Champions Cup future in jeopardy
The future of the Champions Cup cricket tournament is now in jeopardy, with discussions emerging about reviving the Pentangular Cup in its place.
No decision has yet been made regarding the mentors who are drawing salaries of 5 million rupees per month. Meanwhile, the regions have rejected the proposal to reduce the number of domestic cricket teams.
According to details, after domestic cricket failed to deliver the desired results, the PCB recently formed a committee for reforms, which held its first meeting a few days ago. Sources revealed that due to the lack of expected benefits, there are now considerations to discontinue the Champions Cup. No decision has been taken yet about the future of the mentors earning 5 million rupees monthly; one suggestion is to assign them other tasks.
Discussions were also held about reinstating the four-day, one-day, and T20 Pentangular tournaments as in the past, including both finalists of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and departmental events, along with one PCB team. This team would include the best cricketers from across the country, and each team would have a professional coach appointed.
During the meeting, representatives of the regions rejected the proposal to reduce the number of domestic teams from 18 to 9. Suggestions to categorize teams into silver and gold, merge smaller city teams, or combine regional and departmental teams also failed to convince them. They argued that the current teams were to remain in place for three years, and there's no justification for changing them after just one year. A regional official, blaming PCB's domestic cricket department's interference in selection and other matters as the root cause of issues, said they should be allowed to manage everything independently.
Regarding the lack of talent from smaller cities, participants cited India's Ranji Trophy as an example, noting that only one superstar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, emerged from Jharkhand, but that team is always part of the domestic event. A similar example was given from Australian cricket regarding Steve Waugh.
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