LAHORE, Nov 5: The absence of eight top players has taken gloss off the eagerly-awaited fixture between traditional rivals Punjab and Sindh in the RBS Pentangular Cup, which starts at the Gaddafi Stadium.

With both sides languishing at the bottom of the standings, the enforced absence of Pakistan players has further dented their prospects of making the final.

Punjab, who lost their opening match against Federal Areas, will be without Shoaib Malik, Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Kamran Akmal and Saeed Ajmal, who have been picked in the Abu Dhabi-bound Pakistan squad to play in the West Indies. Likewise, Sindh have lost the services of Shahid Afridi, Khalid Latif and Fawad Alam.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced replacements for all the five Pentangular Cup squads.

Sohaib Maqsood and Asad Ali have been included in the Balochistan side in place of Abdur Rauf and Misbah-ul-Haq. Similarly, three changes were made for Federal Areas side. Mohammad Aamir, Mohammad Rameez and Kamran Hussain replace Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir and Rao Iftikhar.

Armaghan Elahi has been included in the NWFP side to relieve Umar Gul. Ayub Dogar, Azhar Ali and Zulqarnain Haider are included in the Punjab side. The Sindh squad includes Asad Shafiq, Ali Asad, Uzair-ul-Haq, Afsar Nawaz and Tabish Khan.

In other third-round match starting on Thursday, NWFP take on Federal Areas at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar.