LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) CEO Faisal Hasnain announced on Tuesday that the cricket board will take full ownership of the Pakistan Junior League (PJL) rather than sell the rights to the teams.
In a formal statement issued by the PCB, Faisal stated that the PCB will take full ownership of the national league in an effort to demonstrate its increased importance, context and permanence.
“Instead of selling the rights to the teams, the PCB has made a strategic decision to take full ownership of the inaugural edition. This gives us the opportunity to present to the world and to all of our valued business partners that this is an event that has high value, context and is here to stay,” said Faisal.
“While the process for the sale of other commercial inventory is ongoing and we are confident of attracting high-quality sponsors, I want to thank all of the investors who expressed an interest in obtaining the naming rights to the team. We will continue discussions with them after the tournament is over, with the future goal of building a long-term relationship,” he added.
The PCB CEO then confirmed the names of the six teams and their mentors, while stating that the cricket board received a lot of interest in the PJL from inside and outside Pakistan.
“There is tremendous interest inside and outside Pakistan for this league and we have kept that momentum going by confirming the names of the cities and their mentors today.
The six cities reflect our national cricket structure,” Faisal was quoted by PCB.
The six teams competing in this national Under-19 cricket competition, the first of its kind, are Bahawalpur (South Punjab), Gujranwala (Central Punjab), Gwadar (Balochistan), Hyderabad (Sindh), Mardan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Rawalpindi (Northern Punjab). ).
Legendary South African spinner Imran Tahir will mentor Bahawalpur, two-time Pakistan ICC tournament winner Shoaib Malik will mentor Gujranwala, and West Indies great Vivian Richards will mentor Gwadar.
Another West Indian, two-time ICC T20 World Cup winner Daren Sammy will mentor Hyderabad, 2009 T20 World Cup winner and all-round star Shahid Afridi will mentor Mardan, while explosive New Zealand batsman Colin Munro will the mentor of being the mentor of the Rawalpindi team.
Javed Miandad, former Pakistan captain and PCB Hall of Famer, will serve as a roving General Mentor, supporting and guiding all parties.
The PCB further stated that the player draft for the PJL, which will be played in a single league, will be held in Lahore on September 6.
More than 140 players from Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Ireland, Nepal, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Scotland, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates have completed your registration for the tournament.
The first of its kind T20 league will be held here from October 6-21. Players born on or after September 1, 2003 are eligible to participate in the inaugural edition.
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