KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani has said that special talent hunt teams would be visiting rural areas of Sindh to select under 13 and under 16 players to induct them in the Pakistan Super League and international matches in the future and will also consider holding PSL matches in Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad from next year.

This was agreed by the PCB chief during his meeting with Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah at the CM House here on Thursday along with his delegation to discuss final arrangements for the PSL matches commencing in the city from March 9-17.

The chief minister complained that the PCB has not been making efforts to hunt the talent in rural areas in Sindh, the PCB chief as well as the General Manager National Stadium said that they would send their special teams to rural areas of the province to select young players.

Mani also agreed to work together with the chief minister to bring international cricket matches to Karachi and the CM showed his willingness to create conducive environment in the city for international matches as per SOP of international cricket .

Reviewing the arrangements for the upcoming PSL events in the city the chief minister said: “There will be foolproof security arrangements for the players and matches in the city and I am sure next time you will bring all PSL matches to Karachi.” The CM further said that he has constituted a committee with Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani as chairman, Home Secretary Kazi Kabir and Commissioner Karachi Iftikhar Shahlwani as its members.

Mani vows to carry out talent hunt throughout Sindh province

“They have worked day and night to make all the arrangements from carpeting of the roads, improvement of drainage system, provision of water, security plan, arrangements at the stadium and finalizing routes from airport to hotels and hotels to stadium. “Your [PCB] team also worked with the committee and now everything is upto the mark,” he said.

Appreciating the efforts of the CM, PCB chief Mani admitted that had the chief minister not taken his personal interest, the PSL would not have returned to Karachi even last year. “This is your unflinching support, cooperation and efforts which boosted our confidence in Sindh government that we have managed to bring brought eight mtches instead of five to the city,” he told the chief minister.

The chief minister said that last year when PSL matches were held here he had made his personal efforts to make it possible but after that event PCB did not return to him for evolving future strategy to return international cricket and PSL matches, he deplored and added he wanted to hold at least one match in Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad, this year.

The chairman PCB vowed to hold a PSL match in Hyderabad next year. “We will work together and plan the future matches just let this event over,” he said. CM Shah disclosed that after PSL , he and Chairman PCB would visit Niaz Stadium along with concerned experts so that all the requirements for international matches in the stadium could be revamped.

Murad Ali Shah urged the Chairman PCB to bring international cricket matches to Karachi: “I’ll support you whatever the PCB will need,” he said

The meeting was attended by Local Government Minister Saeed Ghani, Advisor to CM Murtaza Wahab, Home Secretary Kazi kabir and Commissioner arachi Iftikhar Shallwani. The other with the PCB chairman were Sr General Manager National Stadium Arshad Khan and Director International Cricket operation Zakir Khan.—Agencies

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2019