Pakistan and inconsistency go hand in hand in cricket. And it’s not limited to their national teams.
The inconsistency runs deep down in their domestic cricket structure. The country’s governing body, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), overhauls the domestic structure now and then at its whim.
And the PCB has introduced the latest round of changes to its domestic cricket structure for the 2025-26 season. They have made some wholesale changes, like they always do.
So here we’ll see Pakistan’s revamped domestic cricket structure in the 2025-26 season.
Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Participating Teams Trimmed Down
In a major overhaul, the Quaid-e-Azam trophy will see a drop in participating teams. Now, eight teams will compete in the country’s premier red-ball tournament.
Last season, 18 teams featured in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy across three groups. With a trimmed-down version in place, teams will now play in a single round-robin format.
But a qualifier tournament will precede the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Twelve teams, relegated from the last season, will fight for two Quaid-e-Azam Trophy spots.
There will be two groups of six teams each. The table toppers will advance to the main event. The qualifier tournament, the Hanif Mohammad Trophy, won’t have first-class status, though.
This move, though, has drawn some criticism as Pakistan’s cricketing powerhouse, Karachi, misses out on a direct qualification.
The qualifier tournament will start the season on August 15, 2025, while the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will get underway on September 22.
Hanif Mohammad Trophy: Participating Teams
Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, FATA, Lahore Region Blues, Hyderabad, Karachi Region Blues, Karachi Region Whites, Multan, Quetta, D.M. Jamali, AJK and Larkana.
Quaid-e-Azam Trophy: Qualified Teams
Lahore Region Whites, Sialkot, Peshawar, Islamabad, Abbottabad, and Bahawalpur.
Champions Cup Dropped After a Season
Started with a lot of hype last season, the Champions Cup doesn’t find a mention in the revamped structure. The board started the One-Day and T20 Champions Cup to narrow the gap between international and domestic standards. But the tournaments seem not to have struck the right chords.
The PCB had also planned for a first-class version of the cup last season. But somehow it didn’t take place.
And now, none of the three competitions will be part of the 2025-26 domestic season. The Champions Cup is the latest addition to PCB’s constant chopping and changing!
National T20 Gets a Facelift
Like the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the country’s National T20 tournament will also have a qualifier in place. A total of 10 teams, divided into two groups, will be in action in the National T20 Qualifier.
The teams will compete for the two spots available in the National T20 Super 10 stage. The qualifier will run from February 3 to 11, 2025.
A month later, the National T20 Super 10 will commence with 10 teams. While eight of those teams have already sealed their slots, the table toppers from the qualifier will take the other two spots.
National T20 (Qualifier): Participating Teams
Abbottabad, Multan, Quetta, Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, FATA, Larkana, D.M. Jamali, and AJK
National T20 (Super 10): Qualified Teams
Karachi Region Whites, Lahore Region Whites, Peshawar, Karachi Region Blues, Sialkot, Islamabad and Faisalabad
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Departmental Tournaments to Continue
The PCB will continue to host departmental cricket tournaments in the 2025-26 season. As has been the case, the President’s Trophy and the President’s Cup will take place in first-class and one-day formats, respectively.
The one-day and first-class tournaments will take place between November 2025 and January 2026. The President’s Trophy will also feature Grade II and III tournaments, scheduled between March and May 2026.
Age Group Tournaments to Identify Future Stars
The PCB will also organise national-level age-group tournaments. One-day competitions will take place for the Under 19, Under 17, and Under 15 age groups.
The board aims to spot the upcoming young talent and nurture them early in their career through these age-group tournaments.
Why the revamp?
As it turns out, the PCB wants to add competitiveness in its domestic tournaments. Through this, they want to reward the better-performing teams and players.
This will, in turn, help increase the level of competition across all its tournaments. And the board will identify exciting talent for their national teams.
Now, it will be interesting to see if the PCB persists with the revamp for several seasons or has a change of mind before the next season.
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