Captains and provisional squads confirmed for Champions Cup
Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has revealed the captains for the five teams participating in the Champions One-Day Cup, along with provisional rosters for the tournament. The event will take place in Faisalabad from 12-29 September. The captains were designated by the team mentors: Misbah-ul-Haq (Wolves), Saqlain Mushtaq (Panthers), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Dolphins), Shoaib Malik (Stallions), and Waqar Younis (Lions).
Saud Shakeel, Pakistan’s Test vice-captain, has been named the captain of the Dolphins. Shaheen Shah Afridi, the former Pakistan T20I captain, will lead the Lions, while the Panthers will be guided by former white-ball vice-captain Shadab Khan. Mohammad Haris, captain of Pakistan Shaheens, will head the Stallions, and Mohammad Rizwan, a former all-format vice-captain, will lead the Wolves.Tickets for Champions One-Day Cup go on sale
The Champions One-Day Cup will showcase the premier cricketers from the country in this 50-over format tournament. All matches will start at 3pm, except for the Lions vs Panthers game on 16 September, which will kick off at 9:30am. The tournament will end with three playoff games over four days, concluding with the final on Sunday, 29 September.
Misbah-ul-Haq’s Wolves will take on Saqlain Mushtaq’s Panthers in the opening match on 12 September.
The PCB has also disclosed provisional squads for the five teams, chosen by the mentors through a draft from a pool of 150 players. This pool was supplied by the PCB following fitness assessments, a key selection criterion for domestic contracted players. Centrally contracted players will undergo fitness tests in Faisalabad on 7 and 9 September.
Of the 150 players, 125 were standout performers from the past three domestic seasons. The remaining 25 were wildcards, selected based on their experience and performances for Pakistan, Pakistan Shaheens, and Pakistan Under-19 teams over the last three years.
Each team includes existing centrally contracted players:
Dolphins: Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf, and Sarfaraz Ahmed
Lions: Abdullah Shafique, Aamir Jamal, Imam-ul-Haq, and Shaheen Shah Afridi
Panthers: Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, and Usama Mir
Stallions: Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, and Zaman Khan
Wolves: Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, and Shahnawaz Dahani
Centrally contracted players not included in the squads are Mohammad Nawaz (due to personal reasons), Arshad Iqbal, Hasan Ali, Ihsanullah, and Mohammad Wasim Jnr (undergoing rehabilitation).
In addition to Imad Wasim, who is currently participating in the CPL, the following players have made themselves unavailable for the Faisalabad tournament: Ahmed Shehzad, Azam Khan (CPL), Haris Sohail, Mohammad Amir (CPL), Mohammad Abbas (County cricket in the UK), Mohammad Ilyas, and Umar Akmal. Fakhar Zaman, also in the CPL, is expected to return on 10 September.
Other players in rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy include Ahsan Ali, Athar Mahmood, Rizwan Hussain, and Zeeshan Zamir, along with Arshad Iqbal, Hasan Ali, Ihsanullah, and Mohammad Wasim Jnr.
Nine domestic contracted players were left out of the Champions One-Day Cup squads after failing their fitness tests. They are: Ali Shafique, Ali Zaryab, Arif Yaqoob, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Rameez Jnr, Saad Baig, Rameez Aziz, Sharjeel Khan, and Shawaiz Irfan.
Four cricketers returning to competitive cricket after successfully passing their fitness tests and completing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy are: Hunain Shah (Lions), Sameen Gul, Sufiyan Moqim (both Dolphins), and Shahnawaz Dahani (Wolves).
Squads (to be reduced to 15 players on 10 September):
DOLPHINS: Saud Shakeel (captain, Karachi), Aftab Ibrahim (Karachi), Asif Ali (Faisalabad), Awais Ali (Gujranwala), Faheem Ashraf (Kasur), Kashif Ali (Rawalpindi), Mir Hamza (Karachi), Mohammad Huraira (Sialkot), Mohammad Abbas Afridi (Peshawar), Muhammad Akhlaq (Kamoki), Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (Karachi), Muhammad Riazullah (Peshawar), Noman Ali (Hyderabad), Qasim Akram (Lahore), Sameen Gul (Jamrud), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Karachi), Sahibzada Farhan (Peshawar), Sufiyan Moqim (Kotli), Umar Amin (Rawalpindi), and Usman Qadir (Lahore)
