A 25-member self-funded Pakistan Parliamentary Cricket Team (PPCT) has been announced with MNA Makhdoom Zain Hussian Qureshi as its captain. The team will participate in the Inter-Parliamentary Cricket World Cup (IPCWC) being staged from July 8 to July 15, 2019 in London. The notification to this effect has been issued by the National Assembly Secretariat.
The teams of parliamentarians from Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa will play alongside the United Kingdom in the IPCWC. Besides the captain and all-rounder Qureshi, the team included Deputy Speaker National Assembly Qasim Khan Suri, Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Shah Farman, Senator Agha Shahzeb Durrani, MNAs Ali Nawaz Awan, Ali Amin Khan, Sheryar Khan Afridi, Ali Zahid, Ameer Sultan, Murtaza Mehmood, Mustafa Mehmood, Imran Khattak, Sadaqat Abassi, Naveed Dero, Mujahid Ali, Atta Ullah Khan and Shahid Khattak, and MPAs Ali Haider Gillani, Mehmood Bakhsh, Mobeen Khiliji, Abass Jaffri and Ahmad Kundi.
The Prime Minister and the speaker would be the honorary members in the Parliamentary Cricket Team. Ayaz Akbar and Sheryar Khan have been designated as team coach and team manager respectively whereas Mazhar Ali and Ibrar Haider will assist the team coach and the team manager.
The expenses on account of transportation to the United Kingdom, accommodation and other allied expenses will be borne by the team members and the managerial staff. This decision has been taken keeping in view the ongoing austerity measures adopted by the Parliament of Pakistan and other government departments in order to allay the burden on public exchequer.
The team was selected by the Pakistan Cricket Board after a rigorous process of coaching and assessment on the field while playing friendly matches with cricket clubs and departmental teams held in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
The speaker while announcing the PPCT said that he was delighted and impressed with the way the parliamentarians have been progressing day-by-day during the coaching and friendly matches. He was confident that Pakistan parliamentarians' team would excel at top level in the IPCWC.