Karachi sets forth for the Pakistan-West Indies First T20 at home ground

Karachi is ready to host the first match of the much-awaited T20 tri-series between Pakistan and West Indies tonight.

Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed thanked the West Indies for touring the country, as the Caribbean side arrived in Karachi on Saturday in the latest step towards the resumption of top-level cricket in the South Asian nation.

The West Indies will become the third international team to play a bilateral series in Pakistan. International cricketers stopped playing in Pakistan after the 2009 assault, citing safety concerns; the national team has had to play its home matches in the United Arab Emirates since.

The 13-member team and staff arrived late Saturday in two groups and were ushered into a bullet proof bus to their hotel.

Pakistan is expected to dominate the series as it goes against the youthful West Indies team, which is missing many of its key players. Pakistan's captain Sarfraz Ahmed had told that he has set eyes on a clean sweep of the West Indies in order to retain the top T20 team ranking for Pakistan.

The match will start at 8pm tonight. The tickets for the series have already sold out as cricket enthusiasts welcome the return of international cricket to Pakistan’s biggest city.

Pakistan Team

Pakistan Super League 2018 stars Asif Ali and Hussain Talat have both been named in the 12-member team to face West Indies in the first T20 international at the national stadium.

Sarfraz Ahmed confirmed the final 12 for the first T20 in a press conference Saturday evening.

Sarfraz Ahmed would be the captain of the squad including Ahmed Shehzad, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali.

West Indies' squad

On Friday, Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed its 13-member squad for the tour of Pakistan which will feature in three T20s on April 1, 2 and 3.

Jason Mohammed will be the captain of the squad, which includes Samuel Badree, Rayad Emrit, Andre Fletcher, Andre McCarthy, Keemo Paul, Veerasammy Permaul, Rovman Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Marlon Samuels, Odean Smith, Chadwick Walton and Kesrick Williams.

Stuart Law will be the head coach, with assistant coaches Ryan Maron and Alfonso Thomas.

“Following the successful hosting of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) Final in Karachi on the weekend, our squad is now en route to Pakistan for our three-match series”, said CWI’s Chief Executive Officer Jonny Grave while commenting on the tour.

“This Tour is a further major step for our friends at the Pakistan Cricket Board to bring their cricket back home, and we are pleased that our players and staff have recognized this and supported this venture”, he further added.

Source: Geo news