Cricket in Pakistan
The history of Cricket in Pakistan predates the creation of the country in 1947. The first ever international cricket match in what is Pakistan today was held in Karachi on November 22, 1935 between Sindhi and Australian cricket teams. The match was seen by 5,000 Karachiites. It was introduced by the British during their colonial rule of British India, which covered the area now known as Pakistan. Cricket is the most popular sport in the country.[1]
The Pakistan Cricket Board controls both all domestic cricket tournaments. Pakistan is an official member of the International Cricket Council and the Asian Cricket Council.
Pakistan has won the Cricket World Cup in 1992, ICC World Twenty20 in 2009 and the ICC Champions Trophy in 2017.
Organisation
The Pakistan Cricket Board governs all official domestic tournaments. Pakistan is also an official member of the International Cricket Council and the Asian Cricket Council.
Almost all cities and villages in Pakistan have their own cricket teams and unofficial tournaments. Pakistani children start playing cricket at a young age. The game is the most popular form of sports in the country.
Domestic cricket
Domestic Cricket in Pakistan is currently sponsored by HAIER PAKISTAN. The most important domestic cricket tournaments in Pakistan include:
- Quaid-i-Azam Trophy
- Pakistan Super League
- Pakistan Cup
- Pentangular Trophy
- National One-day Championship
- Faysal Bank T20 Cup
- Patron's Trophy
- ABN-AMRO Cup
- ABN-AMRO Patron's Trophy
- ABN-AMRO Twenty20 Cup
International cricket
International Test matches and One Day International matches are played between the Pakistan national team and foreign opponents regularly. Though Pakistan doesn't host many international matches as teams refuse to play in Pakistan due to security concerns. The team has won many international cricket tournaments, including the 1992 Cricket World Cup and the 2009 ICC World Twenty20. They finished runners up in the 1999 World Cup and the 2007 World Twenty20. They are also the current champions of ICC Champions Trophy.
They also take part in officially sanctioned Asian Cricket Council competitions including the Asia Cup, Asian Test Championship, ACC Trophy and the Asian Cricket Junior Tournament.
Notable players
- Hanif Mohammad
- Zaheer Abbas
- Mansoor Akhtar
- Abdul Qadir
- Wasim Akram
- Javed Miandad
- Imran Khan
- Waqar Younis
- Inzamam-ul-haq
- Shoaib Akhtar
- Misbah-ul-Haq
- Saeed Anwar
- Shahid Afridi
- Shoaib Malik
- Umar Gul
- Younis Khan
- Rameez Raja
- Aamir Sohail
- Saqlain Mushtaq
- Saeed Ajmal
- Sarfraz Ahmed
- Abdul Razzaq
- Muhammad Sami
- Muhammad Rizwan
- Sohaib Maqsood
- Azhar Ali
- Mohammad Hafeez
- Yasir Shah
- Ahmed Shehzad
- Mohammad Irfan
- Wahab Riaz
- Imran Nazir
- Kamran Akmal
- Imran Farhat
- Yasir Hameed
- Junaid Khan
- Sohail Tanvir
- Umar Akmal
- Zulfiqar Babar
- Nasir Jamshed
- Babar Azam
- Fawad Alam
- Mohammad Amir
- Fakhar Zaman
- Faheem Ashraf
- Choudhrey Asad Mehmood
Blind cricket