PCB unveil new tournaments to elevate domestic cricket

Lahore : Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced the introduction of three new tournaments -- Champions One-Day Cup, Champions T20 Cup, and Champions First-Class Cup -- as part of its Men's Domestic Cricket 2024-25 season.

The new additions will join the existing lineup of tournaments, including the National T20 Cup, Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, President’s Trophy, President’s Cup, and the HBL Pakistan Super League 2025.

The 2024-25 season, set to run from September 1, 2024, to August 5, 2025, will feature an unprecedented 261 matches across eight senior tournaments, significantly up from the 203 matches held in the 2023-24 season. This expanded schedule includes 131 first-class matches, 40 50-over matches, and 97 T20 matches.

"The Champions tournaments are not just about bridging the gap between domestic and international cricket, they are about revolutionising and rejuvenating our entire cricketing ecosystem. We are dedicated to identifying, nurturing and preparing our best talent to represent Pakistan on the global stage. The Champions tournaments will offer our players a platform to experience the rigours and pressures of international cricket right here at home," said PCB chairperson Mohsin Naqvi in a statement.

The Champions tournaments will feature five teams—Dolphins, Lions, Panthers, Stallions, and Wolves—competing in a double-league format. These events will bring together around 150 of Pakistan's top-performing domestic players from the past three years, along with centrally contracted players.

Each team will be mentored by a former Pakistani cricket superstar and potentially have an owner, details of which will be announced soon.

In addition to top-tier players, each team will boast a comprehensive support staff, including a head coach with at least a Level 3 certification and five years of experience, specialised batting, bowling, and fielding coaches, as well as a Strength and conditioning coach, physiotherapist, analyst, operations manager, and media/digital media manager.

Teams will train at dedicated Regional High Performance Centres in Faisalabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, and Sialkot.

Naqvi emphasised the importance of these new tournaments in restoring Pakistan's cricketing dominance on the world stage. "Our current standings—sixth in Tests, fourth in ODIs, and seventh in T20Is—do not reflect the true potential and legacy of Pakistan cricket. To restore our rightful place at the top of world cricket, we must innovate and strategically enhance, expand, and strengthen our domestic structure. The introduction of the three Champions tournaments is a bold step in this direction," Naqvi said.

The Champions One-Day Cup will kick off the new season on September 1, 2024, with the final event, the Champions First-Class Cup, wrapping up the season on August 5, 2025.