Departmental cricket’s chapter closes as cabinet approves PCB’s new constitution

The new system will see six provincial teams take part in Pakistan’s topmost domestic cricket circuit.

By Web Desk
August 10, 2019
The cabinet gives the green signal to the new constitution that will change the domestic cricket system that will feature six provincial teams. Photo: AFP

The federal cabinet has reportedly approved the new constitution of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), meaning that the departmental cricket system has now ended, Daily Jang reported on Saturday.

According to the Urdu daily, the decision was taken under a cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

The cabinet gave its go-ahead to the new constitution, giving way to a new domestic cricket system that will feature six provincial teams.

The decision was taken in line with the prime minister’s long-term vision of abolishing departmental system and developing a structure similar to the one in Australia.

As per the new system, Pakistan’s domestic structure will have six teams namely Punjab, South Punjab, Sindh, KPK, Balochistan and Federal Capital Areas. Meanwhile, one team for each region would play a Grade 2 tournament, according to Jang.

It is pertinent to mention here that the prime minister’s vision and decision to end departmental cricket had faced strong opposition from some of his former teammates. Javed Miandad, one of PM Imran’s close confidants during their cricket careers, was his most vocal critic on the issue.

In one of his several press conferences on the topic, Miandad had famously questioned the wisdom of the prime minister abandoning a system of which he himself was the product of.

Miandad and the likeminded are of the view that the new system would put many previously contracted cricketers into unemployment. 

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