Tag: PCB

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday, announced to indefinitely postpone the National Men’s U19 Championship and Cup.

The cricketing body, in a brief statement, shared that the National Men’s U19 Championship, scheduled to begin today and the National Men’s U19 Cup, supposed to start on September 14, have been postponed due to “unavoidable circumstances”.

“The National U19 Championship, due to start today and Cup, due to start on 14 September, have been postponed due to unavoidable circumstances. The new schedule of both the tournaments will be shared in due course,” stated PCB.

The two tournaments were supposed to run simultaneously. Each round of the three-day games was to be followed by the One-Day games. As such, a total of 98 matches each had to be played over a 61-day period.

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Eighteen teams out of 16 regions were scheduled to participate in the tournament, whose one-day final will be held on 22 October and the three-day final from 6-9 November. Venues of the final were to be announced in due course.

The 18 regional teams would have been equally divided into three groups with the matches to be played on a single-league basis till 12 October.

The next phase would have included one-day matches between three group toppers on a single-league from 16-22 October, followed by three-day matches between the group toppers again on a single-league basis from 25 October to 9 November.

Groups:

Group A (matches in Karachi): FATA, Islamabad, Karachi Whites, Larkana, Multan and Quetta regions

Group B (matches in Abbottabad, Charsada, Peshawar and Risalpur): Abbottabad, Bahawalpur, Faisalabad, Karachi Blues, Lahore Blues and Rawalpindi regions

Group C (matches in Faisalabad, Sargodha and Sheikhupura): Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Dera Murad Jamali (DM Jamali), Hyderabad, Lahore Whites, Peshawar and Sialkot regions.

READ: Babar Azam bowled by local bowler during practice match

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to hold a high-profile meeting and workshop to discuss the future of the national cricket team as well as all-format captaincy.

According to the sources, the meeting, dubbed the “Connection Camp” is likely to be held on September 22 and will be presided by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who will also attend the workshop.

The high-profile meeting will also feature the current head coaches of the Pakistan red-ball and white-ball teams, Jason Gillespie and Gary Kirsten respectively, accompanied by the heads of international, domestic, and high-performance departments while senior cricketers, coaches and PCB officials will also be in the attendance.

Notably, Kirsten had left for South Africa after submitting his report regarding the Pakistan cricket team’s performance in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 whereas Gillespie left for Australia after the conclusion of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh this week.

Details further suggested that the future of the current Pakistan white-ball captain Babar Azam will come under discussion and there is a chance that he may get removed from the position ahead of Pakistan’s tour to Australia later this year.

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Babar, who relinquished all-format captaincy following the national team’s dismal run at the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023, was reinstated as white-ball captain in March this year.

He led Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 where the former champions suffered gut-wrenching defeats against United States of America (USA) and arch-rivals India, which eventually resulted in them failing to qualify for the Super Eights stage for the first time in the tournament’s history.

Meanwhile, Shan Masood’s captaincy as Pakistan Test captain has also come under scrutiny.

Remember, Shan, who was given the leadership of the Pakistan Test side in November 2023, is yet to lead the national team to a victory. He has lost five matches as Pakistan Test captain, three against Australia and two against Bangladesh.

READ: Ashwin sympathizes with Pakistan cricket after Bangladesh whitewash

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today announced the captains of the five Champions One-Day Cup teams, as well as provisional squads for the tournament, which will be held in Faisalabad from 12-29 September.

The captains were appointed by the five team mentors: Misbah-ul-Haq (Wolves), Saqlain Mushtaq (Panthers), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Dolphins), Shoaib Malik (Stallions) and Waqar Younis (Lions).

Pakistan’s Test vice-captain Saud Shakeel has been appointed captain of the Dolphins, former Pakistan T20I captain Shaheen Shah Afridi will lead the Lions and the Panthers will be skippered by former white-ball vice-captain, Shadab Khan.

Pakistan Shaheens’ captain Mohammad Haris will lead the Stallions, while ex-all-format vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan will captain the Wolves.

The Champions One-Day Cup will feature the country’s top cricketers. This 50-over tournament will be played in a single-league format.

All matches will commence at 3 pm, except for the Lions vs Panthers match on 16 September, which will start at 9:30 am.

The tournament will conclude with three playoff matches over four days, culminating in the final on Sunday, 29 September.

The PCB has also announced provisional squads for the five teams. These were selected by the team mentors through a draft process from a pool of 150 players, which was provided by the PCB following fitness tests—one of the primary selection criteria for domestic contracted players.

The centrally contracted players will undergo fitness tests in Faisalabad on 7 and 9 September.

Out of the 150 players, 125 were leading performers from the past three domestic seasons. The remaining 25 players were wildcards, selected based on their experience and performances for Pakistan, Pakistan Shaheens and Pakistan Under-19 teams over the last three years.

Each team includes existing centrally contracted players. These are:

Dolphins: Saud Shakeel, Faheem Ashraf and Sarfaraz Ahmed

Lions: Abdullah Shafique, Aamir Jamal, Imam-ul-Haq and Shaheen Shah Afridi

Panthers: Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan and Usama Mir

Stallions: Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Haris, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir and Zaman Khan

Wolves: Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha and Shahnawaz Dahani

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Centrally contracted players who are not part of the squads include Mohammad Nawaz (personal reasons), Imad Wasim (unavailable), Arshad Iqbal, Hasan Ali, Ihsanullah and Mohammad Wasim Jnr (undergoing rehabilitation).

In addition to Imad Wasim, who is currently playing in the CPL, the following players have made themselves unavailable for the Faisalabad tournament: Ahmed Shehzad, Azam Khan (CPL), Haris Sohail, Mohammad Amir (CPL), Mohammad Abbas (County cricket in the UK), Mohammad Ilyas and Umar Akmal.

Fakhar Zaman, who is also playing in the CPL, is due to return on 10 September.

Other players undergoing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) include Ahsan Ali, Athar Mahmood, Rizwan Hussain, and Zeeshan Zamir, in addition to Arshad Iqbal, Hasan Ali, Ihsanullah, and Mohammad Wasim Jnr.

Nine domestic contracted players were excluded from the Champions One-Day Cup squads after failing their fitness tests.

They are Ali Shafique, Ali Zaryab, Arif Yaqoob, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Rameez Jnr, Saad Baig, Rameez Aziz, Sharjeel Khan, and Shawaiz Irfan.

Four cricketers, returning to competitive cricket after successfully passing their fitness tests and completing rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy, are Hunain Shah (Lions), Sameen Gul, Sufiyan Moqim (both Dolphins), and Shahnawaz Dahani (Wolves).

Champions One-Day Cup Squads (to be reduced to 15 players on 10 Sep)

DOLPHINS: Saud Shakeel (captain, Karachi), Aftab Ibrahim (Karachi), Asif Ali (Faisalabad), Awais Ali (Gujranwala), Faheem Ashraf (Kasur), Kashif Ali (Rawalpindi), Mir Hamza (Karachi), Mohammad Huraira (Sialkot), Mohammad Abbas Afridi (Peshawar), Muhammad Akhlaq (Kamoki), Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (Karachi), Muhammad Riazullah (Peshawar), Noman Ali (Hyderabad), Qasim Akram (Lahore), Sameen Gul (Jamrud), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Karachi), Sahibzada Farhan (Peshawar), Sufiyan Moqim (Kotli), Umar Amin (Rawalpindi) and Usman Qadir (Lahore)

Mentor – Sarfaraz Ahmed

LIONS: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain, Peshawar), Abdullah Shafique (Sialkot), Aamir Jamal (Islamabad), Aamer Yamin (Multan), Faisal Akram (Multan), Hassan Nawaz (Islamabad), Hunain Shah (Lahore), Imam-ul-Haq (Lahore), Imran Butt (Lahore), Khushdil Shah (Bannu), Mohammad Asghar (Karachi), Muhammad Irfan Khan (Mianwali), Mohammad Taha (Karachi), Omair Bin Yousuf (Karachi), Rohail Nazir (Islamabad), Shahab Khan (Mardan), Sharoon Siraj (Sahiwal), Sirajuddin (Bajaur) and Waqar Hussain (Okara)

Mentor – Waqar Younis

PANTHERS: Shadab Khan (captain, Islamabad), Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (Quetta), Ahmed Bashir (Lahore), Ali Asfand (Faisalabad), Ali Raza (Sheikhupura), Amad Butt (Sialkot), Arafat Minhas (Multan), Azan Awais (Sialkot), Haider Ali (Attock), Mohammad Hasnain (Hyderabad), Mohammad Umar (Karachi), Mohammad Zeeshan (Faisalabad), Mubasir Khan (Rawalpindi), Rehan Afridi (Khyber), Rizwan Mehmood (Hyderabad), Saim Ayub (Karachi), Umar Siddiq (Lahore), Usama Mir (Sialkot), Usman Khan (Karachi) and Usman Salahuddin (Lahore)

Mentor – Saqlain Mushtaq

STALLIONS: Mohammad Haris (captain, Peshawar), Abrar Ahmed (Karachi), Adil Amin (Peshawar), Azam Khan (Peshawar), Babar Azam (Lahore), Haris Rauf (Islamabad), Hussain Talat (Lahore), Jahandad Khan (Rawalpindi), Junaid Ali (Lahore), Maaz Ahmad Sadaqat (Peshawar), Mehran Mumtaz (Rawalpindi), Mohammad Ali (Sialkot), Mohammad Amir Khan (Swat), Saad Khan (Hyderabad), Shamyl Hussain (Islamabad), Shan Masood (Karachi), Tayyab Tahir (Sarai Alamgir), Ubaid Shah (Lahore), Yasir Khan (Rawalpindi) and Zaman Khan (Mirpur)

Mentor – Shoaib Malik

WOLVES: Mohammad Rizwan (captain, Peshawar), Fakhar Zaman (Abbottabad), Abdul Samad (Faisalabad), Akif Javed (FATA), Ali Usman (Multan), Bilawal Bhatti (Muridke), Haseebullah (Pishin), Iftikhar Ahmed (Peshawar), Kamran Ghulam (Peshawar), Mohammad Faizan (Faisalabad), Mohammad Imran Jnr (Peshawar), Mohammad Sarwar Afridi (FATA), Muhammad Imran (Khanewal), Naseem Shah (Lahore), Nisar Ahmed (Lahore), Salman Ali Agha (Lahore), Shahnawaz Dahani (Larkana), Zahid Mehmood (Dadu) and Zain Abbas (Multan)

Mentor – Misbah-ul-Haq

READ: Brendon McCullum eager to make England white-ball teams ‘bulletproof’

FAISALABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the match officials for the upcoming Champions One-Day Cup, including former ICC elite panellist Aleem Dar and Asif Yaqoob of the ICC’s international panel.

Former Test cricketer Ali Naqvi will lead the Playing Control Team, which will also include Waleed Yaqub and Zulfiqar Jan as third and fourth umpires.

The Champions One-Day Cup will feature the country’s 150 best of the best cricketers with stalwarts such as Misbah-ul-Haq, Saqlain Mushtaq, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik and Waqar Younis involved as mentors.

This will be a 50-over tournament that will be played in a single-league format.

All but the 16 September match between Lions and Panthers, which will start at 9.30 am, will commence at 3 pm. There will be three playoffs in four days with the final on Sunday, 29 September.

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Aleem Dar, Asif Yaqoob, Waleed Yaqub and Zulfiqar Jan are amongst a panel of nine umpires who will be officiating in the Champions Cup.

The other five umpires are: Faisal Aafreedi, Imtiaz Iqbal, Imran Jawed, Nasir Hussain and Rashid Riaz

Apart from Ali Naqvi, match referees’ responsibilities will be shared between Bilal Khilji, Iftikhar Ahmed, Iqbal Sheikh, Nadeem Arshad and Kamran Chaudhry.

Umpire and match referee appointments for the three playoffs and the final will be announced closer to time.

Match officials for Champions Cup

12 Sep – Wolves v Panthers. Aleem Dar and Asif Yaqoob (on-field umpires); Waleed Yaqub (third umpire), Zulfiqar Jan (fourth umpire); Ali Naqvi (match referee)

13 Sep – Stallions v Lions. Aleem Dar and Waleed Yaqub (on-field umpires); Asif Yaqoob (third umpire), Zulfiqar Jan (fourth umpire); Ali Naqvi (match referee)

14 Sep – Dolphins v Panthers. Asif Yaqoob and Zulfiqar Jan (on-field umpires); Aleem Dar (third umpire), Waleed Yaqub (fourth umpire); Bilal Khilji (match referee)

15 Sep – Wolves v Stallions. Aleem Dar and Rashid Riaz (on-field umpires); Waleed Yaqub (third umpire), Zulfiqar Jan (fourth umpire); Bilal Kjilji (match referee)

16 Sep – Lions v Panthers. Waleed Yaqub and Zulfiqar Jan (on-field umpires); Rashid Riaz (third umpire), Imran Jawed (fourth umpire); Iqbal Sheikh (match referee)

17 Sep – Dolphins v Wolves. Nasir Hussain and Rashid Riaz (on-field umpires); Imran Jawed (third umpire), Waleed Yaqub (fourth umpire); Iqbal Sheikh (match referee)

19 Sep – Stallions v Dolphins. Imran Jawed and Imtiaz Iqbal (on-field umpire); Nasir Hussain (third umpire), Waleed Yaqub (fourth umpire); Iftikhar Ahmed (match referee)

20 Sep – Lions v Wolves. Imran Jawed and Nasir Hussain (on-field umpires); Rashid Riaz (TV umpire), Imtiaz Iqbal (fourth umpire); Iftikhar Ahmed (match referee)

21 Sep – Panthers v Stallions. Imran Jawed and Nasir Hussain (on-field umpires: Faisal Aafreedi (third umpire), Imtiaz Iqbal (fourth umpire); Nadeem Arshad (match referee)

22 Sep – Dolphins v Lions. Faisal Aafreedi and Imtiaz Iqbal (on-field umpires); Nasir Hussain (third umpire), Imran Jawed (fourth umpire); Kamran Chaudhry (match referee)

Appointments for the playoffs and the final of the Champions Cup will be announced closer to the matches.

READ: Wasim Akram ’embarrassed’ over Pakistan’s series defeat against Bangladesh

The Regional Inter-District senior cricket tournament is set to commence on Thursday, 5 September in six regions across the country including Abbottabad, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad, Karachi, Multan and Sialkot Regions.

Meanwhile, the tournament will kick off on 8 September in eight other regions including Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Dera Murad Jamali, FATA, Faisalabad, Islamabad, Larkana, Peshawar and Quetta Regions.

The inter-district senior tournament matches in Rawalpindi Region and Lahore Region will begin from 12 September. A total of 103 district/zonal teams will play 255 matches across the 16 regions in the country while over 1500 players will participate in the tournament.

The tournament will provide talent for the upcoming Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and the National T20 Cup 2024-25 where 18 teams of the 16 regional sides will take on each other.

The Regional Inter-District senior cricket tournament is part of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) initiative to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket by providing a tougher, more competitive and high-pressure cricket playing environment, and creating better and enhanced earning opportunities for its future stars.

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The cricketing body also announced the addition of three Champions tournaments as part of the PCB Men’s Domestic Cricket Season 2024-25.

The Champions One-Day Cup, Champions T20 Cup and Champions First-Class Cup will join the National T20 Cup, Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (regional first-class tournament), President’s Trophy (departmental first-class tournament), President’s Cup (departmental 50-over event), and HBL Pakistan Super League 2025 in the 2024-25 domestic cricket season, expected to run from 1 September 2024 to 5 August 2025.

With the addition of three Champions tournaments, the PCB will now organise a total of 261 matches across eight men’s senior tournaments. This includes 131 first-class matches in three events, 40 50-over matches in two events and 97 T20 matches in three events.

In the 2023-24 season, the PCB had organised 203 matches in the six men’s senior tournaments, including 51 first-class matches in two tournaments, 55 50-over matches in two events and 97 T20 matches.

READ: Sarfaraz Ahmed advises “talented” Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday announced the names of five participating teams and the schedule for the upcoming Champions One-Day Cup.

The five teams — Dolphins, Lions, Panthers, Stallions and Wolves will square off in the single-league tournament at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad from 12 September.

The opening match will be played between the Wolves and the Panthers, while the final is scheduled to be played on 29 September.

Except for the 16 September match between Lions and Panthers, which will commence at 9.30 am local time, all other 13 matches will begin at 3 pm.

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Lions and Panthers will go toe to toe in a morning match to allow Pakistan women’s versus South Africa women’s T20I to be broadcast live.

The PCB on Monday announced Misbah-ul-Haq, Saqlain Mushtaq, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik and Waqar Younis as mentors of the five Champions Cup sides.

However, their team and the 15-player squads of each time will be revealed in the coming days.

Champions One-Day Cup

12 Sep – Wolves v Panthers

13 Sep – Stallions v Lions

14 Sep – Dolphins v Panthers

15 Sep – Wolves v Stallions

16 Sep – Lions v Panthers

17 Sep – Dolphins v Wolves

19 Sep – Stallions v Dolphins

20 Sep – Lions v Wolves

21 Sep – Panthers v Stallions

22 Sep – Dolphins v Lions

24 Sep – Qualifier (Team No.1 v Team No. 2)

25 Sep – Eliminator 1 (Team No.3 v Team No.4)

27 Sep – Eliminator 2 (Losing Qualifier v Winning Eliminator 2)

29 Sep – Final

READ: Pakistan to host South Africa ahead of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup

RAWALPINDI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced free entry for students in the second Test match between Bangladesh and the host Pakistan.

The second and final Test of the series is scheduled to take place at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from 30 August to 3 September.

The students are required to be in their uniform and bring their educational institution cards to enter the stadium.

They will be able to witness the live action from any of the VIP enclosures – Imran Khan and Javed Miandad (subject to availability of seats) and premium enclosures – Miran Baksh, Shoaib Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir and Yasir Arafat.

The decision was made to encourage students to come and witness the exciting game of cricket between the two sides.

Bangladesh are leading the two-match Test series 1-0, after defeating Pakistan by 10 wickets in the first Test match which concluded on Sunday. The series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25.

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The free entry policy for students does not apply to the seating capacity in the PCB Gallery or Platinum Box.

Earlier, the PCB had announced free entry for the fans on the fourth and fifth days of the first Test match at the same venue.

Meanwhile, the fans can purchase tickets for the second Test online at PCB.tcs.com.pk or from the physical ticket booth located at Aviation Ground, opposite Rescue 1122, Rawal Road and also at the designated TCS express centres.

The tickets for the premium enclosures will be available for PKR 200, while VIP enclosure tickets will be priced at PKR 500 on weekdays and PKR 600 on weekends.

The Gallery pass, which includes lunch and tea, is priced at PKR 2,800. The Platinum box, which also includes lunch and tea, is available for PKR 12,500. Additionally, a full hospitality box can be reserved for PKR 200,000.

Like the first Test match, a free shuttle bus service will continue to run on two routes on matchdays for ease of access into the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium by spectators.

Route 1 will run from Aviation Ground, Rawal Road, Murree Road to Allama Iqbal Park Entrance Gate while Route 2 will go from Government Satellite Town College for Boys, 6th Road, Murree Road to Allama Iqbal Park Entrance Gate.

READ: Rashid Latif disappointed over decreasing pace of Pakistan bowlers

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday, rejected the reports asserting that the schedule of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, scheduled to be hosted by Pakistan, may undergo tweaks.

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi on Monday, on the sidelines of his visit to Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore to analyze the renovation process of the venue, addressed the media and discussed the below-par conditions of the stadiums in the country.

He admitted that none of the stadiums in Pakistan are on par with international standards but emphasized that the renovation of the stadiums will be completed in time for the Champions Trophy 2025.

However, some media outlets, primarily from India, misinterpreted the PCB chief’s remarks and quoted him saying that the Champions Trophy, supposed to be held in Pakistan, may be rescheduled.

“God willing, the Champions Trophy will indeed take place in Pakistan. Match dates may shift, but the PCB is actively coordinating with security agencies,” an Indian news outlet InsideSport quoted Naqvi.

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Meanwhile, PCB issued a clarification statement regarding their chairman’s recent media talk and highlighted that Naqvi expressed readiness for the multi-national tournament.

“It is disappointing that certain media outlets have misrepresented PCB Chair Mohsin Naqvi’s comments from yesterday’s media interaction, misleadingly quoting him on the possibility of change of dates for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to security concerns, thus creating unnecessary sensationalism,” clarified PCB in a statement.

“During the media talk, which is available on the PCB’s official YouTube channel, the PCB Chair clearly stated that the redevelopment and redesign of the three designated stadia would be completed on schedule, ensuring readiness to host the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. The PCB Chair also mentioned that while some domestic matches may need to be shifted to facilitate uninterrupted construction work, this in no way pertains to the ICC Champions Trophy, which remains a priority for the PCB as a premier eight-team international event.

“The PCB is fully committed to hosting a world-class ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at three of Pakistan’s iconic venues, ensuring an unforgettable experience for our passionate cricket fans. In line with this commitment, the PCB has already submitted a draft schedule to the International Cricket Council (ICC), with the proposed dates spanning from 19 February to 9 March 2025.”

READ: Pakistan captain Shan opens up on Imam’s future in Tests

Pakistan batter Umar Amin has recently stated his ambition to return to international cricket, taking inspiration from the long-awaited comeback of Fawad Alam in 2020.

Fawad Alam made his Test debut in 2009 against Sri Lanka and played a memorable 168-run knock in the second innings.

However, the left-handed batter was dropped after two more matches and remained out of the Test side for eleven years despite strong performances in domestic cricket.

He continued to move in and out of the white-ball team, but he eventually fell out of favour with selectors, playing his last ODI in 2015.

However, he refused to lose hope and continued to work hard in domestic cricket, consistently amassing a large number of runs every season.

The southpaw finally earned the reward for his hard work as he earned a recall into the Pakistan Test team during the England tour in 2020. He went on to play 16 Tests from 2020 to 2022.

 

Umar Amin has a similar story, but he failed to make a mark during his early years in international cricket. He represented Pakistan in all three formats, but his last international match was in 2013.

During a recent interview with a local sports website, Umar expressed his desire to make a return emulating Fawad’s resurgence in international cricket.

“If I didn’t believe in this, I wouldn’t even be playing domestic cricket right now. The goal has always been to make a comeback and play for Pakistan,” Umar said.

“I’ve played a lot of cricket with Fawad Bhai, and he’s an example in front of me because he made a comeback after a long time. He also had consistent performances.

“So, I am very hopeful based on my good performance. My focus is just to give the best performance I can, do what is within my control, and not think too much about what’s beyond my control.”

Umar has recently played a 177-run knock during Pakistan Shaheens’ four-day match against Bangladesh A.

READ: Shan Masood reveals reason for dropping Mir Hamza

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday confirmed that Kookaburra balls will be used during the upcoming series against Bangladesh and the subsequent home Test fixtures.

The series between Pakistan and Bangladesh is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25, with the first Test commencing at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from 21-25 August.

The cricket board also announced that the red-ball matches of the 2024-25 domestic season will be played with the Duke balls.

“As the domestic cricket season is set to commence next month, the PCB has announced that Duke balls will be used for all seniors’ red-ball domestic events,” the PCB said in a press release.

“Aceline and Grays will be the local brand of cricket balls that will be utilised for pathways and grassroots cricket, including the U15, U17, and U19 tournaments, schools, universities, clubs, and inter-district competitions.

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This decision follows an extensive analysis of ground and pitch conditions across domestic venues, with the Duke ball being custom-made to suit the characteristics of local pitches.”

Meanwhile, the white-ball matches during the extensive domestic season 2024-25 will be played with the Kookaburra balls.

“For the domestic 50-over and T20 competitions, the PCB will continue to use Kookaburra cricket balls, maintaining consistency with international standards, as all white-ball cricket worldwide, including ICC events, is played with Kookaburra balls,” the PCB stated.

“For the seven ICC World Test Championship fixtures, the PCB has decided to use Kookaburra cricket balls. These matches include two Tests against Bangladesh, three Tests against England, and two Tests against the West Indies.

According to ICC World Test Championship playing conditions, the home board has the prerogative to decide on the brand of cricket balls to be used.”

READ: PCB shifts second Pakistan-Bangladesh Test from Karachi to Rawalpindi