The biggest challenge that now awaits the organisers is the successful handling of all the issues regarding the tournament here in the space of just five days that includes the preparing of good pitches, providing fool-proof security and to clean up the stands at the National Stadium.
An organising committee has been formed to manage and organise all the arrangements. Wazir Ali Khoja, who is the member of the PCB governing board has been named as the chairman, while Wasim Bari (Director Training & Education), Aftab Lodhi (Secretary to Governer Sindh) and Arshad Khan (Manager National Stadium Karachi) are its members.
According to Arshad Khan, the NSK will be ready to host a successful event.
“We started the preparations a few days ago because there were signs that the tournament might be shifted here. Thus the work was underway in advance and we hope to put up a good show,” Khan told ‘The News’ on Wednesday.
He added that they are in contact with the government and all possible measures would be taken to ensure fool-proof security since President Asif Ali Zardari has asked for shifting of the event.
Meanwhile, Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) president Siraj-ul-Islam Bukhari has welcomed the decision and said that he is thankful to the president for paying heed to the cries of people to shift the event out of Lahore, which has been hit hard by a dengue outbreak.
PCB officials were unwilling to move the tournament out of Lahore regardless of the dengue outbreak that has proved deadly for scores of people, while thousands continue to be affected by the virus.
It was on the intervention of President Zardari, who is also the Patron in chief of the board, that tournament was brought here. There was a tussle going on between the PCB officials and associations over the shifting of tournament but the egos of individuals and the claims of taking all precautionary measures was delaying the decision.
People working at the helm of affairs even said that Multan is the venue under consideration and the tournament will not be shifted to Karachi at any cost since the board’s policy is to promote cricket in smaller cities.
The players, meanwhile, have welcomed the decision and said there were some serious concerns in their minds.
“It’s a big relief that the event has come to Karachi because the players were really afraid of travelling to Lahore because of the dengue outbreak,” said Danish Kaneria, who will be leading Karachi Zebras in the event.
The tournament will begin from September 25 and will conclude on October 2, while three matches will be played daily. Only the top teams from each group will move into the semifinals.
All the matches will be played here at the National Stadium and will be telecasted live on Geo Super. In all 14 teams are taking part in the event, which has been divided in to four groups.
Group ‘A’ looks to be the most open group consisting of Karachi Zebras, Lahore Lions, Abbottabad Falcons and Quetta Bears.
Whereas, four strong teams have been placed in Group ‘B’ in the form of reigning champion Rawalpindi Rams, Multan Tigers, former winners Faisalabad Wolves and the debutants coming all the way from Afghanistan — Afghan Cheetas. This group certainly looks to be the one to look out for.
In Group ‘C’, the most dangerous team of the domestic T20 tournament — Sialkot Stallions — will be up against star-studded Lahore Lions and dangerous Hyderabad Hawks
Karachi Dolphins, which has been arguably the most unlucky side not to win the domestic T20 tournament, will vie with Islamabad Leopards and Peshawar Panthers to top the group in order to advance into the last-four.
Meanwhile, it has been learnt by ‘The News’ that daily-fee for players this time around would be Rs750, while the match-fee is Rs2500.
The winning prize money will remain the same as it was in last several tournaments — Rs2.5 million. The runners-up will get Rs1 million.
Group A: Karachi Zebras, Lahore Lions, Abbottabad Falcons and Quetta Bears
Group B: Rawalpindi Rams, Multan Tigers, Faisalabad Wolves and Afghan Cheetas
Group C: Sialkot Stallions, Lahore Lions and Hyderabad Hawks
Group D: Karachi Dolphins, Islamabad Leopards and Peshawar Panthers
Schedule
Sep. 25: Abbottabad Falcons vs Quetta Bears (Afternoon), Lahore Lions vs Hyderabad Hawks (4pm), Lahore Eagles vs Karachi Zebras (8pm)
Sep. 26: Sialkot Stallions vs Hyderabad Hawks (Afternoon), Karachi Zebras vs Quetta Bears (4pm), Lahore Eagles vs Abbottabad Falcons (8pm)
Sep. 27: Lahore Eagles vs Quetta Bears (Afternoon), Karachi Zebras vs Abbottabad (4pm), Lahore Lions vs Sialkot Stallions (8pm)
Sep. 28: Islamabad Leopards vs Peshawar Panthers (Afternoon), Faisalabad Wolves vs Multan Tigers (4pm), Rawalpindi Rams vs Afghan Cheetas (8pm)
Sep. 29: Rawalpindi Rams vs Multan Tigers (Afternoon), Faisalabad Wolves vs Afghan Cheetas (4pm), Karachi Dolphins vs Islamabad Leopards (8pm)
Sep. 30: Multan Tigers vs Afghan Cheetas (Afternoon), Rawalpindi Rams vs Faisalaabad Wolves (4pm), Karachi Dolphins vs Peshawar Panthers (8pm)
Semifinals
Oct. 01: 1st semifinal (4pm) between winner of Group A vs winner of Group C,
2nd semifinal (8pm) among winner of Group B and winner of Group D
Oct. 02: Final (7pm) KARACHI
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