Kamran confident Punjab will do well at Pakistan Cup

KARACHI: Punjab skipper for the Pakistan Cup 2019 Kamran Akmal on Thursday said he had a balanced side which had the ability to impress in the one-day event which begins from April 2 at the Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi.“We have a well-balanced squad with capable batsmen and bowlers. We have a good combination for the tournament and we really want to perform well,” Kamran said. Federal Areas will defend the title. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan are the other teams in the tournament. All 11 matches of the tournament will be played at the Pindi Stadium with the top two sides from the single-league competition progressing to the April 12 final.Punjab are searching for their maiden Pakistan Cup title. Their best performance to date was in the inaugural edition in 2016 when they reached the final. They failed to finish in the top two in the 2017 and 2018 editions.Kamran said Punjab had an explosive batting line-up that could provide a stiff challenge to the oppositions. “I feel we have some quality performers in the batting department. Khurram Manzoor, Sami Aslam, Iftikhar Ahmed and Fahad Iqbal give batting a good shape with their experience and pedigree. I really like the combination and I hope the batsmen will deliver for us,” the wicket-keeper batsman said.Kamran, who has represented Pakistan in 53 Tests, 157 ODIs and 58 T20Is, reposed confidence in his team’s bowling, saying: “Mohammad Asghar and Kashif Bhatti lead our spin department, while we have the experienced Mohammad Sami and Bilawal Bhatti leading our pace attack with Ehsan Adil. Sohail Tanveer, a versatile white ball performer, also gives us bowling depth.”The selectors have made one change to the Punjab squad. Left-handed batsman Hussain Talat has replaced Anwar Ali, who is injured and so unavailable for the tournament. Hussain was part of Pakistan’s ODI and T20I squads on the tour of South Africa early this year. He represented Islamabad United in the HBL Pakistan Super League 2019.Other than Kamran, Punjab have Sami Aslam and Khurram providing fire-power at the top of the batting order. Hussain, Fahad and Saad Ali form the middle-order. Saad and Hussain will be aiming to impress the selectors with the World Cup selection due after the Pakistan Cup. For this event, the selectors have the option of including a few more players if they feel it necessary before revealing the World Cup squad.Punjab have a formidable bowling department that covers almost all the bases for skipper Kamran. Sami, Sohail, Bilawal and Ehsan have the ability to unsettle any batting line-up while Asghar and Kashif provide capable spin bowling options.Karachi-born off-spinner Waleed Ahmed is another bowling option available to Kamran. The 26-year-old made an impressive start to his List A career when he took 10 wickets in his first five matches with a best of six for 28.Punjab squad: Kamran Akmal (WK, captain), Bilawal Bhatti, Ehsan Adil, Fahad Iqbal, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Sami, Ramiz Aziz, Saad Ali, Sami Aslam, Sohail Tanveer and Waleed Ahmed.

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