National Seniors Cup from tomorrow

KARACHI: A record number of 111 teams from across the country will be participating in the 18th National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2016-17 which will be inaugurated on Saturday (tomorrow).

The salient features of the tournament, being sponsored by Omar Associates (Pvt) Ltd, with Arif Habib Group being the co-sponsors, were unveiled by Fawad Ijaz Khan, Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) chairman, at a media briefing here on Thursday.

The PVCA chairman revealed that the total expenditure on the tournament during which 210 matches would be played was estimated to be in excess of Rs4 million, including the prize money of Rs693,000.

The inaugural match of Southern Zone will be played at Naya Nazimabad Cricket Ground, Karachi, on Saturday between Karachi Omar Associates and Karachi Blues.

The 111 teams from 54 cities have been divided in 33 Groups.

The league matches in the Southern Zone will be of 20 overs a side. Zonal & National Finals will be of 30 overs per innings.

The group matches will be organised on single league basis. The matches of Northern Zone will be played at Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur, Multan, Okara, Lahore, Kasur, Sheikhupura, Muridke, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Sialkot.

The Southern Zone matches will be taking place at Karachi, Hyderabad, Shikarpur, Mirpurkhas, Kotri, Nawabshah and Quetta.

Speaking on the occasion, Omar Associates MD Nadeem Omar praised Fawad and his team for having organized the National Seniors Cup every year since the inception of the Association. “It’s really a tough job organising an event of this magnitude in which teams from every part of the country are eager to take part,” he said.

Arif Habib Group chairman Arif Habib also paid tribute to the PVCA chairman for conducting the tournaments efficiently every year.

The National Seniors Cup has been the flagship event of the PVCA since 1998. Karachi and Lahore teams have won the title eight times each. The trophy was once shared after the national final was tied.