The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has rolled out a series of initiatives designed to strengthen the country’s talent pipeline and improve player development at all levels. With a renewed focus on youth and high-performance training, the PCB is taking concrete steps to ensure a brighter future for the national teams.
The PCB has decided to fully activate its high-performance academies in Lahore, Karachi, and Multan. These academies will now operate year-round, offering continuous development programs with a special focus on the age-group Pathways Program. This initiative is designed to identify and nurture young talent from an early age, ensuring that promising players receive the guidance and resources they need to reach their full potential.
Each academy will have a distinct focus. The National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore will work on enhancing the national bench strength by refining the skills of top-performing players. Coaches will provide targeted support to improve fitness, technique, and mental resilience.
In Multan, the academy’s primary goal will be to prepare the Under-19 squad for the upcoming ICC U-19 World Cup. Meanwhile, the Karachi academy will serve as a training hub for the Pakistan women’s national team and emerging female cricketers, with a structured roadmap in place to prepare for the 2025 ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup and the 2026 Women’s T20 World Cup.
Leadership is also set for a boost, with former Head Coach Aqib Javed emerging as a leading candidate for the role of PCB’s Director of High Performance. Alongside these changes, the PCB is considering sweeping reforms in the domestic cricket structure.
Dissatisfaction with the current 18-team format has led the board to explore a proposal to reduce the number of domestic teams to nine. To guide this process, a special reform committee led by Aqib Javed and former cricketer Wahab Riaz has been formed. The committee will submit its recommendations to PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi in the coming weeks.
