New PCB body scraps Pakistan Junior League

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Management Committee has formally restored the regional cricket associations according to the 2014 Board constitution besides allowing domestic players to complete their contract period.

In an important meeting of the committee held Saturday, Chairman Najam Sethi said that all regional associations had been formally restored. “We have officially decided to restore the cricket structure as was the case under the 2014 PCB constitution. The regional associations are being restored and all the leading departments have been directed to formally restructure their teams. Soon these will be in a position to start playing domestic cricket as was the case before 2018,” he added.

A strategic plan will now be prepared to formally include the regions, departments, and districts in the domestic cricket structure, including participation in the PCB Board of Governors in due course, Sethi said. “The committee has also decided to allow all the domestic cricketers to complete their contract period which expires in August 2023. They will continue to draw their salaries as per their contractual obligations. We are trying to hold regional/district elections according to the 2014 constitution at the earliest,” he said.

The PCB Management Committee agreed to discontinue the Pakistan Junior League (PJL). However, to ensure there is a pathway for high-performing teenagers and the country continues to produce talented cricketers across all age gaps, it was agreed to revive junior series on a home-and-away basis. It was also agreed to hold discussions with the HBL Pakistan Super League franchises to include an Under-19 player under their Emerging Categories in the playing line-ups.

On the Melbourne Cricket Club’s offer to host the Pakistan-India Test match, Sethi said that such offers were only confined to media. “We have no plans of playing away Test matches as international teams have been visiting here and we are playing regular Test cricket in Pakistan. All international cricket including Champions Trophy 2025 will be held in Pakistan and we are very firm on it.”

“We have also decided to invite around 350-400 cricket officials from around the country who are busy serving the game at district and lower levels for a meeting next Saturday. The committee wants to get their feedback as to how the system can be put back on track and what problems they have faced during the last three years,” Sethi said.

It has also been decided to apply cuts on PCB officials’ salaries of Rs1 million or more. “They will be given the option to either accept the new/fresh contract or resign. Director HR Serena Agha’s resignation has been accepted,” one of the committee officials said.

The House also backed the idea of hiring foreign coaches for the national teams. “The committee has backed our decision to hire foreign coaches for the national teams. Now it is official,” Sethi said.

The Management Committee approved the constitution of 12 PCB committees and agreed that their compositions would be announced in due course. The following committees will be constituted: Domestic Restructuring Committee, Domestic Restoration Committee for Region, Department Cricket Restoration Committee, NHPC Remodeling Committee, Restructuring of Women’s Cricket Committee, Cricket Infrastructure Committee, Audit Committee, Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee, Human Resource Committee, Legal Affairs Committee, National Selection Committees and Benevolent Fund Committee.

The PCB Management Committee, as part of its strategy to continue to invest in women’s cricket, expressed its enthusiasm and commitment to launching The Women’s League, which has been renamed as Pakistan Women’s League.