CM Kamal seeks PCB help for Balochistan cricket

Pledges to take five steps for each step PCB takes for the sport

QUETTA: Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Aliyani on Tuesday met with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani and asked for the PCB’s help in nurturing cricket talent in Balochistan.
Pledging his full support to the PCB in the promotion of cricket in the province, Jam Kamal hoped that a Cricket Academy in Quetta combined with coaching at the district level could yield cricketers capable of taking Pakistan to the top of the cricketing world. He assured Ehsan Mani that, for every step the PCB took to promote cricket in Balochistan, he would take five.
Provincial Ministers Meer Naseebullah Marri and Muhammad Khan Lehri, Federal Secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani, the sports secretary and Balochistan Cricket Association members were also present in the meeting.



The Balochistan chief minister also claimed on the occasion that the current government had been utilizing all resources to foster sports in the province as, without government support, it was not possible to develop a sports friendly culture.
Jam Kamal also announced that his government had decided to allocate funds for district sports complexes across the province in the next annual budget, adding that Quetta Gladiators’ owner Nadeem Umar and the Engro Corporation had both pledged to build a cricket academy in Quetta.
For his part, Ehsan Mani lauded the pro-cricket initiatives of the Balochistan government and revealed that he intended to shift PCB to the district level with the aim of creating cricket teams at the provincial level with the chief ministers acting as the provincial patrons-in-chief of the sport. He also promised to help Balochistan achieve its goal of a world-class cricket standard in the province.