MCC announces squad for Pakistan tour

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) on Wednesday announced their twelve-member squad for the Pakistan tour which is set to take place next month in Lahore.

The English club, which is headed by Sri Lankan batting great and MCC president Kumar Sangakkara, will be playing a 50-over match with Pakistan Shaheens along with a T20 match against National T20 Cup champions Northern.

Furthermore, the MCC will also play two T20 matches against Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans, which will serve as the teams’ warm-up matches ahead of the PSL 2020.

MCC’s Assistant Secretary John Stephenson said that the squad for the upcoming tour promised a blend of young and well-seasoned players and hoped that the tour would enable Pakistan to see the return of international teams on home ground.

"We are thrilled to be able to name a strong squad for this tour, which blends youth and experience for a strong side of high quality," said Stephenson.

"We appreciate the PCB and PSL's approach to arrange fixtures against sides preparing for this year’s PSL tournament."

"As a club, we share the PCB’s wish in wanting to see international teams returning to play in Pakistan on a regular basis and we hope that this tour contributes to those objectives,” he added.

MCC squad:

Kumar Sangakkara (Captain), Ravi Bopara, Michael Burgess, Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Fred Klaassen, Michael Leask, Arron Lilley, Imran Qayyum, Will Rhodes, Safyaan Sharif, Roelof van der Merwe and Ross Whiteley.

Pakistan Shaheens:

Saud Shakeel (captain), Akif Javed, Haider Ali, Hasan Mohsin, Imran Rafiq, Mohammad Mohsin, Omair Bin Yousuf, Rohail Nazir, Saif Badar, Sameen Gul, Umar Khan, Zeeshan Malik.

Northern:

Rohail Nazir(captain), Faizan Riaz, Ali Imran, Haider Ali, Mubashir Khan, Musa Khan, Nauman Ali, Sarmad Bhatti, Shahzad Azam, Shiraz Khan, Zaid Alam, Zeeshan Malik