National T20 cricket tournament commences tomorrow
8 regional teams will participate in the fourteenth season of the National Twenty20 cup starting from tomorrow at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
The tournament was originally scheduled to take place in August and September 2017 but in August the tournament was postponed till November 2017 because of Independence Cup and Pakistan series against Sri Lanka. The tournament will start on Saturday 11th November and conclude on Sunday 26th November.
Earlier the tournament was scheduled to be played at the Multan Cricket Stadium and the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad. But due to smoggy situation in different parts of Punjab the tournament was rescheduled to Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
The defending champions, Karachi Blues, were not invited by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to compete in this year’s competition. Ahead of the tournament, the PCB recalled thirteen players who were playing in domestic competitions in England and in the 2017 Caribbean Premier League (CPL). However, shortly afterwards the PCB allowed players to return the CPL and English domestic fixtures if they wished.
Following are the teams and captains:
| Teams | Captains |
| Faisalabad | Misbah ul Haq |
| FATA | Usman Shinwari |
| Islamabad | Imad Wasim |
| Karachi Whites | Sarfraz Ahmed |
| Lahore Blues | Mohammad Hafeez |
| Lahore Whites | Salman Butt |
| Peshawar | Mohammad Rizwan |
| Rawalpindi | Umar Amin |
The tournament will be played on Round Robin basis. 2 matches will be played each day. The first will start at 12:00 PM followed by the other one at 4:00 PM. Winners of the tournament will receive RS. 200, 000 while the runner-up will receive RS 100, 000. Man of the final match will get RS 50, 000. Best batsman, best bowler and best all-rounder will also receive RS 50, 000 each.
First match will be played between Karachi White and Faisalabad followed by the match between Lahore Whites and Lahore Blues. Semifinals will be played on Saturday 25th November while Final will be played on Sunday 26th November.
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