Pakistan: Final round of Quaid Trophy ties from today (17 Jan 1998)

17 January 1998 S

Final round of Quaid Trophy ties from today

By Our Sports Reporter

KARACHI, Jan 16: Karachi Blues go into their last league round match against Faisalabad today here at the National Stadium with the knowledge that an outright victory will ensure them a berth in the final of the 40th edition of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-I National Cricket Championship.

The Blues, who have 50 points, are currently placed third in the nine-team competition. If the Blues are unable to beat Faisalabad, the final of the country's premier domestic cricket championship will be automatically played between the top two sides on the points' table - Bahawalpur and Peshawar - irrespective of any result from their clash at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar.

However, in case the Blues win, Bahawalpur, who have 58 points, will need only to draw against Peshawar, who are lying in second spot with 52 points, to qualify for the final. For Peshawar, the alternative route to the final will be an outright victory.

The Blues are severely handicapped by the absence of their injured skipper and most reliable batsman Asif Mujtaba for the Faisalabad clash. In Mujtaba's absence, another Pakistan Test discard, Basit Ali leads the side.

Pakistan wicketkeeper Moin Khan is also unavailable for this crucial match as he has proceeded to Saudi Arabia to perform Umra.

The Blues will pick their final XI from the following: Basit Ali (captain), Shoaib Muhammad, Ali Naqvi, Azam Khan, Munir-ul-Haq, Zafar Iqbal, Shahid Iqbal, Nadeem Khan, Ali Gohar, Lal Faraz, Ali Hussain Rizvi, Naeem Tayyab, Rizwan Qureshi, Asim Kamal, Majid Mujtaba, Akif Alvi, Kashif Ahmed and Rizwan Qayyum. Riazuddin and Feroz Butt will supervise the match with former Test spinner Iqbal Qasim as the match referee.

Meanwhile, the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA)'s second string, Karachi Whites, take on Gujranwala at the PAF Stadium (Sharea Faisal), which becomes the 14th first-class venue in the city and the 69th overall in Pakistan.

However, there seems to be some confusion at the last-minute change of the venue (originally, this match was scheduled to be played at the KCCA Stadium), since a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) official confirmed on Friday that the PCB had no knowledge about this development till the filing of this report.

The Whites, who were the runners-up in the previous two seasons, will be led by Aamir Hanif. Since this match will have no bearing on the final standings, the KCCA selection committee have decided to make wholesale changes in the line-up for Saturday, inducting many of those who were in the squad but were not required in previous matches.

The Whites squad comprises: Aamir Hanif (captain), Farhan Adil, Shahid Naqi, S.M. Babar, Irfanullah, Asif Muhammad, Abid Hanif, Taufiq Badaruddin, Abid Hanif, Rashid Hanif, Haaris Ayaz, Amjad Hussain, Salman Huda, Atiq-uz-Zaman, Zaid Mir, Baqar Rizvi and Asim Zaidi. Mahboob Shah and Shakeel Khan will officiate in this four-day match while ex-Test pace bowler Niaz Ahmed will act as the match referee.

In the remaining matches, last season's champions, Lahore City, meet Rawalpindi at the Pindi Cricket Stadium while Multan face Islamabad at the Biscuit Factory Ground in Sahiwal.

Source:: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)