Taking cricket to the next generation: PCB expands school programme to unearth Pakistan’s emerging talent

The pathway takes young cricketers from district contests via divisional and provincial stages to the national level

 

There is no doubt about the abundance of cricketing talent in Pakistan.

This is a country where players have consistently emerged from streets, neighbourhoods and school grounds to go on to represent Pakistan at some of the biggest cricketing venues around the world. The challenge is not a lack of talent, but reaching that talent at the right time, identifying it and providing it with the right direction to progress.

The Pakistan Cricket Board believes that its responsibility goes beyond organising matches and tournaments. A strong cricketing system is built when talented children are identified at an early age, given opportunities to play, provided with the right training to develop their abilities, and offered a clear pathway to progress.

This is what makes school cricket so important to the future of Pakistan cricket.

PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi has placed special emphasis on the promotion of school cricket and the identification of new talent in Pakistan. With this objective, a number of new tournaments and programmes have been introduced at the school level.

The School Cricket Programme launched last year was an important step in the same direction. During 2025–26, 450 schools from 39 districts participated in the programme, representing the largest participation in school cricket in Pakistan at that time.
 

Building on that experience, the Pakistan Cricket Board has significantly expanded the programme this year, taking it to a much larger scale across the country. Around 21,000 students from 1,400 schools across 100 districts will participate this year, with a total of 2,895 matches scheduled to be played.

The real significance of these numbers lies not simply in their scale, but in the opportunities they will create for thousands of young players to showcase their abilities, compete and come under the system’s radar. Both government and private schools are participating in the programme, further broadening the reach of school cricket.

PCB has also made a conscious effort to ensure that the search for talent is not limited to traditional cricketing centres, but reaches remote and less-exposed areas of the country. Schools from different regions, from Gilgit to Gwadar, are taking part.

The participation of 124 schools from FATA, more than 80 schools from Dera Ismail Khan, as well as young players from Kashmir, Larkana and other areas, demonstrates that Pakistan’s cricketing talent is not confined to any one city or region.

This year, the programme will not be limited to matches alone. Skills development camps are being conducted across the 1,400 schools, focusing on batting, bowling, fielding and fitness. Experienced regional and district coaches, including former and international cricketers, are playing their part in training and developing the young players.

An important aspect of PCB’s school cricket initiative is to ensure that talented players identified through these competitions have a clear pathway to progress. The journey will move from the district level to the divisional, provincial and ultimately national stages.

District league pool matches will be held from September to October, followed by a knockout phase involving 100 teams in November, while the national stage will take place from late November through December. The national final will be played on 5 December.

For a young cricketer, the significance of this journey goes beyond winning a trophy. Players who demonstrate outstanding performances will have opportunities to progress into U15, U17 and U19 cricket, as well as gain access to 16 regional academies and regional cricket.

A schoolboy from a remote district of Pakistan may today be playing only for his school team. But if he possesses the ability, this programme can provide him with the opportunity to be seen, assessed and given a pathway to progress.

That is the real strength of school cricket. This is not simply a tournament. It is a structured effort to reach young Pakistanis who want to play, want to progress and dream of one day wearing the green shirt of Pakistan.

The initiatives under the leadership of Mohsin Naqvi to introduce new tournaments at the school level and continuously expand the reach of school cricket are part of a broader effort to identify Pakistan’s emerging talent at an early stage, provide young players with opportunities for training and competitive cricket, and create a clear pathway towards national cricket.

The Pakistan Cricket Board’s objective is to ensure that this opportunity is not limited to the major cities, but reaches every child and young player across the country who has the potential to become part of Pakistan’s cricketing future.