# 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 or departments, or a combination of the two. Since 2019 it has been contested by regional teams only.

## History

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. 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. 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. 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. 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". 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.
* 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

| Season | Winning team(s) | Runner-up | Number of teams | Number of teams | Number of teams | Total matches | Format |
| Season | Winning team(s) | Runner-up | Tot. | Rgn. | Dpt. | Total matches | Format |
| 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 | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | Not held | 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. | Not held due to the holding of inaugural Ayub Trophy. | Not held due to the holding of inaugural Ayub Trophy. | Not held due to the holding of inaugural Ayub Trophy. | Not held due to the holding of inaugural Ayub Trophy. | Not held due to the holding of inaugural Ayub Trophy. | Not held due to the holding of inaugural Ayub Trophy. |
| 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. | Not held due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. | Not held due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. | Not held due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. | Not held due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. | Not held due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. | Not held due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. |
| 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. | Not held due to the 1966–67 competition extending until November 1967. | Not held due to the 1966–67 competition extending until November 1967. | Not held due to the 1966–67 competition extending until November 1967. | Not held due to the 1966–67 competition extending until November 1967. | Not held due to the 1966–67 competition extending until November 1967. | Not held due to the 1966–67 competition extending until November 1967. |
| 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. | Not held due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. | Not held due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. | Not held due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. | Not held due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. | Not held due to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. | 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 | 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 | Sialkot (3) | Peshawar | 18 | 18 | 0 | 49 | 3 round-robin groups; 3 triangular qualifying matches; final |

### Multiple winners

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, Lahore and Sialkot have three; Bahawalpur, Peshawar and Railways have two outright wins; while Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have two including one shared title after they tied the 2020–21 final.

## Records

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

## Broadcasters

| Territory | Years | Channels |
| Pakistan | 2022–23 | PTV Sports HD Pakistan Cricket Team on Facebook Pakistan Cricket on YouTube |
| Central Asia:-  Kazakhstan  Kyrgyzstan  Tajikistan  Turkmenistan  Uzbekistan | 2022–23 | PTV Sports HD |
| East Asia:-  China | 2022–23 | PTV Sports HD |
| North Asia:-  Russia | 2022–23 | PTV Sports HD |
| South Asia:-  Afghanistan  Bangladesh  Bhutan  India  Maldives  Nepal  Sri Lanka | 2022–23 | PTV Sports HD |