"Department cricket is a big need for Pakistan": Azhar Ali calls for revival of system

New Delhi [India], August 15 (ANI): Former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali has called for the revival and protection of departmental cricket, saying it played a crucial role in developing Pakistani talent.

Ali believes the decision to shut it down contributed to the decline in Pakistan's international cricket, describing departmental teams as the country's biggest talent nursery.

Azhar feels the system is once again being sidelined and stressed that restoring it is vital for Pakistan cricket's future.

"Department cricket is a big need for Pakistan," Azhar said. "It's contributed a lot to our cricket. We shut it down a few years ago, and my personal view is that the slide in Pakistan's international cricket right now has a lot to do with department cricket being shut down. After that, it took department cricket a long time to recover. It was the biggest nursery for Pakistan cricket, and today again it feels like it's being pushed out," Azhar Ali said, as per Cricinfo.

Ali criticised the uncertainty in the country's cricket structure, saying the abolition of departmental cricket forced some young players to leave Pakistan because they no longer saw a future at home.

He also questioned the Pakistan Cricket Board's frequent changes, arguing that constantly altering policies suggests the previous decisions were not necessarily right.

"I've seen young players who had to leave Pakistan after department cricket was abolished here. They didn't see a future here. At the PCB, our problem is we're never wrong, but perhaps we're never right either because when you change every year, it means there was a mistake," he added.

Ali was speaking in the wake of the PCB's decision to axe two departmental teams from the 2026-27 domestic season for what it described as an "inability to comply" with its new regulations, which primarily involved a three-fold increase in the participation fee.

Among the teams removed were WAPDA, one of the oldest and most established sides in Pakistan's domestic cricket, and the defending champions of the first-class competition in which they competed.

Sahir Associates also opted to withdraw rather than accept the new terms, while Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), another of Pakistan's long-standing departmental sides and the team through which Azhar himself emerged, was reportedly on the verge of pulling out before ultimately agreeing to participate. (ANI)

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