KARACHI: The head coaches of the six Cricket Associations have finalised the Second XI teams for the three-day non first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, which begins on October 18 in Karachi. Zain Abbas leads the defending champions Southern Punjab, who begin their campaign against Umair Masood-led Northern. Azeem Ghumman captains Balochistan, while Central Punjab and Sindh are led by Mohammad Saad and Saifullah Bangash. Mehran Ibrahim, who took over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s captaincy after Khushdil Shah joined the men’s national team for the tour of Australia in the last season, will continue in the role. The six teams have gathered in a local hotel in Karachi for the competition, which will be played on double-league basis at four venues – KCCA Stadium, NBP Sports Complex, State Bank Stadium and TMC Cricket Ground. They begin their preparations from Tuesday at the three venues that host the first round matches. The players who are featuring in the National T20 Cup, being played in Rawalpindi, will join their respective sides in Karachi after the completion of the tournament. In the meantime, the teams can request their replacements for the first round fixtures. Meanwhile, players and player support personnel, who shifted from bio-secure bubble in Lahore or became part of their squads for the first time this season, underwent Covid-19 tests and after returning negative results were integrated into the bio-secure bubble. In line with the Covid-19 protocols announced at the start of the season, all matches will be played behind closed doors. To ensure health and safety of the respected members of the media and due to limited resources and facilities, on-field coverage will not be allowed. The Pakistan Cricket Board will provide daily round-ups in both English and Urdu. Squads: Balochistan 2nd XI: Azeem Ghumman (captain), Akbar-Ur-Rehman (vice-captain), Ali Waqas, Awais Zia, Gohar Faiz, Gulraiz Sadaf (wicketkeeper), Hidayat Ullah, Hayat Ullah, Jalat Khan, Mohammad Junaid, Mohammad Talha, Najeebullah, Shehbaz Khan, Shehzad Tareen, Taimur Khan and Usama Mir Central Punjab 2nd XI: Mohammad Saad (captain), Waqas Maqsood (vice-captain), Ahmed Safi Abdullah, Aitizaz Habibullah, Ali Shan, Anas Mahmood, Atiq-ur-Rehman, Farhan Khan (wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan Niazi, Kamran Afzal, Muhammad Akhlaq, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Imran Dogar, Nisar Ahmed, Qasim Akram and Zubair Khan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2nd XI: Mehran Ibrahim (captain), Zohaib Khan (vice-captain), Arshad Iqbal, Asad Afridi, Asif Afridi, Irfan Ullah Shah, Mohamamd Amir Khan, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Mohsin Khan, Mohammad Naeem Snr, Mohammad Sarwar, Musaddiq Ahmed and Waqar Ahmed. Northern 2nd XI: Umair Masood (captain, wicketkeeper), Umar Waheed (vice-captain), Ammad Butt, Athar Mehmood, Farzan Raja, Jamal Anwar, Kashif Iqbal, Munir Riaz, Nihal Mansoor, Raza Hasan, Shadab Majeed, Shiraz Khan, Shoaib Minhas, Taimur Sultan, Zaid Alam and Ziad Khan. Sindh 2nd XI: Saifullah Bangash (captain, wicketkeeper), Jahid Ali (vice-captain), Adeel Malik, Aamer Ali, Ammad Alam, Azam Khan, Danish Aziz, Fahad Iqbal, Hasan Mohsin, Mohammad Taha, Mohammad Umar, Saad Khan, Shahnawaz Dhani, Shehzar Mohammad, Tariq Khan and Waleed Ahmed. South Punjab 2nd XI: Zain Abbas (captain), Mohammad Imran (vice-captain), Ali Shafiq, Ali Usman, Anas Mustafa, Dilbar Hussain, Mohammad Basit, Mohammad Mohsin, Mohammad Rameez, Mohammad Umair, Mukhtar Ahmed, Salhuddin, Salman Ali, Tayyab Tahir, Waqar Hussain (wicketkeeper) and Zia-ul-Haq. Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2nd XI: schedule (all matches in Karachi): 18-20 Oct: Balochistan v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, State Bank Stadium; Central Punjab v Sindh, KCCA Stadium; Southern Punjab v Northern, TMC Ground 23-25 Oct: Balochistan v Southern Punjab, State Bank Stadium; Sindh v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, KCCA Stadium; Central Punjab v Northern, TMC Ground 28-30 Oct: Balochistan v Central Punjab, TMC Ground; Northern v Sindh, State Bank Stadium; Southern Punjab v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, KCCA Stadium 2-4 Nov: Northern v Balochistan, TMC Ground; Sindh v Southern Punjab, State Bank Stadium; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Central Punjab, KCCA Stadium 7-9 Nov: Sindh v Balochistan, KCCA Stadium; Central Punjab v Southern Punjab, TMC Ground; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Northern, State Bank Stadium 20-22 Nov: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Balochistan, State Bank Stadium; Sindh v Central Punjab, TMC Ground; Northern v Southern Punjab, KCCA Stadium 26-28 Nov: Southern Punjab v Balochistan, TMC Ground; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Sindh, NBP Sports Complex; Northern v Central Punjab, KCCA Stadium 1-3 Dec: Central Punjab v Balochistan, KCCA Stadium; Sindh v Northern, NBP Sports Complex; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Southern Punjab, TMC Ground 6-8 Dec: Balochistan v Northern, NBP Sports Complex; Southern Punjab v Sindh, KCCA Stadium; Central Punjab v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, TMC Ground 11-13 Dec: Balochistan v Sindh, KCCA Stadium; Southern Punjab v Central Punjab, NBP Sports Complex; Northern v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, TMC Ground.