Chairman PCB Archives

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi vows support for tennis in meeting with Aisam-ul-Haq

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi met with Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) President Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi on Wednesday to discuss the promotion of tennis across the country.

During the meeting, Aisam highlighted the ongoing issues related to tennis courts in Islamabad. Responding to the concerns, Mohsin Naqvi immediately directed relevant authorities to address the problems and ensure timely resolutions.

Expressing his commitment to supporting all sports, Naqvi assured the PTF of PCB’s full cooperation in promoting tennis.

“We will also build new tennis courts,” he said, adding that Pakistan is brimming with talent not only in cricket but also in tennis.

Mohsin Naqvi emphasized the importance of nurturing young talent across various formats.

“We want Pakistani players to shine in tennis just like they do in cricket,” he stated.

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He also noted the growing popularity of padel tennis among the youth, promising the federation full backing to capitalize on emerging opportunities.

“PTF will have our complete support to help young players benefit from the rise of padel tennis,” he said.

Aisam-ul-Haq, meanwhile, congratulated Mohsin Naqvi on the successful hosting of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan and lauded his efforts to promote cricket in the country.

He also expressed his gratitude to the PCB Chairman for taking steps to resolve tennis infrastructure issues and for pledging to construct new courts.

It’s worth noting that PCB Chief Operating Officer Sumair Ahmed was also present during the meeting.

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Mohsin Naqvi chairs 76th PCB BoG meeting in Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi presided over the 76th meeting of the Board of Governors (BoG) at a local hotel here on Wednesday.

The BoG was briefed on the latest development regarding hosting the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to be played in Pakistan.

The members lauded Chairman PCB’s firm stance regarding hosting the showpiece ICC event at home and showed their confidence in him.

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The members were also briefed on the stadium upgradation taking place in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi for the upcoming mega event. The members of the BoG expressed their satisfaction with the upgradation work.

Also, the members expressed their delight in the ongoing inaugural edition of the Bahria Town Champions T20 Cup taking place at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Earlier this year, the PCB hosted a successful Bahria Town Champions One-Day Cup in Faisalabad.

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Chairman PCB summons Sarfaraz Ahmed to Lahore

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has summoned former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed to meet in Lahore, according to sources.

The wicketkeeper batter is scheduled to meet the chairman to discuss the ongoing issues of the national men’s cricket team.

It is pertinent to mention Naqvi recently shared that former players will take the decision regarding the future of white-ball captain Babar Azam.

“No decision [on captaincy] has been taken so far related to Babar Azam,” said the PCB chief, adding that he is seeking advice from former cricketers on how to improve cricket in Pakistan.

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“I’m only speaking to those former cricketers who are interested in the betterment of Pakistan cricket,” he added.

The PCB chairman also shared that he called head coach Gary Kirsten and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood for a discussion on the Pakistan team’s performance in the mega-event.

The Babar Azam-led Pakistan team were knocked out from the group stage of the T20 World Cup, majorly because of their upset defeat against the USA, followed by a gut-wrenching defeat against arch-rivals India.

The back-to-back defeats had put Pakistan on the verge of an early exit from the tournament while the abandonment of the crucial group-stage fixture between the USA and Ireland officially marked the end of their campaign in T20 World Cup 2024.

The Green Shirts’s next assignment is two-match home Test series against Bangladesh and Sarfaraz Ahmed is expected to be part of the series.

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Chairman PCB hopeful of finding ‘best possible window’ for PSL 10

LAHORE: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Mohsin Naqvi expressed optimism about finding the “best possible window” for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 10 next year.

PCB is currently facing a massive challenge in scheduling PSL 10 due to a packed cricketing calendar in 2025.

Due to the home tri-series with South Africa and New Zealand, followed by the Champions Trophy 2025, PCB has a limited window to hold the tenth edition of PSL, which is traditionally held between January and March.

According to sources, PCB will hold discussions with all the relevant stakeholders soon to find a suitable window for PSL 10.

“PSL is Pakistan’s brand which is why it will get its due importance. Holding PSL 10 alongside international commitments will be a challenge,” said the PCB chairman.

“But we are ready to take the challenge and will find the best possible window.”

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PCB is also improving the infrastructure ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy, the first ICC event in Pakistan since the 1996 World Cup.

The cricket governing body has recently bought a multi-storied building adjacent to the iconic Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore for PKR 4 billion. The multi-storied building will be renovated and transformed into a seven-star hotel to accommodate international as well as local players.

Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi, while addressing the media during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9 final last month, acknowledged the need to upgrade three major stadiums, followed by the upgradation of other venues.

“Our three main venues – Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi – will be upgraded before the Champions Trophy. We will upgrade other venues later as well, once these three are done. Our stadiums will be state-of-the-art once they have been renovated,” said Chairman PCB.

Later in the same month, the chairman was presented with the plan to upgrade three major stadiums by NESPAK (National Engineering Services of Pakistan) officials.

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Chairman PCB Naqvi calls for merit in national selection

Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Mohsin Naqvi met National Men’s Chief Selector Wahab Riaz at the headquarters of Pakistan Cricket at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, to discuss matters related to national selection and preparation for the home T20I series against New Zealand.

The meeting was also attended by the PCB COO Salman Naseer and Director International Usman Wahla.

The core agenda of the high-profile meeting was to strictly follow the merit in the selection process for the national men’s team.

Another agenda of the meeting also involved the selection of players for a fitness and conditioning camp in Kakul, Abbottabad, set to commence later next week.

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi instructed to assemble a pool of players based on merit and performance.

Chief Selector Wahab Riaz also presented a detailed report regarding the performances of various players in the recently concluded HBL PSL 9.

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Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi: “A pool of players selected purely on merit and performances will possess the ability to perform well at the highest level. The high performers of HBL PSL 9 should also be kept in mind and rewarded for their performances.”

Earlier this week, Chief Selector Wahab Riaz and COO Salman Naseer visited Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium to analyze the situation and facilities at the venue.

According to the details, the delegation made a visit to the Iqbal Stadium as per the instruction of the newly-appointed PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi.

The delegation was instructed by the PCB head to analyze the condition of the stadium and the facilities there which may pave the way for its upgradation.

For the unversed, Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium has not hosted a single international, domestic or franchise league match since the return of international cricket to Pakistan.

The Stadium last hosted an international match in 2008.

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Ramiz suggests fast bowlers ‘to achieve fitness for five-day cricket first’

KARACHI: Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Ramiz Raja has suggested the fast bowlers of the country improve their fitness to the levels needed for red-ball cricket, saying, unlike other teams, Pakistan are bringing players from the T20 side to Test cricket

“We are asking our fast bowler to achieve the five-day fitness first,” he told reporters on Saturday during the opening day of the final Test between England and Pakistan.

“We are not only the team who are facing these concerns, the players all around the world are getting injured because of busy schedules,” he replied when asked about the growing number of injuries among the fast bowlers of the national team.

Speedsters Haris Rauf and Naseem Shah have been ruled out of the series due to injuries after playing the first Test in Rawalpindi. Meanwhile, star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was not included in the Test squad since he was going through a rehabilitation program after pulling a knee strain in the final of the T20 World Cup.

Chairman PCB also expressed his displeasure over the fact that Pakistan was bringing fast bowlers to the Test side from the T20 team.

“Ideally we have to take players from five-day cricket to white ball, but what we are doing is taking them from One-days and T20s to the Test,” he said.

Moreover, Ramiz dispelled the impression that team management forced the veteran batter to take retirement on the pretext of bringing radical changes to the team’s approach, saying if our strength is occupying crease then we should continue with our strength.

“We knew beforehand that England were coming with a different mindset after they selected Liam Livingstone, a T20 specialist in the squad,” he said.

He added Pakistan had a very limited pool of players in Test cricket and we had to work to increase that pool.

“Home series is your best shot to try new players,” he replied when asked why Pakistan went with a number of debutants during the ongoing Test series against England.

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Ramiz pledges to set up world-class rehab centre in Pakistan

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ramiz Raja has pledged to build a world-class rehabilitation centre in Pakistan for all the athletes of the country.

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, the PCB chairman announced that the board would establish a world-class rehab facility in the country which would be open to all the national athletes and not just the cricketers.

The initiative is intended to benefit many national athletes in the future as they presently have to travel abroad for injury rehabilitation.

With national cricketers Shaheen Afridi and Fakhar Zaman completing their recoveries, Chairman PCB also expressed gratitude to Dr Zafar and his team, who looked after them in London.

“A big shout out to Dr Zafar & his team at Crystal Palace Football Club for looking after our heroes Fakhar and Afridi. Indebted! To our fans we will set up a world class rehab centre here inshallah that will look after all athletes & not cricketers only.” wrote Ramiz on Twitter.

A big shout out to Dr Zafar & his team at Crystal Palace Football Club for looking after our heroes Fakhar and Afridi. Indebted 🙏 To our fans we will set up a world class rehab centre here inshallah that will look after all athletes & not cricketers only.

— Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) October 12, 2022

Earlier on Tuesday, PCB confirmed that the left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi has attained complete recovery and will be available for selection in the side’s warm-up matches of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2022.

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Miandad set to supervise, Afridi, Malik, Sammy to be Icon players of PJL

KARACHI: Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja has revealed the plan for conducting the inaugural edition Pakistan Junior League (PJL) as he charged legendary batter Javed Miandad to supervise the league.

Speaking at a press conference, PCB Chairman announced Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, and Darren Sammy to be the icon players of the league,

“There is no batsman better than Miandad to supervise the league,” he said. “We’ve selected three icon players for the PJL, Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, and Darren Sammy,” he added.

He further stated that 30 companies were ready to own the six franchises planned for the tournament.

“PCB is the first cricket board which is organizing a junior league,” claimed Ramiz.

The PJL will be the first of its sort T20 league contested by under-19 teams, featuring local as well as international players. The teams will recruit the young players via a draft system and will be allowed to avail the services of an iconic player as the team mentor to boost the confidence of the players.

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PCB to set up Cricket Foundation for ex-players, low-level staff’s welfare

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board has established the Pakistan Cricket Foundation for the welfare and well-being of impoverished retired cricketers and low-level staff including match officials, ground staff, and scorers.

PCB Chairman Ramiz Raja has announced that the PCB’s Governing Board in its meeting has approved the creation of the foundation as a charitable trust and allocated the fund of 100 million as a donation for it from its budget.

“Through this foundation, we will further look after the well-being of those retired cricketers, match officials, scorers, and ground staff who are facing severe hardships,” said Ramiz.

“Currently 243 cricketers are on PCB’s payroll. We are trying to give them respectable earning,” he added.

The Chairman PCB also claimed to lure more donors and sponsors to raise funds for the foundation and effectively support the needy ones associated with it.

“We will invite donors and sponsors to contribute and raise funds so that we have sufficient money in our coffers to look after all those in desperate need of the fund’s assistance and support,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention here that PCB had raised the pensions of ex-cricketers under the player’s welfare policy last month.

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Replacing team management before World Cup proved effective: Ramiz

LAHORE: Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja claimed that his decision to replace the team management ahead of the T20 World Cup 2021 proved effective for the team.

Speaking at a scheduled press conference, Ramiz revealed that many people had advised him not to make such a tough choice but he went against their advice and the decision proved beneficial.

“The decision to replace team management just before the World Cup proved effective for the team,” said Ramiz.

“I was advised by many people not to take the decision, but we did it anyway and it worked out well,” he added.

Last year, soon after assuming the charge of Chairman PCB, Ramiz removed the management of the Pakistan Cricket Team including head coach Misbah ul Haq and bowling coach Waqar Younis from their roles and appointed new management just before the ICC T20 World Cup 2021.

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