Ramiz Raja defends Pakistan Junior League after all six teams go unsold

Ramiz Raja backs PJL (PC: Twitter)

Pakistan is all set to host the first-ever T20 cricket league, Pakistan Junior League, exclusively for Under-19 cricketers. Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced its idea in April while the inaugural edition will be played from October 6 to October 21 in Lahore. A total of six teams will be participating in the Pakistan Junior League including the likes of Bahawalpur, Gujranwala, Gwadar, Hyderabad, Mardan, and Rawalpindi.

While launching the league in April, PCB chairman Ramiz Raja made big claims about how 24 to 25 companies were interested in buying an Under-19 franchise. However, the team bidding saw no potential investors. As all six teams went unsold, the Pakistan board will be taking full ownership of PJL.

The chairman explains the reason behind PCB funding the league

Amidst the criticism for not being able to sell any franchise, Raja has defended the Under-19 tournament. The official clarified that they had investors on the table. However, their vision and objectives didn’t match that of PCB and thus the board decided to fund the league.

In an interview with Dawn, Raja revealed,

“It is a misperception and misleading to say that the PCB was unable to sell franchise team rights for the Pakistan Junior League. The fact is we had the investors on the table, including foreign entrepreneurs, but the PCB called off the process because we felt our vision and objectives were not entirely aligned as far as some commercial aspects of the event were concerned.”

Raja happy to go with the BBL model

The former Pakistani cricketer added that PCB is more interested in the quality of cricket in the league rather than the commercial aspect. He believes that going with the BBL model with help the board in ensuring that all the six teams are balanced and the youngsters get a good platform to showcase their mettle.

One of the major reasons behind the teams’ going unsold is PCB’s disinterest in selling them to the PSL franchise owners. Two PSL owners showed interest in the auction but they had to withdraw after all the six PSL teams decided to not go for it. The cricketing body wanted new investors for PJL but the questions over its commercial potential restricted the companies from taking the plunge.

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