It was a successful event in which six teams featured. As some of the top players missed a major portion of the 31-match showpiece due to their national duty, it gave an opportunity to management of teams to test their bench strength. Due to Covid-19 the entire first-class event was held at Karachi’s three venues: National Stadium, UBL Sports Complex and NBP Sports Complex.

Pitches at the three venues behaved differently: UBL offered batting-friendly tracks, NBP Sports Complex wickets proved to be mostly bowler- friendly, and the National Stadium offered sporting pitches to the players who enjoyed the tournament.

The credit definitely goes to the organisers who managed such an exciting opportunity for the first-class cricketers to hone their skills amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

There were no weather problems during the entire season. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should keep this point in mind. Karachi is the best centre for such events, particularly in winter when Punjab centres are hit by thick fog.

In future too if the event starts in October, at least from the end of November onwards matches should be scheduled in Karachi which will ensure a successful season.

Some fine performances were seen in the season. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s right-handed batsman Kamran Ghulam scored the highest aggregate total of 1249 in 20 innings of 11 matches, averaging 62.45. The Dir Upper-born batsman hit five centuries and five fifties. This is the highest season aggregate from a batsman in the entire history of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Previously the record was held by Saadat Ali who scored 1217 runs in the 1983-1984 season.

Kamran batted extremely well on all sorts of wickets and this shows how gutsy he is. Every time he went to the crease he showed the patience and focus which is needed for Test cricket. He is just 25 years old and is a bright future prospect as Pakistan needs some dependable batsmen for Test cricket.

Saud Shakeel, the diminutive left-handed batsman representing Sindh, also impressed everyone with his potential. He finished as the second leading scorer with 970 runs in 19 innings of ten matches, averaging 57.05, which featured three centuries and five fifties.

He scored runs mostly in difficult conditions as Sindh kept struggling with the bat.

The other batsmen in the top ten were Agha Salman (Southern Punjab, 19 innings, 941 runs, 58.81 average, 2 centuries, 6 fifties), Usman Salahuddin (Central Punjab, 11 matches, 21 innings, 924 runs, 48.63 average, one century [219*], 8 fifties), Adil Amin (KP, 10 matches, 19 innings, 864 runs, 48.00 average, one century and 6 fifties), Hammad Azam (Northern, 10 matches, 18 innings, 846 runs, 52.87 average, 2 centuries and 6 fifties), Asad Shafiq (Sindh, 10 matches, 19 innings, 748 runs, 53.42 average, 2 centuries and 5 fifties), Mohammad Nawaz (Northern, eight matches, 16 innings, 744 runs, 49.60 average, one century, 5 fifties), Israrullah (KP, 11 matches, 20 innings, 732 runs, 38.52 average, one century and 5 fifties) and Akbar-ur-Rehman (Balochistan, 8 matches, 14 innings, 727 runs, 51.92 average, 2 centuries, 4 fifties).

Usman Salahuddin was highly impressive with his technique and temperament. He has been consistently scoring runs for the last few seasons. He has played just one Test and needs more opportunities as he has the ability to play long innings which he showed in his solid 219 not out.

Spinners dominated the season as in top ten seven are spinners and out of them five left-arm spinners.

The top ten bowlers are: Sajid Khan (KP, 67 wickets, off-spinner), Nauman Ali (Northern, left-arm spinner, 61 wickets), Zahid Mehmood (Southern Punjab, leg-spinner, 52 wickets), Hasan Ali (Central Punjab, right-arm pacer, 43 wickets), Waqas Maqsood (Central Punjab, left-arm pacer, 41 wickets), Kashif Bhatti (Balochistan, left-arm spinner, 36 wickets), Khalid Usman (KP, left-arm spinner, 35 wickets), Ahmad Safi Abdullah (Central Punjab, left-arm spinner, 34 wickets), Tabish Khan (Sindh, right-arm pacer, 30 wickets) and Jalat Khan (Balochistan, left-arm spinner, 29 wickets).

Irfanullah Shah, a tall right-armer from KP, was also exceptional. He has good action, height and is capable of swinging the ball. He played a great role in KP’s wins, getting 23 wickets in six matches. He deserves the authorities’ attention. Shahnawaz Dhani (Sindh) and Mohammad Wasim (KP) also have the potential to shine.

Central Punjab’s skipper and Pakistan’s fast bowler Hasan Ali was adjudged as the best player of the event for his all-round show, Kamran Ghulam the best batsman and Rehan Afridi of KP the best wicketkeeper.

Some umpiring decisions were controversial and the PCB will need to improve this area and introduce more umpires so that a solid lot could be prepared for the future.

The authorities need to extend the gap between the matches. There should be a minimum three days gap between matches to help players recover from minor injuries and restore the energy which they need for meeting the demand of four-day cricket.

Coaches Abdul Razzaq (KP), Faisal Iqbal (Balochistan), Abdul Rehman (Southern Punjab) and Shahid Anwar (Central Punjab) tackled various issues during the event quite tactfully.

Central Punjab re-emerged from nowhere, notched four wins out of the last five matches to make it to the final. Razzaq coached KP very well, enabling his charges to win five matches. They lost just one game.

Southern Punjab finished third, having won four matches and lost two. Balochistan won three and lost four to end fourth. Northern won three and lost three to end at the fifth spot with Sindh finishing at the rock bottom with one win and five defeats.

Former Test cricketer Faisal Iqbal at one stage was unsettled as Balochistan coach when he lost five key players due to national duty and other reasons. But he handled his side quite well to finish at the respectable fourth place.

Balochistan lost Test opener Sami Aslam in the initial phase of the event as he moved to United States.

One thing I want to highlight here is that scorers of the other stations financially suffered a lot as the entire season was held in Karachi. The PCB should have also brought in some good scorers from other cities like the umpires, especially those scorers who are jobless. This could have lessened their financial woes. Scorers are not given the prestige in Pakistan which they deserve. Their problems need to be addressed.

73.alam@gmail.com