Fresh from successfully organising the HBL Pakistan Super League, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced plans for the Pakistan Cup 2016 from April 19 to May 1, 2016 in Faisalabad. Pakistan's 75 top cricketers will take part in the Pakistan Cup 2016, the country's premier domestic 50-over tournament. The tournament will bring together teams representing Balochistan, ZIC Federal Capital, Boom Boom Bubblegum Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Cookania Cake Rusk Punjab and Inverex Sindh.
Balochistan will be led by Pakistan ODI captain Azhar Ali while Ijaz Ahmed and Taimur Azam will form the coaching panel. Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq will lead the Federal side. Mansoor Rana and Sabih Azhar will form the coaching panel for the Federal team. Star batsman Younis Khan will lead Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Abdul Rehman and Kabir Khan forming the coaching panel.
Punjab will be captained by Shoaib Malik and Atiq uz Zaman will join Mautashim Rashid on the coaching panel. Pakistan T20 skipper Sarfraz Ahmed will lead Sindh in the Pakistan Cup. Tauseef Ahmed and Iqbal Imam will be part of the coaching panel for Sindh. In an unprecedented move, the five captains and the coaches will be involved in selecting the teams through a Player Draft scheduled to take place soon. Around 150 players will be eligible for selection at the Draft. In order to provide top quality exposure to younger players, each team will be required to pick one regional U-19 cricketer.
Highlighting plans for the event, Chairman Executive Committee PCB Najam Sethi pointed out that the tournament will help revive fan engagement in domestic cricket. "Our public loves cricket and we are trying to further elevate our product. There is greater involvement of senior cricketers with the draft process in place. Players will also receive a 100% increase in remuneration and the support staff is very experienced. We are celebrating unity in diversity and I urge the fans to come and watch these matches in the stadium." Cool & Cool will be the presenting sponsor of the tournament while Junaid Jamshed, Brighto Paints and Goldenpearl will be co-sponsors.