By Alam Zeb Safi
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday unveiled the men’s domestic cricket calendar for the season 2026-27 which is set to run from August 11, 2026, to June 15 2027.
The upcoming domestic season will include two list-A, three first-class, two non-first-class three-day, two T20, an U19 50-over and an U19 three-day, U15 50-over and an U17 two-day tournament along with District Challenge Leagues, Inter-District U19, Inter-District senior three-day and School Cricket in 100 districts.
The domestic cricket calendar has been designed with a vision to cater to the development and preparatory requirement of national, domestic, emerging, age-group and aspiring cricketers across the length and breadth of the country
At the heart of the 2026-27 domestic calendar sit two List-A tournaments, which kick-start the season as focus shifts to the preparations for ICC Cricket World Cup in 2027 in South Africa scheduled from 4 October to 21 November 2027.
Another major development in strengthening the regional cricket framework and widening the player development and scouting net is the introduction of one extra regional team from Sialkot and Peshawar, respectively. These two regions along with Lahore and Karachi become the only four of the 16 regions to have two teams each.
Quaid-e-Azam Trophy – the oldest and the most prestigious event in Pakistan’s domestic cricket calendar – will see two divisions in 2026-27 with the previously non-first-class four-day event Hanif Mohammad Trophy’s status being changed to four-day first-class event and has been named Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Silver.
The PCB has also arranged a red-ball event for U19 cricketers of all 16 regions comprising of 47 three-day matches. They will also take part in a 50-over tournament with both the tournaments running concurrently as PCB looks to develop the future cohort of professional cricketers.
The U15 One-Day and U17 two-day cups across the 16 regions will continue as they took place in the previous season, while the Districts will continue to play Challenge league before Inter-District U19 and Inter-District senior tournaments.
PCB Talent Hunt Programme for Schools has been expanded from 450 schools to 1200 and from 39 districts to 100 districts for the 2026-27 season.
Regional Cricket
The regions will take part in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and National T20 Cup. Both tournaments are divided into two divisions.
Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Gold will comprise of top eight teams of the previous edition. The tournament will run from 1 November to 17 December in Islamabad, Peshawar, Abbottabad and Rawalpindi with each team playing seven first-class matches before the top two lock horns in the final to determine the winner of the premier first-class tournament.
The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy silver will comprise of 12 teams which include the two new teams from Peshawar and Sialkot, two relegated teams (Abbottabad and Bahawalpur) and the eight teams who featured in Hanif Mohammad Trophy last year and couldn’t qualify.
These 12 teams will be divided into two groups of six each. After every team has played five matches in their group on single-league round robin basis, the toppers of each group will face off in the final. The tournament will run from 1 November to 5 December.
The winner of the QeAT Silver will secure promotion to the Gold division for season 2027-28, while the bottom teams of the Gold division will be relegated to Silver.
The National T20 Cup Silver will comprise of 12 teams and will take place in Lahore from 5 February to 19 February. The two finalists will qualify for National T20 Cup Gold, which will also take place at the same venue from 23 to February to 6 March with 10 teams taking part.
Departmental Cricket
The President’s Cup Grade-I is scheduled in Karachi from 21 August to 8 September with eight teams taking part in it. At the end of the single-league round robin stage, the top four teams will contest the semi-finals, followed by the final.
The President’s Trophy Grade-I first-class and Grade-II Gold and Silver will all begin on the same day – 12 September – across eight cities. With this arrangement, around 34 departmental teams are set to be in action in four-day first-class and three-day non-first-class tournaments.
Age-Group Cricket
The 20 U19 regional teams are set to be treated to the best possible development pathway as they will take part in National U19 Cup and Championship with both the tournaments scheduled to be played in white-ball and red-ball rounds. They will take place in Faisalabad, Peshawar, Sialkot and Multan from 15 September 6 November.
The 20 U15 regional teams will take part in One-Day tournament from 22 October to 6 November, while the two-day National U17 Cup will take place from 10 November to 5 December. Age group trials for U15 and U17 teams and U19 district teams will take place inn September.
National T20 Cup (Gold) – 10 teams – Lahore – 23 February to 6 March 2027
Age-group events
National U19 Championship (three-day) and National U19 Cup (50-over) – Faisalabad, Peshawar, Sialkot, Multan – 15 September to 6 November
U15 and U17 in all 16 regions and U19 trials in – September
National U15 Cup – 20 teams – 50-over – Faisalabad, Peshawar, Sialkot – 22 October to 6 November
National U17 Cup – 20 teams – two-day – Faisalabad, Peshawar, Sialkot – 10 November to 5 December
District events and School Cricket
District Challenge League – Two-day intra-district matches – 15 March to 10 April 2027
Regional Inter-District – 112 district and zonal teams – 3-day matches – 12 April to 20 May 2027
Challenge League U19 – 50-over intra-district matches – November 2026
Regional Inter-District U19 – 112 district and zonal teams – 25 May to 15 June 2027
PCB Talent Hunt Programme for Schools – August to November 2026
