LAHORE: The National T20 Cup featuring 18 teams from 16 regions commences from Friday.

The event will see 39 matches played across three cities Faisalabad, Lahore and Multan.

The Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad will host 23 matches, including the knockout stage. In Lahore, the Gaddafi Stadium and LCCA Ground will serve as the two venues, while eight matches will be held at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

A prize pot of Rs9.4 million will also be up for grabs, with the winning team clinching Rs5 million and the runners-up getting Rs2.5 million.

The 18 participating teams have been divided into four groups.

Karachi Region (Blues), Lahore Region (Whites), Larkana Region, Peshawar Region, and Quetta Region are placed in Group `A`. Group `B` comprises defending champions Karachi Region (Whites), Bahawalpur Region, Dera Murad Jamali Region, Islamabad Region and Lahore Region (Blues).

Abbottabad Region, Faisalabad Region, Hyderabad Region and Rawalpindi Region are in Group `C` while Group `D` contains AJK Region, Fata Region, Multan Region and Sialkot Region.

The top two sides from each group will qualify for the quarter-finals which will be staged at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad on March 23 and 24.

The semi-finals will be held on March 26 while the final on March 27, all at the same venue.

The double-header in Faisalabad, including the opening match between Karachi Whites and Islamabad Region, will begin at 7:00pm, while the second match on the same day will be played at 11:00pm. In Lahore and Multan, the action in the first match will start at 4:30pm, while the second match will begin at 9pm.

The PCB also announced the names of the 18 teams.

Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik, who is also mentor of the Sialkot Region is also part of this region`s team. The names of two other mentors Sarfaraz Ahmed (Karachi) and Wahab Riaz (head of mentors, Lahore) have been excluded from their respective squads.

The PCB, in a sudden and surprising decision, reduced the match fee from Rs100,000 per match to just Rs10,000 for a playing member and Rs5,000 for a reserve player, which has left the cricketers disappointed.