LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has taken a key step towards the launch of a franchise-based Twenty20 competition for emerging cricketers, the first-ever international league of its kind in the world.
The tournament has been named the Pakistan Junior League (PJL) and is scheduled to be held in October this year. It will be a city-based league in which players will be selected in the teams through a draft system involving foreign junior players.
The soft launch of PSL-style junior league took place when PCB released the Request for Expressions of Interest for various available rights relating to the Twenty20 competition, a statement from the board read.
The PCB is requesting expression of interest from the interested parties for the following rights:
- Title sponsorship
- Live-streaming
- Category sponsorships
- Team franchises
“I am thrilled and excited that after days of hard work and planning, we have today released the Expression of Interest document for the Pakistan Junior League, the first-ever international league of its kind in the world,” Ramiz Raja was quoted as saying.
“The PCB will create an environment of brilliance with legends and icons of the game sitting in player dug-outs in the roles of mentors and coaches, and broadcast coverage from the top draw.
“A young apprentice can be molded into a genius with right environment, which we intend to create in this format. Ramiz said the PJL “integrated nicely” with the PCB Junior Pathways Programme, which provided contracts to 100 junior cricketers who will not receive coaching from foreign coaches, receive education from top institutions and get paid decent monthly stipends with the help of strategic partnerships.
“Initiatives like the PJL are all about creating opportunities for cricketers, identifying the talent, nurturing them into world-class players and closing the gap between domestic and international cricket,” said the former Pakistan Test skipper.
