Pakistan team to begin training for World XI tour today

LAHORE: The national cricket camp is all set to start at the Gaddafi Stadium from Thursday (today), where the Pakistan squad will kick off its preparations for the upcoming World XI tour.

13 players from the national squad for the series, dubbed ‘Independence Cup’, have reported at the camp and will commence training from today.

Fast bowler Mohammad Amir will miss early days of the camp, as he is with his wife in England who is expecting the couple’s first child.

Spinner Shadab Khan is also likely to miss the first day of the training due to his commitment in the Caribbean Premier League.

Head coach Mickey Arthur had arrived earlier to oversee the camp meant to prepare the players for the three-match T20 series against the World XI, which kicks off on September 12. The second and third T20 will be played on September 13 and 15, respectively.

Meanwhile, the tickets for the matches are in high demand and remain the talk of the town. The Pakistan Cricket Board tweeted earlier today that the online ticket purchase website eTicketing is no longer entertaining any further online ticket reservations.

The board, however, has arranged for tickets to be sold at 13 branches of the Bank of Punjab across the city, starting from 1pm onwards today.

The World XI squad, captained by South Africa's Faf du Plessis, will arrive in Pakistan on September 11.