Organisers unhappy with PCB’s interference

Board will find it difficult to deal with so many NOCs, says Jalaluddin.

KARACHI:

Karachi’s cricket organisers are unhappy with the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) move of taking all domestic tournaments under its umbrella and have termed it a conspiracy.

The decision was taken in the recent Governing Body meeting and an official press release stated that ‘every private party interested in holding a cricket event on the domestic level will need an NOC from the PCB.’ It went on to add that ‘without the NOC, no PCB registered player will be able to participate in that particular tournament’.

Fomer Test cricketer Jalaluddin, who has been organising tournaments recently, said that the PCB’s actions are aimed at taking charge of the high-profile tournaments being arranged in Karachi.

“All the top tournaments are arranged in Karachi and it looks like the PCB want to have it their way,” Jalal told The Express Tribune. “Players from all over Pakistan come here to play and sometimes they even prefer private events over PCB’s tournaments which has become a threatening situation.”

Jalal added that the PCB will find it very difficult to deal with the hundreds of NOC request while monitoring each and every event that is taking place.

Another former cricketer added that the Pakistan Champions League was a wakeup call for the PCB as it tried to revive international cricket in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, a senior PCB official admitted that PCL was one of the reasons why the board introduced this ruling.

“The PCB wants to avoid clash of dates in the future and that’s why this ruling has been introduced. This is also done to end corruption in the game as bookies operate openly in several high-profile events.”

Published In The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2012.