Regional heads await new domestic format announcement

KARACHI: Regions and departments would wait for the PCB task force’s final announcement about the new domestic format according to the wishes of PM Imran Khan that only six teams representing regions should be playing first class cricket, the president of a regional cricket association informed ‘The News’.

Heads of cricket associations are not issuing statements about PCB policies, but they are waiting for PCB chairman Ehsan Mani and MD Wasim Khan to unveil the new domestic format. After that, they would be in a position to raise voice against the new domestic format.

Some factions of cricket fraternity have been has raising voice against the closure of departmental cricket teams, which they say will leave a large number of first class cricketers without livelihood.

They want to discuss the new format with PCB high-ups. They say that instead of closing departmental teams, a middle ground should be found as departments are ready to play Grade II and one-day instead of first-class cricket.

A regional cricket association president said that PCB has created a complicated situation as on one hand it has to organise national under-19 championship in August and on the other they are going to make a new domestic format.

The under 19 cricket championship matches, both three-day and one-day, are region-based and are organised through regional associations. “How can they organise cricket evens in such situation,” he said.

A former Test cricketer who played international cricket with PM Imran Khan has said that right now saying anything would be too early. He said people should wait till the PCB announce the new domestic format for the next season.

He said that the PM’s concern about quality cricket was understandable, keeping in view how Pakistan were whitewashed by Australia in the UAE recently. “It is because of the low standard we have here that we always surrender against the Australians,” he added. But closing departmental cricket teams is not the solution as hundreds of cricketers and coaches and other staffers would lose their jobs, he said.

“Pakistan is not England or Australia. As far as England is concerned, there are 18 county teams. In Australia several other games are played besides cricket. And those two countries have much smaller populations than Pakistan,” he added.

The former Test cricketer said that it is the departments which provide jobs and develop infrastructure. Many departments have their own cricket grounds and various other facilities. “We cannot ignore the services of departments in the promotion of cricket,” he added.

He further said there is a lot of praise for English county cricket system but it is also a fact that England have never won any World Cup. He said Muhammad Yousuf, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Misbah, Saeed Anwer and Younis Khan and several other successful cricketers were not the produced by county cricket. They all came to fore through the current domestic system and excelled through departments, he added.