PCB chairman Ramiz Raja to seek approval for PJL at Thursday’s BoG meeting

Ramiz,
a
former
Pakistan
captain,
is
keen
to
launch
the
PJL
in
October
this
year
for
Under-19
foreign
and
local
players.

“With
the
BoG
due
to
also
approve
the
budget
for
2022-23,
it
is
expected
that
Ramiz
will
seek
approval
for
the
league
and
a
budget
allocation
for
it,”
a
reliable
PCB
source
said.

Ramiz
is
planning
to
hold
the
PJL
on
the
lines
of
the
Pakistan
Super
League
with
a
franchise
based
system
and
wants
to
involve
foreign
coaches
and
players
in
the
inaugural
event.
The
PCB
has
apparently
set
a
base
price
of
around
14
to
15
crores
for
each
franchise.

The
BoG
meeting
is
also
significant
given
the
surge
in
speculations
in
the
last
two
days
that
Prime
Minister
Shahbaz
Sharif
is
contemplating
bringing
his
own
man
in
the
PCB
chairman’s
post.

There
were
conflicting
reports
that
three
former
heads
of
the
board,
Khalid
Mahmood,
Najam
Sethi
and
Zaka
Ashraf
have
recently
interacted
or
met
with
the
PM
with
Mahmood
even
offering
his
availability
for
the
chairman’s
post.

The
BoG
is
also
due
to
give
approval
for
the
new
central
contracts
to
be
issued
to
the
players
for
the
first
time
in
red
and
white
ball
categories
with
an
increase
of
25
to
30
per
cent.

Ramiz
will
also
submit
his
report
on
the
performances
of
the
national
team
and
its
upcoming
assignments
besides
seeking
approval
for
a
new
age
verification
policy
for
Under-16
and
Under-19
players.