The decline of Pakistan cricket can be traced back to the sweeping changes made by Imran Khan during his tenure as Prime Minister, according to former chief selector and head coach Haroon Rasheed.
Rasheed revealed that the 1992 World Cup-winning captain outright rejected a proposed hybrid model that would have preserved departmental teams. Instead, Imran insisted on a radical reduction of first-class teams to just six.
Rasheed argued that Khan’s decision to mimic the Australian domestic structure did not align with Pakistan’s cricketing ecosystem, ultimately dismantling a system that provided financial security and competitive depth to local players.
Rasheed’s comment comes amid the ongoing turmoil in Pakistan cricket. After losing back-to-back Test matches on the tour of England, the PCB took an unprecedented step of sacking seven players and two coaches.
"I was part of the cricket board and task force, and I remember when we met with Imran, we submitted a hybrid domestic cricket model. But he rejected it outright," Haroon said on a podcast on the 'Smash It' sports channel.
"How much time do you think a Prime Minister can give? We were ordered to submit a revised domestic cricket plan, and we did that, and it was a hybrid one," he added.
Haroon Rasheed served the PCB until 2020 in various capacities, including chief selector, selector, head coach, head of high performance and development, and manager.
“I remember we told Imran that the hybrid model was best for our cricket, as while we had reduced teams to eight, we had kept the participation of departmental teams in domestic cricket,” Haroon stated.
“But Imran, in his short meeting with us, rejected the hybrid model and said he didn't want eight but a maximum of five to six teams in the domestic structure. We told him it would be better to gradually switch to a new domestic structure, but eventually, you have to listen to the Prime Minister. He might have meant well, but it didn't work out for Pakistan cricket,” he remarked.
Rasheed contrasted Pakistan's centralized struggles with India's robust domestic structure. He noted that India’s growth is anchored heavily in legacy tournaments (like the Ranji, Duleep Syed Mushtaq Ali, Vijay Hazare Trophies) run by highly independent state associations.
“People talk about the IPL but forget that in India they still have the Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Mushtaq Ali Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy and their state-level associations are independent and have their own regular domestic events at club level,” said Haroon.
“In Pakistan, now all powers are with the PCB, which needs to decentralise power and give more independence to regional associations and departments as was the case in the past,” he added.
