ISLAMABAD March 17: A star-studded Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) outfit gets ready to take on the young guns of Rawalpindi when the National One-day Cricket Championship commences here from Thursday.

Boasting a strong line-up that features fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar Test discard Muhammad Wasim, all-rounder Yasir Arafat, pacer Sohail Tanvir, Bilal Asad and Ali Naqvi, the KRL indeed is one of the best teams competing in the tournament. Wasim will lead the KRL team which has been placed in Group ‘A’ alongwith Lahore Shalimar, Peshawar, Islamabad, Quetta and HBL.

KRL will be playing their first match on March 20 against Lahore Shalimar at the KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi.

Rashid Iqbal, the manager of KRL squad, is pinning high hopes on Yasir Arafat and Bilal Asad and batsmen Azhar Ali and Bazid Khan who are likely to form the backbone of KRL batting.

Speaking about the pace duo of Shoaib Akhtar and Sohail Tanvir, Rashid said that both of them will be key to KRL’s chances in the competition. Commenting on Shoaib’s availability for the event, Rashid said controversial fast bowler is likely to play most of the matches.

On the other hand, Rawalpindi team coach Sabih Azhar, while talking to Dawn said he was confident about performance of the younger players in the event as they were looking good in practice sessions.

Rawalpindi, led by Naveed Qureshi, will also see under-19 World Cup performers Umar Naeem and Yasir Ali featuring in the competition. Rawalpindi, placed in Group ‘D’ alongside Karachi Blues, Abbottabad, PIA, ZTBL, SSGC, will play their first match on April 20 in Hyderabad against SSGC.

Teams:

KRL: Mohammad Wasim (captain), Shoaib Akhtar, Bilal Asad, Bazid Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Arafat, Azhar Ali, Zulfiqar Jan (wicket-keeper), Ali Naqvi, Ali Khan, Fahad-ul-Haq, Saeed Ajmal, Faisal Afridi, Akhtar Ayub, Saeed Anwer (junior), Jaffar Nazir, Mohammad Irshad, Waqas Aslam.

Officials: Asif Mahmood (coach), Mohammad Rashid Iqbal (manager).

Rawalpindi: Naveed Qureshi (captain), Babar Naeem, Umar Amin, Owais Zia, Zahid Mansoor, Sajid Mahmood (wicketkeeper), Yasir Murtaza, Mohammad Ibrahim, Alamgir Khan, Yasir Ali, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Zameer, Mohammad Ayaz.

Officials: Sabih Azhar (coach), Asif Bajwa (manager).