Share and Follow
The PCB’s new leadership has decided to discontinue the Pakistan Junior League (PJL) in favour of “reviving junior series on a home and away basis.” The decision to end the league was made during the PCB’s managing committee meeting on Saturday, which was attended by Najam Sethi, the new leadership group that took over for Ramiz Raja as PCB chairman. The league was Ramiz’s idea, but after suffering severe losses in its inaugural season, its survival was never clear. The first edition of the two-week competition, a T20 league for Under-19 players from all around the world, ran from October 6 to October 21, 2022.
The PCB Management Committee agreed to discontinue the Pakistan Junior League. However, to ensure there is a pathway for high-performing teenagers and the country continues to produce talented cricketers across all age gaps, it was agreed to revive junior series on a home-and-away basis. It was also agreed to hold discussions with the HBL Pakistan Super League franchises to include an Under-19 player under their Emerging Categories in the playing line-ups”, a PCB statement said.
Read more: All you need to know about the ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup
Read Related Also: T20 records and stats at Optus stadium aratorS
Why did the league not work out?
Ramiz signed an MoU with a business for the commercial and management rights of the PJL a week prior to his removal from office; the agreement was for 20 years and was worth PKR 55.5 million annually. Last week, the Pakistani federal government dismissed Ramiz and his Board and annulled the 2019 constitution that the PCB had been functioning under. Now, a Sethi-led 14-member management committee has been given full executive authority and tasked with overhauling procedures to comply with the 2014 PCB constitution’s standards.
When the PJL was first launched, there were big hopes to base it on a franchise model, but bidder participation fell far short of what the board had hoped for. Due to this, the PCB was compelled to cover the costs of assembling and managing the teams on its own. Later, title sponsorship and other commercial tenders too fell short of securing lucrative contracts. The PCB under Ramiz chose to proceed with the league despite the lack of consumer interest, describing it as a strategic choice.
