HYDERABAD, Sept 21: Office-bearers of clubs and former secretaries of the District Cricket Association (DCA) in a meeting on Wednesday made demand on the Hyderabad District Government that it takes back administrative control of the Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

The main reason behind their demand is that the PCB has not fulfilled the terms and conditions of an agreement it signed with the Hyderabad District Government at the time of handing over control of the stadium to the PCB.

The meeting held at the residence of former DCA secretary Salahuddin Deswali was attended among others by former DCA secretaries namely Mehboob Alam Sherwani, Faheem Baig Mughal, Faisal Hameed Siddique and former DCA president Mohammad Raees Arain.

The participants of the meeting noted that the PCB signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in 2007 with the Hyderabad District Government under which the PCB was bound to bring the Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad at par with the Gaddafi stadium in Lahore by ensuring all international level facilities, establishing a national cricket academy, holding international events besides installation of floodlights and payment of a certain annual amount to the district government.

Demanding of the PCB to abolish regional cricket associations system by restoring divisional cricket associations, the participants maintained that the PCB didn’t implement even one per cent of commitments during the last four-odd years.The stadium is used by certain people for their personal gains whereas first class players from Hyderabad and other cities and towns of Sindh remained deprived of practice, coaching and training, they said.

The meeting recalled that the PCB and Hyderabad District Government also signed a separate agreement with Hyderabad DCA in line with which a separate mini cricket stadium was supposed to be built for first-class cricket activities and coaching facilities.

In this regard, the district government provided land in Kohsar area, but the PCB is yet to complete it.

Making demands that compensation be claimed from the PCB for violating the terms of the agreement and thus damaging cricket in Sindh beyond repairs, the meeting termed regional cricket associations system an utter failure and demanded its immediate abolishment.

The meeting also called for elections in the Hyderabad DCA.