Govt stops PCB from organising T10 league

The government of Pakistan has stopped the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) from organising a T10 league.

PCB Management Committee Chairman Zaka Ashraf had planned to organise the T10 league, initiating discussions with English cricket county Middlesex and planning for exhibition matches in Rawalpindi from January 24 to 26.

A 40-member delegation consisting of men and women cricketers and officials from England was likely to come to Pakistan for the event.

According to the website ‘Cricket Pakistan’, a detailed project briefing was presented to the Inter-Provincial Coordination Division (IPC) Ministry by a five-member delegation in Islamabad. Later, the budget for exhibition matches was reduced to Rs28 crores.

However, at the same time, the ministry sent a letter to the PCB headquarters in Lahore, directing them to limit the activities to day-to-day matters, including banning the installation of chairs, solar panels, and fans in stadiums.

The ministry has also imposed restrictions on signing memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with any cricket board. Meanwhile, Zaka Ashraf will chair the PCB Management Committee meeting on Tuesday. During this meeting, a new governing board will be established with four representatives from each of the four departments and regions. Former Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif nominated Zaka Ashraf and Mustafa Ramday as government candidates.

The first meeting of the governing board is expected within a week during which possible objections to the chairmanship nominations will be cleared and heard. After that, the final list of candidates will be announced. Despite the traditional trend of the Prime Minister’s nominee taking over the chairmanship, the current situation deviates from this norm.