KARACHI: Just three days after the conclusion of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship the focus now turns to the One-day Departmental Cup which commences from Thursday at three venues in Karachi with Hyderabad’s Niaz Stadium also in the mix for the next fortnight.

While the cream of national players would shortly be busy when New Zealand play hosts to Pakistan in a five-match One-day International series followed by three Twenty20 Internationals, the domestic competition has definitely lost its gloss with several departmental teams having to play without top stars in the eight-team event which will be played on round-robin basis with the white Kookaburra balls.

The final of the tournament — in which all matches are slated to start at 9:30am with 30-minute break for lunch between innings — will be played on Jan 13 at the well-equipped UBL Sports Complex this time owing to the partial renovation of the National Stadium, which has been designated as the venue for the Pakistan Super League final on March 25. UBL Sports Complex would also stage one of the semi-finals along with NBP Sports Complex on Jan 11.

Defending champions Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and the side they defeated in last season’s final, Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), both already have a depleted look about them.

The holders will not only sorely miss the settled opening pair of Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq but also all-rounder Fahim Ashraf. They are already without the injured Pakistan pace duo of left-armers Junaid Khan and Usman Khan Shinwari.

However, they should be comforted by the availability of skipper Ahmed Shehzad, who has been overlooked by the national selectors for the New Zealand one-dayers. Shehzad was an inspirational force behind their title victory with a career-best 166 in the semi-final against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and 68 in the final.

SSGC, on the other hand, are in a more precarious position than HBL since they are without regular skipper Shoaib Malik, Babar Azam, Mohammad Amir and Aamir Yamin, The new Quad-i-Azam Trophy champions SNGPL will be missing Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali and Shadab Khan — who skipped the first-class event final to play in the ongoing Big Bash T20 league in Australia before joining the national side in New Zealand — while Yasir Shah has been granted permission to represent Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash.

Of the remaining teams competing here, United Bank Limited (UBL) are more eager than ever to go all the way in coming edition because that would enable them to play the final on their own ground. In case of them finishing second or even fourth at the end of league round, UBL will also get the opportunity to play the semi-final on their home territory.

Led by Test opener Shan Masood, UBL can still afford to field a formidable side despite been handicapped by the forced absence of New Zealand-bound tourists Rumman Raees Khan and Mohammad Nawaz, who replaced the injured Imad Wasim in Sarfraz Ahmed-led Pakistan squad.

Wapda, who are probably still hurt at their failure to defend the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy title when they lost the final by 103 runs at the National Stadium early on Monday, need to regroup quickly to remain in contention after making to the last-four stage where Salman Butt’s men were outgunned by SSGC last season.

Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), curiously enough, shared the one-day honours in December 2013 when the final in Lahore was limited to just 11.4 overs — in which NBP limped to 59-5 — after rain had already forced it to a 20-over affair.

But they along with Pakistan Television (PTV) are unlikely to create ripples this time with NBP playing for pride more than anything else after been demoted to Grade-II following their dismal performance in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy this season after PTV lodged a protest against Fata for fielding Fawad Khan, who was reportedly employed with PTV at the time when the match took place in Sialkot last October.

Schedule:

Dec 28: UBL vs PTV (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); Wapda vs SSGC (SBP Sports Complex, Karachi); NBP vs HBL (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi); SNGPL vs KRL (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).

Dec 30: UBL vs HBL (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); SNGPL vs Wapda (SBP Sports Complex, Karachi); NBP vs PTV (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi); SSGC vs KRL (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).

Jan 1: SNGPL vs SSGC (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); HBL vs PTV (SBP Sports Complex, Karachi); Wapda vs KRL (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi); NBP vs UBL (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).

Jan 3: UBL vs SSGC (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); NBP vs KRL (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi); HBL vs PTV (SBP Sports Complex, Karachi); HBL vs Wapda (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).

Jan 5: UBL vs SNGPL (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); HBL vs KRL (SBP Sports Complex, Karachi); NBP vs SSGC (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi); Wapda vs PTV (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).

Jan 7: UBL vs Wapda (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); HBL vs SSGC (SBP Sports Complex, Karachi); KRL vs PTV (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi); SNGPL vs NBP (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).

Jan 9: SNGPL vs HBL (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); KRL vs UBL (SBP Sports Complex, Karachi); NBP vs Wapda (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi); SSGC vs PTV (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).

Jan 11: First semi-final — Team No.1 vs Team No. 3 (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi); Second semi-final — Team No. 2 vs No. 4 (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi).

Jan 13: Final (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi).

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2017