PCB Announces Schedule for Prestigious Domestic Tournament
Shakeel Ur Rehman
The Pakistan Cricket Board has officially announced the schedule for the prestigious President’s Trophy Grade-II Gold tournament, which begins today across Abbottabad, Haripur, Islamabad and Rawalpindi.
The tournament serves as a qualification pathway for the President’s Trophy Grade-I First-Class competition and the List-A President’s Cup. For the first time, the event has been divided into Gold and Silver categories, with the top 14 teams from last season qualifying for the Gold tier.
Among the participating sides, Eshaal Associates have finalized their squad for the tournament. The team includes Ashir Malik, Sajjad Ibrahim, Usman Khan, Aimal Khan, Aftab Khan, Yousaf Baber, Ali Baloch, Zahid, Muhammad Shan, Haroon Sadaqat, Muhammad Ahsan and Muhammad Akram. Eshaal Associates will play their opening match today against JDW Sugar Mills in Haripur.
The Silver category competition will begin from May 18 and will feature 10 teams. The champion and runner-up of the Silver category will earn promotion to the Gold division next season, while the finalists of the Gold competition will qualify for the Grade-I First-Class and List-A tournaments.
The winning team of the tournament will receive a prize of PKR 5 million, while the runners-up will get PKR 2.5 million. The Player of the Final will receive PKR 100,000, whereas the Best Batter, Best Bowler, Best Wicketkeeper and Player of the Tournament will each be awarded PKR 50,000.
The Gold competition has been divided into two pools.
Pool A
Eshaal Associates, JDW Sugar Mills, MIT Solutions, PHA Rawalpindi, Railways, Ahmed Glass and Kings Men Academy.
Pool B
Higher Education Commission, Kings Men, Wing 999 Sports, Ghani Institute, Sardar Group, Port Qasim and Vital Tea.
Pool A matches will be played at Railway Cricket Stadium, Abbottabad and National Cricket Ground, while Pool B fixtures will take place at Diamond Cricket Ground, Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium and Murghzar Cricket Ground.
Each team will play six three-day non-first-class matches in the league stage from May 12 to June 11. The top two teams from each pool will qualify for the semi-finals scheduled from June 14 to 16, while the final will be played from June 18 to 21.
