LAHORE: The majority of the departments affiliated with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and fielding teams in the President’s Trophy and other departmental tournaments are unhappy with the board’s newly-introduced reforms, saying they have significantly increased the financial burden of participating in domestic cricket.

The concerns were raised during a virtual meeting held a couple of days ago between representatives of the departments and PCB’s domestic cricket department. According to a PCB document, prepared on the basis of the decisions taken during the meeting and available with Dawn, the annual expenditure required to maintain departmental teams has increased manifold.

Under the new policy, the annual participation fee for departments competing in the President’s Trophy Grade-I has been increased from Rs5 million to Rs15 million. The fee for Grade-II cricket has been fixed at Rs4.2 million, while departments participating in Grade-III will have to pay Rs4 million annually.

“All departments shall endorse and accept the above conditions through a duly executed affidavit. Failure to comply with the above requirements may render a department ineligible for participation in the Domestic Cricket Season 2027-28,” the PCB cautioned in the document.

The meeting was chaired by former PCB Director Domestic Abdullah Khurram Niazi, who continues to serve as an adviser to PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi despite having joined the Capital Development Authority (CDA) as a member a couple of months ago.

Interestingly, the PCB had already introduced a departmental cricket policy through a circular issued on March 10, 2026. However, within just over three months, it has replaced that policy without even testing its effectiveness.

“Under this letter, the previous Departmental Cricket Circular of March 10 stands superseded. This policy relates to departmental cricket with reference to the following tournaments,” the fresh circular, dated June 24, 2026, states.

The frequent policy changes have raised questions over PCB’s consistency in managing its affairs.

The new policy also requires departments to pay match fees and daily allowances to their players. Previously, departmental cricketers, being full-time employees receiving monthly salaries from their respective organisations, were not entitled to match fee or daily allowance.

Representatives of the departments objected to the new requirement during the meeting, arguing that players already receive regular salaries. However, the PCB was reportedly unwilling to amend the policy.

Experts familiar with the matter estimate that, under the revised regulations, a department may have to spend between Rs240 and Rs250 million annually to field a team throughout PCB’s domestic season.

Some departments had also failed to pay their annual affiliation fees to the PCB in full last year, sources said.

The sources added that the PCB had struggled to revive departmental cricket after it was abolished in 2020 during the government of Imran Khan. Initially, few departments were willing to return, while several others have still not rejoined the domestic structure. They feared that the latest reforms, instead of encouraging departmental participation, could discourage more organisations from investing in cricket.

According to the new policy, departments must pay Grade-I players a minimum monthly salary of Rs125,000 or an annual lump sum of Rs1.5 million. For Grade-II (Gold), the minimum salary has been fixed at Rs75,000 per month or Rs900,000 annually, while Grade-II (Silver) players must receive at least Rs50,000 per month or Rs600,000 annually.

According to the PCB document, departments must pay a minimum match fee of Rs10,000 per player per match to members of the playing XI in Grade-I competitions, while reserve players within the 15-member squad must receive Rs5,000 per match. The daily allowance has been fixed at Rs5,000 per day.

For Grade-II (Gold and Silver), the match fee for members of the playing XI has been set at Rs5,000 per player per match, while the daily allowance will be Rs4,000 per day.

In a positive move, the PCB has made it mandatory for departments to pay all player salaries, match fees and allowances through banking channels instead of cash.

The decision follows reports received by the PCB that several departments, particularly those competing in Grade-II and Grade-III events, had allegedly taken money from players to select them in their teams instead of paying them their due remuneration.

In this regard, sources disclosed, one such allegation also surfaced against a departmental side that participated in first-class cricket. The matter is being probed by the PCB.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2026