Inter-city cricket in Central Punjab, KP, Sindh starts tomorrow

KARACHI: For the first time in the event’s history, players participating in the inter-city tournament will receive match fees in line with the Pakistan Cricket Board’s policy of incentivising talented cricketers to professionalise the sport across the country, the Board (PCB) said on Wednesday.

The competitions in the Central Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh cricket associations jurisdictions start on Friday (tomorrow).

Matches of Balochistan and Southern Punjab will start on July 24. And those of Northern will commence on July 27.

While outstanding players from these competitions will be provided an opportunity to graduate to the next level, they will also receive Rs5,000 match fee along with daily allowances.

All travel will be arranged and provided for by the PCB. They will stay at hotels on PCB’s panel. The PCB has appointed qualified coaches at this level. These coaches, who are aligned with the National High Performance Centre’s coaching philosophy, will work with players and help them to hone their talent.

Most of these 93 coaches are former first-class or international cricketers who have been integrated into the system in line with the strategy to utilise their knowledge as well as to provide them with employment opportunities.

The match officials will also be provided an environment where they can produce better performances and move up the ladder. They, along with the scorers, will receive the same match fee and allowances they had received when the tournament was last staged in the 2018-19 season.

The tournament could not be held in 2019 as the regional cricket associations were disbanded.

Taking into consideration concussion guidelines and Covid-19 issues, on-call doctors will be available to assist the players throughout the duration of the event, the PCB said.