New National Champions Cup to run in Multan from August 11

Pakistan’s new National Champions Cup one-day tournament will run at the Multan Cricket Stadium from August 11 to 18, ahead of the 2027 ICC Men’s ODI World Cup.

The Pakistan Cricket Board will field four teams across seven matches in the event.

A single round-robin phase will be followed by a final, with the teams named Pakistan Gold, Pakistan Greens, Pakistan Whites and Pakistan Blues.

Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan will lead the four sides, which have been picked by the national selection committee.

The tournament is designed to gauge the country’s one-day talent depth ahead of the World Cup.

It forms part of a broader overhaul of the domestic cricket calendar for 2026-27, including expanded regional teams and changes to the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

(Image: BBC Urdu (CC BY 3.0))