Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has described school cricket as the foundation of the country’s national cricket setup, announcing plans to expand the board’s talent hunt programme across Pakistan.
Speaking to the media at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Naqvi said 1,400 schools have joined the PCB’s School Talent Hunt Programme this year, with around 21,000 students set to participate.
According to the PCB chairman, a total of 2,900 matches will be played under the programme. The PCB will identify the 50 best-performing teams from the participating schools and focus on the players’ training and nutrition.
Naqvi said individual performances of all 21,000 students would also be monitored. He added that the PCB is considering appointing a dedicated director for school cricket to turn the initiative into a permanent talent identification programme rather than limiting it to an annual event.
The programme covers regions including Gwadar, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. Naqvi said work is already underway with around 25 young players at the PCB academy. He said the PCB aims to increase the number of participating schools from 1,400 to 2,000 initially, with a long-term target of expanding the programme to between 3,000 and 5,000 schools.
Naqvi said Pakistan has no shortage of cricketing talent, but players in many areas lack access to proper facilities and opportunities. He expressed hope that expanding school cricket would help bring talented players from remote areas into the national system.
The PCB chairman also said the board had regained control of around 70 cricket grounds. He added that discussions were ongoing with the Sindh government regarding the rehabilitation of Hyderabad Stadium. Naqvi stressed that the success of the school cricket programme would require joint efforts from the PCB and provincial governments.