Najam Sethi chaired the third meeting of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s Management Committee on Monday.

The Management Committee was informed that19 departments, which featured in the PCB Domestic Season 2018-19, have confirmed their participation in the PCB Domestic Season 2023-24. These are: Ahmed Glass, Ghani Glass, Haider Traders, HEC, Income Tax, Khayaban-e-Amin, KRL, Navy, NBP, ODGCL, PAF, Pak Saudi International, Pakistan Customs, PTV, Sabir's Poultry, SNGPL, SSGC, State Bank of Pakistan and WAPDA. In addition, 12 new departments have applied for registration with the PCB, which are: 505 Clothing, Aryan Marketing Services, Commoners' Development (Pvt) Ltd, Defence & Strategic Ventures (DSV), Eshaal Association, JDW Sugar Mills Ltd, K&H Traders, NICON Group of Colleges, Pak PWD, Punjab Police, Rahat & Shuja Impex and RMS Global Corp.

The Management Committee approved the upcoming youth cricket tours, which will see Pakistan U19 touring Bangladesh in May for a four-dayer, five 50-over matches and one T20, and Pakistan Shaheens visiting Zimbabwe for a series of four-dayers and 50-over matches. The Management Committee was also informed an ACC Emerging Cup was scheduled in Sri Lanka in June/July. Further details on these tours will be shared in due course.

The PCB Management Committee applauded the PCB on the resounding success of the HBL PSL 8 to date, which has attracted full houses in Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi, and nearly 70 per cent crowd turnout in Karachi. The Committee was briefed that the event had earned a reported TRP of 11, which in broadcast terms is rated as excellent and outstanding, while the available digital numbers were unprecedented. The Management Committee appreciated the quality of cricket played in the tournament and congratulated the curators for preparing typical T20 pitches that allowed the spectators to thoroughly enjoy the matches and also stretch the players to their limits.

The PCB Management Committee was briefed on the three Women’s League exhibition matches in Rawalpindi, which were participated by 10 players from seven countries, and proved to be an overwhelming success. Amazons beat Super Women by 2-1, but more importantly, the foreign and local players expressed their delight on the playing facilities, arrangements, hospitality and series promotion. The foreign players also showed tremendous interest in participating in the Pakistan Women’s League. The Committee was informed the PCB was working on the structure and composition of the women’s league after incredible interest from the potential buyers and event hosts, including from abroad.

The PCB Management Committee was informed age-group cricket commenced across the country on 12 March with U13 and U16 inter-region matches taking place in Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Islamabad, Karachi, Rawalpindi and Sheikhupura. The events started after more than 40,000 children participated in the initial open trials, while the players were selected following age verification and wrist testing, which was outsourced, thus, making the selection process more transparent and open.

There was a discussion on the ACC Asia Cup and participation in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 and various options were explored. Chair of the PCB Management Committee, Mr Najam Sethi, will attend the ICC meetings from 18-20 March and the ACC Executive Council later in Dubai.

The Tournament Evaluation Committee to assess, review and approve event requests from private organisers/entrepreneurs was confirmed. The committee comprises: Mr Najam Sethi (Chair, PCB Management Committee), Mr Shakil Sheikh (Chair of Domestic Committee), Mr Haroon Rashid (Chair of Selection Committee), along with members from the PCB Domestic, Commercial and Anti-Corruption/Security Departments.

The Management Committee discussed and agreed on the procedure to appoint four regional and four departmental representatives to the Members of the Board Governors in line with the mechanism provided in the PCB Constitution 2014. It was also agreed the PCB will support and facilitate the regional and district cricket associations in progressively setting up their offices.

The PCB reverted the nomenclature of the National High Performance Centre to its original name, National Cricket Academy, on the recommendation of the Management Committee.