PCB unveils men’s domestic season schedule

LAHORE: Streamlining pathways cricket and creating more playing opportunities for talented cricketers seems to be the cornerstones of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s 2022-23 men’s domestic cricket season, which was revealed today.

The senior cricket will commence with the 33-match two-leg National T20, which will be held in Rawalpindi and Multan from August 30 to September 19. Concurrently, the second XIs Cricket Associations Cup will be played in Quetta from September 2-15 .

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will be staged from September 27 to November 30 with Abbottabad, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi sharing 31 matches between them. The Cricket Associations Championship will be played alongside the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in the same cities.

Curtains on the current domestic cricket season will fall with the 33-match Pakistan Cup 50-over tournament, which will be staged in Karachi from December 10 to January 3 . Karachi will also stage the Cricket Associations Challenge from December 10-29.

Six-team Cricket Associations Cup (T20 format) will now be played on a double-league basis. This means each side will get a minimum of 10 matches and a total of 30 matches will be played. Previously, the event was held on a single-league basis with 15 matches.

The Six-team Cricket Associations Championship will now be a four-day non first-class competition. Previously, it was a three-day tournament.

The Championship will also be played on a double-league basis.

The seniors’ competitions will follow the CCA U19 tournament, CA Divisional U19 tournament, CCA Senior Tournament and National U19 Cup. The National U19 Championship will take place in Karachi from July 25 to August 23 , while the CA Divisional Senior Tournament will take place from July 27 to August 12.

Director High Performance, Nadeem Khan said: “Making the domestic events competitive and challenging, while continuing to provide maximum opportunities to our talented cricketers to demonstrate their talent and help them graduate to the higher level, was the mainstay of our thought-process when we finalised the upcoming domestic season calendar.

“Last year, we allowed each Cricket Association to field two under-19 sides in the National tournaments and this year we have increased the number of matches in the second XI CA Cup, Championship and Challenge. This means each player will get a minimum of 10 matches across all three formats, which provides a good enough opportunity for any player to show his mettle and talent, and stake his claim in the first XI competitions.”