Karachi Whites and Abbottabad will lock horns in the final of the ABS Developers present National T20 Cup 2025-26 at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Sunday night with the first ball set to be bowled at 8pm.
The toss will take place at 7.30pm, while the fans can watch the match free of cost as Imran Khan and Fazal Mehmood enclosures will open for them. Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi is expected to be the chief guest for the final on Sunday.
The two squads arrived in Lahore on Friday and will take part in an intensive training session from 7pm onwards on Saturday at the Gaddafi Stadium.
The final of the National T20 Cup was rescheduled after the group stage and semi-finals took place from 7 March to 17 March in Peshawar. Karachi Whites and Abbottabad both topped their groups winning two and three matches, respectively. In the semi-final one Karachi Whites had beaten Sialkot by five wickets.
The second semi-final ended as no result due to persistent rain after completion of Lahore Whites’ batting innings. Abbottabad advanced to the final based on their standing in the group stage.
Shadab Khan will lead Abbottabad, while Saud Shakeel will marshal Karachi Whites. Saud will look to make a double of trophies this season having already won the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2025-26 leading Karachi Blues.
For Abbottabad Kamran Ghulam (223) and Shahzaib Khan (160) lead the run-scoring charts. Kamran will have the chance to overtake Hasan Nawaz’s tally of 227 runs to become the leading run scorer in the tournament. For Karachi Whites, Abdullah Fazal (189) is the lone batter among top 10 leading run scorers.
On the bowling front, Shahab Khan (13) and Shadab Khan (9) have taken the second and third most scalps, respectively in the tournament besides Usama Mir’s 16. Karachi Whites’ Muhammad Umar has taken eight wickets with his pace.
A prize pot of PKR 8.5 million will be distributed among the winner, runners up and the best performers of the tournament. The winner will take home PKR 5 million along with the glittering trophy, while the runners up will be awarded a cash prize of PKR 2.5 million and trophy.
The final match is set to be broadcast on A Sports, PTV Sports, Fast Sports and Geo Super in Pakistan, while it will be live-streamed free on PCB Live app for fans worldwide and on Tapmad in Pakistan. The game will also be live-streamed on PCB YouTube channel for overseas fans.
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt and former Pakistan women’s player Marina Iqbal will be calling the action from behind the mic along with Ali Younis and Raja Asad.
Shadab Khan, Abbottabad captain:
“The tournament has been a good journey for Abbottabad as we have showcased our talent and skill throughout. In Lahore, we want to finish the tournament on a high. Having recently played top flight cricket at the venue, it will be vital for me to share that information with the team and lead them in the best possible way.”
Saud Shakeel, Karachi Whites captain:
“This season has gone great for Karachi region teams and after winning the Quaid-e-Azam trophy for the Blues, we want to lift the National T20 Cup for the Whites. We have a strong unit with as many as six Pakistan capped players.
“We were also focused on grooming young players this season and a number of them have performed well. We have youngsters like Abdullah Fazal, Haroon Arshad and Huzaifa Ahsan in the squad. It will be an exciting and highly competitive contest between the two teams.”
Squads
Abbottabad
Shadab Khan (captain), Maaz Sadaqat, Shahzaib Khan, Kamran Ghulam, Khushdil Shah, Sajjad Ali (wk), Shahab Khan, Arshad Iqbal, Razaullah, Fayaz Khan, Atizaz Habib Khan, Afaq Ahmed, Hamad Ali, Afaq Khan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr
Head coach – Saqib Faqir
Karachi Whites
Saud Shakeel (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Abdullah Fazal, Arif Yaqoob, Danish Aziz, Haroon Arshad, Huzaifa Ahsan, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay (wk), Muhammad Asghar, Muhammad Hamza Sohail, Muhammad Umar, Rizwanullah, Saifullah Bangash (wk), Saqib Khan and Shan Masood
Head coach – Iqbal Imam
