- 405 men’s School teams from 39 districts across Pakistan set to take part in Schools tournament
- Two-phase Talent Hunt Programme for Schools will begin in September with a 40-over tournament
- Top performing schools in 40-over tournament will advance to two-day weekend school league
- Champion School of 40-over tournament to be rewarded with an overseas tour; Top performers of two Schools tournaments to be picked in PCB U15 and U17 tournaments & High-Performance camps
- Director Domestic Cricket Operations Abdullah Khurram Niazi’s interview is available here
Lahore, 20 August 2025: The Pakistan Cricket Board has laid the ground for the inaugural PCB Talent Hunt Programme for Schools after months of meticulous planning to take over 400 schools on board from the length and breadth of the country.
The PCB Talent Hunt Programme for Schools will comprise of two tournaments - a 40-over red-ball tournament followed by the Weekend School league comprising of two-day matches.
A total of 405 schools from 39 districts across Pakistan have been shortlisted to take part in the 40-over tournament after an in-depth and on-ground scrutiny of the available infrastructure and willingness of various schools to participate in the programme.
It is worth noting that around 3,000 schools had registered interest after PCB’s call to action in March earlier this year. More schools are expected to be taken on board following the first season of the Talent Hunt Programme. The PCB has directed the respective regional and district coaches to execute the Talent Hunt Programme.
In the coming two weeks beginning from Wednesday, 20 August, around 60 PCB coaches will conduct trials in the registered schools in their respective catchment areas to assemble teams for the 40-over tournament. Following the trials, all the schools will conduct preparatory camps under their respective PT teachers and district coaches.
The 40-over tournament is expected to begin from 20 September as schools in each district will take on each other. After Inter-District fixtures, top school from each district will advance to the knockout stage consisting of quarter finals, semifinals and final.
The winner of the 40-over schools’ tournament will be rewarded with an overseas tour, while the top performing schools in each district will qualify for the Weekend Schools League over the course of winter. It is expected that the top 100 schools out of the 405 will be part of the latter tournament.
The top performers of both the school tournaments will be scouted by the PCB coaches and invited to take part in High-Performance camps in PCB’s academies, while they will also be eligible for direct selection in their respective regional U15 and U17 teams for pathway tournaments.
In the whole process, the PCB will also assist a number of schools with rehabilitation of their respective cricket grounds, provision of kits, professional match officials and other cricket operations related matters.
Director Domestic Cricket Operations PCB, Abdullah Khurram Niazi:
“The Pakistan Cricket Board is delighted to begin the groundbreaking Talent Hunt Programme for Schools. We will provide them all kind of support in order to scout talent at school level.
“We aim to rehabilitate and develop cricket infrastructure in schools with PCB funding and over 150 school grounds have been earmarked for this programme. The goal is to provide school-going children with an opportunity to play the sport in an organised and professional manner.”
Breakdown of participating schools:
No. of districts 39
No. of participating schools 405
Punjab (134)
Lahore (30), Faisalabad (16), Sialkot (11), Gujranwala (11), Bahawalpur (10), Rahim Yar Khan (10), Dera Ghazi Khan (10), Multan (10), Rawalpindi (6), Sargodha (10) and Sahiwal (10)
Sindh (82)
Karachi (38), Hyderabad (12), Sukkur (8), Mirpurkhas (8), Shaheed Benazirabad (8) and Larkana (8)
Balochistan (81)
Quetta (16), Naseerabad (12), Pishin (10), Khuzdar (10), Lasbela (6), Loralai (6), Jaffarabad (6), Nushki (5), Killa Abdullah (5) and Sibi (5)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (68)
Mansehra (12), Swabi (12), Peshawar (10), Bannu (8), Swat (8), Mardan (8), Kohat (7) and Abbottabad (5)
Islamabad (28)
Islamabad (20) and Gilgit Baltistan (8)
Azad Jammu & Kashmir (12)
Mirpur (8) and Muzaffarabad (4)
