Month: July 2026

Lahore: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced squads and the schedule of the National Champions Cup to be played between August 11 and 18 at the Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan.

The 50-over List-A tournament marks the beginning of the 2026-27 domestic cricket season and will comprise four teams – Pakistan Greens, Pakistan Whites, Pakistan Blues and Pakistan Gold.

The tournament will be played on single-league round-robin basis with the top two contesting for the final on Tuesday, 18 August.

All the seven matches in the tournament will be day night with the first ball expected to be bowled at 3pm local time.

The national selection committee has announced set playing XIs for each team along with a tournament reserve pool of 13 players. Teams will field the announced 11 players and can pick from the reserve pool of 13 players only in the case of injury and concussion. The reserve players will accompany teams at training and on match-days.

Among the four captains of the teams are Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan. The 44 players and the reserve pool have been selected keeping in mind the preparations for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 as the focus shifts on the mega-event.

Given below are the teams along with their coaches and tournament schedule:

Squads

Pakistan Greens:

Shadab Khan (captain), Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Farhan Yousuf, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saad Baig (wicket-keeper) and Sameer Minhas

Support staff:

Ijaz Ahmed Jnr (head coach), Rehan Riaz (bowling coach), Khurram Shahzad (batting coach), Fahad Iqbal (fielding coach)

Pakistan Whites:

Saim Ayub (captain), Akif Javed, Ali Raza, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Khushdil Shah, Mohsin Riaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Saad Masood, Shahzaib Khan and Usman Khan (wicket-keeper)

Support staff:

Iqbal Imam (head coach), Samiullah Niazi (bowling coach), Faisal Athar (batting coach), Saqib Faqir (fielding coach)

Pakistan Blues:

Sahibzada Farhan (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat, Jahandad Khan, Rohail Nazir (wicket-keeper), Shamyl Hussain, Sufyan Moqim, and Taimur Khan (wicket-keeper)

Support staff:

Aizaz Cheema (head coach), Fahad Masood (bowling coach), Naveed Latif (batting coach), Hussain Khosa (fielding coach)

Pakistan Gold:

Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abdul Samad, Abdul Subhan, Faisal Akram, Haider Ali, Kamran Ghulam, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Nawaz, Muhammad Akhlaq (wicket-keeper), Muhammad Imran and Saad Khan

Support staff:

Misbah-ul-Haq (head coach), Waqas Ahmed (bowling coach), Riffatullah Mohmand (batting coach), Atiq-ur-Rehman (fielding coach)

Reserve pool:

Batters – Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Faiq, Muhammad Irfan Khan

All-rounders – Mubasir Khan, Danish Aziz

Pacers – Arshad Iqbal, Muhammad Salman, Razaullah, Saqib Khan, Mohammad Amir Khan, Shahnawaz Dahani

Wicket-keeper – Haseebullah

Tournament schedule: (All matches at Multan Cricket Stadium; All matches to begin at 3pm)

11 August – Pakistan Green v Pakistan Whites

12 August – Pakistan Blues v Pakistan Gold

13 August – Pakistan Blues v Pakistan Whites

14 August – Pakistan Gold v Pakistan Green

15 August – Pakistan Blues v Pakistan Green

16 August – Pakistan Gold v Pakistan Whites

18 August – Final (Top two teams)

Lahore: The Suthra Punjab Agency Lahore (SPAL) continued its large-scale sanitation operation across the city under Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif’s Suthra Punjab vision to ensure improved cleanliness services in both urban and rural areas.

Under the directions of Director General Suthra Punjab Authority Umer Javed, SPAL teams remained actively engaged in maintaining sanitation standards across Lahore, with a special focus on Nishtar Town.

More than 1, 500 sanitation workers were deployed to clear waste from hotspots and vacant plots, while 283 cleaning operational vehicles and 313 loader rickshaws carried out daily door-to-door waste collection and cleanliness operations throughout the town.

As part of the Zero Waste drive, comprehensive cleaning activities were completed along Atta Bakhsh Road, Gajju Matta Chowk and the surroundings of Hadyara Drain.

The cleaning operation also resulted in the clearance of 22 identified hotspots, including Haloki, Chandray, Kahna Nau, Gajju Matta and Bedian Road. Meanwhile, sanitation and waste clearance operations continued at full pace in Township, Green Town, Baghrian, Ashiana Road and Chungi Amar Sidhu. Zero Waste activities were continuing uninterrupted across various towns of Lahore to provide residents with a cleaner environment.

Citizens were also encouraged to report sanitation-related complaints through the Suthra Punjab helpline 1139 or social media platforms.

Lahore: The Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) on Monday said the flood situation persists in several rivers across the province due to ongoing monsoon rains, although water flows have remained largely stable during the last 24 hours.

According to the PDMA, a low-level flood continues in the Indus River at Kalabagh, Chashma and Taunsa barrages.

It said the flood situation in the River Chenab has continued to improve, with water levels receding over the past 24 hours. Low-level flooding persists at Khanki, Qadirabad and Trimmu, where water flows were recorded at 120, 000, 123, 000 and 184, 000 cusecs, respectively, while the flow at Marala remained normal.

The authority said water flows in the Jhelum and Sutlej rivers were within the normal range. A medium-level flood was reported in the River Ravi at Sidhnai, where the water flow stood at 60, 000 cusecs, while flows at Jassar, Shahdara and Balloki remained normal.

The PDMA further reported a high-level flood in Nala Palkhu at Wazirabad and a low-level flood in Nala Basantar at Narowal. Water flow in Nala Palkhu was recorded at 5, 000 cusecs, while Nala Basantar was carrying 3, 000 cusecs.

The authority said recent rains in upper catchment areas had increased river flows, but with rainfall having ceased in the Chenab catchment, flood levels in the river had been declining during the last 24 hours.

Director General PDMA Umar Abbas Mela urged people living in riverine areas to move to safer locations without delay, adding that the Punjab government had completed all necessary arrangements in areas vulnerable to flooding.

He said flood relief camps had been equipped with essential facilities and medicines, and advised citizens to adopt precautionary measures in view of the prevailing weather and flood situation. He also urged the public to avoid recreational activities near rivers, canals and streams.

The DG further directed authorities to ensure the availability of quality boats and life jackets at river crossing points, while advising parents to take special care of children and never allow them to bathe in rivers or streams.

Lahore: Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Monday expressed deep grief and sorrow over the killing of four Pakistanis in a shooting incident in South Africa.

In a statement, the CM extended her heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the bereaved families, praying for eternal peace for the departed souls and strength for the families to bear the irreparable loss.