The Pakistan Cricket Board has invited the country’s private and government departments as well as three military institutions to be part of the domestic circuit. The PCB began restructuring domestic cricket, and returned to a 16-team hybrid first-class model featuring both zones and departments.
The PCB has already scrapped the previous model of six teams after the completion of the 2022-23 season in the first week of January.
The PCB confirmed through a press release, “The Pakistan Cricket Board has formally written to 27 key departments to participate in the PCB domestic cricket season 2023-24, which will begin in August.” “In the letters, the PCB has not only invited the departments to confirm their participation in the upcoming session at their convenience [which] can assist them in preparing the calendar for the season, but at the same time encourage them to establish a strong cricketing side, assuring maximum coverage and publicity through traditional and new media.”
In the new structure, eight regional teams and eight departmental teams will play in the premier first-class tournament, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Every season, the lowest-placed regional and divisional teams are relegated and the two toppers (one region and one division) from the Grade 2 tournament will be promoted. Although the 2023-24 season effectively begins in August, the Pakistan government has given the new PCB chief, Najam Sethi, 120 days (starting December 21, 2022) to reset the set-up and go back to the 2014 constitution. were given
Racing against time, the PCB Management Committee is making every effort to return to the previous model, revamping the 97 districts that make up the 16 zones. Around 3200 clubs are already functioning across the country and are major feeders of players in the regional system.
Even though the PCB has reached out to the departments, it is not clear whether the departments are willing to revive their teams in the current economic climate. There may not be much appetite in such organizations to recruit a squad of cricketers. Several department sides had already closed their sporting operations before Imran’s transition, with Habib Bank Limited (HBL) and United Bank Limited (UBL) among the prominent ones to do so.
PCB’s current Patron-in-Chief PM Shahbaz Sharif had in October last year issued a directive to all 18 government departments/institutions to restore governance of their sports infrastructure in Pakistan and resume funding of sports departments. The pick-up on that has been slow – ESPNcricinfo understands that Rameez Raja, as chairman, wrote to private banks to ask about reviving their teams but they showed little interest. Various government departments are dependent on government budget and have not allocated budget since PM’s notification.
Many government departments that function autonomously – such as the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Sui National Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL), Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), Sui Southern Gas (SSG), Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Zarai Tarkiyati Bank Limited (ZTBL), and National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) – can easily allocate funds, although it is unclear whether they see this as a priority. PCB’s letter is an attempt to know their intentions. It is understood that not all 27 departments will be ready to return but the PCB needs at least 16 in the system under its proposed domestic structure. PSL franchise Lahore Qalandars are among the private teams keen to launch a team in a Grade 2 set-up to complement their player hunt programme.
As per the 2014 constitution, the Board of Governors (BOG) will consist of ten members including four regional representatives (top four teams from the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy), four representatives from service organizations (top four department teams) and two Members are to be nominated at the discretion of the Patron. The PCB must also have an active home circuit to make up the board.
Umar Farooq is ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent
