KARACHI: PCB chief Shaharyar M. Khan has explicitly acknowledged that the standard of domestic cricket in the country seriously lacks in quality.

“Our domestic game is not developing high-quality players. A massive quantity of first-class games featuring too many cricketers are held across the country every season, a scenario which has negatively affected the quality of players our system has been producing,” the PCB chairman said while talking to reporters here at the National Stadium on Friday.

“To address this problem, we would look to reduce the number of competing teams after raising this issue in the Board of Governors meeting later this month,” he said, adding that measures to develop grass-roots cricket, school cricket and women’s cricket would also come under discussion.

Commenting on Karachi, a major centre, Shaharyar vowed to bring significant cricketing improvement in the mega city.

“We have to lift the game here in Karachi and we are taking a number of steps in this regard. Construction of the regional academy here [at the National Stadium] is in progress, and will be completed in within two months. Then we are constructing an extra first-class ground here.

“As regards international cricket, we’ll include Karachi as a host city again. And considering the changing safety and security requirements, we are planning to build a five-star hotel [in the vicinity of the match venue] which will accommodate the visiting teams,” he said.

Commenting on the steps being taken to improve the game across Sindh, Shaharyar said former Test cricketer and chief selector Salahuddin Ahmed Sallu (now adviser to PCB chief in southern region), who accompanied the PCB chief at the presser, had been given the task of looking after the areas requiring uplift.

“Salahuddin sahab visited Sukkur, Larkana, Dadu, Mir­purkhas and other areas of Sindh, and [through this] we came to know the problems faced by the game and the players there. We are working to solve those problems.”

Shaharyar pin-pointed three regions of the country that required added attention. “Balochistan, Azad Kashmir and Fata; these are the three regions where we need to work more; there is loads of talent in these areas but to utilise that we are planning to build grounds, appoint coaches and provide proper cricket facilities and equipment,” he said. “Soon, I’ll visit Balochistan myself to get direct knowledge of their cricket-related issues.”

Insisting physical fitness among players needs to be developed at the earlier stage, Shaharyar said: “We have U-16 players getting training here in Karachi, and my emphasis to them would be to maintain fitness form this age. Only talent would not give them success at the higher level.”

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2015

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