KARACHI, Jan 5: Senior batsman Younis Khan has urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to prepare ‘sporting pitches’ for domestic tournaments to improve the standard of competition.

“The PCB needs to ensure that the pitches are sporting enough for both batsmen and bowlers and not one-sided,” Younis Khan, who have played 50 Test matches, said.

Younis, who is captaining the Habib Bank team in the country’s premier tournament Qaid-e-Azam Trophy, said the PCB should provide better facilities to the participating teams in domestic cricket. “What is good is that despite the poor facilities and pitches, the quality of cricket has been good at the domestic level this season,” Younis said.

Younis’ team Habib Bank were bundled out for a paltry 80 runs in a first-round match, which according to him was played on a sub-standard pitch. The 31-year-old also insisted that the country’s cricket grounds, where the domestic matches are held, lack even basic facilities.

Younis, who has played for South Australia this season in the Sheffield Shield competition, said: “If the board wanted to improve standard of cricket in the country and produce quality players, they must ensure that best facilities are available in the domestic circuit.”—Agencies