LAHORE: Karachi Whites and Abbottabad will lock horns in the final of the National T20 Cup 2025-26 at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore here 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. 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 7th March to 17th 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.
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 said, “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 said, “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.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026