Dr Junaid Ali Shah protests at PCB’s hefty fee again

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The President of the Asghar Ali Shah Foundation and two-times former provincial Minister, Dr Syed Junaid Ali Shah, has lashed out at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for charging exorbitantly for the purpose of holding club level tournaments.

“I had protested loudly earlier in the presence of the then PCB Chairman, Najam Sethi, who had agreed to review the hefty charges in the interest of the game. He is no more a part of the PCB but those in power should have taken the responsibility to do the needful. It’s really sickening to have such regulations which pollute the atmosphere and damage the interests of the game,” he remarked during the media launch of the 24th Dr M A Shah Night Trophy Cricket Tournament 2019 at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium, Karachi, on May 2. 

“Since all the seven knockout games, starting from quarter-finals, have to be telecast live on Geo Super, we have deposited the PCB fee of Rs 15 lacs but we have done it in protest and we will continue fighting for the cause of the game,” he stated.

"As a mark of protest against the policies of the PCB we didn't have our matches televised last year but obviously we didn't wish to deprive the cricket community and we have chosen for the live telecast of our knockout matches as we used to do in the past," he added.

Dr Junaid Ali Shah, who is also the President of the Karachi Hockey Association (KHA), didn’t mince words in stating his displeasure with the existing policies of the sports bodies at the national level. 

“Be it the PCB or the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), they are often found in the news for the wrong reasons. They seem to be pursuing their own agenda without realizing the gravity of the situation and the harms their actions or inactions cause from time to time,” he regretted. 

Meanwhile he disclosed that the Asghar Ali Shah Foundation, established by his illustrious father, Dr Syed Muhammad Ali Shah, will continue meeting the costs of the Dr M A Shah Night Trophy Cricket Tournament. 

The tournament, to be contested by a total of 16 teams, to be divided equally in four groups for the preliminary rounds, will be offering attractive prize money with the winners to receive Rupees five lacs and the runner-up to get Rupees two and a half lacs.