The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has suspended its national junior championship “due to unavoidable circumstances” after the event began on Tuesday with three-day games across venues.
The U-19 age group tournament started on schedule but the postponement orders were conveyed to the teams and officials after the first day’s play, leaving them surprised.
In a short press release, hours after the announcement, the PCB said the decision was taken “due to unavoidable circumstances.”
No detailed explanation was given for this abrupt decision, especially after the board had spent millions of rupees on preparing the 18 regional teams.
An insider in the board said that the indefinite postponement had something to do with the number of complaints chairman Mohsin Naqvi had received about issues in selection of teams and also about over-age players and fake documentation.
Although the board conducts wrist bone X-rays and has stringent rules for submission of documents for the U-19 tournaments, still every year there are cases and allegations of wrongdoing in selection of players and authenticity of their age.
“The junior tournament is considered the backbone for producing the right talent for first class cricket and international exposure by the board which is why despite a long process of selection, Mohsin Naqvi was disturbed when he received a number of complaints, some of which were authenticated to be correct,” the insider said.
The PCB had spent money on setting up training camps for all 18 teams, while also providing them meals, accommodation and transport besides kits and daily allowances.
The teams were to play a one-day match after a day’s break following the close of the three-day matches.
The selection was carried out by regional coaches who were appointed by the PCB, while the selection panel also included the board’s representative and president of the said region.
The PCB has also postponed the national women’s U-19 tournament, which was to start from September 16.
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