‘He rejected it straight away’: Former PCB chief selector blames Imran Khan’s domestic overhaul for Pakistan cricket’s downfall

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan (PTI Photo) Former Pakistan chief selector and head coach Haroon Rasheed believes the decline of Pakistan cricket can be traced back to sweeping changes to the domestic structure introduced during Imran Khan’s tenure as prime minister, claiming the former Pakistan captain rejected the proposed hybrid model in favor of a drastic reduction in the number of first-class teams.Haroon, who was part of a task force set up to examine Pakistan’s domestic structure during Imran’s tenure, recalled that the group suggested keeping ward teams alongside a simplified provincial system. But according to him, Imran was not willing to accept the plan.“I was part of the cricket board and the task force and I remember when we met Imran we put forward a hybrid model of domestic cricket. But he flatly rejected it,” Haroon said in a podcast on sports channel ‘Smash It’.Imran, Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup captain, became Prime Minister in 2018 after the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf won the general elections. He remained in office until the 2022 vote.

“You must listen to the Prime Minister”

Pakistan’s first-class structure was subsequently reduced from a system comprising 10–16 teams to just five teams, with the rebuild partly modeled after Australia’s domestic system. Departmental cricket was also removed as provincial cricket became the central structure.Haroon said the task force initially recommended a compromise.“How much time do you think the Prime Minister can give? We were directed to come up with a revised plan for domestic cricket and we did and it was a hybrid plan,” he said.“I remember we told Imran that a hybrid model was best for our cricket because we reduced the teams to eight but kept the participation of teams from each department in domestic cricket.However, Haroon said Imran wants an even more radical cut.“But Imran, in his brief meeting with us, rejected the hybrid model and said he did not want eight, but a maximum of five to six teams in the domestic structure. We told him that it would be better to move to a new domestic structure gradually, but ultimately you will have to listen to the prime minister,” Haroon recalled.“He may have meant well, but it didn’t work out for Pakistan cricket.Haroon, who held several positions at the PCB before leaving in 2020, including chief selector, head coach and head of high performance and development, said the change ultimately hurt the depth of Pakistan cricket.“We changed the domestic structure by making it provincial cricket and leaving out the department, but I personally believe that was a bad decision and it led to a lowering of our cricketing standards,” he said.

An Indian domestic model was introduced as an alternative

Haroon compared Pakistan’s approach to India’s domestic system and argued that the depth created by multiple contests played an important role in India’s rise.“People talk about IPL but they forget that in India they still have 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,” he said.Haroon believes Pakistan now needs to reverse the centralization of its cricket administration.“In Pakistan, all powers are now vested in the PCB, which needs to decentralize power and give more independence to regional associations and departments as in the past.”His comments come amid an ongoing debate over the state of cricket in Pakistan, with former players and officials increasingly questioning the country’s domestic journey and governance.