da doce： Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram is likely to beef up the starstudded PIA in the second round of the Patron’s Trophy Grade-I CricketChampionship Thursday
27-Sep-2001Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram is likely to beef up the starstudded PIA in the second round of the Patron’s Trophy Grade-I CricketChampionship Thursday.Akram skipped the five-wicket victory against Allied Bank in Sialkotlast week after indicating that he would only play in matches atLahore and Sheikhupura.PIA, who surprisingly have won this tournament only twice – when itwas known as the BCCP Trophy – in 1970-71 and 1971-72, take on lastseason’s runners-up National Bank at Sheikhupura Stadium.If Akram plays in this four-day clash then he will be in directconfrontation with his old pace partner Waqar Younis. The Pakistancaptain, alongwith with his deputy Inzamam-ul-Haq, were given specialpermission by the Pakistan Cricket Board to play for National Bank.Inzamam, who was unable to play in the opening match because of somedomestic commitments, is also likely to get back in action againstprobably the most potent pace attack in the country. Besides Akram,PIA have Abdur Razzaq, Azhar Mahmood, Fazle Akbar and Mohammad ZahidSenior at their disposal.Reigning champions Pakistan Customs started the new season on aperfect note when they thrashed Wapda by innings and 111 runs. Buttheir young team will be severely put to test by a vastly experiencedHabib Bank side at Iqbal Stadium.The seven-time champions were rarely troubled by newcomers Pak PWD intheir first game, which they won by 227 runs.Second round schedule (Sept 27-30):PIA v National Bank at Sheikhupura Stadium (Umpires: Masroor Ali andZamir Haider). Match referee: Saadat Ali).Habib Bank v Habib Bank at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad (Umpires: AtharZaidi and Nadeem Ghauri. Match referee: Anwar Khan).Allied Bank v ADBP at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore (Umpires: Saleem Badarand M. Akbar Khan. Match referee: Farrukh Zaman).KRL v Wapda at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi (Umpires: ShakeelKhan and Z.I. Pasha. Match referee: Azmat Rana).Pak PWD v Sui Gas at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot (Umpires: Riazuddin andRasheed Bhatti. Match referee: Fahimuddin Alvi).