The managements of the six Cricket Association sides have finalised their squads for Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament, Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22, which begins at three Punjab venues from 20 October.
Imran Butt, Azhar Ai, Iftikhar Ahmed, Nauman Ali, Fawad Alam and Mohammad Abbas will lead Balochistan, Central Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Northern, Sindh and Southern Punjab in the three-month-long tournament, in which each team will play the other twice in the 10-round group stage.
The first five rounds will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore, Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad and Multan Cricket Stadium, while the last five rounds and the final will be played in Karachi with UBL Sports Complex, SBP Sports Complex and NBP Sports Complex staging the round matches.
National Stadium will host the five-day final that will be played between 25 to 29 December.
The 2020-21 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy edition produced some thrilling cricket with the final, which was also played at the National Stadium, turning into a historic tie between Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Balochistan Team: Imran Butt (c), Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Akbar-ur-Rehman, Amad Butt, Ayaz Tasawar, Bismillah Khan (wk), Gohar Faiz, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Junaid Khan, Kashif Bhatti, Raza-ul-Hasan, Taj Wali, Umaid Asif, Yasir Shah (Subject to Fitness) Central Punjab Team: Azhar Ali (c), Abid Ali, Ahmed Bashir, Ahmed Shehzad, Bilal Asif, Bilawal Iqbal, Ehsan Adil, Faheem Ashraf, Hussain Talat, Junaid Ali (WK), Mohammad Saad, Muhammad Akhlaq (wk), Saad Nasim, Saif Badar, Waqas Maqsood and Zafar Gohar.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Team: Iftikhar Ahmed (c), Aamir Khan, Adil Amin, Ashfaq Ahmed, Asif Afridi, Imran Khan Snr, Israrullah , Khalid Usman, Musadiq Ahmed, Nabi Gul, Niaz Khan, Rehan Afridi (wk), Sahibzada Farhan, Sajid Khan, Sameen Gul and Tahir Khan.
Northern Team: Nauman Ali (c), Aamir Jamal, Aqib Liaqat, Ather Mehmood, Faizan Riaz, Mohammad Huraira, Mubasir Khan, Munir Riaz, Musa Khan, Nasir Nawaz, Rohail Nazir (wk), Sarmad Bhatti, Umar Amin, Umar Waheed, Usman Khan Shinwari and Waqas Ahmed.
Sindh Team: Fawad Alam (c), Asad Shafiq, Ashiq Ali , Hasan Mohsin , Khuzaima Bin Tanvir, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Asghar , Mohammad Hasan (wk), Mohammad Hasnain , Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Taha, Saad Khan, Shan Masood, Sharjeel Khan , Sohail Khan and Tabish Khan.
Southern Punjab Team: Mohammad Abbas (c), Aamer Yamin, Ali Usman, Azam Khan (wk), Hassan Khan, Imran Rafiq, Mohammad Ilyas , Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Mohammad Junaid, Naved Yasin, Tayyab Tahir, Umar Siddiq (wk), Waqar Hussain (wk), Yousaf Babar, Zain Abbas and Zia-ul-Haq.
Quaid-e-Azam Trophy:
20-23 Oct – Balochistan v Sindh, Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad; Central Punjab v Southern Punjab, Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Northern, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore 27-30 Oct – Balochistan v Southern Punjab, Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Sindh, Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad; Central Punjab v Northern, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore—APP
