Pakistan Junior League
 Official logo of PJL | |
| Countries | Pakistan |
|---|---|
| Administrator | Pakistan Cricket Board |
| Format | 20-over cricket |
| First edition | 2022 |
| Tournament format | Single Round Robin |
| Number of teams | 6 |
| Website | [1] |
 2022 Pakistan Junior League | |
The Pakistan Junior League (PJL) is an upcoming professional 20-over cricket[1] league to be contested by Under-19 teams representing different cities of Pakistan.[2] The league was soft-launched on 14 April 2022 by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman, Ramiz Raja.[3] The league is expected to be played from 5–21 October 2022, featuring six teams and 19 games, at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.[4] It will be the first international league to exclusively consist of junior cricketers.[5]
History
Conception
We talked about [improving the] pathways to professional cricket. In October next year, we'll launch an U19 PSL. This is very exciting because it's never happened anywhere else.
Shortly after his promotion to the position of PCB Chairman in September 2021, Ramiz Raja outlined his plans to improve cricket in Pakistan.[7] Highlighting that the board needed to facilitate the transformation of young cricketers into world-class players, he expressed the desire to introduce an 'Under-19 T20 World League'.[8] Over the following months, further details of this vision were outlined and Raja described his aspiration to expand the already successful Pakistan Super League (PSL) into two additional versions tailored to youth cricket and women's cricket.[6] At the 67th Board of Governors meeting in December 2021, Pakistan's Pathway Cricket Foundation was identified as an initiative that would look to nurture 100 young cricketers in preparation for the upcoming launch of an 'U-19 PSL'.[9]
Launch
On 14 April 2022, the PCB, through their official website, announced the launch of the PJL.[10] The announcement was accompanied by a statement from Raja who confirmed the inaugural season would take place in October 2022.[11] In addition, the PCB had initiated the process to secure title, category sponsorships, live streaming providers and franchise owners.[12] The competition is to be a city-based league with players selected through a draft system.[13] The PCB plans to involve international age-group cricketers from various nations as well.[14]
Teams
On 30 August 2022, PCB announced the names of the six teams for the inaugural edition of the Pakistan Junior League, each representing one city of Pakistan. These names were different from those used by the teams of the Pakistan Super League. Although the PCB had initially had planned a franchise model similar to that of PSL, it decided to take up the ownership of the teams itself after the base price set up for the ownership of teams was not met by the bidders.[15]
| Team | Founded | Mentor[16] |
|---|---|---|
| Bahawalpur | 2022 |  Imran Tahir
|
| Gujranwala | 2022 |  Shoaib Malik
|
| Gwadar | 2022 |  Viv Richards
|
| Hyderabad | 2022 | Daren Sammy
|
| Mardan | 2022 | Shahid Afridi
|
| Rawalpindi | 2022 |  Colin Munro
|
References
- ^ "Lahore to host inaugural Pakistan Junior League from 1-15 Oct". Pakistan Cricket Board. Retrieved 30 April 2022.
- ^ "PCB releases details for PSL-like junior league". Geo TV. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "PCB releases Pakistan Junior League details". PCB. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "PSL franchises, corporates on board for inaugural Pakistan Junior League". ESPNcricinfo. 29 April 2022.
- ^ "PCB introduces first-ever Pakistan Junior League (PJL) to nurture young talents at grassroot level". CricTracker. 15 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Ramiz Raja hints at women's PSL for Pakistan in the near-future". ESPNcricinfo. 10 November 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Ramiz Raja formally elected PCB chairman". ESPNcricinfo. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "PCB Chairman Announces New Under-19 T20 World League". propakistani. 13 September 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "67th BoG meeting held in Karachi". PCB. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "PCB releases Pakistan Junior League details". www.pcb.com.pk. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ "Rolling out PJL… Pakistan Junior League, the first ever age franchise cricket of its kind". Twitter. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Ramiz Raja Tweet". Twitter. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "PCB takes first step towards creating PSL-style league for juniors". Dawn. 15 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Pakistan Cricket Board releases details of Junior League". A Sports. 14 April 2022. Retrieved 15 April 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "PCB forced to abandon franchise model for Pakistan Junior League". ESPNcricinfo. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
- ^ "Mentors confirmed for Pakistan Junior League teams". The News International. 31 August 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.