LAHORE: While the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is gearing up to announce the interim-body of the six newly introduced provincial cricket associations after almost one year of bringing in the new PCB constitution, former cricket organisers have started acting on the plan of agitation against the constitution, consequently organising the first protest in Sialkot on Monday, according to reports received here.

The protest, organised by clubs and cricketers of the district Sialkot and the participants, carrying the banners inscribed with different slogans, demanded the resignation of PCB Chief Executive Wasim Khan.

They said cricket had been destroyed due to ill planning of the PCB both at club and district level. And all the districts of Pakistan now plan on coming out turn-by-turn in protest.

Meanwhile, former president of Sialkot District Cricket Association Zulfiqar Malik, joining the voice of the protesters, said that no club would accept the new PCB constitution and a rigorous campaign would be launched against it.

The protestors also have reservations over the composition of the members of the new Board of Governors, declaring them as non-democratic. They said since only three members, out of 11, of the BoG would be chosen from the six provincial cricket associations, the process could not be declared democratic.

Meanwhile, the former cricket organisers also raised concerns about the PCB’s handling of trials for Under-19. They said two days were not enough to check the full talent. They questioned how a selector could check approximately 2500 cricketers at each centre in two days.

Prominent personalities who attended the protest included the likes of former general secretaries of Sialkot District Cricket Association Sheikh Salim, Faisal Khurshid, Adnan Shirazi, ex-treasurer of the district cricket Rafi, Under-19 coach Shahid Jutt, former coach and member of the selection committee of the district Javed Shah and many others.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2020