Friday May 26, 2023
BIRMINGHAM: All the Pakistani cricketers playing in England's T20 Blast competition this summer will be in action tonight for various county teams in both the North and South groups, with the exception of Hasan Ali, who is still awaiting the results of an injury scan.
Hasan, who has signed with Warwickshire CCC for this season, was due to be in action for Birmingham Bears in the T20 Blast.
But just moments before the Bears' first game of the tournament against Yorkshire Vikings, Hasan twisted his ankle during a warm-up at Edgbaston Stadium.
Shan Masood, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Zaman Khan, Haider Ali and Usama Mir will play for the teams in the North group Will Shadab Khan and Zafar Gohar appear for the teams in the South group.
Fast bowler Naseem will be in action again when Leicestershire CCC take on visiting Birmingham Bears in their first home game at Uptonsteel County.
After winning their first game against Yorkshire Vikings, the Birmingham Bears batting line-up has been boosted with the arrival of Glen Maxwell.
The Australian joined the Bears Squad a few days back after his stint with RCB in the IPL.
Although the Bears are still waiting for their regular captain Maoenna Ali who plays for CSK in the IPL. With CSK in the final, Moeen Ali will miss a few more games for the Bears.
Right-arm fast bowler Naseem, who is on a short-term contract with Leicestershire Foxes, for The Blast in their first match of the tournament last night (Thursday) against Lancashire Lightning.
Naseem went wicketless as Lancashire beat Leicestershire by 8 wickets in 12 overs chasing just 99 to win.
Pakistan's premium fast bowler Shaheen will play his first match for Nottinghamshire Outlaws against Derbyshire Falcons at Trent Bridge this evening, a match dubbed the 'East Midlands Derby'.
Shaheen will lead the charge for the home team and another young Pakistani fast-bowling sensation, Zaman, will lead the charge for the visiting Derbyshire Falcons.
For Derbyshire, another young hard-hitting batsman from Pakistan, Haider, will line up against Shaheen to open the batting.
The match is also tagged as 'Battle of Qalandars' as both the quicks play for Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League.
Shaheen has already praised Zaman, calling him the best incoming player he has seen in the PSL. Derbyshire head of cricket Mickey Arthur also praised Zaman's efforts in the opening match of the T20 Blast competition against Lancashire Lightning, which the Falcons lost.
Masood will lead Yorkshire Vikings on their trip to New Road today to take on Worcestershire Rapids.
The home side will be expecting their overseas Pakistan player Usama Mir to repeat his all-round performance as he did in his first game against the Northamptonshire Steelbacks.
Mir, who was signed by Worcestershire on a short-term deal, was instrumental in the Rapids' 15-run win over the Steelbacks.
He picked up 3 wickets for just 21 runs in his 4 overs and also scored a quick 20 runs off just 7 balls he faced hitting 2 sixes and a boundary.
On the other hand, Masood's Yorkshire Vikings will be looking for their first win in the Blast after losing their opening match against Bear.
The left-handed Shan is the first Pakistani player to lead Yorkshire CCC in history. The Vikings lost their first game against the Bears at Edgbaston last Friday, Masood only managed to score five times in that game.
Shadab will be in action for Sussex Sharks for the first time in the Blast. The Sharks in Group South will take on Somerset at their home ground in Hove in their opening game in the competition. Somerset had already won their first match comprehensively against Hampshire by 8 wickets.
Left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar, who re-signed with Gloucestershire CCC this year, will also be in action against neighbors Glamorgan tonight.
He is not only part of Gloucestershire's squad for first-class matches but also for their Blast campaign.
