KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has officially announced the commencement of the National T20 2023-24, scheduled to kick off today and conclude on 10th of December.
Taking place across four venues in Karachi — National Bank Stadium, UBL Sports Complex, HPC Oval Ground, and NBP Sports Complex — the tournament will witness the participation of 18 teams.
All matches held at the National Bank Stadium will be televised on PTV Sports in Pakistan and streamed live on YouTube for international audiences. The double-header matches at the National Bank Stadium are slated to commence at 1500 PKT and 2000 PKT, with the toss occurring at 1430 PKT and 1930 PKT, respectively.
Moreover, the PCB has introduced free entry for spectators attending matches at the National Bank Stadium, providing access to the Hanif Mohammad, Javed Miandad, and Fazal Mahmood enclosures.
This 63-match tournament will embark with group stage matches, spanning from 24th to 28th November, featuring 32 matches among the 18 participating teams organised into four groups—A, B, C, and D.
Group A: Lahore Whites, Peshawar, Karachi Blues, Larkana, and Quetta Group B: Lahore Blues, Karachi Whites, Islamabad, Hyderabad, and Dera Murad Jamali Group C: Rawalpindi, Abbottabad, Faisalabad, and Bahawalpur Group D: Multan, Sialkot, FATA, and AJK
The inaugural fixtures include Lahore Whites versus Larkana and Karachi Blues versus Peshawar at NBP Sports Complex in Group A. In Group B, Karachi Whites will confront Islamabad while Hyderabad takes on DM Jamali at UBL Sports Complex. At National Bank Stadium for Group C, Rawalpindi will clash with Abbottabad, and Faisalabad will meet Bahawalpur. In Group D, HPC Oval Ground will host the Multan-Sialkot fixture and the FATA-AJK game.
The top two teams from each group will progress to the Super Eight stage, scheduled as a round-robin from 1st to 8th December. The detailed schedule for the Super Eight games will be disclosed later.
The subsequent phase includes the top four teams advancing to the semi-finals, set for 9th December at National Bank Stadium at 1500 PKT and 2000 PKT, respectively.
The grand finale is slated for 10th December at the same venue, with the toss at 1930 PKT and the first ball bowled at 2000 PKT.
The champions of the tournament will secure a prize of Rs5 million, while the runners-up will receive Rs2.5 million. Various individual awards, including Player of the Tournament, Best Batter, Best Bowler, Best Wicket-Keeper, Player of the Final, and Player of the Match for each Super Eight game and the semi-finals, will be presented with respective cash prizes.
This edition marks the return of the tournament since the reinstatement of the PCB 2014 Constitution. The previous edition was won by Sindh, defeating defending champions Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, denying them a hat-trick after their victories in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 editions.
