KARACHI: Sindh’s provincial sports minister, Sardar Muhammad Bakhsh Mahar, has sparked controversy ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy by threatening to establish a separate cricket board for Sindh.
Mahar voiced his disappointment with the way Sindh cricket players are now treated during the start of the provincial youth conference hosted by the Sindh government.
He said that they were not receiving the credit and opportunities they deserved on the national squad. He emphasized that cricket is a sport with long roots in Sindh and is not just for Punjab or Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) recently announced the squad for the upcoming ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 and tri-nation series, featuring Pakistan, New Zealand, and South Africa. Fakhar Zaman is returning to the side and the tournament will start on February 19 and continue until March 9.
Some of the players were also shifted; four new inclusions are Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Khushdil Shah, and Saud Shakeel have replaced Abdullah Shafique, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, and Sufyan Moqim. Mohammad Rizwan will lead the side with Salman Ali Agha as his deputy.
The side consists of three players from the 2017 Champions Trophy-winning team: Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, and Fakhar Zaman.
The complete list of players is Mohammad Rizwan, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
