PCB sets National Champions Cup for August 11-18 in Multan

LAHORE: Pakistan’s 2026-27 domestic season will begin with the National Champions Cup in Multan next month, as the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed a seven-match 50-over competition featuring four sides from August 11 to 18.

All fixtures in the List A tournament will be staged at the Multan Cricket Stadium as day-night matches, with a 3pm local start for every game. The event will be played on a single round-robin basis between Pakistan Greens, Pakistan Whites, Pakistan Blues and Pakistan Gold, with the top two teams advancing to the final on August 18.

The PCB said the 44-player squad and reserve pool had been picked as part of preparations for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027, with the tournament intended to help identify and assess players ahead of the event.

The four teams will be captained by Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan. The board has also announced fixed playing XIs for each side, while a separate 13-player reserve pool will remain available only for injury or concussion replacements. Those reserve players will stay with their respective squads during training sessions and on match days.

Squads and support staff

Pakistan Greens will be led by Shadab Khan and comprise Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Farhan Yousuf, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saad Baig and Sameer Minhas. Their support staff includes head coach Ijaz Ahmed Jnr, bowling coach Rehan Riaz, batting coach Khurram Shahzad and fielding coach Fahad Iqbal.

Pakistan Whites captain Saim Ayub will have Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Khushdil Shah, Mohsin Riaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Saad Masood, Shahzaib Khan and Usman Khan in his XI. The coaching group consists of head coach Iqbal Imam, bowling coach Samiullah Niazi, batting coach Faisal Athar and fielding coach Saqib Faqir.

Pakistan Blues, under Sahibzada Farhan, will field Abdullah Shafique, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat, Jahandad Khan, Rohail Nazir, Shamyl Hussain, Sufyan Moqim and Taimur Khan. Their backroom staff features head coach Aizaz Cheema, bowling coach Fahad Masood, batting coach Naveed Latif and fielding coach Hussain Khosa.

Pakistan Gold will be captained by Shaheen Shah Afridi, with Abdul Samad, Abdul Subhan, Faisal Akram, Haider Ali, Kamran Ghulam, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Nawaz, Muhammad Akhlaq, Muhammad Imran and Saad Khan completing the playing XI. Misbah-ul-Haq has been named head coach, alongside bowling coach Waqas Ahmed, batting coach Riffatullah Mohmand and fielding coach Atiq-ur-Rehman.

The reserve pool includes batters Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Faiq and Muhammad Irfan Khan; all-rounders Mubasir Khan and Danish Aziz; pacers Arshad Iqbal, Muhammad Salman, Razaullah, Saqib Khan, Mohammad Amir Khan and Shahnawaz Dahani; and wicketkeeper Haseebullah.