The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is expanding its premier first-class cricket competition, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, to eight teams for the 2025-26 season. The PCB released its domestic cricket calendar, which will commence on August 15 with the Hanif Mohammad Trophy, a 12-team, non-first-class, four-day tournament.
The Hanif Mohammad Trophy matches will be played in Karachi, Multan, Bahawalpur, and Rahim Yar Khan. The top two teams from this initial competition will earn places in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
The teams participating in the Hanif Mohammad Trophy are Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, FATA, Lahore Region Blues, Hyderabad, Karachi Region Blues, Karachi Region Whites, Multan, Quetta, DM Jamali, Azad Kashmir, and Larkana. These same twelve regional teams also participated in the previous Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is slated to begin on September 22 and will feature 29 matches in a single league format, culminating in the final from November 3 to 7. Six teams – Lahore Region Whites, Sialkot, Peshawar, Islamabad, Abbottabad, and Bahawalpur – have already secured their spots. They will be joined by the two teams qualifying from the Hanif Mohammad Trophy. These games will be held across four venues in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, with the venues to be announced later.