PCB shifts President’s Trophy matches out of Peshawar and Abbottabad

After the federal government declared a state of emergency and imposed governor's rule in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province as a result of political turmoil in the region, where the two cities are located, the PCB has moved the ongoing first-class President's Trophy Grade 1 tournament out of Peshawar and Abbottabad. The two cities are located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

So far, four cities have hosted the President's Trophy this year—Islamabad and Rawalpindi are the other two.

The matches scheduled for Peshawar's Imran Khan Stadium and Abbottabad Cricket Stadium have been rescheduled to begin on October 14 at Rana Naveed Academy in Sheikhupura (Ghani vs. Hyderabad Kingsmen Academy) and the LCCA Ground, which is adjacent to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore (Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited vs. Oil and Gas Development Company Limited). The matches in Islamabad and Rawalpindi will continue as

The current round is the league stage's final one. Cricinfo has learned that Markhor IT Solutions will play Pakistan TV in the last round at the LCCA Ground, and Hyderabad Kingsmen Academy will play State Bank of Pakistan at the National Cricket Ground in Islamabad (the Diamond Club Ground is the other venue in use in the city).

The final round of matches will begin on October 19 after being delayed by one day.

All eight teams face off once during the league stage of the President's Trophy, which is played in a round-robin format. The top two teams compete in the final, the venue for which is yet to be confirmed.

Senior men's domestic cricket returned to the Imran Khan Stadium last season, after a nearly seven-year absence, when it hosted nine Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches. Abbottabad Cricket Stadium has regularly hosted first-class cricket over the years. The PCB has been eager to host top-level cricket at the site of extensive renovations.

Peshawar was allotted its maiden PSL game this year after its hosting capabilities were trialled at the National T20 Cup earlier in the year, but the PCB had to limit the tournament to Lahore and Karachi in line with the federal government's fuel-conservation measures following the West Asia crisis.

Ghani is currently in second place in the President's Trophy table with 70 points, followed by State Bank of Pakistan with 84 points. Hyderabad Kingsmen Academy, Pakistan TV, Markhor IT Solutions and Oil and Gas Development Company Limited have all won a match each, while Khan Research Laboratories and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, the finalists last season, are yet to win a game.