Daily Times

LAHORE: No changes are expected in the structure of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s new upcoming domestic cricket season as Imran Khan, Pakistan’s Prime Minister and patron of the PCB, has rejected calls for reviving departmental cricket in the country. In a high-profile meeting on Wednesday, Prime Minister Imran elaborated the advantages of the new structure, involving regional cricket, which means that there is no place for departmental cricket in the country. PCB’s Chairman Ehsan Mani, Chief Executive Wasim Khan, Member Cricket Committee Wasim Akram, Head Coach-cum-Chief Selector Misbahul Haq, Test captain Azahr Ali and veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez took part in the meeting.

The cricketers cited the reduced earnings for players under the new model, as well as the reduced opportunities for younger cricketers to pick up the game. However, Imran stuck to his stand, and convinced the cricketers “with great difficulty” that the new structure needed time. Imran believed that a new structure required time to develop and prosper while claiming that short-term difficulties will eventually lead to long-term gains. “No place in the world has more talent than our country. Players from club cricket are directly brought into international teams. To bring this talent to the forefront, we need a better system. The more competitive the environment, the better players will come forward. We can see a similar system in Australia,” said Imran. “I have explained to Azhar Ali and Mohammad Hafeez that there will be short-term difficulties with the new system but they will lead to long-term gains. Any system needs a bit of time to develop and prosper,” he added.