Haroon Rasheed blames Imran Khan for Pakistan cricket's downfall, says domestic structure revamp ‘didn't work out’

Pakistan cricket has endured a difficult few years, with the team failing to reach the semi-finals of the last four ICC tournaments, including the ODI and T20 World Cups. Former Pakistan chief selector and head coach Haroon Rasheed has now blamed a major change to the country's domestic cricket structure during Imran Khan's tenure as Prime Minister for the decline.

Imran, who led Pakistan to their only ODI World Cup title in 1992, became the country's Prime Minister after his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party won the 2018 general elections. Soon after taking charge, he ordered a major revamp of Pakistan's domestic cricket structure, reducing the number of first-class teams to six, taking inspiration from the Australian model.

Haroon, who was part of a task force formed to study the domestic structure during Imran's tenure, revealed that the former Pakistan captain had rejected a hybrid model proposed by the group.

"I was part of the cricket board and task force, and I remember when we met with Imran, we submitted a hybrid domestic cricket model. But he rejected it outright," Haroon said on a podcast on the 'Smash It' sports channel.

Haroon worked with the PCB until 2020 in several capacities, including chief selector, selector, head coach, head of high performance and development, and team manager. According to him, the task force had suggested retaining departmental teams while gradually reducing the number of domestic sides.

"How much time do you think a Prime Minister can give? We were ordered to submit a revised domestic cricket plan, and we did that, and it was a hybrid one," Haroon said.

Haroon says Imran wanted just five to six domestic teams

Haroon recalled that the task force had initially suggested a structure involving eight teams, while also allowing departmental sides to remain part of domestic cricket. However, Imran reportedly wanted to reduce the number of teams further.

“I remember we told Imran that the hybrid model was best for our cricket, as while we had reduced teams to eight, we had kept the participation of departmental teams in domestic cricket,” said Haroon.

“But Imran, in his short meeting with us, rejected the hybrid model and said he didn't want eight but a maximum of five to six teams in the domestic structure. We told him it would be better to gradually switch to a new domestic structure, but eventually, you have to listen to the Prime Minister. He might have meant well, but it didn't work out for Pakistan cricket,” he added.

Imran was removed as Pakistan's Prime Minister in 2022 and is currently incarcerated in Adiala Jail while facing multiple cases.

Pakistan's domestic cricket structure has continued to remain a subject of debate, particularly amid the national team's inconsistent performances. Most recently, the PCB sent seven players back from the UK following Pakistan's heavy defeats in the first two Tests against England.

Haroon compares Pakistan's domestic structure with India's

Haroon also pointed to India's domestic cricket system while explaining why the country has emerged as a major force in international cricket. He argued that the success of Indian cricket cannot be attributed to the IPL alone, highlighting the depth provided by the country's traditional domestic tournaments.

“People talk about the IPL but forget that in India they still have the Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Vijay Hazare trophy and their state-level associations are independent and have their own regular domestic events at club level,” said Haroon.

According to the former PCB official, Pakistan needs to move away from a highly centralised system and give regional associations and departments greater autonomy.

“In Pakistan, now all powers are with the PCB, which needs to decentralise power and give more independence to regional associations and departments as was the case in the past,” he concluded.