By: Aslam Chandio from Islamabad, Pakistan
National Selection Committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced an initial 30-player Pakistan’s U19 squad ahead of ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2014, beginning 14 February in Dubai. The squad will be reduced to 15 players for the mega event.
The tournament will be staged across seven venues in the UAE from 14 February to 1 March, and will also be participated in by Afghanistan, Canada, Namibia, Papua New Guinea (PNG), Scotland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) besides the 10 Full Members.
The National Selection Committee of the PCB has called these thirty U-19 Players for trial matches for selection of final 15-player squad for upcoming ICC U-19 World Cup.
These 30 players have been divided into two teams and will play practice matches on 10th January at Stags Cricket Ground, Lahore and 11th January at Model Town Greens Cricket Ground, Lahore.
The 30-player squad is: Sami Aslam, Imran Butt, Hussain Talat, Imam ul Haq, Ameer Hamza, Zafar Gohar, Karamat Ali, Fahad Farooq, Zia ul Haq, Muhammad Aftab, Muhammad Yaqub, Shayan Jahangir, Noor Wali, Saud Shakeel, Saifullah Khan, Shehran Malik, Hasan Raza, Rafay Ahmed, Kamran Ghulam, Irfan Ullah, Salman Saeed, Nisar Afridi, Zain Ullah Syed, Ammad Butt, Awais Iqbal, M. Imran Afridi, Imran Rafique, Ateeq ur Rehman, Sami Ullah and Muhammad Umair.
Two-time former champions Pakistan will open their ICC U19 World Cup title campaign against title-holders and traditional rival India at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS), Dubai Sports City, on 15 February 2014.
India, which also won the tournament under Mohammad Kaif and Virat Kohli in 2000 and 2008, respectively, defeated Pakistan by one-wicket in an enthralling semi-final before going on to beat Australia by six wickets in the 2012 final in Townsville, Australia.
In the 2010 event in New Zealand, Pakistan beat India in a last-ball thriller in the quarter-final in Lincoln. The two sides also met in the final of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2006 in Colombo where Pakistan defended a modest total of 110 to win by 39 runs.
In the 16-day tournament, 48 matches will be played across seven venues, which are: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi; Abu Dhabi Oval 1; Abu Dhabi Oval 2; Sharjah Cricket Stadium; Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai Sports City; ICC Academy Oval 1, Dubai, and ICC Academy Oval 2, Dubai.
The format of the competition is such that the 16 teams have been divided into four groups, with the top two teams progressing to the Super League quarter-finals, while the two bottom teams from each group qualify for the Plate Championship quarter-finals.
The UAE tournament will be the 10th edition of the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup since its inception in 1988. Australia won the tournament in 1988, 2002 and 2010, England was the champion in 1998, India held aloft the trophy in 2000, 2008 and 2012 and Pakistan was the winner in 2004 and 2006.
Aslam Chandio is an Islamabad based journalist. He tweets at @aslamchandio_