New Delhi, Oct 12: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has overhauled the schedule of the ongoing President’s Trophy Grade 1 tournament, shifting fixtures away from Peshawar and Abbottabad after political instability in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prompted Pakistan’s federal government to declare a state of emergency and impose governor’s rule in the province.
The changes affect matches scheduled at Imran Khan Stadium in Peshawar and Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, with the PCB moving the fixtures to venues in Sheikhupura and Lahore. Games scheduled in Islamabad and Rawalpindi will proceed as planned, with the sixth round of the competition set to begin on Monday,
As per the revised schedule, the match between Ghani and Hyderabad Kingsmen Academy will be played at Rana Naveed Academy in Sheikhupura from October 14. The fixture featuring Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) has been shifted to the LCCA Ground in Lahore, located next to Gaddafi Stadium, and will also begin on October 14, Cricinfo reports.
The venue changes come with the tournament entering a decisive phase, as the ongoing round is the penultimate stage of the league competition. As per the report, Lahore’s LCCA Ground will also stage the final-round encounter between Markhor IT Solutions and Pakistan TV.
In Islamabad, the National Cricket Ground will host the Hyderabad Kingsmen Academy versus State Bank of Pakistan fixture in the last round, alongside the Diamond Club ground, which is also being used for the city’s matches.
The final round has been pushed back by a day and will now commence on October 19, altering the closing schedule of the round-robin league. All eight participating teams face each other once, with the two sides finishing highest in the standings advancing to the final. The PCB has yet to announce the venue for the title decider.
The disruption comes at a time when the board has been attempting to broaden the reach of domestic cricket beyond its traditional centres. Abbottabad has regularly hosted first-class matches, while Peshawar’s Imran Khan Stadium returned to the senior men’s domestic calendar last season after nearly seven years away, staging nine Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixtures following extensive renovation work.
Peshawar had also been allocated its first Pakistan Super League match this year after the city’s facilities were assessed during the National T20 Cup earlier in the season. However, the PSL was ultimately restricted to Lahore and Karachi under federal fuel-conservation measures introduced in the wake of the West Asia crisis.
--IANS