PCB’s Ban on “Unapproved” Cricket: Control Over Development?

 

 

Musarrat Ullah Jan , KikxNow , Digital Creator

The Pakistan Cricket Board’s recent letter warning against participation in “unapproved” private cricket leagues raises a fundamental question: is the PCB protecting cricket, or restricting it?

On 13 January 2026, the PCB formally instructed Regional and District Cricket Associations to ensure that registered players, clubs, and officials do not take part in any private leagues, tournaments, or matches that have not been sanctioned by the board. Violations, the letter warns, will invite disciplinary action under PCB regulations.

At face value, the directive appears administrative. In reality, it exposes a deeper and long-standing problem in Pakistan’s cricket structure: control has replaced development.

 

Before banning others from organizing competitions, the PCB must answer a simple question. What volume and quality of competitive cricket does it itself provide?

At grassroots and age-group levels, the calendar is thin and inconsistent. Under-14, Under-16, Under-19, and Under-20 competitions are limited, irregular, and often inaccessible to players without connections or influence. In many districts, a young cricketer may wait an entire year for a single meaningful tournament.

Cricket is not developed through press releases or circulars. It is built through matches, repetition, and exposure. When institutional systems fail to provide that, private initiatives naturally step in to fill the vacuum. Private leagues are not a threat to cricket. They are a symptom of institutional neglect.

Coaches, former players, and local organizers invest their own resources to run tournaments because players need match practice, not paperwork. These competitions offer something the official system often does not: regular games, open access, and visibility for unknown talent.

When such platforms are shut down without offering alternatives, the message to young players is clear. You may not play unless the system allows you to. And the system, in many cases, simply does not.

The idea that every local tournament now requires PCB approval is both impractical and counterproductive. Cricket does not grow through centralized micromanagement. It grows when opportunities multiply at the bottom.

If the concern is quality, integrity, or player welfare, regulation is the answer, not prohibition. Registration, basic standards, qualified umpires, and transparent reporting could easily bring private tournaments into a structured framework. Instead, the PCB has chosen enforcement over engagement. Blocking Pathways, Not Protecting Standards

 

There is an uncomfortable truth behind this policy. Competitive environments produce questions. They reveal talent outside established networks. They challenge selection monopolies.

When players perform in open tournaments, it becomes harder to justify why the same names appear repeatedly in official squads. By cutting off these spaces, the system protects itself, not the sport.

A player is not developed by an approval letter. A player is developed by facing bowlers, surviving pressure, and learning through competition. Restricting matches restricts progress.

If the PCB believes in its domestic structure, it should welcome competition, not fear it. Strong systems do not collapse because of parallel activity. Weak systems do. Cricket in Pakistan does not suffer from too many matches. It suffers from too few meaningful ones.

Until the board prioritizes access, volume, and transparency in domestic cricket, banning private tournaments will only slow development further and push talent out of the system entirely.

Control may maintain order. But only opportunity creates cricketers.

 

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