PCB looking to introduce Pentangular tournament in next domestic season
Jun 03, 2024
New Delhi [India], June 3 : The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is looking to introduce three different tournaments for each format of the game to reduce the gap in standards between domestic and international cricket.
Pentangular, a five-team tournament that will feature 150 top players across the country. According to ESPNcricinfo, the new tournament will be an addition to the existing tournament in the format.
A first-class event in addition to the Quaid-e-Azam and President's Trophy; a 50-over event in addition to the National One-Day Cup; a T20 tournament as well as the long-running National T20 Cup.
The plans are still at the formative stage but according to ESPNcricinfo, PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has given directions to several PCB departments to ensure that the tournament gets launched in the next domestic season.
The report from ESPNcricinfo also stated that the tournament will not be franchised. All teams will be owned by the board. Along with this, the five teams will not be based on any geographic location. The teams will be newly created and they will have their own management as well as coaching set-up.
The new tournament is likely to be played on a double-league basis. PCB's selection committee will be involved in the selection of the team. PCB's selection committee will distribute a set of players across the team and the rest of the players will be picked by the team's management.
Pentangular tournaments have been previously played in 2016. Apart from bridging the gap between the standard between domestic and international stage, PCB feels that the player will get to play more first-class games.
The scheduling of the tournament is still one of the issues that PCB needs to sort out. Pakistan's domestic season is already catering two first-class tournaments, a one-day cup, a T20 tournament and the Pakistan Super League.
Along with this, Pakistan have a packed international schedule. Pakistan will host Bangladesh and England for Tests, an ODI tri-series before the Champions Trophy in 2025.
