Punjab men’s cricket team named for Namibia tour

Former cricketers and qualified coaches Ravneet Singh and Harmeet Bansal are accompanying the team as coaches.

After a successful second season of the Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup, Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) has named a 14-member Punjab senior men’s team for a 12-days tour to Namibia for a five-match, 50-over, series from July 3 to 10. The team left for the tour on Saturday night from New Delhi.

Former cricketers and qualified coaches Ravneet Singh and Harmeet Bansal are accompanying the team as coaches. The matches will be played at the Wanderers Sports Club in Windhoek.

Speaking on the idea behind organising the tour PCA joint secretary Surjit Rai said, “With an aim to give exposure in the off-season to the players, PCA has decided to organise the tour. We just saw how well the players performed in the recently concluded Sher-e-Punjab T20 Cup. A total of 33 matches in the tournament provided a great platform to the players of the state. The Namibia tour has also been planned to give exposure to the players of playing on a foreign soil. The players should make most of the chances and do well. This will give confidence to the players.” Nehal Wadhera and Uday Pratap Saharan, who were not part of the Punjab T20 league, also feature in the touring Punjab team. Medium-pacer Gurnoor Brar who picked up 22 wickets in Sher-e-Punjab is also part of the tour. The matches will take place on July 3, July 5, July 7, July 9 and July 10.

Rai is also travelling with the team along with Sahebjit Singh Sehmby who is member of the PCA Apex Council.

Talking about the tour, PCA secretary Dilsher Khanna, who is in the West Indies with the Indian cricket team for the World Cup, said, “Through this tour our players will get experience of an international tour. This tour will give them an opportunity to learn which will help us do well in the upcoming domestic tournaments. The Punjab team has both young and experienced players and should gain from this tour.”

Punjab team: Anmol Malhotra, Aradhya Shukla, Gurnoor Singh Brar, Harpreet Singh Brar, Jass Inder Singh, Mayank Markande, Naman Dhir, Nehal Wadhera, Prabhsimran Singh, Pukhraj Maan, Ramandeep Singh, Sanvir Singh, Siddharth Kaul and Uday Pratap Saharan.

Support Staff: Harmeet Singh Bansal (coach), Ravneet Singh (coach), Ram Babu Shaw (physiotherapist), Lavish Chaudhary (trainer) and Satwinder Singh (manager).

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