LAHORE – Sialkot set to launch title defence as Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is scheduled to begin in four cities on Monday, October 6.
In the first round, the defending champions will face Peshawar at the Imran Khan Stadium in a re-match of the previous edition’s final, which the former won by one wicket in a nerve-wrecking contest at the UBL Sports Complex in Karachi.
The four-day first-class tournament will be played on a single-league round-robin format. A total of nine rounds have been planned from October 6 to November 26. The five-day final between the two top teams will take place from November 29 to December 3.
The venues for the 46-match QeA Trophy are Abbottabad Cricket Stadium in Abbottabad, Shoaib Akhtar Stadium in Rawalpindi, Imran Khan Cricket Stadium in Peshawar and Diamond and Marghzar Cricket Grounds in Islamabad.
Four of these venues, except Peshawar, also hosted the previous edition of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
The participating teams are Abbottabad, Bahawalpur, FATA, Faisalabad, Islamabad, Karachi Blues, Lahore Whites, Multan, Peshawar and Sialkot.
FATA, Faisalabad, Karachi Blues and Multan have qualified for the QeA Trophy after finishing with the most number of points in the recently concluded Hanif Mohammad Trophy.
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.
