Pakistan’s preparations for ICC World Cup in England: Imran wants PCB to do more

KARACHI: As a former Pakistan captain under whom the country won its only 50-over World Cup title, Prime Minister Imran Khan knows what it takes to raise a team capable enough of winning a major title.

That’s why the prime minister, who is the chief patron of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), took to task a high-level PCB delegation that called on him in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The key item on the agenda of the meeting was the proposed restructuring of the country’s domestic cricket. But with the ICC World Cup in England just weeks away, the discussion inevitably moved towards the topic of the quadrennial spectacle which gets underway from May 30.

Well-placed sources told ‘The News’ that the prime minister made it known to top PCB officials including the Board’s chairman Ehsan Mani, that he wasn’t impressed with Pakistan’s preparations for the World Cup.

“The prime minister told the PCB officials that they should take all possible steps to make sure that Pakistan’s best players represent the country in the World Cup. He also expects that the national team, when it lands in England, for the World Cup is fully prepared for it,” a source said.

The Prime Minister stressed that PCB should work hard to ensure that all the matches of the fifth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) take place on Pakistani soil next year. He also directed the PCB officials to further beef up their plans for the restructuring of the country’s domestic cricket structure.

During the meeting, the prime minister was apprised about the recommendations made by a PCB task force entrusted with finding ways and means to restructure domestic cricket in the country.

The PCB delegation was led by Mani and included Waseem Khan (PCB’s managing director) and other Board officials. Also present were Lt Gen Muzammil Hussain, Chairman Wapda who heads PCB’s task force and Inter Provincial Coordination (IPC) Secretary Akbar Durrani.

Sources privy to the details of the “wide-ranging” discussions that took place during the meeting said that the prime minister gave his detailed input to the delegation. “It was a wide-ranging discussion,” said the source. “As a former cricketer and patron of the Board, the prime minister gave his feedback and input. The main item on the agenda was the restructuring of domestic cricket but other issues also came up for discussion,” the source added.

Another source said that Imran rejected the Board’s formula for the restructuring of domestic cricket and asked the officials to continue working on it. However, when contacted, a sources in the cricket board, said that the prime minister didn’t reject the plan. “The project of the restructuring of Pakistan’s domestic cricket is a work in progress,” he said. “The prime minister has given his feedback. The Board will incorporate it and refresh the plans which would be presented to the prime minister in due course of time.”