After weeks of apprehensions, anxiety and despair, it's cricket time in Pakistan again with the national T20 Championship.

By Wasim Akram

For genuine fans starved of watching quality international cricket, the national T20 championship will come as a whiff of fresh air. The fact that almost all Pakistan's top players will be in action for various teams, the competition should be exciting and I am surely looking forward to the results. After all, the winning team will qualify for the Champions League later this year.

While the tournament will definitely expose the hidden talent in Pakistan cricket, I am not quite sure how much thought has gone behind in organising this tournament in Lahore. Having seen Pakistan cricket from close, I find it silly that two teams each from Lahore and Karachi should be playing the nationals.

The selection of teams shows how myopic our organisers are. Considering the talent we have in our smaller cities, more towns should have been exposed. But then cricket administration in Pakistan is in the doldrums. We don't have a chairman. The PCB has now come under the Pakistan sports board and politicking will surely gobble up our cricket. It's a sad scenario and I will not be surprised if Pakistan is humiliated at the international stage.

Well, coming back to the T20 nationals, it will be interesting to see how the teams from Lahore and Karachi face up to each other. Traditionally, the cities are rivals, it has its own politics and that rubs onto the players. So don't be surprised if the match referees will have some "extra" work to do.

T20 cricket has caught the imagination of the world and it's no different in Pakistan. The Indian Premier League has only whetted the appetite of our cricket lovers. The World is waiting for Champions League T20. Surely, the Pakistan version will lack the glamour and glitz of an IPL or as expected in the CLT20, but cricket action will not be at a premium.

I do not want to identify any particular set of players to watch out for, but yes, quite a bit of focus will be on our established stars. Shoaib Malik will have to prove himself. I am not sure about Shahid Afridi but then in T20 cricket, anything can happen.

I have always been a traditionalist in my heart. I have always said you do not need talent to play T20. An average cricketer can look good in this version of the game. Some of our senior players will be in action. In a hit-and-run type of game, where fitness, fielding skills and wisdom are not necessities, brawn will prevail over brain. Who cares as long as the fan loves it?