LAHORE: The U-19 Women’s T20 Tournament will kick off here on October 14 following a near-month-long delay, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Wednesday.

Originally slated for September 16, the tournament faced postponement without any official communication, highlighting ongoing challenges in the PCB’s management of domestic cricket.

The ongoing 2024-25 domestic season has been marred by delays, with several key tournaments—including the inaugural Champions Cup and various men’s and women’s national U-19 events — failing to commence as scheduled.

The tournament will feature five teams: Challengers, Conquerors, Invincibles, Stars, and Strikers, competing in a double-league format. The final is scheduled for November 3, where the top two teams will clash for the title.

Each team will benefit from the guidance of “ment­ors” in Waqar Younis for Challengers, Mis­bah-ul-Haq for Conquerors, Shoaib Malik for Stars, and Saqlain Mushtaq for Strikers. The Invincibles, however, will proceed without a mentor due to Sarfraz Ahmed’s commitments with the national team.

A total of 75 players will participate in the tournament, which boasts a prize pool of Rs1.1 million. The champions will receive Rs0.5 million, while the runners-up will take home Rs0.3 million.

The squads were finalised following countrywide trials conducted by the national women’s selection committee, led by former Test cricketer Asad Shafiq and international cricketer Batool Fatima.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2024