PCB revamps Champions Cup in preparations of 2027 World Cup

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) have rebranded the Champions Cup, the domestic List A tournament, in light of the upcoming 2027 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. This comes mere two years after the original revamp, which transformed it into a premier domestic tournament with an increased prize pot and featuring some of the biggest international names.

The revamped Champions Cup will feature four teams playing seven games in a round-robin format with a final at the end. Running from August 11 to 18, the tournament will be played at the Multan Cricket Stadium with some of the best domestic talents on offer.

The four teams are named Pakistan Gold, Pakistan Greens, Pakistan Whites and Pakistan Blues, and will be captained by Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Saim Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan, respectively. However, many international stars will not feature in the tournament due to their Test commitments. The Champions Cup will coincide with Pakistan's three-match Test series against England, which starts on August 19. Apart from the red-ball squad, Abrar Ahmed, who is currently representing the Sunrisers Leeds (formerly Northern Superchargers) in The Hundred 2026, will also not take part.

"We have arranged this high-profile 50-over competition to provide ample playing opportunities to our best available pool of players for ICC Cricket World Cup 2027 preparations. The teams have been assembled keeping in mind the roles of the players in the 50-over game. I wish the best of luck to all the teams and look forward to watch some highly-competitive contests in Multan," PCB's director high performance, Aqihb Javed said in a statement, via Cricinfo.

Pakistan have been underwhelming in World Cups ever since they reached the semi-finals in 2011. The 1992 champions finished fifth at the 2023 World Cup in India after losing five matches. They also finished at the foot of Group A during the 2025 Champions Trophy on home soil and in the UAE.