Quaid-e-Azam Trophy starts tomorrow: Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi meet in the opening round

Pakistan’s oldest and most respected first-class competition returns tomorrow. The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced the squads and schedule for the 69th Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, and the opening round has already thrown up the fixture everyone will be talking about — Babar Azam’s Lahore Whites against Shaheen Shah Afridi’s FATA.

Babar against Shaheen, in Islamabad
The match will be played at the Diamond Cricket Ground in Islamabad. Babar, Pakistan’s Test captain, turns out for Lahore Whites, while Shaheen, the ODI captain, leads FATA. It is the kind of contest domestic cricket rarely serves up: the country’s premier batter walking in against its premier fast bowler, with a red ball in hand. One clarification worth making at the outset — Lahore Whites will be captained by Aamer Jamal; Babar plays in the side, he does not captain it.

Two tiers, twenty teams, sixty matches
This year’s 69th edition is split into two tiers. The Gold tier has eight teams, including defending champions Karachi Blues, Faisalabad, FATA, Lahore Whites, Islamabad, Peshawar Blues, Multan and Sialkot Blues. The Silver tier has twelve teams, and it doubles as the qualification route into next season’s Gold competition. Sixty first-class matches will be played in all — 29 in Gold, 31 in Silver.

When, where, and until when
The Gold tier runs from 3 November to 12 December across Islamabad, Abbottabad and Rawalpindi, with a five-day final between the top two teams from 15 to 19 December. The Silver group stage runs from 3 to 30 November, with its final from 3 to 7 December. The PCB has also been upfront that squads may change as the tournament goes on, with players returning from national duty and reserves able to join their regional sides mid-competition.