Maria Imran 
pakistan pm youth program launches national cricket talent hunt
PM’s Youth Programme Launches Nationwide Cricket Talent Hunt
The Prime Minister’s Youth Programme, in collaboration with the Higher Education Commission and Lahore Qalandars, is launching a national cricket talent hunt to discover youth across Pakistan.
The talent hunt will officially launch in Quetta on June 27, 2025, and will last through 25 cities with representation from all provinces. The talent hunt will be for both boys and girls, and the talent hunt will be merit-based, transparent, and inclusive. Connections forged from each city selected will get invitations to a high-performance training camp to a professional coaching opportunity, fitness, and competitive cricket, where the initiative would facilitate progression through and to national/international levels of cricket.
The MoU was signed on June 12 in Islamabad. “The programme is based on the successful talent hunt for boxing. The PMYP would also focus on youth development through sports and skill development,” said Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, the Chairman of PMYP. “Atif Rana, CEO Lahore Qalandars, stated that players such as Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf were talent through open trials.” ‘HEC Chairman, Dr Mukhtar Ahmed, confirmed that all public universities will host trials in their regions to connect education and sports development.
The cricket talent hunt is to be part of PMYP’s overall strategy to create an opportunity for youth to engage in sports, receive scholarships, learn digital skills, and create employment by taking part in producing sports and education, developing content, and ultimately promoting national unity and social inclusion.
This landmark youth initiative, when fully delivered, is likely to change the grassroots landscape of sports in Pakistan and bring a new pool of talented young players from across Pakistan to a national level.
