Pakistan Cricket Board Moves Back To Previous Domestic Structure

The Pakistan Cricket Board on Friday reverted to its previous structure of domestic cricket which included departmental and regional teams, while also adding another First-Class competition to the calendar. The decision to move back to the old system means Pakistan cricket authorities have done away with the "quality over quantity" philosophy, implemented on the instructions of the former Prime Minister and 1992 World Cup winning captain Imran Khan. The PCB experimented with having domestic cricket with six teams for the last three years.

The 2023-24 domestic season will feature two separate First-Class events - the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and the Presidents Cup - with a total of 16 departmental and regional teams in the fray.

The board will also organise non First-Class events for 10 regional teams and more departments in the season.

In 2019, Khan's proposal for a new domestic system had scrapped the role of the departmental teams in Pakistan cricket.

Only six regions were allowed to compete in the premier First-Class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, while the second XIs of the same teams competed in a non First-Class tournament simultaneously.

The board, without any sponsorship, directly paid the players their match fees, allowances and monthly contracts besides air travel and stay in premier hotels for the new structure.

The plan proposed by Khan was implemented and followed by former chairman Ehsan Mani and Ramiz Raja, and had come in for plenty of criticism for ending departmental cricket, which has been the backbone of Pakistan cricket since the 1970s.

Not only the former PM, but the board was also criticised for costing hundreds of cricketers their jobs with departmental teams.

In the new domestic structure announced on Friday,