Wikipedia

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy

The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition in Pakistan. With few exceptions, it has been staged annually since it was first played during the 1953–54 season. Domestic cricket in Pakistan has undergone many reorganisations, with the number of teams and matches in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy changing regularly. It has been variously contested by associations[a] or departments,[b] or a combination of the two.[1] Since 2019 it has been contested by regional teams only.

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy
Tournament logo
Countries Pakistan
AdministratorPakistan Cricket Board
FormatFirst-class
First edition1953–54
Latest edition2023–24
Next edition2024–25
Number of teams18
Current championKarachi Whites (5th title)
Most successfulKarachi Blues (9 titles)
Most runsKamran Ghulam
TVList of Broadcasters
Websitewww.pcb.com.pk

History

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Named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, who was known as "Quaid-e-Azam" (Great Leader), the trophy was introduced in the 1953–54 season to help the selectors pick the squad for Pakistan's Test tour of England in 1954.[2] Five regional and two departmental teams competed in the first competition: Bahawalpur, Punjab, Karachi, North-West Frontier Province, Sindh, Combined Services and Pakistan Railways.

The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy has been contested by a variety of teams representing regional cricket associations and departments. The departmental teams were run by companies, institutions and government departments, and offered employment for their players. In most seasons up to 2019 a mixture of the two competed together, but on many occasions the competition has been contested exclusively by regional or departmental teams. Due to their strength in depth, several regional associations have entered multiple teams, starting in 1956–57 when Karachi, Punjab and East Pakistan each had two teams.[3][4] The competition's format has seldom remained unchanged from one season to the next. It was a knockout tournament for the first two seasons, and again in 1959–60, from 1963–64 to 1968–69, and from 1970–71 to 1978–79. At other times it has been contested in one or more round robin groups with another group stage, knockout or single final match between the top sides in each group, and as a two division league system with a knockout and/or final and promotion and relegation. Even when the system remained constant, the composition of teams from the regions and departments often changed.[3][4] Karachi teams have won the trophy 20 times, the most by any team.

Ahead of the 2019–20 season the Pakistan Cricket Board announced a new structure which removed the traditional regions and departments, with six newly formed regional teams contesting the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.[3] In January 2023, the Pakistan Cricket Board, adverting to "the wrong policies of the past four seasons", announced that the PCB constitution had been changed. Pakistan domestic cricket would revert to what the PCB called its "tried, tested and winning cricket model and structure".[5] Eight regional teams competed in the 2023–24 competition: Faisalabad, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Karachi Whites, Lahore Blues, Lahore Whites, Multan, Peshawar and Rawalpindi.

For the 2024–25 competition the number of teams was increased to 18, in three pools of six teams each.[6]

  • Pool A: Abbottabad Region, Faisalabad Region, Hyderabad Region, Islamabad Region, Lahore Region Whites, Larkana Region
  • Pool B: Azad Jammu and Kashmir Region, Bahawalpur Region, Karachi Region Whites, Multan Region, Peshawar Region, Rawalpindi Region
  • Pool C: Dera Murad Jamali, Federally Administered Tribal Areas Region, Karachi Region Blues, Lahore Region Blues, Quetta Region, Sialkot Region

Winners and competition details

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Season Winning team(s) Runner-up Number of teams Total
matches[c]		 Format
Tot. Rgn. Dpt.
1953–54 Bahawalpur (1) Punjab 7 5 2 6 knockout; semi-finals
1954–55 Karachi (1) Combined Services 9 7 2 8 knockout; semi-finals
1955–56 Not held
1956–57 Punjab (1) Karachi Whites 13 11 2 18 4 round-robin groups; semi-finals
1957–58 Bahawalpur (2) Karachi C 15 13 2 26 4 round-robin groups; semi-finals
1958–59 Karachi (2) Combined Services 12 9 3 16 4 round-robin groups; semi-finals
1959–60 Karachi (3) Lahore 13 10 3 12 knockout; quarter-finals
1960–61 Not held due to the holding of inaugural Ayub Trophy.[3]
1961–62 Karachi Blues (1) Combined Services 15 13 2 28 4 round-robin groups; semi-finals
1962–63 Karachi A (1) Karachi B 16 13 3 27 4 round-robin groups; semi-finals
1963–64 Karachi Blues (2) Karachi Whites 15 13 2 14 knockout; quarter-finals
1964–65 Karachi Blues (3) Lahore 26 18 8 24 knockout; semi-finals
1965–66 Not held due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.[3]
1966–67 Karachi (4) Pakistan Railways 7 6 1 6 knockout; semi-finals
1967–68 Not held due to the 1966–67 competition extending until November 1967.[3]
1968–69 Lahore (1) Karachi 12 11 1 11 knockout; quarter-finals
1969–70 PIA (1) PWD 20 15 5 34 5 round-robin groups; pre-semi-final
1970–71 Karachi Blues (4) Punjab University 20 11 9 19 knockout; semi-finals
1971–72 Not held due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
1972–73 Railways (1) Sind 7 4 3 6 knockout; semi-finals
1973–74 Railways (2) Sind 7 4 3 6 knockout; semi-finals
1974–75 Punjab A (1) Sind A 10 6 4 9 knockout; quarter-finals
1975–76 National Bank (1) Punjab A 10 6 4 9 knockout; quarter-finals
1976–77 United Bank (1) National Bank 12 6 6 11 knockout; quarter-finals
1977–78 Habib Bank (1) National Bank 12 6 6 11 knockout; quarter-finals
1978–79 National Bank (2) Habib Bank 12 4 8 11 knockout; quarter-finals
1979–80 PIA (2) National Bank 11 3 8 18 4 groups; final round-robin
1980–81 United Bank (2) PIA 10 2 8 45 round-robin
1981–82 National Bank (3) United Bank 10 3 7 45 round-robin
1982–83 United Bank (3) National Bank 10 3 7 45 round-robin
1983–84 National Bank (4) United Bank 10 0 10 45 round-robin
1984–85 United Bank (4) Pakistan Railways 12 2 10 33 2 round-robin groups; semi-finals
1985–86 Karachi (5) Pakistan Railways 12 6 6 66 round-robin
1986–87 National Bank (5) United Bank 12 4 8 66 round-robin
1987–88 PIA (3) United Bank 13 4 9 39 2 round-robin groups; semi-finals
1988–89 ADBP (1) Habib Bank 8 0 8 29 round-robin; final
1989–90 PIA (4) United Bank 8 0 8 57 round-robin; final
1990–91 Karachi Whites (1) Bahawalpur 8 8 0 31 round-robin; semi-finals
1991–92 Karachi Whites (2) Lahore 9 9 0 39 round-robin; semi-finals
1992–93 Karachi Whites (3) Sargodha 8 8 0 31 round-robin; semi-finals
1993–94 Lahore () Karachi Whites 8 8 0 31 round-robin; semi-finals
1994–95 Karachi Blues (5) Lahore 10 10 0 48 round-robin; semi-finals
1995–96 Karachi Blues (6) Karachi Whites 10 10 0 48 round-robin; semi-finals
1996–97 Lahore (2) Karachi Whites 8 8 0 31 round-robin; semi-finals
1997–98 Karachi Blues (7) Peshawar 10 10 0 46 round-robin; final
1998–99 Peshawar (1) Karachi Whites 11 11 0 56 round-robin; final
1999–00 PIA (5) Habib Bank 23 11 12 122 2 round-robin groups; final
2000–01 Lahore Blues (1) Karachi Whites 12 12 0 67 round-robin; final
2001–02 Karachi Whites (4) Peshawar 18 18 0 73 2 round-robin groups; final
2002–03 PIA (6) KRL 24 13 11 75 4 round-robin groups; pre-quarter-finals
2003–04 Faisalabad (1) Sialkot 9 9 0 36 round-robin
2004–05 Peshawar (2) Faisalabad 11 11 0 56 round-robin; final
2005–06 Sialkot (1) Faisalabad 7 7 0 22 round-robin; final
2006–07 Karachi Urban (1) Sialkot 7 7 0 22 round-robin; final
2007–08 SNGPL (1) Habib Bank 22 13 9 111 2 round-robin groups; final
2008–09 Sialkot (2) KRL 22 13 9 111 2 round-robin groups; final
2009–10 Karachi Blues (8) Habib Bank 22 13 9 111 2 round-robin groups; final
2010–11 Habib Bank (2) PIA 22 13 9 113 2 round-robin divisions; 2 finals
2011–12 PIA (7) ZTBL 22 13 9 113 2 round-robin divisions; 2 finals
2012–13 Karachi Blues (9) Sialkot 14 14 0 62 2 round-robin groups; 4 round-robin pools; 2 finals
2013–14 Rawalpindi (1) Islamabad 14 14 0 61 2 round-robin groups; 4 round-robin pools; final
2014–15 SNGPL (2) National Bank 26 14 12 116 2 divisions: round-robin, then final in Gold; 2 round-robin groups, quarter-finals in Silver
2015–16 SNGPL (3) United Bank 16 8 8 62 2 round-robin groups; 4 round-robin pools; 2 finals
2016–17 WAPDA (1) Habib Bank 16 8 8 69 2 round-robin divisions; 2 round-robin "Super Eight" groups of four; final
2017–18 SNGPL (4) WAPDA 16 8 8 69 2 round-robin divisions; 2 round-robin "Super Eight" groups of four; final
2018–19 Habib Bank (3) SNGPL 16 8 8 69 2 round-robin divisions; 2 round-robin "Super Eight" groups of four; final
2019–20 Central Punjab (1) Northern 6 6 0 31 round-robin; final
2020–21 Central Punjab (2)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (1) 		n/a[d] 6 6 0 31 round-robin; final
2021–22 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (2) Northern 6 6 0 31 round-robin; final
2022–23 Northern (1) Sindh 6 6 0 31 round-robin; final
2023–24 Karachi Whites (5) Faisalabad 8 8 0 29 round-robin; final
2024–25 To be decided 18 18 0 49 3 round-robin groups; 3 triangular qualifying matches; final

Multiple winners

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Karachi Blues have had the most successes, winning the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy nine times. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) are next with seven wins, followed by Karachi, Karachi Whites, and National Bank with five each. United Bank and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) have four wins each; Habib Bank and Lahore have three; Bahawalpur, Peshawar, Railways, and Sialkot have two outright wins; while Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have two including one shared title after they tied the 2020–21 final.

Records

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Some team and individual records in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy are listed in the table below:

Record Score/figures Player(s)/team Season/match details
Team records
Highest innings total 951 for 7 declared Sind vs. Balochistan (18 February 1974)[7]
Lowest innings total 29 Dacca University and Education Board vs. Dacca (3 March 1965)[8]
Batting records
Most runs (season) 1,249 Kamran Ghulam (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 2020–21 season[9]
Most runs (match) 499 Hanif Mohammad (Karachi) vs. Bahawalpur (8 January 1959)[10][11][12]
Most runs (innings)
Highest partnership 580 (2nd wicket)† Rafatullah Mohmand & Aamer Sajjad (WAPDA) vs. SSGC (3 December 2009)[13]
Bowling records
Best figures (innings) 10 for 28 Naeem Akhtar (Rawalpindi Blues) vs. Peshawar B (2 December 1995)[14]
Best figures (match) 16 for 141 Saad Altaf (Rawalpindi) vs. FATA (2 November 2017)[15][16]
Wicketkeeping records
Most dismissals (match) 12 (all caught) Kashif Mahmood (Lahore Shalimar) vs. Abbottabad (29 October 2010)[17]
Fielding records
Most catches (match) 8 Naved Yasin (State Bank of Pakistan) vs. Bahawalpur Stags (18 October 2014)[18]
† – This was a world record partnership for the second wicket in first-class cricket.

Broadcasters

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Territory Years Channels
  Pakistan 2022–23 PTV Sports HD

Pakistan Cricket Team on Facebook

Pakistan Cricket on YouTube

Central Asia:- 2022–23 PTV Sports HD
East Asia:- 2022–23 PTV Sports HD
North Asia:- 2022–23 PTV Sports HD
South Asia:- 2022–23 PTV Sports HD

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Cricket associations representing regions, provinces, districts or cities.
  2. ^ Institutions, corporations or government departments.
  3. ^ "Total matches" includes matches scheduled but not played.
  4. ^ Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shared the title after the final resulted in a tie.

References

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  1. ^ Balachandran, Kanishkaa (5 October 2006). "A brief history... Quaid-E-Azam Trophy". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  2. ^ Kazi, Abid Ali (24 December 2015). "History of First Class Cricket |".
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the jewel in Pakistan domestic cricket's crown". Pakistan Cricket Board. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  4. ^ a b Rasool, Danyal (13 July 2017). "The QeA's annual tinkering: How the tournament has changed". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  5. ^ Saleem, Muhammad (4 January 2023). "PCB restores all departmental, district and zonal cricket bodies". Business Recorder. Retrieved 13 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2024-25". PCB. 23 October 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  7. ^ "Records | First-class matches | Team records | Highest innings totals | ESPNcricinfo.com".
  8. ^ "First-Class Lowest Team Totals in Pakistan". Pakistan Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  9. ^ "Domestic Cricketer of the Year Kamran Ghulam thrilled to be part of Pakistan squad". Cricket World. 18 January 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  10. ^ "First-Class Most Runs in a Match in Pakistan". Pakistan Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Records | First-class matches | Batting records | Most runs in an innings | ESPNcricinfo.com".
  12. ^ "First-Class Highest Individual Innings in Pakistan". Pakistan Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Records | First-class matches | Partnership records | Highest partnerships for any wicket | ESPNcricinfo.com".
  14. ^ "Records | First-class matches | Bowling records | Best figures in an innings | ESPNcricinfo.com".
  15. ^ "Saad Altaf sets Pakistan record with 16 for 141". ESPNcricinfo. 3 November 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  16. ^ "First-Class Best Bowling in a Match in Pakistan". Pakistan Cricket Board. Archived from the original on 4 September 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  17. ^ "Records | First-class matches | Wicketkeeping records | Most dismissals in a match | ESPNcricinfo.com".
  18. ^ "Records | First-class matches | Fielding records | Most catches in a match | ESPNcricinfo.com".

Other sources

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