18 teams to fight for Pakistan’s First-Class honours in Quaid-E-Azam Trophy

The number of teams in the Quaid-E-Azam Trophy keeps varying. The latest edition of Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament will see 18 teams compete for the highest red-ball honours in the tournament that begins on October 26. 

"Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is the pinnacle of domestic cricket in Pakistan. It is an event that showcases the immense talent across the country and prepares them for the challenges of international cricket," Abdullah Niazi, Pakistan's director of domestic operations, said in a statement. 

The season of 2014-15 was the last when more than 16 teams competed in the prestigious tournament. Since then, it remained a 16-team tournament till the 2018-19 season. However, after that, the 2024-25 season will be the first one where more than eight teams will compete to become Pakistan’s best in the longest format. Karachi Whites are the defending champions. 

The final of the tournament will be played on December 19, which will be just one week before Pakistan’s first Test on their tour of South Africa. 

"Earlier we demonstrated a successful Champions One-Day Cup, and are fully committed to strengthening our domestic structure. The successful execution of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy remains at the heart of this commitment,” Niazi added. 

Saud Shakeel, Pakistan’s vice-captain, said that the Qaid-E-Azam trophy could be used in a way that the Pakistan team prepares for its tours to the SENA countries [South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia]. 

"If you want to prepare for SENA, 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 was quoted as saying to ESPNcricinfo. 

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