The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is a

sports governing body A sports governing body is a sports organization that has a regulatory or sanctioning function. Sports governing bodies come in various forms and have a variety of regulatory functions. Examples of this can include disciplinary action for rule i ...

for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the

Pakistan national cricket team The Pakistan national cricket team or Pak cricket team, often referred to as the Shaheens (), Green Shirts, Men in Green and Cornered Tigers is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team is a Full Member of the International ...

. A member of the International Cricket Council since 1952, it represents the country's men's and

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...

national teams in

international cricket International cricket matches are played between teams representing their nations, normally organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The main forms are Test matches, One-Day matches and Twenty20 matches. Most games are played ...

tournaments played under the ICC. Following the establishment of Pakistan as an independent

dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

in 1947, professional and amateur cricket commenced in the same year, seeing as local infrastructure had already been established when the country was part of the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

. Cricket matches were arranged informally until 1948, when a Board of Control was formally instituted. Pakistan was admitted to the

Imperial Cricket Conference The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the world governing body of cricket. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, its members are 108 national associations, with 12 Full Members and 96 Associate Members. Founded in 1909 as the '' ...

(currently known as International Cricket Council) in July 1952, and has since been a full member, playing Test cricket. The team's first Test series took place in India between October and December 1952.

Inaugural Board of Control

The Pakistan Cricket Board was inaugurated on 1 May 1949 as the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP). The first meeting, held in the committee rooms of Lahore Gymkhana, saw HE

Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot Nawab Iftikhar Hussain Khan of Mamdot (31 December 1906 – 16 October 1969) was a Pakistani politician and a key supporter of the Pakistan Movement in British India. After Pakistan's Independence, He served as the 1st Chief Minister of West P ...

, the

Nawab of Mamdot The Nawab of Mamdot was the title of the hereditary rulers of Mamdot, a princely state, near Firozpur, in the Punjab region of British India. Background In 1794, Nizamuddin and his younger brother Qutbuddin, established themselves as rulers of Kasu ...

, made president and chairman, with Justice

A. R. Cornelius Alvin Robert Cornelius, HPk (8 May 1903 – 21 December 1991) was a Pakistani jurist, legal philosopher and judge, serving as the 4th Chief Justice of Pakistan from 1960 until 1968. In addition, he served as Law Minister in the cabinet of Yahya ...

as one of three vice-presidents. The following year, Cornelius became chairman of the working committee, until he relinquished his connection with the board in early 1953. The working chairman was always one of the three vice-presidents. In April 1957,

Ayub Khan Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...

imposed three more new vice-presidents (himself being one of them). Then between December 1958 and September 1969 the post of vice-president disappeared.

Committees

The response to turmoil within the board has on four occasions been to suspend the rules and appoint an ad hoc committee. The first ad hoc committee was appointed in September 1960 and did not disband until May 1963 having created a new constitution. The President of Pakistan would now nominate the board president who would in turn nominate the other members of the executive committee to sit for a period of three years. Representatives of the four provincial cricket associations and Government departments formed the executive committee. The BCCP was re-organised in the 1970s and was headed by former cricketers, professional administrators and trustees, who were often businessmen. In November 1976 players' demands for increased salaries reached a crisis and the Pakistan Sports Board took over running the B.C.C.P.'s affairs. Long-serving president, the formidable Kardar, was in the thick of the dispute. The revolt against Kardar forced him to resign in May 1977 and led to a new Ad Hoc Committee replacing the Board Council in 1978 running Pakistan cricket and again changing the constitution. Provincial Cricket Associations were eliminated and divisional and city CAs became members, giving most of the influence to the city Cricket Association of Lahore and Karachi. The Board now governed a network of teams sponsored by corporations and banks, city associations and clubs. There is no province-based official team type organisation of domestic cricket in Pakistan and

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

and

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

cities are the two top tiers of all cricket, including reservoirs of fresh talent. Pakistan cricket was involved by dissension and controversies over the national team's poor performance during the tour of India and a public uproar forced the end of the Ad Hoc Committee. The chairman and team captain Asif Iqbal had to step down. Air Marshal Nur Khan now became chairman and he saw the banks and other organisations increase their participation on the Board Council in the face of protests from the zonal organisations. A third ad hoc committee under Javed Burki took charge of BCCP affairs in January 1994 and made a new constitution including giving a new name, the Pakistan Cricket Board (P.C.B.) It introduced a chairman and chief executive. After taking heavy criticism on the grounds of corruption and match fixing, the Board was taken over by a fourth Ad Hoc Committee formed on 17 July 1999 which remains in place despite undertakings from Musharraf to bring it to an end. The Pakistan Cricket Board re-emerged by taking the initiative to sponsor the hugely successful 2004 tour of Pakistan by their rivals

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. The Pakistan Cricket Board has competed and has associated itself with the

Twenty20 cricket Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single inni ...

form and has also proven popular and hopes to similarly revive popular interest in domestic games. However, Pakistan's early exit from the 2007 World Cup cast a shadow and later

Dr. Nasim Ashraf Nasim Ashraf ( ur, نسيم أشرف) is a Pakistani-American social worker, physician, and former cricketer who had been the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board between 2006 and 2008. He was also the Chairman of the National Commission f ...

's resigned at the end of 2008. Ejaz Butt was named the PCB Chairman in October 2008. Zaka Ashraf took over from Butt in October 2011. On 28 May 2013, Zaka Ashraf was suspended as PCB Chairman by

Islamabad High Court The Islamabad High Court is the senior court of the Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan, with appellate jurisdiction over the following district courts: * Islamabad District Court (East) * Islamabad District Court (West) Justice Aamer Far ...

due to a dubious election. The newly sworn in Government of

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime minister of Pak ...

named

Najam Sethi Najam Aziz Sethi (Urdu, pa, ; born 20 May 1948) is a Pakistani journalist, businessman and cricket administrator, currently serving as the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). He also is the founder of ''The Friday Times'' and ''Vanguar ...

as acting PCB Chairman. On 15 October 2013, the governing council of the Pakistan Cricket Board was dissolved by the Prime Minister of Pakistan,

, and an interim five man management committee was named consisting of acting chairman

‚

Shahryar Khan Shahryar Mohammad Khan ( ur, شہریار محمد خان; born 12 March 1934) is a former career Pakistan diplomat who became Foreign Secretary of Pakistan in 1990, and remained so until his retirement from service in 1994. He later served as ...

, two former players (

Zaheer Abbas Syed Zaheer Abbas Kirmani PP, (in Punjabi and Urdu: سید ظہیر عباس کرمانی; born 24 July 1947), popularly known as Zaheer Abbas, is a former Pakistani cricketer. He is among few professional cricketers who used to wear spectacles ...

and

Haroon Rasheed Haroon Rasheed Dar (born 25 March 1953) is a retired Pakistani cricketer who played in 23 Tests and 12 ODIs from 1977 to 1983. He is currently serving as the chief selector of the Pakistani cricket team. Early life As a child he attended th ...

, and former team manager Naveed Cheema. On 15 January 2014, Zaka Ashraf was reinstated as PCB Chairman. The PML-N Government was unhappy with the reinstatement (since Ashraf was a PPP appointee), and this led to Ashraf's sacking. In February, PCB Governing Board was dissolved and an eight-member management committee (comprising Shakil Sheikh, Shaharyar Khan, Zaheer Abbas, Iqbal Qasim, Naveed Akram Cheema, Yusaf Naseem Khokar and Faridullah Khan, the secretary IPC). Najam Sethi was elected as chairman by the management committee.

Domestic cricket

The structure of domestic cricket in Pakistan at the highest level has changed many times since 1947 with the latest restructure being enforced in 2019. Previously

domestic cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

operated with departmental, city and regional teams - a set up encouraged by

Abdul Hafeez Kardar Abdul Hafeez Kardar PP, HI ( ur, ) (17 January 1925 – 21 April 1996) was a Pakistani cricketer, politician and diplomat. He was the first captain of the Pakistan cricket team. He is one of the only three players to have played Test crick ...

. Since 1947, the domestic first class cricket system has varied considerably per year with teams ranging from 7 to 26 and tournament matches operating under different formats (often changes occurred every year). With the advent of domestic

List A List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...

and T20 forms of cricket in the 1970s and 2000s, there has been no consistent set up (as has been noted for first class cricket in Pakistan). Historically, school and club cricket has also suffered due to inconsistencies in top tier domestic cricket. The consistent changes in the domestic structure and the gradual introduction of departmental teams was encouraged as it provided permanent jobs to players. Matches were rarely televised due to lack of quality cricket and lack of interest in departmental cricket. This inconsistent system was widely criticised on the basis of low quality cricket and reduced competition. In 2019, six regional teams were created on provincial lines. The teams would compete in the principal competitions in all three formats of the game: the

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is a domestic first-class cricket competition in Pakistan. With few exceptions, it has been staged annually since it was first played during the 1953–54 season. Domestic cricket in Pakistan has undergone many reorganis ...

( First Class),

Pakistan Cup The Pakistan Cup is the national domestic List A cricket competition in Pakistan. Played originally as the Pentangular One Day Cup in 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2014–15, the competition was renamed as the Pakistan Cup in 2016 when it also adopt ...

(

) and

National T20 Cup The National T20 Cup is a men's professional domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Pakistan. Established in 2005, it is one of the world's oldest Twenty20 cricket leagues. It was the principal T20 competition in the country until 2016, when t ...

(Domestic T20). The PCB's rationale in reducing the number of teams in domestic cricket was to concentrate talent in order to increase competition and improve the quality of cricket. The new structure also consisted of corresponding second XI, under-19, under-16 and under-13 competitions, and live television coverage of top level matches. The restructuring also reorganised district level cricket into a three tier bottom-up system, with 90 city cricket associations supervising school and club cricket at grassroots level, and inter-city tournaments providing a stepping-stone to the six elite regional teams. The six regional teams (operated by respective six cricket associations) ensure that the affairs of the associations at city level are regulated. They frame policies that will develop cricket at the grassroots, manage club cricket in collaboration with the 90 city associations and also oversee intra-city competitions. The teams are responsible for revenue generation through sponsorship, marketing and strategic collaborations with business conglomerates. Each of the six regional teams have a chief executive officer and a management committee that has been tasked with supervising all cricketing activities. These changes have been made by the PCB in order to decentralise the administrative body so that it can limit itself to a supervisory role by delegating responsibilities related to the development of the sport to the provincial associations. This tiered structure has been enshrined in the PCB constitution.

Governance of Pakistan cricket

Presidents and chairmen

Secretary

Chief executive officers

Headquarters

The PCB headquarters are located near the

Gaddafi Stadium Gaddafi Stadium ( ur, , translit=Qaẕẕāfī Isṭeḍiyam), previously known as Lahore Stadium is a cricket stadium in Lahore, Pakistan and the home ground of Lahore Qalandars. It is owned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). With a capa ...

, Lahore. All PCB Officials sit there during the weekdays from 9AM to 5PM.

PCB annual awards

Pakistan Cricket Board for the first time held inaugural awards in 2012. This new PCB initiative is meant to recognize, acknowledge and honour Pakistan's prime cricketing talent that has consistently stood out on the field of play.

PCB initiative to revive cricket in Pakistan

Australian envoy visits PCB headquarters

The Australian Higher Commissioner to Pakistan, Peter Heyward, visited the PCB headquarters at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on 3 September 2012. He appreciated the board's efforts to bring cricket back in Pakistan. He further said he always love to see the Australian team playing against Pakistan in front of Pakistani people and on their home grounds.

Asian Cricket Council Development Committee

The

Asian Cricket Council The Asian Cricket Council also known as ACC is a cricket organisation which was established in 1983, to promote and develop the sport of cricket in Asia. Subordinate to the International Cricket Council, the council is the continent's regional ...

Development Committee meeting was held in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

on 24 September 2012 and was chaired by Zaka Ashraf. The Chairman PCB called on the members to come over to Pakistan to play cricket. ACC members assured the then Chairman of their support and Chief Executive of ACC Syed Ashraful Haq said they felt no security concern in Pakistan and considered playing cricket here to be safe as anywhere in the world.

ICC CEO visits NCA

David Richardson, the chief executive of the International Cricket Council, visited National Cricket Academy on 12 January 2013. He said that Pakistan Cricket Board is working very hard to bring International Cricket back to Pakistan and it is our role to support Pakistan Cricket Board in its efforts to revive international cricket whenever it is possible.

References

External links

Official website
{{Chairman of PCB 1948 establishments in Pakistan Cricket Board Cricket administration Cric Pakistan federal departments and agencies Sports organizations established in 1948 Government agencies established in 1948 Gaddafi Stadium