PCB unveils squads for National Champions Cup
National Champions Cup to begin in Multan
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially unveiled the squads for the National Champions Cup. The tournament will be played at Multan Cricket Stadium from August 11 to August 18.
The National Champions Cup is a seven-match 50-over List A competition featuring four teams: Pakistan Greens, Pakistan Whites, Pakistan Blues and Pakistan Gold.
All matches will be played as day-night fixtures, with play starting at 3:00 PM. The top two teams at the end of the league stage will qualify for the final on August 18.
Four captains named
PCB has appointed some of Pakistan’s biggest stars to lead the four teams.
Shaheen Shah Afridi will captain Pakistan Gold, Shadab Khan will lead Pakistan Greens, Saim Ayub will captain Pakistan Whites, while Sahibzada Farhan has been named captain of Pakistan Blues.
New tournament format introduced
PCB has also introduced a new format for the National Champions Cup.
Each team has been given a fixed playing XI along with a reserve pool of 13 players. Teams must use the announced playing XI throughout the tournament, while reserve players can only replace injured or concussed cricketers.
Tournament linked to World Cup plans
According to PCB, the National Champions Cup will play an important role in preparing players for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027.
The board said the tournament will help selectors assess players' performances before finalising future national squads.
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National Champions Cup squads
|
Pakistan Greens |
Pakistan Whites |
Pakistan Blues |
Pakistan Gold |
|
Shadab Khan (c) |
Saim Ayub (c) |
Sahibzada Farhan (c) |
Shaheen Shah Afridi (c) |
|
Faheem Ashraf |
Akif Javed |
Ahmed Daniyal |
Abdul Samad |
|
Fakhar Zaman |
Ali Raza |
Arafat Minhas |
Abdul Subhan |
|
Farhan Yousaf |
Haris Rauf |
Hasan Ali |
Faisal Akram |
|
Mehran Mumtaz |
Hasan Nawaz |
Hussain Talat |
Haider Ali |
|
Mohammad Hasnain |
Khushdil Shah |
Jahandad Khan |
Kamran Ghulam |
|
Mohammad Salman Mirza |
Mohsin Riaz |
Rohail Nazir (wk) |
Maaz Sadaqat |
|
Naseem Shah |
Mohammad Wasim Jnr |
Shamyl Hussain |
Mohammad Nawaz |
|
Omair Bin Yousuf |
Saad Masood |
Sufyan Moqim |
Muhammad Akhlaq (wk) |
|
Saad Baig (wk) |
Shahzaib Khan |
Taimur Khan (wk) |
Muhammad Imran |
|
Sameer Minhas |
Usman Khan (wk) |
Tayyab Tahir |
Saad Khan |
Support staff
|
Team |
Head Coach |
Bowling Coach |
Batting Coach |
Fielding Coach |
|
Pakistan Greens |
Ijaz Ahmed Jnr |
Rehan Riaz |
Khurram Shahzad |
Fahad Iqbal |
|
Pakistan Whites |
Iqbal Imam |
Samiullah Niazi |
Faisal Athar |
Saqib Faqir |
|
Pakistan Blues |
Aizaz Cheema |
Fahad Masood |
Naveed Latif |
Hussain Khosa |
|
Pakistan Gold |
Misbah-ul-Haq |
Waqas Ahmed |
Riffatullah Mohmand |
Atiq-ur-Rehman |
Reserve pool
Batters: Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Faiq, Muhammad Irfan Khan
All-rounders: Mubasir Khan, Danish Aziz
Pacers: Arshad Iqbal, Muhammad Salman, Razaullah, Saqib Khan, Mohammad Amir Khan, Shahnawaz Dahani
Wicketkeeper: Haseebullah
