- Prize pot of PKR 13.775 million up for grabs as the 68th edition of Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament concludes in Lahore
- Fans can attend the final for free from Gaddafi Stadium’s Fazal Mehmood enclosure
- Tournament final to broadcast on PTV Sports and will be live-streamed on Tapmad; Action images of the five-day final will be available here for free download and editorial use
- Pre-final captains’ photoshoot vision is available here; Captains’ interviews are available here; Images of the captains’ photoshoot can be downloaded from here for free download and editorial use
- Scorecards and stats of the 46-match tournament are available here; Points table after nine rounds is available here
Lahore, 30 November 2025: Usama Mir-led Sialkot are upbeat to defend their title as they take on resurgent table toppers Karachi Blues led by Test batter Saud Shakeel with the final of the 68th edition of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy set to be played from 1-5 December at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
The winner of the tournament will bag prize money of PKR 7.5 million, while the runners-up will be awarded PKR 4 million. Player of the final will be awarded PKR 100k, while best bowler, batter, wicket-keeper and player of the tournament will be awarded PKR 250k each.
The tournament is set to be broadcasted on PTV Sports in and outside Pakistan and will be live-streamed on Tapmad in Pakistan. Ali Younis, Raja Asad, Salman Butt and Tariq Saeed will call the action from behind the mic for the fans tuning in to the final.
Sialkot – who previously won in 2005-06, 2008-09 and 2024-25 seasons – will be looking to add a fourth title to their closet. Karachi Blues on the other hand have been the most successful team in Pakistan’s premier first-class event having won nine titles since 1961-62 season.
Overall various Karachi sides, including Blues, Whites, Urban and A have won a combined total of 21 titles and Saud’s side will be vying to keep the legacy intact with yet another tournament win. Most recently, it was Karachi Whites in 2023-24 season and Karachi Blues in 2012-13 season to lift the Quaid Trophy silverware from the cricket-rich region.
The 2012-13 Quaid Trophy final saw Karachi Blues and Sialkot lock horns in Lahore last time with the former taking the title by nine wickets in an emphatic performance.
In the ongoing edition, Karachi Blues have beaten Multan, Peshawar, Abbottabad, Islamabad and Sialkot in the 45-match league stage, where every team played nine matches. They drew against Lahore Whites, Faisalabad and lost to FATA and Bahawalpur.
Blues – who were among one of the four teams to qualify for the tournament from Hanif Mohammad Trophy held in August and September – revived their campaign after only one win and two losses from their first five matches to finish top. They will be eager to continue the four-match winning streak.
Sialkot have been in such rich form that their only loss in the tournament is a three-wicket defeat to Karachi Blues in the last round, where they fought hard both with the bat and ball. Their three drawn fixtures came against Peshawar, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur.
Such was the breakneck competition for the two berths in the final that one defeat against Karachi Blues had also put Sialkot on the brink of elimination but Bahawalpur’s come-from-behind win against the other contenders Faisalabad (141) did the reigning champions (155) a favour as they pipped the 2023 runners-up on the points table.
Test batter Mohammad Huraira is all set to appear in his fifth consecutive Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final after being part of Northern, Faisalabad and Sialkot in previous four seasons. Two of these finals were played
On the run-scoring charts Karachi’s wicketkeeper-batter Saad Baig sits atop with 930 runs apart from 27 dismissals behind the stumps, while Shamyl Hussain (899), Shahzaib Khan (838), Saad Khan (837) and Sialkot’s Azan Awais (790) are the other among top five. Interestingly, apart from Saad, the other four batters among the top five played the ICC Men’s U19 World Cup 2024 together, where Pakistan finished in semi-finals.
The next best batters for Karachi and Sialkot on the run-scoring charts are Shan Masood (562) and Mohammad Huraira (560), respectively.
On the bowling front, Karachi Blues’ pacer Saqib Khan is joint-second with Mohammad Abbas having taken 38 wickets besides Multan’s Ali Usman’s 48. Khalid Usman (31) and Sajid Khan (30) occupy the next places, while Sialkot’s Test pacer Mohammad Ali (28) has the joint-sixth most scalps on the list. Sialkot’s Mehran Mumtaz (24) and Usama Mir (23) also pose solid threat with the ball.
Karachi Blues’ Kashif Bhatti (25), Muhammad Umar (24) and Mohammad Asghar (22) also form part of a strong Karachi Blues’ attack. Sialkot’s wicketkeeper-batter Afzaal Manzoor is leading the race with 26 catches and seven stumping, which make three more dismissals than Peshawar’s Mohammad Haris (30).
The two squads also carry plenty of international experience with them as Sialkot will be looking towards Test player Abdullah Shafique, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Ali and Huraira apart from Usama and guest player Mohammad Hasnain.
Karachi boast the services of Pakistan Test team’s batting line-up in Shan and Saud, while internationals Danish Aziz and Usman Khan will also come in handy for the port-city side.
The two captains shared their thoughts with PCB Digital in the pre-final photoshoot at the centre wicket in Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
Saud Shakeel, Karachi Blues captain:
“It has been a long journey for us starting from the Hanif Mohammad Trophy where we played five matches. After being relegated, we were focused on qualifying for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and then the things fell in place for us during the nine-match league phase, where the players performed really well.
“Part of our selection strategy at the beginning of the season was to also blood in some youngsters as well apart from keeping a winning mindset, which has paid dividends. Karachi has rich legacy in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and it has remained a prolific side in the history of the tournament.
“The final is being played at a new venue and in different conditions so it matters that the team that plays good quality cricket will prevail. I also urge my players to express themselves because you don’t get these moments quite often.”
Usama Mir, Sialkot captain:
“We didn’t change our approach from the last year’s campaign and our players have been relentless in their mindset and efforts. We have played our cricket with the champions mindset. As with the provision of spin and fast tracks at various venues during the tournament, we had befitting personnel to make our way out.
“I’m really happy with what my team has done. The combination of the team has been so good that the travelling between the nine games and different conditions didn’t bother us much. The final surely becomes a pressure game and becomes the gist of the season. We are looking forward to make it a memorable final for us.”
Breakdown of playing hours (Days 1, 2,3,4):
1st session: 10am – 12pm
2nd session: 12:40pm – 2:40pm
3rd session: 3pm-5pm
On Friday (Day 5):
1st session: 10am-1pm
2nd session: 2pm-5pm
15-member squads for final:
Sialkot
Usama Mir (captain), Mohsin Riaz (vice-captain), Abdul Rehman, Abdullah Shafique, Afzaal Manzoor (wicket-keeper), Athar Mehmood, Azan Awais, Hamza Nazar, Hasnain Khan, Hasan Ali, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Huraira and Mohammad Waleed
Player Support Personnel:
Naveed Latif (head coach), Shahid Yousuf (assistant coach), Faisal Khan (fielding coach), Muhammad Ibrahim (performance analyst), Muhammad Tariq (physiotherapist), Shahbaz Khursheed (strength & conditioning coach), Hasan Nadeem (team manager)
Karachi Blues
Suad Shakeel (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Danish Aziz, Haroon Arshad, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Asghar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wicket-keeper), Muhammad Hamza, Muhammad Umar, Mushtaq Ahmed, Ramiz Aziz, Saad Baig (wicket-keeper), Saqib Khan, Shan Masood and Usman Khan
Player Support Personnel:
Syed Iqbal Imam (head coach), Tahir Mehmood (assistant coach), Wajid Ali (fielding coach), Dr Ahmed Ali Khan (physiotherapist), Muhammad Waqar Ali Syed (strength & conditioning coach), Shakir Khilji (Analyst), Syed Mohammad Ahmed Naqvi (team manager)
