PCB's newly appointed administration scraps Pakistan Junior League

Pakistan Cricket Board's newly appointed administration under the leadership of Najam Sethi has scrapped the Pakistan Junior League which was the brainchild of the recently sacked PCB chairman Ramiz Raja.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) held its second meeting with the newly formed 14-member management committee on Saturday (December 31). Najam Sethi chaired the meeting to discuss various domestic issues in Pakistan cricket and concluded the meeting with some big changes. 

The decision to terminate the Pakistan Junior League (PJL) is one of the biggest decisions that emerged out of the meeting. PJL was formed by Ramiz Raja but reportedly, the league endured heavy financial losses. PJL's first edition, a two-week tournament, was played from October 6 to 21, 2022. 

However, the PCB management committee confirmed that they will focus on reviving the junior series with a home-and-away based structure. To ensure the growth of youngsters, PCB also stated that it will hold discussions with Pakistan Super League (PSL) to include the Under-19 cricketers under their Emerging categories in their playing XI.

"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," PCB said in its official statement.

In another discussion, the PCB management committee also agreed on the restoration of the Regional and District Cricket Associations and Departments/Service Organisations in line with the PCB Constitution 2014. The Regional and District Associations will be part of the domestic cricket structure and PCB Board of Governors in due course.

The committee also agreed on honoring and fulfilling the domestic player's contracts, which are valid until August 2023. The management committee also approved the constitution of the following 12 PCB committees.

Following committees will be constituted:

Domestic Restructuring Committee, Domestic Restoration Committee for Region, Department Cricket Restoration Committee, NHPC Remodeling Committee, Restructuring of Women’s Cricket Committee, Cricket Infrastructure Committee, Audit Committee, Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee, Human Resource Committee, Legal Affairs Committee, National Selection Committees and Benevolent Fund Committee