PCB chairman Ramiz Raja to seek approval for Pakistan Junior League

Ramiz Raja will seek approval for his ambitious Pakistan Junior League (PJL) T20 tournament during the 69th meeting of the Board of Governors (BoG) to be held in Lahore on Thursday. Ramiz, a former Pakistan captain, is keen to launch the PJL in October this year for Under-19 foreign and local players.

"With the BoG due to also approve the budget for 2022-23, it is expected that Ramiz will seek approval for the league and a budget allocation for it," a reliable PCB source said. Ramiz is planning to hold the PJL on the lines of the Pakistan Super League with a franchise based system and wants to involve foreign coaches and players in the inaugural event.

The PCB has apparently set a base price of around 14 to 15 crores for each franchise. The BoG meeting is also significant given the surge in speculations in the last two days that Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif is contemplating bringing his own man in the PCB chairman's post.

There were conflicting reports that three former heads of the board, Khalid Mahmood, Najam Sethi and Zaka Ashraf have recently interacted or met with the PM with Mahmood even offering his availability for the chairman's post. The BoG is also due to give approval for the new central contracts to be issued to the players for the first time in red and white ball categories with an increase of 25 to 30 per cent.

Ramiz will also submit his report on the performances of the national team and its upcoming assignments besides seeking approval for a new age verification policy for Under-16 and Under-19 players.