The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has created a stir in the world of cricket, the Champions Cup, which was launched with great fanfare last year, has now been suddenly discontinued.
This tournament, which was started to make domestic cricket more fun, will no longer be seen in the 2025-26 season.
Champions Cup dream shattered
The Champions Cup was started by the PCB with big promises. It was claimed to bring new color and competition to domestic cricket. The talk of star mentors in this tournament was also very much discussed.
Veterans like Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik and Sarfaraz Ahmed were made mentors with a hefty contract of Rs 50 lakh per month.
But now the PCB has not only ended the tournament but also this mentorship program.
Why was such a big decision taken?
The PCB conducted an internal review earlier this year, in which the Champions Cup was deemed a flop. The tournament failed to deliver on its promises and the mentorship model also proved to be useless.
Shoaib Malik was the first to step down from mentorship, after which the contracts of the rest of the mentors were also canceled.
The tournament, which was to run for three years, has now ended after just one season.
New season, new structure
The PCB has now launched a new domestic calendar for 2025-26, which does not have a place for the Champions Cup. The new season will begin on August 15 with the Hanif Mohammad Trophy, in which 12 teams will participate.
These teams are divided into two pools, and the top-2 teams will qualify for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will begin on September 22, in which 8 teams will participate.
Apart from this, a new qualifier round has also been added to the National T20.
What will happen to PSL?
With the cancellation of the Champions Cup, the question on everyone’s mind is – is PSL (Pakistan Super League) also in danger?
Although the PCB has not yet made any official statement regarding the PSL, cricket fans and experts are worried about this news.
The focus of the PCB is now on performance-oriented tournaments, and fans hope that the charm of the PSL will remain intact.
For now, this decision of the PCB will be a topic of discussion in the cricket world for a long time. The departure of the Champions Cup is definitely a big blow to domestic cricket, but the PCB is ready to make a new beginning with a new calendar and tournaments.
Now it remains to be seen whether this new structure will take Pakistan cricket to new heights, or raise more questions.
