The new PCB proposed Regional Cricket Structure according to Wasim Khan

[Savak]

From his interview with the BBC, this is what i understood and he mentioned that this is the vision that Imran Khan advocates borrowed purely from the Australian Sheffield shield

First and Main Tear: Six Regional Teams in the country i.e. Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, KPK, AJK, Fata

Second Tier: Each City or Major City in the region will have its own team. Each Region can hold its own inter regional cricket tournament. The first/main tear regional selectors are free to pick the best players, performers from inter regional cricket tournaments and select them to represent the regional team

Third Tier: Club teams in every city and School Cricket in every city. Each City is at liberty to hold a club cricket tournament and schools cricket tournament within that city. The Second Tier City team selectors are free to pick the best players, performers from these club, school tournaments.

The major question marks for me is what will the financial model of this proposed structure be if the departments refuse to sponsor the regional teams?

 

[UP]

Not a bad system if it can be implemented properly. Hoping Wasim Khan can turn around the sailing ship.

Can you share the link of that interview?

 

[Shafi]

Can anybody please answer this::::

Does Afghanistan has better domestic structure than us to produce better players or its just our corrupt selector who choose players whom he likes whether for Domestic, PSL or International

 

[Shafi]

With less team there will be a bigger problem if the selectors pick their favorites, loyal, family and friends. Less opportunities form new players. First think we need a few honest selectors then rest will do very good.

 

[last_knight]

The first/main tear regional selectors are free to pick the best players, performers from inter regional cricket tournaments and select them to represent the regional team.

It will be good only if first tier selection committee is headed by a member of chief selection committee. Otherwise
effectively it's same structure if first tier selectors are autonomous.

 

[Zeshan547]

Great structure on paper but can they implement it without biases and corruption? if so than what I can see Pak among top 3 cricket teams in all formats from 2030 onward.

 

[MMHS]

Can anybody please answer this::::

Does Afghanistan has better domestic structure than us to produce better players or its just our corrupt selector who choose players whom he likes whether for Domestic, PSL or International

They have - not for the entire player base, but for their top 25-30 players ..... at Noida & Dehradun, rest probably you can understand. For this, Afghans will be a competitive unit from now on, but they won’t be a cricket power.

It’s like the middle-eastern soccer story - Petro dollar allowed Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arab, Bahrain to hire best coaches, best training facilities.... so those coaches trained selected 35-40 players like circus and managed to get into World Cup. But, these teams never reached the consistency level of top African teams or Iran, South Korea - result these teams are stuck at the same place they were; a decent soccer nation but not capable to compete at highest level..... South Korea is beating Germany....

 

[MMHS]

Great structure- I guess in 2nd tier, there’ll be around 50 teams (~6 X 8), and in 3rd tier there will be at least 2500 teams (~50 X 50), or around 450 clubs per Region. Need 12 regional grounds (2 each - 1st home, 2nd home), central contract for top tier 100 players, professional groundsmen for those 12 grounds, 6 regional academies, and a home & away basis 400+ overs FC tournament...... PAK won’t struggle to qualify for 2023 WC for sure.....

Only one area left which needs to be addressed - cricket is an educated man’s game ... somehow, PCB has to find a way to accommodate at least 6 universities in to national cricket, so that players with good academic back grounds can keep on playing at highest level, but at the same time can complete studies, may be sacrificing/delaying 3-4 of career. Mike Athers was England player as Cambridge student, while Tiger Pataudi led India as active Oxford Blue.

 

[AFM]

He also said that the main teams will have a 2nd XI as well who will also have their own competitions against each other.

 

[Markhor]

Not a bad system if it can be implemented properly. Hoping Wasim Khan can turn around the sailing ship.

Can you share the link of that interview?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p078nrtj

16:20 onwards.

 

[Markhor]

Wasim Khan says he wants:

1) Six provinces competing in the First Class competition with a 2nd XI competition alongside that.

2) A city based competition that feeds into the regions.

3) 2-day club cricket that sits underneath that structure.

 

[Savak]

Wasim Khan says he wants:

1) Six provinces competing in the First Class competition with a 2nd XI competition alongside that.

2) A city based competition that feeds into the regions.

3) 2-day club cricket that sits underneath that structure.

I think the PCB should include school cricket in the third tier as well.

 

[Syed1]

No wonder the babus in PCB were against Wasim Khan. This seems like a revolutionary idea and will go a long way in curbing nepotism and corruption in selection as well as developing health competition amongst the players.


I wonder where are the folks who were spewing hate on to IK that he has no idea what he is doing trying to implement Aussie style system in Pak when Pak population is multiple times larger than Australia.

I hope this system is implemented on emergency basis because by God our team needs it. However, even with the current system we are not utilizing it to the max. For example there are folks on there such as Zafar Gohar or Saud Shakeel who have been toiling away putting in performance after performance but they are no where near selection. The point I'm trying to make even if you have the best domestic system in the world if the national team selection is undertaken by corrupt, incompetent individuals like Inzi then you will continue being a garbage side and losing to Afghanistan is just the start.

 

[Titan24]

Looks pretty impressive. Hopefully its implemented as soon as possible.

 

[Visaal-E-Yaar]

All problems will solved once players get selected on merits. Just imagine malik, hafeez and amir still playing in 2019.

 

[Titan24]

Though key would be having solid selectors for the regional teams. You want people who have the eye for talent.

 

[Savak]

No wonder the babus in PCB were against Wasim Khan. This seems like a revolutionary idea and will go a long way in curbing nepotism and corruption in selection as well as developing health competition amongst the players.


I wonder where are the folks who were spewing hate on to IK that he has no idea what he is doing trying to implement Aussie style system in Pak when Pak population is multiple times larger than Australia.

I hope this system is implemented on emergency basis because by God our team needs it. However, even with the current system we are not utilizing it to the max. For example there are folks on there such as Zafar Gohar or Saud Shakeel who have been toiling away putting in performance after performance but they are no where near selection. The point I'm trying to make even if you have the best domestic system in the world if the national team selection is undertaken by corrupt, incompetent individuals like Inzi then you will continue being a garbage side and losing to Afghanistan is just the start.

Even in the present system, the departments have been selecting older players in their mid to late 30's, players with low batting averages in their ranks which is shocking given that they are suppossed to operate on the free market principle as private entities. Departments are now divesting their sports teams, players are now just offered annual contracts instead of permanent jobs and a lot of players are either let go or told to perform regular duties at the organization and prove themselves. So its not necessarily sohne pe suhaga anymore.

 

[Savak]

My only concern is the Financial Model. Somehow the private sector has to be forced to get involved. Maybe the PCB should one day make it so tough for entities to get Franchise ownership rights for e.g. stipulate a condition a Franchise owner looking to buy a PSL franchise apart from having to pay an exhorbitant amount must also show performance in terms of running a club team, a city team. I guess this can be one way to force private business owners to start investing in domestic cricket.

 

[moghul]

Players who will perform against top 6 quality teams will carry really big value for their performance and gap between Pakistan's FC cricket involving top 6 teams and International cricket will be narrower a bit.

 

[Asim_khan]

My only concern is the Financial Model. Somehow the private sector has to be forced to get involved. Maybe the PCB should one day make it so tough for entities to get Franchise ownership rights for e.g. stipulate a condition a Franchise owner looking to buy a PSL franchise apart from having to pay an exhorbitant amount must also show performance in terms of running a club team, a city team. I guess this can be one way to force private business owners to start investing in domestic cricket.

This model is built on competetive cricket, the best, the cream will rise to the top. Large sponsors will want to get involved just off the back of that

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Great news, hope IK backs Wasim khan and doesn't let those PCB Babas take over.

 

[Shaka81]

Could work but need meritocracy and private sponsorship. Maybe have a situation where selectors, coaches, etc can be fired if their team finishes bottom of the league with financial punishments and incentives depending on final positions. Need to discourage selectors from just picking the same old failures every season.

 

[moghul]

Current system might be giving some low salary jobs to some cricketers, but has been a failure to produce quality cricketers and must be changed.

 

[aqeelPK]

My only concern is the Financial Model. Somehow the private sector has to be forced to get involved. Maybe the PCB should one day make it so tough for entities to get Franchise ownership rights for e.g. stipulate a condition a Franchise owner looking to buy a PSL franchise apart from having to pay an exhorbitant amount must also show performance in terms of running a club team, a city team. I guess this can be one way to force private business owners to start investing in domestic cricket.

Finances not an issue. PCB is earning a lot of money these days thanks to PSL & ICC. Even their domestic competitions get significant sponsorship & coverage. Considering 3/4 new sports channels going to be launched before PCB's next broadcast & sponsorship deals & entire PSL coming home, PCB revenue is expected to increase further. They can manage the expenses of top tier on their own. I am sure domestic cricket coverage will be mandatory for next broadcast deal like BCCI did, meaning millions of dollars upfront for domestic cricket to kick start.

 

[Savak]

Finances not an issue. PCB is earning a lot of money these days thanks to PSL & ICC. Even their domestic competitions get significant sponsorship & coverage. Considering 3/4 new sports channels going to be launched before PCB's next broadcast & sponsorship deals & entire PSL coming home, PCB revenue is expected to increase further. They can manage the expenses of top tier on their own. I am sure domestic cricket coverage will be mandatory for next broadcast deal like BCCI did, meaning millions of dollars upfront for domestic cricket to kick start.

I think the PCB should for starters only agree to fund the Regions who should become self sufficient in the long run and invite departments to sponsor regions as well. 6 teams will require 50 players each, coaches, support staff, analysts, selectors. Max 500 people they will have to support. The PCB has billions of Ruppees. Surely they can afford to take care of 500 people.

 

[Bewal Express]

Good proposal and will ensure that the best players play each other but will we have the finances to make it work?

 

[Shafi]

Whole system will be useless if selection is not based on merit and low profiles coaches allowed to do coaching roles.

 

[Khwaja78]

This is the stupidity that prevails amongst the elite esp. our dear PM thinking we are Australia or Europe in South Asia.

He put an ignorant Ehsan Mani as chairman who has given free hand to corrupts in the PCB to do what they want, selector has ruined the batting singlehandedly it can be seen in the results they have'nt won anything as selector is busy bringing back his failed friends in the team.

There are regional associations in Pakistan and their corruption is massive. What are the checks and balances for the ones who would operate the system?

Once departments finish how will those associations sustain the support, groundstaff and players' livelihoods.

This is not England where every player can go do a job and can make ends meet. Cost of living in Pakistan rises every bloody year thanks to our corrupt setup top to bottom. DElegating funds to the regions to do what they want will only encourage Shakeel Sheikhs sons and daughters living on salaries provided by this foolish board.

 

[Savak]

This is the stupidity that prevails amongst the elite esp. our dear PM thinking we are Australia or Europe in South Asia.

He put an ignorant Ehsan Mani as chairman who has given free hand to corrupts in the PCB to do what they want, selector has ruined the batting singlehandedly it can be seen in the results they have'nt won anything as selector is busy bringing back his failed friends in the team.

There are regional associations in Pakistan and their corruption is massive. What are the checks and balances for the ones who would operate the system?

Once departments finish how will those associations sustain the support, groundstaff and players' livelihoods.

This is not England where every player can go do a job and can make ends meet. Cost of living in Pakistan rises every bloody year thanks to our corrupt setup top to bottom. DElegating funds to the regions to do what they want will only encourage Shakeel Sheikhs sons and daughters living on salaries provided by this foolish board.

Departments are already divesting their sports teams and at the rate with which it is happening, there will be a time when all departments would have shut down their sports team. This concept of giving sportsmen permanent jobs started in the 70's under the Nationalization process but in the 90's and 2000's the departments stopped giving these players permanent jobs and stuck with them on yearly contracts and many players were let go immediately after their cricketing careers were over.

The players need to find alternative ways to make a living, Pakistan Cricket is not a welfare state, if they wish to have cricket related jobs, they better be good, they better deliver quality and value instead of leaching otherwise they can take a hike.

 

[hur rizvi]

From his interview with the BBC, this is what i understood and he mentioned that this is the vision that Imran Khan advocates borrowed purely from the Australian Sheffield shield

First and Main Tear: Six Regional Teams in the country i.e. Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, KPK, AJK, Fata

Second Tier: Each City or Major City in the region will have its own team. Each Region can hold its own inter regional cricket tournament. The first/main tear regional selectors are free to pick the best players, performers from inter regional cricket tournaments and select them to represent the regional team

Third Tier: Club teams in every city and School Cricket in every city. Each City is at liberty to hold a club cricket tournament and schools cricket tournament within that city. The Second Tier City team selectors are free to pick the best players, performers from these club, school tournaments.

The major question marks for me is what will the financial model of this proposed structure be if the departments refuse to sponsor the regional teams?

Sounds really nice

As [MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] says we need to involve university teams preferably in 2nd tier

 

[Fantasy]

Domestic cricket reforms according to Wasim Khan: Will they work?

This is what Wasim Khan said in the interview with PP about the domestic cricket reforms which are going to be implemented in Pakistan:

“We would like to move to a structure of six provincial teams, with a second XI of six that sits underneath that. We would have city-based competitions that feed into your provinces and then below that you would have the 2-Day club cricket setup”.

My simple question is this system sustainable in Pakistan with changes happening almost every year because this system is going to take time(around 4/5 years) to settle down and upto the point where these provinces will be autonomous.

While this system looks the best where you are going to get a pyramid as there will be different levels of competition and you will have to work through all of them but my immediate concern with this system is the finances related to this system. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered.

At the start who is going to support the provinces financially because they are basically starting from nought. Is it going to be PCB or the respective governments for say early 3 to 4 years? Quite honestly this is a new system and these provinces aren’t self sufficient or autonomous. They will be starting from scratch. They won’t have any sponsors’ money. So how are they going to manage the finances for about 3 to 4 years? What about the contracts with the players, supporting staff or the administration of these provinces? Who is going to pay for that and how much and how far can PCB take this upon themselves?

There is going to be renewal of broadcasting contract for PCB next year and I hope along with the hike they include the domestic cricket to be covered by the same broadcaster as well like the BCCI has done and other boards have been doing. That is going to be the single biggest factor to lure the sponsors to sponsor the domestic teams. I hope Wasim Khan and Co are looking in this direction as well and are working out this plan. This is going to massively improve the domestic cricket.

I actually was hoping that PP will ask this question because he already shared this idea with BBC,wisden,PTV as well but I understand that as this proposal is still in the process and hence not going too deep into the topic. But maybe next time you should ask him this.

 

[MenInG]

Looks like an excellent plan to me. Gives people enough chances to play and removes this Departmental silliness.

 

[Fantasy]

Looks like an excellent plan to me. Gives people enough chances to play and removes this Departmental silliness.

But how are the finances going to work? As I have said as well that it looks like an excellent plan but how are they going to manage the finances for the first 3 to 4 years because in the long run these are going to be autonomous bodies who will generate revenues of their own but what about maybe the first 3 to 4 years? Mind you it is not just about players but administrators, the team staff, selection committee and a lot more which are going to be contracted so this is a huge task. Is it going to be the PCB or some help from government as well? I think that is going to play a huge part in implementing this system and whether this system is sustainable in the long run.

 

[MenInG]

Think its better to let departments sponsor cricket around the country in tournaments etc instead of sponsoring whole teams.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

The first thing Wasim needs to do is make a deal with an international kit maker to make our kit.

 

[PakWarrior]

But how are the finances going to work? As I have said as well that it looks like an excellent plan but how are they going to manage the finances for the first 3 to 4 years because in the long run these are going to be autonomous bodies who will generate revenues of their own but what about maybe the first 3 to 4 years? Mind you it is not just about players but administrators, the team staff, selection committee and a lot more which are going to be contracted so this is a huge task. Is it going to be the PCB or some help from government as well? I think that is going to play a huge part in implementing this system and whether this system is sustainable in the long run.

Finance should come from the PCB. They make more than enough through TV rights.

Even investing 30% of this is enough to fund the new structure.

Also local channels like GEO, ARY etc can also be allowed to sponsor certainly at the top tier level. Again this will bring revenue. Banks and businesses will also sponsor.

Money should not be an issue.

The main key is to keep the number of employees to a minimum.

No need for 65 year old plus Uncle's to get involved. These guys have had it easy on the PCB payroll for 25+ years with monthly salaries, cars and houses all paid for.

Imran Khan himself should lead this.

Honestly the proposed structure is fantastic.

When will this happen? Any news on this?

 

[mak36]

2nd XI Competition should be played at the same time.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

I guesstimate 30-40% of revenue is lost to corruption.

 

[Fantasy]

Finance should come from the PCB. They make more than enough through TV rights.

Even investing 30% of this is enough to fund the new structure.

Also local channels like GEO, ARY etc can also be allowed to sponsor certainly at the top tier level. Again this will bring revenue. Banks and businesses will also sponsor.

Money should not be an issue.

The main key is to keep the number of employees to a minimum.

No need for 65 year old plus Uncle's to get involved. These guys have had it easy on the PCB payroll for 25+ years with monthly salaries, cars and houses all paid for.

Imran Khan himself should lead this.

Honestly the proposed structure is fantastic.

When will this happen? Any news on this?

Surely they are working on this model and covering all bases but the fact that you have to start from the scratch where you have to have structures in places for the provinces, cities and then clubs as well. This is a huge task where you have to make every post by yourself and get a competent man to head it. You will have to make departments within those provinces like media, commercial and marketing, revenue, etc and this is going to take time and you won’t make every decision right while doing so much of work within a short span of time. So how they are going to sustain this system and how can they maximise the revenue generation step by step? What are the things these sponsors will look upto so that they can pump money in the domestic cricket? Surely televising domestic matches is a huge factor in that and we know the production quality of the PCB for domestic cricket.

They have said we aren’t rushing thing and we will start to implement in around 2 months time.

 

[Syed1]

Fantastic structure.... I hope it is implemented post-haste. We need it yesterday. This is what happens when you bring the right man for the right job. Rest in peace lovers of Najam Sethi.


Thank you PM IK

 

[Zhasan]

And one individual, such as the Chief Selector, Inzi in it's most extreme manifestation can undo this perfect revolutionary system.

A system is only as good as the sum of the individuals that make up that system.

I still maintain that for a country like Pakistan only benevolent dictators work in all aspect of their lives.

That's why Kardar worked both as a captain and Chairman of BCCP, same reason Imran was effective as a captain, but if you get a dictator with malicious intentions like Inzi, things fall apart as they did under Inzi the captain and Inzi the chief selector.

 

[Syed1]

And one individual, such as the Chief Selector, Inzi in it's most extreme manifestation can undo this perfect revolutionary system.

A system is only as good as the sum of the individuals that make up that system.

I still maintain that for a country like Pakistan only benevolent dictators work in all aspect of their lives.

That's why Kardar worked both as a captain and Chairman of BCCP, same reason Imran was effective as a captain, but if you get a dictator with malicious intentions like Inzi, things fall apart as they did under Inzi the captain and Inzi the chief selector.

I agree.... despite this garbage moth eaten domestic system if we have an honest competent selector at the helm he can still make something out of it. Why haven't the best domestic performers not given a chance?


You can have the best domestic system in the world if the selector is going to select people based on relationships or whims then the team will always be pathetic.

 

[ElRaja]

2nd XI Competition should be played at the same time.

yeah ideally the first and second teams travel to same opposition so that young players are constantly around the olders and you have less of a senior junior divide.

 

[shah_1]

The challenge would be selecting players on merit and financial sustainablity.

 

[PakLFC]

Finally we won't have plumbers vs bank clerks vs electricians vs shop assistants and what not. We have been crying out for an upgrade of our Cricket for ages. Talking is over now walk the walk Mr Khan..

 

[ChennaiFan]

The proposed system seems good. Hope it gets implemented.

The fear of selection bias at the lower level is understandable. However, I believe at this information age, it is almost impossible to ignore really good players. It could happenn here and there a bit. Overall, you will get a pool of high calibre players that can represent the national team.

 

[Fantasy]

The proposed system seems good. Hope it gets implemented.

The fear of selection bias at the lower level is understandable. However, I believe at this information age, it is almost impossible to ignore really good players. It could happenn here and there a bit. Overall, you will get a pool of high calibre players that can represent the national team.

In order to have accountability there needs to be inclusion of the representatives of sponsors in the BoG at the provincial level. That way the selectors, coaches, captain, etc are going to be accountable for the performances on the field. They will have to answer and back their decision of selecting particular player/players with other decisions taken on or off the field by the administrators as well. Sponsors wouldn’t want to see their money getting drained down and would want the results. In this way at least there will be accountability and they will be answerable to someone.

 

[CleverSir]

I like his proposal overall. Personally, given our population I'd opt for 8-10 clubs instead of 6. Instead of "provincial clubs" base the clubs around a few of the built stadiums. Namely,

- Lahore
- Karachi
- Rawalpindi
- Faisalabad
- Peshawar
- Quetta
- Multan
- Sialkot - need big upgrades
- Hydrabad - need big upgrades
- Abbottabad - assuming stadium is built enough to a high standard

This would allow (assuming 25 member squads ( 1st XI + 2nd XI)) 225-250 players to have professional contracts (also hope contracts are multi year). For a population of 230 million that is a good number of professional contracts for a lot of young persons to aspire for. only 100 contracts up for grabs is just small enough to encourage that middle class family to push the kid towards academics. Over time, we know that middle class is where the best athletes come from. Just enough income to have a stable home and not enough to get lazy.

Anyway, I rambled. I like what Wasim Khan is saying. Let's hope for implementation.

 

[bujhee kom]

The proposed structure is an ideal one for any country.

 

[silent ischemia]

The problem is how will you be selecting AJK and Baluchistan teams. If you select players from their respective districts then compared to other teams they will be weak. Even Punjab and Sindh 2nd and 3rd XIs would be better. Need to devise a plan so that these teams are competitive as well

 

[silent ischemia]

The problem is how will you be selecting AJK and Baluchistan teams. If you select players from their respective districts then compared to other teams they will be weak. Even Punjab and Sindh 2nd and 3rd XIs would be better. Need to devise a plan so that these teams are competitive as well

What you can do is that northern Punjab districts (like Attock, Rawalpindi, Jhelum,Chakwal) be included in AJK. Hazara division in FATA and some South Punjab districts (Multan, Bahawalpur, Rajanpur, RYK etc) in Baluchistan

 

[shah_1]

This idea can work with 8 teams

AJK and Fata don’t deserve separate teams. Even Bolachistan team would be pretty weak

1)South Punjab
2)Central Punjab
3)Pothar Punjab
4)Urban Sindh- Karachi to Hydrebad
5) Rural Sindh- Rest of Sindh
6)Balochistan
7)KPK(minus Hazara division)
8)Hazara division+ Islamabad+G&B +A&K

This is the best solution

 

[Titan24]

This idea can work with 8 teams

AJK and Fata don’t deserve separate teams. Even Bolachistan team would be pretty weak

1)South Punjab
2)Central Punjab
3)Pothar Punjab
4)Urban Sindh- Karachi to Hydrebad
5) Rural Sindh- Rest of Sindh
6)Balochistan
7)KPK(minus Hazara division)
8)Hazara division+ Islamabad+G&B +A&K

This is the best solution

I think players will be allowed to switch between the regions and provinces so Balochistan might not be producing a lot of cricketers itself it can have other players. Atleast in Autralian domestic state teams they do switch as some teams like New South Wales has a lot of quality cricketers so players like Khawaja, Phil Hughes etc moved to other sides. This makes sense as well other wise some regions will have a lot of players who are good enough but wont get selected for their teams because there are already better ones playing, so they can move to Balochistan region or other regions who might not have as much local talent coming through at the moment.

However, I think this structure will really help in the development of cricket in every province and region as each of the regions will be operating under as separate body.

I like the structure you have mentioned as well, lets see how they go about it.

 

[silent ischemia]

This idea can work with 8 teams

AJK and Fata don’t deserve separate teams. Even Bolachistan team would be pretty weak

1)South Punjab
2)Central Punjab
3)Pothar Punjab
4)Urban Sindh- Karachi to Hydrebad
5) Rural Sindh- Rest of Sindh
6)Balochistan
7)KPK(minus Hazara division)
8)Hazara division+ Islamabad+G&B +A&K

This is the best solution

Again Baluchistan will be very weak. Maybe rural Sindh/South Punjab can be added to them.

 

[Artaxerxes]

This idea can work with 8 teams

AJK and Fata don’t deserve separate teams. Even Bolachistan team would be pretty weak

1)South Punjab
2)Central Punjab
3)Pothar Punjab
4)Urban Sindh- Karachi to Hydrebad
5) Rural Sindh- Rest of Sindh
6)Balochistan
7)KPK(minus Hazara division)
8)Hazara division+ Islamabad+G&B +A&K

This is the best solution

I was going to suggest a similar setup.Let us hope PCB does't dither and change the domestic system asap.

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

I just want this horrible draft system to end. It has killed all the fun of regional rivalry.

 

[Rathore]

Will there be any relegation/ promotion system? because if there is no relegation n promotion than there is no reason for teams to improve. It will be like changing names of the teams of current set up.

 

[aloo paratha]

I don't know much about Pakistan domestic cricket, but is it not possible to have a format with only 4-6 teams as first class cricket, then have each district have a proper grade 2 tournament within their region which they pick players from? For example one of the first class teams is Sindh, but in the grade 2 system there's a team for Karachi and other cities in Sindh from which players are selected to represent them?

 

[hussain.r97]

Good proposal, but I think they should either:

A.) Allow players to play for different regions.

OR

B.) Include teams like South Punjab, Hazara Division, North Punjab.

If you just have 5-6 teams based on provinces and territories, then Punjab will always dominate the competition due to the sheer size of Punjab. Gotta find a way to make it competitive.

In my opinion, it should be 8 teams.

Potohar
Punjab
South Punjab
Sindh
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Hazara
Balochistan
AJK + GB + Islamabad (Federal Territories?)

This would make it competitive with roughly equal teams. The weakest side will be Balochistan, but it's important to have a team for them to keep them in the fold.

 

[MMHS]

Good proposal, but I think they should either:

A.) Allow players to play for different regions.

OR

B.) Include teams like South Punjab, Hazara Division, North Punjab.

If you just have 5-6 teams based on provinces and territories, then Punjab will always dominate the competition due to the sheer size of Punjab. Gotta find a way to make it competitive.

In my opinion, it should be 8 teams.

Potohar
Punjab
South Punjab
Sindh
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Hazara
Balochistan
AJK + GB + Islamabad (Federal Territories?)

This would make it competitive with roughly equal teams. The weakest side will be Balochistan, but it's important to have a team for them to keep them in the fold.

This is a problem that’ll exist no matter how you split the country, because talent (or facilities) are not equally distributed across the county. Take Australia- half of their too players come from NSW even now. Same can be said for Mumbai, Barbados, Transvaal (old, now probably they have splited it into 3-4 provinces), Surrey, Yorkshire ....

The idea is to filter best 100 players of the country and make them compete among themselves- regional names are just to create a home & away culture. What they’ll need is to assign a “home domicile” for every player based on some criteria (birth state, residency...), then award a sort of central contract for top 100 players. Then each State/Provincial squad picks their choice of 15 players from the list based on “home”. Obviously, out of those 100, initially at least 50 will come from Punjab in proper merit, while may be just 1-2 from Baluchistan. Punjab team will pick their 16, then issue a NOC for their other players, who are open to represent any other 5 teams, with a bit of protection for that team (to retain the player for a certain period/years if he becomes a star in future - that’s Punjab won’t be allowed to call that player (s) very next season if he is successful in current season. This can be done by giving long term contract to the player as well by his adopted state).

This doesn’t always mean that best talents will be filtered by top 2-3 states only, because weaker State teams provide a better opportunity for younger players, who can be future stars. For example, Adam Gilchrist, Allen Border, were born in NSW, but they moved to WA & Queensland at younger age for a better opportunity, while Damien Martin is born in Northern Territory - he had options for all 6 state teams, joined WA. In India, many, many players from Mumbai & Delhi has moved to lesser teams and made a career out of it. Arun Lal, Ashok Malhotra, Rohan Gavaskar and few others have made India team after representing Bengal in Ranji trophy, when they won’t have made it to Mumbai or Delhi Ranji squad initially.

6 teams are just to make sure that at the top, competition is extremely high.

 

[last_knight]

6 teams is good enough.
Should they allow overseas player, 2 in squad and 1 (optional) in playing XI.
Capped/Uncapped players from SL/BD/WI will add to competition. Or some retired players like Ian Bell.

 

[MMHS]

6 teams is good enough.
Should they allow overseas player, 2 in squad and 1 (optional) in playing XI.
Capped/Uncapped players from SL/BD/WI will add to competition. Or some retired players like Ian Bell.

In olden days, there was a culture of “player-Manager” in club soccer or county cricket. Players like Ian Bell, Jimmie Anderson, Rangana Herath, Imran Tahir, Watson, Sangakara ... are fantastic prospect for such roles, but might not be affordable, neither interested to stay in PAK. No point bringing Dinesh Ramdhins as foreign player....