PCB's list of match officials for upcoming domestic season stirs controversy

The newly announced list of match officials for the upcoming domestic season contains individuals from various organisations. They will receive huge sums of salaries after working part-time having obtained a contract for an entire year.

Officials from other organisations will receive salaries from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as match officials. Giving preference to Lahore-based umpires has also raised question marks.

According to sources, the list of the elite panel of referees comprises of Professor Javaid Malik (Multan College), Mohammad Anees (Punjab Sports Board) and Ali Naqvi. The list of elite umpires includes professor Aftab Gillani, Faisal Khan Afridi, Imran Javaid, Rashid Riaz, Imtiaz Iqbal, and Asif Yaqoob.

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Eight out of the total fourteen officials have been selected from Lahore which has created a wave of allegations of favouritism. The other officials include two individuals from Karachi while one individual was selected from Islamabad, Bahawalpur, Sargodha, and Abbottabad respectively.

Former Test cricketer Nadeem Ghori failed to find a spot in the elite panel. Azizur Rehman, who worked in a similar capacity in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), was added in the supplementary category. Another PSL umpire, Tariq Rasheed was also added to the supplementary list.

Bilal Khilji, who has played almost 200 first-class matches, is part of the development panel.

Many experienced personnel such as former cricketer Nadeem Ghori and Azizur Rehman failed to make the list.