Six of the seven players released from Pakistan’s Test squad after the Lord’s Test have been named in departmental sides for the President’s Trophy, while Shaheen Shah Afridi will make his return to first-class cricket after a seven-year absence.

The eight-team first-class competition begins on Saturday as Pakistan’s domestic season enters a critical phase, with several players seeking to strengthen their claims for international selection in the months ahead.

Mohammad Rizwan has been named vice-captain of Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Imam-ul-Haq will captain Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), while Salman Ali Agha has been appointed vice-captain of Kingsmen Academy.
Ali Usman (Pakistan Television), Muhammad Awais Zafar (SNGPL) and Khurram Shahzad (Ghani Glass) are the other three players released last week from London.

All-rounder Aamir Jamal, the seventh player sent home after the Lord’s Test and a three-match player for SNGPL last season, has not been included in any of the eight first-class squads. He could, however, feature in the President’s Trophy Grade-II competition, which begins later this month.

Shaheen will return to Pakistan’s domestic first-class competition for the first time since 2019. He will represent Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), the side for whom he claimed eight wickets for 39 runs on his first-class debut in 2018.

The notable omission from the eight squads is Pakistan Test captain Babar Azam. Almost all the players currently in the Test squad in Birmingham have been named, but Babar is not among them.

Babar could still be added at a later stage, but his absence is significant given Pakistan’s international commitments later this year and the importance of domestic cricket in maintaining match fitness and competing for selection.

Pakistan are scheduled to host Sri Lanka for three T20Is from 9 to 13 October, followed by an ODI tri-series involving Sri Lanka and England from 18 to 31 October. The two-Test series against Sri Lanka will then take place from 9 to 21 November.

With Pakistan struggling in the ongoing England Test series and a demanding international programme ahead, the President’s Trophy provides an important platform for players seeking to establish or re-establish their credentials.

The domestic season will also be significant for the wider national pool, with Pakistan preparing for the 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and other major assignments in the coming year. The PCB has specifically highlighted the President’s Trophy and President’s Cup as important components of its World Cup preparation.

Apart from Babar, opener Abdullah Fazal and left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Imran are without a departmental side, while Naseem Shah, who last played a Test for Pakistan in December 2024, is also absent from the eight squads.

Players currently in Birmingham who have been named in President’s Trophy squads include Abdullah Shafique, Azan Awais, Saad Baig, Shan Masood, Mohammad Ali, Sajid Khan (all SNGPL), Ghazi Ghori, Mohammad Abbas (both SBP), Saud Shakeel, Saim Ayub (all Kingsmen Academy), Arafat Minhas (PTV), Mohammad Imran Randhawa (MIT Solutions), Razaullah (OGDCL) and Ubaid Shah (Ghani Glass).

The departmental competition has undergone a significant reshuffle for the new season.

WAPDA, who defeated SNGPL by 35 runs in the 2025-26 final in Lahore, will not participate after closing their sports division. OGDCL, which finished at the bottom of the table last year, have taken their place. MIT Solutions and Kingsmen Academy will make their debut in the first-class and will replace Sahir Associates and OGDCL, respectively, who finished in seventh and eighth place in 2025-26.

MIT Solutions earned promotion after defeating Kingsmen Academy on the first innings lead in the Grade-II final.

The competition will be played in a single-league format across Abbottabad, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar, with each side playing seven matches. The top two teams will qualify for the five-day final, which is scheduled for 24-28 October.

SQUADS (Teams have signed the following players for the President’s Trophy [four-day] and Cup [50-over]. The players can be picked in playing XIs across both the tournaments as per their availability.)

GHANI GLASS – Noman Ali (captain), Mohsin Riaz (vice-captain), Abuzar, Ali Raza, Ali Razzaq, Ali Shabbir, Ghulam Haider, Hafiz Usman Nadeem, Hammad Butt, Haseebullah, Hashim Ibrahim, Hussain Talat, Khawaja Arham, Khurram Shahzad, Mirza Tahir Baig, Moeez Ghani, Mohammad Rameez Jnr, Saad Naseem, Saeed Ali, Sameen Gul, Shahbaz Javed, Shadab Khan, Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Akhtar Jnr, Tayyab Tahir, Ubaid Shah and Yahya Bin Abdul Rehman

KHAN RESEARCH LABORATORIES (KRL) – Iftikhar Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman (vice-captain), Abdul Faseeh, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Ahmad Bashir, Arshad Iqbal, Asim Ali Nasir, Daniyal Ali Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Imran Rafiq, Mohammad Faiq, Mohammad Hamza, Mohammad Junaid, Mohammad Qaiser, Mohammad Zeeshan, Naseerullah, Raja Hamza Waheed, Raza-ul-Mustafa, Saqib Khan, Sarmad Bhatti, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shahzaib Khan, Shayan Sheikh and Usman Tariq

KINGSMEN ACADEMY – Tayyab Arif (captain), Salman Ali Agha (vice-captain), Saud Shakeel, Akif Javed, Aqib Liaqat, Azan Tariq, Daniyal Hussain Rajput, Faizan Ghani, Habibullah, Haroon Sadaqat, Hasan Nawaz, Hunain Shah, Maaz Sadaqat, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Arshad, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Ilyas, Muhammad Shayan, Muhammad Suleman, Muhammad Umar, Saad Ali, Saim Ayub, Shoaib Afridi, Sufyan Moqim, Umer Khan, Usman Khan and Zia-ul-Haq

MARKHOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (MIT) SOLUTIONS – Husnain Nadeem (captain), Bismillah Khan (vice-captain), Abdullah Hamdani, Abuzar Tariq, Adil Naz, Afaq Ahmed, Ali Asfand, Atizaz Habib Khan, Atiq-ur-Rehman, Khalid Usman, Khubaib Khalil, Maaz Khan, Mohammad Arslan Zia, Mohammad Farooq, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Mohammad Ismail, Mohammad Nabeel, Mohammad Tahir, Muhammad Riazullah, Mustafa Javed, Rafay Rana, Sajjad Ali, Salman Aslam, Salman Khan, Samama Riaz, Shahab Khan, Syed Awad Naqvi, Tauqeer Abbas, Waleed Zahid Bajwa and Zahid Mansoor.

OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LIMITED (OGDCL) – Imam-ul-Haq (captain), Rohail Nazir (vice-captain), Ali Imran, Ali Zaryab Asif, Danish Aziz, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Arsal, Mohammad Hammad Khan, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Salman, Mohammad Sarwar Afridi, Muhammad Amir Khan, Muhammad Irfan, Mushtaq Ahmed, Niaz Khan, Razaullah, Saad Khan, Umar Siddique and Waqar Ahmed.

PAKISTAN TELEVISION (PTV) – Shamyl Hussain (captain), Taimur Khan (vice-captain), Ahmad Daniyal, Ali Usman, Amad Butt, Arafat Minhas, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Israr Hussain, Kashif Ali, Khalil Ahmed, Mohammad Ammar, Mohammad Mohsin, Mohammad Taha, Muhammad Musa, Muhammad Shahzad, Sharoon Siraj, Waqar Hussain, Yasir Khan and Zahid Mehmood

STATE BANK OF PAKISTAN (SBP) – Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (captain), Kamran Ghulam (vice-captain), Abdullah, Abid Ali, Afaq Afridi, Ali Shan, Basit Ali, Faham-ul-Haq, Haroon Arshad, Hasan Ali, Hasan Raza, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mubasir Khan, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naqeebullah, Qasim Akram, Rameez Aziz, Shahid Aziz and Sirajuddin

SUI NORTHERN GAS PIPELINES LIMITED (SNGPL) – Shan Masood (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain), Abdul Samad, Abdul Subhan, Abdullah Shafique, Ahmed Safi Abdullah, Ali Hassan Baloch, Athar Mahmood, Azan Awais, Bilawal Bhatti, Farhan Yousuf, Hamza Zahoor, Khan Zaib, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Awais Zafar, Mohammad Azab, Muhammad Imran (Randhawa), Omair Bin Yousuf, Saad Baig, Sajid Khan, Sameer Minhas, Shahnawaz Dahani and Shehzad Gul

Event schedule:

12-15 Sep: Ghani v KRL at Imran Khan Stadium, Peshawar; MIT Solutions v Kingsmen Academy at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium; PTV v OGDCL at Diamond Cricket Ground, Islamabad; SBP v SNGPL at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi

18-21 Sep: Ghani v SNGPL at Diamond Cricket Ground, Islamabad; KRL v MIT Solutions at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi; SBP v PTV at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium; OGDCL v Kingsmen Academy at Imran Khan Stadium, Peshawar

24-27 Sep: SBP v Ghani at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi; KRL v OGDCL at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium; SNGPL v MIT Solutions at Imran Khan Stadium, Peshawar; PTV v Kingsmen Academy at Diamond Cricket Ground, Islamabad

30 Sep-3 Oct: MIT Solutions v Ghani at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium; Kingsmen Academy v KRL at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi; SNGPL v PTV at Imran Khan Stadium, Peshawar; OGDCL v SBP at Diamond Cricket Ground, Islamabad

6-9 Oct: PTV v Ghani at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium; KRL v SBP at Imran Khan Stadium, Peshawar; OGDCL v MIT Solutions Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi; SNGPL v Kingsmen Academy at Diamond Cricket Ground, Islamabad

12-15 Oct: Ghani v Kingsmen Academy at Imran Khan Stadium, Peshawar; PTV v KRL at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi; MIT Solutions v SBP at Diamond Cricket Ground, Islamabad; SNGPL v OGDCL at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium

18-21 Oct: OGDCL v Ghani at Diamond Cricket Ground, Islamabad; KRL v SNGPL at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi; MIT Solutions v PTV at Imran Khan Stadium, Peshawar; Kingsmen Academy v SBP at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium

24-28 Oct: Venue TBC