Islamabad : The Pakistan Cricket Board announced the final schedule for the nation's premier domestic first-class competition, Quaid-e-Azam, days after a delay.
The tournament will begin on October 26 and will conclude on December 19. In the upcoming edition of the Quaid-e-Azam, 18 teams will take part in the competition spread out into 16 regions.
Lahore and Karachi have named two teams each. Karachi Whites will be keen to defend their title. Last year, only eight teams participated in the tournament, and four years ago, only six teams featured in Quaid-e-Azam.
"Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is the pinnacle of domestic cricket in Pakistan as it is not just a tournament but also an event that showcases the immense talent across the country and prepares them for the challenges of international cricket.
As always, we will continue to provide the best possible platform for players to excel and show their capabilities on the biggest stage in domestic cricket as they will be rubbing their shoulders with the best players of the country," Abdullah Niazi, the director of domestic operations, said in a statement.
"Earlier, we demonstrated a successful Champions One-Day Cup and are fully committed to strengthening our domestic structure. The successful execution of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy remains at the heart of this commitment," he added.
A couple of days ago, the fate of Quaid-e-Azam was unclear. According to ESPNcricinfo, the tentative date for the tournament was October 20. ESPNcricinfo reported that the competition was postponed because the domestic cricket department was awaiting the chairman's sign-off.
The Quaid-e-Azam will perfectly set Pakistan's upcoming Test series. With the final beginning on December 19, the PCB will have options to evaluate players before the first Test against South Africa on December 26.
Pakistan's Test vice-captain, Saud Shakeel, suggested that the squad for the series should be prepared by using first-class competition.
"If you want to prepare for SENA [series in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia], you can do it during practice and first-class cricket. If there's first-class cricket before South Africa, we could prepare those kinds of pitches there. But we should prepare pitches and conditions series-by-series, and according to the opposition," Shakeel said in a press conference on Tuesday.