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Multan:Pakistan Cricket Board’s policy on investing in its elite match officials by giving them maximum opportunities to show their decision-making and man-management skills was evident when it announced the umpire and match referee appointments for the PKR9million National T20 Cup, which begins in Multan on 30 September.
The six match referees and 14 umpires from the PCB Elite Panel of Match Officials will officiate in the First XI matches to be held in Multan till 6 October, before action moves to Rawalpindi where the second round and knock-out games will be played from 9-18 October.
As such, all elite umpires and match officials are expected to get a minimum of nine and five matches, respectively, in the 33-match tournament, which will be produced by the PCB and broadcasted live on PTV Sports.
Iqbal Sheikh will lead the playing control team in the 30 September National T20 Cup opener between Northern and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while Faisal Khan Afridi and Zameer Haider will perform on-field duties. Qaiser Waheed and Aftab Gillani will be the third and fourth umpires, respectively.
Prof. Mohammad Javed Malik will be the match referee for the 18 October final, which will be umpired by Ahsan Raza and Asif Yaqoob. Rashid Riaz will be in the third umpire’s box and Shozab Raza will perform fourth umpire’s duties.
The six-member PCB Elite Panel of Match Referees includes Ali Naqvi (Lahore), Iftikhar Ahmed (Karachi), Muhammad Anees (Lahore), Muhammad Iqbal Sheikh (Hyderabad), Nadeem Arshad (Faisalabad) and Prof. Mohammad Javed Malik (Multan).
The 14-member PCB Elite Panel of Umpires is: Ahsan Raza (Lahore), Aftab Hussain Gillani (Bahawalpur), Asif Yaqoob (Islamabad), Faisal Khan Afridi (Sargodha), Ghaffar Kazmi (Lahore), Imran Javed (Karachi), Nasir Hussain Snr (Lahore), Qaiser Waheed (Lahore), Rashid Riaz Waqar (Lahore), Saqib Khan (Abbottabad), Shozab Raza (Lahore), Syed Imtiaz Iqbal (Karachi), Waleed Yaqub (Lahore) and Zameer Haider (Lahore).
Bilal Qureshi, Manager, Umpires and Referees: “The match officials appointed for the National T20 are the best we have in the country and this event is an ideal opportunity for them to display their skills and make a mark. There has been no match referee in the ICC elite panel from Pakistan since 2004, while the last umpire to make a Test debut was Nadeem Ghauri 15 years ago. The PCB is keen to develop and groom its match officials so that there is Pakistan’s representation in the ICC’s elite panel and, in this relation, will be providing maximum matches to these elite officials to showcase their skills in the 2020-21 season.
“As the matches will be televised live by PTV Sports and participated by our best 20-over players, this is an excellent opportunity for these match officials to display their decision-making as well as man-management skills, which will form the basis of their promotions to the next level.”
Meanwhile, match referees and umpires from the PCB Supplementary Panel of Match Referees and the PCB Supplementary Panel of Umpires, both categories introduced for the first time to set a pathway to the apex panels, will officiate the National T20 Cup Second XI matches, which will be played at Gaddafi Stadium, Pakistan’s home of cricket, from 1-8 October.
First XI appointments (30 Sept-6 Oct, all matches at Multan Cricket Stadium; 9-18 Oct, all matches at Pindi Cricket Stadium:
30 Sept – Northern v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Faisal Khan Afridi and Zameer Haider (on-field umpires), Qaiser Waheed (third umpire), Aftab Gillani (fourth umpire); Iqbal Sheikh (match referee). Central Punjab v Southern Punjab – Qaiser Waheed and Waleed Yaqub (on-field umpires), Nasir Hussain Snr (third umpire), Aftab Gillani (fourth umpire); Iftikhar Ahmed (match referee)
1 Oct – Balochistan v Sindh – Aftab Gillani and Qaiser Waheed (on-field umpires), Zameer Haider (third umpire), Waleed Yaqub (fourth umpire); Iqbal Sheikh (match referee). Northern v Southern Punjab – Faisal Khan Afridi and Zameer Haider (on-field umpires), Nasir Hussain Snr (third umpire), Waleed Yaqub (fourth umpire); Iftikhar Ahmed (match referee)
2 Oct – Balochistan v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Waleed Yaqub and Zameer Haider (on-field umpires), Aftab Gillani (third umpire), Nasir Hussain Snr (fourth umpire); Iftikhar Ahmed (match referee). Central Punjab v Sindh – Qaiser Waheed and Nasir Hussain Snr (on-field umpires), Faisal Khan Afridi (third umpire), Zameer Haider (fourth umpire); Iqbal Sheikh (match referee)
3 Oct – Northern v Central Punjab – Aftab Gillani and Faisal Khan Afridi (on-field umpires), Waleed Yaqub (third umpire), Nasir Hussain Snr (fourth umpire); Iftikhar Ahmed (match referee). Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Southern Punjab – Nasir Hussain Snr and Zameer Haider (on-field umpires), Qaiser Waheed (third umpire), Faisal Khan Afridi (fourth umpire); Iqbal Sheikh (match referee)
4 Oct – Balochistan v Southern Punjab – Qaiser Waheed and Waleed Yaqub (on-field umpires), Aftab Gillani (third umpire), Nasir Hussain Snr (fourth umpire); Iqbal Sheikh (match referee). Northern v Sindh – Faisal Khan Afridi and Nasir Hussain Snr (on-field umpires), Zameer Haider (third umpire), Qaiser Waheed (fourth umpire); Iftikhar Ahmed (match referee)
5 Oct – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Sindh – Aftab Gillani and Faisal Khan Afridi (on-field umpires), Waleed Yaqub (third umpire), Zameer Haider (fourth umpire); Nadeem Arshad (match referee). Balochistan v Central Punjab – Nasir Hussain Snr and Zameer Haider (on-field umpires), Faisal Khan Afridi (third umpire), Qaiser Waheed (fourth umpire); Mohammad Anees (match referee).
6 Oct – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Central Punjab – Aftab Gillani and Faisal Khan Afridi (on-field umpires), Waleed Yaqub (third umpire), Zameer Haider (fourth umpire); Nadeem Arshad (match referee). Balochistan v Northern – Qaiser Waheed and Waleed Yaqub (on-field umpires), Aftab Gillani (third umpire), Faisal Khan Afridi (fourth umpire); Mohammad Anees (match referee)
9 Oct – Northern v Central Punjab – Ahsan Raza and Imran Javed (on-field umpires), Shozab Raza (third umpire), Imtiaz Iqbal (fourth umpire); Mohammad Anees (match referee). Sindh v Southern Punjab – Ghaffar Kazmi and Rashid Riaz (on-field umpires), Asif Yaqoob (third umpire), Saqib Khan (fourth umpire); Nadeem Arshad (match referee)
10 Oct – Balochistan v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Ahsan Raza and Imtiaz Iqbal (on-field umpires), Rashid Riaz (third umpire), Imran Javed (fourth umpire); Nadeem Arshad (match referee). Central Punjab v Sindh – Asif Yaqoob and Saqib Khan (on-field umpires), Shozab Raza (third umpire), Ghaffar Kazmi (fourth umpire); Mohammad Anees (match referee)
11 Oct – Northern v Southern Punjab – Imran Javed and Shozab Raza (on-field umpires), Imtiaz Iqbal (third umpire), Asif Yaqoob (fourth umpire); Mohammad Anees (match referee). Balochistan v Sindh – Ahsan Raza and Saqib Khan (on-field umpires), Ghaffar Kazmi (third umpire), Rashid Riaz (fourth umpire); Nadeem Arshad (match referee)
12 Oct – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Southern Punjab – Saqib Khan and Shozab Raza (on-field umpires), Asif Yaqoob (third umpire), Ahsan Raza (fourth umpire); Ali Naqvi (match referee). Balochistan v Central Punjab – Imtiaz Iqbal and Rashid Riaz (on-field umpires), Imran Javed (third umpire), Ghaffar Kazmi (fourth umpire); Mohammad Anees (match referee)
13 Oct – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Sindh – Imran Jawed and Rashid Riaz (on-field umpires), Ahsan Raza (third umpire), Saqib Khan (fourth umpire); Mohammad Javed (match referee). Central Punjab v Southern Punjab – Asif Yaqoob and Imtiaz Iqbal (on-field umpires), Ghaffar Kazmi (third umpire), Shozab Raza (fourth umpire); Ali Naqvi (match referee)
14 Oct – Northern v Sindh – Imtiaz Iqbal and Shozab Raza (on-field umpires), Imran Javed (third umpire), Rashid Riaz (fourth umpire); Mohammad Javed (match referee). Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Central Punjab – Ahsan Raza and Ghaffar Kazmi (on-field umpires), Asif Yaqoob (third umpire), Saqib Khan (fourth umpire); Ali Naqvi (match referee)
15 Oct – Balochistan v Northern – Saqib Khan and Shozab Raza (on-field umpires), Rashid Riaz (third umpire), Ahsan Raza (fourth umpire); Mohammad Javed (match referee). Sindh v Southern Punjab – Asif Yaqoob and Ghaffar Kazmi (on-field umpires), Imtiaz Iqbal (third umpire), Imran Javed (fourth umpire); Ali Naqvi (match referee)
16 Oct – Northern v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Imran Javed and Rashid Riaz (on-field umpires), Saqib Khan (third umpire), Asif Yaqoob (fourth umpire); Mohammad Javed (match referee); Balochistan v Southern Punjab – Ghaffar Kazmi and Shozab Raza (on-field umpires), Ahsan Raza (third umpire), Imtiaz Iqbal (fourth umpire); Ali Naqvi (match referee)
17 Oct – First semi-final (Team no.1 v Team no.4) – Asif Yaqoob and Rashid Riaz (on-field umpires), Imtiaz Iqbal (third umpire), Imran Javed (fourth umpire); Mohammad Javed (match referee); Second semi-final (Team no.2 v Team no.3) – Ahsan Raza and Shozab Raza (on-field umpires), Ghaffar Kazmi (third umpire), Saqib Khan (fourth umpire); Ali Naqvi (match referee)
18 Oct – Final (Winner of first semi-final v Winner of second semi-final) – Ahsan Raza and Asif Yaqoob (on-field umpires), Rashid Riaz (third umpire), Shozab Raza (fourth umpire); Mohammad Javed (match referee)