Daily Times

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has finalised the squads, through players’ draft, for the Pakistan One-day Cup. The event is likely to begin on April 14. The squads were announced during a ceremony at a local hotel here Wednesday. PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan, PCB executive committee chairman Najam Sethi and PCB chief operating officer Subhan Ahmad were also present on the occasion. Azhar Ali, who was not picked for Pakistan’s upcoming tour to the Caribbean, has been selected in the Balochistan squad under open selection category. A team can choose any player from this group. Another player Salman Butt, who has completed his five-year suspension in a spot-fixing case, has been selected for Punjab. Salman had helped Pakistan WAPDA won the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy last year as their captain. Despite being cleared from the PCB, he has not been selected in any of the two editions of the Pakistan Super League.

Paceman Mohammad Asif, who also completed five-year suspension along with Salman, could not find a place in any of the five squads. It is interesting to know that middle-order batsman Umar Akmal, who was declared unfit by the PCB and was not selected in the West Indies-bound squad, has been named Punjab’s captain. Wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan has been named to lead Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, fast-medium bowler Anwar Ali will head Sindh, all-rounder Imad Wasim will captain Islamabad while Fakhar Zaman, a new entry in the Pakistan squad, has been picked as skipper of the Balochistan team.

Squads:

ISLAMABAD: Imad Wasim (captain), Haris Sohail, Sami Aslam, Abid Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Hasan Khan, Zohaib Ahmed, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Sameen Gul, Abdullah Shafiq, Sarmad Bhatti, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Irfan and Rohail Nazir.

PUNJAB: Umar Akmal (captain) Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Hammad Azam, Umar Amin, Khushdil Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Junaid Khan, Bilawal Bhatti, Fahim Ashraf, Raza Ali Dar, Abdul Rahman, Saad Nasim, Nasir Nawaz and Arsal Sheikh.

SINDH: Anwar Ali (captain), Khurram Manzoor, Fawad Alam, Umar Gul, Asif Zakir, Rumman Raees, Usama Mir, Mir IIamza, Mohammad Nawaz, Akbar-ur-Rehman, Mohammad Hasan, Saif Badar, Zain Abbas, Hasan Mohsin and Saud Shakeel.

KP: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Shoaib Malik, Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmad. Israrullah, Adil Amin, lmran But, Mohammad Sami, Waqas Maqsood, Zafar Gohar, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Naeem, Taj Wali, Imran Khan Senior and Nabi Gul.

BALOCHISTAN: Fakhar Zaman (captain), Azhar Ali, Sohaib Maqsood, Usman Shinwari, Saad Ali, Imamul Haq, Ghulam Mudassir, Bismillah Khan, Khalid Usman, Azizullah, Agha Salman, Aamer Yamin, Rameez Aziz, Taimoor Khan and Hammal Wahab.