Should Pakistan Government restore departmental cricket?

[Bewal Express]

The current system sustains mediocrity

It is pathetic!

The players coming out are useless!

Which players in the current team are products of the new system?

 

[Savak]

If they do bring dept cricket back then they need to keep it separate from regional cricket and have the tournaments seperately at different times during the year.

In the past the PCB merged regional and dept cricket together which diluted the overall competition as all the best players obviously played for their depts and the regional teams were forced to pick and play the mediocre players and that diluted the quality of cricket big time.

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

The only thing that I would bring back from the old system would be the city based national t20 cup. I miss teams like Karachi Dolphins, Sialkot Stallions, Lahore Lions, Faislabad Wolves, etc. It used to be a very good competition and I remember who competitive the cricket used to be. Other than that everything is fine as it is for now. Departments may have been good for the player welfare (jobs and financial stability) but it got players into a comfort zones where they could carry on playing for HBL, PIA, NBP, etc for an eternity.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

The current system has sent out cricket back into the 30s

And where was it when departmental cricket was around? The stone age?

 

[Titan24]

Its not only the lack of quality rather lack of understanding of what constitutes potential as well which is something that is an issue in the Pakistan cricket. 6 teams while on the face of it should be having the cream of the talent playing against each other as a lot of us expected and wanted but, that has not always been the case taking into account the lack of proper potential identification. At the same time 16-18 team structure was just too much as well in terms of quality division. 8-10 teams looks like the sweet spot in my opinion which can provide decent quality playing against each other and at the same time covering the lack of opportunities to players who were good enough but the domestic coaches and selectors were not able to identify them properly.

Yes one can argue that the 2nd XI teams are there, yes they are and I have also said that they should be counted as the teams we have in total but its also a reality that as the matches are not much televised/showed so only the stats/numbers are something that are there and them being of 2nd XI not all talk about them as much.

Taking into account everything that 8-10 teams structure would be pretty decent and if departmental cricket is meant to be restored (Not sure how it would be possible in a smooth way) then maybe creating a hybrid structure of asking them to sponsor the teams on the back of them providing employment opportunities to the players of the teams they sponsor alongside other facilities would be something that might be worth looking at. Also the number of matches of the QAE being 10 for each side seems a little less considering the amount of players we have in the system to have more opportunities available to them to come into limelight.

New structure has brought in much more eyes to Pakistan cricket which is always a big plus so that should be something to be maintained with good broadcasting and production.

In my opinion the pre-2019 structure and the current one were both touching extremes taking into account the Pakistan cricket system. Maybe a sweet middle ground would be something that should be targeted.

 

[shah_1]

This system has clearly failed

Any domestic performer looks so pathetic and minnow level. The bullcrap of closing the gap between international and domestic cricket by having only 6 team doesn't work at all.


Any limited success we had in white ball cricket is due to PSL, nothing do with this system.

 

[Rana]

And where was it when departmental cricket was around? The stone age?

Not losing 4 Tests in a row at home against SENA

 

[ElRaja]

no, the system works, saud, abrar, abdullah have all done well at domestic level, and done well at test level. the real issue is that it is not practical to expect your system to create 4 or 5 test cricketers a year, this just wont happen.

some haven't performed at test level, but those three show the system isnt the issue. what you need is to improve the system, increase result orientation.

beyond that the issues are with management, pak players are ok, but they are managed so conservatively, that they go from imposing themselves on domestic cricket, to being rabbits in the headlights at test level.

there are talent develop, and management failure, the six-team domestic competition is one part of the puzzle that is working to some extent.

 

[shah_1]

Not losing 4 Tests in a row at home against SENA

I'm with you on this.

Wasim Khan had shut down grass root cricket for three years, and it caused immense damage to Pakistan cricket. Everything is centralized in this system, cricket doesn't work like that. Association need to be given responsibility to manage day to day affairs.

The whole thing is a farce

 

[shah_1]

no, the system works, saud, abrar, abdullah have all done well at domestic level, and done well at test level. the real issue is that it is not practical to expect your system to create 4 or 5 test cricketers a year, this just wont happen.

some haven't performed at test level, but those three show the system isnt the issue. what you need is to improve the system, increase result orientation.

beyond that the issues are with management, pak players are ok, but they are managed so conservatively, that they go from imposing themselves on domestic cricket, to being rabbits in the headlights at test level.

there are talent develop, and management failure, the six-team domestic competition is one part of the puzzle that is working to some extent.

Saud is a product of old system

 

[Savak]

I am worried at the lack of 4 day cricket the likes of Naseem, Rauf, Hasnain, Shadab and co are playing. These guys need to be groomed to be ready for test cricket.

 

[ElRaja]

Saud is a product of old system

saud played two seasons with PTV, the majority of his first class career has been in regional teams.

 

[ElRaja]

I am worried at the lack of 4 day cricket the likes of Naseem, Rauf, Hasnain, Shadab and co are playing. These guys need to be groomed to be ready for test cricket.

this is exactly the issue i was stating, your best players arent playing the premier 4 day comp, there should be a minimal stipulation in the central contracts to play at least 5 first class games, and any final your team may qualify for in QeA trophy.

playing 5 4-day games should not be a great stress for a professional athlete. and if u dont want to, then retire from long form cricket so theres no blurred lines.

 

[shariqnoor]

Yes. This 6 team nonsense should end now.

The problem with the old system was that school and club cricket had finished. The domestic cricket wasn't much of an issue apart from ridiculous pitches and balls.

Let the departments pay the salaries of the players and the money saved by PCB on salaries should be spent on creating school and club cricket.

 

[Markhor]

People seem to be forgetting there were only about 2-3 top departments and the rest were cannon fodder. Teams like SNGPL would dominate every year. It was hardly a competitive system.

Also, the new Govt has already opened the door for departments to return - but do you see any coming back ? They were already struggling pre-COVID - UBL shut down their cricket division in 2018.

The problem lies with Ramiz's idiotic and backwards thinking that support staff are overrated, and that you just need to give the captain total control like Imran days. That era is over and not having a hard nosed coach to hold Babar accountable has been a disaster. He has also neglected A tours and instead pursues vanity projects like PJL. He and Babar must go.

 

[zzzzz]

There is no need for department cricket because the quality of cricket was abysmal. Some people tend to think we lost this test series due to the current domestic structure but most of these players are either a product of the previous system, PSL or in the team due to some other higher up influential people.

In my opinion there is nothing wrong with the current structure. However, in Pakistan the selection of players in those six teams is not done on merit. That issue on its own is enough to ensure that the quality of our national team is compromised.

So the whole issue comes down to corruption which is deep rooted in our society. That will take generations to route out.

 

[Savak]

Apparently the Ramiz Raja led PCB administration did contact the departments to come back but the response from departments was lukewarm, some have moved on and are no longer interested in having a sports department, some want more political stability and a guarantee that the system will not be uprooted again by the next govt, some complained about the economic uncertainty, deficits in the country, losses and that they cannot afford to have so many sportsmen on their payroll and some have offered to pay a meager amount for sponsoring PCB events.

Sethi will have his work cut out

 

[moghul]

That's the problem with interim arrangement , no department will start working on setting up a team when they know Sethi in all probability will be gone after the general election and IK doesn't like departmental team setup.

Whichever party wins next GE and makes the governments for 5 years should take decision on this , not now.

 

[Fenrir]

Given the present economic and political situation,I doubt if any department or private company will be willing to offer jobs (for life) to cricketers.

 

[Savak]

Given the present economic and political situation,I doubt if any department or private company will be willing to offer jobs (for life) to cricketers.

Even before IK abolished dept cricket, depts were no longer offering cricketers life long employment, they would only employ cricketers on short term contracts and the players would be terminated once they were past their utility. The players were also no longer being paid handsome amounts as in the past.

 

[Babeikh]

There is a reason why no country in the world has this departmental system the reason is that it is a pathetic system yet we still have people demanding Sui Northern Gas Pipelines vs Habib Bank Limited

As others have stated, hopefully it wont be that simple to just 'restore department cricket' and if they do come back, I hope Sethi is sensible about it and doesn't just completely uproot the current system. Why not just have a parallel department tournament so players can play for a department and their region as well, and the region will be the main FC tournament.

 

[zarak]

I feel the problem is with 10 first class games a year. That is way too little. Secondly the pitches and the balls need to be sorted

 

[Rana]

So I recon we need 20 teams divided in 2 divisions

 

[Mamoon]

So I recon we need 20 teams divided in 2 divisions

Sounds good. At least 10 team in each division is the way format.

This 6 teams drama is nonsense. Less teams = more quality myth has been busted.

 

[Mamoon]

Sounds good. At least 10 team in each division is the way format.

This 6 teams drama is nonsense. Less teams = more quality myth has been busted.

Way forward*

 

[Rana]

Sounds good. At least 10 team in each division is the way format.

This 6 teams drama is nonsense. Less teams = more quality myth has been busted.

Exactly

Just identify 20 regions. Add the newly identified regions (bar 4) in division 2 and create a promotion/demotion system

Everyone who isn’t a deserving pro cricketer apparently will get his side relegated into div 2 or will find his way there and then filtered out of cricket

 

[ArabKnight]

So they restored it.

Lahore has 2 teams in QeA Trophy. What a joke!

Shameful. Disgraceful. Discrimination.

 

[MenInG]

Funny thing is that all those who supported this restoration can't be bothered to even comment in the QeA Trophy thread!

 

[BouncerGuy]

Finally, the Department Cricket has been restored in Pakistan with the return of the 50-over event starting today.

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President’s Cup to mark return of departmental one-day cricket

The President’s Cup begins on Wednesday, marking the return to 50-over cricket for departments following the restoration of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s constitution of 2014.

Matches of the round-robin stage will be held in Abbottabad and Rawalpindi but the PCB received a lukewarm response with just seven teams deciding to take part after the implementation of PCB’s constitution of 2019 having forced the closure of departments.

The same seven teams had earlier played the four-day feature of the same event with Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited having won the event.

Before the 2019 constitution came into force, eight teams had traditionally taken part in the one-day tournament but despite departmental sport having been restored, only seven institutions showed interest in rebuilding their teams.

Among them, Ghani Glass and Higher Education Commission were promoted from Grade II. The other teams taking part include SNGPL, Pakistan Television, State Bank of Pakistan, Wapda and Khan Research Laboratories.

The top four finishers after the round-robin stage will advance to the semi-finals; the venues for which will be announced closer to the matches, said the PCB.

“Following the successful staging of the first-class tournament, the upcoming limited overs tournament marks a positive step in the smooth return and rehabilitation of departmental cricket, which should be welcomed by everyone,” PCB’s domestic cricket operations director Abdullah Khurram Niazi said in a news release.

“The return of department cricket aligns with the PCB Chairman’s policy of reinvigorating domestic cricket across the country, which will lead to more opportunities for younger players and a greater likelihood of new talent emerging.”

SOURCE: DAWN

 

[ahmadharis1]

6 team format should have been persisted with, department cricket is a waste

 

[RidiculousMan]

6 team format should have been persisted with, department cricket is a waste

That was better than this. Ideally what we need is 2 more regional teams, better club, college and grassroot Cricket.