Lahore, July 7 The Pakistan Cricket Board has come under fire for denying the country's top teams a direct entry into Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, their premier first-class tournament.
Many people have criticised the PCB for denying a direct entry to 21-time former champions Karachi, terming it an injustice to the metropolitan city of 25 million, according to a report in Telecom Asia Sport (www.telecomasia.net)
The PCB on Monday announced the schedule of the 2025-26 domestic season, reducing the teams from 18 to eight in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, with six top teams from the last season getting direct entry and two qualifying from a non-first-class tournament.
“We have recorded our protest in the form of a dissent note during the meeting, as excluding Karachi is a huge injustice to the biggest nursery of the game in the country,” Karachi Region President Nadeem Omar was quoted as saying by www.telecomasia.net.
Former Pakistan batter Kamran Akmal also called for PCB to review its decision.
“Leaving out Karachi from the premier tournament makes no sense, and it will be a big, big deprivation for the talented players from the city. I have been to Karachi most of the last two years and have seen good talent in the city,” he said.
PCB said the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will feature Lahore Region Whites, Sialkot, Peshawar, Islamabad, Abbottabad, Bahawalpur, and the two qualifying teams. The tournament is set to begin on September 22 and will comprise 29 matches in a single-league format.
Other than Karachi, major cricket centres like Multan, Rawalpindi, and Faisalabad have also not been given direct qualification, the report said.
Omar said had the PCB had warned teams before the last season that the field would be shortened, then they would have fared better.
Pakistan’s domestic season has been frequently changed in the last two decades. The 2018-19 season had 16 teams – eight from commercial departments and as many from cities. But former Prime Minister Imran Khan – also a former Pakistan captain – ordered the closure of teams managed by commercial departments and told the board to confine the event to six teams.
Pakistan’s domestic system comes under consistent flak from former players and media as it does not produce quality players. The top performers of the domestic season struggle at the international level, which is the main reason for a slump in Pakistan’s performances in all formats in the last three years.
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