Lahore: Quaid-e-Azam Trophy season 2020-21 is just around the corner and all six cricket associations have already announced their teams for the First XI tournament.
Here’s what all six coaches have to say prior to the event which is scheduled to start from October 25 in Karachi. Balochistan head coach Faisal Iqbal: “I am pleased with the squad we have chosen, the concept of First and Second XIs is all about player development and exposure. I have seen this model work very well in England and I am sure it will reap rewards in Pakistan in due course.
“Our long term plan is to develop players from Balochistan and to give exposure to as many players from the province as possible.
“I have given roles to the players and have spoken to them in detail about the expectations form them, the seniors and players from other regions who are representing the side will be expected to share their experience, knowledge and comfort the young and upcoming players especially the young talent from Balochistan like Abdul Wahid Bangalzai. “We played the National T20 Cup with the same mindset and I am hopeful that with a balanced squad we can both groom players for future and do very well in the most prestigious first-class tournament in the country.” Central Punjab head coach Shahid Anwar: “We groomed a lot of young players in the National T20 Cup, the likes of Abdullah Shafiq, Qasim Akram, Irfan Khan and Sohaibullah. We want to carry the same mindset in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, of course with a mindset of winning the tournament as we are the defending champions.
“Our foremost objective would be to play positive cricket and retain the trophy and we will work very hard in that regard.
“While a lot of our players are representing Pakistan in the Zimbabwe series and are unavailable at least in the first few rounds, we are still confident of delivering the goods. Ahmed Shehzad is back in our fold while Hasan Ali is also making a comeback.
“Azhar will be leading the side, so we have some top-class and richly experienced players returning while we have also picked performers from Second XI. We are really looking forward to an exciting season of four-day cricket.”
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa head coach Abdul Razzaq: “We have tried to cover all bases considering the pitches and conditions in Karachi. We have a good combination of established senior players and some upcoming junior players. I think my players to watch out for would be Mohammad Mohsin, Sameen Gul and Sajid Khan who did very well last season. – Agencies
