LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday announced a new $200,000 Cricket Development Excellence Award for the HBL Pakistan Super League franchise judged to have made the greatest contribution to cricket development. The inaugural award will evaluate development initiatives undertaken by PSL franchises from the league’s third edition through its 11th edition, according to the PCB. The board said the award aims to recognize genuine long-term investment in Pakistan cricket, structured player-development pathways and measurable efforts toward the professional growth of cricketers. For the inaugural award, each franchise will assess its own development work according to a scoring model developed by the HBL PSL. The franchises will then submit their scores along with supporting evidence to a five-member assessment committee constituted by the PCB. The committee will include independent experts and PCB stakeholders and will verify the submissions against available evidence and verifiable data. The assessment will account for 80 per cent of the final score, while the remaining 20 per cent will be determined through a fan vote. Before voting begins, franchises will publish presentations outlining their cricket development initiatives on the PSL’s official social media platforms. Fans will then be invited to vote and rank the development efforts of the franchises. The scoring system gives the highest weightage, 25 per cent, to player pathways and development. Grassroots and domestic engagement carries 20 per cent, while high-performance infrastructure and innovation account for 15 per cent. Player impact and match contribution, along with player welfare and education, will each carry 10 per cent. Fan voting will account for the remaining 20 per cent. Under the player pathway category, franchises will be assessed on their identification and development of new and uncapped players, their progression and the cricket opportunities provided to them outside the PSL. The player impact category will focus on the progress of players discovered or recruited by franchises, including their match-winning performances and expanded roles within their teams. The infrastructure and innovation category will cover facilities, staffing, systems and the use of technology, while welfare and education will include financial literacy, educational support, mental health systems, media training, anti-doping and anti-corruption education and career-transition planning. The grassroots and domestic engagement category will cover both men’s and women’s cricket, children’s coaching clinics, school and club programmers and participation in PCB-organized competitions and activities. The PCB said the award’s assessment criteria would change from next year. Following the 11th edition of the PSL, only development work conducted between the two most recent editions will be considered. The PCB added that further details about the assessment committee and fan-voting schedule would be announced at a later stage.
