The Pentangular Trophy was a first-class cricket competition that was held intermittently in Pakistan between 1973âÂÂ74 and 2011âÂÂ12.
The Pentangular Trophy was first contested in 1973âÂÂ74. From 1977 to 1978 through to 1979âÂÂ80 it was known as the BCCP Invitation Tournament. Between 1980âÂÂ81 and 1986âÂÂ87, with the exception of 1983âÂÂ84 when it was not held, it was called the PACO Cup under the sponsorship of the Pakistan Automobile Corporation. After 1983âÂÂ84, it was only held three times, in 1990âÂÂ91, 1994âÂÂ95 and 1995âÂÂ96, until it was revived in 2005âÂÂ06. In 2007âÂÂ08 it became a five-team regional tournament and was then held every season until 2011âÂÂ12, after which it again went into abeyance.
As the name suggests, the Pentangular Trophy was usually contested between five teams, although there were sometimes as many as ten, who played each other on a round-robin basis, with the winner being determined either by their standing on the points table or by means of a final. The participants were originally selected by the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP) before qualification criteria were introduced. Commonly this was the top teams in the two leading first-class competitions played earlier in the season, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and the Patron's Trophy.