Mani Plaudits Local Economy Boost From Domestic Season

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Ehsan Mani has praised the High-Performance department for leading the successful completion of their events calendar for the 2020-21 domestic season.

The chairman added that hosting the ongoing HBL Pakistan Super League 2021 and achieving commercial targets during the unprecedented, highly challenging, and difficult Covid-19 pandemic has contributed to staging a positive image of international cricket.

Mr. Mani highlighted the International Cricket Council (ICC)’s influential Finance and Commercial Affairs Committee for the economic activity that took place due to domestic cricket and the opportunities that were created for budding youngsters to grow.

The High-Performance department’s 2020-21 domestic events had started on 30 September 2020 with the First XI National T20 Cup and concluded with the final of the PCB U16 National One-Day Tournament on 23 February in Multan and Rawalpindi, respectively.

In this period, the department revamped and restructured the plan and with the help of all the support departments, delivered nine successful tournaments that comprised a total of 220 matches.

The 220 age-group to first-class matches included assessment, evaluation, and appointments of local coaches and match officials and preparation of a national cricket framework strategy.

The trials were open for U19 and U16 events, rehabilitation programs, and the recently-concluded Pakistan U19 camp for next year’s ICC U19 Cricket World Cup West Indies 2022.

By staging an extended domestic cricket, the department created employment opportunities for domestic contracted cricketers to earn between PKR2.5million and PKR3.8million through contracts, daily allowances, and match fees.

Similarly, domestic cricket also generated economic activity as sports equipment and clothing manufacturers, travel and hotel industries continued to operate on a business-as-usual basis during a time when the world saw major organizations opting for layoffs or salary cuts.

In the hotel industry alone, the PCB used 23,316 bed nights across seven luxury hotels during the five-month period.

The players and match officials were lodged for the First and Second XI National T20 and Pakistan Cup, three and four-day Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, PCB National U19 three-day and one-day tournaments, and PCB U16 National One-Day Tournament.

The former president of the International Cricket Council (ICC) said: “This is a monumental achievement by the High-Performance department to successfully deliver 220 matches across nine events.”

Players who featured in all domestic matches during the season will earn between PKR2.5million and PKR3.8million; hotel industry was one of the major beneficiaries of the domestic events as 23,316 bed nights across seven luxury hotels were utilised. More: https://t.co/SHbkLmoUeI pic.twitter.com/qiVxdwj3WJ

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) February 24, 2021

Mani recalled, when the presentation on the 2020-21 domestic season was made in September, it looked like an over-ambitious and nearly impossible objective because of all the challenges that were posed by the evolving and uncertain Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the cricket operations, medical teams, security, finance, HR, and marketing departments, and the logistics wings of the PCB got together to ensure the targets are successfully achieved.

The chairman quoted, “The leadership provided by the High-Performance department, which was excellently and thoroughly supported by all the players and match officials during the Covid-19 pandemic, truly reflected the nation’s passion for this great game and rightly summed up the season’s #HarHaalMainCricket hashtag”.

While the traditional media broadcasted 55 matches, PCB demonstrated to the world that Pakistan was capable of creating a safe and healthy environment for cricket.

The PCB, for the first time in its history, is on the verge of formally announcing the appointments of Principal Sponsors for the six Cricket Associations.

Read Also

Wicket-Keeper Captains Pushing Lucks in PSL 6

All the revenues generated from these partnerships will be reinvested into cricket so that the PCB can provide even better opportunities and facilities to our talented cricketers in the coming seasons.

Mani concluded the media release, “Apart from the PCB staff, I will like to congratulate and thank all the players, player support personnel, and match officials who stayed away from their families and friends.”

The PCB appreciates and acknowledges their sacrifices and hopes the 2021-22 season will not test all these athletes like the 2020-21 season.