LAHORE: The Bugti Stadium will stage first-class cricket for the first time in 11 years after the almost-forgotten Quetta venue was included on Monday among nine centres across the country to stage 31 fixtures of the revamped Quaid-i-Azam Trophy.

The premier event under the new structure would start from Sept 14 and will be held in two phases before culminating with the five-day final that begins from Dec 9 at the National Stadium in Karachi between the top two teams on the points’ table.

The PCB has also decided to introduce, for the first time, a system of no-toss option while leaving the visiting team to decide whether they opt for batting or bowling.

Besides Bugti Stadium, the other centres where the matches will be played are: National Stadium, UBL Sports Complex and SBP Sports Complex in Karachi; Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium; Abbottabad Cricket Stadium; Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad; Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot and KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi.

Out of the 31 matches of the championship, four will be played at the Bugti Stadium where Balochistan will be the host team against Southern Punjab (Sept 21-24, Central Punjab (Sept 28-Oct 1), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Oct 28-31) and Southern Punjab (Nov 4-7).

The last time Bugti Stadium staged a first-class match was in October 2008 when Balochistan hosted NWFP in the Pentangular Cup. The venue had also held the a One-day International in 1996.

According to a PCB media release, the premier competition will take a break after four round of matches are completed.

“The red ball cricket will come to a halt to make window for T20 cricket. This is being done to provide the selectors with the opportunity to select in-form T20 players ahead of the crucial three-match series against Australia Down Under,” the media release stated. “The First and Second XI T20 tournaments, running simultaneously, will also help the HBL Pakistan Super League franchises to spot players ahead of the player draft for the next year’s edition.

“To groom further the domestic cricketers for the demanding challenges of Test cricket, the PCB has decided to implement the no-toss rule, which will provide the visiting teams will an option of bowling/batting first. This will act as a deterrent for the home sides from doctoring the pitches in their favour and compel them to prepare pitches that provide the right balance between bat and ball for four days.”

Moreover, Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Second XI tournament will run simultaneously with the First XI event (Quaid-i-Azam Trophy). The 30 group matches will be of three-day durations, while the final will be four-day fixture that will be played at Karachi’s SBP Sports Complex from Nov 26 to 29.

Mirpur in Azad and Jammu Kashmir will host four Second XI matches, starting from the second round contest between Northern and Central Punjab.

Schedule:

Sept 14-17: Sindh vs Balochistan (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); Central Punjab vs Southern Punjab (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore); Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vs Northern (Abbottabad Cricket Stadium).

Sept 21-24: Sindh vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); Central Punjab vs Northern (Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad); Balochistan vs Southern Punjab (Bugti Stadium, Quetta).

Sept 28-Oct 1: Northern vs Sindh (KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi); Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vs Southern Punjab (Abbottabad Cricket Stadium); Balochistan vs Central Punjab (Bugti Stadium, Quetta).

Oct 5-8: Sindh vs Southern Punjab (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); Northern vs Balochistan (KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi); Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vs Central Punjab (Abbottabad Cricket Stadium).

Oct 28-31: Central Punjab vs Sindh (Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad); Southern Punjab vs Northern (Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot); Balochistan vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Bugti Stadium, Quetta).

Nov 4-7: Central Punjab vs Northern (Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad); Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vs Sindh (Abbottabad Cricket Stadium); Balochistan vs Southern Punjab (Bugti Stadium, Quetta).

Nov 11-14: Sindh vs Northern (National Stadium, Karachi); Central Punjab vs Balochistan (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore); Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vs Southern Punjab (Abbottabad Cricket Stadium).

Nov 18-21: Sindh vs Central Punjab (National Stadium, Karachi); Northern vs Southern Punjab (KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi); Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vs Balochistan (Abbottabad Cricket Stadium).

Nov 25-28: Sindh vs Southern Punjab (National Stadium, Karachi); Balochistan vs Northern (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); Central Punjab vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore).

Dec 2-5: Sindh vs Balochistan (National Stadium, Karachi); Northern vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); Central Punjab vs Southern Punjab (SBP Sports Complex, Karachi).

Dec 9-13: Final (National Stadium, Karachi).