Houston Hurricanes set to face Quetta Gladiators in Karachi:
Quetta Gladiators, one of PSL’s leading franchises, is set to host the Minor league cricket franchise, Houston Hurricanes, in Karachi later this month. Houston Hurricanes will travel to Pakistan to face Quetta Gladiators in a three-match series at National Bank Cricket Arena. The series will be played from January 27-29.
Houston Hurricanes, the franchise owned by two businessmen Tanweer Ahmed and Mangesh Chaudhari, captained by Pakistani-born Usman Rafiq, compete in the Minor cricket league, an American T20 cricket league. Houston Hurricanes squad consists of several contract players, including a former Pakistani cricketer Nauman Anwer. Players traveling include Nauman Anwer, Shayan Jahangir, Lahiru Milantha, Shehan Jayasuriya, Nosthush Kenjige, Usman Rafiq, Mohammad Mohsin, and Mathew Tromp. With this series, Houston Hurricanes will become the first American franchise to play against any of the PSL franchises.
The former Pakistan super league champion, Quetta Gladiators, is also regarded as the most consistent and well-balanced side led by Pakistan’s former captain Sarfaraz Ahmad. Sarfaraz Ahmad, who led Pakistan to the no.1 spot in the T20i ranking and helped the team lift the ICC Champions Trophy, has a squad of experienced and young Pakistani players like Umar Akmal, Iftikhar Ahmad, Mohammad Hussnain, and Naseem Shah.
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Minor league cricket, the league currently developing domestic players in the U.S., while talking about this series, expressed their best wishes for the franchise for its historic tour to Pakistan.
“Minor League Cricket is proud to see the Houston Hurricanes innovating in high performance development by heading to Pakistan for this series, a huge step for American cricket that will open further doors to elite-level competition for our players. MiLC congratulates the Houston Hurricanes and their ownership, Including Tanweer Ahmed and Mangesh Chaudhari, on their vision for this historic tour,” said Zubin Surkari, MiLC Tournament Director.
The Houston Hurricanes owner thanked the Pakistan super league franchise, Quetta Gladiators, and marked this tour as a trendsetter for the growth of Houston Hurricanes and Minor league cricket.
“This tour will be a landmark in the continued rapid growth of the Houston Hurricanes franchise and we are proud to represent Minor League Cricket in a series against top class opposition from the Pakistan Super League. We are thankful to the Quetta Gladiators for hosting this series and look forward to some outstanding T20 action at one of the world’s most renowned cricket venues,” said Tanweer Ahmed, Houston Hurricanes owner.
The event will be officially opened by special guests Donald Blome (U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan), William K. Makaneole (U.S. Consul General in Lahore), Nicole Theriot (U.S. Consul General in Karachi), Quetta Gladiators owner Nadeem Omar, and other dignitaries. It must be mentioned here that the upcoming edition of Pakistan Super League will begin from 13th of February.
