LAHORE – The inaugural PCB Talent Hunt Program for Schools will begin across Pakistan in September 2025.
It will comprise two tournaments – a 40-over red-ball tournament followed by the Weekend School league, comprising two-day matches.
A total of 405 schools from 39 districts across Pakistan have been shortlisted to take part in the 40-over tournament. 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 Program. In the coming two weeks, 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 will likely begin on September 20. After Inter-District fixtures, the 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.
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.
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)
