LAHORE: The members of PCB’s Board of Governors, who met here for the 56th meeting on Friday, expressed their concern over Pakistan team’s poor performance but went on to confirm their support for head coach-cum-chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq.

The PCB press release issued here on Friday said: “The BoG briefly discussed the recent performances of the Pakistan men’s national team and reiterated their support for head coach and chief selector Misbah-ul-Haq.”

The BoG was also briefed on the legal matter relating to IMG Reliance Ltd (IMGR), who had unilaterally terminated the Production Services Agreement for HBL PSL 2019. A legal notice was sent to IMGR on 21 October and thereafter PCB has initiated arbitration proceedings before the London Court of International Arbitration claiming damages.

Moreover, the much awaited model constitution for the new domestic cricket set-up comprising provincial and inter-city associations, was also approved, replacing the old one based on departmental and regional cricket.

“Under six provincial cricket associations, these cities will work: Balochistan (13) — Gwadar, Jaffarabad, Killa Abdullah (Chaman), Khuzdar, Naseerabad, Nushki (tagged Chaghi), Lasbela, Loralai, Panjgur, Pishin, Quetta (tagged Kalat), Sibi and Turbat. Central Punjab (16) — Bhakkar, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hafizabad, Jhang, Kasur, Lahore (East Zone), Lahore (North Zone), Lahore (West Zone), Mandi Bahauddin, Mianwali, Narowal, Sargodha, Sheikhupura and Sialkot. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (19) — Abbottabad, Bajour, Bannu, Buner, Charsadda, Dera Ismail Khan (tagged Tank & SW), Haripur, Khyber Agency, Kohat, Kurram Agency, Lower Dir, Mansehra, Mardan, Mohmand Agency, Nowshera, Peshawar, Swabi, Swat and Upper Dir.Northern (11) — Attock, Bagh-Hattian, Chakwal, Gilgit-Baltistan, Islamabad, Jhelum, Kotli-Sudhanoti, Mirpur-Bhimber, Muzaffarabad, Poonch-Kahuta Haveli and Rawalpindi. Sindh (17) — Badin, Hyderabad, Jamshoro (tagged Thatta), Karachi Zone 1, Karachi Zone 2, Karachi Zone 3, Karachi Zone 4, Karachi Zone 5, Karachi Zone 6, Karachi Zone 7, Khairpur, Larkana (Dadu & Jacobabad), Mirpur Khas, Sanghar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Shikarpur and Sukkur. Southern Punjab (14) — Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Layyah, Khanewal, Lodhran, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Okara, Pakpattan, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Sahiwal and Vehari.

Soon the PCB will announce the interim-body for all the cricket associations and in later stage the elected bodies will come into force.

As per Article 6.1, the General Body composition of the Cricket Association is that of its President, Vice-President and Secretary, along with the President of each member City Cricket Association.

As per Article 9.1, the nine-member Management Committee will include three members elected by the General Body, three independent members nominated by the PCB Nominations Committee, two representatives of the Principal Sponsor of the Cricket Association and an elected President. The tenure of the members will be three years each.

Each cricket association will have to appoint chief executive, chief financial officer and other officers and own selection committee. As per Article 24, the Principal Sponsor will be appointed through a transparent bidding process on a three to five year basis and shall be granted naming, branding and other sponsorship rights pertaining to the Cricket Association.

BOG members were apprised that as per Clause 16(2) of the PCB Constitution 2019, departments or organisations who were maintaining cricket teams participating in national tournaments at the time of promulgation of the new PCB Constitution, shall be offered a first right of refusal to be the Principal Sponsor of the Cricket Associations.

Moreover, the BoG members also appreciated the PCB efforts of bringing back Test cricket to Pakistan after 10 long years as the Sri Lanka team is all set to play two Tests in Pakistan.

About the PSL, the PCB has hired the services of Eastern Star Internationals to inspect the venues of Multan Stadium and Rawalpindi Stadium, which are likely to host the matches of the PSL, along with Gaddafi Stadium and National Stadium.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2019