Central Punjab is a domestic cricket team in Pakistan representing the northern and central parts of the Punjab 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 operated by the Central Punjab Cricket Association.
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Personnel | |||
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Captain | ![]() | ||
Coach | Paul Franks | ||
Owner | Central Punjab Cricket Association | ||
Manager | Ashraf Ali (Test Cricketer) | ||
Team information | |||
Colors | Blue Orange | ||
Founded | 2019; 3 years ago (2019) | ||
Home ground | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | ||
Secondary home ground(s) | Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad | ||
History | |||
Quaid-e-Azam Trophy wins | 2 (2019/20 & 2020/21) | ||
Pakistan Cup wins | 0 | ||
National T20 Cup wins | 0 | ||
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The team was introduced as a part of a new domestic structure introduced by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on 31 August 2019.[1] On 3 September 2019, PCB confirmed the inaugural squad for the team.[2] Babar Azam was announced as the captain of the team.[3]
Central Punjab won the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, defeating Northern by an innings and 16 runs in the final.[4] The team was eliminated in the group stage of the National T20 Cup. The Pakistan Cup was cancelled this season due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The team came back from a bad start in defence of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy to win five successive matches and reach the final. The final against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 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 and National T20 Cup.
As of 2019, domestic cricket in Pakistan was reorganised into six regional teams (on provincial lines). A three tier bottom-up system[6] is in operation with the Tier 1 teams participating in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (First Class), Pakistan Cup (List A) and National T20 Cup (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.
Squad for the 2021–22 season:-
Name | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
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Batsmen | ||||
Saad Nasim | (1990-04-29) 29 April 1990 (age 32) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
Mohammad Saad | (1990-03-24) 24 March 1990 (age 32) | Right-handed | ||
Rizwan Hussain | (1996-04-26) 26 April 1996 (age 26) | Left-handed | ||
Ali Zaryab | (1998-12-27) 27 December 1998 (age 23) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | |
Ahmed Shehzad | (1991-11-23) 23 November 1991 (age 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
Azhar Ali | (1985-02-19) 19 February 1985 (age 37) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | First Class captain |
Abid Ali | (1987-10-16) 16 October 1987 (age 34) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
Babar Azam | (1994-10-15) 15 October 1994 (age 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Twenty20 Captain |
Shoaib Malik | (1982-02-01) 1 February 1982 (age 40) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
Saif Badar | (1998-07-03) 3 July 1998 (age 24) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
All-Rounders | ||||
Qasim Akram | (2002-12-01) 1 December 2002 (age 19) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
Hussain Talat | (1996-02-12) 12 February 1996 (age 26) | Left-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
Wicket-keepers | ||||
Muhammad Akhlaq | (1992-11-12) 12 November 1992 (age 29) | Right-handed | ||
Kamran Akmal | (1982-01-13) 13 January 1982 (age 40) | Right-handed | ||
Spin Bowlers | ||||
Ahmed Safi Abdullah | (1998-03-01) 1 March 1998 (age 24) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
Usman Qadir | (1993-08-10) 10 August 1993 (age 29) | Left-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
Zafar Gohar | (1995-02-01) 1 February 1995 (age 27) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
Pace Bowlers | ||||
Waqas Maqsood | (1987-11-04) 4 November 1987 (age 34) | Left-handed | Left-arm fast-medium | |
Ahmed Bashir | (1995-12-10) 10 December 1995 (age 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
Hasan Ali | (1994-07-02) 2 July 1994 (age 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | List A captain |
Faheem Ashraf | (1994-01-16) 16 January 1994 (age 28) | Left-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
Wahab Riaz | (1985-06-28) 28 June 1985 (age 37) | Right-handed | Left-arm fast | |
Ehsan Adil | (1993-03-15) 15 March 1993 (age 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
Sameen Gul | (1999-02-04) 4 February 1999 (age 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | on loan from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
Muhammad Faizan | (1997-05-07) 7 May 1997 (age 25) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium |
Domestic cricket teams in Pakistan | |||||
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Domestic teams |
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Franchise teams |
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Former/defunct teams |
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