The national cricket team will sport a special jersey in the first T20 match against England today “to raise awareness about the devastation caused by the floods in the country”, according to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Record monsoon rains in south and southwest Pakistan and glacial melt in northern areas have triggered the flooding that has affected nearly 33 million people, killed more than 1,540 people, sweeping away homes, crops, bridges, roads and livestock and causing an estimated $30 billion of damage.
Fast bowler Shahnawaz Dahani tweeted a picture of himself wearing the jersey, which is a shade of blue, as opposed to the typical green palette. “Pakistan’s new kit dedicated to the flood affected,” he wrote in the tweet.
In the photo that PCB shared, the player number can be seen with a water pattern rising from below, signifying floods.
Of the seven T20 match series, the first four matches are in Karachi on September 20, 22, 23 and 25 with the final three in Lahore on Sept 28, 30 and October 2.
The PCB has pledged all the gate receipts from the first T20 to the Prime Minister’s Flood Relief Fund “to help the victims of the devastating floods that have submerged one-third of the country”, it said in a press release yesterday.
England, the current 50-over world champions, are also scheduled to play a Test series in Pakistan in December followed by the return of New Zealand.
England had been originally scheduled to arrive in October last year but cancelled at short notice after New Zealand pulled out of a tour citing safety concerns.