PCB officials throw weight behind their chairman

KARACHI: The bigwigs of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday threw their weight behind their chairman Najam Sethi’s campaign to turn the Pakistan Super League (PSL) into a bigger brand and host its matches in various cities of the country next year.

They also gave the thumbs up to plans aimed at renovation of stadiums in various cities. The decisions were taken by PCB’s Board of Governors who met at a local hotel here on Monday. The Board also discussed various other issues pertaining to domestic, international and women’s cricket during the meeting. The meeting was chaired by Chairman PCB Najam Sethi. According to a media release issued by the PCB, the BoG appreciated and congratulated the PCB for the outstanding success of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2018 that concluded with a historic final at Karachi’s National Stadium on Sunday night.

The BoG acknowledged the tireless efforts of the Chairman and PCB team that delivered a hugely successful third edition of the league with an unprecedented three matches being staged in the country following the league stage in Dubai and Sharjah. The BoG members unanimously backed the PCB in the efforts of building the PSL brand that has now become a leading Pakistani brand acknowledged around the world. The BoG also backed PCB’s plans of developing an infrastructure for PSL and international matches around the country in the years ahead. Stadiums would be upgraded and brought to international standards for the upcoming editions of the PSL as well as international tours by teams from around the world.

The BoG was also briefed about the plans and preparations for the three match T20I series against the West Indies that will be staged at the National Stadium in Karachi next week. The Chairman also briefed the BoG about cricket development at the Domestic level, it was decided by the members that the National A Team should be revived and team’s home and away tours should be arranged with teams from around the world in the coming months. The BoG was also briefed about PCB plans of further improving Domestic cricket. The PCB has requested the departments to play an active role in improving and capacity building of Regions across the country and elaborate plans would be soon shared with them. Women’s cricket team performance in Sri Lanka was also appreciated by the BoG following their success in the ODI series there. The Chairman apprised the BoG of the plan of setting-up five women’s cricket academies around the country, details of the venues and development plan for these academies would be announced soon.