National Champions Cup 2026-27: Full squads, schedule and key details
The seven-match 50-over tournament will begin from August 11 at the Multan Cricket Stadium
Zaid Hassan
Producer
Zaid Hassan, a seasoned sports journalist, led Cricket Pakistan as editor for four years, shaping its coverage with insightful analysis. Now a producer at Nukta, he expands into broader storytelling while remaining a key voice in Pakistan’s sports media.
Shaheen Afridi, Faheem Ashraf, Sahibzada Farhan and Saim Ayub address pre-tournament press conference on Monday in Multan.
PCB
Pakistan’s 2026-27 domestic cricket season will begin with the National Champions Cup, a seven-match 50-over tournament scheduled from August 11 to 18 at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
Four teams, Pakistan Greens, Pakistan Whites, Pakistan Blues and Pakistan Gold, will compete in a single round-robin format, with the top two sides qualifying for the August 18 final. All matches will be day-night fixtures, starting at 3pm local time.
Why is the National Champions Cup important?
The competition is part of Pakistan’s preparations for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027, which will be hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
The tournament will give selectors an opportunity to assess players in 50-over cricket and identify potential options for the national side.
Teams will field fixed playing XIs throughout the competition. Reserve players can only replace players who suffer an injury or concussion.
Who are the four captains?
Shadab Khan will lead Pakistan Greens, Sahibzada Farhan will captain Pakistan Blues, Saim Ayub will lead Pakistan Whites, while Shaheen Shah Afridi has been appointed Pakistan Gold captain.
Pakistan Greens
Shadab Khan (c), Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Farhan Yousuf, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saad Baig (wk), Sameer Minhas.
Pakistan Blues
Sahibzada Farhan (c), Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat, Jahandad Khan, Rohail Nazir (wk), Shamyl Hussain, Sufyan Moqim, Taimur Khan (wk), Tayyab Tahir.
Pakistan Whites
Saim Ayub (c), Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Khushdil Shah, Mohsin Riaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Saad Masood, Shahzaib Khan, Usman Khan (wk).
Pakistan Gold
Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Abdul Samad, Abdul Subhan, Faisal Akram, Haider Ali, Kamran Ghulam, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Nawaz, Muhammad Akhlaq (wk), Muhammad Imran, Saad Khan.
What is the tournament schedule?
August 11: Pakistan Greens vs Pakistan Whites
August 12: Pakistan Blues vs Pakistan Gold
August 13: Pakistan Blues vs Pakistan Whites
August 14: Pakistan Gold vs Pakistan Greens
August 15: Pakistan Blues vs Pakistan Greens
August 16: Pakistan Gold vs Pakistan Whites
August 18: Final
With four strong squads and several international players involved, the Champions Cup is set to provide an early glimpse of Pakistan’s potential ODI options ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
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