da roleta： Pakistan’s most successful domestic tournament, the ABN-AMRO Twenty20, hasbeen postponed till August following scheduling problems
da aviator aposta： Cricinfo staff19-Apr-2008
Kamran Akmal had a superb run in the ABN-AMRO Cup but will have to wait a while before getting to showcase his skills in the ABN-AMRO Twenty20 © AFP
Pakistan’s most successful domestic tournament, the ABN-AMRO Twenty20, hasbeen postponed till August following scheduling problems.The tournament has yet to find a set date or location in the domesticcalendar, despite being the biggest crowd-puller in recent years: thefirst edition was held in April-May 2005, then in February 2006 andfinally in December 2006. The finals of the tournament have regularlyattracted crowds of over 30,000 in Lahore and Karachi, the two venueswhere the tournament has been held.”The tournament this year is likely to be played in August,” said ShafqatNaghmi, the PCB’s chief operating officer. “We had a number ofinternational commitments and top players wouldn’t be available for itduring then. In July the weather won’t be right, so we have planned it forAugust.”It is understood that the sponsors, ABN-AMRO, also prefer that month as itwould mean all of Pakistan’s top players are available then for what isthe showpiece tournament of their sponsorship to cricket.This also means, as Naghmi acknowledged, that plans for a Pakistan PremierLeague (PPL) will be shelved until next year. “The PPL will not happentill next year but we are keen on inviting foreign players to that aswell.” But as a source close to the sponsors has pointed out, the currentformat for the Twenty20 is not much different to the proposed PPL.”We already have a city-based system for the tournament and our originalidea three years ago, as well as that of the PCB, was to find sponsors sothat they could make the teams franchises, much as the IPL has done,” theofficial told Cricinfo. “This format can be worked into the PPL.”It is not yet clear whether any teams from Pakistan will take part in theChampions League, details of which have been informally firmed up over thelast few weeks. However various boards, including Pakistan’s, wereinvolved in those discussions, suggesting that sides from Pakistan mightparticipate. In that case, as the PPL will not start until next year, itis likely that the top two teams from the domestic Twenty20 will beinvited.
