Multan: The Al Batal Presents University of Lahore National Champions Cup 2026-27 is set to kick off on Tuesday at the Multan Cricket Stadium, featuring four teams—Pakistan Greens, Gold, Whites, and Blues—competing across seven 50-over matches. Captains Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, and Shadab Khan will lead their respective teams, with each team comprising set playing XIs and three reserves. The tournament promises competitive action and aims to identify strong contenders for Pakistan's future cricket endeavors.
According to Pakistan Cricket Board, the tournament will be broadcast live on PTV Sports, with live streaming available on Tapmad, Tamasha in Pakistan, and the PCB YouTube channel globally. The event will feature commentary from former Test cricketer Salman Butt, former Pakistan women's player Aiman Anwar, and renowned Urdu commentator Tariq Saaed, among others. The teams and officials arrived in Multan on August 8, participating in practice sessions at the Inzamam-ul-Haq High Performance Centre and the Multan Cricket Stadium.
Each team is supported by experienced coaching staff, including former Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq for Pakistan Gold and former Test cricketer Ijaz Ahmed Jnr for Pakistan Greens. The head coaches of Pakistan Whites and Blues are Iqbal Imam and Aizaz Cheema, respectively. Pakistan white-ball head coach Mike Hesson will also be observing the tournament as part of the preparation plan for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027.
A substantial prize pool of PKR 8.15 million is up for grabs, with the tournament winner receiving PKR 5 million and the runners-up awarded PKR 2.5 million. Individual accolades for the player of the tournament, best batter, best bowler, and best wicketkeeper will each come with a PKR 100,000 prize. The captains participated in a trophy unveiling and press conference on Monday, with Faheem Ashraf representing Shadab Khan for media duties.
The tournament schedule includes daily matches from August 11 to August 16, concluding with a final on August 18 between the top two teams. Matches will commence at 3 p.m. with the toss at 2:30 p.m., all taking place at the Multan Cricket Stadium.