Domestic cricket in Pakistan set to start this month

Cricket will resume in Pakistan later this month with the start of the domestic season, the Pakistan Cricket Board said on Friday.

The domestic matches would be held in a bio-secure environment due to the COVID-19 precautions and all matches of the premier first-class tournament, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, will be held in Karachi from October 18, 2020 to January 5, 2021. A PCB source made it clear that all teams and stakeholders would be bound to follow the COVID-19 protocols and any breach would result in disciplinary action.

“The idea is to reduce travelling time for teams and to also set up teams in one city for their matches so that a proper bio-secure environment can be created for them by the board,” he said.

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There has been no cricket in Pakistan since mid-March when the board postponed the remaining four matches of the Pakistan Super League 5 due to COVID-19 pandemic.

PAK v ZIM

Pakistan is also scheduled to host the Zimbabwe team for some limited-overs matches in Lahore and Rawalpindi before the Pakistan Super League.

Nadeem Khan, the Director High Performance, said that in the past few weeks, the High Performance and Domestic department had been working flat out to get the domestic season on the road. “In the uncertain COVID-19 situation, I am pleased that we have been able to put together a complete domestic cricket schedule, which is challenging but will contribute significantly in getting the best out of all the players that, in turn, will uplift the quality and standard of our home cricket,” he said.

Pakistan’s domestic season will start with the popular National T20 Cup from September 30 to October 18 in Multan and Rawalpindi while the National U-19 Championship will be held from October 13 to November 2 in Lahore, Muridke and Sheikhupura.