Champions T20 Cup Kicks Off

From December 7 to 25 at Rawalpindi Stadium, the Champions T20 Cup will crown a champion among five competitive teams and serve as a crucial platform for Pakistan’s preparations for the 2025 and 2026 white-ball mega-events, including the ICC Champions Trophy and ICC T20 World Cup.

At 11am tomorrow, Imam-ul-Haq’s Nurpur Lions will play Iftikhar Ahmed’s UMT Markhors, and at 3.30pm, Mohammad Haris’ Allied Bank Stallions will play Shadab Khan’s Lake City Panthers. The tournament will have 22 matches over 19 days, including six double-headers and eight single-headers.

Double-header bouts start at 11am and 3.30pm, single-header games at 12pm. The competition will be televised live on ASports HD, Geo Super, and PTV Sports, and spectators may access it on Myco and Tamasha.

Five strong teams—ABL Stallions, Engro Dolphins, Lake City Panthers, Nurpur Lions, and UMT Markhors—will face each other twice in a double-league format. An heated battle for supremacy will ensue as the league’s top team advances to the 25 December final while the second and third ranked teams compete in a Qualifier.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) intentionally arranged Champions Cup events to give players high-pressure opportunities to connect domestic and international cricket. In September, Faisalabad hosted the first List-A Champions Cup event, which attracted talented players.

It aims to improve developing talent’s flexibility and global competitiveness as they migrate to the world stage. The induction of new T20I players in Australia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa is the first step toward the next mega event.

The event is enhanced by the mentorship of cricketing giants Saqlain Mushtaq, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik, Misbah-ul-Haq, and Waqar Younis. Their coaching should improve players’ skills and instill the fearless, high-impact style of T20 cricket.

Wahab Riaz, tournament director, believes the event will introduce emerging players. “PCB has been working hard to improve and provide young players a lot of exposure, and I think this competition will help them learn a lot by sharing the dressing room with international cricketers and mentors.

Wahab stated they won’t worry about pressure if they enter the international stage and can match demands.

As in the Champions One-Day Cup, the PCB has partnered each of the five teams with a major media house, ARY News-Allied Bank Stallions, Geo News-Engro Dolphins, Hum News-UMT Markhors, Samaa News-Nurpur Lions, and Dunya News-Lake City Panthers, to give the players quality exposure and increase the tournament’s fanbase.

These media houses will bring fans closer to the action and tournament daily events, benefiting the players and teams.

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