KARACHI: Pakistan Test all-rounder Shahid Afridi has been retained as the Karachi Dolphins captain, for the 2008-09 Royal Bank of Scotland ( RBS ) National Twenty20 Cup Cricket Championship that starts immediately after Eidul Fitr, leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has not been chosen in either Karachi team due to his finger surgery and the outstanding left-hander Fawad Alam gets ready to enter his fourth season in a row to extend his heroics at the national twenty20 level.
Karachi Dolphins have never won the Twenty20 Cup title, but they have been runners-up twice in the last three tournaments. And Fawad Alam was in his element when the competition was last contested in the 2006-07 season.
The highly promising youngster swept away most of the major individual awards, after the final of the ABN-AMRO Twenty20 Cup National Championship at the National Stadium Karachi on December 26 in 2006. Those who have followed his career should really not have been surprised.
In the final which his team Karachi Dolphins actually lost — as Sialkot Stallions retained their Twenty20 title — the then 21-year-old Fawad was declared Man of the Match. He captured five wickets for 27 runs in his four overs of slow left-arm and then top-scored for the Dolphins with a 43-ball 54 that included three fours and a six.
The Dolphins in the end lost by 14 runs and had to be content with the runners-up spot and Rs 500,000 in prize money instead of the cool million that the Stallions pocketed. But Fawad was adjudged Man of the Series also. If that was not enough, he was also declared the tournament’s Best Batsman as well as Best Bowler. All these prizes were worth Rs 25,000 each.
Earlier this week, going through a successful tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya with the Pakistan Cricket Academy team, Fawad scored a career-best unbeaten 302 in an unbroken 612-run third-wicket stand with Islamabad’s Raheel Majeed — who made 318 not out — as a full strength Kenya national team was thrashed by an innings margin in Mombasa.
Fawad, who turns 23 on October 8, has now represented Pakistan in 10 One-day Internationals and three T20 Internationals. For the moment, he would like to do his bit for Karachi Dolphins and help them win their first national twenty20 title.
Shahid Afridi was the Karachi Dolphins captain in 2006-07 also but, unfortunately, he wasn’t available for the final against Sialkot Stallions. Naumaullah led the team in the deciding encounter instead.
Although the Karachi Dolphins and Zebras teams are technically supposed to represent specific areas of the city in the National Twenty20 Cup, several players have appeared for both teams in different seasons. Faisal Iqbal, the Karachi Zebras captain for 2008-09, had led the Dolphins in the 2005-06 season.
SOHAIL KHAN GETS SELECTED FOR THE DOLPHINS
The exciting Malakand-born right-arm medium-fast bowler Sohail Khan has been included in the Karachi Dolphins squad and gets his first chance to have a go in the realm of twenty20 cricket. In his debut season in 2007-08, the now 24-year-old Sohail captured as many as 91 wickets in first-class cricket and then played for Pakistan in three One-day Internationals.
While Sohail is new to national cricket, it is quite a surprise that Saeed Bin Nasir, who will be 29 in December, has never played at the T20 level! With 5,604 runs in first-class cricket under his belt, at an average of 42.45 in a career that started just over a decade ago, Saeed now gets an opportunity to show his worth in the shortest version of the game too. He will be playing for the Karachi Zebras.
Danish Kaneria fractured the right hand ring finger while playing for Essex in the Englsih County Championship in late August. Following an operation, he is expected to be out of action for at least six weeks, after having represented the Zebras in all three previous T20 events.
Shahid Afridi has at his command a strong Karachi Dolphins side. The main batsmen include former Pakistan Under-19s captain Khalid Latif, the current Pakistan Academy skipper Khurram Manzoor and the evergreen Naumanullah.
In addition, there’s the meticulous Afsar Nawaz, wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed who has already represented Pakistan, pace bowlers Anwar Ali and Sohail Khan and, of course, the exciting Fawad Alam.
The rest of the Dolphins squad comprises batsman Asad Shafiq, all-rounders Faraz Ahmed and Tariq Haroon, off-spinner Tahir Khan and quick bowlers Malik Aftab and Tanvir Ahmed.
Five standbys have also been named. They are Shaharyar Ghani, Ali Asad — Pakistan Under-19s outstanding middle-order left-handed batsman and wicket-keeper, Akbar-ur-Rehman, Haaris Ayaz and Adnan Kaleem.
FAISAL IQBAL AT THE HELM FOR ZEBRAS
The 26-year-old Faisal Iqbal, a ‘veteran’ of 21 Test matches and 18 One-day Internationals, replaces Hasan Raza as the Karachi Zebras captain. Hasan led the team in the last two seasons, but now stands discarded for his Indian Cricket League (ICL) links. The Zebras, however, have never qualified for the National Twenty20 Cup semifinals before.
Faisal has a young squad at his disposal. However, the left-handed Shadab Kabir, a former Pakistan batsman, captained the Zebras in the inaugural competition back in 2004-05. Also in the team this season are the Pakistan reject Asim Kamal and the experienced Asif Zakir, in addition to Saeed Bin Nasir.
THe newer players in the Zebras outfit are the prolific opening batsman Shahzaib Hasan, the Pakistan Under-19s star leg-spinner Shahzaib Khan, pace bowlers Tabish Khan, Uzair-ul-Haq and Abdul Ameer, left-arm spinner Azam Hussain and off-break bowler Misbah Khan.
The team’s wicket-keeper will be Ahmed Zeeshan Malik while Fahad Khan is one of the members of the pace attack and Fahad Iqbal can be a devastating batsman on his day.
The five reserves announced are Agha Sabir, a left-handed opener who played either for the Dolphins or the Zebras in all three previous editions of the tournament, Nauman Alvi, Daniyal Ahsan, Rameez Raja and Faraz Ahmed.
Missing from the two teams is Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Sami, who joined the ICL last season. All-rounder Rizwan Saeed, middle-order batsman Wasim Naeem and wicket-keeper Amin-ur-Rehman also didn’t find favour with the Karachi selectors.
RS 4.395 MILLION AT STAKE AS PRIZE MONEY
A total of Rs 4,395,000 (almost 44 lakh rupees) is at stake as prize money in the 2008-09 National Twenty20 Cup event. The winners will be richer by 2.5 million rupees while the runners-up will gain an award of one million rupees.
The other main cash prizes are Rs 50,000 for the Man of the Match in the final and Rs 30,000 each for the tournament’s best batsman, best bowler, best fielder and best wicket-keeper.
The Man of the Match for every match will receive Rs 25,000. The holder of the titles of most sixes, most boundaries, most wickets, most catches in the semifinals and the final will also get Rs 25,000, each.
Previously, all sponsored national tournaments were connected to the name of the ABN AMRO Bank. It has only undergone a name change recently and is now known as the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Karachi Dolphins were the runners-up — to Faisalabad Wolves — in the inaugural competition in 2004-05. Sialkot Stallions went on to win the next two tournaments, with the Dolphins being the losing finalists in 2006-07 also.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could not find a proper slot for the National Twenty20 Cup in the 2007-08 season, and it was initially scheduled to start on January 10, 2008. It was then given a new date of February 9 and eventually put off till the next season.
One more rescheduling was on the card. From the new date of August 1, it was postponed to some day in the month of October. Now, the PCB and the sponsors have decided to hold the national event from October 4 to 8, to complete it within five days, before the Pakistan team proceeds on its tour of Canada where a four-nation Twenty20 series has been planned in the middle of next month.
Karachi Dolphins have never won the Twenty20 Cup title, but they have been runners-up twice in the last three tournaments. And Fawad Alam was in his element when the competition was last contested in the 2006-07 season.
The highly promising youngster swept away most of the major individual awards, after the final of the ABN-AMRO Twenty20 Cup National Championship at the National Stadium Karachi on December 26 in 2006. Those who have followed his career should really not have been surprised.
In the final which his team Karachi Dolphins actually lost — as Sialkot Stallions retained their Twenty20 title — the then 21-year-old Fawad was declared Man of the Match. He captured five wickets for 27 runs in his four overs of slow left-arm and then top-scored for the Dolphins with a 43-ball 54 that included three fours and a six.
The Dolphins in the end lost by 14 runs and had to be content with the runners-up spot and Rs 500,000 in prize money instead of the cool million that the Stallions pocketed. But Fawad was adjudged Man of the Series also. If that was not enough, he was also declared the tournament’s Best Batsman as well as Best Bowler. All these prizes were worth Rs 25,000 each.
Earlier this week, going through a successful tour of Zimbabwe and Kenya with the Pakistan Cricket Academy team, Fawad scored a career-best unbeaten 302 in an unbroken 612-run third-wicket stand with Islamabad’s Raheel Majeed — who made 318 not out — as a full strength Kenya national team was thrashed by an innings margin in Mombasa.
Fawad, who turns 23 on October 8, has now represented Pakistan in 10 One-day Internationals and three T20 Internationals. For the moment, he would like to do his bit for Karachi Dolphins and help them win their first national twenty20 title.
Shahid Afridi was the Karachi Dolphins captain in 2006-07 also but, unfortunately, he wasn’t available for the final against Sialkot Stallions. Naumaullah led the team in the deciding encounter instead.
Although the Karachi Dolphins and Zebras teams are technically supposed to represent specific areas of the city in the National Twenty20 Cup, several players have appeared for both teams in different seasons. Faisal Iqbal, the Karachi Zebras captain for 2008-09, had led the Dolphins in the 2005-06 season.
SOHAIL KHAN GETS SELECTED FOR THE DOLPHINS
The exciting Malakand-born right-arm medium-fast bowler Sohail Khan has been included in the Karachi Dolphins squad and gets his first chance to have a go in the realm of twenty20 cricket. In his debut season in 2007-08, the now 24-year-old Sohail captured as many as 91 wickets in first-class cricket and then played for Pakistan in three One-day Internationals.
While Sohail is new to national cricket, it is quite a surprise that Saeed Bin Nasir, who will be 29 in December, has never played at the T20 level! With 5,604 runs in first-class cricket under his belt, at an average of 42.45 in a career that started just over a decade ago, Saeed now gets an opportunity to show his worth in the shortest version of the game too. He will be playing for the Karachi Zebras.
Danish Kaneria fractured the right hand ring finger while playing for Essex in the Englsih County Championship in late August. Following an operation, he is expected to be out of action for at least six weeks, after having represented the Zebras in all three previous T20 events.
Shahid Afridi has at his command a strong Karachi Dolphins side. The main batsmen include former Pakistan Under-19s captain Khalid Latif, the current Pakistan Academy skipper Khurram Manzoor and the evergreen Naumanullah.
In addition, there’s the meticulous Afsar Nawaz, wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed who has already represented Pakistan, pace bowlers Anwar Ali and Sohail Khan and, of course, the exciting Fawad Alam.
The rest of the Dolphins squad comprises batsman Asad Shafiq, all-rounders Faraz Ahmed and Tariq Haroon, off-spinner Tahir Khan and quick bowlers Malik Aftab and Tanvir Ahmed.
Five standbys have also been named. They are Shaharyar Ghani, Ali Asad — Pakistan Under-19s outstanding middle-order left-handed batsman and wicket-keeper, Akbar-ur-Rehman, Haaris Ayaz and Adnan Kaleem.
FAISAL IQBAL AT THE HELM FOR ZEBRAS
The 26-year-old Faisal Iqbal, a ‘veteran’ of 21 Test matches and 18 One-day Internationals, replaces Hasan Raza as the Karachi Zebras captain. Hasan led the team in the last two seasons, but now stands discarded for his Indian Cricket League (ICL) links. The Zebras, however, have never qualified for the National Twenty20 Cup semifinals before.
Faisal has a young squad at his disposal. However, the left-handed Shadab Kabir, a former Pakistan batsman, captained the Zebras in the inaugural competition back in 2004-05. Also in the team this season are the Pakistan reject Asim Kamal and the experienced Asif Zakir, in addition to Saeed Bin Nasir.
THe newer players in the Zebras outfit are the prolific opening batsman Shahzaib Hasan, the Pakistan Under-19s star leg-spinner Shahzaib Khan, pace bowlers Tabish Khan, Uzair-ul-Haq and Abdul Ameer, left-arm spinner Azam Hussain and off-break bowler Misbah Khan.
The team’s wicket-keeper will be Ahmed Zeeshan Malik while Fahad Khan is one of the members of the pace attack and Fahad Iqbal can be a devastating batsman on his day.
The five reserves announced are Agha Sabir, a left-handed opener who played either for the Dolphins or the Zebras in all three previous editions of the tournament, Nauman Alvi, Daniyal Ahsan, Rameez Raja and Faraz Ahmed.
Missing from the two teams is Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Sami, who joined the ICL last season. All-rounder Rizwan Saeed, middle-order batsman Wasim Naeem and wicket-keeper Amin-ur-Rehman also didn’t find favour with the Karachi selectors.
RS 4.395 MILLION AT STAKE AS PRIZE MONEY
A total of Rs 4,395,000 (almost 44 lakh rupees) is at stake as prize money in the 2008-09 National Twenty20 Cup event. The winners will be richer by 2.5 million rupees while the runners-up will gain an award of one million rupees.
The other main cash prizes are Rs 50,000 for the Man of the Match in the final and Rs 30,000 each for the tournament’s best batsman, best bowler, best fielder and best wicket-keeper.
The Man of the Match for every match will receive Rs 25,000. The holder of the titles of most sixes, most boundaries, most wickets, most catches in the semifinals and the final will also get Rs 25,000, each.
Previously, all sponsored national tournaments were connected to the name of the ABN AMRO Bank. It has only undergone a name change recently and is now known as the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Karachi Dolphins were the runners-up — to Faisalabad Wolves — in the inaugural competition in 2004-05. Sialkot Stallions went on to win the next two tournaments, with the Dolphins being the losing finalists in 2006-07 also.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) could not find a proper slot for the National Twenty20 Cup in the 2007-08 season, and it was initially scheduled to start on January 10, 2008. It was then given a new date of February 9 and eventually put off till the next season.
One more rescheduling was on the card. From the new date of August 1, it was postponed to some day in the month of October. Now, the PCB and the sponsors have decided to hold the national event from October 4 to 8, to complete it within five days, before the Pakistan team proceeds on its tour of Canada where a four-nation Twenty20 series has been planned in the middle of next month.
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