LAHORE: Samar Ishaque will lead Samar Ishaque will lead Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) in the AFC President’s Football Cup, which gets underway in Lahore next week.

KRL will lead Pakistan’s charge in the tournament set to begin on May 8 at the Punjab Stadium.

A 24-member KRL squad was named on Friday, comprising members of Pakistan’s national and youth teams, with Tariq Lutfi as its head coach. Mohammad Ayaz Butt has been named as the manager while Muhammad Kamran will deputise captain Ishaque during the tournament.

The three-nation tournament also involves Chinese Taipei and Magnolia. Bangladesh’s Sheikh Jamal Dhanmundi were also among the participants, until they pulled out of the tournament on security fears.

KRL are the reigning champions of the National Challenge Cup, which they won for the fourth consecutive time. The Rawalpindi-based club have also won the Pakistan Premier League in 2009 and 2011.

KRL: Nabi Shahid, Muhammad Shahid, Muhammad Zeeshan, Kamran Khan, Samar Ishaq, Abbas Hussnain, Zia-ul-Salam, Mahmood Khan, Muhammad Rizwan Asif, Muhammad Qasim, Kaleemullah, Muhammad Osman Mohkum, Ahsan Ullah, Saddam Hussain, Yasir Afridi, Muhammad Abid Khan, Bilawal-ur-Rehman, Muhammad Adil, Saquib Hanif, Saeed Mudasar, Saad Ullah, Saeed, Mumtaz Tanveer and Ghulam Nabi.