The National T20 Cup is a men's professional domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Pakistan. Established in 2005, it is one of the world's oldest Twenty20 cricket leagues. It was the principal T20 competition in the country until 2016, when the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise tournament was introduced. Since 2019–20, the National T20 Cup has been contested by six regional teams, having previously been contested mainly by teams representing the various city, district and area cricket associations.
 | |
| Countries | Pakistan |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Pakistan Cricket Board |
| Format | Twenty20 |
| First edition | 2004–05 |
| Latest edition | 2023–24 |
| Next edition | 2024-25 |
| Number of teams | 18 |
| Current champion | Karachi Whites (1st title) |
| Most successful | Sialkot Stallions (6 titles) |
| TV | List of Broadcasters |
| Website | nationalt20cup |
The league's team offices are directed out of its head offices located at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.[1][2][3] Karachi Whites are the defending champions, winning the 2023-24 edition.[4][5][6][7][8][9]
History
The National T20 Cup began in the 2004–05 season as the ABN-AMRO Twenty-20 Cup and quickly became the premier professional Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan with 14 teams. It was the first T20 cricket league in the world outside of Australia and England.
As ownership of the title sponsor changed, the competition was renamed to the RBS Twenty-20 Cup in 2008–09, and to the Faysal Bank Twenty-20 Cup in 2010–11. In the 2014–15 season, the league was renamed to the Haier T20 Cup.
Sialkot Stallions have been the most successful team, winning the title a total of six times.
Background
This is the first edition of the tournament played since the PCB 2014 Constitution was reinstated. The previous edition of National T20, which featured six sides, was won by Sindh who clinched their maiden title after defeating defending champions Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by eight wickets. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lost out on securing a hat-trick of titles after winning both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 editions.
Format
The 18 qualifying teams will be divided into four groups of five; the top two teams in each group will advance to the Super 8 round. In this stage,the qualifying teams will be split into one groups of 8; the top four teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stage, which will consist of two semi-finals and a final.[10]
Super 8s
After the group stage, the top two teams in each group will progress to the Super 8 stage which will be played as a single round-robin with the top four teams advancing to the knockout stage.[11][12][13]
Knockout Stage
Following the Super Eight stage, the top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals.
Teams
Current Teams
| Team name | First season | Last title | Titles | Team captains |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abbottabad | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Yasir Shah |
| Azad Jammu and Kashmir | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Naveed Malik |
| Bahawalpur | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Mohammad Junaid |
| Dera Murad Jamali | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Nasir Khan |
| Faisalabad | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Asif Ali |
| FATA | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Khushdil Shah |
| Hyderabad | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Rizwan Mehmood |
| Islamabad | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Haris Rauf |
| Karachi Blues | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Saifullah Bangash |
| Karachi Whites | 2023-24 | 2023-24 | 1 | Asad Shafiq |
| Lahore Blues | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Hussain Talat |
| Lahore Whites | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Saad Nasim |
| Larkana | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Zahid Mehmood |
| Multan | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Sharoon Siraj |
| Peshawar | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Iftikhar Ahmed |
| Quetta | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Jalat Khan |
| Rawalpindi | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Shadab Khan |
| Sialkot | 2023-24 | – | 0 | Shoaib Malik |
Team Results
| Team name | 2023–24 |
|---|---|
| Abbottabad | R |
| Azad Jammu and Kashmir | Grp |
| Bahawalpur | Grp |
| Dera Murad Jamali | Grp |
| Faisalabad | Grp |
| FATA | Spr 8 |
| Hyderabad | Grp |
| Islamabad | Grp |
| Karachi Blues | Grp |
| Karachi Whites | W |
| Lahore Blues | Spr 8 |
| Lahore Whites | Spr 8 |
| Larkana | Grp |
| Multan | Grp |
| Peshawar | SF |
| Quetta | Grp |
| Rawalpindi | SF |
| Sialkot | Spr 8 |
- Notes
- W = Winner;
- R = Runner-up;
- SF = Eliminated in the semi-finals
- Spr 8 = Eliminated in the super 8 stage
- Grp = Eliminated in the group stage
Former Teams
- Abbottabad Falcons
- Afghan Cheetahs
- AJK Jaguars
- Bahawalpur Stags
- Balochistan
- Central Punjab
- Dera Murad Jamali Ibexes
- Faisalabad Wolves
- FATA Cheetahs
- Hyderabad Hawks
- Islamabad Leopards
- Karachi Dolphins
- Karachi Zebras
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Lahore Eagles
- Lahore Lions
- Larkana Bulls
- Multan Tigers
- Northern
- Peshawar Panthers
- Quetta Bears
- Rawalpindi Rams
- Sialkot Stallions
- Sindh
- Southern Punjab
Winners and competition details
| Year | Final | Format | Teams | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Winners | Result | Runners-up | |||
| 2004–05 Details | Lahore | Faisalabad Wolves 159 for 8 (19.5 overs) | Won by 2 wickets Scorecard | Karachi Dolphins 158 for 7 (20 overs) | 3-group round-robin, round-robin with top team from each, final | 11 |
| 2005–06 Details | Karachi | Sialkot Stallions 156 for 4 (19.2 overs) | Won by 6 wickets Scorecard | Faisalabad Wolves 152 for 8 (20 overs) | 2-group round-robin, semi-finals, final | 13 |
| 2006–07 Details | Sialkot Stallions 151 all out (20 overs) | Won by 14 runs Scorecard | Karachi Dolphins 137 for 7 (20 overs) | 4-group round-robin, semi-finals, final | ||
| 2008–09 Details | Lahore | Sialkot Stallions 126 for 3 (19.4 overs) | Won by 7 wickets Scorecard | Karachi Dolphins 125 for 9 (20 overs) | 4-group round-robin, semi-finals, final | 13 |
| 2009 Details | Sialkot Stallions 151 for 6 (19.1 overs) | Won by 4 wickets Scorecard | Lahore Lions 150 for 8 (20 overs) | |||
| 2009–10 Details | Karachi | Sialkot Stallions 110 for 5 (16.3 overs) | Won by 5 wickets Scorecard | Faisalabad Wolves 109 for 9 (20 overs) | ||
| 2010–11 Details | Lahore | Lahore Lions 221 for 3 (20 overs) | Won by 37 runs Scorecard | Karachi Dolphins 184 all out (19.4 overs) | 13 | |
| 2011–12 Details | Karachi | Sialkot Stallions 180 for 6 (20 overs) | Won by 10 runs Scorecard | Rawalpindi Rams 170 for 8 (20 overs) | 14 | |
| 2012–13 Details | Lahore | Lahore Lions 154 for 7 (20 overs) | Won by 33 runs Scorecard | Faisalabad Wolves 121 for 8 (20 overs) | 2-group round-robin, semi-finals, final | 14 |
| 2013–14 Details | Rawalpindi | Lahore Lions 131 for 7 (20 overs) | Won by 3 wickets Scorecard | Faisalabad Wolves 130 for 9 (20 overs) | 4-group round-robin, quarter-finals, semi-finals, final | 17 |
| 2014–15 Details | Karachi | Peshawar Panthers 134 for 3 (19.2 overs) | Won by 7 wickets Scorecard | Lahore Lions 133 for 9 (20 overs) | 4-group round-robin, quarter-finals, semi-finals, final | 18 |
| 2015–16 Details | Rawalpindi | Peshawar Panthers 178 for 3 (18.5 overs) | Won by 7 wickets Scorecard | Karachi Zebras 177 for 8 (20 overs) | 4-group round-robin, quarter-finals, semi-finals, final | 18 |
| 2016–17 Details | Multan | Karachi Blues 182 for 3 (20 overs) | Won by 3 runs Scorecard | Karachi Whites 179 for 8 (20 overs) | round-robin, semi-finals, final | 8 |
| 2017–18 Details | Rawalpindi | Lahore Blues 131 for 3 (17.3 overs) | Won by 7 wickets Scorecard | Lahore Whites 127 for 5 (20 overs) | round-robin, semi-finals, final | 8 |
| 2018–19 Details | Multan | Lahore Whites 165 for 8 (19.2 overs) | Won by 2 wickets Scorecard | Rawalpindi 162 for 8 (20 overs) | round-robin, semi-finals, final | 8 |
| 2019–20 Details | Faisalabad | Northern 167 for 5 (20 overs) | Won by 52 runs Scorecard | Balochistan 115 all out (18.2 overs) | round-robin, semi-finals, final | 6 |
| 2020–21 Details | Rawalpindi | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 206 for 4 (20 overs) | Won by 10 runs Scorecard | Southern Punjab 196 for 8 (20 overs) | double round-robin, semi-finals, final | 6 |
| 2021–22 Details | Lahore | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 152 for 3 (17 overs) | Won by 7 wickets Scorecard | Central Punjab 148 (20 overs) | 6 | |
| 2022–23 Details | Multan | Sindh 141 for 2 (14.4 overs) | Won by 8 wickets Scorecard | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 140 (19.5 overs) | 6 | |
| 2023–24 Details | Karachi | Karachi Whites 155 for 9 (20 overs) | Won by 9 runs Scorecard | Abbottabad 146 for 9 (20 overs) | 4-group round-robin, Super 8s, semi-finals, final | 18 |
Sponsorship
| Title sponsor | Period |
|---|---|
| ABN AMRO | 2004–2006 |
| RBS | 2008–2010 |
| Faysal Bank | 2010–2014 |
| Haier | 2014–2016 |
| Jazz | 2016–2018 |
| Audionic | 2018–2019 |
| Zong 4G | 2019–2020 |
| Pepsi | 2021–2022 |
| Kingdom Valley | 2022–2023 |
| Jazz Super 4G | 2023–2024 |
Prize Money
The winning team of the tournament will pocket a prize money of PKR 5 million. Meanwhile, the tournament runners-up will be awarded PKR 2.5 million. The player of the tournament will be rewarded with PKR 250,000. The same amount has been allotted to three other awards; best batter, best bowler and best wicket-keeper of the tournament. The player of the final will receive PKR 50,000 while player of the match in each of the Super Eight games and the semi-finals will be given PKR 25,000.
Broadcasters
2023-24 SeasonAll matches played at National Bank Stadium will be broadcast on PTV Sports and ARY ZAP in Pakistan, and live-streamed on YouTube in overseas territories. Double-header matches at National Bank Stadium will begin at 15:00 PKT and 20:00 PKT, with toss conducted at 14:30 PKT and 19:30 PKT respectively.
| Territory | Channels & Live Streaming |
|---|---|
 Pakistan | PTV Sports |
 United Kingdom | Geo TV |
 United States | Willow TV |
| Rest Of The World | Facebook YouTube |
