The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan national cricket team. A member of the International Cricket Council since 1952, it represents the country's national teams for men's and women's in the international cricket tournaments playing under the ICC.[2]
Following the establishment of Pakistan as an independent dominion of the British Empire in 1947, professional and amateur cricket commenced in the same year, seeing as local infrastructure had already been established when the country was part of the British Raj. Cricket matches were arranged informally until 1948, when a Board of Control was formally instituted. Pakistan was admitted to the Imperial Cricket Conference (currently known as International Cricket Council) in July 1952, and has since been a full member, playing Test cricket. The team's first Test series took place in India between October and December 1952.
Inaugural Board of Control
The Pakistan Cricket Board was inaugurated on 1 May 1949 as the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP).[3] The first meeting, held in the committee rooms of Lahore Gymkhana, saw HE The Nawab of Mamdot made president and chairman, with Justice A. R. Cornelius as one of three vice-Presidents. The following year Cornelius became chairman of the working committee, until he relinquished his connection with the board in early 1953.
The working chairman was always one of the three vice-presidents. In April 1957 Ayub Khan imposed three more new vice-presidents (himself being one of them). Then between December 1958 and September 1969 the post of vice-president disappeared.
Committees
The response to turmoil within the board has on four occasions been to suspend the rules and appoint an ad hoc committee. The first ad hoc committee was appointed in September 1960 and did not disband until May 1963 having created a new constitution. The President of Pakistan would now nominate the board president who would in turn nominate the other members of the Executive Committee to sit for a period of three years. Representatives of the four provincial cricket associations and Government departments formed the Executive Committee.
The BCCP was re-organised in the 1970s and was headed by former cricketers, professional administrators and trustees, who were often businessmen.[4] In November 1976 players' demands for increased salaries reached a crisis and the Pakistan Sports Board took over running the B.C.C.P.'s affairs. Long-serving president, the formidable Kardar, was in the thick of the dispute. The revolt against Kardar forced him to resign in May 1977 and led to a new Ad Hoc Committee replacing the Board Council in 1978 running Pakistan cricket and again changing the constitution. Provincial Cricket Associations were eliminated and divisional and city CAs became members, giving most of the influence to the city Cricket Association of Lahore and Karachi.
The Board now governed a network of teams sponsored by corporations and banks, city associations and clubs.[4] There is no province-based official team type organisation of domestic cricket in Pakistan and Lahore and Karachi cities are the two top tiers of all cricket, including reservoirs of fresh talent.[5][4]
Pakistan cricket was involved by dissension and controversies over the national team's poor performance during the tour of India and a public uproar forced the end of the Ad Hoc Committee.[4] The chairman and team captain Asif Iqbal had to step down.[6] Air Marshal Nur Khan now became chairman and he saw the banks and other organisations increase their participation on the Board Council in the face of protests from the zonal organisations.
A third ad hoc committee under Javed Burki took charge of BCCP affairs in January 1994 and made a new constitution including giving a new name, the Pakistan Cricket Board (P.C.B.) It introduced a chairman and chief executive.
After taking heavy criticism on the grounds of corruption and match fixing, the Board was taken over by a fourth Ad Hoc Committee formed on 17 July 1999 which remains in place despite undertakings from Musharraf to bring it to an end. The Pakistan Cricket Board re-emerged by taking the initiative to sponsor the hugely successful 2004 tour of Pakistan by their rivals India. The Pakistan Cricket Board has competed and has associated itself with the Twenty20 cricket form and has also proven popular and hopes to similarly revive popular interest in domestic games. However, Pakistan's early exit from the 2007 World Cup cast a shadow and later Dr. Nasim Ashraf's resigned at the end of 2008.
Ejaz Butt was named the PCB Chairman in October 2008. Zaka Ashraf took over from Butt in October 2011.[7][8]
On 28 May 2013, Zaka Ashraf was suspended as PCB Chairman by Islamabad High Court due to a dubious election. The newly sworn in Government of Nawaz Sharif named Najam Sethi as acting PCB Chairman.[9] On 15 October 2013, the governing council of the Pakistan Cricket Board was dissolved by the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, and an interim five man management committee was named consisting of acting chairman Najam Sethi‚ Shahryar Khan, two former players (Zaheer Abbas and Haroon Rasheed, and former team manager Naveed Cheema.[10]
On 15 January 2014, Zaka Ashraf was reinstated as PCB Chairman. The PML-N Government was unhappy with the reinstatement (since Ashraf was a PPP appointee), and this led to Ashraf's sacking. In February, PCB Governing Board was dissolved and an eight-member management committee (comprising Shakil Sheikh, Shaharyar Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Iqbal Qasim, Naveed Akram Cheema, Yusaf Naseem Khokar and Faridullah Khan, the secretary IPC). Najam Sethi was elected as chairman by the management committee.[11]
Domestic Cricket
Regional Domestic Tournaments (Men)
The main regional domestic cricket tournaments in Pakistan are competed by six elite regional teams with the cricket season starting in October and concluding in March. These elite tournaments are:
- Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (First Class): Duration two to three months.
- Pakistan Cup (List A): Duration one month.
- National T20 Cup (T20): Duration one month.
A second XI tournament occurs in parallel for each of the three main tournaments noted above.
In addition, the following tournaments occur:
- National U-19 Championship (3-Day)
- National U-19 Cup (1-Day)
- National U-16 Cup (1-Day)
- National U-13 Cup (1-Day)
- City Cricket Association Tournaments
- Various School/Club Tournaments
Regional Domestic Teams
As of 2019, domestic cricket in Pakistan was reorganised into six regional teams (on provincial lines). A three tier bottom-up system[12] is in operation with the Tier 1 teams participating in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (First Class), Pakistan Cup (List A) and National T20 Cup (Regional T20). The Tier 2 teams participate in the City Cricket Association Tournament whilst the Tier 3 teams participate in various local tournaments as both tiers feed players to the Tier 1 team.
- Central Punjab Cricket: Representing Northern and Central Parts of Punjab Province.
- Tier 1: Central Punjab
- Tier 2: Lahore (East), Lahore (West), Lahore (North), Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Sialkot, Narowal, Hafizabad, Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Mianwali, Jhang & Bhakkar.
- Tier 3: Various Clubs & Schools.
- Tier 1: Central Punjab
- Southern Punjab Cricket: Representing Southern Part of Punjab Province.
- Tier 1: Southern Punjab
- Tier 2: Sahiwal, Lodhran, Okara, Multan, Vehari, Khanewal, D.G.Khan, Bahawalnagar, R.Y.Khan, Layyah, Pakpattan, Muzaffargarh, Bahawalpur & Layyah.
- Tier 3: Various Clubs & Schools.
- Tier 1: Southern Punjab
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Cricket: Representing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.
- Tier 1: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Tier 2: Peshawar, Nowshehra, Charsadda, Swat, Lower Dir, Mardan, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Swabi, Upper Dir, Buner, Khyber, Mamond, Kohat, Kurram, D.I.Khan, Bannu & Mohmand.
- Tier 3: Various Clubs & Schools.
- Tier 1: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Northern Cricket: Representing Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir.
- Tier 1: Northern
- Tier 2: Rawalpindi, Attock, Jhelum, Chakwal, Muzaffarabad, Kotli, Islamabad, Mirpur, Gilgit-Baltistan, Poonch & Bagh.
- Tier 3: Various Clubs & Schools.
- Tier 1: Northern
- Sindh Cricket: Representing Sindh Province.
- Tier 1: Sindh
- Tier 2: Karachi (Zone I), Karachi (Zone II), Karachi (Zone III), Karachi (Zone IV), Karachi (Zone V), Karachi (Zone VI), Karachi (Zone VII), Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Mirpur Khas, Badin, Sanghar, Sukkur, Shikarpur, Khairpur, Larkana & Benazirabad.
- Tier 3: Various Clubs & Schools.
- Tier 1: Sindh
- Balochistan Cricket: Representing Balochistan Province.
- Tier 1: Balochistan
- Tier 2: Quetta, Pishin, Sibi, Noshki, Killa Abdullah, Naseerabad, Loralai, Gwadar, Panjgur, Turbat, Khuzdar, Jaffarabad & Lasbela.
- Tier 3: Various Clubs & Schools.
- Tier 1: Balochistan
Franchise Domestic Tournaments (Men)
The main franchise domestic cricket tournaments in Pakistan are:
- Pakistan Super League (City-Based Franchise T20): Duration one month.
- Kashmir Premier League (Pakistan) (Franchise T20): Duration two weeks.
Pakistan Super League (PSL) Teams
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) (City-Based Franchise T20) was planned in 2015 with its inaugural season in 2016.[13] The initial set up consisted of five city-based franchises with a sixth team added in 2018.
Kashmir Premier League (KPL) Teams
The Kashmir Premier League (KPL) (Franchise T20) was launched in 2021 and is competed between six franchise teams representing Azad Jammu & Kashmir in Pakistan:
Domestic Tournaments (Women)
The women domestic cricket tournaments take place between three teams. The main tournaments are:
- National Triangular One-Day Women Cricket Championship: Duration one month.
- National Triangular T20 Women's Cricket Championship: Duration one month.
Domestic Teams
- PCB Challengers
- PCB Dynamites
- PCB Blasters
Controversies
The board is known to have constant rifts and conflicts with Pakistani player Shahid Afridi.
In 2011, Shahid Afridi announced he would retire and also resign as ODI captain. He said the PCB had mistreated him. He went on-record to say that the board was "dishonourable" and that he would "not play under this board" because it "doesn't respect its players". The PCB then announced that for Afridi to announce his retirement like that was a breach of his contract and he had 7 days to re-think his decision and reply. However, he insisted that he would not return until the board was replaced, which led to the PCB suspending his contract and fining him 4.5 million rupees ($52,300).[14] Afridi's no-objection certificate (NOC) was also revoked, preventing him from playing for Hampshire. He filed a petition to overturn the sanctions but withdrew it in June from an out-of-court settlement with the PCB where they agreed to sign off his NOC. Afridi's ask for the replacement of the board was also soon partly completed when Ijaz Butt was replaced as PCB chairman, which prompted him to come out of retirement. Even after he came back, PCB highlighted that Afridi did not apologise.
In March 2016, Pakistan was eliminated from the 2016 ICC World Twenty20 after losing to India, New Zealand and Australia. Many were left disappointed after this and the PCB announced they would take action.[15] There were initial talks that Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal could face a potential 2-year ban following their poor performance but this was not verified.[16] However, the focus was on Waqar Younis and Shahid Afridi. The highlight of this was that Waqar Younis had written up a 6-page report on recommendations along with discreet reasons he though contributed to the failure. However, the PCB were accused of leaking this report to the media, where all details were publicised, particularly popularising the fact Waqar thought it was Afridi's fault.[17] The PCB then refused to meet with Younis, confirming to most that they were responsible in leaking the files. Younis announced his resignation due to this just after Afridi resigned as T20 captain in April 2016. He said the PCB's actions were a disgrace.[18] The PCB apologised to Waqar Younis for the leak on 6 April 2016.[19]
In September 2016, PCB leaked plans and rumours that Shahid Afridi was either being left out of the new 2-year contract or retiring out of choice. Afridi released a statement saying it was unfair for them to do so.[20] He then asked for a farewell match, saying it was his right. However, PCB members said he cancelled a meeting about the issue and wanted him to have his farewell match but that he hadn't contacted them.[21]
Governance of Pakistan cricket
- Presidents and Chairmen of Pakistan Cricket Board:
- Secretary:
- Bashir Ahmad 1965–1971
- Dr Zafar Altaf 1972–1975
- Khalid Mahmood 1975–1976
- Lt Col Zafar Ahmad 1977–1978
- Lt Col (Retd) Rafi Nasim 1978–1980
- Zulfiqar Ahmad 1986
- Muhammad Ijaz Butt 1986–1988
- Arif Ali Khan Abbasi 1988–1991
- Shahid Rafi 1991–1994
- Ghulam Mustafa Khan 1995–1997
- Waqar Ahmad 1997–1999
- Shafqat Rana 1999–2000
- Chief executive officers and directors:
- Arif Ali Khan Abbasi 1995–1996
- Majid Khan 1996–1999
- Yawar Saeed 1999–2000
- Brig Munawar Ahmad Rana 2000–2002
- Chishti Mujahid 2002–2003
- Ramiz Hasan Raja 2003–2004
- Abbas Zaidi 2004–2006
- Chief operating officers:
- Shafqat Hussain Naghmi 2007–2008
- Salim Altaf 2008–2009
- Wasim Bari 2009–2010
- Subhan Ahmed 2010–2018
- Wasim Khan 2018–Present
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