LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday decided to reschedule the first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final in view of the Sri Lanka’s Test tour of the country.

The five-day title-decider of the premier competition was originally planned to be staged from Dec 9 to 13 at the National Stadium in Karachi, but will be played from Dec 27 at the same venue. The decision has been made after Sri Lanka confirmed their World Test Championship matches against Pakistan in Rawalpindi (Dec 11-15) and Karachi (Dec 19-23).

Meanwhile, the eighth and ninth round matches between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been shifted to Karachi due to unexpected and unfavourable weather conditions in the upcountry.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will now host Balochistan at the UBL Sports Complex, while Central Punjab will take on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the NBP Sports Complex.

Revised schedule:

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

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

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

Dec 27-31: Final (National Stadium, Karachi).

Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2019