KARACHI, March 30: The Patron’s Cup one-day cricket tournament begins from Sunday at six venues without the added attraction of top Pakistan stars taking the field.
While the senior team will be busy playing in the six-match One-day International series against India from April 2 to 17, the national ‘A’ squad, fresh from winning the triangular one-day tournament in Colombo on Tuesday, now prepares to face hosts Sri Lanka in two four-day fixtures from April 3 to 13.
Habib Bank, the defending champions, are forced to field a depleted squad in the 12-team competition since the likes of Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Danish Kaneria, Hasan Raza and Shahid Nazir are way on tour.
PIA, the last season’s runners-up, are also handicapped by the enforced absence of Shoaib Malik, Faisal Iqbal, Bazid Khan, Najaf Shah, Imran Tahir, Tahir Khan. But they can still have experienced men such as former Test captain Moin Khan, Asif Mujtaba, Ghulam Ali and Fazle Akbar in their line-up. They will also welcome Yasir Hameed, who has been overlooked for the Indian ODI series.
National Bank are without Mohammad Sami, Kamran Akmal, Salman Butt, Faisal Athar, Mohammad Asif, while PTCL miss Pakistan skipper Inzamamul Haq, Asim Kamal, Aamir Bashir, Ashar Zaidi, Zulqarnain Haider and Riaz Afridi.
Allied Bank are deprived of the services of Rana Navedul Hasan, Arshad Khan, Wajahatullah Wasti and Abdul Rauf.
It remains to be seen whether Test fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar is fit enough to represent KRL for whom all-rounder Yasir Arafat is unavailable since he is with the Pakistan ‘A’ team in Sri Lanka.
The tournament was originally scheduled to begin from Saturday, but owing a strike call the Pakistan Cricket Board decided to delay the start by a day. Because of this rescheduling, the first two rounds will be played on consecutive days.
The semifinals are slated to be played at Lahore and Karachi on April 13 and 14 respectively while the final is scheduled for Karachi on the 16th.
The teams have been divided into the following pools:
Pool ‘A’: PIA, Allied Bank, Wapda, ZTBL, PTCL and KPT.
Pool ‘B’: National Bank, Habib Bank, KRL, Pakistan Customs, Sui Gas and DHA.
Schedule
April 3: PIA v Allied Bank at Quaid-i-Azam Cricket Park (Karachi); ZTBL v KPT at UBL Sports Complex (Karachi); PTCL v Wapda at Niaz Stadium (Hyderabad); Habib Bank v National Bank at Iqbal Stadium (Faisalabad); KRL v Pakistan Customs at KRL Stadium (Rawalpindi); DHA v Sui Gas at Jinnah Stadium (Sialkot).
April 4: PIA v Wapda at Quaid-i-Azam Cricket Park (Karachi); Allied Bank v ZTBL at UBL Sports Complex (Karachi); PTCL v KPT at Niaz Stadium (Hyderabad); KRL v Habib Bank at KRL Stadium (Rawalpindi); Pakistan Customs v DHA at Jinnah Stadium (Sialkot); National Bank v Sui Gas at Iqbal Stadium (Faisalabad).
April 6: PIA v PTCL at UBL Sports Complex (Karachi); Wapda v ZTBL at National Stadium (Karachi); Allied Bank v KPT at Niaz Stadium (Hyderabad); Habib Bank v Pakistan Customs at Arbab Niaz Stadium (Peshawar); National Bank v DHA at Jinnah Stadium (Sialkot); KRL v Sui Gas at Iqbal Stadium (Faisalabad).
April 8: PIA v ZTBL at Bugti Stadium (Quetta); Wapda v KPT at UBL Sports Complex (Karachi); Allied Bank v PTCL at National Stadium (Karachi); Habib Bank v Sui Gas at Iqbal Stadium (Faisalabad); National Bank v Pakistan Customs at Gymkhana Ground (Okara); KRL v DHA at Sheikhupura Stadium (Sheikhupura).
April 10: PIA v KPT at UBL Sports Complex (Karachi); Allied Bank v Wapda at National Stadium (Karachi); ZTBL v PTCL at Bugti Stadium (Quetta); National Bank v KRL at Iqbal Stadium (Faisalabad); Habib Bank v DHA at Sheikhupura Stadium (Sheikhupura); Pakistan Customs v Sui Gas at Gymkhana Ground (Okara).
April 13: First Semifinal at Qadhafi Stadium (Lahore).
April 14: Second Semifinal at National Stadium (Karachi).
