Summary The 69th Quaid-e-Azam Trophy begins November 3, featuring 20 regional teams in Gold and Silver tournaments, with Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi in action.
LAHORE (Dunya News) – The squads and schedule for the Gold and Silver tournaments of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy have been announced, with Pakistan's oldest first-class cricket competition set to begin across the country from November 3.
The 69th edition of the tournament will feature eight regional teams in the Gold competition and 12 teams in the Silver competition.
In the opening round of the Gold tournament, Test captain Babar Azam will represent Lahore Whites, while ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi will lead the FATA team.
Lahore Whites and FATA will face each other in the opening match at Diamond Cricket Ground in Islamabad from November 3.
A total of 60 first-class matches will be played across the Gold and Silver competitions. The top two teams from the Silver tournament will qualify for the Gold competition in the next season.
The Gold tournament will feature defending champions Karachi Blues, Faisalabad, FATA, Lahore Whites, Islamabad, Peshawar, Multan and Sialkot Blues.
Meanwhile, the 12 teams participating in the Silver tournament have been divided into two groups.
Group A of the Silver tournament comprises Lahore Blues, Rawalpindi, Larkana, Quetta, Bahawalpur and Peshawar Whites.
Group B includes Karachi Whites, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Hyderabad, Dera Murad Jamali, Abbottabad and Sialkot Whites.
The Gold tournament will run from November 3 to December 19, with four matches scheduled in each round. Matches will be held in Islamabad, Abbottabad and Rawalpindi.
The final of the Gold competition will take place from December 15 to 19, while the Silver tournament will be played from November 3 to December 7.
Matches in Group A of the Silver tournament will be held in Karachi at the State Bank Ground, UBL Sports Complex and KCCA Stadium.
Group B matches will take place at Multan Cricket Stadium, Sports Complex Rahim Yar Khan and Dring Stadium in Bahawalpur.
Gold tournament matches will be staged at National Ground Islamabad, Diamond Ground Islamabad, Abbottabad Cricket Stadium and Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi.
