Keeping up with its promise of bringing fans closer to high-quality domestic cricket, the Pakistan Cricket Board on Friday announced it will produce all 11 first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches, including the five-day final, from the National Stadium, which will be broadcast on PTV.
Fans interested in enjoying High Definition coverage can follow the action on the PCB YouTube Channels, while SD coverage will be available PTV Sports. To avoid overlap and provide uninterrupted coverage of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the PCB and the PTV Sports are in talks to shift the coverage to PTV National on days when international cricket between Pakistan and Zimbabwe is being played.
On match days, coverage will commence at 9.45am – 15 minutes before the delivery of the first ball – and will conclude with a round-up show at the end of the day’s play.
The coverage for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, jewel in the crown of Pakistan’s domestic cricket, will be done through 14 HD cameras and the broadcast will be embellished with pre- and post-play studio shows featuring high-powered expert and commentary panels.
Action in the first match at the National Stadium between Sarfaraz Ahmed-led Sindh and Azhar Ali’s Central Punjab, will be called by Bazid Khan, Sikander Bakht, Shah Faisal, Tariq Saeed and Yasir Hameed.
Over the course of the next rounds, the PCB will rotate commentators and provide opportunities to former international and first-class cricketers to commentate during the matches in a bid to help them hone their skills.
Last season, the PCB had live-streamed 10 league matches of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, while the five-day final was televised by the then PCB’s media rights partner.
This once again reflects the PCB’s commitment and drive to enhance the value and credibility of its domestic competitions.
As part of a three-year agreement with PTV Sports and I-Media Communication Services, the consortium of Tower Sports and Sportz Workz, on behalf of the PCB, had produced pictures of the highly successful National T20 Cup, which were broadcast on PTV Sports.
After initial teething problems, the coverage settled down to help the fans follow live action after the event was played behind closed doors due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Broadcast fixtures (all matches at the National Stadium, which will start at 10am):
25-28 Oct – Sindh v Central Punjab
31 Oct–3 Nov – Balochistan v Southern Punjab
6-9 Nov – Central Punjab v Balochistan
20-23 Nov – Southern Punjab v Sindh
26-29 Nov – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Northern
2-5 Dec – Central Punjab v Sindh
8-11 Dec – Southern Punjab v Balochistan
14-17 Dec – Sindh v Northern
20-23 Dec – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Central Punjab
26-29 Dec – Northern v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
1-5 Jan – Final (top two teams on points table).