ISLAMABAD / LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has dismissed all office-bearers of Islamabad’s Regional and Zonal Cricket Associations, including Shakeel Sheikh, the President of the Islamabad Regional Cricket Association.
PCB has also declared the elections of all zonal cricket associations in Islamabad, as well as the regional body, null and void. The elections held in March 2023 have been cancelled in light of the Independent Adjudicator’s ruling issued on 27 May.
A notification issued by Director of Domestic Cricket, Abdullah Khurram Niazi, ordered all dismissed officials to immediately vacate their offices. The PCB has directed that all operations of the Islamabad zonal and regional associations be stopped with immediate effect.
In another development, the PCB has invited 22 white-ball players, including senior stars Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi, for a crucial three-day training camp in Lahore.
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The camp will take place on 3rd, 4th, and 5th June, and players will report in three groups. The purpose of the camp is to assess fitness, review recent performances, and share the white-ball strategy under new head coach Mike Hesson.
Hesson, who recently took charge of Pakistan’s white-ball setup, will interact directly with players during the sessions to outline his vision.
Players called up include: Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shahid Aziz, Abbas Afridi, Salman Mirza, Mir Hamza, Abdullah Shafique, Khawaja Nafay, Haider Ali, Ahmed Daniyal, Mehran Mumtaz, Khurram Shahzad, Maaz Sadaqat, Mohammad Nawaz, Aamir Jamal, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Ali Raza, and Tayyab Tahir.
The training camp follows Pakistan’s recent 3-0 home T20I series win over Bangladesh, marking a successful start to Hesson’s tenure. The national team may tour Bangladesh again next month for another T20I series.