The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced the appointment of five prominent cricket figures as mentors for the upcoming Champions Cup. Misbah-ul-Haq, Saqlain Mushtaq, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shoaib Malik, and Waqar Younis will serve in these roles under three-year contracts, following a thorough and transparent recruitment process. The specific teams and squads they will be associated with will be revealed in the near future.
Their first major assignment will be the Champions One-Day Cup, scheduled to take place from September 12 to 29, 2024, at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. This tournament will mark the return of senior men’s competitive cricket to Faisalabad after nearly two years, with the last domestic 50-over match held there in March 2022 between Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Collectively, the five mentors have accumulated 1,621 international matches, scoring 32,780 runs and claiming 1,503 wickets. Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shoaib Malik are both two-time ICC Event winners, Misbah-ul-Haq is a one-time ICC Event winner and the captain of the 2012 ACC Asia Cup-winning team, while Saqlain Mushtaq and Waqar Younis were key players in the 1999 World Cup final.
PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi expressed enthusiasm about the appointments, stating, “I am delighted to welcome these exceptional champions as mentors for the Champions Cup teams. Their extensive cricketing experience and passion for the game will be invaluable in developing and nurturing the next generation of cricketers. This initiative aims to bridge the gap between domestic and international cricket and strengthen Pakistan’s cricketing structure.”
Naqvi emphasized that the mentors will be instrumental in strategic planning, team-building, and providing support in leadership and personal development. “The PCB is committed to enhancing Pakistan’s cricket through a robust domestic framework, offering a competitive pathway for all cricketers to advance and represent Pakistan at the highest level,” he added.
