ABN-AMRO Twenty20 postponed to August
Pakistan's most successful domestic tournament, the ABN-AMRO Twenty20, has been postponed till August following scheduling problems
Cricinfo staff
19-Apr-2008
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Pakistan's most successful domestic tournament, the ABN-AMRO Twenty20, has
been postponed till August following scheduling problems.
The tournament has yet to find a set date or location in the domestic
calendar, despite being the biggest crowd-puller in recent years: the
first edition was held in April-May 2005, then in February 2006 and
finally in December 2006. The finals of the tournament have regularly
attracted crowds of over 30,000 in Lahore and Karachi, the two venues
where the tournament has been held.
"The tournament this year is likely to be played in August," said Shafqat
Naghmi, the PCB's chief operating officer. "We had a number of
international commitments and top players wouldn't be available for it
during then. In July the weather won't be right, so we have planned it for
August."
It is understood that the sponsors, ABN-AMRO, also prefer that month as it
would mean all of Pakistan's top players are available then for what is
the showpiece tournament of their sponsorship to cricket.
This also means, as Naghmi acknowledged, that plans for a Pakistan Premier
League (PPL) will be shelved until next year. "The PPL will not happen
till next year but we are keen on inviting foreign players to that as
well." But as a source close to the sponsors has pointed out, the current
format for the Twenty20 is not much different to the proposed PPL.
"We already have a city-based system for the tournament and our original
idea three years ago, as well as that of the PCB, was to find sponsors so
that they could make the teams franchises, much as the IPL has done," the
official told Cricinfo. "This format can be worked into the PPL."
It is not yet clear whether any teams from Pakistan will take part in the
Champions League, details of which have been informally firmed up over the
last few weeks. However various boards, including Pakistan's, were
involved in those discussions, suggesting that sides from Pakistan might
participate. In that case, as the PPL will not start until next year, it
is likely that the top two teams from the domestic Twenty20 will be
invited.