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The final round matches of the National One-day Cricket Championship, starting Tuesday (March 26), have already lost their importance with the call-up of 31 top players to the national camp.

So much so, the enforced absence of the stars has drastically reduced the formidable PIA side to such an extent they are now in no position to field a playing XI. The late inclusion of former Test skipper Moin Khan, the PIA captain, means the national carrier has 10 players in the camp that begins at Lahore Friday.

Likewise, Habib Bank and National Bank have been deprived of five cricketers each while Allied Bank will be without three players. Overall, no less than 26 camp trainees are expected to miss out playing in the remaining matches of the championship.

The concerned departments are already in touch with the Pakistan Cricket Board to seek clearance so that their players are able to participate in the final round fixtures.

Pakistan coach Mudassar Nazar, who's the camp commandant, has come up with the novel idea of pitting the trainees in practice games during the duration of the camp.

The former Test opening batsman insists that all 31 probables, from whom the squad for Sharjah Cup and the home series against New Zealand will be picked, would be better off playing in the otherwise inconsequential matches.

This observation is absolutely absurd considering that eight top departmental outfits are contesting in the premier domestic one-day competition. Had the PCB taken a sensible approach by allowing the teams involved in the final round to include their national stars, it would have been an ideal preparation for the international matches in the weeks ahead.

Pakistan are scheduled to play a maximum of five games in Sharjah Cup, provided they make the final, and then three One-day Internationals against the Kiwis soon after. After all, there is no substitute for real match atmosphere.

Meanwhile, in another development the PCB has decided to bring forward the two final round ties scheduled for Karachi March 30 by a day. This change has been taken view of the official function at Lahore Saturday week to commemorate the 10th anniversary of World Cup victory in 1992, in which the Imran Khan-led squad will be presented awards.

Final round schedule:

Group I: PIA, Habib Bank, Allied Bank, Sui Gas.

Group II: National Bank, ADBP, Pakistan Customs, Wapda.

March 26:

*PIA v Sui Gas at National Stadium, Karachi (Umpires: Shakeel Khan and Sadiq Mohammad. Match referee: Munawwar Agha).

*Habib Bank v Allied Bank at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi (Umpires: Islam Khan and Afzaal Ahmed. Match referee: Fahimuddin Alvi).

*National Bank v Pakistan Customs at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad (Umpires: Mohammad Nazir Junior and Z.I. Pasha. Match referee: Musaddeq Rasool).

*ADBP v Wapda at Sheikhupura Stadium (Umpires: Waqar A. Mughal and Zamir Haider. Match referee: Azhar Khan).

March 28:

*PIA v Habib Bank at National Stadium, Karachi (Umpires: Salim Badar and Islam Khan. Match referee: Taslim Arif).

*Allied Bank v Sui Gas at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi (Umpires: Feroz Butt and Afzaal Ahmed. Match referee: Raees Ahmed).

*National Bank v ADBP at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad (Umpires: Mohammad Nazir Junior and Iftikhar Malik. Match referee: Abdul Sami).

*Pakistan Customs v Wapda at Sheikhupura Stadium (Umpires: Z.I. Pasha and Nadeem Ghauri. Match referee: Shafiq Ahmed).

March 29:

*Habib Bank v Sui Gas at National Stadium, Karachi (Umpires: Feroz Butt and Islam Khan. Match referee: Fahimuddin Alvi).

*PIA v Allied Bank at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi (Umpires: Afzaal Ahmed and Riazuddin. Match referee: Taslim Arif).

March 30:

*ADBP v Pakistan Customs at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad (Umpires: Mian Aslam and Athar Zaidi. Match referee: Shafiq Ahmed).

*National Bank v Wapda at Sheikhupura Stadium (Umpires: Siddique Khan and Nadeem Ghauri. Match referee: Sultan Rana).

Semifinals (day/night):

April 2: Winners Group-I v Runners-up Group-II at National Stadium, Karachi (Umpires: Salim Badar and Shakeel Khan. Match referee: Taslim Arif); Winners Group-II v Runners-up Group-I at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore (Umpires: Asad Rauf and Aleem Dar. Match referee: Azhar Khan).

Final (day-night):

April 4: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore (Umpires: Salim Badar and Mian Aslam. Match referee: Sultan Rana).

© Dawn