Former Pakistan captain Azhar Ali has directly attributed his country's sharp decline in Test cricket to the abolition of department cricket in 2019, arguing that the shutdown dismantled the most important development pathway for the national side. Pakistan have lost 13 of their last 18 Test matches and currently sit eighth in the nine-team World Test Championship standings. In the previous WTC cycle, Pakistan finished bottom of the table.
Ali said the department system had served as the backbone of Pakistan cricket since departmental sides first featured in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in the 1953-54 season, with their role growing substantially through the 1970s. The shutdown came in 2019 as part of a domestic revamp driven by then-Prime Minister Imran Khan. Ali had met Khan in 2020 to make the case against abolition but could not reverse the decision.
"It's contributed a lot to our cricket. We shut it down a few years ago, and my personal view is that the slide in Pakistan's international cricket right now has a lot to do with department cricket being shut down. After that it took department cricket a long time to recover. It was the biggest nursery for Pakistan cricket, and today again it feels like it's being pushed out." Ali said, speaking to ESPNcricinfo
Department cricket was reintegrated into the domestic structure for the 2023-24 season after a four-year absence. However, the PCB removed two departments for the 2026-27 season, WAPDA and Sahir Associates, citing their failure to meet new regulations that included a participation fee raised to three times its previous level. Khan Research Laboratories, the department Ali represented throughout his career, came close to pulling out before eventually committing to the season. The 2023-24 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy itself was contested by eight regional teams, with departments playing in a separate competition running alongside it.
Why does Azhar Ali consider department cricket essential for Pakistan?
Ali has consistently pointed to the financial reality facing young cricketers in Pakistan as the core reason department cricket cannot be replaced by regional structures alone. Salaried employment through departments, he argues, is what makes it possible for families to support a child's cricketing ambitions rather than directing them towards conventional employment. He also drew a contrast with wealthier cricket nations to underline his point:
"Department cricket is a big need for Pakistan. I was moulded in department cricket, as so many others have been. At times, no one in the regions used to pay us any heed whatsoever. But the departments gave us salaries and financial security, and stuck with us. It's very important in Pakistan's cultural and economic reality. Even the PKR 30-40,000 Grade 2 teams and smaller departments pay is vital in our country. Otherwise, young players' parents won't let them play, and will tell them to find proper jobs instead," Ali said.
"Desire to play is not a problem [in Pakistan]. In England and Australia, you have to do special programmes in schools and counties to tempt them into playing cricket. Here, they're playing, they just need to be able to give something back to their family when they're 18 or 20. It needs to be financially viable; we're not a rich, developed country," Ali added.
What impact has the shutdown had on Pakistan's on-field performance?
Beyond finances, Ali argues that the loss of experienced department professionals from the domestic circuit has broken the chain of knowledge transfer between generations of players, something no coaching staff can fully replicate.
"You have three young fast bowlers who are struggling. If you've got one experienced fast bowler, he'll be able to guide them through it. The same goes for an experienced batter building a partnership with a young player. A coach can't just do it all; they need hands on the pitch and support from experienced players who can pass on quality knowledge, player to player. You've just got rid of that, and then you see a drop in game awareness and cricket smarts." Ali said.
He also called for the PCB to commit to whichever domestic structure it selects rather than overhauling it annually.
"The first thing I'd do is to give any system we implement a few years. If you change every year, then you were either wrong last year, or you're wrong now. At the PCB, our problem is we're never wrong, but perhaps we're never right either because when you change every year, it means there was a mistake. And we promise every year that this is the year we'll get more developed players coming through the system. But we're not getting that answer. Every year we change, and then we say, 'that season didn't go according to plan, but the next one will," Ali added.