Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2022-23: Preview, Trends and Players to Watch

Markhor

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The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy has produced compelling viewing since 2019 changes. We’ve seen a North-South divide with KPK, Northern and Central Punjab ahead of the pack while Sindh, Southern Punjab and Balochistan have never qualified for the final.

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KPK – Dominated the domestic circuit with two title wins (including the memorable tied final). Lowest finish is 3rd in the inaugural season when Northern pipped them to the final after a narrow final match defeat. Best balanced team with strength in all areas. Sahibzada Farhan provides good starts, Kamran Ghulam and Iftikhar Ahmed are middle-order rocks. Adil Amin and keeper-batsman Rehan Afridi regularly chip in with useful knocks. Whether their techniques would hold up at international level is another matter but they’re gutsy and not prone to collapses.

Despite his Test struggles, Sajid Khan dominated the bowling charts. Their frontline seamers Irfanullah Shah, Arshad Iqbal and Sameen Gul are well above 6ft. Their success is a testament to their depth given so many feature for Pakistan.

Central Punjab – Having won outright in the inaugural season and tied with KPK in 20-21, they finished 4th in 21-22 with the two victories against the weakest teams Southern Punjab and Balochistan. Have experienced batsmen, but struggled to take 20 wickets cheaply against the top sides, with only Mohammad Ali averaging below 30. How a foreign coach in Paul Franks adapts to Pakistani FC will be fascinating.

Northern – The team with the most discernible philosophy – backing young players and attacking, result-oriented cricket. Sometimes their aggression can work against them, and have lost two finals, but always watchable. Struggled in 20-21, perhaps unsettled by the speculation about Mohammad Wasim’s future as coach ? I maintain it’s more beneficial to Pakistan cricket having Wasim as Northern coach than as Chief Selector. Started slow last season but four consecutive wins ensured top spot.

In 2019, Umar Amin was the only established batsman but they’ve unearthed promising youngsters like Haider Ali, Mohammad Huraira and Mubasir Khan. Faizan Riaz has been excellent and another high SR batsman.

Sindh – The biggest underachievers since 2019, Sindh won one match in their first two seasons. However, they finished 3rd last year narrowly missing out on the final and youngsters are coming through. Saim Ayub will be closely watched after his National T20 heroics, as will Saad Khan who’s made a promising start to his career. Young bowlers are emerging too with Shahnawaz Dhani supporting their veteran seamers, and Abrar Ahmed impressed in his two outings in 21-22, although 11 of his 17 wickets came against Balochistan.

Southern Punjab – Batting hasn’t been an issue. Four different batters averaged above 40 in 21-22. Agha Salman is Mr Consistent averaging 74, 58 and 46 in the previous three campaigns. Yousuf Babar averaged 50 in his first full season. To convert their draws into wins, they need an attack capable of consistently taking 20 wickets. Ali Usman was the leading domestic wicket-taker and requires more support. Only Naseem can hit 140kph consistently but he rarely features.

Balochistan – Punch above their weight in white ball cricket, but usually wooden spooners in QEA. Cannot be too critical given the small local talent pool and lack of facilities, but some youngsters are starting to emerge like Abdul Bangalzai and Haseebullah. Their 4th place finish in 20-21 was courtesy of improved bowling, but last year only Taj Wali and Junaid Khan averaged below 30, with Junaid playing just 2 matches. The batting looks weak - unless Shan Masood or Imam-ul-Haq play, much depends on the youngsters.

The squads haven’t been announced yet, so let’s see whether the bottom three can address their weaknesses.

Any predictions or players to watch out for ?
 
The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy has produced compelling viewing since 2019 changes. We’ve seen a North-South divide with KPK, Northern and Central Punjab ahead of the pack while Sindh, Southern Punjab and Balochistan have never qualified for the final.

View attachment 117166

KPK – Dominated the domestic circuit with two title wins (including the memorable tied final). Lowest finish is 3rd in the inaugural season when Northern pipped them to the final after a narrow final match defeat. Best balanced team with strength in all areas. Sahibzada Farhan provides good starts, Kamran Ghulam and Iftikhar Ahmed are middle-order rocks. Adil Amin and keeper-batsman Rehan Afridi regularly chip in with useful knocks. Whether their techniques would hold up at international level is another matter but they’re gutsy and not prone to collapses.

Despite his Test struggles, Sajid Khan dominated the bowling charts. Their frontline seamers Irfanullah Shah, Arshad Iqbal and Sameen Gul are well above 6ft. Their success is a testament to their depth given so many feature for Pakistan.

Central Punjab – Having won outright in the inaugural season and tied with KPK in 20-21, they finished 4th in 21-22 with the two victories against the weakest teams Southern Punjab and Balochistan. Have experienced batsmen, but struggled to take 20 wickets cheaply against the top sides, with only Mohammad Ali averaging below 30. How a foreign coach in Paul Franks adapts to Pakistani FC will be fascinating.

Northern – The team with the most discernible philosophy – backing young players and attacking, result-oriented cricket. Sometimes their aggression can work against them, and have lost two finals, but always watchable. Struggled in 20-21, perhaps unsettled by the speculation about Mohammad Wasim’s future as coach ? I maintain it’s more beneficial to Pakistan cricket having Wasim as Northern coach than as Chief Selector. Started slow last season but four consecutive wins ensured top spot.

In 2019, Umar Amin was the only established batsman but they’ve unearthed promising youngsters like Haider Ali, Mohammad Huraira and Mubasir Khan. Faizan Riaz has been excellent and another high SR batsman.

Sindh – The biggest underachievers since 2019, Sindh won one match in their first two seasons. However, they finished 3rd last year narrowly missing out on the final and youngsters are coming through. Saim Ayub will be closely watched after his National T20 heroics, as will Saad Khan who’s made a promising start to his career. Young bowlers are emerging too with Shahnawaz Dhani supporting their veteran seamers, and Abrar Ahmed impressed in his two outings in 21-22, although 11 of his 17 wickets came against Balochistan.

Southern Punjab – Batting hasn’t been an issue. Four different batters averaged above 40 in 21-22. Agha Salman is Mr Consistent averaging 74, 58 and 46 in the previous three campaigns. Yousuf Babar averaged 50 in his first full season. To convert their draws into wins, they need an attack capable of consistently taking 20 wickets. Ali Usman was the leading domestic wicket-taker and requires more support. Only Naseem can hit 140kph consistently but he rarely features.

Balochistan – Punch above their weight in white ball cricket, but usually wooden spooners in QEA. Cannot be too critical given the small local talent pool and lack of facilities, but some youngsters are starting to emerge like Abdul Bangalzai and Haseebullah. Their 4th place finish in 20-21 was courtesy of improved bowling, but last year only Taj Wali and Junaid Khan averaged below 30, with Junaid playing just 2 matches. The batting looks weak - unless Shan Masood or Imam-ul-Haq play, much depends on the youngsters.

The squads haven’t been announced yet, so let’s see whether the bottom three can address their weaknesses.

Any predictions or players to watch out for ?

It’s KPK’s to lose again. It’ll be interesting to see Ihsanullah with a full QEA campaign behind. Likewise, will be good to see Akif Javed bowl a full campaign as well, for Balochistan.

Given Sindhi’s lack of all rounder options, I’d like to see them continually persist with Hasan Mohsin.

Will also be interesting to see Mehran Mumtaz in first class for a full season.

Would love to see both Saim and Qasim Akram kick on for their respective teams. Nows the time.
 
as a northern fan im most interested to see the development of hurraira, mubasir and mumtaz, altho the team as a whole seems to have regressed. given recent form i reckon nasir nawaz might get another crack at opening with hurraira. fast bowling talents looks a bit thin on the ground, as does the keeper position.

rohail has had an extended run with nothing to show for, would like to see a replacement keeper drafted in. from the younger talents would like to see abdul faseeh getting a run. he had one good fc game last year.

from the other teams, kpk likely to win again, their depth in talent, and general physical fitness standards are better than most teams.

biggest disappointment for me has been the return of Abdullah shafique to central punjab. after not being selected and having to move to balochistan, he was clearly more comfortable in that team. I'm afraid much like his t20 season his first class season may become subject to the inconsistencies of the CP team, which is by far, the worst in talent management.
 
as a northern fan im most interested to see the development of hurraira, mubasir and mumtaz, altho the team as a whole seems to have regressed. given recent form i reckon nasir nawaz might get another crack at opening with hurraira. fast bowling talents looks a bit thin on the ground, as does the keeper position.

rohail has had an extended run with nothing to show for, would like to see a replacement keeper drafted in. from the younger talents would like to see abdul faseeh getting a run. he had one good fc game last year.

from the other teams, kpk likely to win again, their depth in talent, and general physical fitness standards are better than most teams.

biggest disappointment for me has been the return of Abdullah shafique to central punjab. after not being selected and having to move to balochistan, he was clearly more comfortable in that team. I'm afraid much like his t20 season his first class season may become subject to the inconsistencies of the CP team, which is by far, the worst in talent management.

Here’s hoping Paul Franks can use a merit based system to Hand out opportunities at CP. I think we may see Mohammed Zeeshan, the 6 foot 7 lad get some games for CP.
 
PAUL FRANKS coaches Central Punjab since when???

Welcome to Pakistan cricket Paul and good luck (your gonna need it with Pakistans media).
 
as a northern fan im most interested to see the development of hurraira, mubasir and mumtaz, altho the team as a whole seems to have regressed. given recent form i reckon nasir nawaz might get another crack at opening with hurraira. fast bowling talents looks a bit thin on the ground, as does the keeper position.

rohail has had an extended run with nothing to show for, would like to see a replacement keeper drafted in. from the younger talents would like to see abdul faseeh getting a run. he had one good fc game last year.

from the other teams, kpk likely to win again, their depth in talent, and general physical fitness standards are better than most teams.

biggest disappointment for me has been the return of Abdullah shafique to central punjab. after not being selected and having to move to balochistan, he was clearly more comfortable in that team. I'm afraid much like his t20 season his first class season may become subject to the inconsistencies of the CP team, which is by far, the worst in talent management.

Here’s hoping Paul Franks can use a merit based system to Hand out opportunities at CP. I think we may see Mohammed Zeeshan, the 6 foot 7 lad get some games for CP.

PCB have done many things right with the domestic setup but the coaches have switched around too much for my liking. Youngsters need continuity. If I've this right, these have been the head coaches:

KPK:

19/20 - Kabir Khan
20/21 - Abdul Razzaq
21/22 - Abdul Rehman

Central Punjab:

19/20 - Ijaz Ahmed jnr
20/21 - Shahid Anwar
21/22 - Abdul Razzaq

Northern:

19/20 - Mohammad Wasim
20/21 - Mohammad Wasim
21/22 - Ijaz Ahmed jnr

Southern Punjab:

19/20 - Abdul Rehman
20/21 - Abdul Rehman
21/22 - Shahid Anwar

Sindh:

19/20 - Azam Khan
20/21 - Basit Ali
21/22 - Basit Ali

Balochistan:

19/20 - Arshad Khan
20/21 - Faisal Iqbal
21/22 - Faisal Iqbal
 
PCB have done many things right with the domestic setup but the coaches have switched around too much for my liking. Youngsters need continuity. If I've this right, these have been the head coaches:

KPK:

19/20 - Kabir Khan
20/21 - Abdul Razzaq
21/22 - Abdul Rehman

Central Punjab:

19/20 - Ijaz Ahmed jnr
20/21 - Shahid Anwar
21/22 - Abdul Razzaq

Northern:

19/20 - Mohammad Wasim
20/21 - Mohammad Wasim
21/22 - Ijaz Ahmed jnr

Southern Punjab:

19/20 - Abdul Rehman
20/21 - Abdul Rehman
21/22 - Shahid Anwar

Sindh:

19/20 - Azam Khan
20/21 - Basit Ali
21/22 - Basit Ali

Balochistan:

19/20 - Arshad Khan
20/21 - Faisal Iqbal
21/22 - Faisal Iqbal

think it might have something to do with CP being so rubbish, they need to change the CP coach all the time, and then they pull the coach from another team and its a bit of a domino effect.

wasim was a great coach for northern, should have been groomed to be coach of the national team, now he's gonna be written out of the one job he was meant for because of pcb's usual wierdness.
 
With Pakistan's Limited overs team busy in upcoming months I think it will be a big opportunity for Abdullah to finally get some much needed first class matches under his belt being a Northern Punjabi really looking forward to see what Central Punjab can do in this year's Quaid-e-Azam trophy.
 
PCB have done many things right with the domestic setup but the coaches have switched around too much for my liking. Youngsters need continuity. If I've this right, these have been the head coaches:

KPK:

19/20 - Kabir Khan
20/21 - Abdul Razzaq
21/22 - Abdul Rehman

Central Punjab:

19/20 - Ijaz Ahmed jnr
20/21 - Shahid Anwar
21/22 - Abdul Razzaq

Northern:

19/20 - Mohammad Wasim
20/21 - Mohammad Wasim
21/22 - Ijaz Ahmed jnr

Southern Punjab:

19/20 - Abdul Rehman
20/21 - Abdul Rehman
21/22 - Shahid Anwar

Sindh:

19/20 - Azam Khan
20/21 - Basit Ali
21/22 - Basit Ali

Balochistan:

19/20 - Arshad Khan
20/21 - Faisal Iqbal
21/22 - Faisal Iqbal

It’s a valid point, but it’s year 2 for all coaches barring Faisal Iqbal for whom it’ll be a third year continuously. Basit I think has been replaced w/ Ghulam Ali.

Having said that, there haven’t been any standouts in the last couple of years.

Razzaq, after his initial season w/ KPK had an incredible record, and I suppose the PCB wanted to give him a separate assignment to truly appraise his coaching. Given Central Punjab’s middling fortunes, Razzaq has lost a bit of credit from his KPK season.

Shahid Anwar was one who actively promoted youth (and thereby fell out with Salman Butt) at CP. Given CP’s age profile, he was a duck out of water there.
Thus, to use his skills better, they moved him to SP and transferred many youngsters there, like Azam Khan, Hassan Khan, Naseem Shah etc.

Abdul Rahman is currently probably the best Pakistani coach active, and excels in getting the most out of his resources. He did so with SP, helping them reach the National T20 finals after that innings from Sohaib Maqsood in the semi. He’s just moved to KPK and kept up the good work.

Faisal Iqbal, has done ok. There record is generally terrible barring the Pakistan Cup win in 2021. However, their squad is just not strong. He has done a good job of blooding a couple of youngsters in Haseebullah and Bangalzai and he’s also given Akif Javed plenty of game time. Barring these lads, it’s very staid squad, so you can’t be too harsh on Faisal.

Basit Ali has been ok at best. He’s given opportunities to Dahani, Mohammed Umar and Abrar, Saad Ali. However, he’s also done stuff like continually playing Khurram Manzoor , Asad Shafiq in T20s. Ghulam Ali has done better by trusting in Saim, Abrar and Saad Ali. However it’s puzzling to see the continuing non-selection of Zeeshan Zameer.

I don’t know enough on Ijaz Ahmed Jr to have an opinion. But I do agree on Mohammed Wasim. Wasim really was the shining light of domestic coaching, in terms of how he managed players to perform at their best. Haider Ali played like a free spirit under him and Rohail was playing his best cricket. Shadab too showed great captaincy whilst playing for Wasim. Which is why when the Chief Selector role came up, I was praying that it be anybody but him. Because whilst he’s an ok selector, he was not doing the job he was best suited for, which is to coach. Before getting the selector role, I feel he was on a pathway to eventually becoming Pakistan coach. Now, unfairly because of his selector skills, he’ll be seen as an uninspiring choice as Pakistan coach.
 
[MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION]

1. Which squad is the strongest?
2. What will be your criteria of success for this tournament
3. Any young players you would like to see shine this year?
 
[MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION]

1. Which squad is the strongest?
2. What will be your criteria of success for this tournament
3. Any young players you would like to see shine this year?

Succces criteria- improved fielding and more importantly, finding at least 2 new middle order batsman that can play at the highest level
 
[MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION]

1. Which squad is the strongest?
2. What will be your criteria of success for this tournament
3. Any young players you would like to see shine this year?

KPK are the most balanced and are favourites again, Northern as ever have an exciting batch of youth, but I think SP have really improved their squad, particularly their seam bowling. They finally look capable of taking 20 wickets consistently.

Quality, competitive cricket on good surfaces. The first half of 21-22 saw drawfests on dead wickets in Punjab. The competition came alive in the Karachi leg. Hopefully Pindi and Abbottabad offer some movement.

I want everyone to shine, but the PAK Test team is short on two solid middle-order batsmen, spinners and another 140kph pacer who can swing the new ball. How Huraira and Ayub deal with high expectations after excellent QEA and National T20 campaigns respectively will be interesting. Hoping Abdul Faseeh builds on a good FC debut, and Mehran and Mubasir get plenty of overs under their belts.
 
Succces criteria- improved fielding and more importantly, finding at least 2 new middle order batsman that can play at the highest level

On new young players and on Bewal’s point above on middle order bats, Sindh’s Omair Bin Youssuf and Northern’s Hurraira are the ones to look out for. Hurraira is an opener, but given his ability against spin and his professional work ethic for one so young, a very interesting player to look out for.

Interms of spinning all rounders, will be interesting to see if Mubasir Khan from Northern and Qasim Akram from CP kick on this season. Also, watch out for Maaz Sadaqat.

In terms of genuine spin options, Mehran Mumtaz is a genuinely interesting one, but given Nauman Ali plays for Northern, I’m not sure how much game time Mehran will get. Aarish Ali Khan was incredible for the seconds, so he may get a call up by Sindh.

In fast bowling terms, there’s unfortunately a lack of new faces in the QEA squad, but it’ll be interesting to see Ihsanullah and Irfanullah, both 6 footers, running in for KPK.
 
It is disappointing that there are no new faces in fast bowling apart from Ihsanullah.
 
I think kpk and nothern and Sindh look strong Southern Punjab look the weakest.
 
It is disappointing that there are no new faces in fast bowling apart from Ihsanullah.

There probably are but they'll be starting in the second XI as they should. Goal is to keep FC very competitive and have young players earn spots.

There should be an extended FC window beyond just two months though.
 
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