Misbah ul Haq vs Younis Khan Final Next Month Author: Analyst Maaz; Views: 1042; Date: 19-12-2012, 04:56;

The 2012-13 Presidents Trophy final will be contested at the Gadaffi Stadium Lahore on the 15^th-19^th January. League leaders SNGPL will be led by current national team skipper, Misbah ul Haq while HBL will led by former national team skipper, Younis Khan. The competition round stages concluded in November, but the final was postponed due to the Faysal Bank Twenty20 and the Indian tour. Strangely, the final will be taking place while the next first class competition of the season is taking place in the Quaid E Azam trophy and round matches are also scheduled to take place while the final is in progress. The current domestic structure is a newly introduced one for this season as PCB officials have voiced an interest in re-structuring the domestic set up.

The final is likely to compromise of names including Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Umar Akmal, Ehsan Adil, Taufeeq Umar, Asad Shafiq, Ahmed Shehzad, Imran Farhat, Umar Gul, Asad Ali (called up for Indian T20s) and Yasir Shah. In the previous 2 seasons, the final has been held under lights with an orange ball and has been televised. HBL won it in 2010 and PIA won it in 2011 with both finals held at the National Stadium Karachi.

This final will be useful preparation to the national players and there are many of them on show, to get them back into the groove with the longer format after they return from the Indian trip with an eye on the 1^st test in South Africa commencing on the 1^st of the following month from Johannesburg.

Currently, as I post this article, the under-19 departmental 3 day competition final is being played from Rawalpindi between Port Qasim led by Pakistan U19 wicket keeper Saifullah Khan Bangash and ZTBL who have Zafar Gohar in their side. Zafar is a left arm spinner who played for Pakistan in the televised under 19 World Cup quarter final in August against India from the Tony Ireland Stadium in Townsville.

HBLs Ehsan Adil is the leading wicket taker by a seamer in this competition in debut season of first class games for the 6’4 seam bowling all-rounder. He will be in action for HBL in the final. Before that, the Quaid E Azam trophy gets under way on the 26^th. Many international players will be absent for this due to international commitments in India and later in South Africa. However, this gives others an opportunity to stand up and perhaps put their name in the reckoning for the tour of West Indies later in 2013.

Although this President’s Trophy competition is 4 days long, the final will be held across 5 days.

Misbah ul Haq’s side will depart on the 22^nd of January for South Africa ahead of their only warm up on the 25^th of January. The tour will last for 60 days.