Absence of department cricket will make players prone to corruption: Javed Miandad

Legendary Pakistani cricketer Javed Miandad has warned that players might resort to malpractice like match-fixing if department cricket is not revived.

Departmental cricket was unceremoniously scrapped by former Pakistan Prime Minister and PCB's patron-in-chief, Imran Khan, back in 2019, driving hundreds of first-class cricketers and others involved out of work.

Speaking to Cricket Pakistan, the legendary Miandad said that lack of financial security will lead to cricketers getting prone to corruption.

"Cricketers fear that they do not have financial security, so they try to take advantage of the opportunities available to them. Due to lack of financial security, they were tempted to make money illegally," Miandad said.

"The purpose of departmental cricket was to provide financial comfort to the players so that they could concentrate on their game," he added.

Citing the example of 'Little Master' Hanif Mohammed, Miandad said that cricketers in the bygone era did not used to earn any significant money and that departmental cricket was created to provide players financial security.

"In the past, the big players did not have any source of income; they did not get much money in the game; Little Master Hanif Mohammad, who had done great deeds in the world of cricket, did not get anything," he added.

Besides giving financial security, Miandad opined that department cricket has played a vast in developing champion cricketers over the years, and in Pakistan becoming a great side back in the 1980s and 90s.

"Players considered themselves mentally safe, they worked hard and played an important role in the success of their team. Courtesy of departmental team, Pakistan became the world champion, today hundreds of cricketers are starving for bread," he added.

Due to departmental cricket, "many famous but illiterate players also got financial comfort, and their children earned higher education," he added.

He signed off by urging PCB to come up with a system where departments and associations are given equal opportunities.

"It is also important to organize regional cricket with the institutions. In the past, Karachi and Lahore used to have strong teams. With the end of institutional patronage, sports in the country declined. The PCB must introduce a system where departments along with associations have equal opportunities."

Miandad maintained that he will continue to voice his support in favour of department cricket until it is reinstated again.