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Friday, September 11, 2026 · Pakistan's home of sport
PCB · Domestic Cricket · 2026–27 Season Opener

National
Champions Cup 2026

Pakistan’s premier 50-over domestic tournament. Four national sides. Seven matches. One venue. All at Multan Cricket Stadium from 11–18 August 2026.

11–18 August 2026 Multan Cricket Stadium 3:00 PM PKT · Day/Night 4 Teams · List A · 50 Overs
Teams
4
National Sides
Matches
7
Incl. Final
Format
50
Overs · List A
Venue
MCS
Multan

The National Champions Cup 2026 is a 50-over List A tournament organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). It opens Pakistan’s 2026–27 domestic cricket season and doubles as a selection trial for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027. This page covers everything: squads, the full match schedule, the live points table, results, scorecards, and individual awards.

Tournament Overview

National Champions Cup 2026 Overview


Organiser
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB)
Format
50-Over List A · Single Round-Robin + Final
Dates
11 August – 18 August 2026
Venue
Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan
Teams
Pakistan Greens · Pakistan Whites · Pakistan Blues · Pakistan Gold
Match Start
3:00 PM PKT (Day/Night) · All 7 matches
Players Selected
44 (11 per team) + 13-player reserve pool
Goal
ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 preparation

The tournament uses fixed playing XIs. Teams may bring in players from the reserve pool of 13 only in cases of injury or concussion. The reserve players travel with the teams and are present at training and on match days.

The PCB announced the squads and schedule on 27 July 2026 in Lahore. The selection committee confirmed that all 44 players were chosen with ICC World Cup 2027 roles in mind.

“We have arranged this high-profile 50-over competition to provide ample playing opportunities to our best available pool of players for ICC Cricket World Cup 2027 preparations.”

Aqib Javed — Director High Performance & Member, Men’s National Selection Committee

The Four Teams

National Champions Cup Teams


Four national sides compete. Each team has a PCB-appointed captain and a full support staff. Below is a quick reference — full squad details are in Section 3.

Team Captain Head Coach Key Players Squad
Pakistan Greens Shadab Khan Ijaz Ahmed Jnr Naseem Shah, Fakhar Zaman, Faheem Ashraf
Pakistan Whites Saim Ayub Iqbal Imam Haris Rauf, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Wasim Jnr
Pakistan Blues Sahibzada Farhan Aizaz Cheema Hasan Ali, Tayyab Tahir, Sufyan Moqim
Pakistan Gold Shaheen Shah Afridi Misbah-ul-Haq Mohammad Nawaz, Haider Ali, Kamran Ghulam

Full Playing XIs

National Champions Cup Squads


Complete 11-player squads as announced by the PCB on 27 July 2026. Teams play fixed XIs. The 13-player reserve pool is listed separately at the bottom of this section.

SK
Shadab Khan
All-Rounder
FA
Faheem Ashraf
All-Rounder
FZ
Fakhar Zaman
Batter
FY
Farhan Yousuf
Batter
MM
Mehran Mumtaz
All-Rounder
MH
Mohammad Hasnain
Pacer
MS
M. Salman Mirza
Pacer
NS
Naseem Shah
Pacer
OY
Omair Bin Yousuf
Batter
SB
Saad Baig
Wicket-Keeper
SM
Sameer Minhas
Batter
Head Coach Ijaz Ahmed Jnr
Bowling Rehan Riaz
Batting Khurram Shahzad
Fielding Fahad Iqbal

C = Captain · WK = Wicket-Keeper · Squad as announced by PCB, 27 July 2026

SA
Saim Ayub
Batter
AJ
Akif Javed
Pacer
AR
Ali Raza
Pacer
HR
Haris Rauf
Pacer
HN
Hasan Nawaz
Batter
KS
Khushdil Shah
All-Rounder
MR
Mohsin Riaz
Pacer
MW
Mohammad Wasim Jnr
Pacer
SM
Saad Masood
Batter
SZ
Shahzaib Khan
Batter
UK
Usman Khan
Wicket-Keeper
Head Coach Iqbal Imam
Bowling Samiullah Niazi
Batting Faisal Athar
Fielding Saqib Faqir

C = Captain · WK = Wicket-Keeper · Squad as announced by PCB, 27 July 2026

SF
Sahibzada Farhan
WK-Batter
AD
Ahmed Daniyal
Pacer
AM
Arafat Minhas
All-Rounder
HA
Hasan Ali
Pacer
HT
Hussain Talat
All-Rounder
JK
Jahandad Khan
Pacer
RN
Rohail Nazir
Wicket-Keeper
SH
Shamyl Hussain
Batter
SM
Sufyan Moqim
Spinner
TK
Taimur Khan
Wicket-Keeper
TT
Tayyab Tahir
Batter
Head Coach Aizaz Cheema
Bowling Fahad Masood
Batting Naveed Latif
Fielding Hussain Khosa

C = Captain · WK = Wicket-Keeper · Blues have two designated wicket-keepers in their XI · Squad as announced by PCB, 27 July 2026

SS
Shaheen Afridi
Pacer
AS
Abdul Samad
All-Rounder
AB
Abdul Subhan
Batter
FA
Faisal Akram
Pacer
HA
Haider Ali
Batter
KG
Kamran Ghulam
Batter
MS
Maaz Sadaqat
Batter
MN
Mohammad Nawaz
All-Rounder
MA
Muhammad Akhlaq
Wicket-Keeper
MI
Muhammad Imran
Pacer
SK
Saad Khan
Spinner
Head Coach Misbah-ul-Haq
Bowling Waqas Ahmed
Batting Riffatullah Mohmand
Fielding Atiq-ur-Rehman

C = Captain · WK = Wicket-Keeper · Squad as announced by PCB, 27 July 2026

Tournament Reserve Pool (13 Players)

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
Wicket-Keeper
Haseebullah

Match Schedule

National Champions Cup Fixtures 2026


All seven matches are day/night at Multan Cricket Stadium. First ball at 3:00 PM PKT (10:00 AM GMT). Matches 1–6 are round-robin league games; Match 7 is the Final.

11
Aug
1st Match · D/N · Round Robin
Pakistan Greens vs Pakistan Whites
Multan Cricket Stadium · Tue, 11 Aug 2026
List A
3:00 PM PKT
12
Aug
2nd Match · D/N · Round Robin
Pakistan Blues vs Pakistan Gold
Multan Cricket Stadium · Wed, 12 Aug 2026
List A
3:00 PM PKT
13
Aug
3rd Match · D/N · Round Robin
Pakistan Blues vs Pakistan Whites
Multan Cricket Stadium · Thu, 13 Aug 2026
List A
3:00 PM PKT
14
Aug
4th Match · D/N · Round Robin
Pakistan Gold vs Pakistan Greens
Multan Cricket Stadium · Fri, 14 Aug 2026
List A
3:00 PM PKT
15
Aug
5th Match · D/N · Round Robin
Pakistan Blues vs Pakistan Greens
Multan Cricket Stadium · Sat, 15 Aug 2026
List A
3:00 PM PKT
16
Aug
6th Match · D/N · Round Robin
Pakistan Gold vs Pakistan Whites
Multan Cricket Stadium · Sun, 16 Aug 2026
List A
3:00 PM PKT
18
Aug
Final · D/N · Top 2 Teams
TBC vs TBC
Multan Cricket Stadium · Tue, 18 Aug 2026
Final
3:00 PM PKT

Live Standings

National Champions Cup Points Table


Points table updated 17 August 2026. Two points for a win, zero for a loss. The top two teams qualify for the Final on 18 August.

# Team P W L NR Pts NRR
1 Greens 33062.180
2 Whites 3122-0.473
3 Blues 3122-0.805
4 Gold 3122-1.093

P = Played · W = Won · L = Lost · NR = No Result · Pts = Points · NRR = Net Run Rate. Table will be updated after each match.

Match Results

Latest Results and Match Updates


This section will carry full match results, scorecards and standout individual performances after each game. Check back from 11 August 2026.

Tournament starts 11 August 2026

Match scorecards, player performances and result summaries will appear here as each game is completed.

Key Performers

National Champions Cup Players to Watch


Eight players whose performances matter most — both for the tournament result and for World Cup 2027 selection calls.

NS
Naseem Shah
Pakistan Greens

Pakistan’s most dangerous pace bowler needs List A form to cement his World Cup 2027 slot. Every wicket and economy figure here carries selector weight.

SS
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan Gold (Captain)

Leads Gold while simultaneously auditioning for a leadership role in the 50-over side. His workload management and match awareness will be watched closely.

SA
Saim Ayub
Pakistan Whites (Captain)

The left-handed opener captains Whites. Three league matches give him a real chance to settle his position at the top of the ODI order for the World Cup cycle.

FZ
Fakhar Zaman
Pakistan Greens

Returns to the setup after an inconsistent international run. A big knock here could make it very hard for selectors to leave him out of the ODI squad.

HR
Haris Rauf
Pakistan Whites

One of the best death-over pacers in the country. His ability to perform in crunch overs here will directly influence his ODI squad standing heading into the World Cup window.

KG
Kamran Ghulam
Pakistan Gold

A prolific domestic run-scorer who has been on the fringes of the national squad. The Champions Cup is his best chance to make the step-up case in a high-visibility tournament.

TT
Tayyab Tahir
Pakistan Blues

The middle-order batter has drawn attention with his range-hitting in franchise cricket. The 50-over format will test his ability to build innings — a skill selectors want to see.

SK
Shadab Khan
Pakistan Greens (Captain)

Captains Greens and bowls leg-spin in the middle overs. His dual value — wicket-taking spin and useful lower-order runs — makes him one to follow across all three league matches.

Prize Money & Awards

National Champions Cup Prize Money and Awards


Prize details will be updated after the official PCB announcement. Individual awards — including Player of the Tournament, Best Batter, Best Bowler and Best Fielder — are expected to be confirmed before the tournament begins.

🏆
Winner
TBA

Prize details will be updated after official announcement.

🥈
Runner-Up
TBA

Prize details will be updated after official announcement.

🌟
Individual Awards
TBA

Player of Tournament, Best Batter, Best Bowler, Best Fielder.

Frequently Asked Questions

National Champions Cup 2026 — Common Questions


The National Champions Cup 2026 is a 50-over List A cricket tournament organised by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). It opens the 2026–27 domestic cricket season and runs from 11 to 18 August 2026 at Multan Cricket Stadium. The PCB designed it as a preparation event for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027.

Four teams compete: Pakistan Greens, Pakistan Whites, Pakistan Blues and Pakistan Gold. Each team has 11 players in its fixed playing XI. A shared reserve pool of 13 players is available to all teams in cases of injury or concussion only.

Shadab Khan captains Pakistan Greens. Saim Ayub leads Pakistan Whites. Sahibzada Farhan captains Pakistan Blues. Shaheen Shah Afridi leads Pakistan Gold. All four captains were named in the PCB’s squad announcement on 27 July 2026.

All seven matches — including the Final — are scheduled at Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan. Every match is a day/night fixture starting at 3:00 PM Pakistan Standard Time (10:00 AM GMT).

The four teams play on a single-league round-robin basis — six league matches in total, with each pair meeting once. The top two teams at the end of the league stage contest the Final on Tuesday, 18 August 2026.

This page will carry match results, scorecards and points table updates after each game. Live scores are available on the PCB’s official website and ESPNcricinfo. The results section above will be updated from 11 August once matches begin.

The tournament is Pakistan’s primary 50-over selection trial ahead of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027. The national selection committee used it as the framework when picking all 44 players and the reserve pool. Performances here will directly influence the ODI squad for the World Cup cycle.

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