PCB names provisional squads for inaugural Champions One-day Cup

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced the provisional squads of the five teams that are set to participate in the upcoming Champions One-day Cup, which is to be held in Faisalabad on Sept. 12
The teams, namely Dolphins, Lions, Stallions, Wolves and Panthers will be led by Pakistan internationals Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan and have rosters of 30 players each.
The PCB had earlier named former Pakistan stars as mentors for each side; Sarfraz Ahmed (Dolphins), Waqar Younis (Lions), Shoaib Malik (Stallions), Misbah-ul-Haq (Wolves) and Saqlain Mushtaq (Panthers), who picked the players for their respective side’s in a draft process.
The PCB said the players were selected following fitness tests “one of the primary selection criteria for domestic contracted players”, adding they were based on “their experience and performances for Pakistan, Paki­stan Shaheens and Pakistan Under-19 teams over the last three years.”
Centrally contracted players who are not part of the squads include Mohammad Nawaz (personal reasons), Imad Wasim (unavailable), Arshad Iqbal, Hasan Ali, Ihsanullah and Mohammad Wasim Jr (undergoing rehabilitation).
Imad, who last featured for the side in its disastrous T20 World Cup campaign, has withdrawn from the Cham­pions Cup due to his Caribbean Premier League commitments, so is the case with Azam Khan and Moha­mmad Amir, who were also members of the national squad at the showpiece.
Pakistan white-ball opener Fakhar Zaman is also involved with the CPL, but will return to feature in the Cha­mpions Cup on Sept. 10, said the PCB.
The likes of seasoned players Ali Shafique, Ali Zaryab, Arif Yaqoob, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Rameez Jr, Saad Baig, Rameez Aziz, Sharjeel Khan, and Shawaiz Irfan failed the fitness tests, hence losing out on places in the tournament.
Unlike the top Pakistan players who will lead each of the five sides, the national white-ball skipper Babar Azam will feature as a regular player for Stallions under Haris’ captaincy.
Meanwhile, Sarfraz is the only mentor to be included as a player as well in the Dolphins side. The former Pakistan captain, however, will serve under current Test mainstay Saud’s captaincy.
Squads:
DOLPHINS: Saud Shakeel (captain, Karachi), Aftab Ibrahim (Karachi), Asif Ali (Faisalabad), Awais Ali (Gujranwala), Faheem Ashraf (Kasur), Kashif Ali (Rawalpindi), Mir Hamza (Karachi), Mohammad Huraira (Sialkot), Mohammad Abbas Afridi (Peshawar), Muhammad Akhlaq (Kamoki), Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (Karachi), Muhammad Riazullah (Peshawar), Noman Ali (Hyderabad), Qasim Akram (Lahore), Sameen Gul (Jamrud), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Karachi), Sahibzada Farhan (Peshawar), Sufiyan Moqim (Kotli), Umar Amin (Rawalpindi) and Usman Qadir (Lahore)
Mentor – Sarfaraz Ahmed
LIONS: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain, Peshawar), Abdullah Shafique (Sialkot), Aamir Jamal (Islamabad), Aamer Yamin (Multan), Faisal Akram (Multan), Hassan Nawaz (Islamabad), Hunain Shah (Lahore), Imam-ul-Haq (Lahore), Imran Butt (Lahore), Khushdil Shah (Bannu), Mohammad Asghar (Karachi), Muhammad Irfan Khan (Mianwali), Mohammad Taha (Karachi), Omair Bin Yousuf (Karachi), Rohail Nazir (Islamabad), Shahab Khan (Mardan), Sharoon Siraj (Sahiwal), Sirajuddin (Bajaur) and Waqar Hussain (Okara)
Mentor – Waqar Younis
PANTHERS: Shadab Khan (captain, Islamabad), Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (Quetta), Ahmed Bashir (Lahore), Ali Asfand (Faisalabad), Ali Raza (Sheikhupura), Amad Butt (Sialkot), Arafat Minhas (Multan), Azan Awais (Sialkot), Haider Ali (Attock), Mohammad Hasnain (Hyderabad), Mohammad Umar (Karachi), Mohammad Zeeshan (Faisalabad), Mubasir Khan (Rawalpindi), Rehan Afridi (Khyber), Rizwan Mehmood (Hyderabad), Saim Ayub (Karachi), Umar Siddiq (Lahore), Usama Mir (Sialkot), Usman Khan (Karachi) and Usman Salahuddin (Lahore)
Mentor – Saqlain Mushtaq
STALLIONS: Mohammad Haris (captain, Peshawar), Abrar Ahmed (Karachi), Adil Amin (Peshawar), Azam Khan (Peshawar), Babar Azam (Lahore), Haris Rauf (Islamabad), Hussain Talat (Lahore), Jahandad Khan (Rawalpindi), Junaid Ali (Lahore), Maaz Ahmad Sadaqat (Peshawar), Mehran Mumtaz (Rawalpindi), Mohammad Ali (Sialkot), Mohammad Amir Khan (Swat), Saad Khan (Hyderabad), Shamyl Hussain (Islamabad), Shan Masood (Karachi), Tayyab Tahir (Sarai Alamgir), Ubaid Shah (Lahore), Yasir Khan (Rawalpindi) and Zaman Khan (Mirpur)
Mentor – Shoaib Malik
WOLVES: Mohammad Rizwan (captain, Peshawar), Fakhar Zaman (Abbottabad), Abdul Samad (Faisalabad), Akif Javed (FATA), Ali Usman (Multan), Bilawal Bhatti (Muridke), Haseebullah (Pishin), Iftikhar Ahmed (Peshawar), Kamran Ghulam (Peshawar), Mohammad Faizan (Faisalabad), Mohammad Imran Jnr (Peshawar), Mohammad Sarwar Afridi (FATA), Muhammad Imran (Khanewal), Naseem Shah (Lahore), Nisar Ahmed (Lahore), Salman Ali Agha (Lahore), Shahnawaz Dahani (Larkana), Zahid Mehmood (Dadu) and Zain Abbas (Multan)
Mentor – Misbah-ul-Haq
Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2024