{{Short description|Multi-day cricket tournament in Nepal}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox cricket tournament main | name = Jay Trophy Men's Elite Cup | image = Jay Trophy.png | caption = Jay Trophy Official logo | country = Nepal | administrator = Cricket Association of Nepal | cricket format = * League stage: 2-day * Final: 3-day | first = 2024–25 | last = 2025–26 | next = 2026–27 | tournament format = Round-Robin and Final | participants = 6 | champions = Nepal Police Club (2nd title) | most successful = Nepal Police Club (2 titles) | most runs = Kushal Bhurtel (540) | most wickets = Lalit Rajbanshi (50) | TV = | website = [https://cricketnepal.org.np/event/mens-elite-trophy/ Official website] | current = }} The '''Jay Trophy Men's Elite Cup''', referred to as the '''Jay Trophy''' ({{langx|ne|जय ट्रफि}}) is an annual domestic multi day cricket championship played in Nepal. The competition is organised by the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) and contested by the top six teams from the previous season of the Prime Minister Cup. It is named after Jay Kumar Nath Shah, the first president of Cricket Association of Nepal.
The competition is contested in a single round-robin format. The inaugural season was held in 2024–25 featuring the top four teams from the 2024 Prime Minister Cup.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ekantipur.com/sports/2024/12/26/jai-trophy-mens-elite-cup-58-27.html |title=जय ट्रफी एलाइट कपमा चार टोली |trans-title=Four teams in Jai Trophy Elite Cup |work=Gorkhapatra |access-date=27 December 2024 |language=ne}}</ref> The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced that the tournament will expand to six teams starting from the 2026–27 season, which will mark the third edition of the competition.<ref name="rato">{{cite web |url=https://english.ratopati.com/story/58267/six-teams-will-now-participate-in-the-jai-trophy-cricket |title=CAN Expands Number of Teams for Jay Trophy Elite Cup |work=Ratopati |date=10 April 2026 |access-date=19 April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://kathmandupost.com/cricket/2026/04/11/more-players-to-get-exposed-to-longer-format-after-can-expands-jay-trophy |title=More players to get exposed to longer format after CAN expands Jay Trophy |work=The Kathmandu Post |date=11 April 2026 |access-date=16 May 2026}}</ref>
Nepal Police Club is the most successful team winning all two seasons of the competition.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://kathmandupost.com/cricket/2024/02/03/police-win-third-prime-minister-cup-crown |title=Police clinch Prime Minister Cup title |work=The Kathmandu Post |access-date=30 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://risingnepaldaily.com/news/55541 |title=Nepal Police Club lift 1st Jay Trophy |work=The Rising Nepal |date=17 January 2025 |access-date=20 February 2026}}</ref>
== History == The Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) organized the Senior Two-Day National League in June 2007 with six regional teams.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Singh |first=Rishi |date=2007-01-05 |title=CAN introduces two-day national cricket league |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/sports/can-introduces-two-day-national-cricket-league |access-date=2026-04-10 |website=The Himalayan Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Two-Day National League Announced |url=https://cricket.com.np/2007/06/01/two-day-national-league-announced/ |access-date=18 November 2025 |work=Cricket Nepal (Archive)}}</ref> The inaugural tournament was cut short, with only seven of the fifteen matches played, and was cancelled from the following season.<ref>{{cite web |title=National Tournament Renamed |url=https://cricket.com.np/2008/01/15/national-tournament-renamed/ |access-date=18 November 2025 |work=Cricket Nepal (Archive)}}</ref>
CAN included a multi-day cricket championship, then called '''Men's Elite Trophy''' for April 2024 as part of their annual calendar in 2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=CAN Unveils Cricket Calendar For 2024 |access-date=30 August 2024 |url=https://www.hamrokhelkud.net/can-unveils-cricket-calendar-for-2024/ |work=Hamrokhelkud |date=4 January 2024}}</ref> The tournament was moved to October and again to December.<ref>{{cite web |title=Key Decisions by CAN |url=https://wicketnepal.com/2024/08/key-decisions-by-can-cricket-association-of-nepal-to-introduce-monthly-salaries-for-provincial-players-starting-in-september/ |access-date=18 November 2025 |work=Wicket Nepal}}</ref> In December 2024, the tournament was renamed to '''Jay Trophy Men's Elite Cup''' and was announced for January 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jay Trophy Men's Elite Cup from Jan. 5 |url=https://risingnepaldaily.com/news/54386 |access-date=27 December 2024 |work=The Rising Nepal}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=CAN reveals fixtures for historic Jay Trophy |url=https://www.cricnepal.com/can-reveals-fixtures-for-historic-jay-trophy |access-date=18 November 2025 |work=Cricnepal}}</ref> The tournament was named after the first president of CAN, Jay Kumar Nath Shah.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/nepal-kapilvastu-wins-prestigeous-jai-trophy-national-championship-amid-pitch-controversy-106167 |title=Nepal: Kapilvastu wins prestigious Jai Trophy national championship amid pitch controversy |access-date=26 December 2024}}</ref>
The inaugural edition of the competition was played in Janakpur and Birgunj and included the top four teams from the 2024 Prime Minister Cup.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ekantipur.com/sports/2024/12/26/jai-trophy-mens-elite-cup-58-27.html |title=जय ट्रफी मेन्स इलाइट कप हुने |trans-title=Jai Trophy Men's Elite Cup |work=eKantipur |access-date=27 December 2024 |language=ne}}</ref>
== Competition format == The tournament is played in a single round-robin format, with each team playing the other teams once. League matches are played over two-days while the final is played over three-days.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cricnepal.com/can-unveils-the-exciting-schedule-of-the-mens-pm-cup |title=CAN unveils the exciting schedule of the Men's PM Cup |date=5 January 2024 |access-date=30 August 2024 |publisher=CricNepal}}</ref> Each day features 110 overs over three sessions and played over six hours and forty-five minutes. The first innings is capped at 70 overs in the league stage and 80 overs for the final.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Jay Trophy Men’s Elite Cup: Reviving Red-Ball Cricket in Nepal |url=https://cricketnepal.org.np/jay-trophy-mens-elite-cup-reviving-red-ball-cricket-in-nepal/ |access-date=8 February 2026 |work=Cricket association of Nepal}}</ref>
In the first two seasons, the top four teams from the Prime Minister Cup qualified for the tournament. However, the Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) announced that the competition will expand to include six teams starting from the 2026–27 season, which will mark the third edition of the tournament.<ref name="rato"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://english.headlinenepal.com/details/46800 |title=CAN Expands Participation in Jay Trophy Elite Cup to Six Teams |work=Headline Nepal |date=10 April 2026 |access-date=19 April 2026}}</ref>
=== Points system === A points system has been used since the inaugural season,<ref name=":0" /> and currently points are awarded for each match according to the following table.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Army and Police in consecutive finals of Jay Trophy |url=https://kathmandupost.com/cricket/2026/02/27/army-and-police-in-consecutive-finals-of-jay-trophy |access-date=2026-02-27 |website=The Kathmandu Post |language=English}}</ref> {| class="wikitable" !Result !Points |- |An outright win |6 |- |Lead in first innings |4 |- |Tie in first innings |2 |- |Draw or No Result |1 |- |An outright loss |0 |- |Bonus batting points |0.5 for every 25 runs scored in the first innings of each team<br/>0.5 for every 25 runs scored throughout the second innings of each team up to 4 points |- |Bonus bowling points |0.5 for taking each wicket |}
== Teams == The top six teams from the Prime Minister Cup qualify to play in the '''Jay Trophy'''. {| class="wikitable" |- !colspan="2" |Team !Champions !Runners-up !Appearances !First<br/>appearance !Most recent<br/>appearance
|- | style="background:grey" | | {{cr-NEP|apf}} |0 |0 |1 | 2025–26 | 2025–26 |- | style="background:#0000AF" | | {{cr-NEP|bp}} |0 |0 |2 | 2024–25 | 2025–26 |- | style="background:orangered" | | {{cr-NEP|lp}} |TBD |TBD |TBD | Future | Future |- | style="background:Orange" | | {{cr-NEP|mp}} |0 |0 |1 | 2024–25 | 2024–25 |- | style="background:Blue" | | {{cr-NEP|npc}} |2 |0 |2 | 2024–25 | 2025–26 |- | style="background:yellowgreen" | | {{cr-NEP|sp}} |TBD |TBD |TBD | Future | Future |- | style="background:darkgreen" | | {{cr-NEP|tac}} |0 |2 |2 | 2024–25 | 2025–26 |}
== Competition placings == {| class="wikitable" !Season !!Wiiner<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/trophy/team-series-results/jay-trophy-men-s-elite-cup-1083 |title=Series results For Jay Trophy (Men's Elite Cup) |work=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=16 January 2025}}</ref>!!Runner-Up !!Third !!Fourth |- |2024–25 |{{cr-NEP|npc}} |{{cr-NEP|tac}} |{{cr-NEP|bp}} |{{cr-NEP|mp}} |- |2025–26 |{{cr-NEP|npc}} |{{cr-NEP|tac}} |{{cr-NEP|apf}} |{{cr-NEP|bp}} |}
== Individual awards == Individual awards are announced at the end of each competition. {| class="wikitable" !Season !!Player of the Tournament !!Best Batsman !!Best Bowler |- |2024–25 |Shahab Alam (Army) |Mayan Yadav (Madhesh) |Shahab Alam (Army) |- |2025–26 |Lalit Rajbanshi (Police) |Ishan Pandey (Bagmati) |Lalit Rajbanshi (Police) |}
==Tournament records== {{updated|19 March 2026}} {| class="wikitable" |- ! colspan="4" | Team records |- | Most trophy wins || 2 || Police || |- | Highest team score || 352/7d || Army v Bagmati || 2025–26 |- | Lowest team score || 74 || Army v Police || 2024–25 |}
{| class="wikitable" |- ! colspan="5" | Individual match records |- | Highest individual innings || 106 || Mayan Yadav || Madhesh v Bagmati || 2024–25 |- | Best innings bowling || 8/59 || Shahab Alam ||Army v Police || 2024–25 |- | Best match bowling || 12/112 || Shahab Alam ||Army v Police || 2024–25 |} * Source: Records extracted from ESPNcricinfo<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/records/trophy/jay-trophy-men-s-elite-cup-1083 |title=Jay Trophy (Men's Elite Cup) Records |work=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=16 January 2025}}</ref>
== See also == * Prime Minister Cup Men's National Cricket Tournament * National T20 Championship * Prime Minister Cup Women's National Tournament
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website|https://cricketnepal.org.np/event/mens-elite-trophy/}}
{{Jay Trophy}} {{Cricket in Nepal}}
Category:Jay Trophy Category:First-class cricket competitions Category:Nepalese domestic cricket competitions Category:2024 establishments in Nepal