Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2024-25 starting on Saturday

PESHAWAR
A prize pot of PKR12.6 million will be up for grabs as Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2024-25 starting from Saturday with 18 teams of the 16 regional sides will be in action across seven cities with Karachi Region Whites, defending champions of the premier first-class tournament, beginning this year’s campaign against Peshawar Region at the Ashfaq Ground in Charsadda.
The winner of the tournament will bag PKR7.5 million while the runners-up will collect PKR four million. The 18 sides will be divided into three groups with Abbottabad Region, Faisalabad Region, Hyderabad Region, Islamabad Region, Lahore Region Whites and Larkana Region placed in Group A. AJK Region, Bahawalpur Region, Karachi Region Whites, Multan Region, Peshawar Region and Rawalpindi Region are part of Group B, while Dera Murad Jamali, FATA Region, Karachi Region Blues, Lahore Region Blues, Quetta Region and Sialkot Region are in Group C.
Each side will get an opportunity to play a minimum of five matches in the group stage, with the top team from each group progressing to the triangular stage. In the triangular stage, the first-placed team from each group will play two matches, with the top two sides qualifying for the final, set to take place from 14 to 18 December. The venues of the triangular stage and the final will be confirmed in due course.
Three venues – Ashfaq Cricket Ground in Charsadda, Rana Naveed Cricket Academy in Sheikhupura and Saeed Sports City in Lahore – will host first-class matches of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy for the first time.
The three cricket grounds will stage five matches each in the group stage of the tournament.
As announced earlier, Duke balls will be used in the red-ball Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2024-25. This decision follows an extensive analysis of ground and pitch conditions across domestic venues, with the Duke ball being custom-made to suit the characteristics of local pitches.
Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (first round matches, 26-29 October):
Group A
Faisalabad Region v Lahore Region Whites; Diamond Ground, Islamabad
Islamabad Region v Abbottabad Region; National Ground, Islamabad
Hyderabad Region v Larkana Region; Marghazar Ground, Islamabad
Group B
Multan Region v Rawalpindi Region; Shoaib Akhtar Stadium, Rawalpindi
AJK Region v Bahawalpur Region; Abbottabad Cricket Stadium
Peshawar Region v Karachi Region Whites; Ashfaq Ground, Charsadda
Group C
Sialkot Region v FATA Region; Jinnah Cricket Stadium, Gujranwala
Dera Murad Jamali Region v Lahore Region Blues; Saeed Sports City, Lahore
Karachi Region Blues v Quetta Region; Rana Naveed Academy, Sheikhupur