The Pakistan Cricket Board has announced three development programmes across the country to prepare players for competitive cricket at the top level, the PCB said in a statement on Monday

The projects include the activation of sub-academies in seven cities, specialised training camps for national players and a project to financially support the U19 players to develop them into quality professionals.

Chairman PCB Management Committee Zaka Ashraf endorsed the initiative for the betterment of Pakistan Cricket.

Under the project, the PCB will collaborate with Defence Housing Authority (DHA) which will provide land for cricket grounds in Islamabad, Quetta, Bahawalpur, Lahore and Peshawar for sub-academies.

The Hanif Mohammad High-Performance Centre in Karachi and the Inzamam-Ul-Haq High-Performance Centre in Multan will also be activated as sub-academies with the appointment of relevant resources.

As part of the development programmes, specialised training camps will be arranged for national and upcoming players.

The U19 players will be provided extensive financial support along with skills training and thorough grooming as professionals.

Pakistan men’s cricket team Director Mohammad Hafeez said that the development programmes are aimed at grooming young players, hone the skills of national players via specialised camps and activate the sub-academies for year-round training camps.

“This initiative will help our players get ready for the highly competitive cricket at the top level. It is the need of the hour to work on the skills of our players and provide them with world-class facilities. We will also target interior Sindh and erstwhile FATA for further development programmes so that the talent in far-fetched areas can also be turned into international product,” he added.