant Ehsan Mani who has been all lovey dovey with match fixers. It was under the current PCB regime, Butt got to be selected for PSL and now hes being selected as captain for domestic sides. Why is there no noise about this? Its ridiculous.

And lets not even try to compare Shehzad smoking a blunt and calling it some sort of a heinous act. It was stupidity from PCB to begin with.

 

[Sultan Baba]

Young Ammad Butt should be Captin of Balochistan in place of Asad boaring Shafiq

 

[Khan12]

Selection committee clearly has something against Zafar Gohar. Can’t even make the domestic sides. Inzi needs to be sacked.

Inzi should be sacked with immediate effect.

 

[Slim]

Selection committee clearly has something against Zafar Gohar. Can’t even make the domestic sides. Inzi needs to be sacked.

What the hell, Inzamam? I think this guy only cares about his nephew and match fixers getting selections. What a horrible CS this guy is becoming.

 

[Sultan Baba]

Ahmed Shehzad should be captin of Federl Areas......

 

[hisham_ashraf]

No Arshad Iqbal as well

 

[Abdullah719]

IIRC his leadership skills were on full display when he put him above deserving bats during the A-tours. Hes a horrible player, and damn lucky. Hell, anyone can bat better than him. Hes trash.



By PTI era i meant Ehsan Mani who has been all lovey dovey with match fixers. It was under the current PCB regime, Butt got to be selected for PSL and now hes being selected as captain for domestic sides. Why is there no noise about this? Its ridiculous.

And lets not even try to compare Shehzad smoking a blunt and calling it some sort of a heinous act. It was stupidity from PCB to begin with.

A doping violation is a doping violation.

Anyway, Salman Butt has been captaining domestic sides for a while now so this is no surprise.

 

[Hawkeye]

So Wasim Khan and Ehsan Mani, is this what you had promised?

Is this the new professional PCB?

Which is basically the same old, probably worse. Same old TTFs, oldies, now prominent positions in a DOMESTIC tournament for new faces.


Shameful.

 

[Khan12]

So Wasim Khan and Ehsan Mani, is this what you had promised?

Is this the new professional PCB?

Which is basically the same old, probably worse. Same old TTFs, oldies, now prominent positions in a DOMESTIC tournament for new faces.


Shameful.

Thanks God they got rid of the biggest TTF Misbah. I didn't see his name in there.

 

[Hawkeye]

Thanks God they got rid of the biggest TTF Misbah. I didn't see his name in there.

Misbah is on your mind all the time. ) What's the matter bud, what's the obsession?

 

[Slim]

A doping violation is a doping violation.

Anyway, Salman Butt has been captaining domestic sides for a while now so this is no surprise.

Salman Butt has some serious links within the PCB. Had he been not such a failure at cricket, they would have reinstated him as captain of the national team.

 

[Hawkeye]

Salman Butt has some serious links within the PCB. Had he been not such a failure at cricket, they would have reinstated him as captain of the national team.

Yeah, I'm surprised, he has VERY strong connections in the media as well.

When he was out of the team, in every PCB press conference some journalist used to ask about Butt and what's his fault, why are you not selecting him again etc.

Damn.

 

[Khan12]

Misbah is on your mind all the time. ) What's the matter bud, what's the obsession?

Progress in the right direction. What has mani and wasim got to do with the squad.

 

[Titan24]

Zeeshan Malik is there, surprised that there is no Arshad Iqbal unless he is unfit and also no Saif Badar as well. Was expecting Naseem Shah to be fit for this as he was almost 85-95 % fit by the end of PSL anyways a good decision to not risk him.

Suprised to see Hasnaian in the squad, as if he does impress in UAE he might be going to the WC and he shouldnt be playing before that to eradicate the risk of any injury.

 

[Abdullah719]

No Hasan Mohsin.

 

[Markhor]

Tauseef Ahmed's son Waleed Ahmed finds a place but Zafar Gohar does not. Wow.

Kamran Ghulam and Saif Badar are two other glaring omissions.

The rest is fine, but the captaincy choices are awful. Then we wonder why we don't have any obvious alternatives to Sarfraz.

Also what a collection of all rounders Punjab have - Anwar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti and Sohail Tanvir all in one squad. Hadlee, Dev and Imran eat your heart out.

 

[Titan24]

Tauseef Ahmed's son Waleed Ahmed finds a place but Zafar Gohar does not. Wow.

Kamran Ghulam and Saif Badar are two other glaring omissions.

The rest is fine, but the captaincy choices are awful. Then we wonder why we don't have any obvious alternatives to Sarfraz.

Also what a collection of all rounders Punjab have - Anwar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti and Sohail Tanvir all in one squad. Hadlee, Dev and Imran eat your heart out.

Yes missed Zafar Gohar in my post. What a notable omission and also no Usama Mir or Ibtisam Shiekh as well.

Some of the selected spinners are Nauman Ali, Bilal Asif and Qaiser Ashraf, all three are 30 + and are nothing special to rave about.

 

[Titan24]

No Rizwan Hussain and Mukhtar Ahmed as well who both could have really improved from this tournament.

 

[Shafi]

Inzamam is becoming a reckless dictator and choosing players whom he likes and neglecting whom he doesn't. Need to get rid of this guy otherwise he will destroy many players. One of the worst selector we have ever seen. Why is Faisal Iqbal in the squad? Must be Miandad connection.

 

[Shaka81]

Poor team selections, poor choices of captains and not enough players representing their home regions. I'm guessing all those statements about finding and promoting young batsmen were just empty sentiments.
Just another tournament filled with TTFs.... joy!

 

[SarfiBabarHaris]

Sallo Buut has special links in PCB. This guy shouldnt even be playing.

These squads tell which players are in line and which are locked for world cup.

Inzi and his selection committee has selected poor squads here.

Only hope is Saud Shakeel, Abid, and Zeeshan score to make a name of themselve and we can get rid of ttfs slowly.

 

[Syed1]

Garbage tournament.... just jobs for boys scene by pathetic Inzi.



I don't know when this corrupt loser is going to be sacked.

 

[Shafi]

Inzi is turning out to be most corrupted person in PCB. He was a great player but his image stinks and he doesn't even have any shame in his face. He has 2 more corrupt assistant to back him up.
Not sure if Wasim Khan can get rid of this crook.

 

[Sher Khan]

To be honest, squads this year are much better and looking competitive. Good to see youngsters getting chances. Although as expected some big misses.

 

[DRsohail]

Misbah is on your mind all the time. ) What's the matter bud, what's the obsession?

I have been Misbah critic but after watching this filth I would have loved to see him and playing instead of fixers playing.

 

[Khan12]

No Rizwan Hussain and Mukhtar Ahmed as well who both could have really improved from this tournament.

I had totally forgotten about them.

 

[Boi]

Hussain Talat also misses out. Ridiculous.

 

[Syed1]

Hussain Talat also misses out. Ridiculous.

That's actually a good thing

 

[Abdullah719]

Players missing in the squads: Hasan Mohsin, Saif Badar, Ali Shafiq, Zafar Gohar, Rizwan Hussain, Mukhtar Ahmed, Hussain Talat, Saad Nasim, Kamran Ghulam, Sohail Akhtar, Raza Hasan, Mir Hamza, Ahmed Bashir, Arshad Iqbal, Agha Salman, Sadaf Hussain

Did I miss anyone?

 

[Hasan123]

Even if the players who aren't playing in this tournament performed if they were selected, Inzi still wouldn't select them.

 

[Boycottisno2]

Sadaf Hussain who?

 

[Abdullah719]

Players missing in the squads: Hasan Mohsin, Saif Badar, Ali Shafiq, Zafar Gohar, Rizwan Hussain, Mukhtar Ahmed, Hussain Talat, Saad Nasim, Kamran Ghulam, Sohail Akhtar, Raza Hasan, Mir Hamza, Ahmed Bashir, Arshad Iqbal, Agha Salman, Sadaf Hussain

Did I miss anyone?

This would make a pretty strong team on its own

Mukhtar Ahmed
Rizwan Hussain
Hussain Talat/Agha Salman
Hasan Mohsin
Saif Badar
Sohail Akhtar
Kamran Ghulam
Zafar Gohar
Raza Hasan/Mir Hamza/Ali Shafiq
Ahmed Bashir
Arshad Iqbal

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="in" dir="ltr">Some names missing from squads for the Pakistan Cup - Hasan Mohsin,Saif Badar,Ali Shafiq,Zafar Gohar,Rizwan Hussain,Mukhtar Ahmed,Hussain Talat,Saad Nasim,Kamran Ghulam,Sohail Akhtar,Raza Hasan,Mir Hamza,Ahmed Bashir,Arshad Iqbal,Agha Salman, Sadaf Hussain,Azeem Ghumman <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1109525567529988096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Players missing in the squads: Hasan Mohsin, Saif Badar, Ali Shafiq, Zafar Gohar, Rizwan Hussain, Mukhtar Ahmed, Hussain Talat, Saad Nasim, Kamran Ghulam, Sohail Akhtar, Raza Hasan, Mir Hamza, Ahmed Bashir, Arshad Iqbal, Agha Salman, Sadaf Hussain

Did I miss anyone?

Yup, the 'Neglected XI', who are coincidentally also ignored by PSL teams.

 

[Bilal Ahmad15]

So is this a short T20 tournament?

 

[Abdullah719]

So is this a short T20 tournament?

50 over.

 

[Sadozai]

our national team lacks a quality spinner & our selectors are reluctant to give chance to zafar gohar, usama mir & ibtisam sheikh. same is the case with wicket keepers, idk what adnan akmal is doing there. In fact Kami shouldn't play as a keeper, he should play as a batsman if there is any need

 

[Bewal Express]

Some really poor leadership selections and just selections in general.

 

[Omer2002]

i suppose it is hard to please everybody

 

[Hamza_]

Nauman Anwar
Saud Shakeel
Mohammad Musa
Adil Amin
Nasir Nawaz

 

[Sher Khan]

Nabi gul is a big miss. He deserved a spot.

 

[Bilal7]

Players missing in the squads: Hasan Mohsin, Saif Badar, Ali Shafiq, Zafar Gohar, Rizwan Hussain, Mukhtar Ahmed, Hussain Talat, Saad Nasim, Kamran Ghulam, Sohail Akhtar, Raza Hasan, Mir Hamza, Ahmed Bashir, Arshad Iqbal, Agha Salman, Sadaf Hussain

Did I miss anyone?

Mir Hamza, Raza Hasan, Sadaf Hussain and Zafar Gohar should have been there. Other than that, the squads look good.

 

[Bilal7]

Yup, the 'Neglected XI', who are coincidentally also ignored by PSL teams.

To be honest, none of these guys have set the world on fire. People are crying for the sake of it. Someone like Mir Hamza had his chance but did not do much with it.

 

[unemployedgm]

Hafeez is going to the WC

 

[unemployedgm]

Is this the best 75 players in Pakistan?

 

[Shafi]

The main problem of Pakistan cricket is Inzamam. He is not intending to develop any young batsman, a wicket keeper or spinner for Pakistan cricket team.
You will see he always neglects wicket keeper, young batsmen and spinners in squad selection.

 

[Officer Barbrady]

Think Mir Hamza is set to play county cricket so no need to make him play this tournament instead

 

[Officer Barbrady]

As for the tournament, it’s simply too short to really add value. It should have at least twice as many games to give enough opportunties to the players. 8 games a side at a minimum

 

[mak36]

Players missing in the squads: Hasan Mohsin, Saif Badar, Ali Shafiq, Zafar Gohar, Rizwan Hussain, Mukhtar Ahmed, Hussain Talat, Saad Nasim, Kamran Ghulam, Sohail Akhtar, Raza Hasan, Mir Hamza, Ahmed Bashir, Arshad Iqbal, Agha Salman, Sadaf Hussain

Did I miss anyone?

This would make a pretty strong team on its own

Mukhtar Ahmed
Rizwan Hussain
Hussain Talat/Agha Salman
Hasan Mohsin
Saif Badar
Sohail Akhtar
Kamran Ghulam
Zafar Gohar
Raza Hasan/Mir Hamza/Ali Shafiq
Ahmed Bashir
Arshad Iqbal

Add Danish Aziz to the list and Umair Masood

 

[mak36]

Nauman Anwar
Saud Shakeel
Mohammad Musa
Adil Amin
Nasir Nawaz

Three out of five on your list are in the squads.

 

[TeymurBlake]

A distinct lack of upcoming WKB. This is a glorified tournament that will just bring the TTF into the limelight.

 

[Abdul Moiz]

Hope it is well organised now unlike a formality in recent past and PCB should ensure good turnout in matches by promoting the tournament in collaboration with the sponsors, But one thing is common for sure is "PTV's outdated coverage".

 

[Arham_PakFan]

Such a shame that the best spinner in the country can't find a place in these squads

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

Glaring Omissions :


1. Sadaf Hussain
2. Waqas Ahmed
3. Haseeb ur Rehman
4. Kamran Ghulam
5. Zafar Gohar
6. Rizwan Hussain
7. Saif Badar
8. Agha Salman
9. Nabi Gul
10. Raza Hassan



Players to watch out for :


1. Saud Shakeel
2. Ahsan Ali
3. Zeeshan Malik
4. Umer Khan
5. Mohammad Irfan leggie
6. Haris Rauf
7. Wahab Riaz
8. Zia ul Has
9. Asif Ali
10. Nihal Mamzoor
11. Ali Imran
12. Ashiq Ali
13. Ahmed Shehzad
14. Sohaib Maqsood
15. Umar Am in
16. Khushdil Shah
17. Aamer Yamin
18. Amad Butt
19. Taj Wali
20. Ehsan Adil
21. Sami Aslam

 

[TalentSpotterPk]

11. Hasan Mohsin

Who played a special knock for PTV as their Captain is also a glaring Omission.

 

[DRsohail]

[MENTION=138980]TalentSpotterPk[/MENTION] Inzi and co is causing damaged here.Very dissappointed to see him doing injustice to young players.

 

[Farhan93]

No Khalid Usman? Sadaf Hussain yet again ignored? Unbelievable

Also, can't know which Irfan is selected for which team by lookin at the squads. Really want to see th performances of M.Irfan - the leggie again in 50 over format. Hopefully pitches won't be completely flat like last time

 

[Abdullah719]

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa aim to reclaim Pakistan Cup title

• “It’s an honour to lead the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa team in the Pakistan Cup,” says captain Salman Butt

• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to take on defending champions Federal Areas in their opening match on 3 April

• All 11 matches to be played at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, from 2-12 April

• PCB to provide match reports, action photographs and post-match media conferences

Lahore, 27 March 2019:

Salman Butt-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are aiming high as they look to regain the prestigious Pakistan Cup 2019, which will be played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, from 2 to 12 April.

“It’s an honour to lead the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa team in what is a prestigious tournament. Pakistan Cup is a very competitive event and I am looking forward to meeting and gelling-in with my players. We are hoping to give our best and eyeing a win,” Salman said.

Salman added that his squad was well-balanced and included some leading domestic cricket performers, who can stake a claim in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 squad by delivering the goods in the tournament.

“The team looks good, there are a number of youngsters in the batting department, while the bowling is led by the experienced trio of Wahab Riaz, Umaid Asif and Sohail Khan with young talent Musa Khan. We also have a good spinner in Mohammad Irfan.

“With the World Cup squad to be announced following this event, the tournament presents a great opportunity for the players to impress the selectors and stake a claim,” Salman added.

Federal Areas will be defending their title while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan are the other competing teams in the tournament.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa won the inaugural edition in 2016 when they comfortably beat Punjab by 151 runs at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad under the captaincy of former Pakistan captain Younus Khan.

The side had a lean run in the second edition in Rawalpindi, where they stood last, while they lost by five wickets to Federal Areas in the 2018 final in Faisalabad.

For the 2019 edition, the national selectors have picked a balanced Khyber Pakhtunkhwa squad that includes some of the leading domestic cricket performers besides Salman, Adnan Akmal, Umaid Asif, Wahab Riaz and Sohail Khan.

With the 15-player squad for the World Cup to be announced after the Pakistan Cup, the tournament provides another opportunity to the cricketers to stake a claim for a place in the biggest cricket spectacle on the planet. For this event, the selectors have the option of including a few more players if they feel appropriate before revealing the World Cup squad.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s batting department includes Abid Ali who is presently in the United Arab Emirates with the Pakistan cricket team for the series against Australia. The batting line-up also includes Bannu-born left-handed Khushdil Shah, who is known for his big-hitting. Khushdil has already scored six centuries in 48 List A matches and is averaging 44.10 per innings.

Adil Amin, Faizan Riaz and Zeeshan Malik are all capable batsmen in the squad. Pakistan Test player Adnan Akmal will be doing the glove work behind the stumps for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Wahab and Sohail offer Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a richly experienced and potent pace attack. The pace bowling department is strengthened further by the inclusion of right-armer Umaid Asif, who represented Peshawar Zalmi in the last two HBL Pakistan Super League editions.

HBL PSL franchise Islamabad United’s right-arm fast bowler Musa Khan is another outstanding prospect who will provide some extra pace to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa squad.

Musa made a big impression in the recently-concluded HBL PSL 2019 by picking up eight wickets while bowling regularly above the 140kph mark.

Left-arm spinner Zohaib Khan will provide Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a capable spin bowling option. The 35-year-old Zohaib has a rich List A experience with a total of 146 wickets in 105 matches. Leg-spinner Mohammad Irfan is another quality spinner at Salman’s disposal.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa squad - Salman Butt (captain); Abid Ali; Adil Amin; Adnan Akmal (WK); Faizan Riaz; Khushdil Shah; Mohammad Irfan; Mohammad Irfan Jr; Mohammad Saad; Sohail Khan; Musa Khan; Umaid Asif; Wahab Riaz; Zeeshan Malik and Zohaib Khan

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa fixtures (matches start 2pm):

Wed, 3 April – v Federal Areas
Fri, 5 April – v Punjab
Sun, 7 April – v Balochistan
Tue, 9 April – v Sindh

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Even if the players who aren't playing in this tournament performed if they were selected, Inzi still wouldn't select them.

I believe this tournament is for players who are not in contention for the CWC. Can’t play the probables for CWC in such tournaments just before CWC

 

[The_Odd_One]

Whoever appointed captains needs to be fired immediately.

 

[Salman4.]

Glaring Omissions :


1. Sadaf Hussain
2. Waqas Ahmed
3. Haseeb ur Rehman
4. Kamran Ghulam
5. Zafar Gohar
6. Rizwan Hussain
7. Saif Badar
8. Agha Salman
9. Nabi Gul
10. Raza Hassan



Players to watch out for :


1. Saud Shakeel
2. Ahsan Ali
3. Zeeshan Malik
4. Umer Khan
5. Mohammad Irfan leggie
6. Haris Rauf
7. Wahab Riaz
8. Zia ul Has
9. Asif Ali
10. Nihal Mamzoor
11. Ali Imran
12. Ashiq Ali
13. Ahmed Shehzad
14. Sohaib Maqsood
15. Umar Am in
16. Khushdil Shah
17. Aamer Yamin
18. Amad Butt
19. Taj Wali
20. Ehsan Adil
21. Sami Aslam

Saad Ali and Ifti are ones to watch out for too.

 

[MenInG]

LAHORE: While the World Cup is now just two months away, it appears the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) think-tank has adopted a policy under which the opportunity to select the best team for the mega event has been wasted, as a number of prominent players have been rested from the upcoming Pakistan Cup one-day tournament.

The Pakistan Cup is being staged in Rawalpindi from April 2 to 11.

It is pertinent to mention here that the PCB has already given rest to eight Pakistan players from the ongoing five-match One-day International series against Australia in the UAE.

Interestingly, Pakistan’s home series in the UAE comprising Tests, ODIs and Twenty20 games against Aussies was split last year when Australia returned after playing two Test matches and the T20 series. The ODI series was delayed mainly to utilise these games as a preparation platform for Pakistan in the lead-up to this year’s World Cup being held in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14.

However to one’s surprise, when the time came the Inzamam-ul-Haq-headed selection committee has decided to give rest to seven top players of the national team including captain Sarfraz Ahmed, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan and Hussain Talat. During the ongoing series the selectors also called back all-rounder Faheem Ashraf, thus spoiled the opportunity of giving maximum chances to the players to claim places in the World Cup squad.

Now, it seems, the same policy of ‘resting’ has been maintained by the selectors who rested a number of players, including those who could claim World Cup places, for the Pakistan Cup. Among them are Shan Masood, Mir Hamza, Agha Salman, Raza Hasan and Hussain Talat.

Pakistan Cup is the country’s premier one-day event featuring top cricketers representing five teams — Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Federal Areas. Instead of testing the players who could claim places in the national ODI team, players like Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Kamran Akmal, Anwar Ali, Ehsan Adil, Mohammad Sami and Sohail Tanvir have been named in different squads for the Pakistan Cup.

The whole selection policy shows, indirectly, that the selectors have already picked the World Cup squad and they want to keep all the ‘certain’ players away from the action, instead of giving them chances to further hone their skills after they enjoyed an enough 15-day rest between the PSL-4 and the Pakistan Cup.

Moreover, the name of Bilal Asif, the best available off-spinner in the country, was also not considered for the Pakistan Cup in the first attempt, as sources told Dawn that he was included at the eleventh hour to represent Federal Areas. Bilal rose to prominence by taking 6-36 against Australia in last year’s Test in Dubai. Though the series opener in Dubai ended in draw, Pakistan won the second Test in Abu Dhabi by a whopping 373 runs to bag the series.

It may be mentioned here that after the Pakistan Cup, the only opportunity for the Pakistan players to show their mettle, before the World Cup, is an away five-match ODI series against England from May 5 to 19.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1472285/pcb-keeps-ambiguous-rest-players-policy-for-pakistan-cup