Sponsors of one-day series unveiled

The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced outline details of a forthcoming three-way one-day series, also involving Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, to be played in Pakistan from September 30. There will be seven one-day internationals in all, plus two Test matches against Sri Lanka.

In a sponsorship deal worth over Rs17million, the mobile-phone provider Paktel has been awarded the title sponsorship of the series, while Super Asia are the co-sponsors. Transmedia Advertising has won the rights to in-stadium advertising. Prizemoney, totalling over a million rupees, will come out of the Paktel sponsorship.

Akbar Khan, Paktel's national marketing manager, said: "Paktel is sponsoring this mega-event because we understand the love that this nation has for this game and for us the people of Pakistan are more important than anything else. This is our way of thanking the people of Pakistan for the huge support they have given to Paktel over the years. Cricket is the first love of every Pakistani and watching three countries of the cricketing arena is a sure treat for all of us."

Paktel was the first cellular mobile service operator in Pakistan, and for a long time the word Paktel was commonly used as another word for mobile phone.