The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) suffered a blow before the launch of their Junior T20 league as they failed to attract any bids for the team rights for the tournament. After this, the PCB decided to manage all of the six teams on its own.
The board announced on Tuesday that the inaugural PJL would go ahead with the teams managed directly by the board from October 6-21.
The PCB also confirmed that legendary batter Javed Miandad will be the chief mentor for the league, while the six teams will have their own mentors in the likes of Sir Vivian Richards, Imran Tahir, Darren Sammy, Colin Munro, Shahid Afridi, and Shoaib Malik.
The board had initially announced and invited bids for the sale of the six teams rights but none of the interested bidders could match the reserve price asked by the board.
"We know that since this is a first-ever junior T20 international league obviously sponsors and bidders are a bit skeptical about its commercial value and future but the PCB believes the league will become a successful commercial property after a few seasons," an official source in the board said.
The PCB also didn't get the required reserve prices for the broadcasting rights of the tournament which will now be shown by the PCB and national state broadcaster PTV. The player draft for the PJL T20 will be held in Lahore on 6 September and the details of the draft process will be announced shortly.
PCB CEO Faisal Hasnain said outside Pakistan, over 140 players from Afghanistan, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, Ireland, Nepal, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Scotland, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Zimbabwe, and the United Arab Emirates have completed their registrations for the tournament.
"There is tremendous interest within and outside Pakistan about this league and we have maintained that momentum by today confirming the city names and their mentors. The six cities mirror our domestic cricket structure. This will not only provide talented teenagers with opportunities to showcase their talent to the world, but will also encourage them to play quality cricket in an environment they have never faced before," he said.
(PTI inputs)
