KARACHI, Dec 25: The Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship, Pakistan’s premier first-class competition, gets under way from Sunday with a slight change in the format.

As was the case last season, the blue riband event has a mixture of teams from regions as well as departments. But unlike last season, the Pakistan Cricket Board have, in a sensible move, opted to put 11 of the 13 regional outfits in Pool ‘B’ with all departments and the senior teams representing Karachi and Lahore in Pool ‘A’.

Both Karachi and Lahore have been allowed to field two teams each with Karachi Whites and Lahore Shalimar featuring in the stronger of the two groups where they will face a stern test of strength against their opponents from the departments.

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), who won the championship for the first time in their history, will open the defence of their title against Wapda at the Sheikhupura Stadium.

Last season’s runners-up Habib Bank play arch-rivals National Bank at the NBP Sports Complex here in arguably the pick of all first-round fixtures.

Teams finishing on top of their respective pools will clash in the five-day final from March 3 at a venue to be announced later.

Meanwhile, the PCB has also decided that the third-round matches would begin a day later on Jan 9 in case 10th of Muharram falls on Jan 8, with no change in the rest of the schedule.

Following are the pools and schedule of matches:

Pool ‘A’: National Bank of Pakistan (NBP), Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL), Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda), Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), Pakistan Customs, Karachi Whites, Lahore Shalimar.

Dec 28-31: NBP v HBL at NBP Sports Complex, Karachi; Pakistan Customs v SSGC at Quaid-i-Azam Park, Steel Township, Karachi; Karachi Whites v PIA at National Stadium, Karachi; SNGPL v Wapda at Sheikhupura Stadium, KRL v ZTBL at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi. Jan 2-5: HBL v Pakistan Customs at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi; NBP v PIA at NBP Sports Complex, Karachi; Karachi Whites v SSGC at Quaid-i-Azam Park, Steel Township, Karachi; KRL v Wapda at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi; Lahore Shalimar v ZTBL at LCCA Ground, Lahore.

Jan 8-11: HBL v PIA at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi; NBP v SSGC at NBP Sports Complex, Karachi; Karachi Whites v Pakistan Customs at Quaid-i-Azam Park, Steel Township, Karachi; KRL v SNGPL at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi; Lahore Shalimar v Wapda at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

Jan 14-17: HBL v SSGC at Quaid-i-Azam Park, Steel Township, Karachi; Karachi Whites v NBP at National Stadium, Karachi; PIA v Pakistan Customs at NBP Sports Complex, Karachi; Lahore Shalimar v KRL at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; ZTBL v SNGPL at Sheikhupura Stadium.

Jan 20-23: NBP v Pakistan Customs at NBP Sports Complex, Karachi; Karachi Whites v HBL at National Stadium, Karachi; PIA v SSGC at Quaid-i-Azam Park, Steel Township, Karachi; ZTBL v Wapda at Sheikhupura Stadium; Lahore Shalimar v SNGPL at LCCA Ground, Lahore.

Jan 26-29: Karachi Whites v ZTBL at National Stadium, Karachi; Lahore Shalimar v HBL at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; Pakistan Customs v SNGPL at Sheikhupura Stadium; KRL v SSGC at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi; PIA v Wapda at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot.

Feb 1-4: NBP v ZTBL at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; Karachi Whites v Wapda at National Stadium, Karachi; Lahore Shalimar v Pakistan Customs at LCCA Ground, Lahore; PIA v KRL at Mirpur Stadium, Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK); SNGPL v SSGC at Sheikhupura Stadium.

Feb 7-10: HBL v SNGPL at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; Karachi Whites v KRL at National Stadium, Karachi; NBP v Wapda at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad; Lahore Shalimar v PIA at LCCA Ground, Lahore; ZTBL v SSGC at Country Club Ground, Muridke.

Feb 13-16: KRL v HBL at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi; Karachi Whites v SNGPL at National Stadium, Karachi; Lahore Shalimar v NBP at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; Pakistan Customs v ZTBL at Sheikhupura Stadium; Wapda v SSGC at Country Club Ground, Muridke.

Feb 19-22: Lahore Shalimar v Karachi Whites at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; HBL v ZTBL at Sheikhupura Stadium; KRL v NBP at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi; PIA v SNGPL at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad; Wapda v Pakistan Customs at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot.

Feb 25-28: HBL v Wapda at Sheikhupura Stadium; SNGPL v NBP at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; KRL v Pakistan Customs at Mirpur Stadium (AJK); Lahore Shalimar v SSGC at LCCA Ground, Lahore; PIA v ZTBL at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.

Pool ‘B’: Karachi Blues, Lahore Ravi, Hyderabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Sialkot, Abbottabad.

Dec 28-31: Karachi Blues v Quetta at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi; Multan v Hyderabad at Multan Cricket Stadium; Lahore Ravi v Faisalabad at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; Islamabad v Rawalpindi at Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad; Peshawar v Abbottabad at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar.

Jan 2-5: Karachi Blues v Sialkot at National Stadium, Karachi; Multan v Quetta at Multan Cricket Stadium; Faisalabad v Hyderabad at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad; Rawalpindi v Abbottabad at Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad; Peshawar v Islamabad at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar.

Jan 8-11: Karachi Blues v Lahore Ravi at National Stadium, Karachi; Sialkot v Hyderabad at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot; Faisalabad v Quetta at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad; Islamabad v Abbottabad at Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad; Rawalpindi v Multan at Marghazar Ground, Islamabad.

Jan 14-17: Karachi Blues v Peshawar at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi; Lahore Ravi v Hyderabad at LCCA Ground, Lahore; Sialkot v Quetta at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot; Islamabad v Multan at Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad; Rawalpindi v Faisalabad at Mirpur Stadium (AJK).

Jan 20-23: Karachi Blues v Abbottabad at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi; Lahore Ravi v Quetta at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; Hyderabad v Peshawar at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad; Multan v Faisalabad at Gymkhana Club Ground, Okara; Rawalpindi v Sialkot at Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad.

Jan 26-29: Multan v Sialkot at Gymkhana Club Ground, Okara; Lahore Ravi v Rawalpindi at LCCA Ground, Lahore; Hyderabad v Abbottabad at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad; Peshawar v Quetta at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar; Faisalabad v Islamabad at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.

Feb 1-4: Rawalpindi v Karachi Blues at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi; Hyderabad v Islamabad at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad; Sialkot v Lahore Ravi at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot; Multan v Peshawar at Multan Cricket Stadium; Abbottabad v Quetta at Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad.

Feb 7-10: Faisalabad v Karachi Blues at Sports Stadium, Sargodha; Peshawar v Lahore Ravi at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar; Hyderabad v Rawalpindi at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad; Islamabad v Quetta at Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad; Sialkot v Abbottabad at Sheikhupura Stadium.

Feb 13-16: Rawalpindi v Quetta at Marghazar Ground, Islamabad; Islamabad v Karachi Blues at Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad; Lahore Ravi v Multan at LCCA Ground, Lahore; Peshawar v Sialkot at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar; Faisalabad v Abbottabad at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.

Feb 19-22: Hyderabad v Quetta at Municipal Sports Complex, Mirpurkhas; Karachi Blues v Multan at National Stadium, Karachi; Lahore Ravi v Abbottabad at LCCA Ground, Lahore; Faisalabad v Peshawar at Sports Stadium, Sargodha; Islamabad v Sialkot at Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad.

Feb 25-28: Hyderabad v Karachi Blues at Nawabshah Stadium; Peshawar v Rawalpindi at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar; Islamabad v Lahore Ravi at Diamond Club, Islamabad; Multan v Abbottabad at Gymkhana Club Ground, Okara; Sialkot v Faisalabad at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot.