One-Day Cup Champions – Afridi, Rizwan, Shadab, Shakeel and Haris named captains

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One-Day Cup Champions – Afridi, Rizwan, Shadab, Shakeel and Haris named captains

Each of the five teams in the Championship One-Day Cup – Pakistan’s new, flagship form of the domestic 50-over tournament – will be captained by Pakistan internationals. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Haris have been announced as the captains of the teams they represent, in charge of the Lions, Wolves, Panthers, Dolphins and Stallions respectively.

Haris’ captaincy of the Stallions – chosen by team mentor Shoaib Malik – seems to mark a surprising, and sudden – return to the PCB’s heart. He last played ODI cricket last year, and was left out of Pakistan’s World Cup squad. He also lost his place in the T20 side, which is the format best suited to his abilities, during Wahab Riaz’s tenure as chief selector. However, he is now the captain of a team that includes Babar Azam, the captain of white football in Pakistan and Haris’ captain in Peshawar Zalmi, where both play in the PSL.

Unlike the previous iterations of the tournament, the PCB has pulled out all the stops to ensure maximum participation of Pakistan’s elite players. There is no international cricket in Pakistan associated with the tournament, almost every middle-contracted player is involved.

While the advisers were holding press conferences, Misbah-ul-Haq, the Wolves adviser, said any ineligible players would be kicked out of the tournament. The PCB provided a list of players who did not make it on that account, including former Pakistan opener Sharjeel Khan.

All matches will be held in Faisalabad, and the tournament will run from September 12-29 where the semi-finals will be played. The tournament ends eight days before the start of the first Test between Pakistan and England.

Each side has announced an extended team list, which will be cut on September 10. The sides do not have the names of connected cities, although each name has historical links to previous home cup teams: Lahore for the Lions, Karachi for the Dolphins, Peshawar for the Panthers. , Faisalabad for Wolves and, perhaps most famously, Sialkot for Stallions.

Sarfaraz Ahmed is the only player advisor, serving in that role with the Dolphins. Misbah (Wolves), Malik (Stallions), Saqlain Mushtaq (Panthers) and Waqar Younis (Lions) are the other mentors.

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