Sports Bulletin

By BIPIN DANI It's not good news for the Bangladesh Cricket Board(BCB). Sri Lankan health ministry professionals have endorsed their earlier guidelines and have been insisting on a 14-day quarantine for the visiting Bangladesh cricket team. This has been confirmed by Dr. Sudath Samarweera, the chief of the Epidemiology Unit, Ministry of Health.   The discussions between the health ministry professionals and the experts from the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 took place on Thursday, where it is "decided" not to relax the quarantine period for the visiting team, or to any overseas visitors arriving in the country.  Speaking exclusively over telephone from Colombo on Friday morning, he said, "there has been no change in our earlier stand and if the Bangladesh team wants to play in Sri Lanka, must undergo a 14-day quarantine".   Dr. Samarweera also declined the split quarantine. The proposal for Bangladesh players was to have a 7-day quarantine in Bangladesh and 7-day in Sri Lanka. "We want them to be in a total quarantine period of 14 days from the day when they land in Sri Lanka", he added. The Hon. Health Minister (Mrs.) Pavithra Wanniarachchi didn't participate in the meeting. "She encourages the professionals to take such decisions", one of the medical persons attached to the department added. The decision will be conveyed to the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) board by the acting Director General of Health Services Dr. S. Sreedharan, who earlier had hoped for an amicable solution.  Reactions to this discouraging news from SLC and the BCB are awaited. 

SB REPORT LAHORE (September 17, 2020):-The Pakistan Cricket Board today announced it has terminated the contract of the HBL Pakistan Super League 2020 international media rights partner following a series of breaches, including matters relating to payments. Techfront International FZE had secured HBL PSL’s international media rights from 2019-2021, but due to a series of contractual violations, the PCB has terminated the agreement. Shoaib Naveed, PSL – Project Executive, said: “The PCB works professionally and with integrity and transparency. In this instance, the partner, despite repeated reminders and discussions, failed to honour its commitment and obligations, leaving the PCB with no other option but to terminate the agreement. “The termination of the agreement at this stage was also necessary so the PCB had sufficient time to start exploiting other avenues and partners for the future HBL Pakistan Super League events. Since its inception in 2016, the HBL PSL has become one of the most attractive and competitive leagues around the world. “The PCB is already in discussions with various sub-licensees and relevant broadcasters in the international territories. The process is already underway to ensure a robust media rights strategy for the HBL Pakistan Super League 2021 and onwards.” The PCB reserves its rights in terms of claiming appropriate remedies and damages, and will be taking strictest possible measures to ensure and safeguard the league’s interests as well as its valuable stakeholders.

SB REPORT LAHORE (September 17, 2020):-As many as 103 players and player support personnel belonging to six Cricket Association First XI squads for the National T20 Cup were invited to their respective central stations today after they tested negative in their first Covid-19 tests. They will undergo their second tests on 18 September under the supervision of the PCB medical team at the central stations, which are Multan’s Hotel Ramada for Central Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Northern and Southern Punjab, and Lahore Muridke Country Club for Balochistan and Sindh. Over the course of their stay, the squad members will be provided individual accommodation. One individual tested positive for Covid-19. He has been advised self-isolation for five days at his residence following which he will undergo another test. If that test returns negative, he would be invited to a central station for his second test. Cricketers who travelled to England with the men’s national cricket team are required to submit the results of their first Covid-19 tests on 22 September to the PCB Medical and Sports Sciences Department.

ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL ISLAMABAD (September 16, 2020):-Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) inked a satellite broadcast deal for broadcast in Pakistan with PTV Sports and a further agreement to secure cable distribution with I-Media Communication Services here on Wednesday (today). The agreements were signed in the presence of the Prime Minister who is the Patron of Pakistan Cricket Board. The broadcast deal will be for the 2020 to 2023 cycle. The broadcasting arrangement is structured to provide for increasing revenues over the term of the cycle and PCB expects to earn in excess of US$200 million over the three year term. The Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board Ehsan Mani speaking at the occasion thanked the Patron for his unwavering support to PCB and the efforts of the Minister for Information Shibli Faraz and SAPM on Information Lt. General (Retd) Asim Bajwa not only for their support in getting the broadcasting arrangement finalised but their efforts in modernizing PTV Sports and its production capabilities as well as the digitalizing of cable networks. Mani thanked the Chairman and Board of PTV and the MD PTV as well as the President l-Media Communication and Cable Association of Pakistan for their support and efforts in concluding the agreements. The broadcast agreement is for Pakistan only while PCB will be soon finalizing the grant of its broadcast rights for international territories separately as well as launching a new structure for its digital media rights. Under the arrangement all Pakistan International Home Series of the Senior Cricket Team and the Women's and Junior cricket teams will be broadcast live on PTV Sports. Also for the first time all the major Domestic tournaments, including the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the National T-20 Cup, the One Day Pakistan Cup and the National U-19 One-Day and National U-19 Three Day tournaments, will be broadcast live on PTV Sports and distributed across Pakistan on cable networks. The supporting cable distribution agreement, unlike in the past, seeks to ensure that the broadcast content of PCB cricket is not redistributed without proper authorization which was one of the reasons for greatly diminishing the value of PCB content. The matches will be produced by PCB directly to the highest international standards and will not be bulked as part of the broadcasting deal as was done in the past. PCB will ensure broadcast and distribution of Pakistan cricket across the globe. For the first time in almost three decades the broadcasting rights of Pakistan Cricket in Pakistan have been granted exclusively to a Pakistani broadcaster and that too the national broadcaster. This will maximize the opportunity for cricket fans in Pakistan to watch good competitive cricket almost throughout the year and follow the top cricketers and teams they support in the domestic season. PCB plans to invest Rs15 billion over the next three years on Men and Women Domestic Cricket including upgrading of stadiums and infrastructure, building provincial academies and centres of excellence, employment of over 100 former cricketers as coaches and managers for the City Cricket Associations, restarting inter-university cricket, investment in grass roots cricket and improving players' earning and welfare. The broadcast deal also marks the launch of rebuilding PTV's production and broadcast capabilities, with a conversion of PTV Sports to HD broadcast format already in the pipeline to be followed by acquisition of not only international quality production equipment but also training of its staff during the production by PCB of cricket matches in Pakistan. It also seeks to create the impetus to expedite the conversion of analogue cable to digital cable in Pakistan which will go a long way in ensuring all cricket fans receive the highest quality and maximum quantity of cricket content on their television screens. Digital cable will allow cricket lovers to select from simultaneously played live matches and not miss any cricket match.

SB REPORT ISLAMABAD (September 15, 2020):-To ensure health and safety of players, officials and all other stakeholders, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced comprehensive Covid-19 protocols for the 2020-21 domestic season, which begins on 30 September with the National T20 Cup. From the beginning of the season, squad members, match officials, duty doctors and security managers will be placed in bio-secure zones, where they will be able to roam around and interact with each other freely. To ensure that the bio-secure zone is virus free, they will be required to return two negative Covid-19 tests, which is in line with the practices carried out at present in international cricket. Members of the First XI and Second XI squads are required to submit the results of their first Covid-19 tests by 16 and 18 September, respectively. The PCB will reimburse the costs of the first tests and conduct all following tests during the course of the season. Those returning negative results will be invited to PCB designated central stations, where they will undergo second Covid-19 tests under the supervision of the PCB medical team. The second tests of the First XI and Second XI squads will be conducted on 18 September and 21 September, respectively. While traveling to the central stations, the players and support staff personnel will not be allowed to use public transportation, except for air-travel. Upon their arrival at the central stations, they will undergo a disinfection process and will be afforded separate accommodation. Those who test positive in the tests conducted at the central stations will be isolated for five days and tested twice. If these players or support staff personnel continue to test positive, they would have to undergo a two-week-long period of self-isolation and return two negative results before their integration in the bio-secure zone. The players who toured England with the men’s national team for three Tests and three T20Is will travel to Multan on 23 September and after their second negative test will join their respective domestic teams on 25 September as they have been granted a period of relaxation following their 10-week-long tour. To provide ease and comfort to the U19 players and their parents and guardians, the PCB has taken the responsibility to conduct all Covid-19 tests of the teenage cricketers. Their first Covid-19 tests will take place on 1 October. Similar to the Covid-19 practice for the players and player support personnel, match officials will be required to submit their results by 24 September and their second tests will be conducted on 27 September at a PCB designated central station. The PCB realises that the Covid-19 situation continues to evolve throughout the country. It is committed to make efforts to ensure all challenges are dealt with accordingly, keeping the risk factor at an absolute minimum over the course of the season. Venue managers, ground staff, scorers and other officials will remain in the second layer and only in case of emergency they will be allowed to interact with those in the bio-secure zone, while wearing masks and maintaining at least 15-feet distance. During a match, team managers and match officials can interact with the venue manager via cell phones. Players would be advised to sit close to the dressing rooms during the match while social distancing will be maintained during lunch and tea intervals. Any person breaching the bio-secure zone will spend five days in isolation and would have to test negative twice in this period to re-enter the bubble.

SB REPORT LAHORE (September 14, 2020):-The Pakistan Cricket Board has reiterated that the domestic players are not required to resign from their parent departments to obtain contracts for the 2020-21 domestic season, which commences on 30 September with the National T20 Cup. “The PCB is neither asking the players to resign nor to cancel existing contracts with their departments if they are interested in securing player contracts for the 2020-21 domestic season. “All the PCB is asking from the employed and contracted cricketers, in accordance with applicable policies and SOPs, is for them to provide No Objective Certificates (NOC) from their departments so that they can be offered contracts for the 2020-21 domestic season. The issuance of such NOCs is part of the normal course of business; is not only a PCB requirement but that of the departments as well; and is, in fact, an established past practice. “Once the relevant NOC has been issued by the player’s parent organisation and submitted to the PCB, the PCB will make payments in accordance with the terms of the contract it has executed with the player,” the PCB said in a statement. The PCB has already explained that an employed cricketer is eligible for the 2020-21 domestic contract and the PCB will have no objection if the player’s parent organisation also pays him during the term of the 2020-21 domestic player contract. “An employed cricketer can be offered 2020-21 domestic contract provided that the player has submitted the relevant NOC issued by his employer to the PCB in accordance with the rules and regulations applicable to such players. “Whether or not the player will be paid by the employer is a matter between the two entities. The PCB has further explained that two types of contracts will be offered to the high-performing domestic players. “A maximum of 32 players in each Cricket Association will be offered domestic central contracts, while the remaining players will be offered a seasonal contract. “Under the domestic contract, a player will be bound by the obligations of the domestic central contract and will receive a monthly retainer along with match fee, daily allowances, other related benefits etc. wherever applicable. “Under the seasonal contract, a player will be bound by the same obligations as those prescribed under the domestic central contract but will not receive monthly retainer. Such players, however, will be eligible to receive match fee, daily allowances, other related benefits etc. wherever applicable.”

By BIPIN DANI Former South African cricketer Jonty Rhodes was more popular for his spectacular fielding. As a fielder he won an ODI match single handedly and won the Man of the Match award (Hero Honda Cup, South Africa vs. West Indies, 1993-94, Mumbai). His association with the Swedish Cricket Fwederation (SCF) as a coach will improve the standard of cricket, believes Benn Harradine, the Performance Director. Speaking exclusveily, he said, "We realise that the way to improve the standard is first to invest in coaches and facilitators, and as the standards lift so to will the facilities". "Swedish cricket is developing at a rapid rate. 300% participating increase in the last 2 years. It has been a challenge to manage such an increase as we have different environmental conditions. Its cold for 7 months a year and because cricket is rather new in the nordics, there is not a huge offering of cricket grounds yet", he further added.    "More importantly I believe we are looking at improving the standard of cricket as a whole. Not specifically fielding". "Undoubtably Jonty needs no introduction, his merits speak for themselves. We connected on several occasions and this opportunity came at the right time for him and his family to relocate to Sweden. They are very fond of the lifestyle here in Sweden", he signed off.

SPORTS DESK ISLAMABAD (September 10, 2020):-Encouraged by the government’s decision to open educational institutions from 15 September, the Pakistan Cricket Board today decided to maximise the participation of the teenage cricketers and hold open trials for the selection of six U19 Cricket Association squads that will feature in the National One-Day Tournament from 13 October and National Three-Day Tournament from 5 November. The open trials will now be held from 16-19 September at major cricket centres of all Cricket Associations and those who are born on or after 1 September 2001 will be eligible to appear. To provide equal opportunities to all the players and avoid crowding at the venues, the local players will undergo trials on day one, while the teenagers arriving from outside the venues will attend trials on the second day. This will also help the non-local players to plan their respective trips. Following the two-day activity, 40 players will be shortlisted for each of the six Cricket Associations, who will feature in trial matches, on 18 and19 September, to stake claims in the final 20-player squads. The trials will be held under strict Covid-19 protocols, which are available below along with the schedule of the trials. The players are advised to bring their own food items and energy drinks to keep themselves hydrated. Keeping the comfort of teenagers and their parents and guardians at the forefront, the PCB will run a four-day-long online registration process from 11-14 September. The interested players can register by sending an email at trialregistration@pcb.com.pk or WhatsApp at +321 436 5021, +303 444 5879 and +331 436 8821. The players will be required to bring original copies of their B-forms for pre-trial age verification. National High Performance Centre coaches will be involved in the trial processes at the LCCA ground in Lahore and the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi. Trials in Abbottabad, Karachi, Multan, Quetta will be conducted by members of the National Junior Selection Committee, who will be joined by the teams’ head coaches. Saleem Jaffar, Chairman of the National Junior Selection Committee, said: “The PCB has been encouraged by the government’s decision to open educational institutions from 15 September and has now decided to hold open trials for the selection of six U19 sides for the National Three-Day and One-Day Tournaments. “The selectors had initially invited limited number of players due to the evolving Covid-19, while taking into consideration the youngsters’ health and safety. “The selectors have also made this decision based on feedback and comments we have received from various quarters on certain deserving players, who had failed to make the cut in the initially list of 291 players. “With limited age-group cricket played at the grass roots level in the past 18 months and supported by the government’s decision to open educational institutions from 15 September, it is appropriate that we revisit our strategy and convert this into open trials, which will provide equal and fair opportunity to all cricketers born on or after 1 September 2001. “However, the eligible players are strongly advised to bring with them their original B-forms for pre-trial age verification.” Trials breakdown (trials will be held from 0800-1800): Day one, 16 September, trials for local players Day two, 17 September, trials for outstation players Day three and four, 18-19 September, trials of shortlisted players Schedule: 16-19 September – Balochistan, Bugti Stadium. Selection panel: Wajahatullah Wasti, Hussain Khosa and Mazhar Deenari 16-19 September - Central Punjab, LCCA Ground. Selection panel: Coach National High Performance Centre, Tanveer Shoukat and Irfan Fazil 16-19 September – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Abbottabad Stadium. Selection panel: Taufiq Umar, Saqib Faqir and Mohammad Siddiq 16-19 September – Northern, Pindi Cricket Stadium. Selection panel: Coach National High Performance, Bilal Ahmed and Fahad Akram 16-19 September – Sindh, National Stadium. Selection panel: Sanaullah Baloch, Tahir Mehmood and Hanif Malik 16-19 September – Southern Punjab, Multan Cricket Stadium. Selection panel: Saleem Jaffer, Kamran Khan and Hafiz Majid Jahangir Covid-19 Protocols ·         Strict Covid-19 protocols will be implemented to ensure health and safety of players. As such, temperatures checks will be done on entry points of the venues ·         Players will have to wear masks when not inside the boundary ropes and maintain social distancing at any given time ·         Sharing of equipment and use of saliva on ball will not be allowed

ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL ISLAMABAD (September 9, 2020):-Head coaches of the six Cricket Associations today confirmed their 16-player squads for this month’s National T20 Cup. The squads were finalised from a pool of players, which the head coaches had selected on 28 August. In accordance with the event format and team requirements, the head coaches will select and announce their squads for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and 50-over Pakistan Cup closer to these competitions. The First XI National T20 Cup, for the first time, will be held on a double-league basis. The format has been changed keeping in view the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 and to provide the players with more opportunities to stake claims in the national side. With the HBL Pakistan Super League 2020 Draft to also take place in November, the tournament provides a great opportunity for country’s best T20 players to impress the team owners with their talent and mettle. Northern will defend both the First XI and Second XI titles. The First XI matches will be played in Multan (1st round) and Rawalpindi (2nd round, semi-finals and final) from 30 September to 18 October and Second XI fixtures in Lahore from 1-8 October. Northern’s First XI head coach Mohammad Wasim has named a strong side, which will be captained by Pakistan all-rounder Imad Wasim and includes Shadab Khan, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Amir, who recently featured in the T20I series against England. The side also includes promising fast bowler Musa Khan and wicketkeeper-batsman Rohail Nazir, who led Pakistan in this year’s ICC U19 Cricket World Cup, while other internationals in the line-up are Asif Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Sohail Tanvir and Umar Amin. Imad will be available for the second round matches commencing 9 October in Rawalpindi as he is presently representing Nottinghamshire in the ECB’s Vitality Blast T20 competition. Balochistan, last year’s runners-up, will continue to be captained by Pakistan international Haris Sohail. Other internationals in the side are Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Farhat, Umar Gul and Yasir Shah. The side will be coached by Faisal Iqbal. Pakistan T20I captain Babar Azam will lead Central Punjab that also includes Kamran Akmal, Abid Ali, Bilal Asif, Ehsan Adil, Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah and Zafar Gohar. Babar, like Imad, will join the squad for the second round matches after finishing his commitments with Somerset. The side will be coached by Shahid Anwar. Ahmed Shehzad and Hasan Ali were unavailable for selection due to fitness, while Salman Butt was not selected in the First XI side after he had failed to feature in any of his side’s matches in last year’s National T20 Cup. In the HBL Pakistan Super League 2020 for Lahore Qalandars, he has played in only one game to date. However, considering his experience, he was offered to lead the Second XI side, which he declined. A star-studded Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be captained by wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan. The side includes Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imran Khan Snr, Mohammad Hafeez, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Usman Khan Shinwari and Wahab Riaz who recently toured England with the Pakistan squad. Shaheen is presently representing Hampshire and will be in action for the second round matches. The side will be coached by former Test all-rounder Abdul Razzaq. Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed will be back in the captaincy role, determined not only to give strong performances to stake a claim for the upcoming home series against Zimbabwe but also help Sindh reach the final. Also at his disposal will be star performers like Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Khurram Manzoor, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Hasnain, Rumman Raees, Sharjeel Khan and Sohail Khan. Former Test batsman Basit Ali will be the coach. Southern Punjab will be coached by Abdul Rehman, who has retained Shan Masood as his team’s captain. Other players who have featured in international matches include Aamir Yamin, Bilawal Bhatti, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali (subject to fitness) and Sohaib Maqsood. Squads Balochistan First XI – Haris Sohail (captain), Bismillah Khan (vice-captain, wicketkeeper), Akbar-ur-Rehman, Akif Javed, Ammad Butt, Awais Zia, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Butt, Imran Farhat, Kashif Bhatti, Khurram Shahzad, Taimur Khan, Umaid Asif, Umar Gul, Usama Mir and Yasir Shah Player support personnel – Khuda Bux Silaci (manager), Faisal Iqbal (head coach), Wasim Haider (assistant coach), Ajab Gul Khan (trainer), Arif Shah (physio) and Shakir Khilji (analyst) Second XI – Sami Aslam (captain), Jalat Khan (vice-captain), Abdul Nasir, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Akhtar Shah, Ayaz Tasawar, Gohar Faiz, Gulraiz Sadaf (wicketkeeper), Hayat Ullah, Mohammad Ibrahim, Mohammad Junaid Khan, Mohammad Talha, Najeebullah Achakzai, Rameez Raja Jnr, Salahuddin and Taj Wali Player Support Personnel - Habib Baloch (coach-cum-manager), Shoaib Khan (assistant coach), Mohammad Hasnain (physio), Mohammad Hussain (trainer) and Waseemuddin (analyst) Central Punjab First XI – Babar Azam (captain), Saad Nasim (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Abid Ali, Ahmed Bashir, Bilal Asif, Ehsan Adil, Faheem Ashraf, Irfan Khan Niazi, Kamran Akmal (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Qasim Akram, Rizwan Hussain, Sohaibullah, Usman Qadir and Zafar Gohar. Player Support Personnel – Azhar Zaidi (manager), Shahid Anwar (head coach), Samiullah Niazi (assistant coach), Mohammad Asad (physio), Yasir Mahmood (trainer) and Sajid Yasin (analyst) Second XI – Nauman Anwar (captain), Raza Ali Dar (vice-captain), Atiq-ur-Rehman, Aitzaz Habib Khan, Bilawal Iqbal, Fahad Usman, Junaid Ali, Kamran Afzal, Muhammad Akhlaq, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Faiq, Mohammad Saad, Nisar Ahmad, Suleman Shafqat, Waqas Maqsood and Zubair Khan Lodhi Player Support Personnel - Akram Raza (coach-cum-manager), Humayun Farhat (assistant coach), Arshad Javed (trainer), Ubaidullah (physio) and Mahmood Mohyuddin (analyst). Khyber Pakhtunkhwa First XI - Mohammad Rizwan (captain, wicketkeeper), Junaid Khan (vice-captain), Arshad Iqbal, Asif Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imran Khan Snr, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Mohsin, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Usman Khan Shinwari, Wahab Riaz and Zohaib Khan. Player Support Personnel - Farrukh Zaman (manager), Abdul Razzaq (head coach), Aftab Khan (assistant coach), Imranullah (trainer), Rehan Khalid (physio) and Waleed Ahmed (analyst). Second XI - Mehran Ibrahim (captain), Rehan Afridi (vice-captain, wicketkeeper), Adil Amin, Asad Afridi, Israrullah, Khalid Usman, Mohammad Amir Khan, Mohammad Arif Shah, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Mohsin Khan, Mohammad Sarwar Afridi, Musaddiq Ahmad, Nabi Gul, Sajid Khan and Sameen Gul. Player Support Personnel – Riffatullah Mohmand (coach-cum-manager), Mohammad Aslam Qureshi (assistant coach), Ibrar Ahmed (trainer), Sajjad Ali Khan (physio) and Majid Ali Shah (analyst). Northern First XI - Imad Wasim (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Ali Imran, Asif Ali, Farzan Raja, Haider Ali, Hammad Azam, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Musa Khan, Rohail Nazir (wicketkeeper), Sohail Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Amin and Zeeshan Malik Player Support Personnel – Afaq Rahim (manager), Mohammad Wasim (head coach), Mohammad Masroor (assistant coach), Ali Sufyan (physio), Mohammad Aslam (trainer) and Mohammad Ahsan Ehsan (analyst) Second XI – Nauman Ali (captain), Umair Masood (vice-captain, wicketkeeper), Aamer Jamal, Athar Mehmood, Faizan Riaz, Mohammad Ismail, Nasir Nawaz, Naved Malik, Nihal Mansoor, Raza Hasan, Salman Irshad, Sarmad Bhatti, Shiraz Khan, Shoaib Ahmad Minhas, Taimur Sultan and Zaid Alam. Player Support Personnel - Fahad Masood (coach-cum-manager), Saeed Anwar Jnr (assistant coach), Farrukh Hayat (trainer), Iftikhar (physio) and Mohammad Rizwan Hanif (analyst) Sindh First XI – Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain, wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Ahsan Ali, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Azam Khan, Danish Aziz, Hassan Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Taha, Rumman Raees, Sharjeel Khan and Sohail Khan. Player Support Personnel - Rashid Khan (manager), Basit Ali (head coach), Iqbal Imam (assistant coach), Imran Khalil (trainer), Imtiaz Khan (physio) and Mohammad Asim Hussain (analyst). Second XI – Fawad Alam (captain), Hasan Mohsin (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Aamer Ali, Ammad Alam, Asad Raza, Ghulam Mudassar, Ibtisam Sheikh, Jahid Ali, Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Umar, Rameez Aziz, Saad Ali, Saifullah Bangash, Shahnawaz and Omair Bin Yousuf. Player Support Personnel - Ghulam Ali (coach-cum-manager), Zafar Iqbal (assistant coach), Javed Sheikh (trainer), Nisar Khan (physio) and Shanullah (analyst). Southern Punjab First XI – Shan Masood (captain), Hussain Talat (vice-captain), Aamir Yamin, Ali Shafiq, Bilawal Bhatti, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali (subject to fitness), Saif Baddar, Sohaib Maqsood, Umer Khan, Umar Siddiq Khan, Zahid Mehmood and Zeeshan Ashraf (wicketkeeper). Player Support Personnel - Shahid Butt (manager), Abdul Rehman (head coach), Aizaz Cheema (assistant coach), Khawaja Rohail Ali (trainer), Mohammad Tayyab (physio) and Mohammad Faisal Rai (analyst) Second XI – Naved Yasin (captain), Agha Salman Ali (vice-captain), Maqbool Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Ali Usman, Anus Mustafa, Dilbar Hussain, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Mohsin, Mohammad Rameez, Mohammad Umair, Mohammd Irfan Jnr, Mukhtar Ahmed, Tayyab Tahir, Zain Abbas and Zia-ul-Haq. Player Support personnel – Sajjad Akbar (coach-cum-manager), Zahoor Elahi (assistant coach), Iftikhar Hussain (trainer), Adeel Bajwa (physio), and Hafiz Mohammad Usman (analyst). Meanwhile, the head coaches have finalised a pool of reserve cricketers, in addition to the 45 players of their Cricket Associations, who, if required, can be used as Covid-19 replacements: Reserve players: Aamer Azmat (Peshawar), Abdul Rauf (Kurram Agency), Abdullah Muqaddam (Karachi), Abubakar Khan (Mianwali), Ali Manzoor (Lahore), Asif Fawad (Multan), Fahad Hussain (D.M. Jamali), Hamza Arshad (Rawalpindi), Hasan Raza  (Mirpur), Haseeb Azam (Rawalpindi), Hazrat Shah (Islamabad), Jahanzaib Sultan (Karachi), Khalilullah (Mardan), Mohammad (D.M. Jamali), Mohammad Nadeem (Islamabad), Mohammad Shahid (D.M. Jamali), Mohammad Umar Burki (KP), Mohammad Waqas (Karachi), Nasir Khan (D.M. Jamali), Raza-ul-Hasan (Karachi), Sajjad Ali (Mardan), Salman Fayyaz (Lahore), Shehzad Azam Rana (Islamabad), Shoaib Ahmed (D.M. Jamali) and Yousaf Babar (Multan)

ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL ISLAMABAD (September 4, 2020):-On Friday Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) unveiled 2020-21 domestic events calendar, as 208 matched will be stage at the different venues of the country. In a major shift from previous years and taking into account the upcoming three white-ball global events, the PCB has decided to hold First XI matches of the National T20 Cup and Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament, and National U19 One-Day Tournament on a double-league basis. This will guarantee each side a minimum of 10 league matches in the three white-ball competitions. The top four sides in the senior events will progress to the semi-finals, followed by the final, and the top two sides in the juniors’ event will progress to the final. The National T20 Cup will be the curtain-raiser of the season, with matches being held in Multan and Rawalpindi from 30 September to 18 October, while the National U19 One-Day Tournament will be played in Lahore, Muridke and Sheikhupura from 13 October to 2 November. The National T20 Cup and the National U19 One-Day Tournament have been scheduled at the start of the season to enable all the top performers to have the opportunity to attract interest from the franchises prior to the HBL PSL 2020 draft in November. The Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament will be played from 8-31 January, after which the domestic season will conclude with the PCB’s marquee event, the HBL Pakistan Super League 2021, starting in February. Four-day first-class matches will start from 25 October and the event will conclude with the five-day final starting on 1 January. Second XI three-day matches will be played from 18 October to 13 December. Due to Covid-19 precautions, travel for players and officials will be restricted for all Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches during the 2020-2021 season, resulting in all matches being played at grounds in Karachi. In addition, staging the tournament in Karachi will help mitigate the risk of bad weather conditions, such as fog and dew, seriously intervening in matches at that time of year. While finalising the domestic cricket calendar, the PCB has also taken into consideration the commencement of the holy month of Ramadan, which is likely to start around 15 April. The schedule of events will be further populated after the confirmation of Boys U13 & U16 and women’s events, HBL PSL 2021 and home international series against Zimbabwe and South Africa. Director – High Performance, Nadeem Khan: “In the uncertain Covid-19 situation, I am pleased that we have been able to put together a complete domestic cricket schedule, which is challenging but will contribute significantly in getting the best out of all the players that, in turn, will uplift the quality and standard of our home cricket. “There has been a strategy and vision behind preparing this schedule, and the most notable is the increase in number of white-ball matches at the senior and age-group level. This has been done after taking into consideration our teams’ current international performances and rankings in white-ball cricket as well as to looking into the future, while also providing optimum chances to the deserving and budding cricketers to thoroughly show their mettle and impress the national selectors. “The increase in number of matches will not only provide a fair and equal opportunity to all the talented players, it will increase their earnings – something that we have been very mindful and careful about since the revamp of the domestic structure. “In the past few weeks, the High Performance and Domestic department has been flat out as evident from recent announcements, including appointment of coaches, domestic teams, match officials and now the schedule. This required full support of the logistics and operations team as together we remain committed in providing a comfortable and good environment to the players so that they can excel on the field of play. “Now that the teams and schedule have been confirmed, I expect the respective coaches to start planning their season as usage and rotation of key players will be integral, also in the background that some of the star players may not be available throughout the season due to their international commitments. But this will surely provide other players with opportunities to step-up and take responsibility and make names for themselves.” PCB 2020-21 domestic schedule at a glance: National T20 Cup 1st XI (33 matches) – 30 September to 18 October; Multan and Rawalpindi National T20 Cup 2nd XI (15 matches) – 1-8 October; Lahore National U19 One-Day Tournament (31 matches) – 13 October to 2 November; Lahore, Muridke and Sheikhupura National U19 Three-Day Tournament (16 matches) – 5-29 November; Lahore, Muridke and Sheikhupura HBL PSL 2020 (4 matches) – 14, 15 and 17 November; Lahore Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 1st XI (31 matches) – 25 October to 5 January 2021; Karachi Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2nd XI (30 matches) – 18 October to 13 December; Karachi Pakistan Cup 1st XI (33 matches) – 8-31 January 2021; Karachi Pakistan Cup 2nd XI (15 matches) – 16-24 December; Karachi