Hafeez, Asif, Dahani and 5 other Pakistani player join Zim Afro T10 Squad
The much-awaited Zim Cyber City Zim Afro T10 is less than three weeks away, and the five squads for the tournament have been confirmed. Beginning 20th July, some of the best white-ball cricketers will descend in Harare, and entertain the fans with some very keenly contested games. The grand final of the tournament is scheduled for 29th July, with all the games being played in Harare.
The think tanks of the five franchises came together during a grand ceremony at the Player Draft and finalised their squads, forming impressive line-ups, which promises to produce scintillating cricket.
The Durban Qalandars have a squad of 15 players and drafted in the likes of Asif Ali, Mohammed Amir, George Linde, Hazratullah Zazai, Tim Sifert, Sisanda Magala, Hilton Cartwright, Mirza Tahir Baig, Tayab Abbas, Craig Ervin, Tendai Chatara, Brad Evans, Clive Madande, Nick Welch, and Andre Fleture.
The CapeTown Samp Army have 17 players on their roster, with stars such as Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shaun Williams, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Maheesh Theekshana, Sheldon Cottrel, Karim Janat, Chamika Karunaratne, Peter Hazlogou, Matthew Breetzke, Richard Ngarava, Zhuwao Cephas, Hamilton Masakadza, Tadshwani Marumani, Tinashe Kamunakewe, Parthiv Patel, Mohamed Irfan, and Stuart Binny.
The Harare Hurricanes also have 17 players in their camp, with impactful players such Eoin Morgan headlining the squad. Also on the team are Mohamed Nabi, Evin Lewis, Robin Uthappa, Donovon Ferraira, Shahzawaz Dahani, Duan Jansen, Samit Patel, Kevin Kothegoda, Christopher Mpofu, Regis Chakabva, Luke Jonwe, Brandon Mavuta, Tashinga Mushiwa, Irfan Pathan, Khalid Shah, and S Sreesanth.
The Bulawayo Braves will go into the inaugural edition Zim Cyber City Zim Afro T10 with a squad of 15 players, and have signed on Sikander Raza, Taskin Ahmed, Ashton Turner, Tymal Mills, Thisara Perera, Ben McDermott, Beau Webster, Patrick Dooley, Kobe Herft, Rayen Burl, Timycen Maruma, Joylord Gumbie, Innocent Kaia, Faraz Akram and Mujeeb Ur Rehaman.
The Johannesburg Buffaloes are the only team with a squad of 16 players, and they have acquired the services of Mushfiqur Rahim, Odean Smith, Tom Banton, Yusuf Pathan, Will Smeed, Noor Ahmad, Ravi Bopara, Usman Shinwari, Junior Dala, Blessing Muzarabani, Wellington Masakadza, Wesley Madhevere, Victor Nyauchi, Milton Shumba, Mohamed Hafeez, and Rahul Chopra.
All the teams will add another player to each of their squads in the coming days as five cricketers will be picked from the nationwide Emerging Player programme, which is designed to provide the youngsters with a chance to break onto the big stage.
8 Pakistan players:
Durban - Asif Ali, Mohammad Amir, Mirza Tahir Baig, Tayyab Abbas
Cape Town - Mohammad Irfan
Harare - Shahnawaz Dahani
Johannesburg - Usman Shinwari, Mohammad Hafeez
Sri Lanka's emphatic win over Zimbabwe ensures that they'll feature in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023. In the other contest, Dipendra Singh Airee helped Nepal to a gutsy win over UAE.
Sri Lanka rendered a flawless display on the field to cruise towards a nine-wicket win over Zimbabwe. This win helps them to the top of the Super Six table, and ensures that they'll remain among the top two sides at the end of this stage. Hence, they've qualified for the World Cup in India later this year.
So far, Sri Lanka haven't conceded a single total in excess of 200 in this tournament.
At Harare, under Airee's guidance, the Nepal lower-order helped them to a surprise three wicket win. Things seemed dire for the team at 63/6, but Nepal fought their way back in style. In the first innings, Sandeep Lamichhane (3/23) and Karan KC (3/36) led the Nepal charge, as the sub-continental side bowled out UAE for a modest total.
ICC
Mathew Hayden in an interview:
"Shadab Khan is a fantastic player. He is an individual of absolute quality. Like Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja), he is a three-dimensional cricketer"
"He is a dangerous hitter with the bat. He has got the variations with the ball and he is also a wonderful fielder, and just one further point around this, you win World Cups by fielding efforts"
"They are the little things that you don't see, that make a big difference in tournament cricket. Under pressure, those catches around the boundaries, those specially unique run-outs that happen, they are the things that will never really be statistically noted in the World Cup"
Sourov Ganguly in an interview:
“There is a lot of hype in this match but the quality has not been that good for a long time because India kept on winning one-sided. Pakistan probably defeated India for the first time in the T20 World Cup in Dubai"
“India did not play well in that tournament (2021 T20 WC) but according to me, India vs Australia tends to be a better game in the World Cup because the quality is better"
Rana reviews the recently concluded 5-match ODI series against New Zealand with an eye on Pakistan's preparations for the 2023 World Cup.
In his latest article, @Rana takes a hard-hitting look at yet another lackluster home-series performance by Pakistan, this time with a 2-2 T20I series result against a New Zealand devoid of their main stars.
@topspin reviews the recently concluded 3-match T20I series between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Sharjah.
Many thanks to Rana for his hard-hitting and in-depth review of arguably the most exciting and competitive eighth season of the Pakistan Super League.