PCB announces U19 association teams trial dates

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced on Saturday that it will be holding trials for the U19 cricketers for the six association teams from September 11.

The trials will be held prior to the 2020-21 domestic season which gets underway from September 30.

"As many as 291 teenagers will undergo trials for the six U19 Cricket Associations sides," a press release by the PCB stated. "The trials will be held from September 11-19 and will be conducted by a four-member selection panel comprising Saleem Jaffar, Sanaullah Baloch, Taufiq Umar and Wajahatullah Wasti, following which teams for the national U19 tournaments will be announced." 

"The selection panel will be supported by the coaches and assistant coaches of the six U19 teams."

Schedule of tryout matches

A series of trial matches will be played to select the players. The Multan Cricket Stadium and the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium will hold trials for Southern Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sides respectively on September 11 and 12.

The LCCA Ground in Lahore and the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium will play hosts to trial matches for Central Punjab and Northern sides respectively on September 14 and 15.

The trial matches for Sindh will be contested at the Karachi’s National Stadium on September 17 and 18 whereas the Bugti Stadium in Quetta will host the fixtures on September 18 and 19 for the Balochistan team.

Who are eligible?

The players which have been invited to take part in the tryouts include those who have represented Pakistan U19 and those who were part of U19 competitions in the 2019-20 domestic season.

The players who were part of the U16 tournaments in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 domestic seasons are also eligible to participate along with the top performers of the Inter-district tournament 2018-19.

Safety protocols

The trials will take place under strict Covid-19 protocols to ensure the health and safety of the players.

"As such, temperatures checks will be done on entry points of the venues. Players will have to wear masks when not inside the boundary ropes and maintain social distancing at any given time. Sharing of equipment and use of saliva on ball will not be allowed," the PCB stated.