Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is organizing a T20 festival match in Muzaffarabad – the capital of Azad Kashmir – on 54th Defence Day of Pakistan.
The match will be a season-opener and will be played on 6th September at Muzaffarabad Cricket Stadium.
The initiative is aimed at promoting cricket in the region, as the venue has been picked to stage domestic matches under the new system.
Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed and former Test captain Azhar Ali will lead the two sides – PCB Chairman’s XI and AJK Prime Minister’s XI, respectively.
Among local cricketers, many stars including Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Bilal Asif, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Rahat Ali, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shan Masood, and Usman Shinwari will also be seen in action.
Former captain Misbah-ul-Haq and parliamentarian Ali Amin Gandapur will also participate in the festival match.
The two squads are:
PCB Chairman’s XI –
| Sarfaraz Ahmed (cap) | Abid Ali | Babar Khaliq | Bilal Asif |
| Faizan Saleem | Babar Azam | Misbah-ul-Haq | Moin Parvez |
| Imam-ul-Haq | Saqlain Gillani | Shadab Majeed | Shan Masood |
| Usman Maroof | Usman Shinwari |
AKJ Prime Minister’s XI –
| Azhar Ali (capt.) | Asad Shafiq | Aqib Liaqat | Hassan Raza |
| Iftikhar Ahmed | Mohammad Rizwan | Naveed Malik | Rahat Ali |
| Raja Farhan | Zafar Gohar | Mir Hamza | Ali Amin Gandapur |
| Imam-ul-Haq |
Imam Ul Haq Dono Side Se Khelga ? Wah