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National T20: Nawaz shows all-round performance for Northern
SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT
Rawalpindi (October 3, 2021):-All-rounder Mohammad Nawaz delivered both with bat and ball to spearhead Northern’s exciting 14-run win over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 17th match of the National T20 tournament played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi on Sunday evening.
Set a 182-run target, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finished their 20 overs at 167 for eight as Iftikhar Ahmed’s fighting half-century went in vain. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stared their chase briskly with Israrullah and captain Mohammad Rizwan hitting some delightful shots in the power play overs.
Israrullah (25) was the first to go with Haris Rauf taking his wicket. Rizwan was dismissed for 17 by Salman Irshad. Sahibzada Farhan (13) and Asif Afridi (21) were dismissed in the hunt of quick runs against the mounting asking rate.
Iftikhar took the fight to the Northern attack with a series of big shots. The right-hander scored the 16th half-century of his T20 career, he was eventually dismissed by Haris for 58 off 34 balls. The middle-order batter hit two fours and five sixes in his innings.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa challenge subsided after Iftikhar’s dismissal, the win was Northern’s fourth win in six games; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have also won four and lost two matches.
Earlier Northern recovered from a sensational opening over by Shaheen Shah Afridi to post their formidable total. Shaheen removed right-handers Ali Imran and Haider Ali with inswinging deliveries to jolt Northern. Both batters were dismissed for ducks in the space of three balls.
Nasir Nawaz (24) and Umar Amin (27) fought back for their side with a 52-run third-wicket partnership which ended with Umar’s dismissal to Asif Afridi. Northern stuttered to 55 for four when Nasir fell to Israrullah.
The in-form Mohammad Nawaz joined hands with his captain Shadab Khan as the two carved out an 89-run stand for the fifth-wicket.
Shadab scored 46 off 27 balls (six fours, two sixes). Nawaz completed his second half-century in the tournament, he was run out in the last over for 51 (34 balls, one four, three sixes).
Northern continued the attack in the death overs as 98 runs were added in the last seven overs. Asif Ali contributed an invaluable 21 off 11 balls (one four, two sixes) to push his side past the 180-run mark.
Shaheen took two while Israrullah, Asif and Imran Khan Snr took a wicket apiece.
Scores in Brief:
Northern beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 14 runs
Northern 181 for 7, 20 overs (Mohammad Nawaz 51, Shadab Khan 46, Umar Amin 27; Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-30, Israrullah 1-9)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 167 for 8, 20 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 58, Israrullah 25; Haris Rauf 3-31, Mohammad Nawaz 2-26)
Player of the match: Mohammad Nawaz
Wednesday’s matches (Lahore):
Home City Central Punjab vs GFS Sindh -3pm
Balochistan vs Northern -7:30pm
A-Day Moawin Foundation Golf Tournament
ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL
Islamabad (October 3, 2021):-As many as 80 golfers participated in the Moawin Foundation (MF) Golf Tournament that was taken place at Margalla Greens Golf Club (MGGC), Islamabad aiming to raise the funds for vulnerable children of remote areas of Pakistan.
The tournament was played over 18 holes in categories of Amateurs, Ladies, and Juniors’. The chief guest of the event was Admiral Mohammad Amjad Khan Niazi NI (M). Guests of the event included Chairman Moawin Foundation Admiral (R) Asif Sandila, Syed Wadood Wasti, Zonal Head Northern Zone Bank Al Habib Limited, Air Commodore (R) Nasir Ali Hamdani and Hamid Ali Khan.
Moawin Foundation is a not-for-profit organization founded by former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral (R) Asif Sandila in 2014 with a vision to enhance the quality of Education in Pakistan and improve the condition of government schools. Currently, Moawin Foundation is running 103 schools across Pakistan; cities include Sheikhupura, Jhelum, Islamabad, Karachi and some schools of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Gilgit Baltistan regions.
Moawin Foundation through different projects is improving the Infrastructure of schools, providing training to teacher and introducing modern teaching techniques in schools to improve the quality of education in Pakistan.
In his address, Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Mohammad Amjad Khan Niazi NI (M) lauded the efforts of Moawin Foundation for supporting the noble cause of education and provision of skill development training programs in the remote areas of Pakistan.
Speaking at the occasion, Admiral Asif Sandila, Chairman Moawin Foundation, briefed the participants about the history of Moawin Foundation and he also shared the ongoing programs of the Foundation.
At the end, the prizes were awarded to the winners and runner-ups of the competition.
The Longest Drive was 286 yards and awarded to Cdre Imran Ifthikhar. The closest to Pin was awarded to Maj (R) Masood Latif with 2’ 9’’. Ami Qin and Ayesha Fouzan were awarded winners of the ladies category and Shahnaz Salim and Faranaz Bajwa were the Runner up Team. In the Junior Category Abdullah Khalid and Saad Rana were the winners while Irtaza Hussain and Shayan Zia were awarded runner-ups. In the Men Category team of Brig Khalid Abbasi and Brig Mohammad Ahmad won.
Furthermore, 1st Runner of the Men Category was awarded to Umair Saleem and Bilal Tariq followed by 2nd runner-up Category was awarded Cdr Tipu and Shehryar Ali Khan. At the end shields were distributed to the representatives of Bank Al Habib Private Limited, who sponsored the event at Margalla Green Golf Club.
BILLARD & SNOOKER - National 03 Oct, 2021
SPORTS REPORTER
Karachi (October 3, 2021):-Umair Haider claimed an upset victory after defeating 6th seeded player Mubashir Raza 4-2 in the ongoing National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) 46th National Snooker Championship 2021 at NBP Sports Complex, Clifton, Karachi on Saturday.
Umair Haider won the match with the score-line of 2-71, 77-15(68), 91-27(59), 19-68, 68-40 and 42-5, as his highest beak was 68 points. However, However, Hammad Hassan Sheikh made two breaks over hundred 138 and 116 respectively against Aamir Sohail.
Results (Day-III):
Babar Masih (Punjab) bt Yaqoob Khan (KP) 4-0 (92-23(66), 62-29, 82-34, 71-58)
Haris Tahir (NBP) bt Mohammad Jawed Ansari (Sindh) 4-2 (74-9(74), 21-69(57), 94-0(94), 66-23(53), 25-62(53), 97-0)
Sultan Mohammad (Sindh) bt Tanzeel Hussain (Bal) 4-1 (65-0, 55-35, 66-14, 20-60, 65-23)
Mohammad Naseem Akhtar (NBP) bt Ibrahim Khan (Bal) 4-1 (59-42, 61-29, 65-60, 25-74, 53-9)
Mohammad Saleem (KP) bt Aamir Shahzad (KP) 4-0 (66-42, 64-09, 87-0(87), 85-25(69),)
Mohammad Sattar Khan (Isb) bt Waseem Abbas (Punjab) 4-3 (62-63, 70-41(66), 31-75, 62-33, 64-26, 18-68, 66-46)
Babar Masih (Punjab) bt Tanzeel Hussain (Bal) 4-1 (54-62, 97-19(53), 92-0(92), 70-9(54), 120-1(57),)
Asjad Iqbal (NBP) bt Mohammad Jawed Ansari (Sindh) 4-1 (84-36, 66-34, 92-4, 57-66, 62-31)
Sultan Mohammad (Sindh) bt Yaqoob Khan (KP) 4-3 (81-10, 64-19, 25-81, 76-30, 33-77, 64-69, 69-28)
Mohammad Naseem Akhtar (NBP) bt Mohammad Sattar Khan (Isb) 4-2 (47-66, 68-21, 74-27, 58-27, 37-46, 76-10)
Mohammad Faizan (Sindh) bt Aamir Shahzad (KP) 4-0 (67-40, 73-38, 66-36, 76-22)
Waseem Abbas (Punjab) bt Ibrahim Khan (Bal) 4-2 (67-22, 46-86, 42-50, 64-22, 65-15, 67-28)
Umair Haider (Punjab) bt Mubashir Raza (Punjab) 4-2 (2-71, 77-15(68), 91-27(59), 19-68, 68-40, 42-5)
Saad Khan (KP) bt Mohammad Taufiq Johri (Sindh) 4-3 (64-25, 21-64, 50-40, 82-52, 47-52, 22-77, 71-04)
Hamza Ilyas (Punjab) bt Bahadur Khan (Bal) 4-2 (73-43(56), 56-55, 45-68, 50-67, 63-40, 55-29)
Mohammad Ahsan Javaid (Punjab) bt Mohammad Imran Qamar (Punjab) 4-2 (64-33, 84-16, 5-79(70), 60-85, 70-38, 70-53)
Shah Khan (KP) bt Hiskail Bilal (Bal) 4-0 (67-1, 67-57, 76-40, 58-39)
Umer Naeem (Sindh) bt Sheikh Mohammad Muzammil (Punjab) 4-1 (31-64, 58-11, 72-11, 70-19, 74-43)
Mohammad Bilal (Punjab) bt Mohammad Imran (KP) 4-1 (49-51, 74-28, 59-26, 73-12, 77-12)
Abdul Javed (Isb) bt Ahmad Shah (Bal) 4-1 (79-46, 36-61, 67-33, 75-34(72), 75-3(63),)
Nadeem Gull (Punjab) bt Ali Hamza (Sindh) 4-0 (94-40, 63-27, 60-50, 62-44)
Shahid Aftab (Punjab) bt Farukh Usman (Sindh) 4-0 (62-23, 68-0, 80-68, 64-39)
Hammad Hassan Shaikh (Punjab) bt Aamir Sohail (KP) 4-1 (94-4, 138-4(138), 78-8, 48-57, 109-0(116),)
Waqar Ahmed (Isb) bt Mohammad Aftab Baig (Bal) 4-0 (66-43, 63-19, 60-16, 72-44)
Archery training workshop for Boys Scouts and Girls Guides
SPORTS REPORTER
Islamabad (October 3, 2021):-A-day archery training workshop for boys scouts and girls guides held on Saturday at Scouts Headquarter Islamabad.
International qualified archery coach, Main Nasir Mehmood trained the young male and female aiming to give them self-defense education to overcome challenges during the scouting. He taught the basic skills of the game practically.
Coach, Nasir Mehmood said that over 200 boys and 50 girls took part in the training session. “The boys and girls from all four provinces Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber PakhtunKawa and Punjab participated in the workshop.
Smriti Mandhana's big daddy hundred on Australian soil
BIPIN DANI
On the opening day of the four-day D/N pink ball Test against Australia, India's Smriti Mandhana was unbeaten on 80 runs. Any player would have a sleepless night with anxiety on scoring a hundred the next morning.
Her childhood coach and mentor Anant Tambvekar sent her a text message on WhatsApp, which read: Go for big daddy hundred with an emoji sign.
Within minutes, Smriti replied Yes and two emoji signs.
The coach further chatted and motivated saying, '' you must score a hundred, '' to which Smriti replied: '' Haan, Mai bhi serious hu (Yes, I am also serious (on putting up a hundred)".
Smriti did so on Friday. The first Indian batter to face a pink ball in Test became the first Indian centurion and that too on Australian soil.
"First Test hundred is always special for any player and if it is in the pink ball Test it is definitely a proud moment for all of us", the coach and mentor Tambvekar, speaking exclusively over the telephone from Nagpur, where he is a coach of the Goa team playing, said.
"I am sure Smriti would have had a sound sleep (when she was unbeaten on 80 on the previous day). She had for sure. She is mentally very strong".
Apart from Smriti's hundred, it was Punam Raut’s walking off the field when the umpire had ruled not out that stood out on the second day of the day-night Test.
Raut’s decision to walk, that too in the absence of the DRS in the Test match, reignited the debate over the ‘spirit of cricket’, triggered by India player Ravichandran Ashwin. Australian opener Beth Mooney said that there was “no chance” she would have done the same when asked by one of the commentators.
The incident happened in the 81st over of India’s innings when Raut, batting on 36, decided to “walk” without any hesitation after believing to have nicked Sophie Molineux behind to ’keeper Alyssa Healy.
As umpire Phillip Gillespie shook his head signalling not out, Raut simply walked off all the way to the pavilion without looking back, rediscovering the long-lost art of walking in Test cricket.
National T20: Central Punjab beat Sindh by 12 runs on DLS method
ABDULLAH ASJAD
Rawalpindi (October 2, 2021):-Shoaib Malik produced a stunning assault in the death overs of the Home City Central Punjab innings to spearhead his side’s 12-run win via the DLS method against GFS Sindh in the 16th match of the National T20 tournament played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi on Saturday night.
Set a 169-run target following Shoaib’s brilliant batting effort, Sindh stuttered to 110 for six in 14.4 overs when rain arrived for the second consecutive night. Sindh were 12 runs short of the par score at that stage of their innings, a ball before the rain interruption in a repeat of last night’s match, a wicket was lost.
Anwar Ali holed out to Wahab Riaz off Sameen Gul as Sindh searched for quick runs with the mounting asking rate.
Sindh openers Sharjeel Khan (36) and Khurram Manzoor (14) had provided the side a brisk 48-run opening stand. After Khurram’s dismissal, Sindh lost Shan Masood (12) to Wahab Riaz with the score at 76 in 7.2 overs.
From 76 to one, Sindh crashed to 110 for six, off-spinner Qasim Akram took three wickets for 20 runs in a match winning four-over spell. Sameen took two while Wahab took one wicket. This was Central Punjab’s third win in five games and their first ever against Sindh in the revamped six-team National T20 tournament which is in its third year.
Earlier, a sensational unbeaten 85 by Shoaib helped Central Punjab recover from 105 for six to a 168 for eight total. Central Punjab had lost wickets at regular intervals to stutter to a poor position before Shoaib rescued the side with an audacious batting display.
The seasoned Shoaib posted the 67th half-century of his T20 career and went into the top gear in the last two overs of the innings as Mohammad Hasnain conceded 22 and Rumman Raees gave away 14 runs off the 20th over.
The right-hander hit eight fours and five sixes in his 47-ball innings. Shoaib added 42 for the third-wicket with Ahmed Shehzad who contributed a run-a-ball 35 (three fours, one six). The two had come together after the early loss of captain Babar Azam (12) and Muhammad Akhlaq (7).
For Sindh, Rumman collected the second four-wicket haul of his T20 career. Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed took three crucial wickets despite conceding 39 runs in his four overs.
Scores in Brief:
Home City Central Punjab beat GFS Sindh by 12 runs on DLS method.
Home City Central Punjab 168 for 8, 20 overs (Shoaib Malik 85 not out, Ahmed Shehzad 35; Rumman Raees 4-33, Abrar Ahmed 3-39)
GFS Sindh 110 for 6, 14.4 overs (Sharjeel Khan 36; Qasim Akram 3-20, Sameen Gul 2-15)
Player of the match: Shoaib Malik
Sunday’s matches:
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vs Northern -3pm
ATF Southern Punjab vs Home City Central Punjab -7:30pm
Blind Archery: Waleed and Tanveer earn top positions
ABDUL JABBAR FAISAL
Rawalpindi (October 2, 2021):-Local guys, representing Rawalpindi District Blind’s Archery Association (RDBAA), Waleed Aziz and Tanveer Ahmed earned top positions in the VI-1 & VI-2 Categories in the All Pakistan Blind Archery Championship 2021 that concluded at Liaquat Baugh Mini Sports Complex on Saturday.
In 18m (36 Arrows) VI-1 Catagory Waleed Aziz from Rawalpindi grabbed gold with 255 points, Najeebullah from Gilgit silver and Sabtain from Mardan bronze medal. In VI-2 Category competitions, local player Tanveer Ahmed won gold with 265 points. Mohammad Usman from Rawalpindi took silver and Junaid from Multan took bronze Medal. While in Youngsters Category, Farwa from Rawalpindi lifted gold, Usama from Charsada and Abdur Rehman from Faisalabad got silver and bronze medals respectively.
The Championship was organized by Rawalpindi District Blind Archery Association in Collaboration with District Sports Department Rawalpindi. As many as 25 male and female archers from Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gilgit, Kashmir, Peshawar, Mardan, Lahore, Gujranwala, Jhelum, Quetta and Karachi participated in this mega event.
Chief guest Mohammad Shafi distributed medals and certificates among the players.
BILLARD & SNOOKER - National 02 Oct, 2021
SPORTS REPORTER
Karachi (October 2, 2021):-Well-known national snooker player Babar Masih from Punjab overcame Mohammad Jawed Ansari from host province Sindh 4-2 in the ongoing 46th NBP National Snooker Championship on Saturday at NBP Sports Complex, Clifton, Karachi.
Babar Masih, who recently performed up to mark in international events in Qatar, was in full form and displayed excellent skill of the game. The final score-line was 39-84(66), 20-71(66), 84-29, 67-39, 65-7 and 64-45.
Results (Day-II):
Babar Masih (Punjab) beat Mohammad Jawed Ansari (Sindh) 4-2 (39-84(66), 20-71(66), 84-29, 67-39, 65-7, 64-45)
Haris Tahir (NBP) beat Yaqoob Khan (KP) 4-0 (75-15, 82-02, 90-8(82), 83-7(82),)
Asjad Iqbal (NBP) beat Tanzeel Hussain (Bal) 4-1 (57-34, 54-25, 134-05(61,73), 47-73, 81-21)
Aamir Shahzad (KP) beat Mohammad Naseem Akhtar (NBP) 4-3 (61-48, 57-37, 71-18, 50-54, 25-63, 01-61, 65-55)
Mohammad Saleem (KP) beat Ibrahim Khan (Bal) 4-0 (87-29, 52-49, 66-19, 74-38)
Faizan Ahmed (Sindh) beat Mohammad Sattar Khan (Isb) 4-3 (63-22, 34-63, 59-15(51), 65-12, 0-95(53), 48-79(79), 70-34)
Saif Ullah (Punjab) beat Mohammad Sajjad (NBP) 4-2 (71-62, 89-34, 49-76(61), 75-49, 27-65, 54-35)
Hamza Akbar (Punjab) beat Zubair Tahir (Punjab) 4-3 (40-84, 45-71, 29-80, 62-24, 84-21, 62-47, 62-41)
Sharjeel Mehmood (KP) beat Mohammad Iftekhar (Sindh) 4-0 (89-8(74), 65-37, 76-0(76), 58-48)
Mohammad Asif (NBP) beat Rambel Gull (KP) 4-0 (101-04, 69-02, 57-08, 76-50)
Abdul Sattar (Sindh) beat Mohammad Shahzad (Punjab) 4-2 (18-64, 84-16, 24-51, 90-42(58), 69-45, 101-9)
Awais Ullah (Punjab) beat Abdul Qadir Ashir (Bal) 4-0 (118-9(103), 63-15, 60-46, 97-16(97),)
Mohammad Bilal (Punjab) beat Nadeem Gull (Punjab) 4-2 (67-17, 1-88(77), 63-35, 52-65, 90-9(90), 70-41)
Ahmad Shah (Bal) beat Sheikh Mohammad Mudassir (Punjab) 4-2 (24-62, 62-25, 59-20, 53-76, 73-15, 64-17)
Mohammad Imran (KP) beat Ali Hamza (Sindh) 4-0 (Walk over)
Shahid Aftab (Punjab) beat Mohammad Aftab Baig (Bal) 4-0 (71-24, 121-0(81), 81-10, 74-02)
Ahsan Ramzan (Punjab) beat Hammad Hassan Shaikh (Punjab) 4-0 (95-1(53), 74-46, 66-46, 59-12)
Waqar Ahmed (Isb) beat Farukh Usman (Sindh) 4-2 (98-0(90), 35-71, 78-22, 73-32, 54-59, 53-50)
Bahadur Khan (Bal) beat Mubashir Raza (Punjab) 4-1 (73-72, 84-0, 61-35, 36-62, 58-40)
Zulfiqar Abdul Qadir (Sindh) beat Mohammad Taufiq Johri (Sindh) 4-1 (62-32, 58-48, 69-15, 17-90, 60-09)
Umair Haider (Punjab) beat Hamza Ilyas (Punjab) 4-0 (89-21, 73-25(56), 83-21(56), 74-38(59),)
Umer Naeem (Sindh) beat Mohammad Ahsan Javaid (Punjab) 4-3 (26-66, 64-27, 65-18, 55-43, 22-61, 16-97, 60-24)
Mohammad Ijaz (Punjab) beat Shah Khan (KP) 4-2 (70-0(65), 51-64, 70-25, 21-79, 86-0(76), 79-13(79),)
Mohammad Imran Qamar (Punjab) beat Sheikh Mohammad Muzammil (Punjab) 4-1 (49-65, 61-20, 118-0(81), 54-14, 60-29)
National T20: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Balochistan by 55 runs
SPORTS BULLETIN REPORT
Rawalpindi (October 2, 2021):-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa registered their fifth win of the National T20 as they outclassed Balochistan by 55 runs in the 15th match of the tournament played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi on Saturday evening.
Set a 203 run target (most for the ongoing tournament), Balochistan limped to 147 for nine in their allotted 20 overs. Sohail Akhtar was the only one to give a decent fight to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bowlers as the right-hander hit five sixes and two fours in his 61 off 43 balls.
Opener Abdullah Shafique with 24, Haris Sohail and Umaid Asif with 17 runs each were the only other batters to reach double figures.
Balochistan had crashed to 83 for seven in their chase before Sohail brought some late-order fight to narrow the defeat margin for his side.
All-rounder Asif Afridi (player of the match) took three wickets for only eight runs from his wily left-arm-spin. Fast bowler Arshad Iqbal took three wickets for 16 runs. Shaheen Shah Afridi took two wickets for 30 runs.
Earlier, Balochistan’s makeshift captain Bismillah Khan won the toss and opted to field. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa openers Israrullah and Mohammad Rizwan cut loose after a cautious start. Israrullah was dismissed by Amad Butt for 19 with the wicket falling at 43.
Rizwan added 37 with Sahibzada Farhan before falling to Kashif Bhatti for 40 (34 balls, five fours, one six). Asif who was promoted as a pinch-hitter scored 16 off four balls (two sixes, one four).
Iftikhar Ahmed carried the momentum with a blazing 36 off 18 balls (four fours, two sixes). Farhan top-scored for the side with 43 off 31 balls (five fours, one six).
Musadiq Ahmed and Adil Amin added 42 for the unbroken sixth-wicket partnership to propel KP past the 200-run mark. Musadiq remained unbeaten on 17 while Adil scored 26 off 13 (three fours, one six).
Kashif Bhatti took two wickets for Balochistan.
Scores in Brief:
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Balochistan by 55 runs.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 202 for 5, 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 43, Mohammad Rizwan 40, Iftikhar Ahmed 36; Kashif Bhatti 2-34)
Balochistan 147 for 9, 20 overs (Sohail Akhtar 61 not out, Abdullah Shafique 24; Asif Afridi 3-8, Arshad Iqbal 3-16)
Player of the match: Asif Afridi
Sunday’s matches:
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vs Northern -3pm
ATF Southern Punjab vs Home City Central Punjab -7:30pm
PCB names Pakistan A squad for Sri Lanka tour
SPORTS REPORTER
Lahore (October 2, 2021):-Left-handed top-order batter Saud Shakeel will captain future Pakistan hopefuls on the tour of Sri Lanka, which will consist of two four-day fixtures and three 50-over matches in Kandy and Colombo from 28 October to 14 November.
Saud played in three One-Day Internationals against England earlier this summer, while other internationals named in the 19-player squad include Abdullah Shafique (T20I), Arshad Iqbal (T20I), Haider Ali (ODI, T20I), Naseem Shah (Test), Usman Salahuddin (Test and ODI) and Zahid Mahmood (T20I).
To maintain consistency in selection, the selectors have also retained players who have recently been part of the national side but have been unable to break into the playing line-up. These include Kamran Ghulam, Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Haris.
With an eye on next year’s ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2022 in the West Indies, the selectors have included in the squad Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s teenage wicketkeeper Salman Khan and top-order batter Qasim Akram of Central Punjab.
Opportunities have also been awarded to exciting talents, such as Sindh’s 22-year-old mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Safi Abdullah (34 wickets and 245 runs in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2020-21), Irfanullah Shah (23 wickets in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2020-21) and left-arm fast bowler Akif Javed, who is returning to competitive cricket this season after missing the last season due to an injury.
Chief selector Mohammad Wasim: “The objective and purpose of such tours is to reward, encourage, motivate and prepare high-performing cricketers for future challenges, while also developing and strengthening our bench-strength.
“The average age of this squad is under 22 and includes players who have either been part of the national squads or are knocking at the doors of international cricket. The Sri Lanka tour will help these talented cricketers to further hone and polish their skills so that they are ready to perform at the international level.”
Pakistan Shaheens squad (in alphabetical order):
Saud Shakeel (captain) (Sindh) (both formats)
Haider Ali (vice-captain) (Northern) (both formats)
Abbas Afridi (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (50-over)
Abdullah Shafique (Central Punjab) (both formats)
Abrar Ahmed (Sindh) (both formats)
Ahmed Safi Abdullah (Central Punjab) (four-day)
Akif Javed (Balochistan) (50-over)
Arshad Iqbal (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Irfanullah Shah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Kamran Ghulam (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Khurram Shahzad (Balochistan) (both formats)
Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Naseem Shah (Southern Punjab) (both formats)
Omair Bin Yousuf (Sindh) (four-day)
Qasim Akram (Central Punjab) (both formats)
Salman Ali Agha (Southern Punjab) (both formats)
Salman Khan (wicketkeeper) (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) (both formats)
Usman Salahuddin (Southern Punjab) (four-day)
Zahid Mahmood (Sindh) (both formats)
Player Support Personnel: Ijaz Ahmed (head coach and team manager), Rao Iftikhar (Assistant coach), Mohtashim Rashid (fielding coach), Mohammad Javed (trainer), Faisal Rai (analyst) and Hafiz Naeem (physiotherapist).
Tour schedule:
21 Oct – departure for Kandy
28-31 Oct – 1st four-day match, Kandy
4-7 Nov – 2nd four-day match, Kandy
10 Nov – 1st 50-over match, Colombo
12 Nov – 2nd 50-over match, Colombo
14 Nov – 3rd 50-over match, Colombo
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