The President's Trophy is a
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
competition that is held in Pakistan. It was previously held between 1960–61 and 2018–19 but was refounded from the 2023–24 as Hanif Mohammad Trophy. It consists of teams representing the government and semi-government departments, corporations, commercial organisations, business houses, banks, airlines, and educational institutions.
Matches in the competition were afforded
first-class status in most seasons until 2006–07,
[ when the domestic first-class competition was reorganised and merged into the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). From then on, the Patron's Trophy was a Grade II competition until a major reorganisation of domestic cricket in 2019 brought an end to the competition.
For the 2012–13 domestic season a new first-class competition, called the President's Trophy Grade I, was created for departments. It was announced as a renaming of the Patron's Trophy, and ran for just two seasons before the PCB merged the regions and departments back into a reorganised Quaid-i-Azam Trophy for the 2014–15 season.
]
History
The competition was founded in 1960–61 as the Ayub Trophy, named after then President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.[Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...]
. In 1970–71 the competition was renamed the BCCP Trophy, and two years later it received the title BCCP Patron's Trophy, recognising its purpose as a competition for departmental teams, as opposed to the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, which was primarily contested by teams from regional associations.[ A year later, in 1973–74, the ]Pentangular Trophy The Pentangular Trophy was a first-class cricket competition that was held intermittently in Pakistan between 1973–74 and 2011–12.
History
The Pentangular Trophy was first contested in 1973–74. From 1977–78 through to 1979–80 it was know ...
was introduced, contested by the leading teams from both competitions.
The President's Trophy has most often been contested by all departmental teams, but has been a mixed competition with regional associations and even all associations. Matches in the competition were afforded the first-class status until 2006–07 with the exception of between 1979 and 1983, and the 1999–2000 season. When it has not been a first-class competition, the Patron's Trophy has commonly acted as a qualifying competition for the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy by means of promotion and relegation.
Winners
References
{{Cricket in Pakistan
Pakistani domestic cricket competitions
Recurring sporting events established in 1960
Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2019
Sports leagues established in 1960
Sports leagues disestablished in 2019
1960 establishments in Pakistan
2019 disestablishments in Pakistan
First-class cricket competitions
Defunct cricket competitions