Pakistan’s best T20 cricketers will be back in action as the much-awaited National T20 Cup First XI tournament kicks off on Wednesday at the Multan Cricket Stadium. The 33-match tournament, which will be broadcast live in its entirety in High Definition on PTV Sports, marks the beginning of competitive cricket in the country after more than six months and, as such, serves as the curtain-raiser for the 2020-21 domestic season.
As per the overhauled structure, six teams will take part in the competition, with each team playing 10 games in the double round-robin leg.
With no international cricket going on for Pakistan currently, until the series against Zimbabwe, some of the top players of the country will be available, which will make the tournament ever more competitive.
These include the likes of Haris Sohail, Babar Azam, Kamran Akmal, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Rizwan, Junaid Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Hafeez, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shan Masood, Khushdil Shah and Mohammad Abbas.
The first half of the competition will be played in Multan, after which the teams will move to Rawalpindi. The tournament begins with the clash between defending champions Northern and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Multan on September 30.
Here’s a look at the squads of all teams:
Balochistan – Haris Sohail (captain), Bismillah Khan (vice-captain, wicketkeeper), Akbar-ur-Rehman, Akif Javed, Ammad Butt, Awais Zia, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Butt, Imran Farhat, Kashif Bhatti, Khurram Shahzad, Taimur Khan, Umaid Asif, Umar Gul, Usama Mir and Yasir Shah.
Central Punjab – Babar Azam (captain), Saad Nasim (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafiq, Abid Ali, Ahmed Bashir, Bilal Asif, Ehsan Adil, Faheem Ashraf, Irfan Khan Niazi, Kamran Akmal (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Qasim Akram, Rizwan Hussain, Sohaibullah, Usman Qadir and Zafar Gohar.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Mohammad Rizwan (captain, wicketkeeper), Junaid Khan (vice-captain), Arshad Iqbal, Asif Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imran Khan Snr, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Mohsin, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Usman Khan Shinwari, Wahab Riaz and Zohaib Khan.
Northern – Imad Wasim (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Ali Imran, Asif Ali, Farzan Raja, Haider Ali, Hammad Azam, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Musa Khan, Rohail Nazir (wicketkeeper), Sohail Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Amin and Zeeshan Malik
Sindh – Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain, wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Ahsan Ali, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Azam Khan, Danish Aziz, Hassan Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Taha, Rumman Raees, Sharjeel Khan and Sohail Khan.
Southern Punjab – Shan Masood (captain), Hussain Talat (vice-captain), Aamir Yamin, Ali Shafiq, Bilawal Bhatti, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali (subject to fitness), Saif Baddar, Sohaib Maqsood, Umer Khan, Umar Siddiq Khan, Zahid Mehmood and Zeeshan Ashraf (wicketkeeper).
Balochistan captain Haris Sohail: “We are really excited and want to give a better performance than last year when we lost the final. Our aim is to win the trophy and we have worked hard in the build-up. Last year, we played great cricket and it was only a passage of five to six overs in the final where we could not play good cricket and that is where I feel we lost the final.
“We have a strong top and middle-order while in Yasir Shah and Kashif Bhatti we have quality spinners, we have a strong pace attack with the addition of Umaid Asif.”
Saad Nasim captain Central Punjab: “It is a big opportunity for me to lead Central Punjab in the first leg of the tournament; we have some exciting U19 talent that has given new energy to our squad. We are determined to put the disappointing performances of last year behind us and target a semi-final spot, of course with an eye on the tournament trophy by playing the final. We have good combination of youth and experience. Kamran Akmal and Abid Ali will lead the batting charge with their experience and quality.
“Bilal Asif and Naseem Shah are quality bowlers in our ranks and we have upcoming players like Rizwan Hussain, Abdullah Shafiq, Qasim Akram and Sohaibullah. We also have quality all-rounders in Zafar Gohar and Usman Qadir. We have a balanced side full of talent and youngsters who have a bright future. Our aim is to play positive cricket and make it all the way in the tournament.”
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa captain Mohammad Rizwan: “Our team has all bases covered as we have strong batting and bowling departments. We are known for playing an aggressive brand of cricket and many people are rating us as favourites.
“We play Northern, the defending champions, in the opening match of the tournament and it is going to be good competition as both teams are highly competitive.”
Northern vice-captain Shadab Khan: “Leading Northern in the Multan-leg is a big opportunity for me, which I am aiming to grab with both hands. We are the title defenders and our team and the combination is pretty much the same as the last year. The boys are preparing hard and are looking in good shape despite returning to cricket after some time, which makes me confident that we will be able to defend our title.
“Two youngsters I am looking forward to making a mark in this tournament are Zeeshan Malik, who played with me at the U19 level, and Haider Ali, who could not play last year but is all set to play a vital role in our team this season.”
Sindh captain Sarfaraz Ahmed: “I think in our team, Sharjeel Khan will play a key role. He is a dashing batsman and stroke player and when he plays well he makes a match one-sided. In T20 format, you need to perform in both batting and bowling departments, we have balance and experience in both departments.
“We would aim to gain and then sustain momentum with an eye on the semi-finals; T20 is a kind of format where momentum is the key and if we get that early we can go a long way in the tournament.”
Southern Punjab captain Shan Masood: “We are well-aware that this tournament is going to be highly competitive as all the top T20 players in the country are participating in it. With this tournament being played on double-league basis, what matters the most is how the teams finish and carry the momentum from here to the Rawalpindi-leg.
“I am very happy with the core of our team, which might not include big names but comprise youngsters who will be empowered and will be designated responsibilities in all departments. Our coach Abdur Rehman has put in a lot of thought in selecting this team, which provides us ample options depending on what side we play in which stadium. I am very confident that if we stick to our plans, we will play the final in Rawalpindi.”
Here’s the full schedule and timings of National T20 Cup 2020:
30-SEP-2020, 03:30 PM
1st Match, Multan, Sep 30 2020, National T20 Cup
Northern v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
30-SEP-2020, 08:00 PM
2nd Match, Multan, Sep 30 2020, National T20 Cup
Central Punjab v Southern Punjab
01-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
3rd Match, Multan, Oct 1 2020, National T20 Cup
Balochistan v Sindh
01-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
4th Match, Multan, Oct 1 2020, National T20 Cup
Northern v Southern Punjab
02-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
5th Match, Multan, Oct 2 2020, National T20 Cup
Balochistan v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
02-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
6th Match, Multan, Oct 2 2020, National T20 Cup
Central Punjab v Sindh
03-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
7th Match, Multan, Oct 3 2020, National T20 Cup
Northern v Central Punjab
03-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
8th Match, Multan, Oct 3 2020, National T20 Cup
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Southern Punjab
04-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
9th Match, Multan, Oct 4 2020, National T20 Cup
Balochistan v Southern Punjab
04-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
10th Match, Multan, Oct 4 2020, National T20 Cup
Northern v Sindh
05-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
11th Match, Multan, Oct 5 2020, National T20 Cup
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Sindh
05-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
12th Match, Multan, Oct 5 2020, National T20 Cup
Balochistan v Central Punjab
06-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
13th Match, Multan, Oct 6 2020, National T20 Cup
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Central Punjab
06-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
14th Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 6 2020, National T20 Cup
Balochistan v Northern
09-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
15th Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 9 2020, National T20 Cup
Northern v Central Punjab
09-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
16th Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 9 2020, National T20 Cup
Sindh v Southern Punjab
10-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
17th Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 10 2020, National T20 Cup
Balochistan v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
10-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
18th Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 10 2020, National T20 Cup
Central Punjab v Sindh
11-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
19th Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 11 2020, National T20 Cup
Northern v Southern Punjab
11-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
20th Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 11 2020, National T20 Cup
Balochistan v Sindh
12-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
21st Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 12 2020, National T20 Cup
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Southern Punjab
12-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
22nd Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 12 2020, National T20 Cup
Balochistan v Central Punjab
13-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
23rd Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 13 2020, National T20 Cup
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Sindh
13-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
24th Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 13 2020, National T20 Cup
Central Punjab v Southern Punjab
14-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
25th Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 14 2020, National T20 Cup
Northern v Sindh
14-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
26th Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 14 2020, National T20 Cup
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Central Punjab
15-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
27th Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 15 2020, National T20 Cup
Balochistan v Northern
15-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
28th Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 15 2020, National T20 Cup
Sindh v Southern Punjab
16-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
29th Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 16 2020, National T20 Cup
Northern v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
16-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
30th Match, Rawalpindi, Oct 16 2020, National T20 Cup
Balochistan v Southern Punjab
17-OCT-2020, 03:30 PM
1st Semi-Final, Rawalpindi, Oct 17 2020, National T20 Cup
TBA
TBA
17-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
2nd Semi-Final, Rawalpindi, Oct 17 2020, National T20 Cup
TBA
TBA
18-OCT-2020, 08:00 PM
Final, Rawalpindi, Oct 18 2020, National T20 Cup
TBA
TBA
Pakistan T20 Cup 2020 Telecast and Live Streaming:
PTV Sports has the broadcasting rights for the tournament in Pakistan but it will not be aired in other countries. The live streaming is expected to be available on PTV Sports app.