Club-level tournaments: Junaid lashes out at PCB for exorbitant charges

KARACHI: Dr Junaid Ali Shah, former provincial minister and Asghar Ali Shah Foundation president, lashed out at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday for charging club level tournaments organisers exorbitantly.

“I protested loudly in the presence of the then PCB chairman Najam Sethi who had agreed to review the hefty charges in the interest of the game. He is no more a part of the PCB but those in power should have taken the responsibility to do the needful,” he remarked during the media launch of the 24th Dr M A Shah Night Trophy Cricket Tournament here at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium.

“It’s really sickening to have such regulations which pollute the atmosphere and damage the interests of the game. Since all the seven knockout games, starting from quarter-finals, have to be telecast live on Geo Super, we have deposited the PCB fee of Rs1.5 million but we have done it in protest and we will continue fighting for the cause of the game,” he stated.

Dr Junaid, who is also the president of the Karachi Hockey Association (KHA), didn’t mince words in expressing his displeasure with the existing policies of the sports bodies at the national level.

“Be it the PCB or the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), they are often found in the news for the wrong reasons. They seem to be pursuing their own agenda without realising the gravity of the situation and the harm their action or inaction is causing,” he said.

He said the Asghar Ali Shah Foundation would continue meeting the cost of the Dr M A Shah Tournament. The tournament, to be contested by a total of 16 teams, divided in four groups for the preliminary rounds, will be offering attractive prize money with the winners to receive Rs500,000 and the runners-up Rs250,000.