PCB finalises schedule, host cities for President's Trophy Grade-I

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Saturday finalised the schedule and host cities for its departmental first-class domestic tournament, President's Trophy Grade-I.

According to the details, the first-class tournament will be held across Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Abbottabad from September 24, with the five-day final scheduled to be played from November 5 to 9, the venue for which is yet to be decided.

Furthermore, this year's President's Trophy Grade-I will feature eight departmental teams – State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA), Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Ghani Glass, Pakistan Television (PTV), Sahir Associates and MIT Solutions.

The PCB's decision to finalise the schedule more than two months before the commencement of the first-class tournament was welcomed by the participating departments, who termed it helpful for getting the budget approved and for formulating strategies.

For the unversed, the development comes just three weeks after the PCB announced that the departmental cricket tournaments, part of the domestic season 2026-27, will get underway in September, instead of the usual December-January start.

The cricket board, in a statement, confirmed that the country's domestic season is set to begin in August, while the departmental tournaments will get underway with the President's Trophy Grade-I the following month.

Although the PCB did not reveal the schedules of other domestic tournaments at the time, it had shared plans to work closely with the departments on multiple fronts, including player development and revenue streams for domestic cricketers.

"The PCB will also work with the departments across the four tournaments to maintain best possible standards of fitness as well, comprising pre-season fitness tests for selection of players," the cricket board had said in a statement.