The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced several major changes to the 2026-27 men’s domestic season, including the introduction of a new four-team one-day tournament to strengthen preparations for next year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.
The domestic season will begin on August 11 in Multan with the inaugural National Champions Cup, a week-long List A competition featuring four teams selected by the national selection committee. The tournament has been specifically added to assess Pakistan’s one-day talent pool ahead of the 50-over World Cup.
The National Champions Cup will be followed by the President’s Cup, the department-based one-day competition, which begins three days after the first tournament concludes.
The PCB has revived its focus on one-day cricket after organising only one List A competition over the past two domestic seasons. The regional Pakistan Cup was discontinued following the 2023-24 season, leaving the President’s Cup as the only 50-over tournament.
PCB Senior General Manager for Domestic Cricket Operations Osama Sharoon said the revised calendar has been designed with the national team’s World Cup preparations in mind.
“This year the focus has been pinned on Pakistan men’s team’s preparations for the Cricket World Cup and for that the Domestic Cricket Operations Department has strategically arranged two List A tournaments to start the season. With a number of top-quality national and emerging stars appearing this year in the various domestic tournaments, the fans will surely enjoy the coming season and our cricketers will develop by leaps and bounds,” Sharoon said.
The 2026-27 season will also see the number of region-based teams increase from 18 to 20. Sialkot and Peshawar have each been granted a second regional team, joining Lahore and Karachi as the only regions allowed to field two sides. The additional teams will also participate in age-group competitions.
The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy has been restructured into Gold and Silver divisions, with all 16 regions represented in the first-class competition. The Gold Division will feature the top eight teams, while the remaining 12 teams, including the newly added Sialkot and Peshawar sides, will compete in the Silver Division.
Both divisions of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will begin simultaneously on November 1. The new format marks the third structural change to Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament in the past three seasons. Last season’s competition featured 10 teams, while the 2024-25 edition included all 18 regional teams.
The Hanif Mohammad Trophy, which previously served as a non-first-class three-day competition for lower-ranked regional teams, has been discontinued.
Before the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy begins, the President’s Trophy first-class tournament, featuring eight departmental teams, and the non-first-class competition will run concurrently from September 12 at venues across Pakistan.
The domestic season will conclude with the National T20 Cup in February and March. The Silver Division, featuring 12 teams, will be played first before the Gold Division takes place from February 23 to March 6.
