KARACHI, Oct 14: Several leading teams will be without top stars when the fifth round of the Patron’s Trophy Grade-I National Cricket Championship gets under way Monday.

PIA, currently joint leaders alongwith KRL with 27 points, will definitely miss five national players for all but the ninth and final round that commences from Nov 8.

Wasim Akram, Yousuf Youhana, Azhar Mahmood, Abdur Razzaq and Shoaib Malik are all members of the Pakistan squad for the Oct 26-Nov 4 Sharjah Cup. Until the team’s departure the selected players will attend a reconditioning camp at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from Monday.

The other team which has been hit hard by the forced absence of Pakistan players is Habib Bank, who will be without Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Taufiq Umer and Danish Kaneria.

Pakistan captain Waqar Younis and his deputy Inzamam-ul-Haq’s absence is certain to dent National Bank’s hopes of winning the championship. Both stalwarts were granted special permission by Pakistan Cricket Board to play in the tournament.

KRL representatives in the Sharjah-bound team are Shoaib Akhtar and newcomer Naved Latif. Allied Bank’s Rashid Latif and ADBP’s Saeed Anwar complete the 15-member Pakistan team.

Coming to the championship itself, the next couple of rounds are of great importance to the sides who are in running for top honours. Unlike previous seasons, the current event is being played on a league basis with the team securing most points winning the title.

Therefore, a depleted PIA side, led by former Pakistan skipper Moin Khan, could be in for a surprise when face minnows Sui Gas in the four-day clash at LCCA Ground. Sui Gas despite losing all four matches put up stiff fight at least on two occasions.

KRL, meanwhile, meet Habib Bank in a crucial match in Sialkot. A victory here with maximum points will put KRL firmly in hunt for their maiden first-class title.

PWD, too, have a golden chance to climb up the points table. Currently lying joint third with defending champions Pakistan Customs and National Bank, whom they surprised in the fourth round, PWD take on struggling Wapda at Gaddafi Stadium.

Fifth round schedule (Oct 15-18):

PIA v Sui Gas at LCCA Ground, Lahore (Umpires: Riazuddin and Ehtesham-ul-Haq. Match referee: Azhar Khan).

Allied Bank v National Bank at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi (Umpires: Athar Zaidi and Nadeem Ghauri. Match referee: Talat Mirza).

Pakistan Customs v ADBP at Sheikhupura Stadium, (Umpires: Saleem Badar and Rasheed Bhatti. Match referee: Taslim Arif).

Habib Bank v KRL at Saga Ground, Sialkot, (Umpires: Iqbal Butt and Ijaz Ahmed. Match referee: Khalid Niazi).

Wapda v PWD at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore (Umpires: Asad Rauf and Sajjad Asghar. Match referee: Tahir Hussain).

Standings

(Tabulate under matches played, won, lost, drawn, points):

KRL 4 2 0 2 27

PIA 4 2 0 2 27

National Bank 4 2 1 1 24

Pak PWD 4 2 1 1 24

Pakistan Customs 4 2 1 1 24

ADBP 4 2 2 0 21

Habib Bank 4 1 1 2 18

Allied Bank 4 1 1 2 15

Wapda 4 0 3 1 0

Sui Gas 4 0 4 0 0