The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced today that the Hanif Mohammad Trophy (HMT), the opening competition of the 2025-26 domestic cricket calendar, will commence on August 29, a two-week postponement from its original August 15 start date. The delay accommodates the availability of Pakistan Shaheens’ players for their regional sides. Twelve regional teams will vie for two coveted Quaid-e-Azam Trophy berths in this four-day non-first-class tournament, culminating on September 25.
Group A, consisting of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Karachi Whites, Lahore Blues, and Quetta, will play their matches in Bahawalpur, Multan, and Rahim Yar Khan. Group B, comprising Dera Murad Jamali, FATA, Karachi Blues, Larkana, Multan, and Rawalpindi, will compete in Karachi.
Over 28 days, each team will participate in five matches across five rounds, with six matches per round. The top team from each group will advance to the prestigious Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, slated to follow the HMT. Teams will select their squads based on past performance and the Regional Inter-District three-day tournament held in June and July.
The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will feature Sialkot, Islamabad, Lahore Whites, Abbottabad, Peshawar, Bahawalpur, and the two HMT qualifying teams. The first round of the HMT, from August 29 to September 1, features Faisalabad versus Lahore Blues, Hyderabad versus Karachi Whites, and Quetta versus AJK in Group A; and Rawalpindi versus FATA, Karachi Blues versus Multan, and Dera Murad Jamali versus Larkana in Group B.