Daily Times

LAHORE: Defending champions Pakistan Shaheens are all geared up to open their campaign in the ACC Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup when they take on Nepal at the Colombo Cricket Club Ground in Sri Lanka on Friday. The eight teams in the 50-over tournament are divided into two pools. Afghanistan A, Bangladesh A, Oman A and Sri Lanka A are a part of Group A, while Pakistan Shaheens along with India A, Nepal and UAE A are in Group B. After taking on Nepal, Mohammad Haris-led Shaheens will take on UAE A on 17 July at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium, while their last group match will be against India A on July 19 at the R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium. Top two teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals which will be played on July 21. The final of the tournament will take place on July 23.

Before arriving in Colombo on Tuesday night, Shaheens were involved in a six-day training camp at Lahore’s National Cricket Academy. They also underwent two-day training sessions in Colombo under the coaching panel led by Mohammad Masroor. The previous edition of the ACC Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup was held in Bangladesh from November 14 to 23 2019. Pakistan Shaheens won the 2019 iteration of the tournament beating hosts Bangladesh in the final by 77 runs at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

In the first semi-final of that competition, they defeated India Emerging Team in a thriller by three runs at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. In that match Omair Bin Yousuf and Amad Butt – the only two players part of the current Shaheens squad for the forthcoming tournament – contributed significantly to the team’s win. Opening batter Omair scored 66, while right-arm fast Amad took one for 43 including a brilliant death overs spell to help his side reach the final.

Squad: Mohammad Haris (captain, wicketkeeper) (Peshawar), Omair Bin Yousuf (vice-captain) (Karachi), Amad Butt (Sialkot), Arshad Iqbal (Swabi), Haseebullah (Quetta), Kamran Ghulam (Peshawar), Mehran Mumtaz (Rawalpindi), Mubasir Khan (Islamabad), Mohammad Wasim Jnr (North Waziristan), Qasim Akram (Lahore), Sahibzada Farhan (Charsadda), Saim Ayub (Karachi), Shahnawaz Dahani (Larkana), Sufiyan Muqeem (AJK) and Tayyab Tahir (Gujrat).

Non-traveling reserves – Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Junaid and Rohail Nazir.

Player support personnel: Shahid Aslam (manager), Mohammad Masroor (head coach), Hanif Malik (batting/fielding coach), Umar Rashid (bowling coach) and Imtiaz Ahmed (physiotherapist).

Pakistan’s fixtures in ACC Men’s Emerging Teams Asia Cup

Group B:

v Nepal – July 14, Colombo Cricket Club Ground (10am local time)

v UAE A – July 17, P Saravanamuttu Stadium (10am local time)

v India A – July 19, R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium (2pm local time).