LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) domestic cricket department has decided to issue show-cause notices to former Test bowler and ex-member of the national selection committee Tauseef Ahmad, and Qaiser Abbas, a coach of the Islamabad Cricket Region and a former international cricketer. They are being reprimanded for not fully adhering to the new policy of including some U-19 players in the Challenge Cup Tournament, designated for seniors and commencing from April 15.

Sources informed Dawn that Khurram Niazi, the department head, expressed dissatisfaction when Tauseef, acting as selector, omitted U-19 players from the Rawalpindi and Islamabad regional cricket teams for the aforementioned Challenge Cup.

Qaiser, serving as the coach of the Islamabad Region, also contested the PCB’s directive. Sources revealed that Qaiser argued with the domestic department, contending that it was unfair to integrate U-19 players into the senior team, given that junior players were scheduled to participate in a separate U-19 district tournament starting from May 10. However, Khurram disagreed and instructed his subordinate to issue show cause notices to both Tauseef and Qaiser Abbas.

In response, Tauseef, in his written reply, contested Khurram’s decision, asserting that he had not been informed of the directive to include U-19 players when he was finalizing the teams. Tauseef is no longer a member of the national selection committee since the appointment of the new PCB chairman, Mohsin Naqvi, who established a seven-member national selection committee.

Additionally, it has come to light that Wajahat Ullah Wasti, a former national selector, also selected some regional teams and clashed with the domestic department over other issues, although he is not currently serving as a selector. Furthermore, Zahoor Elahi, a former Test cricketer, and member of the PCB coaches’ panel, incurred Khurram’s displeasure for failing to attend a scheduled Zoom meeting organised by Khurram online from Saudi Arabia the other day.

The primary objection raised by coaches and selectors regarding the inclusion of U-19 players stems from the concern that it would be a futile exercise. They argue that since the Challenge Cup essentially serves as a trial to select teams for the senior district cricket tournament, wherein no U-19 player is eligible to participate (as they are slated to play separately in the U-19 tournament starting from May 10), U-19 players included in the Challenge Cup teams are merely taking the place of deserving over-19 players.

Meanwhile, it has been learned that although regional cricket associations had requested the domestic department to postpone the start of the Challenge Cup from April 15 to April 20 due to the challenges of preparing the grounds after a five-day holiday period (three for Eid-ul-Fitr and two weekly offs) ending on April 14, the PCB domestic department disregarded these requests, and the tournament will proceed as scheduled from April 15.

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2024