Quaid-e-Azam Trophy begins tomorrow

The 69th edition of Pakistan's premier first-class competition, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, will begin on Tuesday with eight teams competing in the Gold tier across Islamabad, Abbottabad and Rawalpindi. The 12-team Silver tier will run simultaneously, serving as a qualification pathway to the Gold competition for the next season.. Defending champions Karachi Blues, Faisalabad, FATA, Lahore Whites, Islamabad, Peshawar Blues, Multan and Sialkot Blues will compete in the Gold tier, which runs from November 3 to December 12. The five-day final, featuring the top two teams, is scheduled for December 15-19. The Silver competition will feature 12 teams divided into two groups of six. Lahore Blues, Rawalpindi, Larkana, Quetta, Bahawalpur and Peshawar Whites form Group A, while Karachi Whites, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Hyderabad, Dera Murad Jamali, Abbottabad and Sialkot Whites make up Group B. Group A matches will be played at three venues in Karachi: KCCA Stadium, SBP and UBL Sports Complex. Group B fixtures will take place at Multan Cricket Stadium, Sports Complex Rahim Yar Khan and Dring Stadium in Bahawalpur. The Silver-tier group stage will run from November 3-30, with the five-day final between the two group winners scheduled for December 3-7. A total of 29 first-class matches will be played in the Gold tier and 31 in the Silver competition. Pakistan Test captain Babar Azam is set to represent Lahore Whites in the opening round, when they face FATA, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi, at Diamond Cricket Ground in Islamabad. The tournament will also feature several other prominent Pakistan internationals, including Saud Shakeel, Saim Ayub, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan, Sahibzada Farhan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Abdullah Shafique and Hasan Ali. QUAID-E-AZAM TROPHY – GOLD TIER SQUADS Teams will operate with revolving squads throughout the tournament. Each team will have 15 travelling players and may also select players from its reserves or the national-duty pool. Faisalabad Muhammad Irfan Khan (captain), Abdul Samad (vice-captain), Ahmed Safi Abdullah, Ali Asfand, Ali Shan (wicketkeeper), Asad Raza, Asim Ali Nasir (wicketkeeper), Atiq-ur-Rehman, Faheem Ashraf, Faham-ul-Haq (U21), Khurram Shahzad, Malik Abdul Rafay, Muhammad Awais Zafar, Sameer Saqib and Shehzad Gul. Reserves: Daniyal Ali Khan, Mudasir Zunair, Ali Hassan, Muhammad Afzal and Saifullah Khan. Head coach: Samiullah Niazi. FATA Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Muhammad Farooq (U21), Salman Khan Jnr, Kashif Noor, Muhammad Sarwar, Muhammad Wasim Khan, Khushdil Shah, Shahid Aziz, Rehan Afridi (wicketkeeper), Afaq Afridi, Sameen Gul, Sirajuddin, Hayatullah, Fawad Arshad, Muhammad Usman Khan and Adnan Khan. Reserves and national-duty pool: Akif Javed, Kashif Noor, Khyalman (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Tahir (U21), Adnan Khan and Muhammad Usman Khan. Head coach: Riaz Afridi. Islamabad Shamyl Hussain (captain), Raja Hamza Waheed, Ali Imran, Azim Bari, Sarmad Bhatti, Muhammad Hammad Khan, Hasan Nawaz, Azan Tariq, Rohail Nazir (wicketkeeper), Musa Khan, Muhammad Waeem Jnr, Sajid Raza, Mohammad Qaiser, Asfand Yar and Umer Hameed. Reserves: Shahid Islam, Sudais Ulfat, Rizwan Ali (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Qaiser and Muhammad Sufyan. Head coach: Naveed Latif. Karachi Blues Saud Shakeel (captain), Saim Ayub, Omair Bin Yousuf, Abdul Basit, Umer Farooq (U21), Danish Aziz, Saifullah Bangash, Rameez Aziz, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Haroon Arshad (U21), Afnan Khan, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Asghar, Muhammad Umar, Muhammad Hamza Sohail, Muhammad Raza Chandio and Asad Umar (U21). Reserves and national-duty pool: Shan Masood (recovering from injury), Abrar Ahmed, Zaryab Shah (U21), Wahaj Riaz, Abdullah Fazal, Saad Baig, Saqib Khan, Rizwanullah (U21), Niqab Shafiq (U21) and Mir Hamza. Head coach: Syed Iqbal Imam. Lahore Whites Aamir Jamal (captain), Babar Azam, Ali Zaryab, Mohib Haider, Muhammad Faiq, Muhammad Imran, Tayyab Tahir, Muhammad Mohsin, Muhammad Akhlaq, Zain Bin Farooq (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Muhammad Kamran Afzal, Muhammad Salman Mirza, Zulqarnain and Hunain Shah. Reserves and national-duty pool: Usman Sohail, Noman Latif, Hussain Talat, Hamza Zahoor (wicketkeeper), Aalyan Salman and Ahmed Daiyal. Head coach: Aizaz Cheema. Multan Imam-ul-Haq (captain), Uzair Mumtaz, Yousuf Babar, Moheer Saeed (U21), Sharoon Siraj, Imran Rafiq, Waseem Akram Jnr, Mohammad Ismail (U21), Muhammad Shan (U21), Aamer Yamin, Hasan Hafeez (U21), Faisal Akram, Bilal Khan (U21) and Waqar Ahmed (wicketkeeper). Reserves and national-duty pool: Muhammad Basit, Ilman Khan, Alam Zaib, Rana Adeel, Bilal Ahmad, Arafat Minhas, Sameer Minhas, Muhammad Shahzad and Ali Usman. Head coach: Fahad Masood. Peshawar Blues Muhammad Rizwan (captain and wicket-keeper), Sahibzada Farhan, Maaz Sadaqat, Muhammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Israrullah, Iftikhar Ahmed, Najab Khan (U21), Nabi Gul, Muhammad Haleem, Sajid Khan, Muhammad Irfan, Muhammad Abbas Afridi, Muhammad Amir Khan, Niaz Khan and Muhammad Adnan (U21). Reserves: Muhammad Seyam, Sahibzada Abdullah, Muhammad Haleem, Najeebullah and Muhammad Wisal. Head coach: Abdul Rehman. Sialkot Blues Abdullah Shafique (captain), Muhammad Tayyab Arif (vice-captain), Hamza Sheraz, Muhammad Huraira, Ahmed Hassan, Mohsin Riaz, Muhammad Abdul Rehman, Hamza Nazar, Muhammad Hamza, Muhammad Ali, Hasan Ali, Ammad Butt, Athar Mehmood, Shahzaib Bhatti, Tayyab Ali and Afzaal Manzoor (wicketkeeper). Reserves and national-duty pool: Ali Raza, Rahatullah (wicketkeeper), Azan Awais and Shoaib Akhtar Jnr. Head coach: Shahid Yousuf. QUAID-E-AZAM TROPHY – SILVER TIER SQUADS Abbottabad Khalid Usman (captain), Shahzaib Khan, Kamran Ghulam, Fakhar Zaman, Zain Ishaq, Ahmed Khan, Mohsin Khan, Muhammad Riazullah, Umair Badshah, Muhammad Shayan, Arshad Iqbal, Razaullah, Israr Hussain, Aqib Khan, Junaid Ahmed, Khayyam Khan, Mehroz Rasheed, Aftab Khan, Muhammad Arif and Khan Zaib. Head coach: Saqib Faqir. Azad Jammu and Kashmir Hasan Raza (captain), Husnain Nadeem (U21), Hamad Islam, Hassan Ali, Umer Hayat, Muhammad Ammar (U21), Saad Mumtaz, Naveed Malik, Awais Akram (wicketkeeper), Aqib Liaqat, Sufyan Moqim, Zaman Khan, Muhammad Faizan Saleem, Muhammad Jawad, Adil Azad, Usman Maroof, Aman Arshad, Usman Yousuf, Raja Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Shadab Majeed. Head coach: Nadeem Afzal. Bahawalpur Muhammad Imran Randhawa (captain), Mohammad Ammar (U21), Muhammad Aon Shahzad, Ali Hamza Wasim, Muhammad Sudais, Mohammad Alamgir, Mohammad Shahiryar, Ali Afzal, Muhammad Umair, Muhammad Akram (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Junaid, Muhammad Khaqan Bashir, Muhammad Azab, Muhammad Basit, Shoaib Manzoor, Ali Shabbir (U21), Rana Muhammad Burhan Basharat, Mohammad Faizan Zafar, Muhammad Faizan, Muhammad Huzaifa (U21), Ibrar Amin, Amjad Ali, Hasnain Majid (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Nabeel Arshad (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Ali and Muhammad Younis. Head coach: Ghulam Ali. Dera Murad Jamali Fahad Hussain (captain), Nasir Khan, Aqib Junaid, Muhammad Uzair, Ubaid Ullah, Taimur Ali, Dawood Khan, Muhammad Deen, Muhammad Shahid, Shahbaz Ali (wicketkeeper), Abu Huraira, Saleem Mal, Farhan Ullah, Abu Bakar, Allah Bakhsh, Muhammad Ali, Shahid Khan, Sajjad Ahmed, Atal Khan, Mir Hazar (wicketkeeper) and Sajjad Ali. Head coach: Hussain Khosa. Hyderabad Saad Khan (captain), Zain-ul-Abdin (U21), Muhammad Saddam, Haris Khan, Ubaidullah Rahupoto (U21), Muhammad Suleman, Daniyal Hussain Rajput, Rizwan Mehmood, Nabeel Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Jawad Ali, Asad Malik, Mohammad Hasnain, Mustafa Nasir, Ayaz Khan (U21), Muhammad Umair (U21), Muhammad Ahsan (U21), Muhammad Sikandar, Akbar Khan (wicketkeeper), Kashif Bhatti and Muhammad Waleed. Head coach: Azeem Ghumman. Karachi Whites Jahanzaib Sultan, Muhammad Taha, Aibaad Khan (U21), Muhammad Usman Rahim, Khawaja Muhammad Nafay (U21), Huzaifa Ahsan (U21), Muhammad Taha Mehmood, Kashif Ali, Ghulam Ashraf (wicketkeeper), Saifullah, Rehman Ghani, Maaz Khurram Amin, Fahad Amin, Abdul Rauf (U21), Asadullah Hamza, Imran Shah, Muhammad Ali Butt, Sabeh Siddiqui, Fahad Ansari (wicketkeeper), Syed Shah Raza Naqvi, Najeeb-ur-Rehman, Arif Yaqoob, Muhammad Makki, Muhammad Azaan (U21) and Asad Akhtar. Head coach: Saeed Bin Nasir. Lahore Blues Imran Butt (captain), Umer Siddiq, Muhammad Saleem, Hashim Ibrahim, Qasim Akram, Ali Razzaq, Ali Hassan Baloch, Obaid Shahid, Khawaja Muhammad Abdullah (wicketkeeper), Sajjad Khan, Usman Qadir, Muhammad Salman, Muhammad Zahid, Ahmed Bashir, Nisar Ahmed, Samama Riaz, Muhammad Huzaifa Shujaat, Mohsin Irshad and Sagar Ali (wicketkeeper). Head coach: Ashraf Ali. Larkana Zahid Mehmood (captain), Malhar Rasool, Muhammad Ibrahim (U21), Muhammad Aqeel Danish, Sabit Ali, Ghulam Raza, Ishfaque Ahmed, Najaf Ali (U21), Faraz Aziz, Asif Ali Jnr, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saqlain Nawaz (U21), Muhammad Mustafa, Mohsin Raza (wicketkeeper), Shahzaib Aziz (U21), Feroz Alii (U21), Muhammad Umer, Umer Khalid and Muhammad Saboor. Head coach: Faisal Ather. Peshawar Whites Waqar Ahmed (captain), Muhammad Mohsin Khan, Muhammad Amir Barki, Abubakar Khan, Abbas Ali, Adil Amin, Sajjad, Adil Khan (U21), Haris Khan, Mujtaba Khan, Abuzar Tariq, Muhammad Ilyas, Muhammad Imran Jnr, Muhammad Abuzar, Muhammad Shoaib Afridi, Afqar Durrani, Salman Khan, Sarmad Khattak, Azam Khan, Ahmad Hussain, Usman Tariq and Ihsanullah. Head coach: Muhammad Saddiq. Quetta Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (captain), Bismillah Khan (wicketkeeper), Salahuddin, Shahzad, Hazrat Wali, Nadeem Ahmed, Abdul Ghafar, Muhammad Umar (U21), Haseebullah (wicketkeeper), Syed Zain Ullah, Muhammad Ibrahim Snr, Najeebullah Achakzai, Khalil Ahmed (U21), Muhamamad Ghous, Naqeebullah, Ghulam Nabi, Zulfiqar Ali, Eshan Ullah, Bilal Ahmed and Abdul Hameed. Head coach: Wajahatullah Wasti. Rawalpindi Mohammad Nawaz (captain), Yasir Khan, Abdul Faseeh, Affan Ishaq (U21), Nasir Nawaz, Mehran Mumtaz, Haider Ali, Mubasir Khan, Aqib Shah, Shehbaz Tabraiz Kyani, Kashif Ali, Muhammad Nabeel (U21), Muhammad Faizan Ghani, Badruddin, Taimur Khan (wicketkeeper), Abdul Qadir (wicketkeeper), Jahandad Khan, Shadab Khan, Saad Masood and Raza-ul-Mustafa (wicketkeeper). Head coach: Afaq Raheem. Sialkot Whites Muhammad Husnain Khan (captain), Khawaja Arham, Aashir Mehmood, Mirza Tahir Baig, Muhammad Tayyab, Qasim Sajjad, Muhammad Hammad Sarwar, Rizwan Ahmed, Mubashir Aslam, Abdullah Nawaz, Salman Aslam, Abdul Rehman Saad, Sharjeel Ahmed, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Raza Shahzaib (wicketkeeper), Musa Azeem, Saleem, Ameer Hassan, Syed Hussain Sajjad Bukhari and Muhammad Taha Tariq (wicketkeeper). Head coach: Shahzad Malik.