Islamabad: To promote cricket in educational institutions and improve infrastructure, a decision has been made to organize cricket tournaments and leagues.
In this regard, Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) have been signed between the Pakistan Cricket Board’s Inter-Board Coordination Commission, the Higher Education Commission, and the CDA.
A special ceremony for signing the MoUs was held at the CDA Headquarters, with PCB Chairman and Federal Minister for Education Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui as the guest of honor.
Director Domestic PCB Abdullah Khurram Niazi, Director Sports Inter-Board Coordination Commission Muhammad Usman Khan, and Director Sports Higher Education Commission Javed Ali Memon signed the MoUs.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi welcomed the signing of the MoUs, stating that for the first time in history, serious efforts are being made to promote cricket at the grassroots level.
He emphasized that organizing inter-school, inter-collegiate, and inter-university tournaments will bring talent from the grassroots level.
He hopes that these agreements will strengthen cricket at the grassroots level.
Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui noted that schools are nurseries for talent and that good players emerge from schools.
Under the agreements, the IBCC will oversee the arrangements for tournaments with all educational boards, while a framework for promoting cricket in higher education institutions will be established and implemented.
The establishment of cricket academies in higher education institutions will be encouraged, with a focus on promoting women’s cricket.
Data of players from higher education institutions will be provided to the PCB database.
The HEC will encourage awarding sports scholarships to the best players in higher education institutions.
The PCB will select the best players for cricket scholarships, who will be admitted to higher educational institutions based on their sports performance.
The IBCC will work with all educational boards to ensure maximum participation by contacting schools and colleges.
The IBCC and educational boards, in collaboration with provincial and federal governments, will develop cricket grounds in schools and colleges.
Tournaments will start at the district level, followed by divisional, provincial, and finally, national levels.
The PCB will ensure the provision of official umpires, scorers, and other necessary staff for the tournaments.
The PCB will be responsible for releasing the tournament schedule and ensuring timely dissemination of information to all participating institutions.
The PCB will ensure training of the best players from winning teams at high-performance centers.
Top performers from schools and colleges will be given opportunities to join PCB Under-17 and Under-19 teams.
The PCB will organize special coaching courses for physical education teachers. PCB coaches will visit schools and provide training to boys and girls during school camps.
The HEC, in consultation with the PCB, will develop a roadmap to enhance the capacity of higher education institutions for promoting cricket.
The PCB will select top players from the men’s and women’s inter-university championships, who will participate in annual training courses at PCB high-performance centers.
The PCB will provide free training to ground staff and curators of higher education institutions.
Federal Secretary for Interior Khuram Ali Agha, Federal Secretary for Education Mohiuddin Wani, CDA Chairman Muhammad Ali Randhawa, and senior officials from HEC, IBCC, and CDA attended the ceremony.