PCB axes WAPDA and Sahir Associates after failure to comply with new regulations

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has axed one of its oldest department teams and current first-class champions, WAPDA, as well as Sahir Associates from the upcoming domestic season, citing their failure to comply with the regulations it introduced in June.

OGDCL and Kingsmen Academy will replace the two teams in the President's Trophy and the President's Cup, the first-class and the List A tournaments for department teams.

"To enhance the quality of cricket and maintain high standards of domestic cricket, a number of regulations have been shared with the first-class departmental teams. These regulations are [there] in order to run the President's Trophy and Cup Grade-I events in a more professional manner after reviewing the last iteration of both events,” PCB said in a statement.

The PCB's new regulations empowered the board to audit financial transactions between departments and players, including monthly salaries and match fees. They also mandated year-long player contracts and laid down guidelines covering accommodation, daily allowances and fitness programmes.

However, the decision to increase the participation fee threefold to PKR 15 million led to the two teams being axed. There were several rounds of negotiations between the PCB and participating departments regarding the matter.

According to Cricinfo, the other six departments namely, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL), Pakistan Television (PTV), Ghani Glass, MIT Solutions, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), agreed to the revised fee only after the PCB assured them it would bear the costs of live-stream production, ground rental and match balls.

A WAPDA official claimed that they wanted a revision of the increased participation fee. However, a PCB official claimed that WAPDA and Sahir Associates were more concerned about the board's decision to oversee player contracts, salaries and match-fee payments.

OGDCL gets promotion in President's Trophy

KRL had also initially decided to withdraw from the competition and informed its players accordingly due to the increased participation fee. However, they reversed their decision, following some fresh discussions with the PCB.

The withdrawal of WAPDA and Sahir Associates has allowed OGDCL and Kingsmen Academy to participate in the President’s Trophy and the President’s Cup. OGDCL had originally been relegated to the President's Trophy Grade 2 (Gold) after finishing bottom of the first-class competition last season, while Kingsmen Academy had narrowly missed promotion after losing the Grade 2 final to MIT Solutions.

Under the tournament's promotion and relegation system, the team finishing last in the first-class President's Trophy is demoted to the Grade 2 competition, while the Grade 2 champions earn promotion to the top tier for the following season.