Kumar Sangakkara to captain the 12-member MCC squad for Pakistan tour

The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has announced the squad for its upcoming tour to Pakistan. The team will play a series of matches in Lahore and the MCC President and former Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara has been named the captain of the side. The squad features stalwarts and regulars of the England county cricket to travel to the Asian country.

The tour is a major boost to the Pakistani cricketing community which has seen international cricket returning to the country after a period of ten years in full flow. Sri Lanka toured for T20Is and Test matches, while Bangladesh have already played a three-match T20I series and will play the first Test from February 7 onwards. Now this MCC tour will further cement that Pakistan is a safe country to play cricket in, just before it is scheduled to host the Asia Cup 2020.

Ravi Bopara and Roelof van der Merwe named in the squad

The MCC team will also play two PSL teams – Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans – in the T20 format and will also face Pakistan’s domestic T20 champions Northern. The squad sees the likes of Ravi Bopara, Warwickshire’s Michael Burgess, Oliver Hannon-Dalby and Will Rhodes, while Roelof van der Merwe and Fred Klaassen will represent Somerset.

Scotland duo Michael Leask and Safyaan Sharif, Leicestershire’s Arron Lilley, Kent’s Imran Qayyum and Worcestershire’s Ross Whiteley complete the main squad. This a clear demonstration of MCC’s Club’s support for Pakistan’s cricketers and fans. MCC Chief Executive & Secretary Guy Lavender will accompany the squad as Team Manager, with MCC’s Ajmal Shahzad acting as the coach.

John Stephenson, MCC Assistant Secretary (Cricket) in a statement cleared the objective of this tour. “We are thrilled to be able to name a strong squad for this tour, which blends youth and experience for a strong side of high quality.

We have really appreciated the collaborative approach from the Pakistan Cricket Board and the Pakistan Super League, which has enabled us to arrange fixtures against sides preparing for this year’s PSL tournament as well as to secure the services of some of those participating,” he was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.

MCC Squad for Pakistan tour: Kumar Sangakkara (capt), Ravi Bopara, Michael Burgess, Oliver Hannon-Dalby, Fred Klaassen, Michael Leask, Arron Lilley, Imran Qayyum, Will Rhodes, Safyaan Sharif, Roelof van der Merwe, Ross Whiteley.

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