Quaid-i-Azam Trophy

Quaid-i-Azam Trophy

Countries	Pakistan
Administrator	Pakistan Cricket Board
Format	First-class (4-day) Final: 5 day
First tournament	1953–54
Last tournament	2015–16
Number of teams	26
Current champion	SNGPL (2nd title)
Most successful	Karachi cricket teams (20 titles)
Website	Quaid-e-Azam Trophy – ESPNcricinfo

The Quaid-i-Azam Trophy (a.k.a. Quaid-e-Azam Trophy) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in Pakistan between teams representing regional cricket associations.

History

Named after Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, who was known as "Quaid-i-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. 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 competition has been contested sometimes by regional teams, sometimes by departmental teams, and sometimes by a mixture of the two. In 1956–57 it was decided that Karachi and Punjab would have to enter three teams each, to make the teams more evenly matched.

Karachi has won the trophy 20 times (most by any team).

The league restructuring (2011)

Shortly after the end of the 2009–10 tournament the Pakistan Cricket Board announced a new format that will see twenty-two teams split into division one and division two. The Board felt that two divisions would help the smaller teams compete with others at a similar level and would make the spotting of young talent easier as a result. This also meant that domestic revenues increased as a result due to more balanced fixtures that were less predictable.^[1]

The league restructuring (2012–13)

In 2012–13 season of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, 14 regional teams have been divided into two groups of seven, with top four teams from each group progressing to the super league while the remaining six would be playing in the plate league. The league toppers will contest in their respective league finals. Either way, each team will at least play eight matches apart from the final.

The new regional teams are allowed to recruit five players from the old department sides, of whom four can be part of the playing XI. In a bid to give bowlers exposure to internationally recognized cricket balls, the board has also made the use of Kookaburra balls mandatory for the tournament.^[2]

New format for 2014-15

In 2014-15 there were 26 teams, 14 regional and 12 departmental. Six of each type (the top six teams from the 2013-14 Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, and the top six from the 2013-14 President’s Trophy) made up the Gold League, in which each of the 12 teams was scheduled to play each other once, with a final at the end of the round-robin series. The Silver League consisted of two groups, each with four regional and three departmental teams; in each group each team would play each other once, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final. The competition ran from October to December.

Winners

Karachi teams have won the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy 20 times, PIA (Pakistan International Airlines) 7, National Bank 5, Lahore teams and United Bank 4, SNGPL (Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited) 3, Bahawalpur, Habib Bank, Peshawar, Punjab, Railways and Sialkot 2, ADBP (Agricultural Development Bank of Pakistan), Faisalabad and Rawalpindi 1.

NB: "Regional" teams represent cities, districts and provinces. "Departmental" teams represent institutions, corporations, and government departments and instrumentalities. "Number of matches" includes matches scheduled but not played.

Records

World records

References

External links

• Quaid-e-Azam Trophy winners list at CricInfo
• Cricket Archive

Other sources

• Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 1955 to current

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