PSL match officials announced

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced match officials for the HBL Pakistan Super League 2021, being staged in Karachi and Lahore from Feb 20 to March 22.

Aleem Dar, Michael Gough and Richard Illingworth from the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires will join seven members of the PCB Elite Panel of Umpires to share the umpiring responsibilities.

These seven local umpires include Ahsan Raza, Asif Yaqoob (PCB Umpire of 2020), Faisal Khan Afridi, Imran Jawed, Rashid Riaz, Shozab Raza and Zameer Haider.

Former member of the ICC Elite Panel of Match Referees, Roshan Mahanama, along with PCB elite panelists Ali Naqvi, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Anees and Mohammad Javed Malik, will lead the playing control teams in the 34-match tournament.

The tournament opener between defending champions Karachi Kings and 2019 winners Quetta Gladiators at the National Stadium will be supervised by Aleem Dar and Ahsan Raza while Rashid Riaz will be the third umpire and Asif Yaqoob as the fourth umpire. Roshan Mahanama will be the match referee.

Officials:

PCB Elite Panel of Umpires: Ahsan Raza (Lahore), Asif Yaqoob (Islamabad), Faisal Khan Afridi (Sargodha), Imran Jawed (Karachi), Rashid Riaz (Lahore), Shozab Raza (Lahore), Zameer Haider (Lahore) ICC Elite Panel of Umpires: Aleem Dar, Michael Gough, Richard Illingworth PCB Elite Panel of Match Referees: Ali Naqvi (Lahore), Iftikhar Ahmed (Karachi), Mohammad Anees (Lahore), Mohammad Javed Malik (Multan) International Match Referee: Roshan Mahanama (Sri Lanka).—Sports Reporter

IoBM to host HEC Badminton from 17th

KARACHI: As many as 10 to 12 university teams from across Karachi are expected to participate in the HEC Intervarsity Zone ‘G’ Badminton Boys Championship 2020-21 which will be held at the Institute of Business Management (IoBM) from Feb 17-18.

The championship will be organised under the aegis of the Higher Education Commission-Pakistan University Sports Board (HEC-PUSB), Islamabad. All the matches will be played at IoBM’s multipurpose sports hall.

The Sindh Badminton Association will provide technical officials (referees) to officiate all matches. Proper arrangements have been ensured for the participants and organisers to follow SOPs and social distancing protocols. Special plans have been made to broadcast the matches via live streaming.—Agencies

Ex-cricketer Ilyas’ daughter-in-law in Olympics

LAHORE: Former Pakistan Test cricketer Mohammad Ilyas’s daughter-in-law has been selected to the UK gymnastics team which will participate in the Tokyo Olympics 2021.

According to Ilyas her daughter-in-law, Emma Andy, who is 16 and a half years old bagged a bronze medal in the last National Championship of UK and earned a place in the national team. Ilyas said that Emma in a telephonic call told him about her selection, and that she was extremely delighted. He said the teams of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England took part in the British Gymnastics Championship.

Ilyas said after participating in the Tokyo Olympics, Emma would visit Pakistan. “She has been visiting here in the past too and she always enjoyed her stay, especially in Lahore.”—Sports Reporter

PCB U-16 one-day event starts today

LAHORE: The PCB U-16 National One-day Tournament, the final event for the High Performance department for 2020-21 season, starts in Rawalpindi on Saturday.

The six-team event will conclude on Feb 23 when the top two teams feature in the final at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.

A total of 96 players, will feature in the 45-overs-a-side event, where the winners will receive Rs350,000 while the runners-up will pocket Rs250,000.

Ayub Park Cricket Ground, Pindi Cricket Stadium and Rawal Cricket Ground will host the 16 matches of the tournament.

Last year, Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were declared joint winners after the final of the tournament at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad was washed out.—APP

Honda Cup basketball begins tomorrow

KARACHI: Twelve leading teams of the city will compete in the first Honda Atlas Power Cup basketball tournament which commences here at the Arambagh-Abdul Nasir court on Sunday.

SOA vice-president Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh will inaugurate the tournament. The teams have been divided into four groups and all matches will be held on league basis. The tournament will be held under the auspices of the PSWA.—Agencies

Published in Dawn, February 13th, 2021