Kumar Sangakkara to lead MCC's 12-man squad for Pakistan tour
Kumar Sangakkara will lead a strong 12-man MCC squad which will be touring Pakistan for a T20 series. The team, which boasts of experienced names like Ravi Bopara and Will Rhodes, will also have three additional players from the PSL representing the club in the course of the tour.
In a bid to promote international cricket in Pakistan, who were forced into exile from international cricket for more than a decade until recently Sri Lanka toured the nation, the Marylebone Cricket Club’s (MCC) World Cricket Committee will be touring the nation in the upcoming months. The MCC declared a 12-man squad for the tour where they will be playing three T20 games.
The side will be led by MCC president Kumar Sangakkara and boasts of several experienced campaigners. The squad includes veteran all-rounder Ravi Bopara, three Warwickshire players Michael Burgess, Oliver Hannon-Dalby and Will Rhodes with the latter two set to tour Nepal with MCC in November.
Somerset’s Roelof van der Merwe has also been named alongside his Netherlands teammate Fred Klaassen, while the Scottish duo of Michael Leask and Safyaan Sharif, Leicestershire’s Arron Lilley, Kent’s Imran Qayyum and Worcestershire’s Ross Whiteley complete the main squad.
MCC’s on-field presence will be boosted further by three additional players, each of whom will play one match for the club during the tour. The trio of Liam Dawson, Samit Patel and Phil Salt have been named by the PSL for the same as a show of gratitude towards the club’s efforts.
The Club will play two PSL teams, Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans and will also face Pakistan’s domestic T20 champions Northern.