PCB launches three new tournaments for 2024-25 domestic season

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has added three more championship tournaments - branded as the Champions One-Day Cup, Champions T20 Cup, and Champions First-Class Cup - in their upcoming domestic season. The tournaments will run alongside the existent National T20 Cup, Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, President’s Trophy, President’s Cup, and Pakistan Super League.

Five new teams named Dolphins, Lions, Panthers, Stallions, and Wolves have been created for the new Champions tournament. It will be contested in a round-robin format as approximately 150 players will be participating. The top domestic players of each team will make it to the squads along with a few centrally contracted players, who will be available for selection.

In total, PCB has a plan to host 261 domestic matches in the 2024-25 calendar. This includes 131 First-Class matches, 40 List A games and 97 T20s. A schedule for the same is yet to be prepared but as per Cricket Pakistan, it will be hosted during a time frame of September 1, 2024 to August 5, 2025. 

Also Read - PCB set to conduct first ever women trials in Sost valley

Former Pakistan players will be associated with all the Champions teams as mentors while dedicated support staffs, physios, doctors, analysts and other key personnel will also be arranged by the apex council. Furthermore, all the players will have access to the Regional High Performance Centres in Faisalabad, Karachi, Lahore, Multan, and Sialkot for training purposes.

PCB are also hopeful to bring in corporate sponsorship for these new tournaments. They are planning to design it like PSL and are hopeful to attract media partnerships, broadcast deals and high revenue on ticket sales. 

Also Read - PCB signs MoUs for School, College, and University cricket development

Additionally, the board has also signed MoUs with the Higher Education Commission (HEC), Capital Development Authority (CDA), and Inter-Board Coordination Commission (IBCC) for the holistic development of cricket in the country. The board has planned to set up various academies and organise multiple tournaments. The top performers will then earn an opportunity to represent the nation at the U17 and U19 levels.