Central Punjab is a domestic
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 ...
team in Pakistan representing the
northern and
central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
parts of the
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...
province. It competes in domestic
first-class,
List A
List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...
and
T20 cricket competitions, namely the
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 reorganis ...
,
Pakistan Cup
The Pakistan Cup is the national domestic List A cricket competition in Pakistan. Played originally as the Pentangular One Day Cup in 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2014–15, the competition was renamed as the Pakistan Cup in 2016 when it also adopt ...
and
National T20 Cup
The National T20 Cup is a men's professional domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Pakistan. Established in 2005, it is one of the world's oldest Twenty20 cricket leagues. It was the principal T20 competition in the country until 2016, when t ...
. The team is operated by the Central Punjab Cricket Association.
History
The team was introduced as a part of a new domestic structure introduced by the
Pakistan Cricket Board
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan national cricket team. A member of the International Cricket Coun ...
(PCB) on 31 August 2019. On 3 September 2019, PCB confirmed the inaugural squad for the team.
Babar Azam was announced as the captain of the team.
2019/20 season
Central Punjab won the
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 reorganis ...
, defeating
Northern by an innings and 16 runs in the final. The team was eliminated in the group stage of the
National T20 Cup
The National T20 Cup is a men's professional domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Pakistan. Established in 2005, it is one of the world's oldest Twenty20 cricket leagues. It was the principal T20 competition in the country until 2016, when t ...
. The Pakistan Cup was cancelled this season due to the
Covid-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
2020/21 season
The team came back from a bad start in defence of the
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 reorganis ...
to win five successive matches and reach the final. The final against
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
resulted in a
tie, and they were declared joint winners. The team again struggled in the limited overs formats, finishing in fourth and fifth place respectively in the
Pakistan Cup
The Pakistan Cup is the national domestic List A cricket competition in Pakistan. Played originally as the Pentangular One Day Cup in 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2014–15, the competition was renamed as the Pakistan Cup in 2016 when it also adopt ...
and
National T20 Cup
The National T20 Cup is a men's professional domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Pakistan. Established in 2005, it is one of the world's oldest Twenty20 cricket leagues. It was the principal T20 competition in the country until 2016, when t ...
.
Structure
As of 2019, domestic cricket in Pakistan was reorganised into six regional teams (on
provincial lines). A three tier bottom-up system
is in operation with the Tier 1 teams participating in the
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 reorganis ...
(
First Class),
Pakistan Cup
The Pakistan Cup is the national domestic List A cricket competition in Pakistan. Played originally as the Pentangular One Day Cup in 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2014–15, the competition was renamed as the Pakistan Cup in 2016 when it also adopt ...
(
List A
List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...
) and
National T20 Cup
The National T20 Cup is a men's professional domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Pakistan. Established in 2005, it is one of the world's oldest Twenty20 cricket leagues. It was the principal T20 competition in the country until 2016, when t ...
(Regional
T20). The Tier 2 teams participate in the City Cricket Association Tournament whilst the Tier 3 teams participate in various local tournaments as both tiers feed players to the Tier 1 team.
* Tier 1: Central Punjab
* Tier 2: Lahore (East), Lahore (West), Lahore (North), Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Sialkot, Narowal, Hafizabad, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Mianwali, Jhang & Bhakkar.
* Tier 3: Various Clubs & Schools.
Current squad
Squad for the 2021–22 season:-
See also
*
Balochistan cricket team
Balochistan cricket team is a domestic cricket team in Pakistan representing Balochistan province. It competes in domestic first-class, List A and T20 cricket competitions, namely the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan Cup and National T20 Cup. The ...
*
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cricket team
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cricket team is a domestic cricket team in Pakistan representing the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It competes in domestic first-class, List A and T20 cricket tournaments, namely the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan Cup and N ...
*
Northern cricket team
Northern cricket team is a domestic cricket team in Pakistan representing Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir. It competes in domestic first-class, List A and T20 cricket competitions, namely the Quaid-e-A ...
*
Sindh cricket team
Sindh cricket team is a domestic cricket team in Pakistan representing Sindh province. It competes in domestic first-class, List A and T20 cricket competitions, namely the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan Cup and National T20 Cup. The team is ...
*
Southern Punjab cricket team
References
{{Pakistan-cricket-team-stub
Cricket teams in Pakistan
Central Punjab cricketers