Sialkot set to defend title as Quaid-e-Azam Trophy starts today

LAHORE: The 68th edition of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will begin on Monday, (today) in four cities and across five venues as 10 regional teams including defending champions Sialkot look to fight out for the red-ball glory in Pakistan, the Pakistani Cricket Board (PCB) said on Sunday.

Sialkot squeezed past Peshawar in a tense one-wicket win to bag the title in the previous edition led by Amad Butt at the UBL Sports Complex in Karachi. The two teams will again come face to face in the opening round at the Imran Khan Stadium, Peshawar as four other matches will also begin in Abbottabad, Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the PCB stated in a press release.

The cricket board has announced a winner’s prize of Rs7.5 million, while the runners up will collect Rs4 million. In a first, player of the match in each league match will also get Rs25,000.

Player of the final will be awarded Rs100k, while best bowler, batter, wicket-keeper and player of the tournament will be awarded Rs250k each.

Among the 10 participating teams, FATA, Faisalabad, Karachi Blues and Multan have qualified from the Hanif Mohammad Trophy, while Abbottabad, Bahawalpur, Peshawar, Sialkot, Lahore Whites and Islamabad were among the top performing teams in the last edition.

In the 46-match tournament a number of fixtures including the final are also set to be live-streamed on the PCB YouTube Channel in order to bring the fans closer to the action unfolding in domestic cricket.

In the opening round, the fixture at the Imran Khan Stadium, Peshawar and Diamond Cricket Ground, Islamabad will be live-streamed on the PCB YouTube Channel.

As part of player development in first-class cricket, all teams are required to field at least one U21 player in their playing XI in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2025-26.  Web Desk