PCB announces 208-match 2020-21 domestic schedule

[MenInG]

• National T20 Cup 1st XI to be held in Multan and Rawalpindi from 30 September to 18 October, while Lahore will host 2nd XI matches from 1-8 October

• National U19 tournaments to be played in Lahore, Muridke and Sheikhupura from 13 October to 29 November

• Karachi to stage Quaid-e-Azam Trophy from 18 October with first-class matches from 25 October and Pakistan Cup 1st XI matches from 8-31 January and 2nd XI from 16-24 December

• Remaining four matches of HBL PSL 2020 will be held on 14, 15 and 17 November in Lahore

• Schedule of domestic international matches, HBL PSL 2021 as well as women’s, U13 and U16 boys events to be confirmed in due course

• Domestic schedule as on 4 September 2020 is shared


Lahore, 4 September 2020:

Providing maximum opportunities for the best domestic performers to display their talent and stake their claim in the franchise and national sides underpinned the Pakistan Cricket Board’s 2020-21 domestic events calendar, which was unveiled today.

In a major shift from previous years and taking into account the upcoming three white-ball global events, the PCB has decided to hold First XI matches of the National T20 Cup and Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament, and National U19 One-Day Tournament on a double-league basis. This will guarantee each side a minimum of 10 league matches in the three white-ball competitions before the top four sides in the senior events will progress to the semi-finals, followed by the final, and the top two sides in the juniors’ event progressing to the final.

The National T20 Cup will be the curtain-raiser of the season, with matches being held in Multan and Rawalpindi from 30 September to 18 October, while the National U19 One-Day Tournament will be played in Lahore, Muridke and Sheikhupura from 13 October to 2 November.

The National T20 Cup and the National U19 One-Day Tournament have been scheduled at the start of the season to enable all the top performers to have the opportunity to attract interest from the franchises prior to the HBL PSL 2020 draft in November.

The Pakistan Cup One-Day Tournament will be played from 8-31 January, after which the domestic season will conclude with the PCB’s marquee event, the HBL Pakistan Super League 2021, starting in February.

Four-day first-class matches will start from 25 October and the event will conclude with the five-day final starting on 1 January. Second XI three-day matches will be played from 18 October to 13 December.

Due to Covid-19 precautions, travel for players and officials will be restricted for all Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches during the 2020-2021 season, resulting in all matches being played at grounds in Karachi. In addition, staging the tournament in Karachi will help mitigate the risk of bad weather conditions, such as fog and dew, seriously intervening in matches at that time of year.

While finalising the domestic cricket calendar, the PCB has also taken into consideration the commencement of the holy month of Ramadan, which is likely to start around 15 April.

The schedule of events will be further populated after the confirmation of Boys U13 & U16 and women’s events, HBL PSL 2021 and home international series against Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Director – High Performance, Nadeem Khan: “In the uncertain Covid-19 situation, I am pleased that we have been able to put together a complete domestic cricket schedule, which is challenging but will contribute significantly in getting the best out of all the players that, in turn, will uplift the quality and standard of our home cricket.

“There has been a strategy and vision behind preparing this schedule, and the most notable is the increase in number of white-ball matches at the senior and age-group level. This has been done after taking into consideration our teams’ current international performances and rankings in white-ball cricket as well as to looking into the future, while also providing optimum chances to the deserving and budding cricketer to thoroughly show their mettle and impress the national selectors.

“The increase in number of matches will not only provide a fair and equal opportunity to all the talented players, it will increase their earnings – something that we have been very mindful and careful about since the revamp of the domestic structure.

“In the past few weeks, the High Performance and Domestic department has been flat out as evident from recent announcements, including appointment of coaches, domestic teams, match officials and now the schedule. This required full support of the logistics and operations team as together we remain committed in providing a comfortable and good environment to the players so that they can excel on the field of play.

“Now that the teams and schedule have been confirmed, I expect the respective coaches to start planning their season as usage and rotation of key players will be integral, also in the background that some of the star players may not be available throughout the season due to their international commitments. But this will surely provide other players with opportunities to step-up and take responsibility and make names for themselves.”

PCB 2020-21 domestic schedule at a glance:

National T20 Cup 1st XI (33 matches) – 30 September to 18 October; Multan and Rawalpindi
National T20 Cup 2nd XI (15 matches) – 1-8 October; Lahore
National U19 One-Day Tournament (31 matches) – 13 October to 2 November; Lahore, Muridke and Sheikhupura
National U19 Three-Day Tournament (16 matches) – 5-29 November; Lahore, Muridke and Sheikhupura
HBL PSL 2020 (4 matches) – 14, 15 and 17 November; Lahore
Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 1st XI (31 matches) – 25 October to 5 January 2021; Karachi
Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2nd XI (30 matches) – 18 October to 13 December; Karachi
Pakistan Cup 1st XI (33 matches) – 8-31 January 2021; Karachi
Pakistan Cup 2nd XI (15 matches) – 16-24 December; Karachi


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[MenInG]

At long last.

Looks a busy schedule and hopefully will happen without a glitch.

The bio-secure part will be interesting - but think Pakistan is largely free of COVID-19 so shouldnt be a problem.

Full schedules as below

==

 

[Omer2002]

I hope they continue streaming on the Youtube channels as that is very important for selectors and fans to see some cricket in these hard times

 

[shah_1]

The first class pitches will be awful to play with so many matches being played on 4 grounds

 

[ChTab]

Can karachi host QEA after all the rains & flooding etc? I hope they've a backup plan for this.

 

[Markhor]

Interesting so the National T20 and Pakistan Cup is on a double league basis now. Youngsters will hopefully gain more exposure.

PCB needs to fix the pitches though. They were too damp and green for years, but last season they were roads. We need a variety of wickets.

 

[Loralai]

No matches taking place in interior Sindh, KP, Quetta/Balochistan. Why not? Or in smaller cities of Punjab.

 

[Markhor]

The first class pitches will be awful to play with so many matches being played on 4 grounds

It appears they're not even using Southend Cricket Club ground.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

I hope they continue streaming on the Youtube channels as that is very important for selectors and fans to see some cricket in these hard times

The commentary, graphics, camera work, quality of the stream, quality of pitches last time around were just plain awful.

I doubt there will be any changes in these this year as well.

 

[Deewana Mastana]

It appears they're not even using Southend Cricket Club ground.

Yes just the 3 grounds it seems like the pitches won't be any better than the roads we have seen mostly throughout for decades.

 

[MMHS]

The best thing from these schedules is that the QEA is planned to be based entirely in Karachi. It’s definitely stressful for the ground staffs & the ground/wicket itself to arrange 10 back to back rounds of games with 6 days cycle (I think there is one bigger gap after 2-3 games, but after that it’s 4 days play, 2 days gap) but for the first time there is a chance that in many, many years, we’ll get at least 350 overs of cricket in good weather. FC cricket between November to January becomes a joke in central & northern Pakistan for the day light & winter morning haze - 250-300 overs FC games are the worst thing for developing players - one of the main reasons of alarming decline in PAK batting, classical spinners and stamina for fast bowlers.

If possible, they should play for 98 overs/day on batting belters (but not dead tracks) and force teams to pick five bowlers - then bowl absolute flat out for whole day & make batsmen to earn their hundreds/double hundreds at a faster rate than Azhar Ali or Abid Ali bats. These medium pacers & spin darters groomed on underprepared tracks bowling against batsmen with zero flayer, back-lift or bat swing .... in 65 overs/day of FC cricket has brought down PAK cricket to this level.

 

[Titan24]

No matches taking place in interior Sindh, KP, Quetta/Balochistan. Why not? Or in smaller cities of Punjab.

Due to covid and aim to create a bio secure environment meant only limited venues so that players dont have to move back and forth.

 

[shamaan]

Is any of the competition going to be televised

 

[aloo paratha]

Great. A couple months back it seemed the cricket season was doomed.

 

[shamaan]

Hopefully the youngsters are given maximum matches

 

[sindhiboy]

Good initiative

 

[Xoib]

Hopefully the likes of Shaheen and Naseem get to play 5-6 fc games before the nzl tour

 

[adil_909]

what is our next international fixture? i can't find any info on this.

 

[saeed5646]

what is our next international fixture? i can't find any info on this.

3 odis and 3 t20 against zim at home .Official dates are not confirmed but probably zim will arrive in mid October to complete 14 days quarantine

 

[MenInG]

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will spend around Rs15 million on players, support personnel and match officials’ Covid-19 testing during the 2020-21 domestic season starting with the National T20 Cup on Sept 30 with first-round matches in Multan and second-round games in Rawalpindi from Oct 9-18.

According to PCB director High Performance Nadeem Khan, on Tuesday each player in the National T20 Cup, National U-19 three-day and one-day competitions, Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and Pakistan Cup one-day tournament will undergo tests, at least twice in the lead-up to the tournaments.

The players are also expected to undergo random tests during the tournaments.

The PCB has already announced 192 players for the first and second XI events, while each of the six U-19 association sides are likely to comprise 20 players. In addition to this, player support personnel and match officials will also undergo Covid-19 tests as per the protocols, which are being fine-tuned and likely to be confirmed later this week.

All those involved in the competition will undergo their first tests in their respective cities while the PCB will conduct second round of tests on those who will join the squads following the first negative tests. The PCB will reimburse costs of the first tests.

“The minimum cost of a Covid-19 test is Rs6,000 and if you calculate with the number of tests that will be conducted on the players, player support personnel and match officials during the season, the overall cost will be around Rs15 million,” Nadeem said. He added that the players who travelled to England for three Tests and as many T20 Internationals for a tour which stretched seven weeks have been allowed to join their respective domestic sides on Sept 25 so they can spend time with their families.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1579725/p...on-on-covid-19-testing-during-domestic-season

 

[MenInG]

PCB announces Covid-19 protocols for domestic season

Lahore, 15 September 2020:

To ensure health and safety of players, officials and all other stakeholders, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced comprehensive Covid-19 protocols for the 2020-21 domestic season, which begins on 30 September with the National T20 Cup.

From the beginning of the season, squad members, match officials, duty doctors and security managers will be placed in bio-secure zones, where they will be able to roam around and interact with each other freely. To ensure that the bio-secure zone is virus free, they will be required to return two negative Covid-19 tests, which is in line with the practices carried out at present in international cricket.

Members of the First XI and Second XI squads are required to submit the results of their first Covid-19 tests by 16 and 18 September, respectively. The PCB will reimburse the costs of the first tests and conduct all following tests during the course of the season.

Those returning negative results will be invited to PCB designated central stations, where they will undergo second Covid-19 tests under the supervision of the PCB medical team. The second tests of the First XI and Second XI squads will be conducted on 18 September and 21 September, respectively.

While traveling to the central stations, the players and support staff personnel will not be allowed to use public transportation, except for air-travel. Upon their arrival at the central stations, they will undergo a disinfection process and will be afforded separate accommodation.

Those who test positive in the tests conducted at the central stations will be isolated for five days and tested twice. If these players or support staff personnel continue to test positive, they would have to undergo a two-week-long period of self-isolation and return two negative results before their integration in the bio-secure zone.

The players who toured England with the men’s national team for three Tests and three T20Is will travel to Multan on 23 September and after their second negative test will join their respective domestic teams on 25 September as they have been granted a period of relaxation following their 10-week-long tour.

To provide ease and comfort to the U19 players and their parents and guardians, the PCB has taken the responsibility to conduct all Covid-19 tests of the teenage cricketers. Their first Covid-19 tests will take place on 1 October.

Similar to the Covid-19 practice for the players and player support personnel, match officials will be required to submit their results by 24 September and their second tests will be conducted on 27 September at a PCB designated central station.

The PCB realises that the Covid-19 situation continues to evolve throughout the country. It is committed to make efforts to ensure all challenges are dealt with accordingly, keeping the risk factor at an absolute minimum over the course of the season.

Bio-secure zone

Hotel rooms, dinning / game / recreational rooms, playing areas, dressing rooms, match officials’ rooms and team busses and cars form bio-secure zones, which will be disinfected regularly. Each team will have its own entertainment room in which WiFi service, TV and carom board will be provided.

That those in the bio-secure zones adhere to the protocols will be the responsibility of the Covid-19 protocols implementation team, which comprise team managers, team physiotherapists and duty doctors and liaison officers. The team is headed by Covid-19 Medical Officer, Dr Riaz Ahmed.

Venue managers, ground staff, scorers and other officials will remain in the second layer and only in case of emergency they will be allowed to interact with those in the bio-secure zone, while wearing masks and maintaining at least 15-feet distance.

During a match, team managers and match officials can interact with the venue manager via cell phones. Players would be advised to sit close to the dressing rooms during the match while social distancing will be maintained during lunch and tea intervals.

Any person breaching the bio-secure zone will spend five days in isolation and would have to test negative twice in this period to re-enter the bubble.

 

[The Viper]

Update on Covid-19 tests of First XI teams

Lahore, 17 September 2020:

As many as 103 players and player support personnel belonging to six Cricket Association First XI squads for the National T20 Cup were invited to their respective central stations today after they tested negative in their first Covid-19 tests.

They will undergo their second tests on 18 September under the supervision of the PCB medical team at the central stations, which are Multan’s Hotel Ramada for Central Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Northern and Southern Punjab, and Lahore Muridke Country Club for Balochistan and Sindh. Over the course of their stay, the squad members will be provided individual accommodation.

One individual tested positive for Covid-19. He has been advised self-isolation for five days at his residence following which he will undergo another test. If that test returns negative, he would be invited to a central station for his second test.

Cricketers who travelled to England with the men’s national cricket team are required to submit the results of their first Covid-19 tests on 22 September to the PCB Medical and Sports Sciences Department.

 

[MenInG]

Great news with the domestic season round the corner.

 

[MenInG]

Update on second Covid-19 tests of First XI teams

Lahore, 19 September 2020:

All players and player support personnel of the six Cricket Association First XI sides, who were invited to their respective central stations, have tested negative in their second Covid-19 tests.

They will now enter the bio-secure zone today in which they will be able to roam and interact with each other freely. Balochistan and Sindh, who were stationed at Lahore Country Club Murdike, will travel to Multan’s Ramada Hotel in team busses to join the other four sides.

Central Punjab wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal had requested to delay his admission in the bio-secure zone and, as such, his second Covid-19 test will be done on 23 September. Subject to returning a negative result, Kamran will join his team on 24 September. Like the other 102 squad members, Kamran had also tested negative in the first Covid-19 test.

Meanwhile, for breaching the Covid-19 protocols, Balochistan head coach Faisal Iqbal and assistant coach Wasim Haider have been quarantined at Lahore Country Club Murdike. They will be tested twice over the next five days and will be required to return negative results in both tests before they are allowed to join the team in Multan. Both Faisal and Wasim will bear the costs of these tests.

Head of PCB Covid-19 Medical Team, Dr Riaz Ahmed: “The Pakistan Cricket Board has zero tolerance policy and will take stern action against those who breach the Covid-19 protocols over the course of the season.

The strict implementation of these protocols, which have been designed after meticulous planning, is the need of the hour. Such breaches have the potential to put the whole season in jeopardy and, more importantly, put lives of fellow players, coaches and all those associated with the game in danger.

“This should be a message for everyone involved in the upcoming season that the PCB will take strict action against anyone who decides to go against the protocols. As we are in unprecedented times, this season is going to be different than the previous ones and, as such, everyone’s cooperation is necessary to make it a success.”

From Sunday, the six teams will begin their training at the Multan Cricket Stadium and Inzamam-ul-Haq High Performance Centre to prepare for the National T20 Cup, which commences from 30 September.

 

[Markhor]

Fantastic news ! Credit where its due to PCB.

Shocking stuff from Faisal Iqbal and Wasim Haider, they're meant to set the right example as coaches. Too right they should bear expense of their own COVID test now.

 

[Afhan Ali]

Update on second Covid-19 tests of First XI teams

Lahore, 19 September 2020:

All players and player support personnel of the six Cricket Association First XI sides, who were invited to their respective central stations, have tested negative in their second Covid-19 tests.

They will now enter the bio-secure zone today in which they will be able to roam and interact with each other freely. Balochistan and Sindh, who were stationed at Lahore Country Club Murdike, will travel to Multan’s Ramada Hotel in team busses to join the other four sides.

Central Punjab wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal had requested to delay his admission in the bio-secure zone and, as such, his second Covid-19 test will be done on 23 September. Subject to returning a negative result, Kamran will join his team on 24 September. Like the other 102 squad members, Kamran had also tested negative in the first Covid-19 test.

Meanwhile, for breaching the Covid-19 protocols, Balochistan head coach Faisal Iqbal and assistant coach Wasim Haider have been quarantined at Lahore Country Club Murdike. They will be tested twice over the next five days and will be required to return negative results in both tests before they are allowed to join the team in Multan. Both Faisal and Wasim will bear the costs of these tests.

Head of PCB Covid-19 Medical Team, Dr Riaz Ahmed: “The Pakistan Cricket Board has zero tolerance policy and will take stern action against those who breach the Covid-19 protocols over the course of the season.

The strict implementation of these protocols, which have been designed after meticulous planning, is the need of the hour. Such breaches have the potential to put the whole season in jeopardy and, more importantly, put lives of fellow players, coaches and all those associated with the game in danger.

“This should be a message for everyone involved in the upcoming season that the PCB will take strict action against anyone who decides to go against the protocols. As we are in unprecedented times, this season is going to be different than the previous ones and, as such, everyone’s cooperation is necessary to make it a success.”

From Sunday, the six teams will begin their training at the Multan Cricket Stadium and Inzamam-ul-Haq High Performance Centre to prepare for the National T20 Cup, which commences from 30 September.

What will Balochistan do if Faisal Iqbal got positive result now .

 

[MenInG]

As many as 125 players and player support personnel belonging to six Cricket Association Second XI squads for the National T20 Cup were invited to their respective central stations today after they tested negative in their first Covid-19 tests.

They will undergo their second tests on 21 September under the supervision of the PCB medical team at their respective central stations, which are Lahore’s Hotel PC for Central Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Northern and Southern Punjab, and Muridke Country Club for Balochistan and Sindh.

 

[Savak]

Am reading that the PCB has invited the likes of Ramiz Raja, Wasim Akram, Bazid Khan, Shoaib Akhtar to commentate during the National T-20 cup. The commentary will take place in both English and Urdu and will involve a professional pre-game, mid game, post game analysis, real time interviews with fans, players during the game.

 

[Markhor]

Is any of the competition going to be televised

PCB are saying the 11 QEA Trophy matches at the National Stadium in Karachi will be televised, including the final.

So looking at the schedule, that means every team will have a minimum of three televised matches.

Central Punjab and Sindh will have four televised matches, with Northern, Southern Punjab, KPK and Balochistan will have three televised matches each.

 

[Xoib]

Looks like PCB has messd up again I believe camp for NZ tour will start mid Nov which means the test players will not get more then couple of FC games under their belt. The likes of Shaheen and Naseem needs as many fc games as possible at this stage of their career why was the useless national t 20 organised before the QeA trophy?

 

[shamaan]

PCB are saying the 11 QEA Trophy matches at the National Stadium in Karachi will be televised, including the final.

So looking at the schedule, that means every team will have a minimum of three televised matches.

Central Punjab and Sindh will have four televised matches, with Northern, Southern Punjab, KPK and Balochistan will have three televised matches each.

Thankyou but will it be televised just for pakistan or will it be showen in uk on any TV channel

 

[shamaan]

Looks like PCB has messd up again I believe camp for NZ tour will start mid Nov which means the test players will not get more then couple of FC games under their belt. The likes of Shaheen and Naseem needs as many fc games as possible at this stage of their career why was the useless national t 20 organised before the QeA trophy?

Shaheen naseem also need to managed if they had a whole season and then went to New Zealand they could be burnt out also injuries could happen

 

[Markhor]

Thankyou but will it be televised just for pakistan or will it be showen in uk on any TV channel

Very unlikely it'll be shown in UK.

 

[shamaan]

Very unlikely it'll be shown in UK.

nice 1

 

[Omer2002]

Pakistan cup

Chaps does any body know about the broadcast of the above.

The One day cup is about to start this Friday but I have noticed National Stadium Karachi taken off from there where you would expect live Tv coverage. Surely this will be covered by TV?

 

[Titan24]

One match from each round will most probably be covered live. Its in double round robin format and there will be 3 matches in a day.

 

[anonymous_guy]

Chaps does any body know about the broadcast of the above.

The One day cup is about to start this Friday but I have noticed National Stadium Karachi taken off from there where you would expect live Tv coverage. Surely this will be covered by TV?

Matches played on SBP ground will be live on PTV sports and the other two will be live on YouTube (possibly).

 

[Omer2002]

Thanks Chaps i thought so i am sure only one match will be covered not all if that but surprised nothing ant National Karachi maybe they need to prepare for south africa series

 

[aloo paratha]

No squads for Pakistan Cup yet?

 

[Omer2002]

I guess it will be same as Quaid Trophy as the same teams are playing

 

[guldozer]

I find it odd that none of th teams have announced their squads. I thought they might add some short form specialists in their squads. I guess we'll find out when the tournament starts.

 

[shamaan]

why aint thier no seperate squads from the pakistan cup.the second xi stand out players won't be given a chance to prove themselves !

 

[Omer2002]

I am actually hoping thr shaheen and pak squad will be back in time for the start of this