Kaif at the helm again

Dharamsala: The inaugural four-day cricket match for Mohammed Nissar Trophy starting here on Wednesday will be pitting Pakistan’s national champions Sialkot and Ranji Trophy winners Uttar Pradesh, for a unique contest for supremacy between the arch-rivals.

Speedster Rana Naved-ul Hasan, who was earlier named in the squad, opted out at the last minute saying he wanted to recharge his batteries after a gruelling series in England.

Uttar Pradesh captain Mohammed Kaif would be leading the hosts while dashing allrounder Shoaib Malik will lead the Pakistanis.

Kaif would be leading a side for the second time at this same venue in two years. He had led Board President’s XI against the touring Pakistan team last year in a rain-affected affair.

Kaif, who reached here this morning alongwith Suresh Raina and underwent a two-hour practice session, said the competition would be tough since the strength of the opposition was unknown.

The pitch prepared for the match is expected to favour fast bowlers given the greenish tinge.

However, Kaif did not think that the pitch would be an important factor. “The pitch should not be a big issue. We have to play good cricket, that is what is important,” he said.

Teams

Uttar Pradesh (from): Mohammed Kaif (captain), Suresh Raina, Rudra Pratap Singh, Piyush Chawla, Jyoti Yadav, Shiva Kant Shukla, Praveen Kumar, Mohammed Amir Khan, Rizwan Shamshad, Asish Winston Zaidi, Shalabh Srivastva, Rohit Parkash, Ravi Kant Shukla.

Sialkot (from): Shoaib Malik (captain), Imran Nazir, Majeed Jehangir, Muhammed Asif, Abiq-ur Rehman, Hafiz Khalid Mehmood, Abdul Rehman Aslam, Mansoor Amzad, Shahid Yousaf, Sarfraz Ahmed, Tahir Mughal, Shazad Malik, Inam-Ul-Haq.