PCB postpones President's Cup to December after request from selectors

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has postponed the President’s Cup, an eight-team List-A tournament for departmental sides, just two days before its scheduled start.

The tournament, which was due to begin this week, will now be held in December 2026.

According to reports, the decision was taken following a request from the national selection committee and the white-ball team management, who felt that players needed adequate rest after the National Champions Cup concluded on Tuesday.

The request also came with Pakistan’s international home season approaching. The National Champions Cup was held after the national players underwent a nearly two-month-long white-ball training camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore.

With the President’s Cup postponed, the next tournament on Pakistan’s men’s domestic calendar for the 2026-27 season will be the President’s Trophy, scheduled to run from September 12 to October 19. Its first-class and non-first-class editions will be played simultaneously.

The President’s Trophy will be followed by the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, which is scheduled from November 1 to December 17.

The premier first-class competition has been restructured again for the upcoming season and will feature 20 teams from all 16 regions, divided into Gold and Silver divisions. Last season, the regional first-class tournament featured 10 teams.

The President’s Cup, contested by the same eight departments that will feature in the first-class edition of the President’s Trophy, has served as the standalone List-A competition in Pakistan’s men’s domestic calendar over the past two seasons.

The PCB abolished the Pakistan Cup after the 2023-24 season, leaving the President’s Cup as the primary 50-over domestic competition.

However, the postponement means the President’s Cup will now become the second List-A tournament of the 2026-27 season. The PCB had already launched the domestic campaign last week with a specially designed four-team 50-over tournament in Multan.

The four-team competition was organised with an eye on next year’s 50-over World Cup and aimed at assessing the depth of Pakistan’s List-A talent ahead of the global tournament.