Shaheen Afridi will return to domestic first-class cricket when he plays for Khan Research Laboratories in the President’s Trophy Grade-I, which starts on Saturday, September 12, 2026.
The 26-year-old left-arm pacer’s participation was confirmed on Thursday, September 10, with KRL set to face Ghani Glass at Imran Khan Stadium in Peshawar on the tournament’s opening day.
The Pakistan Cricket Board required Shaheen Afridi to return to domestic first-class cricket as a prerequisite for re-entry into the national Test squad.
He was left out of Pakistan’s selections for the recent West Indies tour and the current England Test series. His most recent documented domestic first-class appearance prior to this event came on October 28, 2019, when he played for Northern against Southern Punjab in Sialkot in the 2019-20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, spanning nearly seven years at the domestic red-ball level.
Iftikhar Ahmed will captain the KRL team, with Fakhar Zaman serving as vice captain. Shaheen Afridi has been picked to the same tournament squad as them.
What form has Shaheen Afridi demonstrated ahead of his return?
Despite his extended absence from domestic first-class cricket, Shaheen Afridi has been active and prolific in other formats. Last month, he guided Pakistan Gold to the National Champions Cup triumph, taking 13 wickets, including a hat-trick in the final. That white-ball performance proved that his fitness and rhythm were unquestionable going into this red-ball task.
Shaheen Afridi has captured 126 wickets in 34 Test matches for Pakistan since his debut in 2018. Given his recent white-ball output and consistent international record, the PCB’s choice to route him through local cricket before recalling him for Tests is more of a procedural administrative requirement than a fitness worry.
What does the President’s Trophy format mean for Shaheen Afridi?
The President’s Trophy Grade-I is held from September 12 to October 28, 2026. The championship consists of eight teams competing in a single-league round-robin stage with a total of 28 four-day matches, seven for each team. The top two teams from the league stage will proceed to a five-day final.
Shaheen Afridi and KRL will therefore have up to seven four-day matches to make an impression before the final, providing the pacer with a sizable and organised block of red-ball cricket over the tournament timeframe.
Completing this domestic term is the next confirmed step toward Shaheen’s eventual comeback to Pakistan’s Test squad. The competition will expire on October 28, 2026, the same calendar date as his last verified domestic first-class performance in 2019.
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