Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi. (Source – Twitter/X)
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) gave their 50-over domestic competition a different version and the league will be called as Champions One-Day Cup. A total of five teams will vie for the coveted title as Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Saud Shakeel, and Mohammad Haris have been announced as five captains.
The star Pakistan players will captain teams Lions, Wolves, Panthers, Dolphins, and Stallions respectively. Shoaib Malik has been appointed as the mentor of the Stallions and Rauf has been named as the captain of the side despite a strained relationship with PCB. The management had previously stated that the T20 format is conducive for Rauf, but the pacer missed T20 World Cup 2024 as well as a place in the T20I squad.
With no international schedule coinciding with the tournament, all Pakistan team players will grace the stage. The mentor of Wolves, Misbah Ul Haq stated that any players deemed unfit will be excluded from the squad.
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It is worth noting that, the tournament will be held from September 12 to September 29, with playoffs replacing the usual semifinal format. Though the teams do not have any city names prefixed or suffixed, it is understandable that Lahore for Lions, Karachi for Dolphins, Peshawar for Panthers, Faisalabad for Wolves, and, Sialkot for Stallions will be the affixes.
Other than Misbah and Malik mentoring their respective teams, Saqlain Mushtaq will mentor Panthers and Lions will be mentored by Waqar Younis. Eight days after the tournament concludes, Pakistan will play its first Test against touring England.