T20 charity match postponed

Karachi: The Twenty20 charity match planned by Pakistan`s flamboyant allrounder Shahid Afridi to raise funds for the displaced people of North Waziristan, has been postponed.

"The match will now take place after the tour to Sri Lanka and the good thing is that Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif and former captain turned politician, Imran Khan had both confirmed their participation for the match," Afridi said. Many sports enthusiasts and political analysts have been looking forward to seeing Imran and Sharif, the fierce political rivals, play in the match. Afridi, who has taken up charity and welfare work in the health and education sector, said since there was maintenance work going on in Gaddafi stadium, the match was postponed. "There is some maintenance work going on at the Gaddafi stadium and I wanted to hold the match there. So it is postponed for now but will definitely be held soon," he said. The all-rounder had announced recently his intention to hold the T20 match to raise funds for the millions of people displaced due to the military operation against foreign and local terrorists in North Waziristan. "The operation is against terrorists and all of us collectively need to do as much as we can to help and assist these displaced families," Afridi stated. Afridi said a number of prominent players of the current Pakistan team and some former greats have confirmed their participation. The T20 match is now most likely to be held in September as Pakistan`s tour of Sri Lanka ends with the third One-day International (ODI) in Dambulla on August 30. Afridi said he was looking forward to playing in the one-day series in Sri Lanka as it would be the start of his preparations for the World Cup 2015. "It is going to be a challenging tour because we have a new management and I am sure our team will be moving ahead and be ready for the World Cup," he said.