South African team to tour Pakistan in February for ODI,T20 series

ISLAMABAD, Jan 9 (APP):The South African blind cricket team would be touring Pakistan for an ODI and Twenty20 series scheduled to take place in February and March.

“The South African team would tour Pakistan for three ODIs and as many T20s scheduled to be held from February 26 to March 9,” Pakistan Blind Cricket Council (PBCC) Chairman Syed Sultan Shah told APP on Sunday.

He said the ODIs would be played in Karachi while the T20s will take place in Lahore or Faisalabad. “The venue for T20s will be finalized in the coming days as the tour approaches,” he said.

Sultan said, a 20-member South African team including officials would be visiting Pakistan. “We will announce the Pakistan team for the series in the first week of February. We have shortlisted a pool of 25 to 30 players out of which the final line-up will be selected,” he added.

The PBCC Chairman said the final line-up would be named in the selection camp to be held in the first week of February. “We will be selecting a total of 15 players for the series while five officials will also assist the team,” he said.

However, Sultan was of the view that if PBCC had been handed over, the country’s first and only blind cricket stadium, which was under construction at Lahore, then the series would have been held in an outstanding way.

“This stadium located at Ferozpur, Lahore is under construction since 2016. If we had the stadium, then the whole series could have been held there. The teams could have practiced in the stadium as it was the first and only stadium for the visually impaired players in the world,” he said.

Sultan said we were in coordination with the Punjab government in this regard. “90 percent construction work of the cricket stadium is completed. If the stadium was handed over to us then we can get it completed through our sponsors.”

Sultan also appealed the Prime Minister Imran Khan who himself was a sportsman. “The Prime Minister is a great sports lover and I request him to help us in this regard, so that the stadium can be handed over to PBCC for betterment of the players,” he said.