KARACHI: If Habib Bank Limited (HBL) fail to make their
second straight final of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket
Championship, they will have a valid reason for missing out — the
somewhat contentious T10 league which has demeaned the status of
Pakistan’s premier first-class event.
Currently sitting
two points behind Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) in Group-I,
HBL head into their last Super Eight fixture on Friday with a virtual
second XI against Lahore Whites at the NBP Sports Complex.
Regular
skipper Ahmed Shehzad, in-form strike bowler Umar Gul and all-rounder
Fahim Ashraf join Fakhar Zaman to make quick bucks from the frivolous
four-day league in Sharjah, which clashes directly with the Super Eight
fixtures this week.
While international duty and the
Bangladesh Premier League already saw Fakhar and Junaid playing a
handful of matches in the championship for their local employers, HBL
have not been just hit hard by injuries to Junaid and Usman Khan
Shinwari but Imam-ul-Haq is uncertain to play due to a foot infection.
But
despite them being absent for most of the championship, last season’s
runners-up HBL have done exceptionally well to come within touching
distance of a repeat final against Wapda, the department which won the
title on first innings lead.
Although Lahore Whites have
lost both their Super Eight matches, the regional outfit could turn it
around by killing off HBL’s title hopes with a consolation win.
After
their stunning turnaround victory against Lahore Whites, SNGPL have now
emerged as firm favourites to reach the final, in the wake of HBL’s
precarious situation. But Mohammad Hafeez’s men are aware of the threat
Lahore Blues offer, particularly their portent bowling line-up led by
the evergreen Aizaz Cheema.
Thus, the clash at the Niaz
Stadium in Hyderabad assumes significant importance because if Lahore
Blues — who have already outgunned Lahore Whites by nine wickets in the
first round — come out winners and HBL lose or even draw against Lahore
Whites, then they would be progressing to the Dec 21-25 final as Group-I
qualifiers.
Salman Butt-led Wapda, meanwhile, have
mathematically already qualified for the title-decider after opening a
10-point cushion in Group-II by handing their nearest rivals United Bank
Limited (UBL) a 57-run defeat last Tuesday.
Sui Southern
Gas Company (SSGC), just like UBL, are 10 points behind the reigning
champions who they face at the SBP Sports Complex — a venue where Waqas
Maqsood and Mohammad Asif shared equally 18 wickets in Wapda’s
demolition of Khan Research Laboratories in the first-round fixture.
It
is highly unlikely that Wapda would miss Kamran Akmal dearly due to
former Pakistan wicket-keeper/batsman’s T10 league commitment, given the
depth in their squad.
Shoaib Malik, who has made a
solitary appearance for SSGC this season first because of national duty
and then owing to BPL engagements, has chosen to prefer T10 league over
loyalty to his department.
After their demoralising
defeat against Wapda, UBL prepare to host KRL at the UBL Sports Complex
without the international trio of Umar Akmal, Sohail Khan and Rumman
Raees Khan, all of whom have committed themselves to the Sharjah event.
It
is a real shame that the focus this week will be on T10 league due to
the presence of more than 20 Pakistani cricketers rather on a
first-class tournament which was held in high esteem by a number of
former greats who regularly pledged themselves whenever free from
Pakistan duty.
Third round schedule (Dec 15-18):
Group-I:
Habib Bank Limited vs Lahore Whites (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi): Sui
Northern Gas Pipelines Limited vs Lahore Blues (Niaz Stadium,
Hyderabad).
Group-II: United Bank Limited vs Khan
Research Laboratories (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); Water and Power
Development Authority vs Sui Southern Gas Company (SBP Sports Complex,
Karachi).
Current standings
(Tabulated under: played, won, lost, drawn, points):
Group-I
SNGPL 2 1 0 1 12
HBL 2 1 0 1 10
Lahore Blues 2 1 1 0 9
Lahore Whites 2 0 2 0 0
Group-II
Wapda 2 2 0 0 16
SSGC 2 1 1 0 6
UBL 2 1 1 0 6
KRL 2 0 2 0 0
