Cricket organisers reject U13 and U16 teams selection

LAHORE: Leading cricket organizers of the country have rejected the nationwide selection process adopted by the Pakistan Cricket Board for the national Under-13 and Under-16 cricket tournaments and demanded PCB chairman Ramiz Hassan Raja save grassroot and young age group cricket in Pakistan.

The organizers urged the PCB chairman to postpone national U-13 and U-16 cricket tournaments and order the entire selection process to be conducted afresh.

In a statement, Noman Butt, Tariq Sarwar, Sulaiman Talpur, Rana Anis Ahmed Khan, Ejaz Farooq, Shahbaz Ali and Movement for revival of cricket Association MRCA said that in the recent selection of U-13 and U-16 teams, nepotism has reached its sky high.

Former member of PCB Governing Board and former president of Sialkot region Noman Butt said that in the recent selection, merit is nowhere to be seen.Noman Butt said that Raja should immediately look into the matter and take action against those responsible. He said that Chairman PCB should hold an inquiry into how many sons and nephews of current and former cricketers have been included in the U-13 and U-16 teams, and also should look at the performance of these players, adding their list should be made public.

Tariq Sarwar said that with the connivance of cricketers, coaches and selectors, children of former cricketers have been selected in the teams without any performance. Former president of Hyderabad region Suleiman Talpur said the merit was not seen anywhere in the recent selection from Karachi to Khyber which is a reflection of the fact that coaches and selectors are only active in rewarding their favorite players.

The wrist bone test for age verifications after the case of older players has not made any difference but reports have come out that more older players have been included in the teams, said Rana Anis Ahmed Khan, former secretary of District Cricket Association Faisalabad.