F-6 Mavericks and G-10 Junoon win CDA's Ramzan Cup as Islamabad backs women's cricket

Islamabad's Ramadan cricket season closed on 18 March 2026 with the finals of the Capital Development Authority's Talent Hunt Ramzan Cup at the National Cricket Ground in F-7. The tournament had a men's and a women's competition, and it was the women's event that drew most of the attention.

The finals

In the women's final, F-6 Mavericks beat F-10 United Cricket Team by six wickets. Fajar Naveed was named Player of the Tournament, with Maham Anis picking up the best batter award, Noor-ul-Ain the best bowler award and Mahwish the best wicketkeeper award.

The men's title went to G-10 Junoon Cricket Club, who defeated F-8 JJ Cricket Team in the final. Muneeb Maqbool was the men's Player of the Tournament, Zeeshan Farid was named best batsman, Osama Afridi best bowler and Fahad Saleem best wicketkeeper.

CDA Chairman and Chief Commissioner Islamabad Muhammad Ali Randhawa attended as chief guest and handed out the prizes.

Prize money that sends a message

The organisers put more than Rs2 million into the prize pool. The women's champions received Rs600,000 and the runners-up Rs300,000, while the men's winners took Rs300,000 and their beaten finalists Rs150,000. According to the CDA, the women's prize was raised on the chairman's instructions specifically to encourage more girls and women to take up the sport.

It is unusual for a grassroots tournament in Pakistan to pay women more than men, and the decision gave the event a clear identity. The CDA's own account of the closing ceremony noted that this was the first women's tournament the authority had organised in the capital.

Open trials and a pathway

The tournament grew out of a memorandum of understanding signed between the CDA and the Pakistan Cricket Board on 4 December 2025, which focused on upgrading Islamabad's grounds, promoting youth cricket and widening opportunities for women.

Open trials were held in February 2026. For the men, ten teams took part: eight leading Islamabad clubs plus two sides, Chairman CDA XI and Minister XI, assembled from players who came through the trials. Men who took part were told the event could open a route into the CDA team for the Patron's Trophy Grade-II in 2026.

On the women's side, six teams were formed from trial participants drawn from across the country. Selected women were promised a chance to join a CDA women's team, giving them a club structure to keep playing once Ramadan was over.

What comes next

At the closing ceremony, Randhawa set out plans for eight more sports grounds in Islamabad modelled on the F-7 facility, with an emphasis on space for women, and said formal net practice for female players would be introduced. He framed the tournament as a way to find players for Pakistan's national women's side.

For a city where girls have often had to rely on school or university cricket, a municipal competition with open trials, prize money and a promised follow-on team is a meaningful addition. The real test will be whether the grounds and net sessions arrive before Ramadan 2027 brings the next edition.