THE PREMISE
July 14th, 2024
Following Pakistan's disastrous campaign in the
2023 ICC Cricket World Cup, where they suffered five defeats and managed to win only four games, and an equally embarrassing
2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup tournament in which they lost to Ireland and Zimbabwe, and only managed to beat Namibia, UAE and Nepal, the
Pakistan Cricket Board decided to overhaul the domestic setup entirely and introduced new associations to oversee the development of cricket in their respective regions.
August 4th, 2024
In a press conference held outside the Gaddafi Stadium, the Pakistan Cricket Board outlined the domestic itinerary for the 2024-25 season, and onwards. PCB confirmed the ten new regional cricketing bodies established to govern the sport under PCB's umbrella, but with complete autonomy over their respective regions. As the three most populous cities, ergo cities with the largest pool of active professional cricketers, Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar were separated from their provinces and allowed to establish city-only cricket associations, although Peshawar reaffirmed their desires to have their side represent the larger Peshawar Division and not just Peshawar city.
Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh were three of the four provinces allowed provincial cricket associations, while Punjab, the most populous province of the country, was split into two bodies representing the Central and the Janoob (South) of Punjab. Holding special status as the Capital Territory, Islamabad alongside all of its bordering cities (most notably Rawalpindi) were also allowed a separate cricketing entity governing the sport in the Federal Territory of the country. For the first time in Pakistan cricket history, Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan were incorporated into the Pakistan Cricket Board as an autonomous body and formed the tenth and final body.
In their briefing, the PCB also confirmed the formation of the new
Pepsi Cup tournament to replace the Pakistan Cup as a direct response to Pakistan's abysmal ODI World Cup campaign in India, with greater financial investment in the the nation's top-tier one-day competition promising a higher calibre of breeding ground for Pakistan's cricketers. In their briefing, they also confirmed the return of the famous
Faysal Bank T20, one of the world's oldest T20 tournaments, as a prelude to the PSL.
As largely reported, Pakistan Cricket Board also confirmed that
HBL Pakistan Super League would be moving its designated window in the international calendar to clash with the IPL, largely due to the ICC Champions Trophy event that is due to be held in the country early next year. Although, Pakistan's decision to have the PSL be played in the months of April and May seems permanent, especially with the reintroduction of the Faysal Bank T20 taking up PSL's old window in the month of February.
August 18th, 2024
The Pakistan Cricket Board issued a media release revealing the itinerary of the 2024/25 Pakistan domestic season. In it, they revealed the country's oldest cricket competition, the
Quaid-E-Azam Trophy would run from September 5 through to November 17. In it, all ten teams would play each other once, and the team with the most points at the end of the season would be crowned Quaid-E-Azam Trophy winners. Similarly, the Pepsi Cup, scheduled to begin on the 1st of December (two weeks after QET's conclusion) would be played in an identical single round-robin format, but with the added twist of the playoffs determining the champions of the Pepsi cup.
Pakistan's domestic season will come to a standstill following the Pepsi Cup, with the country staging its first ICC event in nearly 30 years. The ICC Champions Trophy will be played in February and March, and it will be followed by Faysal Bank T20 (the dates of which are currently unknown), with the PSL in April and May capping off Pakistan's 2024/25 home season. Sandwiched in between these tournaments are several home and away bilateral tours which will no doubt help the Pakistani side help prepare for the Champions Trophy better, as they look to brush off the disappointments from their last two ICC events in front of a re-alivened home crowd.
